Nuke_Exchange said:
Scout
Requires Hunting
Str 1; Mov 2
+100% Vs Animals
Can Only Defend, Better Results from Tribal villages.
The Scout, scouts. It defeats animals with ease. Expect it to die when Barbarians appear. Kill for experience. It's better to start with a scout than with an warrior. Easier early exploration. 'Better result from Tribal Village' means the hostile Barbarian spawning village is rare indeed.
Obsolete as soon as barbarians appear.
In multiplayer on packed maps, it's better to start with a warrior than a scout, because if you start with a scout, someone can attack you with their starting warrior and exterminate you before you can do anything about it. And you can't even do the same to them since your scout can't attack. In single player games, i agree that scouts are better.
For me scouts are never obsolete. A good scout with medic can last until the very end of the game. It will never die because it will never be the unit that defends in your stack.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Warrior
No Requirement
Str 2; Mov 1
+25% city defense.
Basic defensive and exploratory unit. If you start next to the Inca, build these instead of archers. Can hold its own against Early Barbarians; until Axemen appear. Useful for a Early rush.
Counter with the archer or spearman.
The Archer obsoletes this.
You should specify what you mean by rush. You won't take any cities with warriors. I would say "useful for early harassment", this is more accurate.
Why would you want to counter warriors with spearmen? By the time you have the metal to make spearmen, you can make axemen instead, which are much better at facing warriors.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Quecha
No requirement
Str 2; Mov 1
+25% City defense
+100% vs Archery units
Incan Unique Unit
Bassically a Warrior with a bonus against archers. No to be underestmated; Quencha rushes are crippling. This unit takes longer to obsolete than the warrior. But overall, it got a short shelf life. Don't invest too much on it.
Counter with Spearman, Chariot.
Obsolete with the advent of the chariot.
Watch out, it's quechua, not quencha. You've made the same mistake in the archer section as well.
Same point as above regarding counters. Much better to counter them with axemen than spearmen, and they come just as early.
I find quechuas useful all the way to longbowmen. No way quechuas are obsolete at chariots, unless you're using quechuas alone, but it's never a good idea to use only one kind of unit anyway. As long as there are archers around, quechuas remain useful.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Archer
Needs Archery
Str 3; Mov 1
1 First strike
+50% City defense
+25% Hill defence
Pure Defensive unit. Archers fortified on a hill city can be difficult to dislodge. Good investment, Not obsolete until the Middle ages. Beware: many UUs have abilities against them.
Counter with Quencha, Immortal, War Chariot, Horse Archer.
Obsolete with the longbowman.
You forgot the best non-UU counter to archers : swordsmen. Better than horse archers, and much better than war chariots. Axemen are also much better than war chariots at countering archers, and about as good as horse archers because of city raider promotions. War chariots shouldn't be in the list at all. It's better to use them as pillagers than to attack cities head on with them.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Skrimisher
Needs Archery
Str 4, Mov 1
+50% City defense
+25% Hill defence
Mali Unique Unit.
Archer with extra first strike and Str. Solid Defensive unit.
Counter with Immortal, War Chariot, Horse Archer
Obsolete with longbowman
Sending a war chariot against a skirmisher is pure folly. Even a horse archer is a bad move. Even axemen can't hurt them. Even sworsmen, the best city raider unit, have trouble. I would say the only counter to skirmishers is the catapult. Without some, don't even try.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Chariot
Needs Horses, The Wheel
Str 4; Mov 2
Gain no Defensive bonus.
The first Offensive unit you get. (If you have horses) Death to Warrior, Quecha and Barbarians. Good Scout too. But don't build too many; the Horse Archer is round the corner.
Counter with Spearmen, War Elephant, Phalanx
Obsolete with the appearance of Horse Archers.
You should mention that their main use is pillaging.
Nuke_Exchange said:
War Chariot
Needs Horses, The Wheel
Str 5; Mov 2
Gains no Defensive Bonus.
Immune to first stike.
Can Withdraw from combat (+20% Chance)
Egyptian Unique Unit.
Good Offensive unit. Immunity to First Strikes means a edge against Archers; Withdrawal from combat means more chances of survival. The Extra Str helps too. Not obsoleted by the Horse Archer.
Counter with Spearman, War Elephant, Phalanx.
Obsolete with the War Elephant or Knight.
The extra strength and immunity to first strike makes them something normal chariots aren't : decent city attackers. You're still better off with axemen and swordsmen though.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Immortal
Needs Horses, The Wheel
Str 4, Mov 2
Can Withdraw from combat (+30% Chance)
+50% vs Archery units
Persian Unique Unit.
Good Rush unit; Can utterly destroyed an empire if he has no Speamen. I've done it. Also good at Surviving combat. But... pass.
Counter with Spearman, War Elephant, Phalanx.
Obsolete with Horse Archer.
Indeed, this is an actual rush unit, in that it can actually take cities.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Spearman
Requires Copper or Iron and Hunting
Str 4, Mov 1
+100% vs Mounted units
Defensive unit. Effective against all Mounted units in this Era. Fortify one in each city. Useful thoughout the age.
