Units that you almost never build

[andersw]

I've become better at utilising various units.
But I still don't build:
spearmen (an axe rush seldom need and later I mix with swords and chariots)
pikemen (they're a little weak and I'm busy building trebs)
horse archer (I seldom bother horse back riding until guilds or war elephants)
explorer (yes it's happened but .....)

Modern units (I probably need to move up the difficulty since I don't need air and very seldom tanks or modern ships)

I do build cuirassers and musketmen but they tend to get outdated pretty quick.
Machineguns are great for stack defence and those newly conqered cities.

 

[digitCruncher]

I tend to not build the following:

Ironclads: Too weak, and barely stronger than Frigates and SoL. In addition, they are slower, and cant travel over oceans.

I think I played a Warlord difficulty game where I only build Ironclads because I never researched Astronomy ( ), and so it was a choice between Galleys, or Ironclads

Explorers: They cannot attack, are weak in combat, expensive for what they do, and are generally pointless. I don't merge GG's ever, so I haven't used the super-medic trick, however.

Spearmen / Pikemen: I DO build them... about 1 or 2 in my entire game. I prefer elephants, and if I don't have elephants, formation promoted Horse Archers / Knights do the job just as well.

Guided Missiles: Why? When Tactical nukes and ICBMs are su much more useful
And if the nukes are banned, then I don't want to destroy the infrastructure of the land I am about to take, don't I... and if I want a specific resource down, I just bomb it

Artillery: Before 3.17 I have always used Bombers, as they do the job much better. Now, however, with Machine guns and Anti-tanks also intercepting my bombers, I am using them MUCH more often.

The rest I use almost all the time. TECHNICALLY, however, I don't ever build Gunships. I upgrade them. From Blitz Calvalry
On the same line, I don't build Destroyers, the upgrades from my wooden ships satisfy me for the rest of the game.

Steath Destroyers, Steath bombers, and (normally) Jet Fighters also don't get a show, as they are off the regular Space Ship tech path. I find Robotics is a must-have, however, as Mech. Infantry are too important...

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

On the same line, I don't build Destroyers, the upgrades from my wooden ships satisfy me for the rest of the game.

That's a questionable thing to do depending on the status of your gold reserves and economy, IMO. In marathon games, it costs 600 gold to upgrade 1 frigate to a destroyer and 500 gold for 1 ship of the line to become a destroyer. I believe it's like 350 gold to upgrade a galleon to a transport. So if you have a fleet of 8 frigates, 3 ship of the line, and 8 transport, you're talking around 9000 gold just for upgrading.

That's a lot of money for 19 ships especially if the AI isn't on your heals with tech. Personally I only upgrade the top of the line ships. If they aren't level 4, they're not getting upgraded.

 

[Krowser]

Explorers: I never used them until my current game on Earth 2. I found the new World so I sent a few explorers.

Privateers: Goodly units. With these I prevented anyone else from settling on the Americas until I completly took over and all of this WITHOUT every going to war. Ownage? I beleive so!

Missiles: The last time I used Cruise missiles was in Civ 2 (OVERPOWERED) where I switched to fundamentalism, build 80 fanatics with matching transports, declared war on my neighbor and set all my cities on building missiles. It actually worked... sort of. lol

Ironclad: I build one, then realised they werent worth it just because they cant go in the ocean. WHICH IS ODD because on wikipedia they talk about actual ironclads crossing the atlantic sea back in the 1800s.

 

[Hammurbabble]

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

If it's your only air unit, it comes in handy for weakening enemy units, plus it's a real pain in the ass when you're on the receiving end. And they upgrade to Fighters later on.

Anti-Tank -I never tried one!

The only reason I can see to build anti-tanks is if you're up against an opponent with tanks and you don't have oil to build your own.

Explorer -Comes too late

I understand they're useful for exploring the New World on Earth maps.

Guided Missile -Worthless

The good thing about GMs is that they can't be blocked by fighters. If you have air superiority, they're not especially valuable. OTOH, they can give your Missile Cruisers some extra punch.

