Units that you almost never build

[TheDS]

@ MikeD1991

I don't recall a Horse in my capital's BFC, but who knows? I played part of someone's Deity example game and as Persia I think I had them quickly to use for my UU (Chariot replacement). Chariots gt outdated quickly, their bonus against axes only works on the attack, and they're so weak by the time I get any built that I have to keep them with stacks, eliminating half their point (mobility). I've been ignoring HBR lately, so I've built a handful of Chariots for their ability to retreat, then let the rest of the stack attack and take the city. Kind of like cheap Cats.

I do seem to get Iron most of the time, but I can't seem to get an early Happy resource (Gold/Gems/Silver) unless I CTRL-W any more. I've had them, and I've seen the AI have them, so I don't feel guilty about replacing one of my other resources with one after the 10th regen.

I've always played Noble because I despise ridiculous AI advantages. Never needed anything less, either. But I started playing Prince since the AI bonuses aren't obscene, and they don't get free units to see how I do, and so far it's just a slightly later point where I overtake, so I may go up again soon.

Playing this Deity example game, I mostly followed the guys's advice for the start, then decided at some point I couldn't stand all cottages and started working it my way. I just got to the same year he stopped and he has Rifles. Me, I just got tech parity the turn before with Astronomy, so I think I'm doing okay. It's not in the bag by any means, so I'll have to play it out and see. I may even play it again to see if I can do better. But I sure don't consider myself a Deity player!!!

 

[welldressedgent]

Mickie D is right - Chariots are vital if you can't find bronze. I'd consider them a quick fix
until you get iron working or feudalism. Wouldn't fight a war with them, that's for sure.

That said, I don't bother with other mounted units.

 

[Deep_Blue]

Ironclads I don't build much - ditto for ships of the line. They're just too slow to catch other ships, and there isn't that much call for stationary defences at sea (I don't find it cost effective to park them on seafood). Most of the other units in the OP I do use though.

Airships - these are awesome. They're the first way to soften up cities that doesn't involve slow and suicidal siege engines. In the period they appear it's very unlikely the enemy have anything to intercept them, and even if they do the airhip will only be damaged, not destroyed.

Anti Tank - Not one of my favourite units I admit, but they are a cost effective way of dealing with a tank SoD.

Explorer - OK, I never use these to explore. I very occasionally use them as medics.

Guided missles - While I'd never build as many of these as the AI does, the ability to kill a unit at a distance is invaluable. Particularly good for softening up stacks with air cover.

Privateer - Get a few of these blockading around a civ before they get chemistry, and it'll cripple them at minimal cost. Unable to work sea tiles the coastal cities will starve, you get a nice chunk of gold, and enemy caravels are little more than free great general points.

Paratrooper - These are best for mopping up hopelessly backward civs. Paratroopers supported by fighters and bombers can mop up an enemy civ faster than any other, since they can essentially move 6 tiles per turn over enemy terrain.

Trebuchet - You're joking surely? These are vastly superior to catapults for softening up cities. They even have a decent survival rate if you give them raider promotions.

Trireme - 3.17 changed this. You really need these to deal with barbarian galleys. Galleys of your own are never going to have much better than even odds against them.

Other units I never use? I very rarely build mobile artillery - I find aircraft more effective. I don't build grenadiers much either, mainly due to the routes I take through the tech tree.

I fins Airships rarely useful because of their short range plus you need large number of them to make a difference.

As others said about guided missiles their only advantage is cheap cost so I only build them in my weak production cities or when I don't have anything else to build.

Privateers do look fun and I gotta start using them. I think they are great in Archipelago Maps and less useful in Pangaea.

About Mobile Artillery are you joking they are great they are fast moving siege weapons! Using few in any modern armor stack will make a big difference, usually my stacks contain 20%-30% of mobile artilleries.

 

[Deep_Blue]

Mickie D is right - Chariots are vital if you can't find bronze. I'd consider them a quick fix
until you get iron working or feudalism. Wouldn't fight a war with them, that's for sure.

That said, I don't bother with other mounted units.

I agree Chariots could be vital in your game according to your situation.

