Building the Army

[dodgy_007au]

Hey guys,
i know that upgrades are cheaper than rush building but which of the following is more economical:
1) Amass heaps of wealth over time then rush build lots of units to quickly build the army in a few turns, or
2) build early units every turn slowly over time, then upgrade all at once prior to invading / atacking an enemy?

I generally prefer to wage war late in the game, using a large amount of different units, rather than early on with a bunch of archers etc...

Thoughts????

 

[gmaharriet]

i know that upgrades are cheaper than rush building but which of the following is more economical:
1) Amass heaps of wealth over time then rush build lots of units to quickly build the army in a few turns, or
2) build early units every turn slowly over time, then upgrade all at once prior to invading / atacking an enemy?

I generally prefer to wage war late in the game, using a large amount of different units, rather than early on with a bunch of archers etc...

It might be less expensive to build zero military until 2000 AD and then rush some units, but "economical" isn't the point. If you have no military, the AI will see you as weak and will attack you early and often. You'd be wiped out before getting to the late game. This problem only gets worse as the difficulty level increases.

 

[MAS]

If you plan to attack, then work towards that attack ahead of time. If you don't plan to attack, then don't invest (shields) in units. (but do build at least some units to keep the AI at bay)

The most economical is to build units with shields.
The idea behind rushing/upgrading is that you will invest both shields and commerce into units, this is done at times when rapid conquest is more important than research.

Once you decide to invest commerce into production, you can chose between rushing or upgrading, and upgrading is the cheaper of the two.

 

[timerover51]

I go with building a small but steady stream of units early, and keep upgrading, as I always have the gold to do it with, but no matter how many shields your city is producing, you only get one unit per city per turn. Against that, you can upgrade as many units as you have money. As the game progresses, most of the early units turn into either cavalry or infantry anyway, simplifying your unit mix. As I like water maps, I always build up a good navy. That generally keeps the AI of of me early.

 

[geishapunk]

You have to build military early in the game. If you don´t do it, the AI will make you do it by declaring war on you!

How many and what kind of units depends on the game you play. What is your posisition, what are your goals, which kind of victory you are achiving.

I mostly build Fast-Attack-And-Response-Forces, which means that i rely on horses early in the game. I do not have much defensive units, because if someone declares war on me i try to bring war to him and second in my opinion "Speed kills".

In early times having a Army with 4 Cavs in it is a killer to anything the AI can have for a long time!

 

[Jokeslayer]

I mostly build Fast-Attack-And-Response-Forces, which means that i rely on horses early in the game. I do not have much defensive units, because if someone declares war on me i try to bring war to him and second in my opinion "Speed kills".

This is similar to what I do. I'd take horses over iron any day (at least up to railways) and building lots of defensive units is bad even if you don't want to attack because the AI gives more respect to offensive units. Also, artillery types are an absolute must against strong enemies.

For the early game, the Statue of Zeus can make a formidable military all by itself (in my experience, this works up to Monarch). You won't be able to steamroller them with just a handful of ancient cavs, but anyone trying to come after you will be sorry.

 

[darski]

I like to have warrior code early in the game and build archers instead of spears generally. I have the horrible habit of building wayyyyy tooooo mannnnny units but I wuss out on declaring war.

I keep a strong military presence at all times as I am always expecting an attack. I do tend to try for Leos and I do a giant upgrade at one time... if money permits. I like to scare the AI with my Rifleman against their spear.

 

[Snarkhunter]

I like to have warrior code early in the game and build archers instead of spears generally. I have the horrible habit of building wayyyyy tooooo mannnnny units but I wuss out on declaring war.

I keep a strong military presence at all times as I am always expecting an attack. I do tend to try for Leos and I do a giant upgrade at one time... if money permits. I like to scare the AI with my Rifleman against their spear.

To make use of all those units, try an AW variant?

Leo's is just about the only wonder I bother with these days, unless the game lasts long enough to get ToE (but then, I've started experimenting with chasing Mot Trans, instead of Hoovers, if I get ToE, on the grounds that I'm not going to get very many factories in any case & it's cheaper to build a few coal plants, if needed). But I virtually never fool around with riflemensch: don't want to do the optional tech & infantry are so much more satisfying to work with. . . especially if you think you can scare the AI

At this phase of the game, my usual army mix is a lot of cav/cav armies, a stack of cannon for each target, & 2-3 defenders for each stack: 1 to cover the cannon that have fired, 1 to hold the target just taken, & maybe 1 to accompany the half-stack moving up. It's only a rough guide, but it's where I aim, plus I'm usually upgrading remnant MI & such like, which gives me more defenders. but infantry work just as well, as attackers, so I don't mind. Sometimes, if I've got a spare leader & I need a Hammer, I'll make an infantry army: gives 'em a little more mobility & makes it very difficult for the AI to take anything they set foot on.

kk

 

[dodgy_007au]

some interesting ideas there guys - thanx.
i think i will have a bash at a few of them.... watch this space....

 

[darski]

I thought that you had to have Nationalism to be able to form MPP's. Is it only necessary that someone have discovered it?

 

[Lord Emsworth]

I thought that you had to have Nationalism to be able to form MPP's. Is it only necessary that someone have discovered it?

It is enough if your partner has it.