Grifftavian
Emperor
A Guide to Naval Units in Sid Meier's Civilization IV
The release of Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (BtS) introduced several new Modern Era Naval Units into the game. Since there are now nineteen (19) different Naval Units available for your Admirals to command, I decided to write a guide that covers all of the Civilization IV Naval Units and discusses how they may best be deployed. This is my first attempt at a guide/strategy article, and I hope the readers will find the information useful. As always, comments and suggestions from the readers are appreciated. The strategies and tactics I've written about in this document are based primarily on my own playing experience, and I'm sure I may have overlooked or not thought many other methods for deploying your armadas. So if your Admirals have any Naval Tactics that have worked well for your Empire(s) in the past, let me know and I'll update this article.
INTRODUCTION
If you play Civilization IV on flat maps without oceans or seas, you can pretty much ignore Naval Research. But if you play on maps which simulate a planet, or even good old Mother Earth, you are going to need a Navy sooner or later, and sooner is better! If you play on an Archipelago map, you'll need a Navy almost immediately. This guide will discuss the various Civ IV Naval Units and propose strategies for their use. The following abbreviations are used throughout this document: STR = Unit Strength; MV = Unit Movement; C = Unit Cargo Capacity.
ANCIENT ERA NAVAL UNITS
Teach a man to fish...
Your first seagoing vessel is a merchantman, the humble WORK BOAT [0 STR, 2 MV, 0 C]. It is available with the knowledge of FISHING. They cannot enter Ocean tiles until the discovery of ASTRONOMY. Their primary purpose is to become Fishing Boats and provide a Health Bonus for your cities through harvesting coastal seafood resources (tonight's menu; New England Clam Chowder, Maryland Crab Cakes, Pan-Seared Talapia and Conch Fritters). Surplus seafood resources can be traded to your neighbors for other resources or Gold. With the discovery of OPTICS, they can become Whaling Boats, and with the discovery of PLASTICS, they can build Offshore Oil Platforms. The Work Boat never earns any Experience Points!
A sometimes overlooked use for Work Boats is as an early explorer. Work Boats can explore the coastlines while your scouts and warriors explore the interior of you home continent. Be the first to locate and settle good coastal locations and watch your Civ grow. Note that Work Boats cannot enter a rival's territory without an Open Border Agreement.
Come sail away with me...
Your first naval ship is the GALLEY [2 STR, 2 MV, 2 C]. It is available with the knowledge of SAILING. They cannot enter Ocean tiles. Galleys can engage in combat, and can pillage an opponents fishing boats for gold, but it is most useful as your first troop transport. A Galley can carry two units of any type. The Galley can be upgraded to a Galleon.
The prerequisite for SAILING is FISHING, so if you want an early start on building your naval armada, play as a Civilization that start with FISHING.
American, Carthaginian, Dutch, English, Greek, Japanese, Native American, Portuguese, Roman, Spanish, Viking
CLASSICAL ERA NAVAL UNITS
Ramming speed... All hands brace for impact...
The only new naval unit in the Classical Era is the TRIREME [2 STR, 2 MV, 0 C], which was added in the Warlords Expansion Pack. It is available with the knowledge of SAILING and METAL CASTING (METAL CASTING requirement for BtS only). The Trireme has a +50% attack bonus versus the Galley. They cannot enter Ocean tiles. The Trireme is both an attack ship and a Fleet defender. With their combat bonus against the Galley, they are useful for stopping enemy invasion fleets before they can land. Because of this, you will want to include some Triremes as escort vessels for your own invasion fleet(s). You should also build Triremes to defend your coastal cities and protect your fishing boats from pillaging. Remember that coastal tiles have a 10% defensive bonus, so always try to have the enemy ships attack you. Triremes can be upgraded to a Caravel or a Frigate.
One oddity; although you need the knowledge of METAL CASTING in Beyond the Sword to build Triremes, you do not need to have access to copper or iron. Perhaps FIRAXIS will correct this oversight in a future patch.
