Mobilization and when to use it.

[ArmaGeddin]

OK, I have never used mobilization and I'm wondering when I should.

When would you mobilize?
Why do you mobilize?
Under what circumstances would you not mobilize?
What are the benifits?
What are the drawbacks?

[Harovan]

There has been an excellent thread about this matter: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=51788

Personally, I seldom mobilize, because I usually try to avoid warfare after Nationalism.

[ArmaGeddin]

Great, thanks! Checking it out now.

[kolpo]

I moblize during quite every war. Moblization means: more units and thus quicker wars more succesfull wars.

Being quick is very usefull when democratic or republic because how longer war how more war warrines it seems and at higher difficulty levels can moblization be really needed to win a war or to win a war without to many loses(like burned cities and destroyed city/title improvements).

[kolpo]

oh and I don't see pre war moblization as an exploit because in real history has Hitler done the same so it is realitic. Saddam his policy before the gulf war could be also considered pre-war mobilization.

[Zachriel]

Mobilization and Diplomacy

If you have some control of the diplomatic situation, then mobilization can be a great strategy. The idea is to be able to end mobilization "at will," which means being able to conclude a peace treaty when you are ready to return to normal production.

[bbaws]

It really pays off when you know the tech tree reasonably well. There is no point mobilizing when the only lines of research open to you are infrastructure orientated. As Zachriel says you need to be able to go to peace at will. Any peace treaty will do, though.

[vmxa1]

I have never mobilized as I do not want to stop my infrastructure.

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by vmxa1
I have never mobilized as I do not want to stop my infrastructure.

Ditto. I especially do not want to be prohibited from building a cultural improvement to help prevent a culture flip in a city I have taken from my enemy.

[ManicStarSeed]

I have had great success with mobilization and also some interesting coincidences.

First; In my latest game (Monarch, Small, 6 civs as Babs), I eliminated both the Indians and the Aztecs giving me an entitre contenent. Rome and China eliminated the Zulus. I was 5-8 techs behind. Being in democracy, I spent close to 800 years building my infrastructure (took me forever to figure out the best FP location). I overtook (Lux trade and research) China and Rome tech wise. China and rome sluged it out (being militeristic). Once I was 4-5 techs in head of china (Computers, Fission, Ecology and Flight), I had minimal military (barely 1 unit pr city, no navy and only 2 bombers being built). The chinese declared war. I immediatly went to communisim and mobilized for war. They wiped out all the impreovements on one coast with battleships and ironclads. THANKS to mobilization, I have beaten back 4 landings of 8-16 units. Bombers rock for keeping your coasts clear. Fighters help with the recon. The war has been going on for 25-30 turns now, I now have 2 major beach heads in chinese territory but yet have military parity. Modern armor helps thought.. Point is that MOIBILIZATION SAVED ME BIG TIME. I will now have to decide on a space ship or conquest win.

Second case. Again same world set up, but as French. Again I own an entire continent. Developed a tech lead (3-4) on my way to SS win. It is a modded game, all bombards lethal. I was almost to a space ship win when I realized that I screwed up the civ3mod.bic file so the last space ship part could not be built. YIKES!! The Americans were wiping up the persians and the romans hated me. Having realized that I need domination or conquest to win, I mobilized and switched into communisim. After 5 urns of anarchy, 1 turn of production, The americans landed with 16 modern units. Total sneak attack. It was like the AI knew what was coming. Point is...Mobilization might have been too little to late. I have yet to finish the game. I considered it a win because I would have won had I not screwed the *.bic file and the tech gap I closed was quite impresive (to me). Still I see a long downhill battle for me. I am thinking about offering the save up for the strategy folks to see if they can turn it around.


Mss

Mss

[Admiral PJ]

I guess you can get over the problems of low culture with Mob by using lots of units in conquered cities to prevent culture flips- remove their native population with workers etc too.

You can still build any improvement under mobilisation.. you just can't start any new non millitary, so go mobilized when a wars nearly ended and you can get a peace agreement , and try to be allied with everyone else so they can't prolong your mobilisation.

It seems a risky tactic to me , I doubt anyone will get away with it in MP.
But a Big Pro for mobilisiling is you can demobilise and still have all the extra production in your cities for the units that haven't been completed.

I suppose you' only mobilise when at war with a small civ too.. I'm going to try it, as i'm allied with evryone against the americans, and my millitaries straining to cope with such a big Super power to defend (tricky with small colonies and a mad france in the centre of my empire).

[Admiral PJ]

Has anyone thought that all the mobilisations extra units could be recycled after the war into other improvements, using disband?

[nbarclay]

My most powerful use of mobilization came as Germany a few CivFanatics GOTMs ago. Most of my core was already fully improved when I got Motorized Transportation, and the cities that weren't were so corrupt that I could stay mobilized a long while before they'd finish what they were working on. (I'd been playing peacefully with a minimal military since very early in the game.) I mobilized to speed up my military acquisitions, but before I could take out the relatively small and weak Russia, the mighty France hit me with a stack of infantry.

My counterattack launched a golden age in which quite a few cities were churning out a panzer a turn! As for the problem of culture flips, the war only lasted about six turns, after which there was no more France for anything to flip to. The one city that flipped during the war, I took back instantly, so it was no big deal. And I wouldn't have wanted to waste my gold on cultural improvements in any case.

My other major use of mobilization came in the AU 106 game. Due to the unique rules in that game, my home continent was essentially fully built up, and I'd deliberately delayed researching Military Tradition. (I'd built up enough of a tech lead that I could do that and still have plenty of time before anyone else got Nationalism.) Once I reached the Industrial Era and got Nationalism as a free tech, I mobilized and built an enormous hoarde of horsemen. Those were upgraded to an equally massive hoarde of cavalry when I was ready to attack, providing a truly overwhelming force.

What those games had in common was that in both of them, I had a well-developed builder empire and wanted to make the transition to warmonger. Because I'd been playing builder, I didn't have a lot of previously captured cities that needed to build a lot of city improvements. Mobilization made it possible to shift from builder to warmonger more quickly than I could have otherwise, and the forces I built were massive enough to win my wars quickly once they started.

Nathan

[alva]

Anyone ever seen the AI use the mobilization option ?