Using Great Generals

[lankypeter]

What unit(s) should never be given the GG and why? I only bring this up because I wanted a Cavalry with a GG and then I upgraded it to a Chopper. I am kind of disappointed in that right now, but not terribly so. But it did get me thinking about this question.

 

[Mesix]

I try to warmonger early so that I can get a few great generals for my melee units. Having a maceman with 3 city raider promotions upgrade to a rifelman, infantry, etc. makes a very strong city attacker in the late game. Keeping all of the exp when he upgrades is a big bonus.

 

[classical_hero]

I would say none, since they are very useful no matter what.

 

[Desert-Fox]

Scout/explorers are useless GG. You can't gain experience and they have no further upgrade path.

 

[Mesix]

Scout/explorers are useless GG. You can't gain experience and they have no further upgrade path.

Wouldn't it be cool if an upgraded scout or explorer that lasts long enough could be upgraded to something useful in the late game like a Ranger or an SES team.

 

[ShannonCT]

Scout/explorers are useless GG. You can't gain experience and they have no further upgrade path.

...except that a scout GG can be given Medic III, run with a Stack-of-Doom, and never be killed unless the entire stack is killed. Using your GG to create a super unit means a high chance of it getting killed because it will see a lot of combat and a bad beat will eventually happen.

 

[Desert-Fox]

True, but It would be rare situation when I would use it on recon units... even machine gun would be better... drill 4 MG would own all riflemen.

 

[ShannonCT]

True, but It would be rare situation when I would use it on recon units... even machine gun would be better... drill 4 MG would own all riflemen.

Well, the idea behind using the GG on a recon unit is that if you're going to go for Medic III, you've decided to specialize the unit as a healer, not a fighter. You don't want a healer to ever see battle, so having low strength is a good thing. And the extra movement of a scout means that he can jump from one stack to another without being exposed. And a Medic III unit can help dozens of units simultaneously, while a GG fighting unit is more of a lone hero.

 

[Navarre]

Whatever can go to 6th level and allow me to build Westpoint. The next builds an academy, the others go as instructors, and I pump Combat IV units every round for what's left of the game.

Playing on Continents mostly, I generally do that in a coastal city to get a freaking awesome fleet.

 

[lankypeter]

Wow, I would have never thought of putting a GG on a scout and then using it just as a medic unit. I am tempted to try it.

 

[Supr49er]

Well, the idea behind using the GG on a recon unit is that if you're going to go for Medic III, you've decided to specialize the unit as a healer, not a fighter. You don't want a healer to ever see battle, so having low strength is a good thing. And the extra movement of a scout means that he can jump from one stack to another without being exposed. And a Medic III unit can help dozens of units simultaneously, while a GG fighting unit is more of a lone hero.

Yeah. I always use my first GG on my scout medic. After exploring the map he is usually Level 4 with 10 experience and promoted to Combat I, Medic I and II. The GG gives him Medic III, March, and Morale. This is a superb healer for your stacks and he won't be targeted for attack.

The medic is now Level 7, allowing you to build West Point (+4 XP Units). Combine with Ironworks and Pentagon for a military city that pumps out high XP units for attack.

 

[Lord_Zath]

GG privateers = fun times

 

[Olleus]

Two high level gunships who used to be cossacks. How can you tell me that something like this dissapoints you? They kill 4 units each turn and every turn. Not to mention that with an 85% withdrawl chance, death is hardly ever possible (With 70% combat odds I have less than 5% chance of dying, and its rare for me to have under 80-90% chance of victory meaning that I'm just not going to die. Ever.)

 

[Johan^^]

The use of GG´s on units other than making a medic III is waste IMO.

Medic III units sould be one with movement 2 and low strength. i.e. chariot etc.

Settle them in your military city which sould contain West Point and Heroic Epic. (this is ofcause a strong production city) This will allow high level units beeing build every turn.
If many GG are created by warmongering, it can be viable to settle some in the IW city aswell.

An alternative is to use 1 or 2 of them to build military Academy, though this is not as viable as it use to be due to the bug fix. (now requires Military Science)

 

[Johan^^]

Two high level gunships who used to be cossacks. How can you tell me that something like this dissapoints you? They kill 4 units each turn and every turn. Not to mention that with an 85% withdrawl chance, death is hardly ever possible (With 70% combat odds I have less than 5% chance of dying, and its rare for me to have under 80-90% chance of victory meaning that I'm just not going to die. Ever.)

If you have been able to get 125 EXP with your general, that´s a 105 battles. Even with odds of "only" 5% chance to die, Your general sould have died approximately 5 times.

So if you play with save/reload this might be okay, though i still think its a waste to attach a GG to a unit unless its for making a medic III unit.

 

[Dida]

always use GG to build the military academy or join a city as specialist.

 

[GT_OKEZ]

Yeah one time I was fighting Peter and managed to capture Moscow . It was a long and bloody fight but eventually he gave in . The fight went on for so long that we got 3 GGs a piece for a total of a whopping 6 .
When I took Moscow , guess which city had THREE GG INSTRUCTORS and a Great Wall ? Yep , and I didn't even use my 3 GGs yet ( sometimes I'll wait it out and see if a newly aquired city is worth investing GGs into like this one was.)

So yeah I joined my GGs to Moscow as well and well , 6 GGs in Moscow .

 

[Dida]

Yeah one time I was fighting Peter and managed to capture Moscow . It was a long and bloody fight but eventually he gave in . The fight went on for so long that we got 3 GGs a piece for a total of a whopping 6 .
When I took Moscow , guess which city had THREE GG INSTRUCTORS and a Great Wall ? Yep , and I didn't even use my 3 GGs yet ( sometimes I'll wait it out and see if a newly aquired city is worth investing GGs into like this one was.)

So yeah I joined my GGs to Moscow as well and well , 6 GGs in Moscow .

I once had a city with heroic epic + iron work + military academy + 9 GGs. Even on marathon speed, it pumped out one level 4 battleship every turn.

 

[lankypeter]

Okay, stupid question, but here goes: If you have one GG in a city, its 2 times the +2 XP, or a total of 4 XP per created unit, correct? So, if that is correct, with just 2 GGs in a city, each unit produced in that city could be a level combat IV?

 

[bonafide11]

No lankypeter, two great generals = four experience points, with a barracks thats 7 experience points, but thats only enough experience points for two promotions. For Combat IV, you need 17 experience points, unless you're aggressive (you'd need 10) or charismatic (you'd need 13) or Boudica (you'd need 8).