Best promotion path for CKN's

[Dwisetiger]

So I'm playing China while moving to marathon. I might stay there, not sure. Anyway Cho's are great like a lot of unique units on marathon I'm sure. There are a lot of options for promos. I find myself giving most cover and up the combat line. A few get shock and I use some for defense so they get CG. I can't decide if I want to go up the drill line. I know combat is better but since I start with drill I it only takes 3 promos to get to drill IV. With barracks, and later vasselage, they get 3 promos pretty fast. Also, I have trouble deciding after CG 3. I either go for shock or combat or drill, not sure whats best there. Since they end up defending against several attacks in one turn, often from mounted units, I've been going drill so that they take less damage. I love the CKN unit so I'd like to learn to use them as best I can. And it seams everyone hates everyone elso on marathon so I'm warring constantly, usually against multiple civs.

Comments?

Also, it's pretty incredible watching a group of swordsman try and take down 2-3 CKN with CG III.

 

[Gumbolt]

Drill them to 6-8 first strikes!!! You will want some with formation to fight off Horse Archers.

CKN are just so over powerful. Beeline machinery/ Iron working and archery and start pumping them out. Its worth using oracle for MC and then using mids and forge to get a Great engineer. Then chop like crazy.

The strategy will die a death if you dont have iron and if the first great person is a GP not a GE. City with a forge and or mids works well.

I did this on a forum game to test a theory and they were over powering even against a protective leader. Horse archers were my only problem. You can use catapults to weaken cultural defences but you probably wont need them. You do need to do this before longbowmen arrive but that shouldnt stop them.

 

[Gumbolt]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=299596

This thread is good for CKN. It was one of my best winning scores on civ4 BTS.

 

[Dwisetiger]

Yeah the oracle MC and GE bulb Mach is not hard to pull off. However, I did not build mids in my GE city. I will think about that next time. I am playing mao though this time on Emporor, not Qin. I love the CKN because it owns the field for so long. I would think that cover then drill would be best and not just drill since I'm attacking mostly bows. Or maybe just some with cover first. The only real problem I have with CKN is against war elephants.

 

[Antilogic]

That's why you tack a few pikes into the stack (or spearmen if you aren't there yet). Problem solved.

 

[Gumbolt]

Yeah the oracle MC and GE bulb Mach is not hard to pull off. However, I did not build mids in my GE city. I will think about that next time. I am playing mao though this time on Emporor, not Qin. I love the CKN because it owns the field for so long. I would think that cover then drill would be best and not just drill since I'm attacking mostly bows. Or maybe just some with cover first. The only real problem I have with CKN is against war elephants.

formation and drill against war elephants. To be fair HA are more the problem as they are immune to first strike where elephants are not. if you beeline engineering the trebs and pikes will take out any elephant.

I have yet tried this strategy on Emperor. I am thinking it would still work on epic speed.

 

[troytheface]

Drill is the superior.

since natural counters and ignore first strikers are best handled by anything else, optimize the inherent rather than bolstering a weakness.