Great Generals: Defense?

[VoiceOfUnreason]

What strategies do folks enjoy when using great generals in defensive situations (for example, in defense of a city)?

In particular, if you are attaching them to units - what array of promotions are you using, and how do you deploy your other troops?


My immediate, untested thoughts are an uber defender, with the secondary line wearing drill promotions to hold out against the seige, or some sort of blitz mounted combo to flank the seige.

 

[DaveMcW]

Medic III.

 

[madscientist]

MY thinking is a longbow for early times (could use ana rcher then upgrade also), supported by machine gun once RR comes along.

Ideally the city should be built on a hill, giving the unit up to CG III, then adding guerilla promotions.

If you start with a protective leader you may want to add drill promotions instead of guerillas.

Gallics are ideal because of the free guerilla promotion from the Dun.

Churchhill would be very effective to build a 2 promotion redcoat, then attach a GG.

Support:

You want one spear/pike, and one or more mounted (war elephants are best) units to damage the seige engines with flanking damage. SInce Machine guns are immune to seige engines they would be ideal once RR is teched, the AI can kill themselves against the UBER unit and once they knock hin down a bit the fresh machine guns should hold the fort.

I have used this in a limited way, only as an emergency situation. I was playing against ROme (I do not recall which leader I was, but it wasn't a protective one) and had an army of prats trying to attack my city over a river. I attached the GG to an axeman for the healing trait but also had an archer, both got 10 XPs enough for CGIII archer. Between the 2, with the river and walled city I was able to defeat several Prats until I got reinforcements. I did actually attach the GG to the axeman so I never really exploited the UBER defense aspect.

IF I recall ABigCivFan had a warlords demo game that was focusing on military. He had a UBER defensive unit (not from a GG) on a hill which slaughtered alot of AIs.

 

[MrCynical]

Beyond a MASH unit, I really don't find attaching great generals to units worthwhile. There's only so much one unit can do, and even if you stick to 95%+ odds, you're going to lose eventually.

 

[xanadux]

2 words. Blitz Destroyer. A GG on a 6 base exp naval unit gives combat 3 + blitz + leadership. This is the most powerful GG unit in the game.

 

[MrCynical]

2 words. Blitz Destroyer. A GG on a 6 base exp naval unit gives combat 3 + blitz + leadership. This is the most powerful GG unit in the game.

Only if your enemy hasn't progressed beyond frigates, in which case it doesn't make all that much difference. Against other destroyers you'd be very lucky to survive attacking two in one turn, even with combat 3.

 

[cv431410]

Great generals must provide benefits beyond a single unit. These promotions provide benefits beyond a single unit:

Medic III
Instructor
Academy
...

 

[xanadux]

GG naval units are map and situation dependent, but if you have a situation where navy is important, it is rather easy, at least emperor level and below, to always have a naval tech superiority. Start with a blitz/leadership frigate killing caravels, and by the time the AI has destroyers, your GG unit will likely be a drill4, combat6 unit that will still have 99% odds against other destroyers. This unit can easily kill an invading stack of 4 frigates and 4 galleons in one turn. It is a benefit of one unit, but has the potential in any one given turn of doing the work of 8 units or more.

 

[madscientist]

Great generals must provide benefits beyond a single unit. These promotions provide benefits beyond a single unit:

Medic III
Instructor
Academy
...

I have played games where I attached GGs to units and used them in battles, at critical spots when needed. Yes, you may lose some but they can be deciding factors in games sometimes. Depends on how you use them.

I mostly use them for the instructor and one for medic III. However, they have thier uses as attachments.

See the Great Kahn game in my signature for an example.