Promotions

[BrantleyL1]

I think I'll start an argument (uh, lively discussion) on this question.

Thinking about the early part of the game, which promotions are better & more importantly why?? Maybe up to the 2nd promotion...

For example, assuming you start with a warrior or build one and go exploring, you will run into barbarians. After you defeat one or two, you will get a promotion. Many will say that the woodsman promotion is best. This is said to help on future encounters with barbarians. BUT, if you have to stick to the woods and hills to make use of that, don;t you? On the other hand, why not take the +10% strength??

What about archers??

And then you get to axemen - who I can see a BIG "it depends". If I recall correctly, you have a choice between city defense and city raider (among others). So, you can set some to defend your cities and take that promotion and set some others into attack mode and take the raider promotion.

It seems that some promotions depend on what you encounter. Which also dovetails into the "standard" thought of "take promotions based on the units your enemy has". So, if you see archers, take that one. I've seen one that is + on horsemen, but it only seems to come up if you encounter and defeat horsemen.

I'm looking for a simple list and the pros and cons of what I should think about.

Related questions:

How many experience points do you get for an "encounter"?
How many points to earn a promotion?

Thanks!

 

[AySteve]

When attacking the number of exp points you earn on an encounter depends on the probability the unit had of winning. If you had a 99% chance to win you will only get 1 point but you may get more if you win against the odds. You can also earn exp points when defending or if your unit withdraws from combat.

The number of points needed seems to go as (n^2)+1 where n is the level i.e 2,5,10,17....., less for charismatic leaders.

Also units do not need to fight mounted units to get the anti-mounted units promotion (formation), however they do need to have combat II

 

[ParadigmShifter]

I thought you got 2 xp for attacking and 1 for defending... I haven't looked closely at it though and I am fairly new to this game.

 

[Galileo44]

You do get XP more based on winning with worse odd, for 1XP up to 10.

I like woodsman 1 + 2 for the scouting unit so that my warrior/scout can move 2 in woods. Makes for much faster and safer exploration.

 

[Bushface]

Formula for XP required for any level :-
[level * (level-2)] +2

E.g. for level 5 you need 5*3 + 2 =10 XP
Reduce by 25% (and round up if non-integer) if your leader is Charismatic.

 

[mudphud]

You do get XP more based on winning with worse odd, for 1XP up to 10.

I like woodsman 1 + 2 for the scouting unit so that my warrior/scout can move 2 in woods. Makes for much faster and safer exploration.

I too usually get woodsman I & II for the first scouting units (unless I am on a map with few trees). The faster movement is very nice and lets them live a lot longer as well.

 

[Heffling]

The reason you want your early explorer to go for woodsman is that it opens up woodsman II. A woodsman II unit will explore faster and be all but unkillable for a long while.

Axemen don't get the CG promotion line, so keep in mind that any promotions you give them as city defenders can be used as stack defenders when you go to war.

Typically, when promoting a unit, I promote it to be better at what I need the unit for. If I've got 5 cr2 axemen, then I probably don't need a 6th so much. But a medic would be great for the aftermath.

Also, the anti-cavalry promotion requires Combat 2.

 

[mudphud]

It seems that some promotions depend on what you encounter. Which also dovetails into the "standard" thought of "take promotions based on the units your enemy has".
Thanks!

I believe that you have to have combat II before you can get the +25% vs. mounted so you probably see if after fighting mounted troops because you are choose the combat promotions over others.

For me I recently discovered the usefulness of being able to withdraw (flanking). Before I thought I didn't want cowards but it is pretty nice to not have to sacrifice as many units to weaken up a city's defense. Give flanking II to a unit that already has a chance to withdraw and you're getting decent odds that won't lose the unit. The immunity to first strike can also be nice if your enemy loves drill promotions.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Personally I prefer guerilla (hills) promos for my scouts since forest defensive bonus is (already) better than hills bonus so I have added flexibility for survival. Shame scouts are limited to 5 xp in most cases since they only survive attacks from animals most of the time.

EDIT: And I tend to try and end turns on hills when exploring too, better visibility.

 

[Welnic]

Formula for XP required for any level :-
[level * (level-2)] +2

E.g. for level 5 you need 5*3 + 2 =10 XP
Reduce by 25% (and round up if non-integer) if your leader is Charismatic.

The formula is nice, but the example is confusing.
Level 5 you need 5*(5-2) + 2 = 17 XP