[BTS] Simple privateer question

[sylvanllewelyn]

I am aware that this thread exists, but it's gone cold.

Thread 'Privateers for Dummies...'

Oct 1, 2008

Not sure if this has been said before, but I hope this is a starting point for some, anyway. Comments, corrections, additions welcome…

Privateers

Privateers may well be the most versatile and useful units in BtS. They have the ability to wage war without war weariness or diplomatic penalties, while still collecting GG points and xp far beyond what can be gained from barbarians. At the same time, they can pay for themselves by pillaging and blockading AI cities – and the money doesn’t come out of thin air, it comes out of the pocket of your AI victim.


The...

• 6K Man
• Replies: 63
• Forum: Civ4 Strategy Articles

How do I determine exactly which tiles I need to cover to cut off all water trade routes? The thread said "within two tiles" but that's unclear.

1/ Which ocean tiles? All 8 ocean tiles connected to the city? All 8 water tiles? Something else?

2/ How do I account for lakes, rivers, and land roads to other coastal cities?

3/ What do I actually "cut"? Just commerce? Foreign health & happy? Domestic health & happy as well?

4/ Do I break their existing resource trades with other players?

5/ Can one privateer fully blockade multiple cities?

 

[Chalybion]

Privateers create a blockade radius on water tiles only.
Coastal cities touching those blockaded tiles lose gold generated by trade routes with other cities, and you receive that gold instead.
Blockaded tiles don't generate food/hammers/gold. Often the biggest impact is from starving an opponent's capital city of seafood.
Given the size of the blockade radius, one privateer can blockade 2-3 cities at one time.
Cutting foreign health and happy would require blocking the connection to the capital. This could be done by blockading an island or an entire continent, as long as you have enough privateers to cover each coastal city.

 

[sylvanllewelyn]

Let me rephrase, see if I understand correctly.

Privateers create a blockade radius on water tiles only.

Only "ocean"? Or "lake" as well? Sometimes there are "lake" tiles next to a coastal city.

Coastal cities touching those blockaded tiles lose gold generated by trade routes with other cities, and you receive that gold instead.

As long as one of the 8 tiles touching the city is blockaded, the city loses trade route commerce. OK, simple enough.

Cutting foreign health and happy would require blocking the connection to the capital. This could be done by blockading an island or an entire continent, as long as you have enough privateers to cover each coastal city.

I did not know this.

Domestic resources. 3 cities, A1 A2 AC. I blockade A1. Resource is in A2. Do I actually need to cut off all connections from A1 to A2? Or, when I cut off connection from A1 to capital city AC, then A1 cannot get the resource from A2?

Foreign resources. I blockade A1. A1 is connected to a foreign resource B1. Do I actually need to cut off all connections from A1 to B1? Or, is it enough to cut off all connections from A1 to capital AC? Or, is it enough to cut off all connections from B1 to capital city BC?

 

[Lennier]

If the cities have land routes to or land routes to an unblocked city with sea routes to the capital, the cities will still have access to resources.

 

[sylvanllewelyn]

I try to simplify the question. When two foreign players trade resources, must there be some direct or indirect path to the capital? One capital or both capitals? What if both cities are cut off from capitals, but are connected to each other?

Sorry for being pedantic. I am thinking about the Portugal unique unit, carrack.