What to do with Great Generals?

[Draknith]

So I received two great generals in my first game. However, I seem to only be able to build a special encampment which gives a defense bonus. Do I need to advance my social planning to unlock further capabilites? Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

 

[ZapRowsdower]

Send them with your troops to give your army a 25% strength bonus. They can stack on the same tile as a military unit.

 

[Williscwm]

Yeah zap is right, to make sure the gg is safe, the bonus has a two tile radius from the general, and effects all your uniits in that range.

 

[ICNP]

I really dislike the current Great General. I'd rather like to full on attach him to a unit than have him constantly trailing my army, especially because he's rather vulnerable.
The Citadel has the same problem as forts, although Zone of control helps a little. Maybe I just can't stand holding back. I'm sure when the AI uses it on me I'll be really angry with it.

Golden age is a useful use though, not as good as Civ 4, but their still good.

 

[ZapRowsdower]

I really dislike the current Great General. I'd rather like to full on attach him to a unit than have him constantly trailing my army, especially because he's rather vulnerable.

In Civ4 I was also so cautious with my great general unit that I would only use him to attack when victory was certain. I would usually max out the healing on him so that he was a super medic and didn't want to lose him. Having a non-combat great general isn't really so different for me!

Speaking of medics, my impression is that there is really only one medic promotion which is only a couple of levels in. It would be nice to have some higher level medic promotions to play with. Perhaps that would be overpowered.

 

[Ahriman]

Golden age is a useful use though, not as good as Civ 4, but their still good.

I find golden age more useful than in Civ4.

In Civ4, tiles might have 4 commerce and 4 hammers, so you were adding a 25% bonus to tile yields.
Now, yields are more like 2-3 gold and 2-3 hammers, so the proportional impact of golden age is much larger.

 

[darrelljs]

If memory serves the GG affects all units within 1 tile. If you have two GGs on adjacent tiles, then would 6 tiles get a +50% bonus (i.e. does it stack)?

Darrell

 

[Alexfrog]

Now, yields are more like 2-3 gold and 2-3 hammers, so the proportional impact of golden age is much larger.

I agree, Golden Age is awesome. And by 203 hammers...you mean more like 1 most places. Golden age doubles it.

 

[kamex]

All the info here is correct as far as I know. I find it weird though how a clearly mounted general can't keep up with chariots/horsemen :S

 

[EmperorFool]

I used my great generals to boost the troops 25%, and when I had two it allowed me two fronts or a larger front. I vastly prefer not attaching him to a unit because in Civ4 that effectively removed that unit from battle (either medic or unit I only use when I know he won't lose). Now you can shift the GG around to be guarded by whatever unit makes sense. You have to think during war now which is awesome.

BTW, the GG moves slower because it's not just a guy on horseback; he's got his entire entourage of assistants to take with him (camp makers, cook, body guards, etc).

 

[Ahriman]

BTW, the GG moves slower because it's not just a guy on horseback; he's got his entire entourage of assistants to take with him (camp makers, cook, body guards, etc).

Any student of military history should know that command posts never move quickly. (Well, sometimes it *retreats* pretty fast.)

 

[happyturtle]

I loved the Great General. And if you ever get tired of having him at the battle line, you can still pop the golden age or make a citadel later.

 

[kamex]

I loved the Great General. And if you ever get tired of having him at the battle line, you can still pop the golden age or make a citadel later.

Yeah thats a nice touch!

 

[Dracil]

I love the Chinese generals. +45% instead of 25%. Makes it so I can easily steamroll any enemy units who don't have their own general, and since they can't win, they don't get generals.

 

[Tennyson]

I saved my Great General in my capital city until I needed the Golden Age (when I wasn't warring) then popped him when I needed him.

 

[Shillen]

I really dislike the current Great General. I'd rather like to full on attach him to a unit than have him constantly trailing my army, especially because he's rather vulnerable.
The Citadel has the same problem as forts, although Zone of control helps a little. Maybe I just can't stand holding back. I'm sure when the AI uses it on me I'll be really angry with it.

Citadel is just plain awesome if you're under heavy attack by a stronger player. I was doing a one city challenge today and had the ottomans sending janissaries at me while I had pikemen and crossbowmen and the citadel was a huge help.

I could see these being invaluable in an always-war game too. Speaking of which, always war was a great way to play in civ3 but not as good in civ4 because of war weariness. I can see having a lot of fun with AW again in Civ5.

 

[DalekDavros]

I love the Chinese generals. +45% instead of 25%. Makes it so I can easily steamroll any enemy units who don't have their own general, and since they can't win, they don't get generals.

Losing units still get some XP (although the amount that goes towards a GG is reduced when the unit dies), so they'll still pop a GG eventually. And for focused wars, one GG is all you really need.

Also, city-states will gift you GGs if you have the right SP.

 

[Thalassicus]

Losing units still get some XP (although the amount that goes towards a GG is reduced when the unit dies), so they'll still pop a GG eventually. And for focused wars, one GG is all you really need.

Depends... if you lose a unit with experience, you lose GG points.

 

[totallylost]

i used mine to conquer india, then once my army was exhausted from said invasion, i set up a citadel outside my capital to protect from perfidious albion!

 

[Tomice]

Any student of military history should know that command posts never move quickly. (Well, sometimes it *retreats* pretty fast.)

I did find the slow speed of the general weird, too. But imagining it as command post with infrastructure rather than a group of people helps. I may still decide to mod it when it annoys me consistently in several games. Funny some people already started to change the balance right now, though I've already seen a "double production" mod!