Oromo Warriotr: best overall unit in the game.

[wolfblue]

this is a fun argument so dont get your panties in a bunch.

Im sure many will disagrees but i am determined that Oromo Warriors are the absolute best overall unit in the game almost to the point of being broken.

sure Quiches and such have their uses in very specific play styles but no unit is so blatantly overpowered as the Oromo not only for its ability but the fact that it passes its abilities on to its upgrades.

samurai for example get 2 first strikes and drill 1. but they cant pass those first strikes on to the muskets or riflemen you upgrade them to.

a player with a barraks and vassalage or theocracy building Oromo is going to receive a unit that can be immediatly

Power 9
immune to first strikes
gets 4 to 7 first strikes.
60% resistance to collateral damage
and 10% bonus to mounted just for the hell of it.

note most battles with equal opponents are determined within the first 4 to 5 rounds so the Oromo absolutely destroys almost anything except knights (immune to first strikes) and is itself immune to any first strike advantages of other units like samurai i consider Oromo an equal fight with grenadiers and even riflemen when defending good terrain. 60% collateral damage resistance makes it a great stack defender and best of all

when you upgrade it to riffles or infantry or anything else for the rest of the game you STILL have the benefit of the 3 to 6 first strikes and 60% collateral resistance.

i cant think of a single other unit that is not only so powerfull in its own right but also passes on so much bonus to any unit it upgrades too.

for this reason i think that the Oromo is the greatest overall unit in the game.

 

[Yoshiegg737]

To me, I find that most UU's go obsolete fast. That's why my favorite is the Carrack ( Portugese Ship) since it allows you to colonize islands with optics before everybody else who has to get Astronomy.

Oromo is pretty awesome, though. I always get pwned by them

 

[TheWilltoAct]

My understanding of first strikes based partly on this thread suggests that first strikes aren't too powerful when facing a superior opponent. Your weaker strength unit will have more rounds in which to inflict damage, but the damage done will still be relatively slight compared to your higher strength foe. This should be reflected in battle odds, but unfortunately I've heard that the computer actually over emphasizes the value of first strikes so that complicates things a bit.

 

[s.bernbaum]

I played my first game as Zara recently. ( I play random leaders and this is the first time I got him. ) I was so impressed by the oromo, that I built loads of them, upgraded them to infantry and then got a domination victory. Usually, I choose a peaceful victory or, less often, go for a late game domination victory in the modern era with tanks, modern armour, et al.

 

[obsolete]

samurai for example get 2 first strikes and drill 1. but they cant pass those first strikes on to the muskets or riflemen you upgrade them to.

What a silly point though. Upgrading is expensive, but drafting or building units can be dirt cheap. All Jap's gunpowerdered units come with FREE DRILL I, FREE COMBAT I, FREE CG I.

Combat-wise, jap's units own you UU or no UU.

a player with a barraks and vassalage or theocracy building Oromo is going to receive a unit that can be immediatly

Well that's a bit silly too, since a barracks and vassalage or theocracy (add blah.. blah.. blah.. here.) building whatever else can also receive some interesting stuff....

 

[Ghpstage]

sure Quiches and such have their uses in very specific play styles but no unit is so blatantly overpowered as the Oromo not only for its ability but the fact that it passes its abilities on to its upgrades.

Yeah those isolated starts with barbs turned off, and Hereditary Rule not being worth using are just so common.....

 

[Bucephalus]

sure Quiches..... have their uses

Indeed - an excellent source of protein in a vegetarian diet, and a wonderful accompaniment to new potatoes and a light salad.

 

[TheWilltoAct]

LoL, sounds tasty.

 

[wolfblue]

What a silly point though. Upgrading is expensive, but drafting or building units can be dirt cheap. All Jap's gunpowerdered units come with FREE DRILL I, FREE COMBAT I, FREE CG I.

that is simply an aspect of Tokugowas traits. the point here is the supremacy of the Oromo over any other UU.

let me make it clear. I am not saying that an Oromo can defeat a Red Coat, for example, in a even match.

however a 5xp Oromo upgraded to rifleman is generally better than a 5xp red coat in my opinion.

is it expencive to upgrade? yes. but build your play style around it as i do and you go thorugh a phase where you build 40 or 50 Oromo which you intend to upgrade through the rest of the game. since you will not be spending later turns building infantry you can instead spend those turns producing wealth and upgrade the units which at 10 xp compare with similar units at 25 or so xp.

My understanding of first strikes based partly on this thread suggests that first strikes aren't too powerful when facing a superior opponent.

this is true but against an equal or lesser opponent first strike is better than combat bonus (in my oppinion) i would not send oromo against rifle men in the field but upgrade the Oromo to riflemen and you opponents have to take 3 to 7 shots to the face before being able to return fire.

look at the logs. how many even battles last past 4 or 5 rounds?

