Bombers not working for me..

[Zatarra]

In several games i have achieved air power and wish to use it against my enemies, so i create bombers but no manner of any actions i can will convince the unit to bomb my enemy city or men. What am I doing wrong? I have no issues with moving/attacking with any other units, is there some requirement to be met first?

 

[PraetorianSteve]

Are you at war with the intended target?

 

[Sisiutil]

Also, is the bomber within range of the target? You have to either relocate the bomber to a city (your own or allied--I recommend your own) within 8 tiles of the target (12 for stealth bombers). You can see what's in range when the bomber is active--all the tiles in range have additional curved lines at their corners. (See below)

You also have to select the correct command at the bottom of the screen when the bomber is active. Unlike other units, you can't just select an air unit and click on the target. Either select "Air Bomb Mode" (3rd button from right) to bomb a tile improvement or a city's defense bonus, or "Air Strike Mode" (2nd button from right) to bomb units. (Again, see below, where "Air Strike Mode" is highlighted.)

 

[Zatarra]

Ohh! okay so range was the issue, thanks so much for clearing that up, lol. Im not usually that dense, im so embarassed!

Zatarra

p.s. just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not really after you!

 

[Fire.Soul]

Question: I've never EVER used air units. Just how important are they? I avoid wars on the most advanced phase of the game (I don't go for conquest/domination, so this part of the game is spent optimising for the condition I aim at that time). Could someone point out the importance of air units?

 

[Sisiutil]

Question: I've never EVER used air units. Just how important are they? I avoid wars on the most advanced phase of the game (I don't go for conquest/domination, so this part of the game is spent optimising for the condition I aim at that time). Could someone point out the importance of air units?

Their main advantage, in my opinion, is that they have an excellent synergy with the best modern ground unit, the Tank. The reason is simple: Tanks have 2 movement points, Artillery has 1. Artillery just can't keep up with a rapid Tank advance, but you still need to peel away cities' cultural defenses and do collateral damage to the defenders.

Solution: Bombers (and with coastal cities, Destroyers and Battleships). Relocate the Bombers to a city that's within range of the target. The Bombers can fly in and remove the city's defenses and damage the defenders in advance of the Tanks' arrival. Rinse and repeat.

As for Fighters, I mainly use them as decoys, to draw SAM fire and damage so my Bombers, hopefully, remain unharmed.

I still get use out of Artillery--I combine them with Marines for amphibious landings a la Syrian Doctrine.

 

[Stolen Rutters]

Question: I've never EVER used air units. Just how important are they? I avoid wars on the most advanced phase of the game (I don't go for conquest/domination, so this part of the game is spent optimising for the condition I aim at that time). Could someone point out the importance of air units?

I use them for:
1. artillery at a distance (you can wipe out cultural defense and pre-damage
2. bombing strategic resources to deny the enemy that resource... For example, try bombing their only oil or aluminum resource to the ground in the first turn of the war (assuming you can reach it of course), and they will have issues replacing any advanced units they have. It might take a few turns to get units parked on that square, so you may have to bomb the square a couple times to their keep production knocked out.

 

[Rathelon]

Fighters are best used for attacking enemy navies or as interceptors. I rarely use them to attack cities or land units/improvements because it's much better to keep them in reserve (flying a cap over a city), so they can intercept any enemy fighters or bombers that try to attack your units. They're also useful for recon to find targets for your bombers, if you're not especially worried about being bombed that turn.

 

[The Engineer]

Question: I've never EVER used air units. Just how important are they? I avoid wars on the most advanced phase of the game (I don't go for conquest/domination, so this part of the game is spent optimising for the condition I aim at that time). Could someone point out the importance of air units?

I would usually just bomb enemy units garrisoned in enemy cities and spray them with my tanks. It's so effective that I would'nt even need to destroy the city's defenses.

 

[cabert]

also notice that air units are great to weaken enemy stacks coming for you.
I don't like how in warlords siege unit don't take colateral damage, but with enough fighters, you can still do a great deal of damage to those guys.

Basic use :
- against a city, fighters first to take the hits and in some way fight back the defending fighters, then bombers until 0% defense and max HP reduction
- against a stack, bombers first until no more colateral damages, then fighters, then more bombers if available until max HP reduction

A stack of half strength tanks isn't as scary as a stack of full strength tanks.
One blitz copter kills 4 of those

 

[Crighton]

Something to note though:

The Bomber almost always gets through the Air Intercept option is so unrealistic as to be almost negligable, a small stack of ten bombers or so is ridiculously usefull.

 

[Sisiutil]

Something to note though:

The Bomber almost always gets through the Air Intercept option is so unrealistic as to be almost negligable, a small stack of ten bombers or so is ridiculously usefull.

Hmmm... considering the short life expectancy of the Lancaster bomber crews during WWII, you have a good point there.