How do you usually manage your military?

[Ninakoru]

This is the first post i make. I love CivFanatics, and this forum. I have played a few civ2 games, but now i love civ3. Waiting for PTW here in Spain...

The fact is... I think i am playing on a weird line. This will help all us to understand how we players usually make things.

This issue depends on many factors, but let's say we can talk on a more general way, after those crazy expansion years of the ancient times.

1.) Do you usually use artillery? How many? Only offensively? Do you mix defensive/ofensive units on assaults?

2.) How many troops do you usually have to defend towns/cities?

3.) How do you usually pop military units when you are at peace?

4.) How do you usually pop military units when you are at war?

5.) How many barracks do you usually have? Do you have military-producing cities?

Bye bye...

 

[DaDoo]

1) I normally don't use artillery. I use bombers instead. To me it feels like I can deploy them faster.

2) 2 per city usually. 3-4 per city when it's next to the war front.

3) When any of my cities don't have any more buildings to build and are productive, I set them to build mostly offensive units.

4) During the war I keep the same cities to keep producing units to replenish the ones that died.

5) I build it in every city since I usually don't get the Sun Tzu(because I go for Sistine... seems it's always one or the other).

 

[cgannon64]

1) I use artillery offensively in the Industrial Age, when it is necessary, and occasionally for defense. I always mix offensive and defensive units in an assault: the offensive attack, the defensive cover counter-attack.

2) Usually around 2, more near the front.

3) Usually a few units here and there, but right after a war I mainly build infrastructure. More when I'm preparing, and almost constant during a war. I start to switch back to infra when the war is winding down.

4) Almost constant, but less near the end. I try to only build units when necessary; you CAN have too many units.

5) Barracks in every city, so upgrading is easier. I occaisonally have certain cities that produce more units than others.

CG

 

[Arathorn]

1. I use artillery constantly. Cannons and catapults are mostly for defense. Artillery rocks for whatever need is at hand. I try to keep the c's in stacks of 2-3 for maximum benefit. Artillery in largish (~20) stacks.

2. 0-1. Occasionally two on a border. But it also depends on whether I'm gaining land, staying constant, or expanding. The more space I have, the fewer defenders/city.

3. As needed/available by the city which needs orders. If it's behind on infra, it usually gets a building; if it's all caught up, unit. In-between, depends on the overall needs of the civ. Hopelessly corrupt and core cities usually build most of my units.

4. Depends on whether the war is of my choosing or the AI's. If I'm on the offensive, I keep the same ratio as in answer 3, primarily. If it's on the AI's time schedule, often a lot of cities (up to every single city I have) will change over to military production of one sort or another.

5. I usually have a lot of barracks. All core cities get barracks, as do those I expect to come under attack/on the front (fast healing). Cities without barracks only build artillery or early defensive "show" units. I will often have a city or two primarily dedicated to military, but these are usually not my best cities.

In my mind, the more interesting question is what are your war goals, how do they change, and how does your city management/needs factor into those questions? What contigency plans do you have if the AI attacks where you're completely not expecting it?

I am a huge believer in force concentration. The AI will very often outnumber me, unit for unit, but I will concentrate in a very narrow area, kill a ton more units than I lose (always attacking with full hps, and defending with a good defensive unit). I actually lose a reasonable number of cities, on the front lines, but they are usually built with that eventuality in mind and do not have a lot of infrastructure to lose. If they do, they are often full of my offensive units, too, so I can counterstrike before the original attack hits.

Arathorn

 

[Ninakoru]

Now i will anwser to show you how I play on the military way!

1.) I nearly always use artillery. 2-4 on the beginning 6-8 if i have a stronger military support. I usually have one or two defensive units in my assault force.

2.) I always have one defending unit in all cities. If they are main cities or border cities, then usually i put 2 defending units.

4.) Nearly half the cities poping units should me enough. I usually wait 2 or 3 turns on those cities that are ending high cost buildings, instead of swith them inmediately.

5.) I have 2-3 barracks, until i get sun tzu's, this wonder is a must for me. I use a militaristic civ. I usually swith between builds and units in most of the cities.

