Improving Stealth Bombers

[Randall Turner]

I noticed that when you buy a land unit in a city with barracks etc. now, you get the appropriate unit improvement points. Though I was okay with "bought" units coming out as noobs, that's nice.

I can also upgrade regular bombers to stealth bombers, that comes in handy.

I also notice, though, that stealth bombers don't get unit improvements once they're actually stealth bombers. Odd, they're the only unit that doesn't improve with experience.

One way to get improvements on them, though, is to start off as regular bombers. Bombers promoted to stealth bombers keep their improvements. (ie, Siege, Bombardment.) I've taken to building regular bombers exclusively, running them up to around 30 experience points (getting the aforementioned Siege and Bombardment attributes), then promoting to stealth bombers.

And, of course, naming them something spiffy like "1st SAC" to differentiate between them and "normal" stealth bombers.

I wonder if this is the way it's going to be, or if stealth bombers will get the ability to upgrade with experience in future patches. <shrug>

 

[Samuil]

As I recall, the upcoming patch notes stated that Stealth bombers could now be upgraded

 

[Randall Turner]

Samuil, I just used these "SAC" units in battle. I'm not sure they're getting the benefit of the upgrade, they sure didn't seem any more effective than vanilla stealth bombers.

Perhaps just bad rolls, not sure.

 

[Randall Turner]

The new patch "fixed" this. Stealth bombers are incredibly powerful now with it.

Might be a bit unbalanced, actually. Getting the x2 attack isn't very challenging, they're tough to shoot down.

 

[MadDjinn]

The new patch "fixed" this. Stealth bombers are incredibly powerful now with it.

Might be a bit unbalanced, actually. Getting the x2 attack isn't very challenging, they're tough to shoot down.

yeah, this actually makes the americans an air power in game. B52 bombers start with a siege upgrade. 30 XP later and they are getting 2x attacks as stealth bombers...

 

[Randall Turner]

That's good, the Americans need all the help they can get.

I was laughing and shaking my head at some of the other posters grumping about their civs (and Germany and France do seem a bit underpowered) while ignoring the obviously underrepresented Americans.

Then I realized that everyone has just quietly stopped playing them.

 

[Resident Mario]

The American bonuses seem "mostly harmless", although their second UU is a monster.

 

[MadDjinn]

The American bonuses seem "mostly harmless", although their second UU is a monster.

so is the first one if used correctly.

ability to get a blitz mech infantry that ignores terrain cost is very strong.

 

[Randall Turner]

so is the first one if used correctly.

ability to get a blitz mech infantry that ignores terrain cost is very strong.

I haven't played them for a long time, but the Minuteman unit had a huge downside back when. It didn't pay terrain cost, but it didn't get the road movement bonus either.

They might have changed that since, but if they didn't, makes it mostly useless for me. I need troops that can react quickly in my own territory.

Still, though - the main real-life American trait is industrial/economic. Per-capita production was highest in the world through the industrial era. Not so much now we're in the information age, but for most of the country's lifetime it was the defining trait. Need like an "assembly line" building to replace the normal factory, or something along those lines.

getting sorta off-topic here.