Does anyone build Forts?

so is the C's Cottages and F the forts, or am i missing something?

 

That's pretty much it. Even when your cities have a fully used ring and aren't separated by any extra spaces, most of the time you'll have a "corner" (NE, SE, NW, SW) slot that's open between two cities (unless you're OCD and fit everything together like a jigsaw puzzle). You never prioritize forts over arable/useful land, but when it comes up, it doesn't cost you anything, and along your war-borders they're a great city defense-booster.

 

In my example, the Fs are forts, the Cs are cities, the fort's bonus is shared by more than one city - once the fort upgrades and assuming the fort's defensive bonus at a distance actually works as advertised - one might build one fort as a central hub radiating out to a wheel of cities (though it's not often that cities are particularly in a circle; but the point is to place the fort where it does double duty).

While an ancient forest fort or hill fort makes defending the fort itself easier, I usually see the AI going around forts and heading for the cities anyway. The AI can no longer be counted on suicidally assaulting our castles, though they still have no problem dying at our city walls. If I can find a useful chokepoint on the pangaea maps I play, I'll use a fort but that's a secondary function too.

I don't want to give the impression I'm building many of them though. Maybe 1 fort for every two or three cities. I might build more if I knew for sure they provided the bonus to any units outside the fort itself. Again, it's not a crucial thing, imo, and the forts are free, usually on unused tiles, and it building 'em stimulates the economy.

 

I sometimes build those things to guard my borders... and I noticed that one can create artificial chokes by scorching plains and letting hell spread on it. The flames on the burning sands are inaccessible, though I've seen the AI going through it, so I'm not sure on that point.

 

I see no point in forts. I'll either attack or defend in cities. If there is no chokepoint, there's no reason to build a single fort, and building a Maginot line is stupid IRL and a waste of units to man them in te game. Chokepoints I can better defend with a city or attack from rather than entrench.

 

initially the culture is only on the base tile, but after a while it gets a 1 tile ring around it

 

Dude, forts are great. If there is an opportunity and the land is right (say a bunch of desert tiles across the middle of a continent).

I use them all the time in order to build "panama canals" so that my ships can get across a continent via a shortcut of forts. It's great.

 

Im building them always too, though tend to build them rather late, when the workers have nothing else to do.

 

That doesn't work in FFH2. Naval units cannot enter fortifications.

 

I've thought of a way to use forts though I've never actually gotten around to trying it. Put the forts two spaces away from each other (at the edge of your borders) so that any passing stacks of enemies have to pass under its walls, an archer or and some aggressive units to sally forth, could get hits in per unit if done right

 

I will have to disagree. A fully grown fort provides a huge amount of defence without having to bog down your economy with a new city worth of maintenance.
A choke point is esentialy going to be the worst place to found a city due to the many moutains that they usualy contain. (water tiles don't count as they can be bypased navaly)
In regular FFH, building a Maginot line is stupid and pointles. On the other hand in FF, building a small (2-5 tiles in a row) Maginot line is an excelent defensive strategy. Put some roads under them and man each fort with 2-3 archers and some mele troops. The archers bombard the enemy forces making a killing field and the mele troops can walk out and masacre the enemy.

 

I love using forts at choke points with a moderate infantry/archer garrison. It is also wise to chop down forests and jungles surrounding them so the enemy doesn't gain any of their own defense benefits.

Using forts and defenses wisely can allow a smaller and weaker nation to defend against a larger and stronger army.

 

I'll use forts if one or two help complete the natural moat of a river around a city. Problem is you have to man them sufficiently and the support costs.

They're also great at choke points since you can lower the overall number of city garrison troops by having a fortified and un-bypassable choke point.

I'll post citadels in no-mans land as an early alert for borders I don't want to expand to, or for the healing.

 

Are units healing faster in Forts?
Can you bombard the denfence of a fort?

 

healing: yes + adj. fields
bombard: no

And that is reason, why I build them quite often in my borders ... (and giving there some units)

 

We've had similar discussions about forts in the past. I wish they would get rid of them completely or take them away from workers at least. The AI doesn't know how to use them and I don't want my automated workers building them all over the place. They could be built using another mechanic or special unit ability.

 

to me, that would be a reason why not to build forts. I only see a point in building them if they block a critical route. Otherwise, the AI will never attack you, so they are pointless, unless the enemy happens to have control of a fort and you are trying to kill them.

edit: I put never, but i usually automate my workers (I hate micromanagement), and they build forts (often on perfectly good but not defensive tiles) lake they expect an invasion. w/e. I don't garrison them, and no enemy can get past my armies to use them against me.

 

I love the AI elves building forts. +100% defence and increased healing? Yes please.

 

I build a lot of forts...

in most of my unsused tiles, between the Fat crosses to boost defense in my cities with the distance bonus.

or at the borders of my territory : to stacks units on it and thus help boost my mages defense (I hate having too many units in my cities)
(I suppose its even more fun when you have nox nixis ... your units are invisible on a super High defense position the AI should target as a way-through. normally the Ai units should crash on your citadelle, not seeing your units ) well I hope it works.

Its cool for the looks and it makes works for stupid workers.

BUt granted... I use them mostly for role playing and not really for strategical reasons.
If they could snatch ressources or allow ranged units to fire at passing ennemy units they would be more strategic.

 

That's not how it works. Enemies won't accidentally attack hidden units on forts. If you have Nox Noctis and you don't Reveal the units on your forts then your enemies will walk right through them.