 

[TheWilltoAct]

this is true but against an equal or lesser opponent first strike is better than combat bonus (in my oppinion) i would not send oromo against rifle men in the field but upgrade the Oromo to riflemen and you opponents have to take 3 to 7 shots to the face before being able to return fire.

Maybe you didn't look at that thread, those 3 to 7 rounds are not rounds where you are dealing damage to the enemy. Rather you have a chance to harm the enemy, and during that time period he cannot attack you at all.

look at the logs. how many even battles last past 4 or 5 rounds?

AFAIK the logs only list the rounds where damage is dealt, so that is irrelevant.

 

[obsolete]

however a 5xp Oromo upgraded to rifleman is generally better than a 5xp red coat in my opinion.

Your comparison has to keep in mind the deficit of that red-coat.

but build your play style around it as i do and you go thorugh a phase where you build 40 or 50 Oromo which you intend to upgrade through the rest of the game.

That.... seems just so wrong.

 

[wolfblue]

i know... but it works.
rush to gunpowder and build masses of troops. they are GREAT deffenders even holding their won against grenadiers and riffles (just stock up on a few pikemen if you have to worry about knights and if necessary learn to use seige defensively.

by the time i hit rifflemen and infantry i have a ton of drill 4 oromo that upgrade to infantry for around 200 each. I dont think i build anything between oromo and tanks except for the occational machine gun or seige if i am attacking. everything else is just a matter of upgrading Oromo as needed.

sounds crazy but it works.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Oromos are solid but have no basis for being considered "best". It's short-lived unless you use upgrades, and there is a contemporary unit that will defeat it CONSISTENTLY that is available EARLIER.

They are good and come with a solid leader overall, but they're really not going to outshine anything.

Japanese rifles, redcoats, cossack, war chariot, immortal, quechas, skirmishers (MP) are examples of UUs (or solid unit) that are more consistently usable.

I still kind of wish there were an infantry UU.

 

[babar]

^Interesting you include cossacks. I always felt they didn't get their due.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

^Interesting you include cossacks. I always felt they didn't get their due.

The AI does like its mounted, and it's nice not having random units from out of sight pick off your cavalry.

More importantly, they let you REALLY gouge the pinch promotion and the russian leaders are reasonably solid.

 

[bobbyboy29]

Janissaries are better... There, I said it . The main use of musket UU's is to defend a stack whilst approaching a city and then mop up after siege. Jan's make you essentially invincible against anything that hit's your stack. (They are even reasonably effective against curi's, grens and rifles, although you shouldn't be that behind and at war...). The first strikes are nice but you still risk your stack being hit by a bunch of knights (without having to build a bunch of pikes). Jan's leave you basically invulnerable and free to rampage. Feel free to disagree .

 

[Ataxerxes]

I respect the Janissary but do prefer the Oromo. The window of opportunity for both isn't very long for use. After Rifling, Janissaries are obsolete and there isn't an advantage to upgrading them as opposed to building new unless they're well-promoted. Upgraded Oromos are better than upgraded Janissaries. I know it's an expensive upgrade, but those 2 free promos without having to pay for it with Aggressive or Protective trait is nice. Drill IV for 5 XP's and that does go forward when upgrading. At the time they first come out they're pretty comparable. I'd probably take the Janissary at the time because, as TMIT noted, they're better against their counter.

I don't think the Oromo is the best UU in the game, however. I like to play with them but admit many UU's are better. Prats, Fast Workers, Quechuas, Redcoats, etc.

 

[wolfblue]

the problem with all those UUs mentioned is that their value is only apparent when they are on the field as the premier military unit.

the Oromo passes most of its benefit along to every unit after it. redcoats, cossack, war chariot, immortal, quechas, skirmishers all of these UU are good in their own right but as soon as you move on to the next you have no special benefit of them ever having existed. when my oromo become obsolete they simply pass on their greatness to riflemen or infantry which is where they shine the greatest.

Please note. this is about UU and unrelated to leaders. I tend to play unrestricted leaders/Random personalities so its just as easy to play Tokugawa enhanced Oromo as anything else.

I am seriously considering playing with tokugawa or the aggresive/charismatic leader in charge of Ethiopia in my next game.

 

[Farm Boy]

Toku is a waste on oromos since protective duplicates the drill promotion. Go with Boadicea.

As for benefits that pass along, those cities my war chariots take while dominating the field as the premier military unit sure seem to be helping my later military production after chariots are dead and gone.

 

[TheWilltoAct]

Meh while we're at it why not use Musketeers, they are fast enough to pair with your mounted. A specific use, but a good one.