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

Whether I build Ironclads or not depends on whether I'm being threatened at sea by Frigates. Under pressure, I'll build a few to defend my coastline.

Privateer -Never built one!

I don't build these either, not my style, but I can see where ripping off someone's gold when you're not at war with them can be a fun thing. In which case you'd want to build quite a few of them.

Paratrooper -Nop .. useless for me

I don't really know how to use these units. Might be interesting to hear from someone who swears by them.

Trebuchet -I stick to catapults

Disagree. Trebuchets are an essential part of a Medieval attack force. Especially if you fight the way I do, being very sparing of the suicide siege. I keep about 5 siege units (cats, trebs, or cannon) with a stack to bombard enemy defenses. Once the defenses are down, I do a check with one of my main attack units to see what the odds of attack are. Only if it's down in the 30s will I suicide a siege unit. So mostly I use siege to drop the defenses, and against Castles that takes FOREVER using catapults. Trebs reduce this to a reasonable time frame, especially with the Accuracy promotion (easy to get using Homage, Theocracy, or a settled GG).

Trireme -Stupid ship

[/quote]

As with Ironclads, it depends on what you're up against. If you're at war and your enemy has a bunch of Galleys, Triremes are useful. Also, if you're researching Optics and want to get the world-is-round bonus, building a Trireme and then upgrading it to a Caravel lets you get an early start.

 

[Deep_Blue]

I still don't know what an "Irondad" is...

Actually it is "Ironclad" LOL "Irondad" was a misspelling in my first post

 

[Supr49er]

Actually it is "Ironclad" LOL "Irondad" was a misspelling in my first post

Hey, maybe Bismarck is your father.

 

[digitCruncher]

Question @ Wolfy...

Explorers are just as useless on a Terra map (or Earth2 map) as any other map... by the time you have explorers on the New World, the barbs have guarded every goody hut with warriors, and has a nice army of swords and axes which mean the explorer is spending half its time healing.

Since explorers cannot attack, this means they CAN'T pop huts, CAN'T capture cities, and suck at exploring through the island to try and circimnavigate the globe, as you are healing so often (and if you don't heal, you are dead on the 3rd sword/axe/longbow)

And I only upgrade 3 or 4. Battleships are the main core, I only keep destroyers for the anti-air and sub finding... Battleships kill the subs themselves

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

Disagree. First, not everyone plays with barbs turned on. Second, whether or not they pop huts is irrelevant. I mean, at that stage, is 70 gold gonna make you jump for joy? I don't even get excited when i pop gold in the beginning and you certainly aren't gonna be popping any techs. Settlers/workers won't be able to do much since the barbs would just invade and destroy the city or the worker.

Discovering the resources and lay of the land is what the explorers are useful for. And with Woodsman I/II and Guerrilla I/II, they won't be caught by most barbarians while roaming around.

 

[Krowser]

Disagree. First, not everyone plays with barbs turned on. Second, whether or not they pop huts is irrelevant. I mean, at that stage, is 70 gold gonna make you jump for joy? I don't even get excited when i pop gold in the beginning and you certainly aren't gonna be popping any techs. Settlers/workers won't be able to do much since the barbs would just invade and destroy the city or the worker.

Discovering the resources and lay of the land is what the explorers are useful for. And with Woodsman I/II and Guerrilla I/II, they won't be caught by most barbarians while roaming around.

Exactly, I was able to take 2-3 huts (for 100 gold) but the most important part was to find the guarded huts and the barbarian cities so that when my army landed I wouldnt waste any time looking for them. Time is of the essence in Terran and Earth2 because you want as much land for yourself as possible. I explored with caravels and explorers, rushed for Astronomy, landed and captures (out of 12 cities, I build 1 ) and I delayed all the other civs with a fleet of privateers.

