Gunner rush

[kingsbury]

I have come to the conclusion that the best strategy for pangea (and probably continents), is the gunner rush. The civ doesn't matter honestly, although I pick the Slavs because you can always use a satellite for a quick grab of an early tech. The battle order goes as follows:

-Explorer
-Relic
-Nothing but rangers with a few token marines/soldiers
-Do everything you can to get affinity level 2 as soon as possible
-Upgrade to gunners
-Rush enemy capital(s)

If you can swing an early affinity level from a quest then it becomes easy, if you can't then that is probably why picking the slavs is a good idea. In my most recent game I eliminated two civs by turn 95. From this point you can either start teching battlesuits while taking on another civ, or use the land you just got from eliminating two neighbors to build some kind of hippie utopia or something.

For some reason they didn't add the negative modifier for non siege ranged units attacking cities, so you can reduce to rubble a capital with only a few hits from a gunner. If you lose 1-2 in the process it doesn't matter, just as long as you take that first capital.

 

[MadDjinn]

keeping in mind that ranged units use the cities ranged attack value, rather than it's combat strength - meaning that they are aiming at a lower target amount. (city attack is ~2/3rds the CS).

 

[Traejun]

Meh, computers is pretty early if you skip the health building techs to the right. As an experiment, I played 75 turns with Brasilia, going pure aggro. Got rocket arty early from computers. With those and baseline infantry, I was able to take 2 nearby capitals by t75. Early game domination is cake.

At some point, I'm going to play a small/protean map just to see how quickly I can get domination. I'm shooting for t150, but that will depend on how big the small map is and where the AI lands.

 

[kingsbury]

Meh, computers is pretty early if you skip the health building techs to the right. As an experiment, I played 75 turns with Brasilia, going pure aggro. Got rocket arty early from computers. With those and baseline infantry, I was able to take 2 nearby capitals by t75. Early game domination is cake.

At some point, I'm going to play a small/protean map just to see how quickly I can get domination. I'm shooting for t150, but that will depend on how big the small map is and where the AI lands.

In rough terrain then rocket artillery makes sense or if you can't get an affinity quest, however the advantage of gunners/rangers is that they can move into flat terrain and fire on the same turn.

 

[MadDjinn]

In rough terrain then rocket artillery makes sense or if you can't get an affinity quest, however the advantage of gunners/rangers is that they can move into flat terrain and fire on the same turn.

and they also get the +30% vs ranged attack, so they can handle city fire.

 

[Traejun]

and they also get the +30% vs ranged attack, so they can handle city fire.

We all know the stupid AI city attack trick. Send in an expendable infantryman first to draw all enemy fire. If they survive one barrage, they'll get veterancy... heal them. This allows the rocket arty to pound the city for 1-2 turns, which is really all it ever takes.

 

[kingsbury]

We all know the stupid AI city attack trick. Send in an expendable infantryman first to draw all enemy fire. If they survive one barrage, they'll get veterancy... heal them. This allows the rocket arty to pound the city for 1-2 turns, which is really all it ever takes.

If you attack with overwhelming numbers you don't have to rely on any tricks really.

 

[Traejun]

If you attack with overwhelming numbers you don't have to rely on any tricks really.

Also true, which is certainly a mid- to late-game methodology for warfare. I tend to prefer my conquests earlier than that - before the AI can amass forces for a planned war against another civ (or you).

I like my wars short and brutal. I target a city or 2, take them as quickly as possible and then coerce them into really bad (for them) peace treaties. That's always felt easier to do earlier rather than later.

 

[dwarfling]

Yup, AI can't seem to handle the early Gunners. If you get an close neighbor they'll usually DoW you early because their free Combat Rovers gives them a war high, I guess the rovers are made out of cocaine or something. It's useful to have those Rangers ready to go to Gunners early. They're also cheap to make.