Outperforming unit stats...

[cfacosta]

I am currently finishing up an emperor game on a pangea map as Rome. Since I usually play domination or conquest, my games tend to be very aggressive...I just find it more enjoyable that way. Anyhow, I almost always notice that longbowmen seem to perform much better than statistics would say. I am seriously convinced that their stats are 4/1*/1 where the star is a multiplier for the computer hacking. Well, I am just kidding, of course...but it is very obnoxious when longbowmen put up stubborn city defense on a regular basis. It is as if they learned to attach grenades to the shafts of their arrows.

Anyone else noticed that longbowmen are crazy good, or has anyone seen a type of unit consistently doing better than it should? I want to know that I am not alone in my observation!

 

[Grand Cadfael]

In Conquests they get a free shot at atacking units

 

[777]

Hmm, if I explore my mind I can see flashes of brave Longbowman but can't recall what's happening.

But to the game what I'm playing now: spearman in town what is built on grassland, I'm attacking from hills not crossing river, spearman is veteran and he kills 4 and redlines fifth rider. Fun-i

@Grand Cadfael: first shot like Crusader?

 

[Tomoyo]

I love using Longbowmen to take out Tanks and Modern Armour... Just a personal thing, though.

 

[Dachs]

I think longbows were better at defense than the stats would suggest, because English longbows, pursued by French knights (3/2/2), annihilated the attackers on a regular basis in the Hundred Years' War.

It's probably just the extra first shot though.

 

[vmxa]

I have no real data, only personal expericence, but they seem to do rather well. Most likely it is within the standard deviation, but it does make me wince.

 

[Panzar75]

In my experience:

- AI Spearmen do MUCH better than would be expected.
- AI Infantry do better than would be expected (my Cavalry wins 1 in 10 or worse).
- My Infantry do worse than would be expected (his Cavalry wins 1 in 2 or so). Not that he attacks that often with Cavalry that it matters.
- I'm not sure if it's his Musketmen or my Cavalry but I find that I win much more often than I would expect from the stats.

 

[Rambuchan]

Longbowmen rock, in attack and are surprising in defence with the free bombardment.

I find cavalry often outperform their defence stats too.

 

[cfacosta]

True...not even considering cases where the cavalry unit retreats, my infantry attacking AI cavalry seem to do worse than AI cavalry attacking my infantry.
6/3 < 6/10 ....what the hell

 

[Breunor]

Sorry guys!

The AI does not cheat in combat -- this has been tested many times. Rmember, thoguh, bad luck streaks are part of any long game which has a lot of probabalistic occurances.

Breunor

 

[Pentium]

Not much else to say.

 

[vmxa]

Sorry guys!

The AI does not cheat in combat -- this has been tested many times. Rmember, thoguh, bad luck streaks are part of any long game which has a lot of probabalistic occurances.

Breunor

Did I miss it? I do not see where anyone said anything about cheating. I thought we were only talking about antidotal cases. I was surely not suggesting any cheating or even that my observences were correct. Only just a perception, that could be bogus. I mean I have no idea what the derivation is and if I was well within that range.

 

[cfacosta]

You are right vmxa. I think Breunor was just trying to be helpful. We all know that the AI doesn't cheat in combat. This thread is just about how the random number generator can make Longbowmen look like Rambo sometimes and for people to share their experiences/gripes about such occurences.

 

[Theoden]

I always seem to lose to units that have no defensive bonuses at all. Sometimes I have to think hard to convince myself that walls give +50% and not-50%.

 

[greekguy]

something else like that that bothers me is Medieval infantry. MDI's have a slow animation, because of the chainball weapon they use. for me they lose constantly. i'm convinced the system is the animated weapon that hits the enemy first, wins. and that's also why longbowmen are such good killers, arrows move fast.

 

[vmxa]

MDI have some serious short comings. They have the same defense (2) that early AA units have (spear/sword) and only 4 attack. They will be facing much better defenders than swords did. They will see mostly 3 defense units and many will now be in cities, rather than towns. Lots of 4 attack units are available (Knighs/LB/MDI) and later even calvs. More bombardment units will be around, cannons are built, were cats may not be. This is due to cities now having much better production than in the AA. Better governments and those benefits.

 

[lcorinth]

I'm new to this game, but I have noticed that archers in general seem harder to defeat than they should. It's very frustrating!

 

[greekguy]

I'm new to this game, but I have noticed that archers in general seem harder to defeat than they should. It's very frustrating!

if you're playing Conquests, then archers (like longbows) have a defense bombard rating. that means they sometimes get a free shot before the real battle on defense.

 

[Panzar75]

I am also not saying that the computer is cheating. I am however saying that some of the units consistantly do better or worse than you would expect.

I have played this game for several thousands of hours and I had statistics as my major at the University. I have read about the combat system and know all about the defensive bonuses. I'm telling you, there's a VERY low probability for the AI's Spearmen to behave the way they do in my games if every battle is truly random.

But I'm not complaining. I know they're tough and plan accordingly. Results even out when factoring in all units in the game.

 

[GorfTheWanderer]

Sorry guys!

The AI does not cheat in combat -- this has been tested many times. Rmember, thoguh, bad luck streaks are part of any long game which has a lot of probabalistic occurances.

Breunor

Well they may not cheat but they do have a way of ruining my luck!! When the AI warrior on plains not fortified can kill 4 Galic Swordsmen that attack him w/o any of them being able to retreat that is a little bit extreeme for me. Sometimes I think the computer looks ahead and sees that the numbers will be favorable for him and times his attacks for that...