The same thing can be done later with a steel beeline. Just crank out an SOD of cannons backed up by muskets. You will not lose units, even if opponent gets gunpowder.
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Cannons require iron iirc
The same thing can be done later with a steel beeline. Just crank out an SOD of cannons backed up by muskets. You will not lose units, even if opponent gets gunpowder.
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Also keep in mind that longbowman will destroy the other guys defenders if you soften them up with catapults. There is no hard counter to longbowman, so feel free to use them offensively, as long as you soften up their defense stack by bombing their defenses then reducing the stack to 25% health you should be fine.
To see how really effective this can be try a game where your sitting bull and do an oracle slingshot to feudalism. Then go on the attack with your 2nd lvl first strike longbowmen (they also get City Defender because your defensive) and see how effective they can be offensively. All this on a unit that requires no resources. Also if you do the slingshot early enough, you don't need to worry about
Get on good enough terms with Gilgy to buy Iron from him then kill him with with catapults and praetorians.
I agree, but I would add that in sufficient numbers and a tech lead, you can take out AIs with just longbows -- catapults aren't strictly necessary if you move quickly. I did this recently with Liz against Willem. I was building 5 xp longbows (usually with Combat I and Cover, or Drill II). I would lose a couple here and there, but was able to mow down everything Willem had (archers and mixed infantry), even in hilltop cities.
As you say, doing the longbow strategy as Sitting Bull is even better as you can get to 10xp with barracks + totem pole + vassalage + theocracy.
Having some suicide cats would probably make the longbow stack go faster, but then again you have to research masonry + math + construction to make that happen.
Obviously he could have had an army ten times bigger than yours, but otherwise you aren't at any particular disadvantage here. Longbows aren't worse than either of those units.By the time I was invaded around 1000 AD, I knew it it was over (my warriors, longbowmen and catapults vs Gilgamesh's chariots, horse archers, vultures and warriors).
Yes, once you've thrown, say, 10 Catapults at a city and every single defender is in the red, then you can simply take that city with whatever escorts you have at hand.Neither of those do much good without units that can actually kill the defenders as of BtS.
To see how really effective this can be try a game where your sitting bull and do an oracle slingshot to feudalism. Then go on the attack with your 2nd lvl first strike longbowmen (they also get City Defender because your defensive) and see how effective they can be offensively. All this on a unit that requires no resources. Also if you do the slingshot early enough, you don't need to worry about