 

[TigerBotHesh]

I usually build a handful on anti-tank units (one per city), but I don't seem to get much use out of them. It seems like the window from when they become available to the introduction of Mech Infantry is pretty small. Although I have been impressed with the tank-hunting skills of the Anti-Tank units I upgraded to Mech Infantry.

 

[Solomwi]

I usually build a handful on anti-tank units (one per city), but I don't seem to get much use out of them. It seems like the window from when they become available to the introduction of Mech Infantry is pretty small. Although I have been impressed with the tank-hunting skills of the Anti-Tank units I upgraded to Mech Infantry.

As somebody mentioned above, Anti-Tanks upgrade to Mech Infantry with a free Ambush promotion. I build a handful of them for this reason, but I may be a bit hooked on free promotions.

 

[Inky]

Question @ Wolfy...

Explorers are just as useless on a Terra map (or Earth2 map) as any other map... by the time you have explorers on the New World, the barbs have guarded every goody hut with warriors, and has a nice army of swords and axes which mean the explorer is spending half its time healing.

Since explorers cannot attack, this means they CAN'T pop huts, CAN'T capture cities, and suck at exploring through the island to try and circimnavigate the globe, as you are healing so often (and if you don't heal, you are dead on the 3rd sword/axe/longbow)

I quite often find unguarded huts with my first batch of explorers and caravels. My hope is to pop Astronomy. Depending on how you beeling Optics, you can get a few techs from huts in the new world.

My explorers will be woodsman-2 at least, and that is pretty tough for a sword or axe to kill. My good ones have hill defense too. Never stop on open terrain if you have the choice.

While sometimes I have surviving scouts to upgrade, I don't always have them and also, rapid exploration speeds up my plans to exploit the new continents. I've often got circumnavigation on a Terra map using explorers to cross the new world, which doesn't have a sea passage except at one end.

Then there are often islands and small continents which have huts and need exploring. Again, you often find unguarded huts here and there.

Afterwards, they remain useful as fog busters, until you control the continent. Then, if they've got enough promotions (hard to do sometimes), they can serve as medics. Sadly, they can't get Woodsman-3, which would make the super medics in the late game.

 

[Fredric Drum]

How can you guys throw dirt on the guided missile??? It's an absolutely lovely unit. Why? Because it can't be intercepted!

So there's a carrier battle group harrassing your coast. What do you ? Send out ships to sink them? Expect to lose a lot. Send bombers? They will get shot down. Send fighters? They will get shot down or at least enter air combat... either way, no damage is done to the target until all enemy fighters are gone.

No... you send 1 guided missile per escort ship, and then mop up the injured targets with your battleships/destroyers.

Guided missiles are cheap and effective. They can also kill units off, unlike bombers/fighters/artillery.

 

[FlyinJohnnyL]

I'll usually build an explorer or two and just click the automated explore feature, so I can stay up to date on the map before I get to paper. But it only takes one or two to accomplish this task. I am fond of making an explorer into a super medic, however, as he'll pretty much never die since he'll never be tapped to defend the stack unless I did something extremely wrong and got the whole stack killed.

Navy is the weakest part of my game, but unlike some posts I've seen, I build th hell out of privateers. If for no other reason than the fact that they are FUN to use. I'll use a couple to blockade foreign capitals, a couple to continuously pillage workboats, and some to just keep killing caravels. And I love the easy GG points you can get with them.

 

[miked1991]

Question here....

Why does a Guided Missile cause less damage to a stack than Artilery, and if I actually tested it, I think a catapult would actually cause more! surely a great big missile would do more than knock the little finger off one infantry?

 

[Krowser]

Question here....

Why does a Guided Missile cause less damage to a stack than Artilery, and if I actually tested it, I think a catapult would actually cause more! surely a great big missile would do more than knock the little finger off one infantry?

Because in Civ 2 we learned how overpowered guided missiles were if they actually functionned as they do in real life. You can't mass missiles in the real world because they are too expensive. Thats why even though they beat the crap out of anything, it's not a valid strat. In Civ you can just keep building them so thats why they got nerfed.

