Reply With QuoteOr, give more of your units drill promotions.
ps what version of the game are you running?
Is it possible to limit the amount of units on a square.
I have played a game where the AI attacked my capital with a stack of doom with at least 150 units. I had a decent army and despite me moving almost every spare unit to my capital where they were heading, about 50 units, I was wiped out. They must have had at least 30 cannons/catapaults. I think a cap of ten to fifteen units per square would be better for game play.
Or, give more of your units drill promotions.
ps what version of the game are you running?
bts
nothing I could do. I had good relations with Gilgamesh and he declared war out of the blue. Prince level. In all my time playing I have never seen such a stack of doom. Impossible to know how many as screen not big enough. My units were in the capital.
Use flanking units.
"Ceterum censeo Ben esse expellendum."
hahahhahaha
I had around 50 units myself, but against 150 there is no defence. I used the ten cannons against his stack and they hardly did any damage. Then his 20-30 canons/catapaults did damage before his other units attacked. It took a while but when he took my capital I still could not see how many units he had, the list still was more than the screen could show. It was the biggest defeat I have ever had on any civ game.
Again, what version of BtS?
Anyway, both drill and flanking units would have done the trick.
So would knowing how many units your potential enemies have, and maintaining your units to match. Send in the spies or use religion or espionage points to see what units they have and where they are. It doesn't take much to see 150 units building up in a border city.
Also, it's good to keep in mind which AIs are military-minded and haven't been in a war for a long time in the game. Thing about the AI, is they never stop building units. But if they get in a war with each other, it prunes them back. Favorite trick of mine is sending missionaries of another religion and converting neighboring AIs to different religions, then sitting back with popcorn to watch the inevitable result.
Some suggestions to try and experiment:
-- Go back to an autosave at least 5 turns before the war, use worldbuilder to give yourself 5, just five, units with Drill IV in that city, and fortify them there. Watch and see how they perform.
-- Second experiment: go back and give yourself 12-15 Cavalry (you said they had cannon, right?) Attack the incoming stack in the open and kill all the siege units. Your Cavalry will mostly all die. That's ok. They'll kill all of the 50 Cannon you said the AI had.
Like others have said, flanking and siege will make a difference. If those 50 units were 15 cavalry, 30 cannons, and 5 regular units, you would beat the stack. Combat in civ4 really comes down to who has siege and who uses it properly. Send the siege, if it's really 150 units you probably won't start seeing AI siege as the defenders, but if it's less you might. Once the defenders start being AI siege stop sending your siege. Next send in your mounted (with flanking promotions), they'll heavily damage or destroy the AI's siege. If your siege did it's job you'll win most fights, even if you don't win them though as long as they get a withdrawl the opponent gets wrecked. Your real problem will be cleaning up the stack. With that unit distribution you'll only be able to attack 5 enemies per turn, so start whipping in nearby cities to get some cheap units. Every unit you kill as they run away is one unit you won't be fighting again later.Originally Posted by Boney
After you win, start building units and don't make 1/5 of your units siege. Siege units are what win games, you want half (or more) of your army to be siege.
unfortunately I was not expecting an attack as he declared war for no reason and crossed the border. I tried to get every available unit I had into the capital but time was short. There was no time to build enough defensive units.
It was quite a while back now though.
I had good relations with Gilgamesh and he declared war out of the blue.
Well duh, they had a stronger army, no wonder you lost.
You just wasted six ... no, seven ... seconds of your life reading this sentence.
There's a defense if you had 100 units for sure. Don't let an aggro neighbor get 100+ units over you ever. Yeah, choosing the right units can make a difference, but not letting yourself get that far behind is more important. 10 cannons in a 50 unit stack is another big issue. With a neighbor that powerful, you need to know his unit mix also (which means recon). That means preparing for his siege attack with a strong mounted+flanking defense. If he has a strong mounted stack, come up with pikes (but still a lot of siege).
Even if you are on good terms with an AI, a huge power lead means you need to expect the worst. The lower your power ratio, the more likely an attack becomes. Don't get caught with your pants down, basically.
Also, you must use scouts/spies to watch your borders at least 2 "turns" out (so, 6 tiles in medieval era, basically 14 or so after RR). You can accomplish this with a handful of scouts with visibility promotions. This is a life-saver.
A lot of this issue has to do with basic game strategy and awareness.
But there are mods to do this limited stack thing, though I've only ever seen it as part of larger mods. There's also something that gives larger stacks a "crowding" penalty rather than limiting the number. That said, 3 50-unit stacks were going to be just as hard to deal with as 1 150 unit stack with such limited siege on your side.
Or, give more of your units drill promotions.
ps what version of the game are you running?
I love the idea of a limited stack. I wish I knew how to do it, too.
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