I have once used Chariots rush in a Monarch game to wipe out my closest enemy because I neither had bronze nor Iron in my borders (and didn't have Horseback Riding to get Horse Archers).

 

[Joshua368]

About Mobile Artillery are you joking they are great they are fast moving siege weapons! Using few in any modern armor stack will make a big difference, usually my stacks contain 20%-30% of mobile artilleries.

Personally in my modern wars my artillery is completely replaced by a large squadron of fighters and bombers... they usually have adequate range as long as I'm not razing every city in sight, and they can lower defenses and weaken the defenders just like artillery. I suppose the only time I artillery in that era is when there's a lot of SAM guys in the city, but even then enough airplanes can usually do the trick if you can take a few losses.

 

[Deep_Blue]

When razing cities in a conquest game mobile artilleries become your only option. otherwise you have to keep one city from time to time to land your bombers.

Other thing to consider is that there is no interception for Mobile artilleries ! And you are likely to lose your bombers if the defender uses jets or mobile sams.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

I almost never build Grenadiers, or the Ship of the Line because there's always better things to waste hammers on. (like Riflemen.)

One thing I always found a little weird about vanilla BTS is that at one point you lose the ability to build Battleships and you're forced to build Missle Cruisers. Battleships are way better. Yes the Missle Cruiser is stronger, but you don't get collateral damage from it. Battleships are a great way to soften up a coastal city ahead of your troops.

LOL, listen to me - the "Great General."

 

[GenocideBringer]

Battleships can't attack cities. They can only bombard defenses down.

 

[mystikx21]

What are the units that you almost never use or build?

For me I never use:

Airship -Very weak and I don't like it

Anti-Tank -I never tried one!

Explorer -Comes too late

Guided Missile -Worthless

Irondad -Never built one I usually wait for destroyers/battleships

Privateer -Never built one!

Paratrooper -Nop .. useless for me

Trebuchet -I stick to catapults

Trireme -Stupid ship

Airships I'll build a couple to look for subs (rather than waste time trolling around with my boats). Otherwise yes, worthless. They're basically free experience for my fighters as the AI builds swarms of them.
Privateers are very nice money makers if you get to Chemistry quick (before the computer can counter with Frigates).
Trebs are way better at blasting cities than cats once the AI uses Longbows. Way. Way. Better.
I usually drop a few Anti-tanks in right before I get robotics so I get Mechs with free ambush promos for front line defenders. They are essential if you're somehow without oil to slow down the enemy tanks. And that they now have AA% helps.
Triremes are basically only useful for attacking barb galleys or maybe an AI invasion force in the iron age.
Missiles are very useful if you're behind in the air war and the AI has a lot more boats, ie carrier stacks, than you do. Then they're awesome at softening them up for turtling attacks. They usually don't have much use in ground wars.
Paratroopers aren't usually important. They can be decent with AI superiority and an archipelago map, only because they're cheaper than Marines+transport. And they're not bad for raiding/pillaging strikes.

Skip Ironclads or SoL. I have built Ironclads in periods without oil. But they're still owned by destroyers.
I almost never use Grenadiers. I usually get Infantry before I can build them with a beeline on factories.
I've never built an Explorer, but I can see how they'd be useful if you use a delayed start or as medics.

I'm pretty sure Missile Cruisers have collateral damage just as battleships do. Unless they changed that in the unofficial patches and I never noticed. It also has the same base strength value but carries missiles and is faster than the battleship. In either case, the navy is basically just to protect Sushi and transports/carriers.

 

[Deep_Blue]

LOL, listen to me - the "Great General."

why ?!
Great generals are very good.. but I admit that I am disappointed that you cannot build an army with a great general like in CIV3.

 

[MrCynical]

About Mobile Artillery are you joking they are great they are fast moving siege weapons! Using few in any modern armor stack will make a big difference, usually my stacks contain 20%-30% of mobile artilleries.

