Guided Missiles

[Manfred Belheim]

Okay, so I'm sure this has been asked and explained many times before, but just how do Guided Missiles work?

I know they can't be intercepted and do X amount of damage to 1 unit in a stack, and can even finish them off, but I really am not clear on the details. What determines exactly how much damage they do, is there any way to predict it? In what way can they be said to have a strength of 40, when they don't function anything like normal units and won't even finish off a warrior? How does it determine which unit in the stack to target, or rather which unit is chosen to "defend" against it, or is it entirely random? The civilopedia covers none of this, it just says "strength: 40" as if it were a regular unit.

 

[God-Emperor]

It isn't a strength 40 regular unit, it is a strength 40 air unit. The attack is an air attack, just like attacking with a fighter or bomber. Therefore, check out the descriptions of how air units attacking land/water units works. The section "Mission: Air strike" on this page should do the trick.

 

[Antilogic]

Does anybody actually build guided missiles? Are they actually worthwhile now?

 

[Doshin]

Does anybody actually build guided missiles? Are they actually worthwhile now?

I used to think they were terrible, but actually they can be great in certain situations. This is a little anecdotal, buuutt...

Spoiler :

In this game, Mansa Musa had 24 Stealth Bombers within striking range of any attack. His army consisted of Mobile Artillery, Mobile SAM units, Modern Armors, and Mechanized Infantry. I didn't even have Flight By mass bombing Timbuktu and Walata with Guided Missiles, I was able to weaken his stack to a point where I could perform two amphibious assaults, minimize losses, and wreck his space victory.

Guided Missiles can also be transferred from city to city ad infinitum, without the need of Airports. This is incredibly useful during a long-distance invasion. Transfer them to a recently conquered city, load them into Missile Cruisers, and use as you please.

Nukes will do the same thing of course, with greater ooomph. But sometimes Nukes aren't available, or you don't want to deal with the diplomatic fallout, or you'd simply prefer not to win via scorched earth tactics.

 

[MrKlew]

I build them all the time. On submarines they make great first strike weapons. You can preemptively take out naval units that might threaten your invasion fleet. Also unescorted battleships can easily fall to a sub with a cruise missile or two. They also kill so I have at times used subs to wipe out lightly defended coastal cities allowing a single antiquated unit to capture it. They also have no stacking limit, so you can pile them as high as you want. They aren't great for land offensives because of their short range, but they are great for defense. If you are planning an intercontinental invasion, once you get your beachhead city or fort transfer all your cruise missiles there and pulzerize the AI's stack when it tries to retake the city.

 

[s.bernbaum]

They are also very nice in naval warfare when the enemy ship(s) are just a little bit out of range of your fleet. Move the full distance and then let fly with the guided missiles.

 

[capnvonbaron]

They are also very nice in naval warfare when the enemy ship(s) are just a little bit out of range of your fleet. Move the full distance and then let fly with the guided missiles.

quoted for truth. They can make a huge difference between taking heavy losses and taking no losses at sea. Recon out ahead with carrier-based aircraft, move the missile cruisers in range to GM the holy bejeezus of the enemy ships, then mop up with destroyers/subs/etc.

 

[Antilogic]

Hmm, maybe I should start playing until the Modern era and build ships.

 

[damerell]

Does anybody actually build guided missiles? Are they actually worthwhile now?

OCC, tech lead, but no oil. A destroyer turns up. You would like to dispose of it without burning a million frigates.

 

[midget_roxx]

Does anybody actually build guided missiles? Are they actually worthwhile now?

I've used them to excellent effect by parking a sub underneath an icesheet and constantly hitting their oil, but they tend to be situational

 

[MeatUnit2]

Using Guided Missiles to soften up naval units is very effective. Having a few in your forward cities can make a big difference when the AI sends a SoD your way.