I Thought the Patch Was Supposed to Change the Way Promotions & Combining Units Worked...?

[steveg700]

Wasn't the last big patch supposed to modify the way corps and armies work so that all promotions are carried over? So if I combine two melee units, one with Tortoise and the other with Battlecry, I would get both when I combine. That doesn't seem to be happening.

Similarly, I thought the patch let unique unit abilities carry over when promoted, but there's no indication of that. Not that unique abilities were every conveniently denoted on a unit....

Was I smoking something?

 

[Victoria]

Was I smoking something?

You were, carrying both over would be like extra promotions and seriously open to gamey abuse. You carry over the promotions of the most experienced unit.
Unique ability carry over can be abusive also and tbh reflected a unit at a golden time.
...can I have some?

 

[WillowBrook]

I believe the change had to do with promotions like those from the Matterhorn not getting lost when the unit upgrades or is combined in a corps or army.

Edited to correct typos.

 

[steveg700]

You were, carrying both over would be like extra promotions and seriously open to gamey abuse. You carry over the promotions of the most experienced unit.
Unique ability carry over can be abusive also and tbh reflected a unit at a golden time.
...can I have some?

Not sure I agree with you about serious balance issues with combining promotions. Certainly disappointing that unique units lose their abilities on upgrade. Kinda makes most of them not worth giving much thought to.

I believe the change had to do with promotions like those from the Matterhorn not getting lost when the unit upgrades or is combined in a corps or army.

Edited to correct typos.

Oh, is that it? Shirk and the gang made it sound like a big change in the video preview.

 

[Victoria]

Certainly disappointing that unique units lose their abilities on upgrade

During the course of the game at different stages, different units have roughly +5-+10 combat strength. If they kept this then the later units +5 or +10 give them no benefit beyond not being weaker.
A Roman mechanised infantry unit building a fort and repairing tiles?
A Sumerian tank with 0 maintenance?
An English nuclear sub being able to capture a missile cruiser?
An Aztec infantryman taking slaves as workers.

Early units have the benefit of early help, carrying those benefits through the game makes them so much more powerful than later units.

It sounds nice to be able to carry these benefits but within the rules of the game is skews things toward units that already have an advantage of being early. Every dog should have its day, rise and fall... etc etc.

What should be in play is the ability to upgrade to UU for all UU or none. The whole upgrade mechanic is really there to allow for promotions to be kept. Why would you give your standard new troops these abilities rather than your specialised?

 

[steveg700]

During the course of the game at different stages, different units have roughly +5-+10 combat strength. If they kept this then the later units +5 or +10 give them no benefit beyond not being weaker.
A Roman mechanised infantry unit building a fort and repairing tiles?
A Sumerian tank with 0 maintenance?
An English nuclear sub being able to capture a missile cruiser?
An Aztec infantryman taking slaves as workers.

Early units have the benefit of early help, carrying those benefits through the game makes them so much more powerful than later units.

Well, make the later units worth the wait. The later a unit comes in, the better its unique ability should be.

I'm rather fine with most of those examples, in a relativistic sense.

While we're on the subject of misconceptions, let me ask you about something else. I've been avoiding pillage wars,since the patch has made them overly beneficial, but I'm trying one in earnest now. Isn't pillaging areas around a city supposed to weaken its defenses in some fashion? I've run hob around Pachacuti's capital and it seems as strong as ever.

 

[Victoria]

Isn't pillaging areas around a city supposed to weaken its defenses in some fashion?

Each district pillaged will take 2 off the strength of the city, that’s it.
The main idea with pillaging apart from the wonders it brings is it can give -6 loyalty due to lack of amenities and -4 due to starvation. The general idea is that there is sufficient external city pressure from all other civ cities to start to make cities crumble into free cities. The key to getting this to happen is taking the biggest city off them. Works best with civs crowded by others that have a couple of big cities. Also using the -2 from Amani can help.