Does anyone use chariots and horsemen?

[felagund]

I find swordsman to be much more cost effective if you have iron. And hordes of warriors do the trick if I don't have iron. The only reason I can see to use chariots/horseman is if you plan on building up your forces and upgrading to knights/cavalry...

 

[blindside]

If I'm playing on a large map I'll go with chariots/horsemen. Plus they have a better upgrade path and eventually lead to cavalry.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Yes, I use horsies all the time. Swords sometimes take too bloody long to reach the front. Chariots, however...what's the point in having a two-move warrior unit? Warriors are practically useless once your neighbors have bronze working.

 

[ainwood]

Often. Chariots I normaly save for upgrading to horsemen (sometimes I hold of researching horseriding to ensure that I can build more chariots). The retreat possibility of horsemen make them just as effective as swordsmen IMHO.

 

[Binnor]

i use horses or war chariots all the time. The movement bonus is vital in the early game. Generally AI cities, at that stage, have no or at worst very little culture (meaning they are only expansion size 1 or 2). With a little planning your horsemen move in and capture the city on the turn you declare war. Do this to several cities on the one turn and you can sue the AI for peace on the same turn without ever having to defend your gains. You should only have lost one or two units and your injured horsemen can then recharge far quicker than the AI can rebuild its destroyed defenders. Overall result: you get stronger while they get weaker.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Just curious, how much is the upgrade cost for chariots to horsemen? Since it's only one stat point, it can't be much..

 

[rcoutme]

I use horsemen a lot. They move fast and are, therefore, much better at finding and eliminating barbarians. Of course, I tend to play large and huge maps, so the movement factor is much more significant.

 

[Ville]

Chariots, never, Horsemen, sometimes

 

[hr_oskar]

I never build Chariots, sure enough.

You should build Horsemen though, not to rush cities but rather for killing units in the field. I often need to kill AI Archers and Horsemen in the open without leaving my attackers exposed, and that's where Horsemen come in.

I also recommend Catapults for the early warfare, especially for weakening AI Spearmen and Swordsmen in the open - if you attack them at full strength even with veteran Swordsmen you will lose a bit too often for it to be economical; you shouldn't be losing your Swordsmen on anything other than mass assaults on cities.

 

[Turner]

Rarely do I build Chariots, but I do horsemen. I like that final upgrade to Calvary/Sipahi myself.

 

[affay]

if i have horse , surely i will build horseman

 

[Tomoyo]

It costs 20 gold to upgrade a chariot in PTW, 30 in C3C.

I always use horsemen, the extra movement point allows them to be attacked less. Also, they upgrade to useful units. (Not to say that the MDI is useless)

And they retreat.

 

[troytheface]

Course i like the ol hittites so i actually build lots of chariots. A stack of three man can really roll thru an enemy (emperor-huge) Egyptian war chariots have done me in a few tiimes in multi player. In conclusion-chariots-early death to ur neighbors if ur japan-egypt or Hittite. (and america if u playur cards right- )

 

[Chieftess]

There was a succession game a long time ago where they used nothing but War Chariots to win.

 

[Moss]

I never use chariots, but often use horseman. Although I still prefer waging wars with swordsmen.

 

[LLXerxes]

Horseman, yes, even more if I have no Iron. Chariots, rarely. I mean really rarely

 

[superslug]

I built tons of Horsemen but rarely use them as Horsemen. Obviously I do it for the upgrade to Cavalry. Even after Military Tradition I'll disconnect nonHorse resources so I can continue to build Horsemen and upgrade them.

Ahhh, the power of micromanagement.

 

[Smellincoffee]

There was a succession game a long time ago where they used nothing but War Chariots to win.

But War Chariots are actually good units, having the same specs as horsemen (except for being wheeled). And, they only cost 20 as opposed to the 30 of horsemen.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

I usually build horseman. I never build Chariots.

 

[warpstorm]

Horesemen all the time.