The fact is I usually have weaker military than the other civs, but most of them veteran and more tech-advanced. I have some phases of building and some phases of military-build during the game. ¿may i have to mix them?

 

[Shabbaman]

I always use artillery, but no catapults or cannons, because they suck. I'm eager to try out the corean cannon.
Border cities are defended heavily, no further set rules at all.

Usually, I don't rush before knights.

 

[Scyphax]

1) I like to have at least one unit on a fortified mountain in the frount line protected by my best defensive unit. I use this to destroy roads and soften approching enemy units. If a city is the focus of a major enemy attack I like to have a few artillery units there.
2) I usually have 1 defensive unit to defend cities except for border cities which might have more. I have horsemen/calvalry units on roads ready to respond to any attack. All my cities are linked by roads (and rail when that comes along). All cities have a temple to extend my borders so that I have a greater warning of an attack.
If I have a surplus of captured workers I use these to form a zero maintence wall.
During the barbarian uprising I have 4 veteran spearmen or better + a wall at the city they are going to attack. Artillery is useless here as each catipult only fires once a turn.
3. If I am not a militaristic Civ I have 1 city with a barracks that produces my non-artillery units. Other cities produce artillery when they have nothing better to do.
4. If I am at war and I need more units. I will rush a barracks at at city with high shield production and rush a barracks at the frount line city (this speeds healing).
5. If I am playing the Aztecs or Iroquoi I will have one barracks per city. Otherwise only one at first.

 

[Karstedt]

1) I didn't use artillery for a long time because it was such a hassle. But after having stacks of 20+ artillery guarded by 5 or more infantry, I always get artillery. Catapults suck, I sometime use a few in attacked cites to help against knights... and to take down defenders if my best offesive unit is the swordsman. I use cannon when I can spare the resources. Cavalry vs rifelmen is a little too even for me... but cavalry vs riflemen with 2 hp is much more fair. As for radar artillery... well I've only ever gotten to the robotics tech in 1 game... and that was because I turned off space race.

2) Depends on the era... in an era of defensive troops usually 2 defenders, in an era of offensive troops 4 or more in any city that can be reached.

3) I usually set up one of my first 3 cities to produce military units, and eventually rotate the load across any city with good production. I like balanced cites, with lots of infrastructure.

4) At war, it depends. If I feel threatened, I put everything on military. If I want to completely irradicate the Civ I'm at war with, I put everything on military. If I just want to bribe the entire world into a war with them, I sit back and make just enough military to pick off any forces that manage to come my way.

5) I get a barracks in every city. Not neccessarily my first priority, but definitely not my last one either.

 

[jorge_roberto]

1. I always use artillery, even catapults and cannons. They're usefull:
- to defend
- to reduce the size of cities (avoids culture flip and removes the defence bonus)
- to reduce units energy. Very usefull to atack units in cities on fortified moutains and to atack fast units. (Remember you only retreats fighting a slower unit).

2. Using a representative government (Republic and Democracy), I put
- 3 defence units and 1 artillery in cities next to frontier
- 2 defence units in important cities (capital and with wonders)
- 1 defence unit in others cities

I fortify some mountains and hills near my frontier and put 2 defence unit and 1 artillery.

3. At peace, I put my atack units on fortified mountains and in cities near my frontier.

4. At war, my atack units are ATACKING or resting. I use some defence units and a lot of artillery amd bombers too.

5. I build barracks in my productive cities. And at least 1 barrack in each continent.

 

[WickedWombat]

1. I generally only use artillery near a front line and usually upgrade to bombers once I have the tech.

2. Usually 2 good defensive units and 1 offensive for "most" cities. If I'm near a front line or on the coast, I usually double this amount.

3. I will always produce military units when I have maxed my infrastructure at a particular point and there is nothing but wealth available.

4. With the exception of a few cities building their initial infrastructure and maybe a couple wonders, literally every other city will be producing military units.

5. One of the biggest problems that I have is paying maintenance on all the barracks I have. I BUILD THEM EVERYWHERE!
Of course I never reach Sun Tzu because my research is so weak

 

[God]

1) Use it for offense. Industrial Age: I make huge infantry stacks along with artillery and cavalry, and slowly bombard the cities down and finish it off with the cavalry.

