Rob's UU Analysis

[Suki]

I'm less enamored with the first strikes for this unit (and similarly for the Samurai UU) mostly because I find it frustrating to not be able to improve upon them with additional promotions

right... wouldn't the soloution to this be to have it start with the promotion 'Drill I' and set 'Drill I' as the only prequesite for 'Drill II'.. so you could only go up the drill tree if you were an archery/artillery unit OR you started on the tree..

would be easy to mod into a scenario.. but yeah, 's too bad it's not in the core game, maybe the first patch. either way I like what I've seen so far.

 

[blindside]

These Indian fast workers sound like fun!

 

[gakkun]

hmm..thanks for the analysis but they sound a bit like zhi(3) shang(4) tan(2) bing(1), if you know what I mean.

 

[Gnarfflinger]

Yeah, but can you convince all of your opponents to research other stuff to so as not to obsolete your UU with better defenders?

Actually, where possible, I was thinking delay either until you had nothing else to research or until they had defenders that erased that edge. Perhaps research up to the tech that obseletes your UU, but then go for other stuff while your UU is available, then go up when you need the next unit...

 

[bugmenot17]

Thanks, very helpful

 

[Azragaul]

Some UUs you can upgrade too. I know for sure about Cossacks bacause playing russians I will start with lots of horse archers knowing that I can upgrade them when I get Military Tradition...and boy do I beeline for that one quickly.

 

[Underseer]

I love fast workers, and can't understand what some people have against them. I prefer peaceful/builder games, so for me military UUs are near to useless. The fast worker isn't.

 

[Shillen]

With the bonus against archers, this is the ultimate early cheese-rush unit. Spam Quechuas from your capital and stream them at a neighbor. Better hope you catch them by surprise though, because the counter to Quechuas is just spamming warriors to defend (much more cost effective than archers versus Quechuas, plus they get a 25% bonus to city defense). If you chose not to rush with them, they can still be useful as defenders, but you tend not to see the AI use archers on offense much.

On the higher difficulty levels the barbs send a ton of archers at you very early on and you'll be praising this unit the entire time.

 

[GoRy]

Personally I find the redcoat one of the most useful units in the game. Being so much stronger than the equivalent due to bonuses and with it being in a time period when industrialism really comes into play, They're world conquerors. Actually if memory serves in my last game I mad 146 of them and managed domination in about 50 turns :/ Very very nice.

 

[Greencardman]

I also think the indian fast worker is pretty cool. Yes, you don't get much of a bonus when you're moving to the grassland tile next door, but having three movement points mean you save a turn for each hill or forest (since you can move onto it and imporve it in the same turn). Regular workers can't do that on hills and forests, they end their turn when they move onto one. Now if you usually imporve a lot of hills, thats quite a few turns you save. Another thing is, you get to go further. Not all the tiles you want to imporve are next to each other. The indian fast worker can cross two flat tiles and still improve in the same turn. So you don't jut save a turn on hills and forests only.

 

[Heroes]

I also think the indian fast worker is pretty cool. Yes, you don't get much of a bonus when you're moving to the grassland tile next door, but having three movement points mean you save a turn for each hill or forest (since you can move onto it and imporve it in the same turn). Regular workers can't do that on hills and forests, they end their turn when they move onto one. Now if you usually imporve a lot of hills, thats quite a few turns you save. Another thing is, you get to go further. Not all the tiles you want to imporve are next to each other. The indian fast worker can cross two flat tiles and still improve in the same turn. So you don't jut save a turn on hills and forests only.

All these are true, but how big deals are these? Aren't there some time your workers have almost nothing to do? OK, in another sense you can save 1-2 workers than other civs, but that's just 60-120 hammers, too trivial comparing what you can gain from Cho-Ko-Nu, Quechua, Redcoat, or Praetorian.

 

[tera]

All these are true, but how big deals are these? Aren't there some time your workers have almost nothing to do? OK, in another sense you can save 1-2 workers than other civs, but that's just 60-120 hammers, too trivial comparing what you can gain from Cho-Ko-Nu, Quechua, Redcoat, or Praetorian.

On the contrary, if you are playing a peaceful game without any fights, what can you gain from those military units? Anyway, it boils down to how you are playing the game.

 

[Heroes]

On the contrary, if you are playing a peaceful game without any fights, what can you gain from those military units? Anyway, it boils down to how you are playing the game.

Unless you click the option "all peace", you still need military to deter AIs to declare war to you ...

 

[Gufnork]

Immortals should be expanded on a little, I've fallen in love with the little fellas. It's true that Horse Archers are just around the corner, but I prefer Immortals. What you do is give them Flanking I and II. Now they have 60% withdrawal chance and immunity to first strikes. Head for your opponents Copper (if he has it) and pillage it, then make mass assaults against your opponents cities. Even if your opponent has better odds, your units are much more likely to survive the battle, meaning you will win by having less attrition.

My top three UU's are:

1. Praerorians (almost unbeatable in the ancient age)
2. Red Coats (the only gunpowder unit that can wage war efficiently)
3. Immortals (for above reasons)

I think I'll try to do the same with Cossacks as I did with Immortals, win by attrition. They might be up there as well.

 

[Shillen]

Unless you click the option "all peace", you still need military to deter AIs to declare war to you ...

Hah, it takes a considerable effort to get the AI to declare war on you in Civ4. I'm almost always by far the weakest in military (unless I'm going for a military win) and it's still rare as all hell for the AI to pick a fight with me.

 

[ipris]

A good read, and analysis. thanks.

 

[Varelse]

Hah, it takes a considerable effort to get the AI to declare war on you in Civ4. I'm almost always by far the weakest in military (unless I'm going for a military win) and it's still rare as all hell for the AI to pick a fight with me.

Not if you are next to Ghengis Kahn!

 

[yccnorth]

Hah, it takes a considerable effort to get the AI to declare war on you in Civ4. I'm almost always by far the weakest in military (unless I'm going for a military win) and it's still rare as all hell for the AI to pick a fight with me.

Lucky you. I played 4 games in Noble setting so far, the AI declared war on me in 2 of them. I made a mental note to shore up my military in early games just so I can fend off the AI's demand. Granted, I don't yield to AIs, not at Noble anyway.

 

[Mujadaddy]

On the Immortals and War Chariots "limited window" --- Until you get WELL into the medieval period, there's NO REASON for a Persian or Egyptian player to waste Beakers researching Horseback riding...

YES your opponents might have Horse Archers, but you've got something 1) MUCH cheaper and 2) almost as good ... meanwhile you didn't "waste time" on an Ancient dead-end research of HBriding...