What are your priorities for Commander Promotions?

[Navelgazer]

Wanted to make a specific thread for a conversation happening in the Persia Civ Discussion thread, where we're currently debating the value of different Commander promotions/promotion trees, and what the best strategies are for selecting and prioritizing them.

For instance, I always go for Initiative first - not only does it let you respond to threats faster, but it lets you do all sorts of strategic maneuvering that makes combat in Civ7 more fun and interesting than in any of the previous entries (IMO, of course.) After that, I usually go for Storm and Rout, but have recently been trying out Mobility or Quartermaster (after Initiative, of course.) Similarly, I always go with Weather Gage for Naval Commanders.

But I don't usually do a lot of warring in my games, generally playing defensively, taking out inconveniently-placed hostile IPs and stealing a settlement or two away from civs when they DOW me. As such, it's rare for me to get past level 4 commanders in a game anyway, so I don't pay a lot of attention to commendations or promotions further down the trees. In other words, players who go more warlike probably have different (and more informed) opinions than I do on this matter.

So what do you like to do with your promotion trees?

 

[CliffCo]

Steadfast is always my first, followed by Initiative then Storm. I play mostly defensively so Steadfast suits my play style.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

If I am on the defensive, I generally rely on terrain: rough country, vegetation to block ranged fire, field fortifications, bottlenecks, settlement walls, etc to enhance my units.

Generally, if I am deploying an army and commander, it's for an offensive move, so Initiative is my first choice.

For the same reason, Mobility is almost always my second choice, because the combination of +1 movement plus ignoring terrain restrictions is simply HUGE when it comes to getting to the battle before the enemy has time to 'dig in' or prepare.

After that, it depends entirely on the situation: Steadfast is really handy if the enemy is strong enough to mount a good counterattack, but if I am ranged unit-heavy, Storm will whittle an enemy army down faster than almost anything. And, of course, what I choose to 'enhance' by commander promotions will depend a lot on what kind of Unique Units I am working with and other available bonuses: even the most ordinary Warrior becomes ferocious under a Commander with the Rout promotion and bolstered by 2 - 3 Iron resources!

 

[Kurtbob]

Mobility then Initiative every time. After that, based on the situation, I try to get to the bottom of either the Assault tree or Maneuver Tree to get the Order Commendation.

 

[Nikolai II]

Always initiative first. Then I most often choose rout and storm, in which order depends on the units I have the most of. I usually then go to the bottom of the assault tree to get a commendation point.

 

[Leucarum]

Initiative first almost 100% of the time. Being able to load, unload and attack with units in the same turn is game-changing especially with ranged units. If you have a few units in reserve, initiative basically is god mode.

There are some occasions - really tough terrain for example - when another upgrade is warranted, but initiative is just game changing.

 

[evonannoredars]

Aye, like everyone else, my first promotion on my first commander is almost always initiative lol. From there I'll either try and complete the tree to get a commendation or go for mobility. My next commander is usually either mobility if my first didn't get it, or steadfast to go down the defensive tree. I like to try n specialise each commander in a different tree, with a couple spare offensive/defensive commanders.

For naval commanders tho, the increased movement promotion is often my first one, to help get my navy around faster.

 

[uppi]

Initiative is great and all that, but at the beginning of the game, you won't have that many units for fancy maneuvers anyway and unit survivability is key for me. So my first commander usually gets left side of the Bastion tree and then I tend to make a slow push with it. Once they get to Order, I follow up with Initiative and Maneuver and then usually completing the Assault tree. Further commanders start out with Initiative, since the first commander is already there to hold the line and traffic jam problems start being relevant. I then tend to try to max out a tree, but might vary the tree per commander. One goes Mobility, one Assault, another one might get Logistics. I just don't have any love for the Leadership tree.

 

[reddishrecue]

I usually always go assault and then if there's more spots I go for bastion since its the mainstay of the armies because u either attack or defend.

 

[Suicidekills]

Every time I don’t go initiative first, my future self curses out my past self. So (mostly ) initiative first and at that point usually makes most sense to finish the tree for the commendation point. I would say which side depends on my UU. If I’m being attacked and forced on the defensive, then going bastion and finishing that tree after initiative would be preferable, but at this point in my games, I’m usually the one doing the attacking.

