The UU-A-Day Countdown

[Stefanskantine]

I said "medieval fleet." Fleet implies navy.

 

[Risen]

5 posts? Sheesh, I expected more for the Landy.

Don't think we don't like reading this just because we don't post about. I'm rather enjoying this UU a day countdown.

 

[Schuesseled]

I can see my ottoman janissaries, pushing the fight all the way from my enemies borders to thier last city without so much as a cup of tea and a nap.

 

[ShaqFu]

I realize, 15 minutes to midnight, that I nearly forgot today's UU. Sorry for the late post!

For the 15th day until release, we'll look at the Japanese Zero, the only Fighter UU in the game. This unit drives home air superiority, with its sole ability being a combat bonus against Fighters.

Another straightforward UU, so not a whole lot to discuss in this post. During the early flight era, this UU will rule the skies via suppression of enemy Fighters, and can thus guarantee Japan the ability to run strafing missions on ground units. Once Bombers appear, the Zero will ensure that they are vulnerable to attack via its edge against Fighter escorts. By keeping the enemy's Fighter force to a minimum, Japan can greatly limit their air power: not only will there be fewer Fighters to deal with, but the Zero makes Bombers all the more exposed to more Zeros. Defensively, it's still a great unit, handling incoming Fighters with ease and seeing that your Bombers get through. For pre-jet era air warfare, the Japanese have a tremendous advantage - not only do their air units always fight at full (via Bushido), but the Zero will guarantee air superiority at the dawn of flight.

 

[Ogrelord]

Would be cool if the Zero can do a kamikaze attack. (it would act like a guide missile).

 

[stealth_nsk]

Would be cool if the Zero can do a kamikaze attack. (it would act like a guide missile).

Yes, thought about the same.

 

[Seek]

For the 15th day until release, we'll look at the Japanese Zero, the only Fighter UU in the game. This unit drives home air superiority, with its sole ability being a combat bonus against Fighters.

I believe it also is significantly cheaper than the fighter which it replaces. (According to Arioch's site, 30%)

 

[sensual benny]

I love the idea of Japanese fighter pilots and tanks still getting a bonus from the Samurai code

 

[Psycedilla]

I love the idea of Japanese fighter pilots and tanks still getting a bonus from the Samurai code

this!

 

[ErichRommel]

So any news about a reduced upgrade cost to german Landsknechts? Would only make sense regarding the production discount..

 

[MisterBarca]

So any news about a reduced upgrade cost to german Landsknechts? Would only make sense regarding the production discount..

One of the reviewers said that it's half the cost of a regular Pikeman.

 

[Louis XXIV]

The Zero seems straight forward enough. I'm not sure it's overwhelmingly useful, but you can at least use it to protect your cities while you try and go for some kind of victory condition. It doesn't seem to be much of an offensive weapon, however.

 

[stealth_nsk]

It doesn't seem to be much of an offensive weapon, however.

Cleaning skies before bomber strikes is quite useful.

 

[Ahriman]

I just hope that there is a "clear the skies" mission where your fighters try and attack any defending fighters set on 'interception' mode

Absolutely. Its been way too hard to make fighter escorts actually work, and the AI never really understood how to do it either.

 

[Louis XXIV]

Good point about escorts. Ideally, I'd just want an escort mission (which would attach fighters to bombers and protect them), but, leaving that aside, having them specifically target enemy fighters would be nice. Don't have them run the risk of bombing things when you don't want them to (and the AI should be programmed to send fighters first if they have enough unless they calculate that it's worth the risk to send a bomber instead to do more damage).

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Well some of the trouble can be fixed by making interception a 100% chance... ie if you bomb in a defending fighters area, you Will get engaged. That allows a Fighter to 'bomb' first and at least hurt that fighter so it does less damage to your bombers.

 

[Ronojoy1917]

Shaqfu, you should have left Zero till a day before release, or maybe to the actual day of the release. Day Zero of the countdown.


EDIT: 100th post!

 

[ShaqFu]

Shaqfu, you should have left Zero till a day before release, or maybe to the actual day of the release. Day Zero of the countdown.

I originally hoped to use the B-17 on the 17th day and the Zero on the last day, but sadly, I'm running low on revealed UUs to do so. I'm going through the known Civlopedia units first, then ones revealed in previews, and hoping I don't have to get to speculative units ("well, we think the Mohawk gets a Forest bonus...") before release.

I believe it also is significantly cheaper than the fighter which it replaces. (According to Arioch's site, 30%)

I'm being careful with production costs, since they vary due to speed. For example, Arioch's site lists the Samurai as triple the cost of the Longswordsman (450 (nearly half a GDR!) vs. 150), but that's obviously due to a longer game speed and not some huge penalty for the Samurai. The only cost difference I've noted so far is the Landschekhschkschk (I swear, I'll learn how to spell that by the 21st...), because its only bonus is hammer cost, and it's a confirmed difference.

 

[ShaqFu]

Two weeks! We're almost there! I can almost taste the hexagonal goodness already.

For today, we'll look at the Persian Immortal, which has something of a checkered past: it began as a Swordsman in Civ3, then a Chariot replacement (that was oddly a horseback rider...) for Civ4, and now replaces the Spearman. (And let's not mention those masked characters from a certain movie...) Its first bonus ability for its Civ5 incarnation is the always welcome +1 strength (8) over vanilla Spearman, but its second bonus is its true strength: double healing rate.

While the 8 strength will certainly be useful for any Persia player, the second ability is the one that separates the Immortal from other ancient units. One of the design pushes in Civ5 has been for a small number important units instead of Civ4's huge fodder dogpiles, so each unit matters more - especially in the ancient era, when production is low and one unit can make or break your army. Thus, the ability to take a beating and freshen up at double speed sees to it that the Immortals are hard to take down. Early invasions usually stop due to losses and heavily weakened units - for Persia, both of these are lessened. Furthermore, it ensures that your main line is always healthy, and ready to provide a 10HP beating to any defenders; in case of prolonged combat, the canny Persian can rest up for a turn or two and suddenly have an advantage in what was previously even combat. By retreating into some woods/hills and waiting a turn, Immortals can quickly turn a battle in their favor.

When it comes to longevity, the Immortal is the best.

 

[Tibblers]

I wonder if Immortals will benefit doubly from Medic promotions. That is, will each Immortal gain 2 hp instead of just 1 per turn?