Barrage

[smbakeresq]

Why dont you mix them? When you have a city pumping out double or triple promotions, thats the city I use for the siege weapons. If you use siege/collteral damage weapons properly, your other units promote through combat after defenders have been "collateralized."

I usually use Drill 2, Barrage I, they work good everywhere. For cities, CR1 Barrage 2 works well, usually 1 unit dies, then the survival of the rest shoots up so when they attack, you can promote them to CRII/BII. Once they are there, they hang around for a long time. If you go with a CRII, BI unit, and then follow with the DRII/BI, you can shoot them all the way to DRIV/B1, it seems this unit somehow does collateral damage on its 2 first strikes and then on its regular attack, the defenders hit the collateral damage cap right away.

[Ming]

I do mix them up... but the problem is, cats die. A few live and get additional promotions, but in the end they die.
Tribs also die at a pretty regular clip, so they have the same problem. Cannons and Artilary have longer life spans simply because they survive longer, and for them, I do mix up the promotions a lot.

The problem with Drill 2 and barage is that Drill 2 really doesn't add a heck of a lot to Drill 1, where as Drill 3 does.
I would almost prefer all purpose units at that level, one CR, one Drill, and one Barage so that they could not only go after cities, but attack SOD's while on the march.

Some players recommend creating both city takers and field units, and using them appropiately. I usually don't have the luxery of having that many, even though I keep cranking them out. Their death rate is very high, as it should be

[smbakeresq]

I think the death rate is high on purpose, I look at as "ammunition cost" and benefits of "accuracy." Collateral damage units are cheap for the damage they do, so the high death rate. A few will get through though, leading to promotions.

I save the City Raider promotion for Trebs, thats what they do anyway. A CRIII has a pretty good survival rate, 2 of them are enough to do some collateral damage to every unit. Once they do some damage, the follow-up catapults have a much higher survival rate.

You are right about the DRII and DRIII difference though. It a big difference. Do you know if collateral damage is caused by a first strike from a drill unit?

[rah]

I believe the collateral damage is a one time thing per attack.

[Garth Vader]

The damage is the same even if you have a 0% win chance too right?

[Blaupanzer]

Yes, one time for collateral and independent of win chance, although the damage done to the attacked unit is affected by drill in the open and CR in cities as well as these same promotions increasing survivability. Relative strengths matter too as the siege unit must inflict damage down to its prescribed level on the attacked unit (75% in the case of cannons) before it will break off the attack, surviving.

[rah]

although the damage done to the attacked unit is affected by drill in the open

drill does work against city attacks also doesn't it.

[Blaupanzer]

I mostly use barrage in rare defensive promotions and CR in attack promotions. I use drill to open up the medic promotion occasionally. Siege weapon medics are defensive, so I've seen the open field effects of drill. Drill (I-IV) works against cities when other units with it (promoted archers, now infantry) attack and hit a unit that's not immune, so that should work for siege weapons, too.

[Ming]

Medic promotion... for CD units... I must admit, the only time I've ever done that is by accident.

Since all of my early cats aren't given promotions when I build them, and don't do so until I know just how they will end up being used, I use all three depending on the situation. If a large SOD moves into my territory, I tend to use barrage so that I can't weaken as many units as possible... assuming the cats won't survive anyway. On smaller stacks, drill is my choice since I want more to actually survive. I don't give cats city raider promotions until they are right next to their first city and I know for sure they will be used to attack the city after the walls come down.

[Garth Vader]

I assumed by siege medics he was referring to MG's. I have used that as a city or stack defender.

[Ming]

Good point... me bad. I've used MG's as medics as well. I guess I don't really consider them CD units, yet they are seige weapons. (why, I have no clue)

[Garth Vader]

I think they did that so you could have a defender that was immune to CD for that period.

[Blaupanzer]

I think they did that so you could have a defender that was immune to CD for that period.

Agree. In the remote part of your empire where the bad guy SOD expends 20 artillery only to meet your 5 unaffected MGs, perfectly capable of ripping up his riflemen and cavalry -- of which he always has too few, given all those cannons.

[Ming]

MG's are NOT siege units... they are protection against seige units

[Blaupanzer]

Pretty sure they were designated seige guns to avoid CD. No mounted unit can flank them either. They can fortify. So the only way to hurt them is to attack them head-on. Great defenders.