Civs that start with MINING have a leg up in the race to build Triremes.
Carthaginian**, Chinese, English**, Ethiopian, German, Indian, Khmer, Maya, Malinese, Portuguese**, Roman**, Russian
**also starts with FISHING
The HEROIC EPIC National Wonder becomes available in the Classical Era. It requires the knowledge of LITERATURE, a Barracks, and a military unit that has reached Level 4 experience. The Heroic Epic provides a +100% military unit production bonus. Constructing this National Wonder in a coastal city will allow you to construct your naval unit faster as well. You should also consider having one of your Great Generals establish a Military Academy in the same coastal city, as Military Academies provide an additional +50% military unit production bonus. Naturally, you will want to do this in a coastal city that also serves as one of your Production Cities.
STRATEGY TIPS FOR YOUR COASTAL NAVY
Your fledgling naval armada(s) will be limited to patrolling the coastline of your home continent. (Note: your early ships can enter the ocean tiles within friendly cultural borders) Dry Docks and their +4 Experience Points (EP) are still a long way off, so you will need to find another way to build naval units with some EPs.
Your Civics choices affect naval units the same as your land and air based units. The Vassalage Labor Civic (requires knowledge of Feudalism) earns your ships +2 EP. The Theocracy Religious Civic (requires Theology) earns you another +2 EP if your state religion is present in the coastal city where your ships are built. If you get a Great General, and assign him as a Military Instructor in a coastal city, ships built in that city will also get the +2 EP from each Military Instructor assigned to that city. So even without Dry Docks, you can build new naval units with +6 EP or more under the right conditions. Now, how do you put those EPs to good use?
The Galley and Trireme both have a strength of 2. The Combat line of promotions will only add +10% to their strength, which is not much of an improvement at this strength rating. However, everything else being equal, a Combat I Trireme will defeat a Drill I Trireme almost every time. Therefore, I'd recommend giving your Triremes the Combat line of promotions. Your Galleys initial promotions should be Flanking I and Sentry to improve their visibility and help the escorting Triremes detect threats, then the Combat line of promotions.
The only exception would be if you wanted to specialize and create a Hospital Ship with the Medic promotions, since Medic I requires the Combat I promotion. A Hospital Ship can help heal your invasion fleet if they are attacked en route to their target. Since Triremes get a 50% attack bonus versus Galleys, your early Hospital Ship should be a Trireme with the Combat I/Medic I/Medic II promotions. For the ultimate Hospital Ship, attach a Warlord and give it the Medic III promotion.
---- Suggested by Perugia ----
An alternative to creating Hospital Ships is to include a land based unit with the Medic promotions loaded aboard a troop transport ship.
------------------------------
Another tactic to consider, if you would like faster moving ships, is to give all of your ships the Flanking I/Navigation I & II promotions. Navigation I & II each add +1 Movement. Not too much of a benefit for Galleys and Triremes limited to sailing around your home continent. But if you upgrade them to ocean faring Galleons and Frigates, it could make a significant difference in colonizing other continents and your trans-oceanic invasions! However, trying to get all your Galleys and Triremes promoted to the same movement rate at the same time can be difficult to achieve. You should always keep your Galleys escorted by Triremes, and it is more efficient to do this if they both have the same movement rate.
MEDIEVAL ERA NAVAL UNITS
Set an open course for the virgin sea...
The only new naval unit in the Medieval Era is the CARAVEL [3 STR, 3 MV, 1 C*]. It is available with the knowledge of OPTICS. The Portuguese Unique Unit, the CARRACK [3 STR, 3 MV, 2C], replaces the Caravel. (Portugal and their UU, the Carrack, are playable in BtS only) The Caravel/Carrack is the first ship you can train that can enter Ocean Tiles. They are basically naval explorers and are extremely useful for finding those undiscovered countries! They can enter rival controlled Sea and Ocean tiles without an Open Border Agreement. They can attack enemy ships, but cannot blockade or pillage. The Caravel/Carrack can be upgraded to a Frigate, Destroyer or Attack Submarine (BtS Only).