Counter with Swordsmen, Axemen
Obsolete with the Pikeman
Agreed.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Phalanx
Requires Copper or Iron and Hunting
Str 5, Mov 1
+100% vs Mounted units
+25% Hill defense
Greek Unique Unit
Excellent Defensive unit for those Hill Cities. Replacement for the Archer in most situations. The Extra Str is a bonus.
Counter with Swordsmen, Axemen
Obsolete with Pikemen
This unit can also actually turn into a decent city attacker because it has access to city raider promotions and is pretty cheap.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Axeman
Requires Copper or Iron andBronze Working
Str 5, Mov 1
+50% vs. Melee Units
Choice Defensive unit. Can also be on the Offensive. Pretty Multi-role and long lasting. Can't do much against Mounted units, so mix with Spearmen.
Counter with War Elephants
Obsolete with the Maceman
Horse archers are a more probable counter than war elephants.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Horse Archer
Requires Horses Horseback Riding & Archery
Str 6, Mov 2
Gains No defense bonuses
Immune to First Strikes
+50% vs. Catapults
Successor to the Chariot. Good against Archers, due to it's First Strike Immunity. Purely Offensive. Good unit, just don't fight Spearmen. Effective at pillaging and if need be, scouting.
Counter with Spearmen, Phalanx, War Elephant
Obsolete with Knight
Swordsmen also counter them somewhat because they are cheaper and get defensive bonuses.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Keshik
Requires horse Horseback Riding & Archery
Str 6 Mov 2
1 first strike
Doesn't receive defensive bonuses
Ignores terrain movement costs
+50% attack vs. Catapult
Mongolian Unique Unit
Pretty much a Horse Archer. But it's a exellenct Scout and Pillager with it's ignore terrain cost ability.
Counter with Spearmen, Phalanx, War Elephant
Obsolete with Knight
Same comment as above regarding swordsmen.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Swordsman
Requires Iron and Iron Working
Str 6, Mov 1
+10% City Attack
Mutli-Role, Long lasting unit, can defend, but it's better on the offensive. Can hold it's own against everything but Axemen, Praetorians and War Elephants. A must have unit.
Counter with Axemen.
Obsolete with Macemen
Should develop city raider promotions above all else.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Praetorian
Requires Iron and Iron Working
Str 8, Mov 1
Roman Unique Unit
Increadible unit. Disputably the best UU. It's a trade off for the +10% City attack for +2 Str. It works; only Axemen can fight Praetorians. It's Multi-Role and long lasting too. An Army of then Steam roles over practically everthing.
Counter with Axemen.
Obsolete with the Maceman.
Axemen are only a semi-counter. Praetorians still win 1 on 1 versus them, but when facing Praetorians, it's the best you've got. War elephants work better but are more expensive.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Jaguar
Requires Iron and Iron Working
Str 5; Mov 1
+10% city attack
+25% jungle defense
Aztech Unique Unit
Insane. What else to expect from motezuma's UU? Traded off 1 Str for +25% Jungle Defense... Still, if for some reason you got to defend a Jungle, this is the unit for it.
Counter with Axeman
Obsolete with the Maceman
Arguably the worst UU in the game. Still, you should mention that they don't require iron, which is really their only advantage.
They can also be countered with swordsmen, horse archers and war elephants, though not as effectively as with axemen.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Galley
Requires Sailing
Str 2, Mov 2
Can transport up to 2 units
Cannot enter ocean spaces
First Naval Unit you get. Pretty pointless exect on archipelago. Can Pillage Water improvements, Transport units to nearby island or for a suprise attack.
No Counter; Build more Galleys!
Obsolete with the Galleon
This is not the first naval unit you get. The first one is the work boat. Don't underestimate the mighty work boat! I've once circumnavigated the map with them! They're perfect for early exploration since they're cheap, and you don't need to worry about them becoming obsolete, as you know you'll need them somewhere eventually.
The caravel counters the galley, with more strength and more movement. It can't transport troops, but it's a better fighter.
Nuke_Exchange said:
Catapult
Requires Construction
Str 5, Mov 1
No defense bonuses
Causes collateral damage
Bombards city defenses -15%/turn
A siege weapon; without it you can't attack a well defended city. It weaken's it defenses and damages the defenders. Suicide attacks to soften opposition is a good tactic. Keep producing these; the cannon arrives in the industrial age. A must have.
Counter with Horse Archer, Keshik
Obsolete with the Cannon.
You can attack cities without them if (1) you attack early enough or (2) you use praetorians.
Nuke_Exchange said:
War Elephant
Requires Ivory and Construction
Str8, Mov 1
No defense bonuses
+50% vs. Mounted Units
Powerful unit; Purely offensive. Can destroy other mounted units and pretty much everything else. War Elephant+Praetorian=Conquest. If you have ivory prepare to invade and conquer some neighbor. Spearmen can stop these Juggernaughts.
Counter with Spearmen, Phalanx
Obsolete with the appearance of Pikemen (Knights get Defeated by War Elephants)
You should mention that ivory is pretty rare, so don't expect to get access to war elephants in most games, and don't expect to be facing a lot of them either.
