Most useful attack units?

[svv]

What units do you guys find to be highly effective city attackers, with a good sized life span as a dominant unit? Either generally available or UUs? In my last game I went after Praetorians (Roman UU of Swordsman) early and found them to be very effective for a long time. I supported them with catapults later, and found that for a long while there I didn't have to suicide the catapults - I just used them to barrage down defenses.

Eventually when the defenders started presenting with macemen and longbowmen behind city walls, I was suiciding too many catapults, and found I needed an upgrade. I went after cavalry quickly, and also found them to be very useful for a long time. The main trouble I had with them was that I could not get the promotions - city raider and attack vs. archers, I felt I needed most. I gave most of them attack vs. gunpowder so that they could put down the musketmen I knew I'd be seeing.

Obviously, tanks and modern armor are great, if the game goes that long.

Anybody else have any favorite shock troops I may have missed?

 

[slowcar]

In Warlords: Trebuchets, they own all others for a looong time.
In Vanilla i like CR3-maces upgraded to grenadiers.
Cavalry is not a very good city attacker if you are not playing on a low difficulty setting, the time you get them your enemy will most likely have rifles. (and even fortified pikes are difficult). You can get chemistry much earlier.

 

[automator]

upgraded City Raider III infantry ... they own.

 

[Wodan]

Uhh, Axemen.

Wodan

 

[aelf]

Cavalry is not a very good city attacker if you are not playing on a low difficulty setting, the time you get them your enemy will most likely have rifles. (and even fortified pikes are difficult). You can get chemistry much earlier.

I can get cavalry to invade neighbours with merely longbowmen on Emperor. CRII/III grenades are probably better, but you don't have that many of those and newly-built grenades can't compare to cavalry. In this situation, Flanking cavalry is a good way to finish off a neighbour or two quickly without waiting for slow siege weapons to move around.

 

[Thomas G.]

Vanilla.
I'm really learning to like catapults. I give almost all city raider promotion, some which will be used in open get combat I.

They do great work against longbows too. After my first city I will always have at least one catapult with CRII. This will often open the attack to do maximum damage, it will die but then the rest will normally win (and becoming CRII in the process.) I also learned not to save CRIII cats, it's easier to just build cannon which upgrade fast enough. CRIII are great for opening assaults, keeps rest of cats alive.

I have some combat I cats, let them win one easy combat and make them medic. I use these to bring down culture defence.

Axemen used to be main attackers, but now its massed catapults (with defenders)

 

[ThomasHardy]

Swordsmen

Macemen

Grenadiers

Obviously, it's nice to have cats or cannons to support all of the above.

 

[cabert]

If i have cannons, all enemies die.
Go figure

 

[VoiceOfUnreason]

Disposapults. No required resources, a convenient price for whipping, withdrawal chances, collateral damage gets dealt no matter how badly you are mismatched against the top defender....

 

[acidsatyr]

generally best city attackers are siege units, trebs, cannons, artillery.
Unless you have CR granadiers, infantry, etc.

 

[manu-fan]

I agree with Siege units:

Catapults, Cannons, and Artillery

They can bombard, and also attack. Very useful.

Cheers.

 

[brianbenedict]

Of course quechas have their moment in time, too. On the highest levels, crushing one neighbor with quechas evens the advantage that the AI gets. Taking cities and workers means you don't stunt your early growth building workers and settlers.

 

[Roken]

Let's see... actually I attack one city with a variety of units, it works best this way I think...

1st, Battleship bombard (or artillery if you have one)
2nd, Bomber airstrike defender (continue air strike as long as possible or until all enemy defenders are dead.)
3rd, catapult or artillery bombard
4th, Swordsmen, city raiders, or any infantry units.
5th, Any cavalry or helicopter units (because they can attack once and move once in 1 turn so they should come last so that you can take the city without giving your opponent the chance to put in more archers to defend.)

This way you won't have extremely high casualties since the archers would usually be weakened by 20% or more before even able to defend, and the cavalry can take the city before the enemy can send in reinforcements.

 

[ShaLouZa]

Intercontinental missiles.

 

[Minmaster]

yup, i gotta agree with the city raider promoted gunpowder units upgraded from the maceman era. against riflemen, i go with city raiding grenadiers and then later, city raiding infantry. macemen are worth stockpiling for the very reason city raider isnt available to gunpowder units.

 

[Wodan]

Level 4 fungal missiles from SMAC.

 

[Barney's_Soul]

Knights/Preytorians

 

[slowcar]

Knights? No way...

 

[MrCynical]

Ancient and Classical age: axemen, later supported by catapults. Sling in a few spears in case the AI sends some chariots, but in practice they don't very often.

Middle ages and Renaissance: the trebuchet rules supreme from its invetion to the invention of riflemen. Other than a few units to defend the stack as it moves, you need nothing more to take a city in this period.

Late renaissance/Early industrial: Not a period I often do much attacking, but if you upgrade some city raider units to riflemen or grenadiers they can be effective.

Industrial age: The infantry are a good all purpose unit, and supported by artillery is more than adequate for city conquering.

Modern age: Tanks, modern armor, very little stands up that well to them when properly upgraded.

 

[Gnarfflinger]

War Chariots rock when you are Egypt.

I like a good Axe Rush too.

Eventually the axes give way to Swords.

War Elephants work well in a pinch.