Why are privateers so weak?

[Cidifer]

If your at war they suck. If you want to help an ally with out triggering a MPP or military alliance against you they are wonderful.

Though I don't use them too much there was one game I remember. The Germans where real big on the opposing continent, while me and Rome where still competing for domination of ours (along with the Greeks who still had quite a bit of power). Since Germany and Rome had a MPP I didn't want to go all out at war with Rome and Germany becuase I was currently building a land army to invade Rome.

Anyway Japan and France where the only ones restricting German growth (Russia and Egypt where at the top of the continent but didn't have much power) and they were the only ones who's army was as powerful as mine. Basically I knew that the romans who where being shipped accross the ocean along with the germans would crush France and possibly Japan (since they still had other cities on another island) so I had about 10-12 privateers sink 4 of their transports (all filled with rifleman and cav) and I didn't even need to go to war with anyone.

[Playa del Carmen]

Originally posted by alva848
It is about gamebalance afterall.
You get to fight a secret war, but at a cost .
Seems like a good trade-off to me.

Yes. It would be awful to have Privateers running all over the map with impunity, sinking ships left and right with no way to exact retribution since they have hidden nationality. They're fine the way they are.

Today I was playing on Marla Singer's world map and the Zulus had a caravel blocking my exit from the Mediterranean. Since the ship was *just* outside my culture borders, I couldn't even ASK them to move. So I sent my privateer over and attacked their caravel. My privateer lost. I was mad, but I had reduced the caravel to one red bar. Then the caravel left! (Presumably to a Zulu city to heal.) I moved my frigates and ironclads to where the Zulu caravel had been to keep other ships from entereing the Mediterranean. See? Privateers have uses after all.