Why Nukes

[Argetnyx]

Nukes are great, but look at all the downsides. I usually keep Nukes just in case somebody uses nukes on me, but i almost never use them.

They make your world opinion very bad and you have all of that pollution. When i declare war, i expect to capture nearly intact cities, not bombed out, usless cities.

 

[AndrewG]

The only time I use nukes is if I am at war and things are already going badly. If there's an enemy city that is causing me particular problems, I have been known to use a nuke and then send in the paratroopers.

 

[jfby]

I actually had a game where I was attacking another empire that had attacked me and they launched two ICBMs at my ally, so I in response launched one at their capital, and one at a city I knew was heavily fortified. Unless you do it in response, the world will hate you for it, and possibly declare war on you.

 

[Argetnyx]

Thats good, now i know that there are at least some people that are not Nuclear Fanatics

 

[CommandoBob]

I voted No. Except for my first few games of CivIII I haven't used them. I'm not opposed to them since they do have their uses. But usually the game is over before they can be built (if you go a-warring) and nukes don't help you win the UN vote.

Do I build them: No.
Would I build them: Yes.

 

[Taras Bulba]

only use them when my reputation is horrible with everyone, and I'm large enough that I can have a full on war with everyone


then its fun... I nuke everyone, repeatedly, until they wished they hadn't declared war

 

[Aabraxan]

Another vote for No. I don't have anything against them, and I will occasionally use one just for fun, but not very often. Most of my games are in the mopping up phase before nukes become available. Besides, an ICBM is, what, 500 shields? I know they do lots and lots of damage, but that's still pretty expensive for a one-shot weapon.

 

[vmxa]

Since the question was do you regularly use them, my answer is no. I am using them right now thought, but it is months between doing so.

It is usually done to prevent them from making them in massive numbers. I nuke the resource and maybe the capitol.

Nearly all the games end before nukes, but islands on a huge map going for conquest some times take long enough. Continent and pang do not, even on massive maps.

 

[criminiminal]

nope. most of my games finish before they are necessary. sometimes i'll play a game of attrition & just see how long i can hold on peacefully. nukes are good at leveling out the playing field if you don't have sufficient troop strength to scare off the ai. plus, the ruin the terrain so you have to clean it up if you want it afterwards.

 

[darski]

I think I have only used a nuke once in the last several years. I was one part away from finishing my space ship and the Persians were at the same stage and maybe a turn ahead of me.

I nuked them and killed their ship. They tried to nuke me but I had some strategic defense or something that worked So that was my recent nuke experience.

I do try to end most games before nukes but sometimes I want an SS victory.

 

[D.N. Pacem]

I usually build a nuke or two as a deterrent. I would never use them first or to retaliate for an attack on an ally.

I would have to think long and hard before using them even against someone who has used them against my empire.

But I suppose that's just me.

 

[capnvonbaron]

Mostly if I get that far into a game I'll task any city that'll build an ICBM in under 3 turns with doing so and leave that city to build them forever. I mostly find using them annoying, esp. with the whole "global warming" crap to deal with. Usually I only nuke when nuked. Also, if I have to use them against a civ with integrated defense, nothing (repeat: NOTHING) is more annoying than having one-in-twenty or so get through. Even units way out at sea get ID protection. Its stupid. I still say tactical nukes should be immune from ID... if you go through the trouble to build them and then move them to where they can do damage, then you should get to use them effectively.

 

[Quintillus]

Wow, talk about a one-sided poll! Zero have voted "yes" and twenty have voted "no". Including meself.

I've only actually used nukes once in five years of playing Civ - and that was my most recent game. Multiple AI's were jumping ahead in space race, and I stopped two of them with nukes. One of them nuked me back, but my nuke did a lot more damage since the city of mine they nuked had a single archer defending it and theirs had half their army.

The AI's actually got a bit nuke-crazy that game - there were two other nuclear wars I wasn't in . It was kind of fun for a change of pace.

 

[capnvonbaron]

that happened to me recently. The three remaining civs went crazy and nukes went flying. Half of Russia was orange-crusted, as were parts of France and Babylon. Then Russia made peace and France/Babylon came after ME for no apparent reason, despite me helping them against England and Russia previously. My ID took care of all the inbounds, but my outbounds were completely ineffective (one of about twenty made it through). I didn't even bother launching all 100+ nukes I had built up until that point. Every turn, it seemed like some thirty tiles "global warmed" because of all the polluted terrain.

That game had lasted way too long, everybody was pissed at everybody and I just got sick of playing and quit.

 

[Argetnyx]

Twenty-six no and one yes! I thought it would be the other way around!