Uses for forteresses

[man o' war]

I don't use coastal forteresses - waste of time and resources (when fighting the AI, anyway, although if anyone ever plays against me, coastal forteresses are useful - I personally see that just because a navy isnt required doesn't mean it isn't useful - particuly if the enemy sees it as unnesesary)

 

[don_lahnum_jr]

I've been at war with other CIV's and had them pass right by my city with it being right on the edge of the coast...and no shot was fired! I've had them stop right next to my city while at war...and no shot was fired! Maybe I'm just not seeing it, but I've never seen them hit at all!

 

[The Last Conformist]

Coastal Fortresses only ever fire if an enemy ship moves from one adjacent tile to another. The AI systematically avoids doing that.

 

[Zakharov]

Coastal fortresses are useless against the AI. They are the first thing destroyed if an enemy ship bombards the city.

 

[Prince David]

It is the nature of forts that they are of limited use or of use for a limited period of time. They are strategic rather than tactical structures. They are intended to fortify a shakey border or to reinforce defenses against an aggressive and unpredictable enemy. If you are working to expand your territory you will eventually expand beyond them.

I rarely use forts, mostly because they generally take so long to build (again, strategy v. tactics). I find my need for them usually coincides with a period of infrastructure building (e.g. freshly conquered territory). I don't have the worker capacity to build forts and clean damage, convert irrigation to mines (the AI is irrrigation happy . . .) etc. I have to make due with a fortified stack of defensive & artillary units.

I have used them well only once or twice (although I have accidentally set workers to to build forts instead of plant forrest a time or three). Most notably in one game to box in the Zulu with whom I shared a short mountainous southern border. One city that defined the border was my source of a key strat resource and a lux. Aside form being a pain in my a** there was NO reason to go to war with the Zulu. The closest three cities were useless and had no resources I needed. I was going there eventually since the rest of the continent was beyond them, but there was only one civ left to my north that was a better target first. I was gearing up to take them out and the Zulu kept making feints on my city. I really did not want to get involved with a war with them, so a chain of forts allowed me to protect myself to the south with minimal defensive troops. Sure enough, as soon as I was deep into war in the north, the Zulu made a serious move.

Aside from this I have only used them for isthmus controll, and even then not often.

 

[LionQ]

I often build Fortresses; I consider them very useful. Normally, I build them upon Strategic and Luxury Resources. Furthermore, they're useful near a border that's standing a good chance to become a front line. And then there are strategic crossroads: Squares where Roads from important cities come together.

Those are the places where I send my Workers to build Fortresses.

 

[Bede]

Like most things in the game fortresses and barricades have their uses.

Have used them effectively in AW situations where the AI is sending troops along a well defined path. Building them with interlocking fields of fire (you don't need a Maginot Line) and staffing them with age appropriate artillery, fast attack and strong defenders can raise your kill ratio immensely.

 

[LionQ]

Like most things in the game fortresses and barricades have their uses.

Have used them effectively in AW situations where the AI is sending troops along a well defined path. Building them with interlocking fields of fire (you don't need a Maginot Line) and staffing them with age appropriate artillery, fast attack and strong defenders can raise your kill ratio immensely.

Moreover, using Fortresses can immensely decrease the number of HitPoints with which enemy Units will attack. The AI often first sends troops in your territory, which will lose HitPoints thanks to the Zone of Control, and then sends troops to attack your Fortresses.

 

[Bagatur]

I biuld fortresses only in certain cases, mostly if resource or luxury is in the range of fastest unit of adjacent rival and it can be pillaged in same turn, or its in range of my city which has no strategic meaning, except teritory claim, thus badly defended. In such case I put fortress over it, but again I'd rather defence city, intead of this. ANd this will be done only if I actually USE/TRADE(can hit your reputation if u get it pillaged) the resource or luxury, or enemy will get crucial benefits taking it for even one turn. Otherwise, especially if u aren't industrial or its hill or mountain, and u have many other stuff to do, it doesnt worth spent worker turns.

I feel it could be usefull if u build over resource, which is no-man land, but connected to you, but Im not sure is it possible to have fortress over colony(yes , road can be pillaged, but AI never do it if its out of your teritory)

 

[XOVER]

I find fortresses to be, for all intents and purposes, useless.

 

[Hygro]

Coastal fortresses are useless against the AI. They are the first thing destroyed if an enemy ship bombards the city.

Its good they are the first thing destroyed, otherwise you'd lose something else like a bank or barracks.

 

[man o' war]

so maybe you should use coastal forteresses as a defence against bombard, just a way of protecting your more valuable buildings for a turn or two, while you get some ships along?

Merry Christmas everybody, btw

 

[LionQ]

... Merry Christmas everybody, btw

Thank you!

