getting sick of getting an 99.8% chance of winning a battle and still losing?

[Skallagrimson]

While overall this might be a good idea... to hang back in your own culture wait for the first (stacks) of the AI to come to you and kill them in your culture zone, thus preventing a lot of WW points...
You are possibly overlooking one (major) flaw in this. DECAY.

Understood. Mainly the queue-swap is just my way of having military capability at the ready which isn't visible to the AI. One hammer here or there doesn't worry me so much, and if I see turns-to-build increase in the queue, I put them back to the top of the queue to get them close to built.

That is a 33% surcharge just to do this from chariot to Knight in 40 turns.
If you do this over a lot of cities that is a heap of hammers you are missing out on...

Chariot to Knight is a wider span than I usually do it. I only ever bother building chariots if I'm getting swarmed by barbs in the early years. And the queue-swap of HAs comes only after a real-build of pikes (or spears if I don't have Engineering yet and need to get a defense ready), usually at least 2 per border city of those, and 1 full build of HAs per 2 or 3 cities.

 

[namliaM]

Chariot to Knight is a wider span than I usually do it.

HA => Knight => Cavalry is a simular span... Starting some HAs to be "auto upgraded" to Knights while in the build que is doable... but starting a HA, upgrading that to Knight... finshing Cavalry.... that is a long route to go as well...

My point is this, when used correctly and short term this can be a good strategy. Even more so, if spiritual or when swapping anyway a little later on (<15 turns I think to limit the decay) to Vassalage and/or Theocracy it can be very powerfull in that you can have 2 or 3 units all 1 turn from completion.
Then if you switch to your war settings get those 3 units out in 3 turns with +2 or even +4xp and with the overflow possibly on turn 4 a 4th unit too.
If you can manage this in 5 cities, watch your powerrating peak up!

Downside on MP is the peak is much more noticable => Might alarm fellow players/future target . Upside you get the extra promotion from it (+2XP in warlords needed) making your power just that little bit bigger eventho it IIRC doesnt show in the powergraph...
Which, while on the subject and IMHO, is a minor glitch in the powergraph. I would be much more fearfull of a stack of 5 CR2 Axemen + 5 CR2 Swords + 5 CR2 Cats than I would that same stack all CR1, that packs alot less punch.

*** Disclaimer ***
Yes I know it is not an ideal mix of promotions and/or units, just an example
***************

 

[Skallagrimson]

HA => Knight => Cavalry is a simular span... Starting some HAs to be "auto upgraded" to Knights while in the build que is doable... but starting a HA, upgrading that to Knight... finshing Cavalry.... that is a long route to go as well...

My point is this, when used correctly and short term this can be a good strategy. Even more so, if spiritual or when swapping anyway a little later on (<15 turns I think to limit the decay) to Vassalage and/or Theocracy it can be very powerfull in that you can have 2 or 3 units all 1 turn from completion.
Then if you switch to your war settings get those 3 units out in 3 turns with +2 or even +4xp and with the overflow possibly on turn 4 a 4th unit too.
If you can manage this in 5 cities, watch your powerrating peak up!

You can't do it frequently though, as the game limits how often you can switch civics as a Spiritual. I shoot for a cluster of "most" of the builds when I go that route, but more often when I'm doing the builds I'm at war anyway, so I just leave it at Vass/Theo until the outbreak of peace, and/or if I'm no longer building units.

Downside on MP is the peak is much more noticable => Might alarm fellow players/future target . Upside you get the extra promotion from it (+2XP in warlords needed) making your power just that little bit bigger eventho it IIRC doesnt show in the powergraph...
Which, while on the subject and IMHO, is a minor glitch in the powergraph. I would be much more fearfull of a stack of 5 CR2 Axemen + 5 CR2 Swords + 5 CR2 Cats than I would that same stack all CR1, that packs alot less punch.

*** Disclaimer ***
Yes I know it is not an ideal mix of promotions and/or units, just an example
***************

CR2 anything gives me the urge to build/whip/draft Cats, on defense.

 

[namliaM]

CR2 anything gives me the urge to build/whip/draft Cats, on defense.

Why cats ?? I do not see the difference for cats when facing CR1 or CR2....

 

[Skallagrimson]

Why cats ?? I do not see the difference for cats when facing CR1 or CR2....

CR2 gives more urgency than CR1 to take them out in stack prior to them attacking the city. In city defense against cats I'll use HAs/Knights/Cavs. In counter-attack against a stack I use cats/cannons/artillery.

 

[The Conquerer22]

i dont know about the rest of you, but every time it says 90&#37;! 97.3%! 87%! my forces get freaking crushed and im am forced to retreat because the enemy lucked out when i never do!!! why does it have to be like a dice game?? if i wanted dice, i would have gotten RISK (it probably would have been cheaper).

I would have liked to get risk, but I think they should go back to the 1 soldier,1 health bar of civ 3,that way u dont have ur right get running to fight the opponenets guy on the left and end up losing,cuz it took your soldier too long to take out his sword and turn around or whatever weapon your working with.