Is there any reason to build a navy or airforce?

[PendragonWRB]

Basically the air game needs a LOT of work. Lots of bugs and pretty much unusable except for taking advantage of the AI by using bombers.

 

[nokmirt]

So, the AI at this point does not use airplanes? If not I hope they fix this soon. In the meantime I'll play Civ 5. Gotta test some mods anyway.

 

[PendragonWRB]

I have only seen a few rogue fighters kicking around but never seen them build a bomber or attack with aircraft. Most of the time I see them they are stuck in an old air district that I had captured and my new city slowly kills them.

 

[CPWimmer]

So, the AI at this point does not use airplanes?

They will, on occasion, build and use bombers. I have seen them build, but not actually use, fighters.

 

[Helmling]

Just must add to the chorus: Frigates, Frigates, Frigates.

Build four frigates ASAP and you've automatically won any war against an AI with coastal cities. I know this is only possible because the AI is stupid, but I can't help but feel like a badass when my fleet pulls up and decimates the enemy.

 

[TurboJ]

AI is extremely bad at using air units. Sometimes they will use bombers but usually they will just let them sit in a city even under siege.

I played a deity science game just now and I wanted to focus on testing air units on the side. What I found is:

1. Fighters are pretty good at defending your own territory because they can only be attacked by air units; can deploy to cover all your area and can damage any enemy ground unit without taking damage (AI does not build anti-air units)
2. Fighters in large numbers are jacks of all trades - you can attack cities and encampents with them and even naval units if you're careful - attacking ground units is a treat once you get some promotions
3. Aircraft carriers are nice to have when invading coastal areas. Fighters can soften enemy ground forces and bombers can soften city defences.
4. Bombers are quite effective at taking down city defences after the buff. Jet bombers have 15 range and you can build air strips in many places - in many cases bombers enable quicker conquering than rocket artillery do with their slow movement.
5. Bombers can still hurt enemy units so they are multi-purpose tools in that respect.
6. Bombers can pillage within operational range. This is the real kicker. 15-tile range and you can target anything - industrial zones, strategic resources, and most importantly - spacecraft factories.

The only problems I found as a player when it comes to air units: they are expensive, they cannot form combined units (like corps or armies with land units) and they can bug out a lot. I occasionally lost fighter units because of a bug and putting planes on a carrier can cause serious issues sometimes.

Bottom line: AI can't use aircraft worth a damn and from a player's perspective they need to fix the damn bugs and allow squadrons to be formed. Three-into-one air units could be too powerful but a squardron of two jet fighters as one unit would make them more balanced against modern armor armies for example.

 

[TurboJ]

About naval stuff:

Played a few more games and I have occasionally seen AI build some ships. Do they use them? No, but apparently they do build them sometimes. There's a civ-based military preference for AI civs that determines what kind of units they build - naval civs will build ships sometimes but the battle AI is just utterly horrible and you can easily win with 1:3 numbers even when AI have deity battle bonus on.

 

[king of nowhere]

Three-into-one air units could be too powerful but a squardron of two jet fighters as one unit would make them more balanced against modern armor armies for example.

there is no need to form squadrons of air units because air units can be stacked already. instead od sending a squadron of two jet fighters, you send two jet fighters separately, and deal about the same damage.

 

[TurboJ]

there is no need to form squadrons of air units because air units can be stacked already. instead od sending a squadron of two jet fighters, you send two jet fighters separately, and deal about the same damage.

It would make management of units a lot more handy and less time-consuming if we could form squadrons (besides there's a limit of how many units can be stacked in air bases and such - particularly carriers would be a lot more useful if squadrons were a possibility).

 

[Disgustipated]

I mostly build these things for roleplay reasons. But they come in handy every now and then. I also build them to various envoys when the option to build a particular thing comes up and perhaps Eurekas/inspirations as well.

 

[DocRock]

If you are playing continents, a navy is pretty handy. I usually conquer my own continent and then send 6-8 Battleships and one Cav / Tank to take the 2nd one without any effort...

 

[lionbadger]

I build carriers, load them with bombers and then obliterate resources/luxuries in the enemy CIV

I've also combined this with spies that recruit partisans who then roll into the helpless enemy cities and wipe them out. Local enemy armies are battered and can't push the partisans back.

 

[Rosty K]

I mostly build these things for roleplay reasons. But they come in handy every now and then. I also build them to various envoys when the option to build a particular thing comes up and perhaps Eurekas/inspirations as well.

Also, if Harald is in the game, having a ship or two is an easy way to make a good ally.

 

[Scaramanga]

Built lots of navies. No real airforce. I think you'd have to start early with biplanes and leverage it there. It could be useful over no-man's lands of mountains and deserts or tight groups of encampments.

 

[MaximusPlatypus]

I like big boats...

I'll see myself out

 

[Darth Tribble]

The only time I really build any naval units is for transport and to defend coastal improvements.

I really do want to fight a war with an emphasis on naval combat and strategy, though.

 

[Victoria]

Do not look at this then, it will put you off

A couple of annoyances