Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[AnubisII]

Since you mention Legionaries, I assume you're the Roman civilization. Romans don't build Swordsmen, they build Legionaries.........which are stronger (in defense) than Swordsmen but have the same attack value. (Viz. 3.3.1 v 3.2.1.)

Tips for making Defenders stronger:

1. Build Barracks in the cities where you will be building military units. This will mean that ALL units built by that city will have "Veteran" status. (Viz. Have 4 Hit Points [Green bars next to the unit] instead of 3 for a Regular unit.)

2. Fortify your units when defending. (Viz. Hit "F" key after left-clicking on the unit.) This will give you a 25% Defensive Bonus for that unit.

3. Build City Walls in your Towns. (Viz. City Size 1-6) This will give you a 50% Defensive Bonus on ALL your units in that Town.

4. Some terrain types give better defensive bonuses than others. (Viz. Grassland=10%, Hill=50%) So, if your City is built on a Hill OR you can put units on Hills in the way of the advancing enemy, you should be in good shape.

If you take advantage of at least TWO of these points, there is NO way that Swordsmen will slaughter your Legionaries!

So how do I form a military alliance? Everytime on AI declares war on me, it seems as though they manage to get most of the others against me too. How can I use that against them?



And do you have any tips on how to increase my offensive strength? I'm tired of always being the one to have my cities captured in war. I'd like to take some AI cities for once! Or even take all of them (to destroy them completely. Is that possible?).


And is there anyway to get AI cities to break away and join my civ?

So how do I form a military alliance? Everytime on AI declares war on me, it seems as though they manage to get most of the others against me too. How can I use that against them?

And how do I get a leader? And do the "stacks" move together, at once?

 

[vmxa]

So how do I form a military alliance? Everytime on AI declares war on me, it seems as though they manage to get most of the others against me too. How can I use that against them?

And do you have any tips on how to increase my offensive strength? I'm tired of always being the one to have my cities captured in war. I'd like to take some AI cities for once! Or even take all of them (to destroy them completely. Is that possible?).

And is there anyway to get AI cities to break away and join my civ?

It is an option on the diplo screen, IF you have the required tech. It is different in some version as to the tech needed. I think you also need an embassy, never can remember.

Then you have to either be on good terms or bribe them. It can be easy to get some civs to join, if they are already mad at the civ you want to fight. Most likely you are considered weak and have little to bribe them with.

Techs and lux are thigns you can offer as well as cash, but do not count on them fighting real hard on your behave. It is a hit and miss thing.

Make your empire strogner by having more land and improve it. Then be in the lead or near it in techs so you can build good units and make them in cities with a barracks so they wil start as vets.

 

[Turner]

Moderator Action: AnubisII - You really need to stop double posting. There's an

button. Use it.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[vmxa]

And how do I get a leader? And do the "stacks" move together, at once?

You first have to get a unit to elite status. Then when an elite units wins a combat, it has chance to generate a leader. The odds are long, so you need to have a lot of elites wins to get one. It is not hard to go the whole game in a more or less peaceful one and not get a leader.

 

[Turner]

1:16 without Heroic Epic, 1:12 with. And this is an average...I've gone dozens of elite battles without winning one.

It should also be noted in Conquests/Complete that you will not get a leader if you have one or more Scientific Great Leaders laying around. But you can get a Scientific Great Leader if you have a scientific/militaristic great leader lying around.

 

[AnubisII]

Moderator Action: AnubisII - You really need to stop double posting. There's an

button. Use it.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

I'm sorry. I meant to click on edit, and instead hit quote. I didn't realize until afterit was posted. Sorry .

Does anyone have any advice on how to increase my offensive power, So I can take some of my enemies cities?

And how to prevent them from taking my cities?

 

[EMan]

..Does anyone have any advice on how to increase my offensive power, So I can take some of my enemies cities?

Now you're talking!

Easy way to win a game (at lower levels):

1. Research The Wheel. This will reveal Horses on the Map.

2. Build a road from your capital city to a horse.

3. Build a city or colony on the "horse square".

4. Research Warrior Code & Horseback Riding.

5. Build Barracks in your cities and make sure all producing cities are connected by road to the capital.

6. Build Veteran Horsemen. (No other military units required.)

7. Attack AI cities & WIN by Conquest.

You can eliminate Step 4 by choosing Egypt as your civilization and building War Chariots instead of Horsemen.

 

[AnubisII]

Would knights help?

 

[Turner]

If your Knights are stronger than the enemies, and you have more knights than they do defenders, then yes.

There's no hard answer, such as "Use X unit". Post a save file, and we can critique it.

But if the defenders are Musketeers, then Knights aren't as useful against them. Now, if the defenders are Spearmen, then yeah, it's better.

Post a save, then we can see what the situation is and make suggestions.

Look for the 'Upload File' link at the bottom of the page.

 

[AnubisII]

If your Knights are stronger than the enemies, and you have more knights than they do defenders, then yes.

There's no hard answer, such as "Use X unit". Post a save file, and we can critique it.

But if the defenders are Musketeers, then Knights aren't as useful against them. Now, if the defenders are Spearmen, then yeah, it's better.

