How to use commando?

[xonixs]

The commando gives your unit the ability to use the enemies roads and rails.

The backside is that in order to use this your unit gets lost from the other and can end up in an vulnerable situation.

The idea with this is ofcourse that you go behind enemy lines and destroy resource improvements.
And you can also escape ofcourse.
But how to use it efficiently?

Anyway the promotion requires a 4 star.. if im not wrong this means 40% health added to the units basestrength.

So its hard to get. This makes the promotion almost absolete
So is it worth the 5 promotions it requires? Is there a way you can use it so effeciently that it is 5 promotions worthy?

 

[Corlindale]

I've never used it much myself, but I imagine it can be good if you manage to get a small group of commandos(pretty hard to do, I know.), and then you can surprise your enemy by making a strike on a city in the middle of his empire, maybe even his capitol(probably only if he has railroads). This might not be very effective against AI's, who often pack their capital city with defenders, but against human players who tend to put most emphasis on defense of border cities it could be nice. If you manage to raze a capital city or a holy city, it could seriusly hurt your rival. Or you could keep it, and airlift reinforcements straight into the middle of your enemy's empire, wreaking a lot of havoc.

 

[Seven05]

If you're an agressive civ it's easier to get than you might think, you start with combat 1 and can get combat 2 (2xp) by building a barracks, combat 3 (5xp) & 4 (10xp) will be "given" to you by the barbarians. A few quick fights against another civ and you'll have your 17xp. Unless you want it on a mounted unit, then you'll have to hold out for 26? xp which can take a bit longer.

The problem is that commando is more limited than the mobility promotion so it isn't neccesarily better for mounted units. And it's hard to decide if it is better than march which is availabel at combat 3 so an aggressive leader can actually get march from barbarians alone. Later in the game it's a viable option for mech. infantry since they're quick and start with march. But at that point in the game it's difficult to get the needed xp.

I've tried it a couple of times with various unit types and it's been good for specific purposes (scouting, capturing workers, pillaging resources, etc). I think it's just not good enough considering how hard it is to get compared to the other promotions that are available by the same time.

 

[Jantis]

And here I thought this would be a thread about playing Civ4 without wearing underwear. You've got to have some strategies for not sticking to those leather chairs, ya know.

 

[CiverDan]

....inserts picture of lame troll...

 

[Jantis]

Amazing that a person can contribute repeatedly to serious conversations, but if they break out a couple of jokes (yes, even bad ones), invariably some corncob-stuck-in-a-body-cavity calls you a troll.

...inserts picture of stick-in-the-mud...

 

[bob rulz]

I know, it is amazing. He's obviously never been to 75% of the forums on the Internet.

Commando would probably be pretty good if you can get a small strike team. Compared to some of the other advancements available at the time it's not that great, but you should have plenty of military units by the time you're able to use it, and using some less useful advancements on some units wouldn't hurt.

 

[Seanirl]

Should Commando maybe require 1 less promotion?

 

[xonixs]

Should Commando maybe require 1 less promotion?

You can get one big huge YES! from me

 

[Jantis]

Do you generally get units to that level? Even when I manage to retain veteran units through multiple campaigns, they just don't seem to get more than four upgrades by the time I've accomplished the goals I need. Then again, I don't just stick to one upgrade branch (ie, 4 strength), so it's likely why I don't even think about an upgrade such as commando that often.

Do you see more extensive veteran ranks on epic speed? I've only bothered with one game on epic - so I don't have much to compare with there.

 

[xonixs]

On a game that i am playing right now i get XP from Theocrazy, French civ bonus, West point and (building Pentagon). = 4 promotions. With some battles i can get 5 promotions.

west point and heroic epic is in the same city

 

[Syntherio]

west point and heroic epic is in the same city

I created always my military-specialized-city on this way, but never achieved the commando-promotion...

 

[Draax]

Commando is almost agressive-only. But if you can get it, it's insane what you can do. Commando mech. inf. are unstoppable. Commando tanks are lotsa fun too. I've never been able to get anything else up that high yet, but I keep trying.

My problem with commando is that you have to skip important promotions in order to beeline to commando. But if you skip those promos then it's unlikely that your unit will survive long enough to get commando in the first place.

 

[Seanirl]

Somewhere... somehow... someone's going to pay!​

Now THAT'S what a Commando should look like!

 

[xonixs]

Yeah but its only for those who are 18 or older :S