Artillery Bombardment Failed

[maverick_mw]

That reminds me, one game I was coming under an annoying naval bombardment by two enemy ironclads, which where being suprisingly succesfull in destroying roads etc, so I built a coastal fortress in the city nearest to them.

As soon as it was complete, one of the ironclads comes over to the city, blasts the city and destroys the coastal fortress!!!

 

[Hurricane]

Yeah, coastal fortresses are useless. They always are destroyed first when bombarded (just like city walls). I never build them.

 

[wotan321]

I've gone in and hiked up the bombard strength of all bombard units, from catapults to stealth bombers and battleships. Otherwise they are so impotent you have to create heaps of them, and to use them takes forever. Since the AI doesn't seem to use them, it may be more fair to increase their costs too, or play on a tougher level, but it is so frustrating to fire off 30 artillery and get 3 or 4 hits.

 

[Alvin]

Well if yuo think about it, the Hwatch is pretty good. that is if you do the math part, I try to firgue out the math part.

 

[MajorFallout]

Originally posted by Mullet Crusader
I once had a stakc of like, 20 Artilleries and they all fired on a city. Not ONE of them hit, it as disgusting. I wanted to punch my moniter i am seriousely done with Artillery ofr awhile, im gonna stick with bombers for now, since they seem 100 times more effective.

I find that arty will miss or hit depending on 2 factors:
1) Position of arty to the target. If you position your artillery on a hill or on a mountain (recommended) near the target, and the unit/city is on a plain, then you will have a much better hitting rate.
2) Distance from target. The further away you are from the target, the more chances that it'll miss. So try to be either one square away, especially when the target is in a mountainous/hilly region.

Just my 2p worth.

 

[Mega Tsunami]

I find that arty will miss or hit depending on 2 factors:
1) Position of arty to the target. If you position your artillery on a hill or on a mountain (recommended) near the target, and the unit/city is on a plain, then you will have a much better hitting rate.
2) Distance from target. The further away you are from the target, the more chances that it'll miss. So try to be either one square away, especially when the target is in a mountainous/hilly region.

I have certainly noticed number 2 (ie distance) to be correct – the further away you are the more accurate your shots are. But I am sure I have read somewhere that this is just not true and that each shot is a random event independent of anything else. Can anyone else confirm this?

 

[Gen]

Originally posted by MajorFallout


I find that arty will miss or hit depending on 2 factors:
1) Position of arty to the target. If you position your artillery on a hill or on a mountain (recommended) near the target, and the unit/city is on a plain, then you will have a much better hitting rate.
2) Distance from target. The further away you are from the target, the more chances that it'll miss. So try to be either one square away, especially when the target is in a mountainous/hilly region.

Sorry, but both statements are false. In fact, it's often better to position artillery further from target and have them safier from counterattacks. When attacking enemy city, if it's culture expanded only once, it's sometimes possible to move artillery and fire in the same turn which greatly speeds up offensive. It depends on geography, existence of roads and enemy culture though.

 

[West German]

I find artillery to have a 75% accuracy rating.

 

[one_man_assault]

I dont use artillery as much as I use Air Power air power can do some damage especially late modern age when u have stealth technology. I have more bombard units in my army then I do tanks. The key is massing them in concentrated areas. Bombard a city with 30 planes and 10 artillery all the enemys have 1 bar of health left. Use MAs to kill them all and repeat its really harder than it sounds cause you have to constantly bombard and sweep. I wrote an article in the stratagy section articles check it out for more in depth explanation

 

[MajorFallout]

Originally posted by Gen

Sorry, but both statements are false. In fact, it's often better to position artillery further from target and have them safier from counterattacks. When attacking enemy city, if it's culture expanded only once, it's sometimes possible to move artillery and fire in the same turn which greatly speeds up offensive. It depends on geography, existence of roads and enemy culture though.

It works for me.

In my experience (Regent, and to a limited degree, Monarch levels), those statements are on average, correct. I suppose it depends on a few other factors as well (such as luck), which I haven't figured out yet.

 

[cwood]

yes i bombard everychance that i get. i go had tons (15) ship that made the good things that i wanted it to but caused colliteral damage. this is when i discover that even when your bombarin g the shells still weaken the city. see you may not be hurting the soldiers but at the same time your hurting the citizens and their small wonders. such as graneries, barrack(you want to hit because it repairs the units in 1 turn) and other valuable resouces that the city may have built. all i have to say is keep on pounding and you do fine. and move as much units as you can around the city. and attack after you been bambing them for at least 4 turns then attack.

 

[eriador]

I use it, but it tends to be hit or miss (sorry no puns intended) in the effectiveness for me. I guess in the long run it averages out to be whatever the odds are for hitting with Arty, but sometimes I feel like others in that I want to hit the screen when my 40 arty hits a city and not a single thing is hit.

