Good unit
- Thread starter Grawss
- Start date
Sullla
Patrician Roman Dictator
If you are at war, then using explorers to pillage key resources is an excellent tactic, and one that I heartily support. If you are at peace and are keeping an explorer on top of an AI resource so that they can't use it, without a right of passage agreement, you are exploiting the AI. This is a shady tactic that I consider an exploit, simply because the AI is not programmed to deal with this situation. If you want to use it that is your business, but I don't consider it to be a fair tactic. Note also that this will not be allowed in the next Game of the Month competition (the June one).
:groan: more extra rules. 
I hope that firaxis fixes this...and if they don't then I would guess they meant for it to be this way. (Fair tactic? I guess we could start talkign about the advantages that the A.I. uses that aren't documented but we don't want to get that far off-topic).
I personally don't use them b/c most games don't get that far and b/c I too don't like using game exploits but don't hold anything against people for doing so.
I hope that firaxis fixes this...and if they don't then I would guess they meant for it to be this way. (Fair tactic? I guess we could start talkign about the advantages that the A.I. uses that aren't documented but we don't want to get that far off-topic).
I personally don't use them b/c most games don't get that far and b/c I too don't like using game exploits but don't hold anything against people for doing so.
Does the AI really ignore Explorers pillaging during times of war? I've never tried it but it seems like a weird oversight.
I've also never seen the AI use one this way, but I certainly wouldn't ignore it. I guess it would be an exploit in that case but one that could be easily fixed.
I've also never seen the AI use one this way, but I certainly wouldn't ignore it. I guess it would be an exploit in that case but one that could be easily fixed.
Shabbaman
rebuffing the rebels
'Always' is a bit too strong for me... I'm more likely to build offensive units (truely offensive units, like the barfmeister...)
bobgote
Trousers
i've found that my explorers are always told where to go when i try to put them into enemy territory (may just have been too close to cities, haven't used them in a while, i forget), but in any case i found that enemies were quick to kill them (again, may have been in the warpath as it were)
Catt
Emperor
I too am a little uneasy about the scout / explorer resource denial gambit -- falls into the exploit category for me (though I don't care if others employ it).
During war, the AI will go after your explorers -- but they are captured rather than destroyed in battle.
During war, the explorers are excellent pillagers -- because the have movement of 2 and "treat all terrain as roads" flagged, they effectively move six grid squares, over any terrain, in enemy or friendly territory. That means with two explorers (really cheap to make) you can go 5 squares into enemy territory and pillage access to any resource, even if it is railroaded, all in one turn.
Unfortunately, explorers (like marines in my experience) are not effectively utilized by the AI -- I generally won't garrison forces on resouces 5 squares deep into my territory because I've never seen the AI use an explorer effectively. I don't use them terribly often myself, simply because it seems unbalancing to exploit a tactic the AI seems to be oblivious to. But, when MP becomes available . . .
During war, the AI will go after your explorers -- but they are captured rather than destroyed in battle.
During war, the explorers are excellent pillagers -- because the have movement of 2 and "treat all terrain as roads" flagged, they effectively move six grid squares, over any terrain, in enemy or friendly territory. That means with two explorers (really cheap to make) you can go 5 squares into enemy territory and pillage access to any resource, even if it is railroaded, all in one turn.
Unfortunately, explorers (like marines in my experience) are not effectively utilized by the AI -- I generally won't garrison forces on resouces 5 squares deep into my territory because I've never seen the AI use an explorer effectively. I don't use them terribly often myself, simply because it seems unbalancing to exploit a tactic the AI seems to be oblivious to. But, when MP becomes available . . .
