Best Use of Forts?

[White Fox]

The only way I normaly use forts is when invading and island nation with many workers. I move the workers to the unloading point for my units and have them build a fort. It helps protect the captured workers untill I can ship them to my civ and keeps the unloading point clear.

 

[metamike]

Yeah, I'd say forts "could" be built in between when you finish roading/cutting all forests{and jungles}/all mines and irrigation, so basically, all tiles are worked, BUT, you haven't reached railroads yet. I have this period usually for about 8-12 turns (in the several games that I did it), and during those turns I fort with my horde of workers every strategic resource I have, every luxury, and every choke point, and THEN, with any spare workers, I fort hills/mountains on the border of my territory.

 

[White Fox]

Only 8-12 turns Mabey you should build more workers.

 

[DBear]

Agree with most of the other posters, use them only on chokepoints.

 

[Zardnaar]

I use them usually when I have nothing better to do. I also build them on borders when I think the AI will attack. Once I built one on a continent I couldn't conquer as I ran out of offensive units and put 4 Infantry in them. The AI when it attacked suicided alot of units into it to clear it out- killed around 40-50 AI units and I shipped in extra units and recaptured ot easily enough. That 1 fort wrecked the AI but I wasn't really interested in destroying the AI as I was busy with a 2 front war back on the home continent damn Greeks and Mongols. I had to hold off an entire Indian empire with around 20 units fortified in 3 cities with minimal reinforcements. Pride can be a strange thing- know when to cut your loses the war weariness was killing me at the end after 20+ turns of war in a Democracy.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I find forts useful in certain situations. For example, if I had a city or two on the coast of one continent, but did not desire further offensive wars there as I had buisness elsewhere, then i would set up a fort line, usually every other square or so, or wheverever appicable, and put a musketman or pikeman or something in each one, again depending on what I can afford or what I predict I will need.

 

[Roxlimn]

Forts can be employed usefully to create chokepoints where there are none. For example, I once was forced to declare peace against Babylon - a strong cultural, technological, and military power. The AI was significantly ahead, and we shared a border stretching from one end of an egg-shaped continent to the other. It was like the continent was cut in half between us, with me as the lesser power.

To help secure my borders, I built a line of forts all across the field. Not only do the forts defend my units when they're in them, the barricades also force attacking units to stop for a turn, ensuring no scary bliztkrieg-like tactics. Of course, you can't really build a line of continuous forts. I had to settle for pillaging the railroads in between the forts, and then securing the rest with Infantry.

This allowed me to hold off their attacks on one end of the continent with a relatively small force, while I attacked with advantage on the other end. Then, using railroads, play switcheroo.

Whenever I acquire Knights Templar, I use the Templars to build forts at the most advantageous locations - usually at the borders of belligerent neighbors I don't currently have the time nor the inclination to attack.

 

[Corwin of Amber]

Forts can be employed usefully to create chokepoints where there are none. For example, I once was forced to declare peace against Babylon - a strong cultural, technological, and military power. The AI was significantly ahead, and we shared a border stretching from one end of an egg-shaped continent to the other. It was like the continent was cut in half between us, with me as the lesser power.

To help secure my borders, I built a line of forts all across the field. Not only do the forts defend my units when they're in them, the barricades also force attacking units to stop for a turn, ensuring no scary bliztkrieg-like tactics. Of course, you can't really build a line of continuous forts. I had to settle for pillaging the railroads in between the forts, and then securing the rest with Infantry.

This allowed me to hold off their attacks on one end of the continent with a relatively small force, while I attacked with advantage on the other end. Then, using railroads, play switcheroo.

Yeah this is a great kind of thing to use barricades for. I find them to be really good to have against CAV. I have had one border recently just about 8 tiles wide and my towns there have just one tile between them and the border. I'm China, so I want to be able to use Riders (Yes I'm behind in tech) against them. This way they run into the barricades and I can hit them with trebs and then riders, then run back into my cities to recover full health.

I just make one stack of workers that can build a fort/barricade combo in one turn. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

 

[JFJ]

Build forts on checkpoints where you cant build a city, like mointains. Stick in a small defense and mavbe some arrtillery and the AI will kill themselves in a futile attempt to get to your territory.

 

[Raveren]

</lurk>

Someone mentioned that the AI can take the defensive advantage of a fort despite it being in your cultural borders, is that true?

Also what I hate about them is that if i build a fort/barricade on a worked tile, it overlays the present mine/irrigation and it's hard to tell which one if any is there..

Finally, I wish there was an advanced action command 'Automate: Build forts'..

 

[MAS]

</lurk>

Welcome to CivFanatics!

Someone mentioned that the AI can take the defensive advantage of a fort despite it being in your cultural borders, is that true?

Yes, they just add to the natural terrain defensive bonus. Enemy units also get the defensive bonus from standing on top of mountains.

Nothing as frustrating as an enemy taking your newly build but undefended fort, and you being unable to attack it. (guilty as charged )

Also what I hate about them is that if i build a fort/barricade on a worked tile, it overlays the present mine/irrigation and it's hard to tell which one if any is there..

