Turn 96, 650 BC

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by nbarclay
Keep in mind that the shot I sent out is in the middle of the production cycle; some cities haven't finished the turn's production yet.

Yeah, I noticed that. Only about half of the cities had any change in their production from last turn, so I kinda figured it out. I'll admit it took me a couple of minutes to work out what was going on.

As for the 3 rushing options: I leaning towards #2 right now. I need to check the save to familiarise myself with our defences first, but I think I'd rather have the extra Med Inf in Arashi than instead have 2 Cats that will take time (not alot, but a bit) to get to the action zone.

[FrustratedPoet]

Apolyton Time = Eastern US time, right?

[Harovan]

yes

[nbarclay]

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet
Apolyton Time = Eastern US time, right?

Right. (At least it had better, or my calculations are off. )

[nbarclay]

I'm leaning toward 1 myself. With Vox's third warrior around Hurricane a turn behind (assuming things are as they appear), the situation there is less critical, and a cat in Monsoon can get on the mountain this turn to participate in the mountain's defense or in an attack on Vox's forces next turn.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by nbarclay
NYE, we can't move a worker until we finish the production cycle. I suppose we could add to my list above

4) Rush a pike in Arashi for completion next turn after disbanding a worker (112 gold), rush a cat in Monsoon for completion this turn (16 gold), and if desired upgrade a swordsman in Hurricane.

Hmm. Well, we can switch to a WC. Disband a worker, rush, and switch back to a Pike to be complete in one. Should be 70 something gold. I am not sure myself, but having 2 Pike in Arashi (1 from Tempest) next turn might be a good idea. The complicating fact would be, are we sure of the 10 shields to finish? Not certain, given the Vox units in the area.

[nbarclay]

For Vox to stop us from getting ten shields, I think they'd have to come down onto both roads, so it seems like a reasonable bet. The cost would be a worker plus 72 gold.

So

5) Rush a cat in Monsoon for completion in this turn, short-rush a pike in Arashi (after disbanding a worker ) for completion next turn, and upgrade either a warrior or a swordsman. (If we upgrade a swordsman, we could also rush a cat in O.G. for completion this turn.)

The pike-based approach would maximize our chances of holding Arashi if Vox tries to take it. I hate the thought of sacrificing a worker, but as I said earlier, it could be worth it if one pop point of worker can save a size-4 city.

[FrustratedPoet]

I feel like I've overslept and missed a lecture at some point. Could somebody explain exactly what 'short-rushing' is?

[Harovan]

Short rushing = Rushing to something needing less shields than the object you want to build, and then switch back. It's often better, because full rushing basically wastes the production of the current turn.

[nbarclay]

For example, set the build to a war chariot, rush, and then change the build to a pike. The "short rush" gets us to 20 shields of production completed, and the last ten finish normally.

[FrustratedPoet]

OK, thanks guys, I get it now. That's a clever system - I'd never thought of using rushing like that before, but it's kind of obvious once somebody points it out to you.

[Arrian]

I lean toward option #1, but option #5 is solid too (I would prefer the warrior upgrade variant as opposed to the sword upgrade + 2nd cat). Either 1 or 5 is fine by me.

-Arrian

[Aeson]

I'd be in favor of option 1 too.

[Aeson]

Maybe we should consider abandoning Arashi 9 and sticking it out in Arashi. It cuts down our mobility E-W, but we'll have a 4th Pike and a shot with a Catapult next turn, plus 2 more 2 defense units.

They can hit us with more troops (assuming those 87 are new Immortals), but only by opening up part of their stack to shots from our WC's, or if they wait (which gives us more time to get defense there). Also they don't get any idea as to our overall strength around Arashi... if they are 'losing' while hitting Arashi, they won't know if it's by a whole lot or a little...

Not to mention our Pikes and Swords will all be fortified (gives us about a +6% advantage on every hp) when they get hit and heal up the next turn.

The danger is if they bypass Arashi completely though. In 3 turns they would have their forces inbetween Arashi and Tempest. We could have another 3 Pikes in the area at the time (well, more if we rush, which we should be able to do), but only by opening up Hurricane. Since they have the 1 Immortal a turn behind it's not as big a deal though.

[Aeson]

I also think we should switch Cyclone to a Cat. It can be in place by the time they could get to Tempest to help with defense there if needed. We are ahead on Workers right now anyways.