Great Generals

[WeaselSlapper]

I thought I'd get some ideas for what everyone does with their great generals after you have the 1-2 you need for combat since we can't start Golden Ages with them now.

I get I could plant some, but I'm so rarely on Defense (I play Emperor) that seems like it would be a waste of another potential tile improvements, unless I happen to have some desert spaces in a strategic location. Do I have any other reason not to just delete these guys now?

 

[Dogmouth]

Who says you only plant them on defense? IMO, the best use for planted GGs is on the front lines of an offensive war. They allow you to get right up against an enemy city while retaining defensive bonuses and in-territory bonuses (Himeji). They're also good when you've just captured an enemy city and want to to expand your front lines or catpure a nearby strategic resource. If none of this appeals to you, use them to to grab a nearby lux from an unfriendly civ or City State. I would NEVER disband GGs.

 

[WeaselSlapper]

So planted GG now expand borders? What that always the case or was that added in a new patch/G&K? I don't remember GG acting like a culture bomb before, and that would probably explain why I couldn't grab tiles with my Great Artist anymore.

If that's the case I fully agree that they are worth never disbanding.

 

[Dogmouth]

So planted GG now expand borders? What that always the case or was that added in a new patch/G&K? I don't remember GG acting like a culture bomb before, and that would probably explain why I couldn't grab tiles with my Great Artist anymore.

If that's the case I fully agree that they are worth never disbanding.

Yes, G&K changed how GGs work. They now expand borders. I also didn't realize this at first. Here are the mechanics: You can plant a GG anywhere within your borders or one tile outside of your borders. A citidel will occupy the spot where your GG was when you planted, and you will acquire each tile adjacent to the citadel. GGs are incredibly useful against the Great Wall!

edit: The mechanics are the same as the pre-G&K GA culture bombs, but you also get a citadel!

 

[Dentalfury]

Yup, I rarely use them in this fashion but I did expand my borders once to grab a nearby luxury because I was playing an OCC game and my standard cultural borders were pretty much maxed out.

And yeah, a more typical use of them now would be to bring 2-3 with you to the front line of a nearby Civ you want to conquer and plant a GG right at a choke point of an established defensive line. Declare war, then wait for the Civ in question to suicide their units on your Citadel. Be sure to back it up with as many entrenched / prepped units that you can. Then, just storm into your now weakened opponent. Some players like using right next to hard to conquer cities. But I usually found that once his army is gone, you can control the tempo of battle and cities typically fall shortly thereafter. Especially after you get Artillery or +range upgrades on older siege units.

I found that methods like this work even better at longer settings (Epic/Marathon) because once you destroy the standing army of a Civ it takes a really long time for replacements to be built relative to the pace at which your army can conquer.

So, find the method / usage that works best with your play style and VC.