explorer, any use?

[ppciv4]

Just want to make sure:
Can explorer get Medic III by GG?

 

[UWHabs]

They should be, but I don't think they can get W3 (since that's an offensive one, and explorers come in as recon units).

 

[mirthadir]

CynicalMagician,

How can you make Chariots or Horse Archers after you've discovered Guilds?

1. Don't research HBR; excellent choice if you intend to use HR long term.
2. Don't have your Fe linked into the trade network. This may not be possible if your Fe is under a city or if you already have roads across the tile you face the choice of improving over the mine or not making cheap units. You can either go for just keeping the Fe offline as that "only" deprives you of swords, pikes, and knights or go completely metalless; which gives you the ability to make warriors until chemistry.

 

[Bostock]

1. Don't research HBR; excellent choice if you intend to use HR long term.
2. Don't have your Fe linked into the trade network. This may not be possible if your Fe is under a city or if you already have roads across the tile you face the choice of improving over the mine or not making cheap units. You can either go for just keeping the Fe offline as that "only" deprives you of swords, pikes, and knights or go completely metalless; which gives you the ability to make warriors until chemistry.

Where were you in my "Gaming the rising costs of MPs" thread?!

 

[Tephros]

I don't build them anymore. If I have a holy city I explore with missionaries in foreign overseas area and then spread to the city closest to my capital. But normally exploring their lands is not even necessary because I can either trade maps with them, where they also give me money, or with somebody who has explored their territory already.

If it's unoccupied I'd rather send a spy, particuarly when huts are on and they're occupied, but an explorer might make sense on quicker speeds. Explorers will get better results than spies if the hut is unoccupied though, I believe...

 

[Single Malt]

Explorers and scouts cannot get guerilla III and woodsman III promos. The promos are direct attacking promos, and as such cannot be used on a recon only unit. G/WII is the max they go down that line.

 

[tsentom1]

They seem specifically designed for New World type maps.

 

[macmert]

Interesting thing is, even at later stages of the game, you can build an explorer, I mean you have the tech to go to moon or build mech inf. or modern armor, build jet fighters and stealth bombers but to explore a land, yep you guessed right, an explorer!!

I think explorer should upgrade to a remote controlled plane or some other tech gizmo...

 

[nanomage]

they are utterly and completely useless.
Well, they would have some use on terra/NW maps if not that stupid barbs guarding all goody huts.
other than mapping new territory, they have no use, and they are no better at it than WII mace. (and mace can kill barbs an enter goody huts) You can't even kill the barbs with a mace and then enter the hut with explorer (for supposedly better results), because mace autopicks it.
Leaving them in build menu even after stealth seems just mocking.
I'd suggest uprage path as
scout->explorer->pioneer->motorcycle scout->jeep, the later 3 starting with commando, and being able to attack, but unable to pillage.

 

[macmert]

In some ridiculous games, I often see a goodie hut here and there... but after so many turns, with planes flying over my land and I am using marines to eliminate my enemy, I dont bother to build an explorer, put it in a carrier and send him there... after all I dont need the outcome of it... What can I salvage from there, money? tech? lol... so I think explorers need to be redefined...

 

[assass1n]

Explorers/scouts don't get W3/M3
I wasted a GG on my W2 scout

 

[Airefuego]

I think explorers should also require HBR and horses, and get 3 movement. Would give them some reason to be used over spies / chariots / missionaries. They should also be able to attack barbs.

 

[ZeroM]

Explorers are also useful on those terra maps because they can move through terrain faster than chariots can in many cases. You will still need some offensive unit to pop huts so their usefulness is, still, limited. It's a shame since they could be very useful if they could attack (easier for them to be medics).

Actually, medics are genrally non combatants, so using explorers is very realistic. I would maybe like them to have better defense as eras change, but otherwise I am starting to find them quite useful. i use heavily non medic promoted explorers for advance scouting, they are fairly survivable in some situations, and make good emergency garrisons. And I try to have a few medics as well.

 

[popejubal]

I builid Explorers all the time.

I just build the advanced Explorers that come with Alphabet, though. Those Explorers are amazing because they don't even have to fight barbarians to get the goody huts that the barbs are sitting on. They're a little slower, but it's worth the wait.

 

[say1988]

Really, with spies they seem redundant. They have uses, but almost all of them can be done more efficiently by other units. The only time I would give them the advantage is the new world on a Terra map with barbs off. Or possibly from a later start.
Their speed advantage over spies is offset if there are barbs by the number of trips you will have to make bring in replacements.

It could be possible that they don't require support/supply? Of course make sure they don't benefit Hereditary Rule. Then they may have some purpose in keeping an eye on friendly/neutral civs, a very niche role, but something.

 

[obsolete]

I feel the explorer was supposed to be upgradable to something else, but perhaps it got too complicated so they cut the tree off part-way. This is why explorers seem to be a sort of silly dead-end paradox.

 

[FidelZandro]

Yes, an evolutionary dead end, like sheep

I can't remember building one.
Maybe an upgraded scout used as a medic, when nothing else was around to help out.
Useless.

 

[obsolete]

It's worse than useless. I believe they eat up maintenance costs.

Hell, they can't even pillage! Now that's pretty sick....

Oh, and even when I THOUGHT you could possibly put one in a city, to use as happy control, no go... they don't even do that! The game forbids them to be used as police control, sorta like scouts.

So again.... worse than useless.

 

[Deckhand]

It's worse than useless.

well, you can use them to absorb an attack (and give the AI some experience = worse than useless)

 

[Ormur]

I only use them as medics because they are so weak there is no danger of them defending first.