I did try another tactic before I got to arty in a recent game. I pillaged and fortified units in all 20 workable squares around the capital of the civ I was at war with. I had knights and the AI was close to getting them, and the capital had a 12 pop so I didn't want to attack until I could knock down the pop. So I waited for the city to starve down, due to my fortified units, to below 6 and then attacked. Tee Hee

 

[globester]

I actually find the part that normal bombers aren't that accurate.
Best example is ww2, where they had to use area-bombing to be effective.

As for stealth bombers(and other jet planes in that case), example of them not being all that effective is 2nd gulf war. Every1 believe(s/d) that the bombings were very accurate. Only 7% of the bombs and missiles etc hit their targets.

And a few years later, the chinese embassy in the kosovo war. And the bus that was hit.
And now the market in Baghdad that was hit.

All by all, the ranged weapons aren't as accurate as every1 thinks they are.

 

[widdowmaker]

300 artilery covered by 50 "defensive" units is unbeatable. Turn animation off and spend 4 hours clicking a town with arty... Then drop one unit on and it is yours. JUST MAKE SURE YOU DONT SHELL A FREAKING WONDER!

 

[MajorFallout]

Originally posted by widdowmaker
300 artilery covered by 50 "defensive" units is unbeatable. Turn animation off and spend 4 hours clicking a town with arty... Then drop one unit on and it is yours. JUST MAKE SURE YOU DONT SHELL A FREAKING WONDER!

You mean, "PRAY, that you don't hit a wonder!"

Talking of which, when you capture a city, can you also take the city's improvements and Great Wonders intact as well. Cos often, whenever I've taken a city by force, without the help of arty, on occasion, alot of the improvements seem to have been sold off or destroyed before I move in. Is this normal?

 

[Gen]

Yes, it's normal, with couple exceptions:
- great wonders, aqueducts and hospitals are indestructible,
- all other culture-producing improvements and small wonders are always destroyed no matter what.

 

[Greyhawk1]

After finishing my last game which was almost constant war from the start (on Warlord ) I came away with the following impression:

Bombers are totally useless. They get 'Bombing Run Failed' about 75% of the time and when they succeed they never manage to get any units, just population.

Jet Fighters are simply unable to bomb anything. In the entire game I never once managed a bombing run with a Jet Fighter.

Artillery are OK to an extent. They generally hit quite often but very rarely damage units inside cities unless you have a stack larger than the enemies' entire army.

Catapult, Cannon and Hawtch'a are useless, they miss a good 75-80% of the time and dont do enough damage.

Helicopters are completely useless.

 

[TrailblazingScot]

Originally posted by Greyhawk1
I recently had a war which involved heavy use of Artillery and Offshore Bombardments. Unfortunately I got the above message so often I really had to question the use of this equipment at all.

Trying to be objective here - here's the Equipment I used:

Offshore Bombardments

Frigate - 95% bombard failed.
Ironclad - 75-80% bombard failed.
Destroyer - 100% bombard failed.

Artillery

H'wacha - 70-75% bombard failed.
Artillery - 50-55% bombard failed. 90% missing occupying units and damaging structures, population.

They were almost totally useless for knocking down defenders.

I remember my stack of 14 mixed Ironclads/Frigates bombarding for 2 solid turns and only getting a single successful hit

Artillery/bombards are useless unless they are in a huge huge stack it seems.

When I get "Man of War" for the English I have no problems stripping improvements on the coast and pulverising coastal cities. Alot of bombard may fail, but they are a free shot in my book and certaintly as regarding ships prior to aircraft it is almost consequence free if you've invested heavily in the navy as you can easily defeat enemy ships if you outnumber them. Bombard their ships and then sink it in direct battle!

 

[sorky]

If all the 20 artillery shoot well...the city is yours ;p

Anyway there's other use i made with them. When i want to save my reputation and, unfortunaly, a war is coming, I kill the first wave AI throw in your face and then invade territory without killing anything
I follow the coast (3-4 transports are near for rescue the red hp) and destroy ALL improvement until peace is signed ^^

I make 3-4 stack of 3 def unit+ 1 artillery and burn the ground around max coastal cities and some big "land" city (capital is good too ^^)

If i have enough troops to defend my territory, i do the same on the other side of the continent... it really stunt the AI, even more than nuke and rep hit is very limited.
In term of shield/food/commerce the AI return in middle age... with starved city everywhere (no road=no commerce= no luxuries... poor AI )

 

[sorky]

oops forget this: artillery are just here to shoot near down incoming defender...to have less kill on my head ;à)