2) In my core cites I have 0-2. Depending on how happy the people are. In the late Middle Ages and later, I have tons of happiness improvers which keep it under control. Near the border I'll have 3-4 units, and many more sitting at the border line.

3) I play as a monarchy on monarch level and above. I'm usually at war, since I am a warmonger. There are short times of peace and I use them to build improvements. Once I have the needed improvements I'll build mostly offensive units.

4) Most of my cities produce units during war. If I can I'll mobilize for the war, but that means that I can' build temples and stuff in outlying cities so I don't always do it.

5) Barracks in all my cities that can produce over 5 shields because they will make offensive units. The lower production cities will just build swordsmen to keep them happy.

 

[bige2002]

1) I use artillery sparingly, usually one per stack.
2)If it is near a peace front, 2-3. War, 3-4. near no fronts,0-1.
3)Mostly defensive, enough to defend cities, and thats almost it.
4)I usually have enough defense, so I go with the offense units during war, and almost all cities are making them.
5) I consider Sun Tzu to be the most important wonder, and almost always get it. If I don't, I will make a barracks in most cities, or get it by other means.

 

[PersianImmortal]

1.) Do you usually use artillery? How many? Only offensively? Do you mix defensive/ofensive units on assaults?

Rarely ever use artillery although it's heaps better than Canon or catapult.

In Ancient wars, I send Spearmen/Archer and Impi (or similar speed unit)/Horsemen combos. It helps if u have to stay on grasslands between turns attacking a heavily guarded city.. u wont' lose u're offensive units on strike backs from within the city.

2.) How many troops do you usually have to defend towns/cities?

usually one on the cities that are safe.. at least three plus my offensive units in border ones.

3.) How do you usually pop military units when you are at peace?

Peace in CIV world is just a period between wars for me. You win your next war in the way you plan for it during the peace preceeding it. Target your next victim or invader and prepare yourself accordingly.

Often when u have all improvements and are waiting on the next tech to allow building another improvement is a good time to produce some units.

4.) How do you usually pop military units when you are at war?

Barring cities risking a culture fip, I set all productive cities to making offensive units.. If I had spent my peace time wisely I wouldn't even need to mobilize (after nationalism) .

5.) How many barracks do you usually have? Do you have military-producing cities?

Core cities capable of producing units faster and rush build in recently occupied enemy cities.

 

[Tiger_Nation]

1 I have to confess I detest artillary although i don't mind keeping bombers around

2 I keep loads (3 - as much as 12) in central citys and only 2 in most others but i keep a lot of units at choke points

3 No

4 Only if i desperatly need them as u can draft

5 I desperatly go for sun tzu for meit is imperative more important than anything else in the whole game

and about the targets post by arathorn my targets are wonders then cultural citys then capital then opening up a second front as I am an overwhelming numbers man.

 

[The Last Conformist]

1) While I'm not one of those people who think that a stack of seventy Arty is small, I do tend to use them in pretty significant numbers; say 50 out of a total military of 250 in the early Modern. I primarily use them for offense since my wars are most commonly offensive, but when fighting defensively I do put them to good use, wearing down invading enemy troops.

My offensive forces are usually more less entirely made up by attack units until the Industrial Era, from then on of a mix of attack, defense and artillery units.

I don't use Catapults and Cannon very much - too low bombardment values to be of great use, and you don't really need bombardment to storm cities pre-Infantry.

2) Typically 2-3 after the Ancient Times. May be less in cities in inland cities far from borders, and much more in important border cities.

3) Apart from new defenders in new cities, I rarely build much military units in peacetime, unless I'm just about to declare war. Those that are built are typically built in big cities with most/all available improvements.

4) If in a major war, most cities with decent production will be churning out military units.

5) Large, productive cities typically get barracks. I don't devote any cities exclusively to military production.'


(I'm assuming that by "popping" units you simply mean building 'em. If you refer to pop rushing (ie killing citizens for shields under Despotism or Communism), then I practically never do it to build military units.)