should i be doing something different? [england]

[tommytoxen]

so i always play as england.

i choose authority (or i just get my ass handed to me in early wars) and make a beeline for the great lighthouse, after that i just click navigation and dont touch research tree again until i have it. i use that beautiful starting spy to fill in tech gaps

i find i always struggle in early game wars. with authority i hold my own and manage to keep cities but i don't really win wars until i get ship of the line. those movement bonuses and the ships of the line ability to fire twice really saved my patootie many a time

then i go for imperialism and pretty much dominate the seas.

however my land game is atrocious, my armies just get decimated in every war. it's literally only because of my navy(ies) i win wars, i also struggle with culture.

i'm currently playing prince. i actually "won" my last two games so thinking of bumping up for more challenge but wondering if you vets think my policy/tech choices are wrong for england.

i thought with their UU and starting bonuses lighthouse -> navigation made sense, no?

 

[Stalker0]

Your not playing “wrong” but sounds like you could use some help with the ground game. Here are a few quick tips, as you get better you can relax these...but to get started follow these rigourously.

1) All wars start as defensive wars. The AI is going to bring a lot of extra units that you don’t have. Pushing into their lines is going to get you killed.

Instead, create kill zones and be patient. Let the AI come to you, and kill kill kill. Keep killing until they finally run out of steam, and then suddenly cities become very easy to take.

2) attack units over the city. It can get tempting to just focus on the city and try to take it quickly, but if your line collapses you won’t be able to hold it anyway. Focus on units first, and then take the city once you can hold it comfortably.

3) never lose a unit...ever. If you think attacking might get your unit killed, than don’t attack. If you think holding your position will get units killed...than retreat. Once units pick up their tier IV and higher promotions, they become force multipliers on the field. The AI can easily replace their units, you cannot. If the AI is losing units, and you are not...eventually you will win.

4) use medics with your ranged units. It’s common for people to forget medics, or
to use too few. I still have this issue even on immortal sometimes. Always have medics behind your front line, and keep some around in the back to heal your troops. Medics can double or even triple your heal time.

Don’t forget navy ships can benefit too!

 

[tommytoxen]

4) use medics with your ranged units. It’s common for people to forget medics, or
to use too few. I still have this issue even on immortal sometimes. Always have medics behind your front line, and keep some around in the back to heal your troops. Medics can double or even triple your heal time.

you know i feel silly that i've never actually thought of that. i've seen that promotion too, d'oh. thanks i'll do that! because that's my main problem my troops just get one-hitted all the time. i land and they immediately die in 1 turn.

 

[065tdsa]

you know i feel silly that i've never actually thought of that. i've seen that promotion too, d'oh. thanks i'll do that! because that's my main problem my troops just get one-hitted all the time. i land and they immediately die in 1 turn.

Medic won't actually help with that much. Healing doesn't do anything against one shots, and medic strategies depend on having room in the back for them, which is harder to gain if you're landing as you say. It is still a good idea in general, but if what's killing your troops is amphibian invasion it won't solve all your problems.

Aside from specific problems, what you need to know is this. Warfare has 2 aspects in civ. There's how well you use the troops you have. And how the way you manage your civ translates into you having troops to use. You can compensate one for the other. Authority in particular is meant to improve your troops, but it also forces performance: you must be successful at war to gain the culture and science you need through Authority. If you do not gain culture and science, you fall behind and you can no longer produce the up-to-date armies you need in sufficient numbers to fight.

If you can survive the early game you can recover from a bad start with Authority, but you really should improve your ability to fight wars until you can properly exploit it.

 

[Stalker0]

because that's my main problem my troops just get one-hitted all the time. i land and they immediately die in 1 turn.

Ah, that’s a different ballgame! Yes amphibious landings can be very tricky. The simplest way to succeed is land in a nearby CS and use that as a staging platform to push farther inward.

If you are having to land near an enemy, use cover II promotions to soak a lot of the damage, and put a navy ship over the landing unit so it’s not killed in the water. It’s also good that after the first barrage, any unit thst is very hurt can be put back in the water (with a navy ship) so it can safely run away. And if all of your units are getting beat up when you land...than you need to change tactics as that area is just not going to work.

 

[CrazyG]

I think you should change your early science goals. As authority, I generally want spearmen and horsemen quickly. Sailing is a long way away, and the nearby techs like Writing or Drama and Poetry are a low priority, especially as England who can use her spy to skip libraries.

It sounds like you can dominate with ships of the line very easily, I bet you'll still be fine without the Great Lighthouse. Rushing that tech as authority is very unappealing, especially if your luxuries aren't fishing boats. Instead you want to reveal iron and horses, and start developing your land weapons earlier. Having swordsmen or catapults earlier should make wars easier. You should get arenas earlier and be able to kill more units (horsemens' high movement can help clear extra camps) which will help your culture.

 

[ridjack]

Remember, you can always let someone else build that Lighthouse for you and then ask them, nicely, to donate it to your cause.