I'm Starting To Like This Numidian Mercenary...

[cgannon64]

I used to hate it because of the price. But now, let me tell you why I like it: I am Carthage, on a island that can fit four cities. Exploration reveals that I have no hills or mountains, so no iron, and that the map is a very realistic arcipelago. The Aztecs are my nearest neighbor, and destroying them is a must. Without Iron, my best attacker will be none other than---the Numidian mercenary, 2.3.1. Why do I love it now? The ability to conquer a city and immediately have great defense is amazing. Lets say I win a battle, but get seriously wounded, I can fortify on a hill and be pretty much impentrable. Or, I can conquer the city, and these Mercenaries, with their 3 defense, can easily fight off the counter-attack while healing. They are a little pricey, but they are PERFECT for the no-iron situation.

CG

 

[homegrown]

The Mercenary quickly became one of my favorite UUs as well.

 

[joespaniel]

Yeah, I like them too.

I like the Ind/Com trait of Carthage as well, since I never wanted to play as the French.

 

[cgannon64]

Originally posted by homegrown
The Mercenary quickly became one of my favorite UUs as well.

So far my favorites are the Mercenary (as I explained), the Hwach'a (an artillery an age before artillery), and the Beserk, for obvious reasons. I must congratulate Firaxis on the new civs, they are very good.

CG

 

[joespaniel]

The Mongol UU, with its ability to pass over mountains as if they were grassland, could be very usefull. If you can lure your enemy into rough terrain, he is at a great disadvantage.

 

[Cantankerous]

Have to agree.

I've recently been playing a game as the Carthaginians and I've realized just how good the Numidian Mercenary unit can be. And what's best is that it's not obsolete until musketmen come around, giving the unit a very long effective period.

And even if saltpeter is not available (for replacement by musketmen), they still make decent defensive units well into the Middle Ages.

 

[KaNick]

The hwacha has the stregth of an artilery piece, that is true. But does it have the range?

 

[cgannon64]

Originally posted by GrandMasta Nick
The hwacha has the stregth of an artilery piece, that is true. But does it have the range?

The only bombard weapon with a range of more than 1 is the Radar Artillery, I believe. So all of the earlier ones (catapult, cannon, Hwach'a, artillery) have a range of one.

CG

 

[Bamspeedy]

Artillery has a range of 2. The hwacha is powerful for how early it comes. The only downsides are that of course it can't trigger a golden age.

Edit: I originally wrote that it can't be upgraded, but it looks like it can according to the editor. I guess I misread what Prima's strategy guide says "the downside is that you lose the upgrade capability enjoyed by cannons". I thought they meant the Hwacha doesn't upgrade, but what they meant was that you can't upgrade your catapults to the Hwacha.

 

[cgannon64]

You're right, bamspeedy. But still, a unit that will ACTUALLY hurt the opposing unit most of the time is good enough for me, even with a reduced range.

CG

 

[Minmaster]

what unit does numidian mercenary replace? i dont have ptw yet..

 

[Bamspeedy]

They replace the spearman. They can upgrade to pikeman, unlike what the Prima strategy guide says (Ha! Another mistake by Prima). They are 2/3/1 available with bronze working.

 

[swiftsure]

Of course anyone found upgrading 2/3/1 numidians to 1/3/1 pikemen requiring iron will be tied to the front of an hwacha.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Ouch. How did I miss that (I haven't played as Carthage yet). This is a good case for purposely disconnecting your iron, so you can build the cheaper unit for later upgrading (if you have lots of cash).

 

[Dominix]

I think though you should be able to build your UU even if it has been made obsolete. I don't quite remember, but I think while playing GOTM 12, I could still build Impis even though I was in the Modern Age.

 

[swiftsure]

Only 3 weeks and i can lead the mighty legions of Carthage.

thinking about it if you dont connect the iron you cant build the med infantry which i think requires feudlism in PTW or the Knight.

Now i kKnow why i get headaches

 

[Cantankerous]

Actually according to the civilopedia (when looking at it while playing the game), it says that Numidian Mercenaries upgrade directly to Musketmen. And of course this makes infinitely more sense than "upgrading a unit" by "downgrading" it.

 

[narmox]

You can always build your UU, even when it's obsolete. But it can still be upgraded though.. So it's a good thing the Mercenary upgrades to Musketmen.

Come to think of it, it should be the same for Hoplites, no? It is sort of a downgrade to go from a 1/3/1 unit that doesn't require iron to one that does. Kindof a downgrade

 

[texasmick]

I'm pretty sure the mercenary is supposed to upgrade to musketman. I think this is just an error. I fixed mine in the editor.

 

[Catt]

Originally posted by narmox
You can always build your UU, even when it's obsolete. But it can still be upgraded though..

I'm not sure that's correct -- I couldn't build Gallic Swordsmen once I had discovered Feudalism - only Medieval Infantry. But, I do know that I have been able to build "obsolete" UUs even side by side with their upgrade partner. I haven't ever bothered to look for it, but I've seen others post that the UU will be available, even if obsolete, if you haven't had a Golden Age yet. If you have had a Golden Age, perhaps the ability to build the UU goes away when it's upgrade unit becomes available?