How Many Barracks do you build?

[viper275]

If I'm getting Art of War (and I usually am) then I don't build barracks. If I'm not building Art of War, I put them in my unit-producing cities.

 

[WS78]

Power corrupts, absolute power is kinda neat!

Sorry, just had to comment on the previous sig.

 

[Biral]

Thats from a Tom Clancy book i think, heh, nice quote. Power corrupts, and absolute power is actually sorta neat.

 

[Vizurok]

I usually go for Sun Tzu (on Emperor) and if I lose in the wonder race, I always try to conquer it before that civ become too strong.
Having a barracks in almost every city is necessary for me.

 

[Gumby78]

I build barracks in every city and also build or rush Art of War.

 

[Rik Meleet]

Gumby: a bit double; rax and Tzu !

If I don't know pottery at the start, I can sometimes build a rax early in the capital so the capital grows a bit more. But usually I only build it in the cities that are on unit-duty.
Later on I'll squeeze some rax in or if I'm in an early war. There are more important things to build than rax in the beginning.

 

[painkiller]

Baracks should be built in all unit producing cities. If you are a peaceful builder and you simply don't care about warmongering then baracks are very good to have in border cities because they heal your units to max in one turn if they get attacked and survive. Warmongers shouldn't care to much about border cities since the border will change constantly. The ultimate thing is ofcourse to have the Sun Tzu war academy (Baracks in all cities on the same continent).

 

[577517]

I don't build any. I just wait for SunTzu's Art of War.

 

[davidcrazy]

if you are fishing for leaders, never build any unit without a barrack in the city (except the very first few scouting units).

 

[joeldatroll]

"Also, about upgrading units, do you just shuttle your non-barracked defenders to barracks cities to be upgraded or do you build the new upgraded units and just disband the old defenders in cities lacking barracks?"

 

[Rammstein]

If I don't get Sun Tzu, all over the place. If I get it, all border cities and unit producing cities. By the end of the game, most cities have them. I use the upgrade feature a lot, so it helps to have them around.

 

[Samson]

Also, about upgrading units, do you just shuttle your non-barracked defenders to barracks cities to be upgraded or do you build the new upgraded units and just disband the old defenders in cities lacking barracks?

I will always upgrade my veteran units. I would rather spend 3 gold per increased shield than build from scratch. Normal units are a bit of a question mark, and I will not upgrade conscripts unless it is a cheap upgrade or I am really desperate.

 

[Dell19]

"Also, about upgrading units, do you just shuttle your non-barracked defenders to barracks cities to be upgraded or do you build the new upgraded units and just disband the old defenders in cities lacking barracks?"

In front line cities I will upgrade units but it depends how quickly I can get to a city with a barracks and back again as I would rather not leave a city undefended if it can be helped.

 

[Theoden]

"Also, about upgrading units, do you just shuttle your non-barracked defenders to barracks cities to be upgraded or do you build the new upgraded units and just disband the old defenders in cities lacking barracks?"

Once i get Railroads I will not upgrade units in most of mycities. I wait for the possible threat to arrive and then i will upgrade if neccasery. But I almost never disband units unless they're very obselete(like a conscript warrior in industrial age that I have forgotten for a while)

I usually build barracks in all of my cities if I'm militaristic. I not i will only build in unit producing cities. If I'm palying regent or below I'll wait for Sun Tzu's. Just Never build offensive units like swordsmen in non-baracks cities

 

[AngryGerbil]

Depends a bit on what type of win I'm going for. If I plan on attacking early and often, then barracks is a top priority in all cities, no ifs ands or buts.

If I think I can hang back and play a more peaceful game, I'll still eventually build alot of barracks, but I usually do so only after having the more key infrastructure buildings like Temple/Granary/Library/Marketplace and the like.

Once i get Railroads I will not upgrade units in most of mycities. I wait for the possible threat to arrive and then i will upgrade if neccasery.

Maybe a better player can shed some light on this but I was under the impression that the AI judges your strength not only on the number of units you have, but also by the type. So if you have a total of 50 Spearmen, then the Mongols might come demanding tribute, but if you upgrade them all to Muskets or something, then the Mongols would be less likely to mess with you. (I use Mongols because they always seem to be demanding tribute in every game I play, those jerks). So upgrading can be beneficial because it can work as a deterrent.

Unless I am wrong, in which case waiting to upgrade isn't a bad idea at all. Only spend the money if you have to!

 

[BassDude726]

I always wait for the Pyramids instead of building a Granary in every city, but I find that it's necessary to have at least a couple of Barracks around for the early wars. It costs a little bit more time and production than sending stacks of Regulars, but it's worth it since you lose fewer troops that way.

 

[E-Raser]

Mainly I manage with one barrack, SunTzu's. Must have wonder.

 

[Dell19]

I'm not sure how the AI views upgrading but if its the late game and you have at least some modern units then you can probably get away without upgrading and if the Mongols do come demanding then you can always quickly upgrade your troops and go on the offensive.

 

[AngryGerbil]

Mainly I manage with one barrack, SunTzu's. Must have wonder.

The best advice I ever received on these forums (and I believe it was Ision that gave it, although this was a long time ago) was: "Don't build wonders, play as if the game had no wonders, and never plan on having any wonders."

He wasn't exactly advocating that you should never build a wonder or anything, what he was saying is that alot of people use them as crutches. He said that if you can play and win without building any wonders, than the ones you do happen to get are all bonus and you don't have to rely on them.

I tried this advice and have been a much better Civ player since. To me, the phrase "must have wonder" is evil!!! There is no such thing as a must have wonder!

But other than that, yeah I agree, it sure is one of the better ones!