Be happy that these terrain improvements can overlap at all. I remember a time where building a fort removed the mine/irrigation. (was that civ2? or some earlier version of civ3? I don't remember)

Finally, I wish there was an advanced action command 'Automate: Build forts'..

And what good would that do? The automated workers make very bad decisions as it is, "Automate: Build forts" would do even worse because the AI doesn't know what your plans are. (did you plan to advance your front-line now or over 20 turns? )

Such a thing would only function at all in combination with a completely automated civ. But maybe SimCity is more the game for you then.

 

[MAS]

I just have this great idea:

I got this idea from the watchtowers in AoE.

What if forts acted like immobile artillary units, with the bombart strength/rate of your best artillary tech (upgrades with catapult/cannon/artillary etc) and have the range of its line of sight. So its bombard range is 2 on top of a hill/mountain, and 2 over water when build on a coast. (but 1 on flat land)

I'm not talking about the crappy ZoC, I'm talking real bombard, as a normal artillary unit would.
Exept that forts are build by worker turns and not city shields, they also don't cost upkeep like a normal artillary unit would.

This would make forts more usefull, a couple of well placed forts could help protect importand sea-arms, or strokes of land between hills/mountains, just like forts where used in RL history.

I'm not sure if this can be modded into the game though. But the idea would be good.

 

[Raveren]

Thanx for the welcome

I always automate my workers whenever I am happy with the size, improvements and the road coverage of my empire. I of course use the 'Automate:No altering' function and they happily clear all wetland, lay down roads/rails and clean pollution. It's only reasonable that they would build forts all over the territory too instead of loitering when there's nothing left to do..

 

[Raveren]

I am very sorry for the short posts but I'm browsing through my phone now and that's the symbol limit :/

It is possible to create such a unit(no movent,no support cost,bombard only)with civedit,but it could not grant defensive bonuses,nor could it be built by workers as an improvement AFAIK. That would require scripting and civ3 moders are left without this powerful tool, sadly

 

[MAS]

Thanx for the welcome
It's only reasonable that they would build forts all over the territory too instead of loitering when there's nothing left to do..

Not if you considder the best defensive army is made of fast attackers (horseman, knights, cav's)

These units can move 6 to 9 tiles over your own road-network. Hostile invaders can move only 1 or 2 tiles. A handfull of them can defend a wide area. The key is to attack invading units on your turn, rather than wait till they attack your defensive units on their turn.

Becouse I almost never use my units def rating, improving def bonus is a waste of worker turns, what is worse: it becomes harder to attack the enemy when they move in one of the empty fortresses.

 

[Raveren]

Yes that is a perfectly valid point. I was still assuming the enemy wasn't using your fortresses to their advantage.

And I do use defensive units as I'm still quite new to the higher dificulty levels,I hardly ever manage to build a grand enough attacking force to leave much for defence AND I never tried tight city placement yet,so sedatory(sp?) def units+a couple of fast att units is optimal.

 

[WackenOpenAir]

Yes that is a perfectly valid point. I was still assuming the enemy wasn't using your fortresses to their advantage.

And I do use defensive units as I'm still quite new to the higher dificulty levels,I hardly ever manage to build a grand enough attacking force to leave much for defence AND I never tried tight city placement yet,so sedatory(sp?) def units+a couple of fast att units is optimal.

I normally don't leave anything behind either. If you have a coastal border, you don't need to fear serious invasions there. Numbers the AI drops on the coast are so small you can normally take them down by just the units that are produced that turn or you may want to rushbuild some extra units.

If you border 2 enemies, I will try to ally one against the other so that they won't backstab me.

Only if you border more enemies than you can ally, you will need to leave defences home. The AI's on the other side of the world are no real risk. The AI you are attacking won't be moving his units around a lot (yeah maybe a boat with 2 old archers) mostly he will be just fighting your units on his own territory.

 

[Kiowa]

I normally don't leave anything behind either. If you have a coastal border, you don't need to fear serious invasions there. Numbers the AI drops on the coast are so small you can normally take them down by just the units that are produced that turn or you may want to rushbuild some extra units.

If you border 2 enemies, I will try to ally one against the other so that they won't backstab me.

Only if you border more enemies than you can ally, you will need to leave defences home. The AI's on the other side of the world are no real risk. The AI you are attacking won't be moving his units around a lot (yeah maybe a boat with 2 old archers) mostly he will be just fighting your units on his own territory.

Current game has me sitting smack dab in the middle of the world, with five bordering AIs and being attacked from three sides while my attacking army is on the other side of the world. So I've limited road access to my lands, built a few key forts, place a few riflemen and a calvary in each fort, and then just pick off the AIs as they come. The coast is defended by several calvary who go up and down the coast waiting to be fed. Rest of the army is away at war.

 

[Elite]

I useally make Fortresses when I am in European style maps, never make fortresses around the Western front(the 'powers' there are pushovers) I make my walls border Russia(Russia is simply to large to invade in beginning) and a prolonged war would be wasteful, so I useally wait for the Modern ages to come on before I invade Russia, I decided I'd wait until I can "waste" Russia.