Man-o-war and golden age

[eighty]

I tried the English on emperor level. The man-o-war was about useless. I built 10 of them and sailed around the world. I won over 35 battles with these units and no golden age happened. Then ironclads came around very soon. I could still gang up on the individual ironclads, but man-o-war sucks. Anyone ever had man-o-war trigger golden age?
(I think I wasted my time)

Oh yeah; almost forgot. They can't be upgraded! What's the point? I was playing on a large map. Maybe a tiny map with a lot of water would be better for the English. If anyone has a use for Man-o-war, I would be glad to know it.

 

[Allemand]

You could change the rules so that it is available with Mapmaking, that would make it more useful.

Of your 35 or so victories, how many were against barbarians? Those will never trigger a Golden Age.

However, the English are a strong civ already because of their Commercial/Expansionist traits, so making the Man O' War stronger will probably make them too powerful.

 

[Graeme the mad]

I dont understand why you didnt get gA - did you turn it off at start of game by accident (ive never done it, do you not get special units then either) or did you accidentally put it off in the editor.
Commercial is not powerful - it is the weakest trait (though expanionist is def the strongest) and I agree with eighty that they are too weak - i have made them have dreanoguht as their SU - an ironclad replacement - this lasts longer and it has better stats compared to an IC than a MOW has to a frig

 

[Zouave]

MOW is useless, even if you move it up a bit earlier with the tech tree.

That's why I changed the even moe useless helicopter unit to a crossbowman and made the longbowman the English UU - as it should be historically. All archers upgrade to crossbowmen, except the English who get the longbowman. The English GA starts with the longbowman. On the Completed Mods forum the mod Plutarck posted, and mine, both have this change.

 

[Richard III]

Did you have a golden age already?

I have never, once, had any trouble getting a GA from my UU.

But I agree, the Man-o-War is frustratingly useless.

 

[eighty]

Thanx for the replies. I had already had one GA (from Lighthouse and some other wonder) so it wasn't off. But I know it is possible to have 2 GA's, one from wonders and one from UU's. Some post said they even had 3, but I dunna know about that action.

I don't use the editor much, but I like Zouave's ideas. The helicopter is a waste and crossbows are a good idea.

Historically I know that MOW's were very influential in shaping the British empire and it is a shame to see how pathetic they are in this game. Sigh. Oh well. I'm still going to try it on a smaller map with the more water and less linked land.

 

[Black Waltz]

Sorry man. It's a rumour that you can have more then one GA. You had your one, and that was it.

 

[Allemand]

Because of its short life cycle the MOW is not worth building, but if you bring it in earlier then you will get much more use from it. Still, there is only so much you can do with ships that early in the game.

As for the Commercial/Expansionist comment, no trait can be ranked the strongest or the weakest at all points during the game. It will depend on circumstances. Expansionist may be the strongest in the first era, but loses all its strength after that. Commercial is very strong on a larger map late in the game (third and fourth eras). Therefore, Expansionist (early strength) and Commercial (late strength) give the English a very strong combination.

Having said that, I acknowledge that every player has his/her own convictions about the traits (and obviously about the UUs, too).

 

[BCLG100]

i have actually had 2 golden ages in 1 turn i think i was the americans and i bilt 2 wonders too there traits then later on in the 20th century i built 2 more wonders too there traits and got another one

 

[BCLG100]

sorry not 1 turn 1 game

 

[Tweedledum]

Originally posted by Allemand
However, the English are a strong civ already because of their Commercial/Expansionist traits, so making the Man O' War stronger will probably make them too powerful.

Those traits make them a STRONG civ...!? I reckon its about the worst combination going. Add in an entirely useless UU and what do you get? If they had a sensible UU (Longbowman with much better defensive strength - remember Agincourt!?) they might be worth playing.

At the moment the only time I play the English is as a benchmark - if I can win with them on a Pangea-style map, I know its time to move up to the next difficulty level !!!

 

[eighty]

That is so frustrating.
I hate admitting I was wrong, but I think somewhere in my crack-addled mind I mistook a new AGE for a GOLDEN AGE and therefore thought it was possible to have 2 GA's.

So thank you Black Waltz for realigning me with reality.
And for verifying that I indeed waste my time.

On the bright side, I ended up losing the game due to SPACE RACE to the Americans, but I was only about 10 pts. behind them in score and this was about 1815 AD. I kept playing and am plotting my evil revenge against them and their miserable allies. If it wasn't for leaving space race on, I would end up winning this game. I guess karma felt sorry for me