The Egyptian and Arabian AI and their UBs

[agc28]

Do the AI's use their UB well? An idea just came across my mind. Since these are both spiritual civs, they are very likely to found religions. Their UBs also help them create more great prophets early. Do the AI's actually USE their UB well to create great prophets...? If they do, I think its better to delay attacking their holy cities so that they will actually have a chance to create a prophet to make shrines. If i take their holy city before they make a prophet, I'll have to waste a prophet on the shrines later in the game...

the AI certainly dont use their UU to their full advantage...but what about UBs?

 

[Crighton]

The Egyptians certainly do, there's is basically a standard obelisk and the Ai builds those as needed (at least in my experience), don't know about Saladin though, sry.

I try to sack holy cities as much as possible, preferably after the AI builds the shrine to it, but I wouldn't forestall and attack on it just to wait for the AI to get around to it.

As far as the UU goes for these two they have the short end of the stick IMO. The Camel Archer is bleh at best, and the Chariot more so especially since it rarely seems to be built by the AI.

 

[futurehermit]

In the hands of a human player though the war chariot is phenomenal and the camel archer is "ok"

 

[Crighton]

so how do you use the war chariot effectively then?

-I almost as a rule don't build chariots, I don't typically use mounted units until I'm really much further along, at which point the chariots in general have been antiquated for quite some time-

 

[Mr. Civtastic]

As a rush unit. They're cheap at only 25 hammers, they have 50% against axemen, they are strength 5 (normal chariots are 4), theyre immune to 1st strikes, and the only tech you need make them are the wheel...and horses (animal husbandry). Their strength makes them plenty of a match for archers and close to equal with swordsmen, except that you can build two chariots for only 10 more hammers then one swordsman. Their main counter is spearmen, but you can send a small party out to pillage his copper and/or iron and that threat is over. Plus usually I just swarm the spearmen and kill him. Plus you can build stables to give chariots a promotion or two.

I think they are the best rush unit, right up there with immortals and praets.

 

[Crighton]

Not a bad thought. I'll give it a shot next time Egypt pops up in the Random Civ qeue. How likely is it to take cities with these things? (they don't get the CR promotion right?)

 

[Mr. Civtastic]

Well if you go for them right away you'll be mostly ok. It will take awhile for the ai to research iron working (if he does it at all) which means most of the units you'll fight against are archers and axemen, with the occaional spearman. You'll have advantages on archers and axemen, and sheer numbers against spearmen (though you will take some losses). And you pillage copper and/or iron, your window of opportunity is that much wider.

If nothing else you should be able to cripple a civ or two by trashing their border cities. My last game I played with Ramses I was able to take out two civs before I slowed down, one of them being Korea (protective). I probably could have kept going but the builder in me got the best of me. This was Monarch. Im sure other people more experienced could take even more land...I didnt leverage the ub well at all, for instance.

 

[Reprisal]

I used Ramses to found most of the religions, I think I failed to found Hinduism and Confucianism. It was ******** how easy it was to use relgion to alter how the other civs regard you... everyone on my continent was Buddhist because I shot out missionaries to their capitals as soon as was useful.

I've not yet tried to do so with Saladin, though I suspect that I would probably forego the earlier religions and found the Abrahamic ones and possibly one of the later Eastern ones. I'm still not great when it comes to managing specialists, but it's worth a try.

I used the Camel Archer to great effect once to cripple a very aggressive Hannibal... I upgraded my Camel Archers to have Flanking I & II and gave them mobility. I grouped four (one with Scouting, another with Combat I and Shock, and two with Flanking I, II and Mobility) with two Pikemen and two Crossbowmen to ravage his Towns and resources. It was quite useful to be able to move onto a hill and still be able to pillage both the mine and the road in the turn I entered it.

I didn't win that particular war, it ended in a stalemate. But my Arabic Grenadiers and Cannon sure finished Hannibal off in a hurry afterwards...

 

[Gnarfflinger]

Cammel archers with Flanking 1 and 2 have a 55% chance to get out of a losing fight, and in addition, with combat, they can wreak havoc against longbows after the Catapults knock out the defence boost...

 

[Reprisal]

Very true, and since Flanking II also gives immunity to First Strikes, you'll not likely lose as many of your units in an assault.

 

[eric_]

If you get a horde of war chariots out really early, your neighbors are screwed (which is relatively easy unless you have bad luck regarding the location of horses).

 

[Crighton]

I rarely find horses in an accessable spot. Usually their located under someone else's capital but that's just my crappy luck