Once I’ve gotten two commendation points from those trees, the movement tree would most likely be next. At this point it’s very situational. Sometimes I’ll go back to the first two trees and finish them entirely. Maybe he’s been a good commander and retires to a settlement, then I’ll drop a point in leadership.

 

[disjointaccount]

I'll copy what I said in the Persia thread about my approach to early promotions: I tend to go Initiative -> Mobility -> Quartermaster -> Regiments as my first 4. It's a lot of XP spent without putting serious progress towards a commendation, but I really value maximising the basic utility of my commanders. After Regiments I just focus on getting to the bottom of trees, typically starting with either Assault or Manoeuvre.

I suspect I'm in the minority in valuing this utility over getting a commendation ASAP, but having fast + efficient movement of troops online as quickly as possible just feels too good to me.

 

[MutilationWave]

More of the same here. Initiative then mobility. One commander down ranged path of assault, one down the melee path, then order commendation. I make a lot of commanders in antiquity, so generally they don't get a second commendation, but if they do, I always pick the increased range. Can't think of the name at the moment.

In earlier games I had less commanders so they got more promotions and I'd give them the good stuff from Bastion. I don't think I've ever put a point in the leadership tree.

 

[Pfeffersack]

I agree with Initiative being kind of a must-have. Beyond that I'm still searching for a coherent strategy and a way to implement it. What kind of works is promoting for a commander for battle and operating far away...if you have the discipline and energy to correct the game messing up your setup after the age switch. My other approach to promote one for defense and making use of the "economic" promotions (like giving a bonus to unit production or yields) works less good...because to promote a commander you need to farm xp and you usually rather get that out in the field (and far away from your cities you cannot enjoy the benefits of the intended promotions for this strategy...) I concede though that this might be playstyle/difficulty related, as that could change when you need to heavily defend against the AI. At the whole, this is BTW again an argument for Initiative: It's the best way to get a commander "rolling"...and that's the best way to get the xp for everything else.

 

[Lord Lakely]

Survival Training (Logistics IV) + Merit on the first Commander, if I'm going offensive.

Strength, defences, it all means nothing if you cannot REACH the enemy with your units. Cliffs are the biggest blockers out there. Eliminate them on your first commander, then you do whatever on the rest.

I specialize my commanders and then rename them so I know what trees I've specialized them in (is it too much to ask for the promotions to be VISIBLE ON THE UI without having to click the promotion tree button??? how expensive is a few coloured circles on a mostly void UI??? the most fundamental flaw of firaxite developers is their belief that clicking buttons is FUN :-/)

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

Survival Training (Logistics IV) + Merit on the first Commander, if I'm going offensive.

Strength, defences, it all means nothing if you cannot REACH the enemy with your units. Cliffs are the biggest blockers out there. Eliminate them on your first commander, then you do whatever on the rest.

I specialize my commanders and then rename them so I know what trees I've specialized them in (is it too much to ask for the promotions to be VISIBLE ON THE UI without having to click the promotion tree button??? how expensive is a few coloured circles on a mostly void UI??? the most fundamental flaw of firaxite developers is their belief that clicking buttons is FUN :-/)

I rely on the old teachings of the US Army's Artillery School: Even if you cannot reach the enemy, your ammunition can. Shoot the schmuck holding the cliff terrain to pieces, march over the bodies.

In game terms, use Ranged Units to destroy the blocking units. If there is no way to mass enough ranged units, you've chosen the wrong avenue of attack completely. No matter how formidable the terrain is in front of you, there is always another way around: find it and use it. If it makes the whole operation take longer, buckle down for a long fight, which means paying attention to diplomacy with other Civs so they don't interfere and keeping the other things going in your Civ progress - collecting artifacts, making trade routes, building Wonders, etc.

If all your energy has to be expended in a war, you are going to lose in the long run because in game terms war doesn't get you positive results for most of the Legacy paths in any Age except Modern where you only need to complete a single Legacy path to win the game. That should change your playing style and focus in that Age compared to the earlier Ages.

