What do you think the best UU IS IN MP & SP?

[joncnunn]

IMHO, the following 2 UUs are so powerful they would be overpowering in a Single Player Game if a Human was controlling them:

1. Viking Bersker

2. Ottoman Calvary

There's also a couple useful in special situations:

Wars that involve crossing mountians: Mongol UU

If you discover your AI oppoent on a deserted island was way behind in tech and you want to conquer them for their luxary monopoly: Spanish Conquister.

[realpolitic]

Don't get me wrong, I think the Berserker is a great unit, but it takes so long toget Invention, that in an 8 human game, the Vikings will be targeted by human players with earlier UU's.

The Celts may be able to get their UU's earlier than the Iroquis, but it won't take the Iroquis long to build as many UU's as the Celts. I think the MWs are great, because they cost as many shield as settlers, but no pop, and if you build enough, you can conquer one city per MW.

[joncnunn]

Well, if we are making a list of whose UU is so powerful that your likely to be attacked by humans with them earlier just to keep you from building them:

1. Berskers.

2. All UUs that replace the Knight. (Except India's)

3. Ottoman Calvary

4. Russian Cossacks

5. German Panzer.

(The Mounted Warrior is difficult to preempt.)

The other Ancient Era ones are even more difficult to preempt with some that are impossible to preempt because they are adviable from turn 1.

[WarriorPoet]

I've played allot as the Carthaginians lately...well, ever since I bought PTW. At any rate, the extra cost of the Merc just means that you use him differently that might be obvious. Early on you don't build them, you just don't. However, continue with warriors and archers, then after some of your cities get to size 2 or 3, and have an improvement or two under their built, you start building these.

Even then, however, you still use them like the hoplite. It's a hoplite that defends until you need him to make that attack that will save your but.

Think about it. You've got 4-6 archers stacked on a couple mercs. Even in thickly contested enemy terretory, defended by swordsmen, this is a great combo. The over-all army price is much cheaper and more effective.

The enemy's swordman blunt their swords on your mercs and get finished off by your archers.

The mounted warrior is a great unit...but if you're going with the best value civ, you have to go with Industrious and Commercial.

Following the above statement, then you have to choose the Carthaginians.

QED

[Arnelos]

WarriorPoet,

I have also been playing the Carthaginians more than any other new civ and my experience is consistent with yours. The Carthaginians are not so much harder to play because of the Numidian merc, but require a far more specific strategy to play.

So, in other words, there's a "right way" and a "wrong way" to play Carthage. If you play them "right", they can be devastatingly powerful.

Personally, I'm really growing to like playing Carthage...

[ZargonX]

So far I've been playing a few rounds with Spain, and though the conquestador seemed somewhat weak at first, I think it has some good strategic uses, especially in an MP game.

By the time it can be produced, a 3 attack just really isn't going to cut it against much unless you find a really behind neighbor. However, its movement bonuses make it one of the most effective pillagers in the game. A small group of these units can swarm across any terrain in your oppenents territory and cut of their resources very quickly.

They also make a nice unit for harrassing slow moving enemy stacks. You may lose a few, but you also stand a good chance of being able to attack and flee with minimal losses.

Just a few thoughts!

[WarriorPoet]

I've heard allot about some of the new UU's being good for harrassment and pilaging...this is a different quirk to the puzzle...

I usually want to capture cities with all of their improvements in tact, so why would I ever want to raid and pillage them? However, if I were in dire straits, then I could see how this tactic might save my but.