Maintenance (Unit) Cost for Worker(s)?

[Lost Soul 1]

Quick question: What is the maintenance cost (unit supply) for a worker that is always inside your borders?

0? (so that eliminating 6-10 of them later in the game will NOT save any gold "cost")

1 for every X workers? (eliminating some will save on per-turn unit cost/maintenance)

I ask because I have a slew of them (25+) and even with the foreseeable future conquest (and hopefully victorious occupation) of a couple of enemies, I do NOT expect to use them all (or even a majority) to restructure existing improvement (e.g., workshops instead of farms, windmills instead of mines) configurations. And if I can save 4 or 5 gold a turn...I may go for eliminating 8 to 10 of them.

Anyone know if there is a cost for keeping workers and how much (is it time/age dependent?)?

[CerberusIV]

AFAIK they count a a unit, just like a military unit and have the same cost.

If they are within your borders then they count for the first line in the cost screen but not the second.

If the first cost on the screen is showing a positive value then getting rid of a few workers will reduce it.

Suggestion: Load the game, note your civs income and disband some workers. If the income increases then it's worth getting rid of the workers you don't need. If the income doesn't increase as you disband the units then it isn't worthwhile so reload and carry on.

[snoopy369]

There's a separate cost for 'units' (total) as for 'military units', but otherwise they are just the same as a mil unit that is inside your city. You just get more free ones.

[Jaybe]

Sometimes I will delete some workers I feel I don't need (mid/late game) and I will see some income enhancement. Other times (such as my last game) I deleted 6-8 just-captured workers and there was no effect ...
(other than losing the workers).

I wonder if there is a free-worker allotment of per city, or is it per population count? When I deleted those 6-8 it left me with about 1 worker per city, of which few did anything through the rest of the game.

[Lucilla]

Captured workers are free, but as far as I know they are also slower.

[marvinkosh]

Originally posted by Lucilla
Captured workers are free, but as far as I know they are also slower.

You're thinking of Civ 3. Captured workers in Civ IV do work at the same rate as regular workers. As far as I know they count towards your unit total.

[snoopy369]

Civ4 does not differentiate between captured units and fresh units.

[Lucilla]

Thanks, I did not know that!

[Ming]

It's kind of funny when you take some civ's last city, and you end up capturing a TON of workers... and watching your maintance cost sky rocket. I usually don't need the workers at that point, and enjoy nothing more than disbanding them, and watch my money jump

[eris]

This will make me a bit less upset when a worker strays near the bordder and gets killed. I have been fond of capturing and holding a large squad of worders "just in case". They have been useful when capturing some enemy's land that has been eiter poorly developed or badly pillaged. Now, one worker less is one coin less per turn.

Ah well, I am sure I will find something else to curse and mumble about.

[East Street Trader]

There is another use for redundant workers.

If you move the worker near to a city under seige the AI will often despatch a unit out from behind the city defences to gobble it up.

Suicidally.

Similarly with an AI unit entrenched on some easily defended square.

[rah]

If they capture your worker in their territory (yes, I've used them as bait before quite successfully), Does it count towards WW?

[Jaybe]

Yes, it does count towards WW.