Favorite units/upgrades and other musings

[Modo44]

Originally posted by Theben
So what exactly is the Oromo unit's special ability? +drill 1 and 2, or +2 1st strikes?

It has the following at 0 XP: +1 First Strike, Immune to First Strike, Drill 1, Drill 2. The first two abilities go away with upgrades, but the promotions do not.

[Jvstin]

Originally posted by Theben
So what exactly is the Oromo unit's special ability? +drill 1 and 2, or +2 1st strikes?

Oromo Warrior Replaces: Musketman (Renaissance)
• First strike
• Immune to first strikes
• Drill I & Drill II

[Fleme]

Yeh, Oromos make for nice armies. I like them. I think I'll start a game with the Ethiopians right away!

[Willem]

Originally posted by Modo44

Actually, it's the other way around. You see, the Oromo gets Drill I and Drill II for free, with 0 XP. So, you get a Drill IV unit with just 5 XP, whereas a Drill IV unit of the Native Americans needs 10 XP. That's one promotion faster for their future development.

OK, I'm too familiiar with the Oromo, I've never used it.

[Seedle]

The thing about Oromo Warrior armies is that they don't fare well against knights, and the AI seems to know this from my experience. I've found it best to build as many Oromo warriors as possible, but not attack with them, and beeline rifling and mass promote. Or at least build pikemen along with your Oromos.
Oh, and if anybody wonders, you don't get another drill promotion with protective Oromo warriors.

As for tanks, I like a mix of drill and city raider promotions. City raider takes care of any really hard targets, drill allows best use of free blitz.

[Modo44]

Originally posted by Seedle
The thing about Oromo Warrior armies is that they don't fare well against knights, and the AI seems to know this from my experience.

True that. In my experience, the Oromo is a nice addition to a very good builder-civ, but no more. That's why I didn't include it as my favorite.

[snoopy369]

Oromos with guerilla 2 are fine against knights... they just avoid them I've never had trouble with knights myself... pillage the horse or iron resource (whichever is easier) and you are home free.

They're probably more devestating in MP, where most MPers underestimate them; but even in SP they can be very useful.

[Krill]

most (ladder) MPers use knights quite extensively, so the Oromo really does suck in MP.

[Yaga]

It's hard to beat Praetorians. In my present game I took a stack of a dozen 3* Praes and a Spy into the Byzantine capitol held by 5 2* and 3* Riflemen. Yeah, I lost almost all my Prae's, but I still took the city.

And the best part? I can churn out 4-6 3* Praes every other turn from my core cities.

Good times...

[One_more_turn]

On standard continental maps, Romans are the best, period. There is nothing the AI can do to stop Praetorians.

CR III Praetorians, supported by Trebs and a few Macemen, will chew through Longbowmen with ease. Since the AI doesn't replace Longbowmen until Rifling, the lifespan of Praetorians is extremely long, and that means huge savings in time and hammers.

In late games, who ever gets the bombers first means victory. As long as SAM Infantries are not fielded en masse, Bombers will blast away anything in its path. You can run amok with Cavalries against even Infantries. Also in late games, productivity is very high and a 10 turn advantage can mean death to an entire AI civ.

I have yet to play a game during which Mobile Artillery, Modern Armor, Mechanized Infantry, and Stealth Bomber are the main contestants. Maybe someone can fill me in on that?

[JeebusGreen]

Starting to take a liking to Guerilla III for some of my attacking force when I can start pumping out troops at lvl 4 out the door.

Having a few rifleman/infantry/mech inf that can lead the charge with a 50% withdrawal chance is a nice way to deal with the lead defenders without taking too many losses.

There's definitely something satisfying about building up a generic force of just flat out Combat IV and V though. Nothing fancy, they're just straight out ELITE!
I've always wanted to cultivate a small task force of Combat IV + Commando marines. They never really seem to make it though

On first strike - does first strike come into play when both attacking and defending? What happens with two units that both have first strike? And does a first strike always cause damage? I swear I've sent units with first strike against an enemy and they've died without doing any damage.

[wodan11]

Originally posted by JeebusGreen
On first strike - does first strike come into play when both attacking and defending? What happens with two units that both have first strike? And does a first strike always cause damage? I swear I've sent units with first strike against an enemy and they've died without doing any damage.

Yes, they cancel on a 1:1 basis, and no.

Wodan

[Supr49er]

The value of the Oromos to me is when they are upgraded to Infantry and Mech Infantry with those free promotions.

[Arrian]

Favorite unique units:

1. Immortals
1a. War Chariots

I just love the upside if you catch an AI civ or two w/o spears. They're cheap & fast. If all else fails, they are great for barb-busting. If you have horses, of courses

2. Quecha. I actually rarely rush with them, though it's an option, as is choking. Just having free combat I warriors to start is nice. My exploring quecha usually fight enough barbs to have a nice group of promos that can be upgraded to axemen. Having a Combat1+shock+medic axe to anchor a stack is nice.

I suspect I would love Conquistadors, but I don't like playing Spain, so I've never used them.

Praetorians are good, but I personally don't like them that much. They're slow, they require a tech I like to put off for a bit and axemen stand up to them pretty well.

Janissaries are surprisingly solid (and belong to a very solid Civ overall). But I tend to go straight for Rifling after Gunpowder (which I often take my time getting to), so I don't get much from 'em. Plus, you can't upgrade anything *to* a Janissary, so you have to build a bunch from scratch if you want to use them in force.

-Arrian

[DirtyMartini]

I don't know how many times I've tried a chariot/immortal/war chariot rush without success. By the time I find horses, hook them up, and build a stack the AI has acquired enough cultural defense that archers can stand up to them. Sure, I can take border cities and pillage, but the point of a rush that early is to take a capital site, not just beat up your neighbors.

chariots and their cousins