is the city defense promotion ever useful?

[ghen]

Concidering most of the time when you're defending against attack you have enough military to keep the city at least.. Usually that much millitary is better served attacking the opponent when its weakest, seperated from the stack on plains or grassland while pillaging. Since you have roads coming out of your city you have the mobility advantage and should use it to protect your workers' improvements!

So why should I ever invest in the city defense promotion except on extremely rare cases where you don't care about improvements or don't have any?

Concidering the limited uses of the promotion it at least needs to be increased in power.. City defense should definitely have a bonus versus mounted units that have trouble attacking in close spaces.. Maybe a 50% vs mounted in addition to the current 25% vs everyone (right #?).. Or maybe even 30% vs everyone concidering city defense is definitely easier than city attacking in general.. so it should be a greater bonus than its opposite.

[Adagio]

Since I usually have very few defenders in my city, I prefer to have defenders that has a good power against all kinds of enemies, so for me defense promotion is nice
My offensive units are often not home (only keep a few at home just in case). The AI doesn't attack me that often, so in most games the defenders are never used

[amicus curiae]

It is still usually good to have one city defender in each city. Especially as you promote that unit. Most of your wars are fought outside your cities, but I'd say that more often than not I get a city attacked at some point. Then it's good to have that one city defender sitting around all game. I wouldn't want to make city defence any more powerful though. It's have enough to take cities as it is.

[ghen]

Its extremely useful for the AI's perspective as most humans are smart enough to know if they can take a city or not.. So if we're going to take the city we won't pillage it to death. The AI does both, pillages and then takes the city so city defense promotions for the human are much less desireable.

If you aren't getting cities attacked, its time to up the difficulty level

[Shr3dZ]

Adagio said it, for us builders, city defence promotion allows for minimal troops.

[LDiCesare]

I think minimal troops means the ai attacks you, and you end up using units to kill the pillagers. So I'm not sure this promotion is better for builders than others, more specialised (mainly the + vs melee, archers, ...)

[Jaybe]

If you are going to be leaving a unit in the city, then why would you not give the unit a city-defense bonus?
Leave a city defenseless (after several turns of the game) and listen to the populace complain about being left unprotected! I have seen -5 happiness from that.

[Urban Ranger]

Why wouldn't you give a defensive unit "city defender" promotion? You have barracks in your cities, yes? Plus you may get free experience points from other sources, too.

[Bhruic]

I think the question is somewhat badly worded.

Really what you are asking is why would you choose to defend your city instead of sallying forth and attacking them in the field.

Which is a fine strategy if the AI has inferior troops, but not the best if it's got a significant army.

Bh

[QuantumPion]

Originally posted by Bhruic
I think the question is somewhat badly worded.

Really what you are asking is why would you choose to defend your city instead of sallying forth and attacking them in the field.

Which is a fine strategy if the AI has inferior troops, but not the best if it's got a significant army.

Bh

if you are on the defensive and you have the choice of fighting them in the field or in your city, why would you fight them in the field? You can get over 200% bonuses for city defenses. If you attack them, they might get defensive bonuses for terrain. The only units that should attack would be artillery, cavalry, tanks, etc, units that don't recieve defensive bonuses.

[LDiCesare]

if you are on the defensive and you have the choice of fighting them in the field or in your city, why would you fight them in the field?

Because they pillage your tiles, because their catapults will deal more damage if they attack you than if you take them out outside.

[Provost Harrison]

Re: is the city defense promotion ever useful?

Originally posted by ghen
Concidering most of the time when you're defending against attack you have enough military to keep the city at least.. Usually that much millitary is better served attacking the opponent when its weakest, seperated from the stack on plains or grassland while pillaging. Since you have roads coming out of your city you have the mobility advantage and should use it to protect your workers' improvements!

So why should I ever invest in the city defense promotion except on extremely rare cases where you don't care about improvements or don't have any?

Concidering the limited uses of the promotion it at least needs to be increased in power.. City defense should definitely have a bonus versus mounted units that have trouble attacking in close spaces.. Maybe a 50% vs mounted in addition to the current 25% vs everyone (right #?).. Or maybe even 30% vs everyone concidering city defense is definitely easier than city attacking in general.. so it should be a greater bonus than its opposite.

Well the core units that you will use to hold a city I would have this upgrade on to a couple of levels (they aren't going to get any more experience than that just being sat in a city). Hopefully they will never be tested but if they are then that upgrade will give them a bit more kick to fend of attackers...

[DrSpike]

It's useful for defending cities.

[Provost Harrison]

Well thankyou for that insightful analysis DrSpike

[Tventano]

Playing on monarch level, in the curent game I have Kublai Khan as my neighbour and he is quite aggresive. Having enough defenders in the cities enables me to keep my cities, and to create a line, on top of forested hills to keep the rest of my empire pillager free. It takes some turns to produce a powerful enough counterforce.
What is pillaged I can, after peace has been signed, repair, lost cities are more difficult to retake.