*A Caravel can only carry one Scout, Explorer, Missionary, Great Person or Spy.
The Portuguese Carrack can carry two units of any type, and it gives you a leg up in establishing overseas cities and expanding your empire.
With an Open Border Agreement, the Caravel/Carrack can attempt to spread your state religion to those foreign shores, drop off scouts/explorers to map out rival territory, and carry out those Trade Missions with a Great Merchant. Without an Open Border Agreement, they are still useful for slipping spies into your rival's cities.
A useful tactic if you are among the first to discover OPTICS is to train two Caravels, sending one East and one West, and attempt to become the first to circumnavigate the globe. If you achieve this, all of your ships receive a +1 movement bonus. Speed is life! Researching PAPER to get Map Trading can help speed up your quest to be the first to circumnavigate the globe. You don't have to actually sail around the world and have your Caravels link up to get the movement bonus, only have a line of revealed map tiles at all points along the X-axis of the map. Be careful who you trade maps with, as this works for the AI also! Caravels/Carracks on the circumnavigate the globe mission should be given the Flanking I, Sentry and Navigation I & II promotions when available!
---- Thanks to KmDubya for the following tips! ----
One trick that has helped me in the past is producing two Triremes while running Theocracy and Vassalage to get two promotions if you are Charismatic. Get Navigation I and when you hit Optics, upgrade to Caravels for the faster movement to help in the trip around the world.
Sending a Sentry promoted Explorer as a passenger also helps. With the Explorer you can sometimes pop a hut or with open borders run across a blocking continent. Missionaries can also make nice additions to your Caravel to convert an unlucky Civ who does not have a religion to the true faith.
--------------------
Because they can enter AI controlled sea/ocean tiles without an Open Border Agreement, Caravels with the Flanking I and Sentry promotions also make excellent Recon Ships. Send one into your neighbor's territory in advance of your Trireme and Galley invasion fleet to see what you will be up against.
The release of Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (BtS) introduced several new Modern Era Naval Units into the game. Since there are now nineteen (19) different Naval Units available for your Admirals to command, I decided to write a guide that covers all of the Civilization IV Naval Units and discusses how they may best be deployed. This is my first attempt at a guide/strategy article, and I hope the readers will find the information useful. As always, comments and suggestions from the readers are appreciated. The strategies and tactics I've written about in this document are based primarily on my own playing experience, and I'm sure I may have overlooked or not thought many other methods for deploying your armadas. So if your Admirals have any Naval Tactics that have worked well for your Empire(s) in the past, let me know and I'll update this article.
INTRODUCTION
If you play Civilization IV on flat maps without oceans or seas, you can pretty much ignore Naval Research. But if you play on maps which simulate a planet, or even good old Mother Earth, you are going to need a Navy sooner or later, and sooner is better! If you play on an Archipelago map, you'll need a Navy almost immediately. This guide will discuss the various Civ IV Naval Units and propose strategies for their use. The following abbreviations are used throughout this document: STR = Unit Strength; MV = Unit Movement; C = Unit Cargo Capacity.
ANCIENT ERA NAVAL UNITS
Teach a man to fish...
Your first seagoing vessel is a merchantman, the humble WORK BOAT [0 STR, 2 MV, 0 C]. It is available with the knowledge of FISHING. They cannot enter Ocean tiles until the discovery of ASTRONOMY. Their primary purpose is to become Fishing Boats and provide a Health Bonus for your cities through harvesting coastal seafood resources (tonight's menu; New England Clam Chowder, Maryland Crab Cakes, Pan-Seared Talapia and Conch Fritters). Surplus seafood resources can be traded to your neighbors for other resources or Gold. With the discovery of OPTICS, they can become Whaling Boats, and with the discovery of PLASTICS, they can build Offshore Oil Platforms. The Work Boat never earns any Experience Points!