It's a combination of their very late position in the tech tree (the majority of games are over before the last set of units show up, and its rarer still that they have any impact on the outcome), and the usually superior aircraft option. Aircraft are still faster than Mobile artillery as I can bombard and damage the stack in the city while my stack is travelling there - I don't need to pause to remove city defence with artillery. Also they can usually begin hitting another target immediately, while I'd have to wait for the artillery to get there again. Yes there's interception to deal with, but the AI never builds enough air defences - again, they can be overwhelmed by fighters with the exception of SAMs (who have a low intercept chance anyway).

 

[Jerrymander]

why ?!
Great generals are very good.. but I admit that I am disappointed that you cannot build an army with a great general like in CIV3.

Irony, I don't think Lemon Merchant is much a warmonger, heh.

Battleships > Missile Cruisers, however. Collateral Damage is one of the strongest forces in Civilization IV.

 

[MrCynical]

Battleships and missle cruisers both do the same collateral damage. You could however make an argument that battleships are cheaper for the same attack and collateral damage, and if you're not using the missle capacity it isn't worth the slight additional cost of missle cruisers.

 

[Perfxion]

The reason is nobody uses battleships in modern times. So that's why they have been replaced. Battleships are too slow for the faster moving modern navies.

Mobile Artillery is great for wars when you are not fighting your direct neighbor. Send them, mobile SAM, Modern Armor, and Mechs as a mobile SoD. You can pretty much counter anything.

 

[Wilphe]

Airships - Usually have better things to do

Explorers - Usually have scouts or all goody huts popped already

Grenadiers - I tend to skip their prerequisite tech on the way to Assembly Line

Curissaers - I tend to bypass their enabling tech on the way to Rifling

Ironclads - Best way to defend your coasts is to be sitting off the enemies

Musketmen, Riflemen, Infantry, Mech Infantry - That is what drafting is for.

Submarines - I don't use missiles so what you've got is a slower, less powerful vessal that can't bombard.

Guided Missiles - I'd sooner build something that will last and don't have the patience for their logistics

ICBMs/Tak Nukes - I don't think I have build one of either in CIV4, normally it's the first UN resolution and everyone agrees.

 

[sydhe]

I usually build a bunch of triremes right before I get optics and upgrade them en masse. I also rush some when barbarian galleys come calling. If you have a few explorers handy put some on the caravels (although missionaries come first), they can explore the interior of land masses so you don't have to trade maps. Spies can do the same thing, of course and when they get done you can do counterintelligence to bring them home.

I don't build musketmen, although I'll build the unique units that replace them. Also don't build ironclads. I like privateers.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Battleships can't attack cities. They can only bombard defenses down.

Yes, you are right. I read the description of the Barrage promotion in the 'pedia wrong and I assumed they caused collateral damage to the units in the city you were bombarding. Thanks for correcting me.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Irony, I don't think Lemon Merchant is much a warmonger, heh.

Well that's obvious, I couldn't even get my OP right.

 

[L4zXX0r]

Swordsman. As I am often Axe rushing, at the point a swordsman would even be useful against my opponents, I'm probably already so much more stronger than them, it won't matter. Curassier, one of those things I seem to skip on the way to better techs. Machine Gunners, I prefer Infantry.

 

[Magc8Ball]

I actually built a small fleet of Ships of the Line last night for the first time ever. It was rather situational, though:

I've finally convinced my wife to play Civ4, and I was playing a game with her (just her second game) and I had gotten into a war (not with her) with a civ on another continent. My usual approach if the timing works out is to use some frigates to bombard coastal cities quicker than just catapults/trebs, which then provide a foodhold once I land my invasion forces.

Well, in this game, once my frigates crossed the water, they found a similarly-sized fleet of frigates waiting for them, and these ships had more XP (enough to make up for the coastal defense bonus). So, I actually built up 4 or so SoL's and shipped them over to clear the water. Since I was primarily interested in clearing an invasion path, their slow speed didn't make a difference (no need to chase anything down).

I think it also helped that we were playing on a smaller map than I usually do (we were playing with a total of 6 civs, since she's still learning the game) so they were able to make it over in a reasonable amount of time. It also helped that my capital was able to churn out an SoL at a rate of 2 per 3 turns.

I generally play solo on Marathon speed at the largest map size, and in those situations the Ship of the Line takes too long to build and takes too long to get anywhere, or is just covered by building two Frigates.