 

[Calcifer]

My very first commander always starts on mobility because that makes them so much faster, you can clear an IP far away and come back to defend your borders within few turns. Once you start having more commanders the mobility perk starts losing value so it’s not a top priority anymore.

Initiative is always a top priority as everyone already said.

I try to have some commanders with regiments for faster reinforcements. Pathfinder is also good so your units ignore terrain movement restrictions.

Usually I try to give every army commander a different tree so I have all covered. The only exception is the leadership tree that I find pretty underwhelming, field commission can be situationally good but easily skippable because the other perks in the leadership tree are basically useless.

For naval commanders on the other hand I always go left branch of the bombardment tree. +1 range and splash damage is quite hard to beat.

 

[stealth_nsk]

Initiative and Mobility are my top as well, but also Steadfast. Among promotions which increase combat strength it doesn't have prerequisites and improves defense of all land units, so it's really good for raw power (unlike the other two, which are more tactical). Against Immortal AI, it's often a question of whether your unit survive enemy's turn.

 

[vorlon_mi]

Like many others, I prioritize Initiative first because attacking after unpacking is useful in so many situations.
I started out choosing the promotions on the left hand / red branch, to boost the combat strength of my units.
I've since gravitated towards choosing Mobility second, to move more quickly into battle. My next two are usually in the yellow tree, because I want to unlock those extra two slots. That's especially true for my first Army commander, as commanders are reasonably expensive for me in Antiquity.
Similarly for Fleet Commanders, I prioritize the "move after unpacking" and mobility, heading towards more slots.

When I get a commendation, my first one is always the one to increase the combat radius so I soak up experience (or boost the combat strength, or boost the healing rate) of more units.

Like @Pfeffersack I have wondered about the "economic" promotions. In another thread I observed that I now look at single, isolated battles -- or an IP throwing itself against my walls as "wasted" experience, if I don't have a commander there to soak it up. Thus, I could see buying a commander to park in a town that's on my border with a grumpy AI. The commander sits in the town, soaking up experience from the feeble attacks. Perhaps it is a candidate for the seldom-used promotions? A niche case, for sure. Eventually I will sweep through an conquer the AI settlement on the other side of the border, so this wouldn't be a whole-game situation.

 

[Pfeffersack]

Given how fragile are units overall and with the premise that units "loaded" inside a commander can heal (which is according to this post https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/little-questions-answers-thread.694802/page-53#post-16799520 of @AriochIV the case as soon as a commander does not move), the Field Medic (? - unsure about English in-game naming) promotion inside logistics might be worth (as I assume the boni apply to loaded units as well). If a unit is heavily wounded and you can't retreat it to a save space outside the battlefield, sneaking into the commander's pouch can be a saver. On the way to this promotion you gain the extra spaces and with the Old Guard promotion you can increase the durability of the commander. All together, I wonder if that "mobile fortress" approach could work out, especially when pairing it with a 2nd commader providing the classic offensive punch.

 

[MutilationWave]

Given how fragile are units overall and with the premise that units "loaded" inside a commander can heal (which is according to this post https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/little-questions-answers-thread.694802/page-53#post-16799520 of @AriochIV the case as soon as a commander does not move), the Field Medic (? - unsure about English in-game naming) promotion inside logistics might be worth (as I assume the boni apply to loaded units as well). If a unit is heavily wounded and you can't retreat it to a save space outside the battlefield, sneaking into the commander's pouch can be a saver. On the way to this promotion you gain the extra spaces and with the Old Guard promotion you can increase the durability of the commander. All together, I wonder if that "mobile fortress" approach could work out, especially when pairing it with a 2nd commader providing the classic offensive punch.

Generally in my experience commanders can take 2-3 hits from enemy units, depending on tier for the age. I don't think this scales until age transition. I have never tried old guard promotion, so I always try to end my commanders turn on the same tile as a unit if I think they're going to get hit. Even if I have to sacrifice a wounded unit to avoid damage. Losing a commander can be crushing, 20 turns might as well be 10k years during a serious war.