Minimizing the Suicide rate of Siege Weapons

[AndrewDJ]

So, I just finished my first full CIV game, Bismarck/Chieftain/Tiny/Diplomatic Victory. Mao was on one continent, and I shared the other with Cyrus. I founded Judaism, Confucianism, Christianity(same city as Judaism), and Islam; everything was peaceful until the 1850s/60s, when I decided to squash Cyrus like a bug, because I wanted to get a fifth-level unit so I could build West Point.

So, I decided to also try an experiment. I had Barracks and Vassalage in all my cities, enough for two free promotions. I made cannon using four different promotion packages:

1. Barrage I, Barrage II
2. Barrage I, Accuracy
3. City Raider I, Barrage I
4. Drill I, Drill II

Now, with the caveat that this needs to be repeated on higher difficulty levels and with opponents who have military parity (Cyrus didn't have gunpowder or pikemen), here's what I found:

Combo #4 had the best survival rate overall, followed by #3, with #1 & #2 being by far the most likely to suicide. The value of that first strike to a siege weapon's survivability is high.

What I found worked best was to bombard the city defenses, then hit the stack inside with a #4 or two initially, followed by a #3 or a #1. The #4s can survive the initial attack, and soften the defenders up enough that the #3 & #1 can pound them safely.

Like I said, I need to try this tactic when there's less of a disparity in forces between me and my opponent, but I think that following the Drill series of promotions should increase siege weapon survivability, although the Barrage series may result in more damage to more units.

 

[circuitloss]

This is interesting. I'll try using drill more often and see what I find.

 

[Shillen]

Of course you shouldn't suicide a cat that has barrage 1 + accuracy. But I'd much rather have 2 city raider 2 cats and another 2 barrage/accuracy cats than to have 4 city raider 2 cats or 4 drill 2 cats.

I'll bet your survivability is higher with city raider 2 than drill 2.

 

[Shades]

You should also try City Raider I and II. Compare that to the Drill I & II cannon. Those are your best two options for survivability. Barrage and Accuracy won't help survival. Test it out some more and see which you like better.

 

[TLHeart]

City raider 1 & II up the survivablity of cats and cannons, and make artillery devestating.

 

[DaveMcW]

The Combat Thread explains that Drill is great when you are equal or more powerful than your opponent. If you are weaker, City Raider gives a better surivial chance. If you are much weaker, assume the catapult will die and go down in a blaze of glory with Barrage.