A sometimes overlooked use for Work Boats is as an early explorer. Work Boats can explore the coastlines while your scouts and warriors explore the interior of you home continent. Be the first to locate and settle good coastal locations and watch your Civ grow. Note that Work Boats cannot enter a rival's territory without an Open Border Agreement.
Come sail away with me...
Your first naval ship is the GALLEY [2 STR, 2 MV, 2 C]. It is available with the knowledge of SAILING. They cannot enter Ocean tiles. Galleys can engage in combat, and can pillage an opponents fishing boats for gold, but it is most useful as your first troop transport. A Galley can carry two units of any type. The Galley can be upgraded to a Galleon.
The prerequisite for SAILING is FISHING, so if you want an early start on building your naval armada, play as a Civilization that start with FISHING.
American, Carthaginian, Dutch, English, Greek, Japanese, Native American, Portuguese, Roman, Spanish, Viking
CLASSICAL ERA NAVAL UNITS
Ramming speed... All hands brace for impact...
The only new naval unit in the Classical Era is the TRIREME [2 STR, 2 MV, 0 C], which was added in the Warlords Expansion Pack. It is available with the knowledge of SAILING and METAL CASTING (METAL CASTING requirement for BtS only). The Trireme has a +50% attack bonus versus the Galley. They cannot enter Ocean tiles. The Trireme is both an attack ship and a Fleet defender. With their combat bonus against the Galley, they are useful for stopping enemy invasion fleets before they can land. Because of this, you will want to include some Triremes as escort vessels for your own invasion fleet(s). You should also build Triremes to defend your coastal cities and protect your fishing boats from pillaging. Remember that coastal tiles have a 10% defensive bonus, so always try to have the enemy ships attack you. Triremes can be upgraded to a Caravel or a Frigate.
One oddity; although you need the knowledge of METAL CASTING in Beyond the Sword to build Triremes, you do not need to have access to copper or iron. Perhaps FIRAXIS will correct this oversight in a future patch.
Civs that start with MINING have a leg up in the race to build Triremes.
Carthaginian**, Chinese, English**, Ethiopian, German, Indian, Khmer, Maya, Malinese, Portuguese**, Roman**, Russian
**also starts with FISHING
The HEROIC EPIC National Wonder becomes available in the Classical Era. It requires the knowledge of LITERATURE, a Barracks, and a military unit that has reached Level 4 experience. The Heroic Epic provides a +100% military unit production bonus. Constructing this National Wonder in a coastal city will allow you to construct your naval unit faster as well. You should also consider having one of your Great Generals establish a Military Academy in the same coastal city, as Military Academies provide an additional +50% military unit production bonus. Naturally, you will want to do this in a coastal city that also serves as one of your Production Cities.
STRATEGY TIPS FOR YOUR COASTAL NAVY
Your fledgling naval armada(s) will be limited to patrolling the coastline of your home continent. (Note: your early ships can enter the ocean tiles within friendly cultural borders) Dry Docks and their +4 Experience Points (EP) are still a long way off, so you will need to find another way to build naval units with some EPs.
Your Civics choices affect naval units the same as your land and air based units. The Vassalage Labor Civic (requires knowledge of Feudalism) earns your ships +2 EP. The Theocracy Religious Civic (requires Theology) earns you another +2 EP if your state religion is present in the coastal city where your ships are built. If you get a Great General, and assign him as a Military Instructor in a coastal city, ships built in that city will also get the +2 EP from each Military Instructor assigned to that city. So even without Dry Docks, you can build new naval units with +6 EP or more under the right conditions. Now, how do you put those EPs to good use?
The Galley and Trireme both have a strength of 2. The Combat line of promotions will only add +10% to their strength, which is not much of an improvement at this strength rating. However, everything else being equal, a Combat I Trireme will defeat a Drill I Trireme almost every time. Therefore, I'd recommend giving your Triremes the Combat line of promotions. Your Galleys initial promotions should be Flanking I and Sentry to improve their visibility and help the escorting Triremes detect threats, then the Combat line of promotions.