Post a save, then we can see what the situation is and make suggestions.

Look for the 'Upload File' link at the bottom of the page.

How do I post a save?


And how do I form a military alliance?

And how do I get AI cities to join my civilization?

 

[Turner]

There's an Upload File link at the bottom of the page....I thought I said something to that effect? Anyways, click on that and it will give you instructions on how to upload a file.

Do you even read these posts? I'm pretty sure someone mentioned in the past that to do any kind of diplomatic agreement, Military Alliance, Mutual Protetction Pact, you need an Embassy with the Civ you're trying to make a deal with.

Anyways, to get an AI city to join your civ, you must have a lot of culture, way more than they do. Then there's a chance that the city will flip over to you. It's a chance, not a guarantee.

 

[AnubisII]

There's an Upload File link at the bottom of the page....I thought I said something to that effect? Anyways, click on that and it will give you instructions on how to upload a file.

Do you even read these posts? I'm pretty sure someone mentioned in the past that to do any kind of diplomatic agreement, Military Alliance, Mutual Protetction Pact, you need an Embassy with the Civ you're trying to make a deal with.

Anyways, to get an AI city to join your civ, you must have a lot of culture, way more than they do. Then there's a chance that the city will flip over to you. It's a chance, not a guarantee.

So if someone made an embassy with me, does that mean that I already have one with them?

 

[Turner]

Yes.

.​

 

[AnubisII]

I already learned gunpowder. How do I get musketmen?



Is there an item I need? If so, what does it look like?

 

[Bluemofia]

You need saltpeter. It looks like a pile of ashes. Then you get a city to build musketmen, or upgrade a pikeman.

 

[EMan]

....Is there an item I need? If so, what does it look like?

You will find the answer to a lot of your questions in the Civilopedia........which you can find as one of the buttons on the top left of the Map Screen. This area of the screen also contains the Advisors. F6 is the Scientific Advisor which will show you the Tech Tree and the requirements for each unit.

However, in order for this information to be useful, just like the Posts in this thread, you will have to read them!

 

[AnubisII]

Now you're talking!

Easy way to win a game (at lower levels):

1. Research The Wheel. This will reveal Horses on the Map.

2. Build a road from your capital city to a horse.

3. Build a city or colony on the "horse square".

4. Research Warrior Code & Horseback Riding.

5. Build Barracks in your cities and make sure all producing cities are connected by road to the capital.

6. Build Veteran Horsemen. (No other military units required.)

7. Attack AI cities & WIN by Conquest.

You can eliminate Step 4 by choosing Egypt as your civilization and building War Chariots instead of Horsemen.

So your saying that Horsemen are the strongest warriors?

And does building a city over a tech, make the tech last longer?

 

[AutomatedTeller]

A horse is a resource - it's a strategic resource, like iron, or saltpeter.

A tech is knowledge - you need to have a tech to see strategic resources.

Horses never disappear. Iron does, at random intervals.

To use horses, you need one of the following things:

1) A city of yours to be on it
2) It to be within the cultural boundary of one of your cities *and* a road built to it.
3) It to be outside the cultural boundary of any of your cities, a road built to it and a colony built on it. You build a colony with a worker.
4) Trade for it.

Strongest is a relative term. Swordsmen have better attack and defense values, but horses are faster, and can retreat if battle isn't going well.

And, of course, each civ has a unique unit. If I were Rome, for instance, I would research iron and build legionaries, instead of focusing on horsemen.

 

[EMan]

So your saying that Horsemen are the strongest warriors?

Nope, I'm saying if you want to win a game an easy way AND a quicker way, you could use War Chariots or Horsemen.

Swordsmen are popular and Legionaries are even stronger for the same price...........so, you kinda have to figure out what makes you feel good.

Some people play a Farming game until they can build Cavalry, which move 3 squares at a time, then they take a group of say 6 and crush any enemy in sight.

What makes this game so interesting is that there are many ways to win.

Being a competitive player who only plays games for the HOF or GOTM, speed is of the essence.........so, for me any military unit that moves 1 square at a time is too slow to be competitive........But, if you're playing for fun and just want to pound the AI with no rush or cruise to a Diplomatic, Spaceship or Cultural Victory, Swordsmen are fine.

My example was simply ONE way to win on lower levels at any map size. And, I agree with everything AutomatedTeller had to say, except the last sentence..........But, that's just a matter of personal preference..........NOT right or wrong.

If you play enough, you WILL find your own Comfort Level.

Tip:
If you want a Reeeeeally short game that you can win, "standing on your head", play the Aztecs on a Tiny map against 2 AI civs.......Add the worker to the capital city and churn out Aztecs' Jaguar Warriors........and send them at the enemy. You can play and win a game like this in 5-30 minutes. BTW, best to play with Vanilla Civ or PTW because Firaxis figured out the Jaguar Warrior was too cheap and increased the production cost (Viz. Shields) by 50% in Conquests.

 

[Luthor_Saxburg]

Is it possible for a CivIII based on Mac to play PBEM with other players that use Windows?