How to recapture my settlers?

[binks]

I can't afford(time wise) to play tutorial so I'm going to ask. Is there some option to recapture settlers captured by barbarians? All I can do is attack them with my military unit but this destroys them. Is there any other way? Beside attacking them?
Edit: If it makes any difference, I'm playing Gods and Kings expansion.

 

[MarshalN]

If you attack them you capture them, not destroy

 

[Yzman]

You have to capture them with a melee unit. If you shoot at them you will kill them. Attack with a warrior or some unit like that.

 

[binks]

Thanks. I was attacking them with my archers. That's why I was just killing them.

 

[George Abitbol]

You don't even need a melee unit to capture it! Just move your range unit (archer) on the settler. You can clear barbarian camps with the same way (even with a worker).

 

[Jampine]

George is right, you only need melee units to capture cites, you can capture civ units and empty barb camps simply by walking any unit over it (but civ units can't capture civ units, as this goes against 1UPT) This is why ranged units are good for taking out barb camps, just snipe them till they're dead, then loot the empty tile!

 

[redwings1340]

hahaha, I can see that conversation now.

Archer: Sir, it's our workers. They've been taken by barbarians, and we need to get them back!
Commander: Shoot them! Fill them with arrows and whoever survives will run to our camps.


If you kill off the barbarian guards, you can move a unit in to where the settler (and it has turned in to a worker if it gets captured) is. It will work if you physically hit the move button and move the archer in to the spot the worker is at. Otherwise the archer will shoot the unit, which doesn't help worker survival rate .

 

[George Abitbol]

This is why ranged units are good for taking out barb camps, just snipe them till they're dead, then loot the empty tile!

The only problem is when units from other civ are lurking around the camp, doing nothing, waiting for you clear the camp... then take it!!! I hate it, when it happens, especially for CS quests, I just want to declare war and assassinate the unit... And when a CS unit clears the camp, I become mad.

 

[Walter R]

The only problem is when units from other civ are lurking around the camp, doing nothing, waiting for you clear the camp... then take it!!! I hate it, when it happens, especially for CS quests, I just want to declare war and assassinate the unit... And when a CS unit clears the camp, I become mad.

Damn right! Actually that gives me an idea for a UA: friendly fire - can kill one unit of another civ/CS, say sorry and no DOW penalty. Oh hang on, I think it's already been done...

 

[Socratatus]

It seems strange that there`s no indication at all that you can kill your own men if you range attack the Barbarians that kidnapped them. There should be some kind of animation after the Barbarians die, showing the workers die as well, then the Player would realise he`s made a mistake. I had no idea that`s what was happening, I just assumed the Barbarians randomly killed them that`s why there was nothing there.

It might seem obvious that range attack is indiscriminate, but we aren`t given any obvious consequences of the attack to let us know like you`d get in real life, ie, "Allied attack on terrorist kidnappers also kills worker hostages!"

 

[Spiral]

They don't die at the same time Socratatus. You have to fire a couple shots at the barb military unit, kill it, then fire more shots at the naked worker/settler. If they are stacked up the worker/settler will not take damage.

 

[binks]

They don't die at the same time Socratatus. You have to fire a couple shots at the barb military unit, kill it, then fire more shots at the naked worker/settler. If they are stacked up the worker/settler will not take damage.

Sure? I do remember that when I fired at barbarians, my workers they captured died as well

 

[chazzycat]

George is right, you only need melee units to capture cites, you can capture civ units and empty barb camps simply by walking any unit over it (but civ units can't capture civ units, as this goes against 1UPT) This is why ranged units are good for taking out barb camps, just snipe them till they're dead, then loot the empty tile!

just one note of caution when using ranged units to capture workers/settlers. Don't right click! Use the move command or number pad. Otherwise you will still shoot them.

 

[compwiz1202]

just one note of caution when using ranged units to capture workers/settlers. Don't right click! Use the move command or number pad. Otherwise you will still shoot them.

Weird, I swore right clicking still made me capture. I know for sure you can't click the attack button then click the civilian or you will attack it. And I think you will attack it with ranged if it is in the water. I freakin hate when they go in the water and don't come out. I have to sent a ship over then they usually run back to land

 

[Socratatus]

They don't die at the same time Socratatus. You have to fire a couple shots at the barb military unit, kill it, then fire more shots at the naked worker/settler. If they are stacked up the worker/settler will not take damage.

The point is, most people don`t realise they`ve just killed their own workers. I certainly didn`t and I`ve been playing for months. Like I said, i thought the barabarians just decided to kill them first.