How do you usually guard settlers?

[DynamicSpirit]

I thought this would make a change from 'what's the best X' polls

The done thing according to the documentation seems to be to escort settlers to your chosen city spot, but I find I almost never do that. Usually I already have a unit fortified near the new site - both to lift fog of war there, and because I want to know if the AI settles there while I'm still building the settler. If the site is near my existing borders, that might be enough, if it's further away I'll probably send one or two more units to hover around the intended route 4-5 turns before settler arrives, again to clear fog of war. Then the settler goes unescorted through the cleared path.

So I wondered how other people do it. Note that the poll question means how do you ACTUALLY guard your settlers, not how do you ideally think you ought to be doing it - not necessarily the same thing

 

[Andrei_V]

Something else. After a number of games at different difficulty/map settings etc I finally found that turning the barbs off works best of all.

 

[Artanis]

I'll send out units ahead of time to "light up" a clear LOS path to the destination, especially if I've sent a Worker out ahead to build a road in that direction.

 

[durecellrabbit]

My settlers go at full speed. If I have a escort they follow but I don't slow down the settler. Otherwise my escort is already at the city site.

 

[b-dubb]

I always have on raging barbs, so I clear a path first, even an escort may not be enough with raging barbs ^^

 

[lawren65]

I try to follow the same approach as dynamic spirit. I'll usually place the sentry on a hill between my cultural boundry and the new city site.

I don't send my settlers far, but if the new city site is far enough away so that there's fog of war between my cultural boundry and the sentry, I'll often just move the settler solo. When moving a solo settler in fog of war, I usually only take one move at a time (I save the other move to run away if i see a barbarian).

Note I usually play a leader with creative (Catherine) and I find that my cultural borders expand fast enough to keep most of my settlers paths in view.

 

[petey]

I send a unit ahead to stand on a hill near the city site, both to keep back the fog and intercept any barbs that come knocking.

 

[fortytwo]

Like CIV3, I turn off barbarians because they have too much random impact on your civ. One or two dead Settlers or torched towns and you've pratically lost the game. It's just too devastating. So I turn of barbarians and I walk all my settlers alone.

 

[Traflagar]

Well, I like the excitement of having barbarians impact the game. But I always scout out the area ahead with whatever available combat unit I have. They usually forify in the city after it is built. If I have a scout or explorer nearby I send them out because they cover more ground and I can justify losing one of them much more than a settler. I don't usually connect roads with the new city until after it is built.

 

[bobtheflob]

I'll usually send out a unit from the city the setler is being produced in a few turns before the settler is done. That way the settler catches up at around the time they reach their destination. There have been a couple of times that my 2nd settler has been killed by barbs and that's one of the very few times that i'll reload an auto save, that's just too big a hit early in the game.

 

[DarkSchneider]

I'll usually send out a unit from the city the setler is being produced in a few turns before the settler is done. That way the settler catches up at around the time they reach their destination. There have been a couple of times that my 2nd settler has been killed by barbs and that's one of the very few times that i'll reload an auto save, that's just too big a hit early in the game.

Either ther is already a unit standing at the spot of the new city, or I send out a unit a few turns ahead of the settler so as not to slow them down. If for some reason there is not a unit where the settler wants to go, I will slow them down unless the entire area is visible and I see no Barbs / Hostile Civs that could get in the way.

 

[Gyspsysmoke]

I either have the FoW cleared on the path or send the Settler ahead with the escort behind. When I do the later I move the settler one square at a time so I have a retreat if I run into any barbs (not possible over rough terrain).

 

[Reprisal]

It's completely situational for me. If I'm just expanding normally, then I'll send an Archer or Axeman or both to fortify where I'm going to send my Settler. If I'm planning on blocking off expansion routes from an enemy, I'll probably escort with two or three of my best units (usually an Archer, Axeman and Spearman).

If I have horses in my original city space, I'll try to send all my Settlers out with Chariots since they have two moves per turn and they can fortify. If it's late enough in the game, I'll send a Worker with them as well, but usually by then I have Horse Archers.

 

[budweiser]

I usually use my original scout or warrior to circle back and guard the path to the new city site.

 

[Blazer6]

I use a convoy during wartime and fast escorts for quick land grabs.

 

[thordk]

something else: most of the time i move settlers unguarded since when i'm moving them there are only animal barbs who can't cross city borders. so as soon as the city is placed it's "save".

if i have to move settlers with "real" barbs around they will be guarded by sentries.

 

[DangerousMonkey]

It's best to drop a military unit near your next city site, and station a unit or two along the way if nessisary. As long as you can see around your settler for a far enough distance (wether it's because of your cultural boarders or guards along the way) you'll be safe. As long as a tile has no fog-of-war on it it has no chance of spawning barbarians, and if a barbarian or another player moves into your view range, close enough to threaten your settler, you can either move your settler away, or into the protection of one of your guards.

This greatly speeds up the movement of your settlers. If you have to move your settler, say, 10 squares from its production site to your new city location that'll take you 10 turns if you insist on guarding it with a slow unit every step of the way, and slow units are usualy what's availible. If you lay down a carpet of guards beforehand you can cut your travel time in half, which can ammount to quite a few turns saved.

 

[Zombie69]

If I have horses in my original city space, I'll try to send all my Settlers out with Chariots since they have two moves per turn and they can fortify.

Chariots, like all mounted units, can't fortify.

 

[Aegis]

Chariots, like all mounted units, can't fortify.

Except for Immortals. ;o)

 

[Danghis Khan]

Turning off barbs is just isn't the same. Besides, it's good to get the free promotion for archers or other units by having them to beat up on. As for moving, I'll put my new city's defender close to the aquare and escort where necessary.