About the Fortresses: I'm currently playing the Rise of Rome scenario of Civilization III: Conquests with the Macedonians and I have to admit that Fortresses and Barricades are helping me a lot with keeping Persian Immortals out of my territory.

Since I'm not a rusher when it comes to war, but a steady advancer, Fortresses are very useful for consolidating just conquered territory.

 

[Tomoyo]

Have used them effectively in AW situations where the AI is sending troops along a well defined path. Building them with interlocking fields of fire (you don't need a Maginot Line) and staffing them with age appropriate artillery, fast attack and strong defenders can raise your kill ratio immensely.

This is what I mainly use them for. I call it a "cheese grater" kill zone, and it's the only time in an AW game I use cxxxc spacing.

 

[Abaddon]

never do...my borders are never static enough... alway growing so they would be soon left behind.

 

[LionQ]

never do...my borders are never static enough... alway growing so they would be soon left behind.

That's indeed a negative point of Fortresses: when the frontline moves forward, they don't move along. If you're Industrious and have some Workers around, you can build a new line of Fortresses on the new front line.

Fact is, front lines are dynamic: your forces can suddenly conduct an immens breakthrough, but, on the other hand, your forces can suddenly be beaten back a number of Squares. If the latter circumstance is the case, the Fortresses you built could be used against you.

 

[Desertsnow]

It is the nature of forts that they are of limited use or of use for a limited period of time. They are strategic rather than tactical structures. They are intended to fortify a shakey border or to reinforce defenses against an aggressive and unpredictable enemy. If you are working to expand your territory you will eventually expand beyond them.

I rarely use forts, mostly because they generally take so long to build (again, strategy v. tactics). I find my need for them usually coincides with a period of infrastructure building (e.g. freshly conquered territory). I don't have the worker capacity to build forts and clean damage, convert irrigation to mines (the AI is irrrigation happy . . .) etc. I have to make due with a fortified stack of defensive & artillary units.

This is how I use fortresses. I'll build usually on a border shared with an aggressive or dangerous civilization if my capital or other important cities (read: high-culture cities) are nearby. Otherwise, I don't build many, if any.

That's indeed a negative point of Fortresses: when the frontline moves forward, they don't move along. If you're Industrious and have some Workers around, you can build a new line of Fortresses on the new front line.

Fact is, front lines are dynamic: your forces can suddenly conduct an immens breakthrough, but, on the other hand, your forces can suddenly be beaten back a number of Squares. If the latter circumstance is the case, the Fortresses you built could be used against you.

This happened to me in my last game. I was playing the Germans and was pressing south into Russia, and took Novgorod and Sevastopol within about five turns of the start of the war, and was moving a Stack of Doom toward Odessa, defeating the purpose of the row of forts I'd just built between Berlin (built by a lake) and Leipzig to the east. Nobody even so much as got near it. Live and learn, right?

 

[Kietharr]

I use them occasionaly, like in my only winning monarch game when germany and the aztecs were stuck on a penninsula with only one mountain tile connecting them to the main continent (I was the celts, the vikings were up there with me till i killed them) so i popped up a fort on the mountain and put 5 spearmen up there.

The germans tried to get to me but with a 200% defensive bonus (fort stacked with mountain) they couldnt break my spearmen line, so they and the aztecs warred and warred with eachother till they were both in ruins, then i swooped in with marines, tanks and infantry (Yes, i upgraded the spearman wall whenever i could) and finished them in 20 turns, then i had control of a huge arse 4 person continent on an 8 person game, the other civs didnt stand a chance .

 

[EquinoxOmega]

I seldom build fortesses. Only on strategic keypoints on the map, around my capital and next to strong enimies(only next to those one I don't intend to attack in the next turns. When I invade an enemy I try to use the advanteges of the territory and also the fortesses of the AI.

For me fortesses shall only support the natural territory defence effects.

 

[SunZsu]

especially playing at higher levels like Emperor .... usually fall behind in Techs, so forts (and later barricades) very useful to hide behind when trying to keep an aggressive neighbor at bey .... most times AI will not attack forts, esp. barricades unless very lightly defended ... instead they will attempt to advance past and go for your cities .... so, good tactic is to put cannon and muskets in fort, along with Cavalry ... use cannon to bombard, then attack w/cavalry from fort, and then retreat back into fort after combat .... forts work best in obvious choke points, but sometimes on open territory as well when there is sort of an "open highway" into your country with no natural defenses like rivers, mountains, etc...in short, forts/barricades good defensive strategy for building your army and tech base behind them while other AIs are busy trying to destroy each other ..... e.g. one great place for a fort is on a mountain on an isthmus that controls access from one civ to another ....