Strategies against Barbarian Attacks

[rah]

Yes, hahaha, that must be their #1 priority, Fortify in that empty fort.

[duke o' york]

Land barbarians will never appear on squares that have been "civilised". Obviously they can't show up on the same square as one of your units, but equally they can't spawn on a tile that has been improved in some way. So if there is a road, railroad, irrigation, etc. on a square then the land barbs cannot spawn there. They can spawn a few squares away and then move onto improved squares (or more likely into fortresses), but they cannot begin in a "civilised" square. This has absolutely no effect whatsoever on pirates, and barbs can still come out of huts because settlers can't fly, but cover your island in roads, ensure that enemy civs don't pillage them and no land barbs will ever appear there.
Some people think it's a waste of time to road all the squares, and most often it is, but if you want to forget about barbs and concentrate on building a massive score then get the army of settlers to civilise the entire planet and barbs will be history.

PS - When I said that settlers can't fly, I meant that you can't road a hut square without popping the hut first. Just in case people don't understand what I was on about there

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by duke o' york
Some people think it's a waste of time to road all the squares

Well you can put me down as one of those people...........all those improvements just to avoid some wussy ol' barbs seems insane.

[-Jrabbit]

Agreed re wuss barbs. (For superhighways, now that's a different story.)

[duke o' york]

I never said I did it!

I'm just trying to help some people out and increase the sum of knowledge on show here.

Although they disappear when you start getting partisans, I'd miss the juicy bonuses you get for barb regicide. That's a cornerstone of the duke economy for most of the early part of the game (plus extortion from AI civs). Partisans are a pain in the bum, but I do love the reports the Defence minister sends you when you send a cruise missile into the heart of a recently-spawned barb army of partisans and artillery:

"43 units lost"

is quite funny!

[SlowThinker]

Originally posted by SlowThinker
I have tested the defense bonus against barbs in cities:
The firepower (maybe hitpoints, but i think it is firepower) of the defender in capital (=a city with a Palace) is multiplied by 6 and in a normal city by 2.5 .
(It means that fortified warrior on a river in normal city is about equal to an attacking barb archer)
Edit: this is valid only if you have at least 2 cities.

And it looks that AI defenders have even better bonus.

Test result:
Defense of AI units against barbs (barbs may be human or AI) is doubled (or attack of barbs is halved, I didn't test so thoroughly). This applies to any AI deferender, not only in a city.
I tested when barbs were led by human but I think it applies also when barbs are AI. It didn't depend on difficulty (same results with King and Deity).

[rah]

Originally posted by SlowThinker
This applies to any AI deferender, not only in a city.
I tested when barbs were led by human but I think it applies also when barbs are AI. It didn't depend on difficulty (same results with King and Deity).

Hmmm, suprising. It doesn't seem to jive with my experiences, but it has been awhile since I played with an AI.

I'm assuming that you tested in SP mode.


RAH

[SlowThinker]

Yes.

[rah]

I doubt there is a difference, but you know all of us MPers are paranoid.

[Elephant]

I've seen AI Phalanx defend against multiple Legion attackers with little strength loss, so I would believe it.

RE Roading Everywhere (above): Figuring out the "optimal" RD/RR routes for trade bonuses is a pain, so if you've got spare time for Set/Eng just R everything. You'll see TR values pop up between domestic cities.

[Wharf Rat]

In a recent game while playing a Republic, the Senate overruled me when I attacked a barb. Can anyone tell me why?

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

I did not know about the roads-no barbs trick. Guess I assumed that barbs wouldn't pop up in the city radius, and I seldom road outside the radius. Well, to be more accurate, I should say that I seldom have a lot of land that's outside a city radius for long

Nonetheless, well done

[rah]

Originally posted by Wharf Rat
In a recent game while playing a Republic, the Senate overruled me when I attacked a barb. Can anyone tell me why?

Never seen that.

[Wharf Rat]

It happened. Two conditions worth noting: There was a barbarian city which I was using as a 'farm' for NONE units. Also, I had spied on the city to see if there were any improvements. I am wondering if one of these factors gave the barbs the standing of a real civilization.

[rah]

Had you investigated that city that turn?
Was the barb city originally one of yours?