I'm only going to talk about the ones I've used a lot, or have had experience fighting against.
English Longbowmen: Needs to be nerfed. 3 range is ridiculous this early in the game; on offense I can safely bombard cities into the red without retaliation and then run in with a Horseman or Knight for a one-hit conquest. On defense, having Longbowmen is like a hack, especially considering the AI sucks at combat 9 times out of 10. They are so overpowered that my conquering army for 150+ turns was basically a handful of Swordsmen and Longswords as blockers, and the rest nothing but Longbows. IMO, a more balanced Longbowmen unit would be 14 (+2) Ranged combat and -10% cheaper than Crossbowmen, while retaining the same range.
Naursen's Elephant: I had Siam use them against me in a 30+ turn war. In practice, the reduced movement was not a big deal, because most battles I fought were in rough terrain or around cities. The +4 strength definitely helps, because NEs were able to 1v1 Pikemen without getting whooped.
Chinese Cho-Ko-Nu: Another completely OP unit. They need to be nerfed to 8 ranged strength or something, or at least increase their production cost. It got to the point the AI could not touch me in my own territory for half the game, because Cho-Ko-Nus were effective as late as when Riflemen were on the field.
Egyptian War Chariot: The extra movement helps a bit, but to be honest, in the early game production times are so long and techs come so quickly (compared to production) that I had Horsemen unlocked before I even finished a single War Chariot. I think the ability to melee and more combat strength would make this unit worth investing in more so than extra movement and no horse requirement.
Roman Legion: IMO +2 Strength isn't THAT great considering Legions cost 10P more, which only further delays already long production times in the early game by several turns. Also, it might add historical flavor, but I've never once used their ability to build roads or forts.
Ottoman Janissary: This UU is amazing - the 25% attack bonus helps, but the instant heal upon kills is almost OP. If the AI I was fighting had been more aggressive, they would have crushed me.
Persian Immortal: I didn't find the Immortals to suit my play style when it comes to war - I like to stay on the offensive and move a lot. Faster healing doesn't really help here, but I could definitely see how that would be useful on defense in your own territory.
Greek Hoplite: +2 strength is pretty useful this early in the game, because it allowed the Greek AI to give a decent fight to my Swordsmen and Horsemen couldn't touch them unless they were at < 3 HP. I haven't used them myself, but considering that Pikemen have 1 more strength, I could see Hoplites being useful well into the medieval age.
I haven't played very many games (mostly due to my numerous issues with vanilla CiV's gameplay balance and AI), so these are really the only UUs I have a lot of combat experience with. Please share more!
English Longbowmen: Needs to be nerfed. 3 range is ridiculous this early in the game; on offense I can safely bombard cities into the red without retaliation and then run in with a Horseman or Knight for a one-hit conquest. On defense, having Longbowmen is like a hack, especially considering the AI sucks at combat 9 times out of 10. They are so overpowered that my conquering army for 150+ turns was basically a handful of Swordsmen and Longswords as blockers, and the rest nothing but Longbows. IMO, a more balanced Longbowmen unit would be 14 (+2) Ranged combat and -10% cheaper than Crossbowmen, while retaining the same range.
Naursen's Elephant: I had Siam use them against me in a 30+ turn war. In practice, the reduced movement was not a big deal, because most battles I fought were in rough terrain or around cities. The +4 strength definitely helps, because NEs were able to 1v1 Pikemen without getting whooped.
Chinese Cho-Ko-Nu: Another completely OP unit. They need to be nerfed to 8 ranged strength or something, or at least increase their production cost. It got to the point the AI could not touch me in my own territory for half the game, because Cho-Ko-Nus were effective as late as when Riflemen were on the field.
Egyptian War Chariot: The extra movement helps a bit, but to be honest, in the early game production times are so long and techs come so quickly (compared to production) that I had Horsemen unlocked before I even finished a single War Chariot. I think the ability to melee and more combat strength would make this unit worth investing in more so than extra movement and no horse requirement.
Roman Legion: IMO +2 Strength isn't THAT great considering Legions cost 10P more, which only further delays already long production times in the early game by several turns. Also, it might add historical flavor, but I've never once used their ability to build roads or forts.
Ottoman Janissary: This UU is amazing - the 25% attack bonus helps, but the instant heal upon kills is almost OP. If the AI I was fighting had been more aggressive, they would have crushed me.
Persian Immortal: I didn't find the Immortals to suit my play style when it comes to war - I like to stay on the offensive and move a lot. Faster healing doesn't really help here, but I could definitely see how that would be useful on defense in your own territory.
Greek Hoplite: +2 strength is pretty useful this early in the game, because it allowed the Greek AI to give a decent fight to my Swordsmen and Horsemen couldn't touch them unless they were at < 3 HP. I haven't used them myself, but considering that Pikemen have 1 more strength, I could see Hoplites being useful well into the medieval age.
I haven't played very many games (mostly due to my numerous issues with vanilla CiV's gameplay balance and AI), so these are really the only UUs I have a lot of combat experience with. Please share more!
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