How is city combat different than unit combat?

[Feyd Rautha]

The title might sound weird, but I was just wondering why cities don't act their strength. I can understand from range being a bit overpowered, but when a unit attacks my city things should be different.

Example...
I've used a longswordsman to attack a horseman and vice-versa. The result often is maybe 2 health lost by the longswordsman and a dead or "red-damaged" horseman. However, if that same horseman attacked one of my 18 strength cities the city would lose twice as much and the horseman would lose half as much. Doesn't seem to fit.

I wonder why cities are nerfed so much I guess. Even in the era of canons, defensive cities didn't fall without large forces arrayed against them.

 

[BomberEscort]

A city attacks at half its listed strength.

From GlobalDefines.xml:

</Row>
<Row Name="CITY_ATTACKING_DAMAGE_MOD">
<Value>50</Value>
</Row>

 

[Feyd Rautha]

I can understand that. I once saw a screenshot of a city with strength in the mid-50s. You really get nerfed the higher your strength, but that's a matter of maybe making that 66 or 75. Compared to the start of the game where your capital is a 9 that would be like having a free archer to defend it.

As for the defense strength is that halved also?

 

[BomberEscort]

No, it defends at full strength. This is why the attacker takes approximately half damage attacking the city as it would take from an equal strength defender unit. For example:

A unit with a CS of 15 attacks a unit with a CS of 15. Approximately 5HP of damage will be done to each unit. But the same unit attacks a CS 15 city (Defends at 15, but attacks at 7.5). 5HP is done to the city, but only 2-3 damage is done to the unit.

I believe this was a gameplay addition to get units out into the field and stop them from "holding-up" in the city. From the new stats you can see that it is better to meet that CS 15 unit in the field than wait to make your stand when he's at your gates.

Attached are some tests I made for unit vs unit combat (unit vs city to follow soon):

1 2 A D Ratio
32 5.6 10 0 5.71
24 6.7 10 1 3.58
32 12.5 10 2 2.56
25 10.72 10 2 2.33
32 14 10 2 2.28
10 5 10 3 2.00
10 5.6 9 3 1.78
12.5 7.5 8 4 1.66
10 6.7 7 4 1.49
12.5 10.72 6 5 1.16
32 28.44 6 5 1.12
10 12.5 5 6 0.80
10 14 4 7 0.71
10 28.44 2 10 0.35

Where:

1 = Combat Strength of Attacker
2 = Combat Strength of Defender
A = Damage done to Defender (HP)(10 is a kill)
D = Damage done to Attacker (HP)(10 is a kill)
Ratio = Ratio of Attack to Defense.

In general, all it takes is a 2:1 attacker to defender ratio (after all modifiers) to kill a unit and a 5:1 ratio to kill a unit and take no damage.

EDIT:

Also, the advantage of city defense is that most units don't get any bonuses for attacking cities (The siege promotions being the exception), which is why I attack cities with my "green" units and save the field operations for the veterans...

 

[gingerbill]

very good info