The best use for an army is to stack it with marines an use them to take a costal city from the sea, using one on one is just too difficult and requires to many turns of bombardment and will just give away your plans with an army the city is yours in a turn,
Why armies aren't useless
- Thread starter Gingerbread Man
- Start date
Bamspeedy
CheeseBob
The reason I don't like armies is you can't upgrade the units in them (well, there are sometimes bugs with the programming that will allow you to remove the units, but that was not the intention of the programmers).
If I have a choice between a wonder or making an army, I will almost always choose the wonder. If only crappy wonders (oracle, shakespheres, manhattan project in my opinion/playing style) are available, then I will make an army. The heroic epic is over rated. It changes the odds of getting a leader from 1/16 to 1/12 or from 6.25% to 8.3%, for a whopping 2% better chance of getting a leader. Pyramids, Sun Tzu's, Sistine, and other wonders are much better because those WILL pay off instead of a CHANCE at getting a benefit.
If I have a choice between a wonder or making an army, I will almost always choose the wonder. If only crappy wonders (oracle, shakespheres, manhattan project in my opinion/playing style) are available, then I will make an army. The heroic epic is over rated. It changes the odds of getting a leader from 1/16 to 1/12 or from 6.25% to 8.3%, for a whopping 2% better chance of getting a leader. Pyramids, Sun Tzu's, Sistine, and other wonders are much better because those WILL pay off instead of a CHANCE at getting a benefit.
Justus II
General Staff
I usually build an army with my first leader, both for the heroic epic and the chance to build the military academy later. I also try to keep an army of all one type unit, usually offensive units (knights, cavalry, legion/immortals if that's who I am playing). I try to have an army lead my assault on major cities, as it can take out the toughest defender each turn without much risk. One advantage here, rather than 3 seperate knights/swordsmen attacking, is that the seperate units allow a chance for the defender to get promoted between attacks, or fall back and have a fresh attacker come forward. After I take out the toughest defender, other attacking units can usually take on the weaker ones. If not, wait a turn, and try it again (with more bombardment, if needed.) Also, in my last game as the Germans, Panzer Armies are awesome! You get the blitz ability for armies an age earlier, and they can slice through 2-3 riflemen a turn (I had a big tech edge over the AI, in fact some of Carthage's cities still had numidian mercenaries. They don't stand up long against an army of 4 Panzers!!). This was on Monarch.
Justus II
General Staff
Why do you say that? If you get one new leader due to the HE, and use him to rush any wonder, you have gotten at least as much value back as the HE costs, and probably much more, as it is among the cheapest (200 shields, IIRC). Any other wonder is worth as much or more. Even an army costs more than twice that. (They are too expensive, in my opinion, but that is another subject). So even one extra leader will generate more shields than the HE costs, and you get 4 culture per turn as an extra bonus.
Bamspeedy
CheeseBob
Well, numbers and statistics are funny things, there are different ways of looking at it. Yes, going from 6 to 8 is a 32% increase, but the way I look at it is without the HE you will get a leader 6 times out of 100 elite battles. With HE you will get one 8 times out of 100 elite battles. So 2 times out of 100 is a 2% improvement.
Cartouche Bee
Appropriations Consultant
And it takes up one Great Leader one to rush the heroic epic so it takes 50 elite wins after you have the epic to break even.
Just another way to look at it. 
I usually don't plan for 50 elite wins in a game so I don't take this route unless I don't have any other ways to use the Great Leaders.Armies are pretty much only useful if you do not have a tech lead on your opponents cause they provide a chance to tip the balance by developing a break through capability or the only way to defend against a real strong advanced opponent.
DiamondzAndGunz
Lurking
Now, why would you wanna use a leader to rush the heroic epic? wouldn't you have better things to rush than that dinky lil statue? Sorry if I missed something, but it just seems kinda pointless to rush it... I mean, you want it to generate more leaders for you, not use up a leader...
Cartouche Bee
Appropriations Consultant
Well why would you bother building it at all if you don't want to get use of it as soon as possible? Like I said, I don't do this unless I have no other use for the Great leader and I'm pretty sure I can find other things to hand build with 200 shields.
Bamspeedy
CheeseBob
But why use a leader to build an army that will be obsolete soon? Pyramids, Great Library, Sun Tzu's, Leo's, and many other wonders are more valuable than an army and Heroic Epic combined.
Cartouche Bee
Appropriations Consultant
I'd probably even build The Great Wall before building an army. 
That does not mean armies are useless, but their usefulness rarely lasts more than half of one of the ages.
That does not mean armies are useless, but their usefulness rarely lasts more than half of one of the ages.
Knowze Gungk
NOT a mushroom
I never build armies until Nationalism, for Three reasons, One, I don't put anything that can't be upgraded in one, Two, I don't put in anything weaker than Cavalry and Three, my Riflemen have the ability to build armies, so I conscript as many as I can (whilst keeping my civ in an acceptable mood) before Replacable Parts & keep them all next to my capital to be turned into armies at my leasure (& the three initial ones to get the Pentagon)
greenie
Warlord
I like using my armies in the modern age and in defensive roles mainly - a 4 stack Infantry Army is one of the best Defenders in the modern age, especially if planted in fortresses and mountains as other players have said.
I don't find them that useful early on as I'm usually expanding and fighting on many fronts.... besides, I don't usally get my first leader till Knights or Cavalry, and Cavalry and Riflemen usually make up my first army.
As for the issue of tieing up a city with army production, they can be bought with gold, and I usually use my 3rd of 4th largest production city or the one I think has that kind of potential, keeping a few for Middle age wonders. Having 8-10 spare armies for attacking and defending your own borders is a big plus in my book, especially getting to MI and MA armies
I don't find them that useful early on as I'm usually expanding and fighting on many fronts.... besides, I don't usally get my first leader till Knights or Cavalry, and Cavalry and Riflemen usually make up my first army.
As for the issue of tieing up a city with army production, they can be bought with gold, and I usually use my 3rd of 4th largest production city or the one I think has that kind of potential, keeping a few for Middle age wonders. Having 8-10 spare armies for attacking and defending your own borders is a big plus in my book, especially getting to MI and MA armies
Similar threads