 

[PreLynMax]

Hmmmmmm that's a toughy. Toughy because I try to put to use every single unit in the game.

I use explorers because I only play Earth (type) maps.
I guess I don't use Anti-Tank units, Ironclads, Crossbowman, (unless I'm playing as the Chinese, they have thier UU), Ship of the Line, Paratroopers, Marines, Guided Missles, Tactical Nukes and somtimes I skip the occasional Cannons (although I use them to obsolete the Trebuchet), but me skipping any unit is rare, and you most likely would find the whole cast of units with me.

Simular to FlyinJohnnyL, my naval game needs work, but the AI rarely prepares me for a real naval assult, and I play mostly mods, so I don't play multiplayer anyway.

The only reason why I skip a unit is when my build order is tall.

And no, a single Guided Missle cause less damage (about 40% damage) to a stack of Artilery then land units.

So the answer is NO, I don't really intentially refrain from building any unit.

 

[Siesta Guru]

Scouts: I scout enough with the few warriors i have at the start to rush someone and i usually delay hunting a bit.

Triremes: ive had in my entire civ career around 5 fishing boats destroyed by ships before optics.

Explorers: well i do build them on terra maps and im the first to go to the new world but that hadly ever happens.

Musketman: Macemen are often better (with the city raider promotions) for attacking and longbowmen are only a little bit worse for defending. These get obsolote pretty soon aswell (I usually go straight to rifling after getting gunpowder).

Ship of the line: Im not a naval guy and caravals, galleons and frigates do the job for me.

Grenadiers: I prefer riflemen since im usually ahead in techs and noone else has rifleman anyways.

Paratroopers: The drop radius is horrible, might aswell walk there.

Anti-tank infantry: My enemys hardly have any tanks, certainly not enough to make these worthwhile.

Ironclad: frigates do the job.

Submarine: useless, unless paired with tactical nukes, and im not making those.

Missle cruiser: useless, unless paired with tactical nukes, and im not making those.

Guided nuke: Icbms are cheaper and more versatile (cheaper because of the sub or cruiser youll have to build to carry it)

Attack sub: Ive had the honor to fight against a total of 1 enemy submarine.

Fighters: Enemys hardly use planes against me and their worthless when on the attack compared to bombers.

Carrier: No fighters, no carriers.

Guided missle: Just no... I tried them once to see what they did and never touched them again since well they didnt do much.

Gunships: Maybe i should but i hardly ever tech advanced flight, when im near future im teching the things i need for the spaceship, not techs that are hardly usefull.

Jet fighter: Bombers do the job hen attacking and ive never seen any serious aerial assaults from the ai.

Mobile sam: Ive never seen any serious aerial assaults from the ai.

SAM infantry: Ive never seen any serious aerial assaults from the ai.

Stealth destroyer: Im not a naval guy and destroyers and battleships do the job.

Mobile artillery: Planes do the job, and around this time im usually in such a techlead that I can destroy cities without destroying the defence first (colleteral damage tanks ftw).

Corp executives: I havent really understood the concept of corporations and I manage without.

Spearman: No clue why really, they seem ok, maybe I should build some more.

Pikeman: I think there great but i often skip engineering untill they stop being usefull.

Stealth bomers: They are awesome but the game should be over by now, if its not i did something horribly wrong and im probably unable to wage war.



Wow I seem to be skipping half of the units in this game, weird... Someone please tell me how usefull a certain unit is, i dont want to be missing out on some great fun here

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

@Siesta Guru: Sounds like you're either not much of a war monger, or you play at a level that is far too simple for your skill. Half of the units you list are quite essential in a close to even match. Pikemen useless? Ever try to defend against a bunch of knights with spearmen? It doesn't really go as planned. No fighters b/c AI doesn't build? I gotta say in any game that the AI gets flight, they always convert their spammed Airships to fighters. They have a ton. Grenadiers may not be essential, but if you're fighting a CIV that has rifles and you don't yet have machine guns... you're gonna want a lot of these.