Most useless UB other than Dun

[AnaNg]

This has been discussed about in many places, and the fact is that Dun only gives the promotion to units that are eligible to get it through experience. It works just like it should work.

My issue is that they should then word the description that way. Protective leader traits don't say that all units receive CGI and Drill it specifries archer and gunpowder, but Dun's description says Free Guerilla I to units constructed in the city (or something similar) in which case, units constructed in the city should get Guerilla I promos.

But you mentioned this has been discussed before so I'll drop it.

 

[PericlesOfAthen]

In defense of the Obelisk/Madrassa (which I consider top-tier UBs):

The main use of these (which justifies them on their own, I feel) is that they can be used to lightbulb Theology very early. You're almost guaranteed Christianity if you want it, and just as importantly you get Theocracy for some serious extra power in early warfare (and as Spiritual civs, you can leveage that very well). Plus you get first crack at the Apostolic Palace if you want it, it makes a good tech for trading to others in your religion, and if circumstances are right, it lets you go straight to Paper for Sankore or delay Civil Service outright on a quick run to Liberalism.

If you're very good (or lucky) with your timing, a second prophet can actually be used to bulb most of Civil Service too.

The next use is that it can beome VERY difficult to generate a prophet after about your third or fourth GP, which presents a problem if you want a shrine in the mid-to-late game (eg Taoism/Islam or a captured Holy City). Two extra prophets allowed can help a lot with this.

Third, if you build Angkor Wat, you can run priests like engineers and get a nice hammer bonus.

Fourth, if you're not totally picky about what GP you generate, you can have 4 instead of 2 specialists in a city before CoL, and thus generate GPs faster. Great for a second GP, where you can potentially bulb either Philosophy or Civil Service as soon as you reach CoL.

Fifth, the Madrassa gives +4 culture, which can let you settle close to enemy civs and win the border wars, and can be worth chopping in straight away without bothering about a monument.

The Dun is also great - fast-moving, hill-attack-bonus, 50% withdrawal longbows and crossbows are very nice to have, especially teamed up with the Gallic.

You make some great points about the Obelisk. I'll have to play Egypt again and try that. I like to get my own religion but at the higher difficulties it's not really a good strategy. It's too risky trying to found your own cause the AI techs so fast and then if you do found one unless you spread it quickly you'll be getting high negatives with your neighbors and their religion but using the Obelisk to bulb one is a great idea. I often try to bulb CoL with the Oracle but that can be hit or miss too at higher levels.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

MGs will defend your city but not your towns.

Always have hard hitting shock troops (the purpose, not the promotion) at hand.
2 Cavs with combat upgrades in each city should help.
alternatively Cav with +movement.

MGs can't be trained with City Defender and do not have innate city defense bonuses. They are just as effective fortified over towns/villages/cottages/etc. as they are inside a city (minus the cultural defense of course). I doubt an attacking stack would waste siege units trying to weaken an MG guarding an improvement. The machine gun is the best defender of land/cities/stacks until industrialism hands down.

And with 3 upgrades from training one in your military city (settled general/barracks/theocracy or vassalage/WestPoint), they can have Drill III, making them virtually unstoppable.

 

[Pikkis]

My issue is that they should then word the description that way. Protective leader traits don't say that all units receive CGI and Drill it specifries archer and gunpowder, but Dun's description says Free Guerilla I to units constructed in the city (or something similar) in which case, units constructed in the city should get Guerilla I promos.

But you mentioned this has been discussed before so I'll drop it.

Strategy section in unit description says "eligible units", if you haven't notice. (New for BTS).

MGs can't be trained with City Defender and do not have innate city defense bonuses. They are just as effective fortified over towns/villages/cottages/etc. as they are inside a city (minus the cultural defense of course). I doubt an attacking stack would waste siege units trying to weaken an MG guarding an improvement. The machine gun is the best defender of land/cities/stacks until industrialism hands down.

And with 3 upgrades from training one in your military city (settled general/barracks/theocracy or vassalage/WestPoint), they can have Drill III, making them virtually unstoppable.

It's true, that MGs can't be promoted through City Garrison promotion line, but they can still get it if you upgrade a unit with those promos to a MG. I described one very powerful strategy based on this in post #79. Using it gives you nearly immortal defender units againts gunpowder unit attacks (exception: hardly promoted Marines and Mechanized Infantries).