Camel Archers & Reaction Gameplay

[Juxe]

Me and some friends were playing some friendly civ V multiplayer with G&K and one of my friend went with arabia. Eventually he got to the point where he had 6 camel archers which moved into my territory, pillaged/shot a unit, and then ran out. Since it was a multiplayer game he did this entirely before I had a chance to react with archers. He attacked preemptively with mainly these camel archers, and I had around 5 swordsmen, and 2-3 composite archers. I couldn't react at all because I couldn't tell which tile he was going to move onto, which unit he was going to attack with, and if it was in range of my archers.

Is there any remedy to fix this simultaneous combat mechanic? Or a way for me to have dealt with his camel archers?

 

[EEE_BOY]

I got a similar question when someone mentioned in MP, clever players can counter Mongol Kekish effectively, and I wonder how?

 

[Tabarnak]

It's a clickfest. Move units very fast and prepare to hit in only 1 or 2 secs with a all your units. It's a question of speed. You need some experience to counter these fast attacks. Use ctrl-shift to make double-moves.

 

[DaveMcW]

I had around 5 swordsmen, and 2-3 composite archers.

You lost because he out-teched you, the counter to camels/keshiks is knights.

 

[Tabarnak]

You lost because he out-teched you, the counter to camels/keshiks is knights.

yeah but he said he couldn't react at all. But even if he could...he needed stronger units that's right.

 

[Silverfuturist]

Camel archers are tough! I will definitely try Arabia soon in GK.

Some suggestions:

Great Wall will slow them down.

Place your cities (if possible) in places where terrain prevents them from move-attacking your cities. Like a city placed just right with river, hills, woods, etc.

Roads in front of your city, where mounted units can move, hit them and retreat (but again it is a crazy clickfest so the horses might end up getting stuck)

 

[N0QUITTERSULTAN]

Camel archers are tough! I will definitely try Arabia soon in GK.

Some suggestions:

Great Wall will slow them down.

Place your cities (if possible) in places where terrain prevents them from move-attacking your cities. Like a city placed just right with river, hills, woods, etc.

Roads in front of your city, where mounted units can move, hit them and retreat (but again it is a crazy clickfest so the horses might end up getting stuck)

Nice sugestions.. Knights and that you press him with all your units. -get around him and trap his soldiers. And the roads are most important thing when you DEFENSE/ATTACK.

 

[Juxe]

How many knights would it have taken to be feasible? I thought about it and if I had built knights I'd imagine that he'd have peppered my knights with camel archers as soon as I sent them in. I was talking to him afterwards and he said he scouted my borders and went with the camel archer strategy because I had no excess of mounted units. If I did, he'd have built a brute-force style approach. On that note, should I put my military on the edge of my borders or deep inside to hide them?

 

[Silverfuturist]

Just finished a game playing Arabia. Incas went OCC, rushed great wall, then ambushed me. With Inca fast movement over hills, he took an outer city (I make 1 city per lux, try to get 6-7 cities in) before I could get my full army over and then we had a stalemate, as I could not make any fast units to take his cities! Somehow the horseman becomes obsolete quickly, and my camels would take the city to zero, my 1 move per turn melee units would not make it to the city walls before dying - he focused all of his attacks on slow units and ignored the camels. But he could not press further, my camels-free-of-great-wall defended well.

He then made a blocker city, and the stalemate was complete.

Before I got to lancers, Inca were attacked from behind and he quit. The lowest score players quit, the other guy left, and I was alone so I left. But that was ok, the purpose was to test camels, I learned what I needed.

CONCLUSION: without a fast unit, Arabia fails to great wall.

 

[Onan]

I would imagine this problem would be even worse in a non-simultaneous turn game / a GMR game. With any ranged unit that can move after attacking (camel archer, keshik, promoted SoL) you could move, pick off units, and retreat out of range. The next player would load up the save and wonder where his units went!

 

[Silverfuturist]

I would imagine this problem would be even worse in a non-simultaneous turn game / a GMR game. With any ranged unit that can move after attacking (camel archer, keshik, promoted SoL) you could move, pick off units, and retreat out of range. The next player would load up the save and wonder where his units went!

Great point! Does this already happen with current GMR/simul move games in regard to mounted units? When it comes to a road network around your capital and lancers, does the attacker find that when they send units into enemy territory that suddenly they are all dead? I imagine this would make the defender bias even stronger, and the great wall almost unbeatable? I bet navy battles are harsh, somebody with England/Great Lighthouse/ Commerce would simply kill all other ships with increased movement and visibility?

 

[Onan]

I've seen OP England take out the world in an at least four player MP game--simultaneous moves. It would probably be just as bad , if not worse in turn based play.

As for invading in GMR games, I think if you bring enough support/forces, you'll be okay. But if you walk into a trap of any kind or underestimate your opponent's strength, you will get murdered. And yes, GW is very strong as usual.