Winning with Artillery

[Arrian]

albiedamned,

I usually use the same tech path, and wait a long time for Tanks. At this point, however, if the game has gone well, it's essentially over.

Artillery is most useful when you face a strong opponent during an age of defense (inf/cav). I do my best to avoid such situations (weakening the AI & gaining a large tech lead). I need to force myself to make the jump from Monarch to Emperor, where I will most likely be forced to build artillery to deal with those stacks of AI infantry I keep hearing about.

-Arrian

[albiedamned]

I guess my point is, why wait? If you use artillery, then it doesn't have to be an age of defense. If you're going for a conquest or domination victory, then you can get there faster by proceeding with the attack during this period, and using artillery as I described.

[Theseus]

I've actually used Arty the most in the opposite application... defense.

In a couple of games I've been TOTALLY outmatched, in both tech and numbers, and the only way I could survive was 1) whittling down huge stacks, and 2) have the Arty's defese bonus.

On attack, I like having maybe 10 or so along. By that time, your attack force is surely fastmovers, so they have limited utility. Good for the basic mixed arms approach, though.

[jshelr]

I tend to agree with Arrian on this issue. However, it's really because of the AI's play style. If playing a human, attacking on their road / rail network would be hell on wheels without arty. Against the AI, because they do not concentrate forces in the city being attacked and do not use their mobility advantage in the home country well, blitz via fast movers is the lazy man's way to get the job done.