The only exception would be if you wanted to specialize and create a Hospital Ship with the Medic promotions, since Medic I requires the Combat I promotion. A Hospital Ship can help heal your invasion fleet if they are attacked en route to their target. Since Triremes get a 50% attack bonus versus Galleys, your early Hospital Ship should be a Trireme with the Combat I/Medic I/Medic II promotions. For the ultimate Hospital Ship, attach a Warlord and give it the Medic III promotion.
---- Suggested by Perugia ----
An alternative to creating Hospital Ships is to include a land based unit with the Medic promotions loaded aboard a troop transport ship.
------------------------------
Another tactic to consider, if you would like faster moving ships, is to give all of your ships the Flanking I/Navigation I & II promotions. Navigation I & II each add +1 Movement. Not too much of a benefit for Galleys and Triremes limited to sailing around your home continent. But if you upgrade them to ocean faring Galleons and Frigates, it could make a significant difference in colonizing other continents and your trans-oceanic invasions! However, trying to get all your Galleys and Triremes promoted to the same movement rate at the same time can be difficult to achieve. You should always keep your Galleys escorted by Triremes, and it is more efficient to do this if they both have the same movement rate.
MEDIEVAL ERA NAVAL UNITS
Set an open course for the virgin sea...
The only new naval unit in the Medieval Era is the CARAVEL [3 STR, 3 MV, 1 C*]. It is available with the knowledge of OPTICS. The Portuguese Unique Unit, the CARRACK [3 STR, 3 MV, 2C], replaces the Caravel. (Portugal and their UU, the Carrack, are playable in BtS only) The Caravel/Carrack is the first ship you can train that can enter Ocean Tiles. They are basically naval explorers and are extremely useful for finding those undiscovered countries! They can enter rival controlled Sea and Ocean tiles without an Open Border Agreement. They can attack enemy ships, but cannot blockade or pillage. The Caravel/Carrack can be upgraded to a Frigate, Destroyer or Attack Submarine (BtS Only).
*A Caravel can only carry one Scout, Explorer, Missionary, Great Person or Spy.
The Portuguese Carrack can carry two units of any type, and it gives you a leg up in establishing overseas cities and expanding your empire.
With an Open Border Agreement, the Caravel/Carrack can attempt to spread your state religion to those foreign shores, drop off scouts/explorers to map out rival territory, and carry out those Trade Missions with a Great Merchant. Without an Open Border Agreement, they are still useful for slipping spies into your rival's cities.
A useful tactic if you are among the first to discover OPTICS is to train two Caravels, sending one East and one West, and attempt to become the first to circumnavigate the globe. If you achieve this, all of your ships receive a +1 movement bonus. Speed is life! Researching PAPER to get Map Trading can help speed up your quest to be the first to circumnavigate the globe. You don't have to actually sail around the world and have your Caravels link up to get the movement bonus, only have a line of revealed map tiles at all points along the X-axis of the map. Be careful who you trade maps with, as this works for the AI also! Caravels/Carracks on the circumnavigate the globe mission should be given the Flanking I, Sentry and Navigation I & II promotions when available!
---- Thanks to KmDubya for the following tips! ----
One trick that has helped me in the past is producing two Triremes while running Theocracy and Vassalage to get two promotions if you are Charismatic. Get Navigation I and when you hit Optics, upgrade to Caravels for the faster movement to help in the trip around the world.
Sending a Sentry promoted Explorer as a passenger also helps. With the Explorer you can sometimes pop a hut or with open borders run across a blocking continent. Missionaries can also make nice additions to your Caravel to convert an unlucky Civ who does not have a religion to the true faith.
--------------------
Because they can enter AI controlled sea/ocean tiles without an Open Border Agreement, Caravels with the Flanking I and Sentry promotions also make excellent Recon Ships. Send one into your neighbor's territory in advance of your Trireme and Galley invasion fleet to see what you will be up against.
It is not in the Civilopedia for any of the three versions of Civ IV; maybe I'm remembering something from one of the previous incarnations of Civ
I'll also try and see if I can confirm this in my current game
