When do you pillage roads

[rah]

Do you automatically pillage roads?

Except for disconnecting enemy resources (and just strategic ones) and for an occasional one to slow reinforcements I really don't pillage roads since I figure I'm going to need them eventually. It wouldn't be a big deal to pillage them since by the middle game you've probably captured more than enough workers that are just sitting around not doing a lot of anything. But I don't see the point. It doesn't generate cash so why waste the time.

The only place when it's automatic is the beachhead on an opponents continent in the late game. Pillaging the roads around the city to keep enemy artillery from moving and firing on your beachhead until you can fortify it and start moving inland.

[Ming]

When it comes to pillaging, I'm pretty selective. Yeah, strategic resources, I will pillage and then destroy the road unless I think I can quickly take the city that has cultural control over it and intend to use it myself when the city grows back. I'm also a big fan of pillaging towns around cities I'm not going to keep... the money is good.

As far as roads, if I see that I can stop quick reinforcements by doing so, I will. But I do like to keep a road network in place since I usually plan on keeping the good cities.

And like you, I like to pillage the roads around a beachhead to buy some time.

[Hauptman]

Pillage any roads that allow a supprise attack. Thats the only time you need to consider it. If you have a culture pressed city, and get tossed into war, yeh ill send out some cav/choppers to cut the roads leading to it.

Only resorces I will ever pillage are those i have no intention of capturing. Some times the only way to bring the war to the enemy is via a couple units to pillage. Later in the game carriers or bombers can strip somone bare, do enough damage and they may never recover to be a threat again.

[Boracks]

Early game, if my exploring warrior comes across another civ's cities that aren't culturally linked yet, I'll pillage any roads not in a cultural boundary. Amazing how many worker turns you can make them waste early on.

[Theben]

Early game, if my exploring warrior comes across another civ's cities that aren't culturally linked yet, I'll pillage any roads not in a cultural boundary. Amazing how many worker turns you can make them waste early on.

I've done that a few times. Also it's fun to wait by the road until groups of 2-4 workers come wandering down past you, and then *!* they're yours.

[self biased]

i generally only pillage to eliminate a strategic resource.

[Ming]

I've done that a few times. Also it's fun to wait by the road until groups of 2-4 workers come wandering down past you, and then *!* they're yours.

I've done that early when workers are really needed. Nothing better than picking up a few free workers and at the same time, denying them to your opponent. You just have to make sure that you have a better army when you do so

[Dinner]

Pillaging roads tends to not be very useful unless it's a key resource. The reason is it takes an extra turn in most cases which means my stack of doom moves that much slower giving the enemy more time to build up a defense. I'd rather just go straight for the jugular.

Now, if I think I can't take the city then maybe I'll move my stack around pillaging but you don't get cash for destroying roads so they're a really low priority. Plus you don't want to spread your units out where they'll be easy pickings.

[rah]

My stack of doom usually has enough 2 space movement units so even when the stack is moving you have the ability to pillage along the way.

[Blaupanzer]

Especially with Shaka early and French in the middle game my SODs will have two move units to make money off the towns, villages etc. However, I generally leave the roads as they will soon be my network. If there are 5 or more 2-move units in a stack, e.g., knights, and one hits pillage on a town the effect is to take out all iterations if the cottage and the road too. No real skin off my nose, but that's about the only time I pillage roads. I'll sometimes have paratroopers pillage roads to cut off the city near my landing force, but that's not common.

[rah]

Agreed. I don't want to waste time regrouping units just for pillaging, so yeah a few roads get destroyed due to lack of attention. Bug generally unless I'm really hard up for money, I do plan on using the town so the last thing I want to do is pillage them. Usually just around the cities I know I'm not going to keep. But having said that I pillaged right up to a city intending to raze it, only to discover it was a holy city with the shrine built. Oppps better keep this one.

[Dinner]

My stack of doom usually has enough 2 space movement units so even when the stack is moving you have the ability to pillage along the way.

Sometimes I do but most often I do an early axeman/swordsman rush and then rush to cats & macemen to do a cat and macemen rush. If I have a 2 space mover it is probably just a horse archer.

[rah]

It's a good use for old chariots.

[Ming]

Obsolete chariots have many uses... I will usually turn a few loose on auto explore to help fill in the gaps my early scouts or warriors didn't get to. I will also sometimes send a stack out behind my attacking forces to pillage towns that aren't going to be in the BFC of cities I plan on keeping. I also usually keep a few around to move between cities to balance happiness in Monarchy. I rarely ever upgrade them due to the cost, so it's good to find useful things for the to do

[Blaupanzer]

Roger on chariots. The shift them to the unhappy city pre-republic is one solid use, another is to ride worker stacks to provide cover, if the workers have to run, such as in border areas.