How do armies really work?

[lethe]

I always thought that if I stuck 3 Elite* Cavalry in an army I'd basically get a Cavalry with 15hps. Some posts have led me to believe others think you get an 18 attack, 9 defense, 15hp unit.

Which is it? Do the attack/defense values stack, or do you just get a super-hp unit?

[vmxa1]

You are correct, sticking 3 elites would yield 15 HPs. Having a military acad will boost the stats. So you get a boost from being in an army and another from the MA. I think it is 1/3 and 1/6, but I am not sure. Someone will be along to give the full details or you can look for a thread on it.

[Rhothaerill]

Where's Theseus when you need him? He'll explain everything.

[Arrian]

This is the way I understand it:

The military academy brings the bonus to 1/4 instead of the base 1/6. I could be wrong. But this is what I thought it was.

So, add attack values of units in army (in the case of 3x cav, this is 18). Divide by 6 or 4 (depending on whether or not you have the mil acad). Round down. Add to attack factor. Ditto with defense.

An 3x elite cav army is 9.4.4. or 10.5.4.

The Pentagon allow the extra unit, and you get a 20hp (if all are elites) 12.6.4 monster.

-Arrian

[gunkulator]

Wow! I knew armies were improved, but didn't know the details.

IIRC, you also get +1 movement and the ability to blitz (i.e. attack more than once per turn) with armies. It sure would be nice if these updated stats were displayed when you clicked on the unit. I think movement is, but not att/def strength.

Makes building the MA and even the HE actually worthwhile. I used to wait to build MA, if I built it at all, after Factories, and even then I sometimes wouldn't bother unless I lucked out and could also build Ironworks first. Alas, C3C has made Ironworks a pretty rare thing.

[Fatwreck]

lethe, remember that this boost only exist in C3C

[Arrian]

Originally posted by gunkulator
Wow! I knew armies were improved, but didn't know the details.

IIRC, you also get +1 movement and the ability to blitz (i.e. attack more than once per turn) with armies. It sure would be nice if these updated stats were displayed when you clicked on the unit. I think movement is, but not att/def strength.

Makes building the MA and even the HE actually worthwhile. I used to wait to build MA, if I built it at all, after Factories, and even then I sometimes wouldn't bother unless I lucked out and could also build Ironworks first. Alas, C3C has made Ironworks a pretty rare thing.

Again, I'm not positive about this (I haven't actually TESTED it, which is the only way, since the A/D stats do not show in-game).

Armies do get +1 move, blitz, and free pillage (pillage w/o using a movement point. Somebody has pointed out that this means a Conquistador Army could pillage 8 tiles at a time - 3moves, ATR, free pillage. I'm not counting the tile it begins on).

I always built the M.A. if I had the chance, if only to use the armies as prebuilds.

Oh, and I lucked out in my current game: Ironworks in my Forbidden Palace city.

-Arrian

[lethe]

Thank you Arrian.

[Mad Bomber]

Arrian:

Do not look past the fact that the armies also heal much faster if they are located in a city with a barracks. In my Pre-C3C games I would often have my armies stuck in cities for up to 5 turns just licking their wounds. Now armies heal in 1-2 turns and they are much more useful.

I have never had the IW in either an FP or palace city, although I do try to build the MA in the IW city to crank out those armies.

[vmxa1]

I think that the healing boost is a huge factor. In a city wiht a barracks they heal the same as any unit.

[Arrian]

Originally posted by Mad Bomber
Arrian:

Do not look past the fact that the armies also heal much faster if they are located in a city with a barracks. In my Pre-C3C games I would often have my armies stuck in cities for up to 5 turns just licking their wounds. Now armies heal in 1-2 turns and they are much more useful.

I have never had the IW in either an FP or palace city, although I do try to build the MA in the IW city to crank out those armies.

I once got an IW right next to my FP that was capable of 100spt (with factory & hoover), and built the MA there. 4-turn armies, like clockwork. It was PTW, so those armies weren't quite as impressive as they would be now, but it was still cool.

-Arrian

[vmxa1]

I like armies in CivIII and PTW, now I love them. They were the only way to hold my own on Sid. If the AI used them, it would be a frightening sight.

[Jaybe]

... If the AI used them, it would be a frightening sight.

Yes, the AI should use Armies, even if we have to go down a difficulty level. (Geez, and I recently started my FIRST Monarch game.)

[Rommel2D]

How does this work with hybrid armies? I got my first MGL at an awkward time and tried out 2 midieval infantry with a [edit:musketman]. The stats show 3.3.2, but it seems to attack better than that. Are the displayed stats the base that the bonus modifiers are added to?

[vmxa1]

Yes the bonus is applied to the base stats, except the move bonus is reflected in the army numbers. So that army will have 2 movement instead of one.