Who do you trust?

[darski]

I'm in the middle of a game just now that is down to Gandhi, Liz and myself (France) I am avoiding getting back in the game because I am very sure that Gandhi has plans for a war. (He's moving troops by sea )

So I have been trying to get myself together again after major wars that eliminated Rome and Japan. When you take cities and build lots of new cities, it can leave your defenses rather slim so I might be vulnerable.

anyhoo, my question is which would you trust least in a game. Gandhi always/eventually does the sneak attack thingy and Liz is at best a 50/50 risk.

MPP's are part of my equation

 

[Lone Wolf]

The AI's are all not trustworthy.

 

[Virote_Considon]

Have an MPP with both, but strategically position troops near to Indian cities, so that when the inevitable sneak attack comes, not only will you have England on side, but you'll also be able to take a couple of Indian cities.

Then once you have rid the world of India, of course you should go against England.

Although saying that, how large are India and England? I mean, you may not want to MPP with one if the other is a complete behemoth, in case they declare war on each other before you've build up your defenses...

 

[Turner]

I steer clear of MPPs. Nothing but trouble. Back when I used them, I got into so many wars I didn't want to be in and had my rep so trashed because of auto-DoW, that I finally stopped using them and now rely solely on MAs to get what I want done.

 

[Aabraxan]

MPPs are trouble. Just kill them both.

 

[darski]

Actually, I only need about 130 tiles for domination so I could just start the war.

i signed the MPP so that Liz would not attack me when I retaliated against India's sneak attack.

I think it is time to go and roast some indian butt

 

[darski]

Well that was a really stupid idea. I quit the game and destroyed all evidence from my computer.

Now I remember why I don't start wars.

My tank army was a joke against ... wait for it... Reg Infantry.

They destroyed my 2 cav armies as if they were cardborad cutouts and I lost or redlined 15 cavalry in a futile attempt to take one city from a hill position. I was down to trying to use infantry because all my cavs were either dead, redlined or used up already.

I hate this game!!!!!!

Remind me of this if I ever decide to start another war some day.

 

[capnvonbaron]

where you attacking a hill city with walls from across a river or something??

I would've bombarded that city back to the AA if they'd done that to me... I'm a very sore loser

 

[anaxagoras]

How many cannons did you bring?

Infantry on a hill in a city are a tough nut. Assuming a city and not a metro, the defense is still 22.5. Even a cavalry army is only going to inflict one damage for every four it takes with average luck. Individual cavalry are simply out-classed and are bound to die like flies. I would expect 15 full-health veteran cavalry to be able to dispatch possibly three regular infantry under those conditions without support, and it wouldn't surprise me to only be able to take out two.

I wouldn't attempt an attack like that without bombarding them to redline first. Even then I would expect to lose a few cavalry for each unit I needed to kill.

I suggest using a combat odds calculator each time you make an attack for awhile. It might help you adjust your expectations, which may lead to a little less frustration.

 

[TheOverseer714]

Artillery support is critical, and very much worth the wait and effort, unless you are an era ahead. Tanks vs Muskets, no artillery needed, but even then you will lose hitpoints. Otherwise, redline those infantry first, especially on hills or across rivers. In the SG I'm playing right now, the red-lined Rifles have no chance vs Cavalry armies, but do quite well against individual cavalry units.

 

[darski]

I used every arty I had and there were no hill cities and none across a river. Half of my attack force was dead or redlined. I took arty that was planned for other attacks, nothing.

There was of course the "AI never cheats but suddenly have a whole lot more defenders in a city" technique in full swing.

One yellowed infantry took out two tanks (after using up the tank army attack turns), 3 cavalry and redlined 5 more.




This was RNG's on really bad steroids.

 

[TheOverseer714]

You definitely are on the RnG gods hit list. I don't recommend taking up gambling.

 

[ecuwins]

Always trust that the AI will attack you. Be prepared, take the happiness, and kick their butt.

 

[Sharwood]

darski, I really think you should check out some of the war articles in the War Academy. Deity Settlers is also just a great all around article to look at. No offence, but it sounds like you need quite a bit of help in the warfare department.

 

[Rodent]

If your RNG is that bad, Increase the HP of the Units.

and Using 120 Artillery does make little scope for RNG

 

[Rodrig0]

If what you wanted was the space used up by the city, bring more arties, bombard the city until every defender is near death, then bomb it until there are no improvementes, and then finally bombard it until every one of those disgusting citizens is dead. Cities provide more defense than towns. A town with only one citizen will be less trouble. And even after there's nothing left to destroy, leave some artilleries unused in case a redlined conscript infantry kills your elite cavs and gets promoted. If it killed you when it had only one hit point left, imagine what it will do with 2 hp! He'll probably die elite, taking with him 6 of your mounted/armored guys. I've lost many cavs against those. As soon as he is promoted, bombard it again. Don't let them enjoy that extra hp. Artilleries are THE key. There's never enough firepower with arties. Bring as many as you can, take your time to build a ton of them, and then build some more. Bring them all, and if you think it takes too long, just remember what would happen without them. And now I'll risk everyone telling me "you call that a bunch of arties? you should have seen me!"... I attack with about 60. 5 for every defender, and the rest to reduce the city to ruins.

 

[Sashie VII]

60 in a stack or in several? IMO 60 in a single stack is overkill, unless it's the capital (even then...) or you're playing Sid.

Although I don't trust the RNG, so sometimes it's good to bring extra.

 

[Rodrig0]

60 in a stack, mostly. I take no chances. If it is a regular city, I might separate them in 2 groups, but if it is a large metro, then I'll send everyone at once. You know what they say about the RNG And as I said, when I'm this late in the game, I don't have to worry about population, so I just bombard the city until there's nothing left to destroy. No improvements, no healthy defenders, no citizens, no nothing!

 

[Exwing17]

Hmm...

Well in the old "3 Superpowers" situations there are a few situations ranging from ideal to worrying.

Ideal = You & the Strongest other civ in a MPP with trade embargos against the other.
Slight less ideal = you & the lesser of the two in an MPP.
Alright = Three way MPP with good trade.
Not good = No MPPs but the two civs are trading and you aren’t.
Worrying = They have a MPP and don’t like you.

If I were you I’d look at their statuses every turn until they aren’t MPP’d anymore, and then look to start your war and bring one down.

However, looking at your failed attack it doesn’t seem to have worked 

And 60 in a stack is large, but I usually go with 24-40 Arty/Infantry. With tanks, I have around 30, and modern armour/mechanised infantry about 24 again. The latter two would obviously have a bomber squadron of around 20 bombers in support. I have found these numbers (on Monarch) to be the most effective and sustainable whilst allowing me to have a few different “armies” roaming around the map.

Especially at the Infantry/Arty stage, I find that reinforcing your losses whilst moving at 1 a turn can be very difficult, and often find that my supply/lines of reinforcement get attacked a lot. So cavalry are useful at providing fast reinforcements to sweeping armies, which is probably their most useful role once you’ve moved into replaceable parts + combined arms sort of warfare.

At the tank stage, its all about bomber support…I never really put that much emphasis on them until my last game where I overly built and protected them, using them as mobile artillery in conjunction with naval bombardment (where appropriate), and they are worth every penny. And definitely worth all the resources they require to move/protect [carriers/escort/airfield defence).

And yes, I do get the most excited in the Industrial Age, it’s the most tactical and entertaining…infantry are amazing!

p.s. dont trust Ghandi!

 

[Sashie VII]

Gandhi or Lizzie, I trust neither

Personally I find 12-16 arty perstack adequate on emp.