Question for the war-mongers out there...

[Underseer]

I play an almost exclusively builder game. I'm also a lazy wimp that only plays at lower difficulty levels. In the very rare instances I actually go to war, it's with waves of tanks and bombardment units.

So, uhm, are helicopters and paratroopers as useless as they look in the Civilopedia? Or is there some obscure circumstance in which they're actually useful?

Is there any reason to compose an invading army out of anything other than tanks, artillery and the occasional bomber?

[vmxa1]

I never use helos or paratroops in any level. I know a few have, but I can not see the need.
As to invading, if you are talking about tanks, not MA, then yes. I would bring along some calvs as they have 3 moves and can be used for a number of things.
If you are talking about MA, then not really. I use calvs at that stage to handle the resistors and few odd jobs.
Armies of calv are great at sitting on a large city while you pacify the locals. I am talking about instances were no counter attack is coming.

[Thoth]

I've rarely had a need to build helicopters or paratroopers. But I usually build a few, just because they're fun to play with.

Helicopters can come in handy as a "poor man's airport". Load a unit onto the helicopter, rebase the helicopter, and then activate the unit. Handy for sending 1st turn reinforcements to beachhead cities.

[Jamski]

Yeah, completely useless, I'm afraid. I can safely say I have never even researched Advanced Flight. Never.

-Jam

[Yanghead]

Choppers and Paras are great for invading accross a narrow channel without having to use ships. Then grab(or build) a city and rush an airport. Airbridge to Victory!

[laissez-faire]

I don't believe I've ever built either of them.

An adjustment that would make both somewhat useful is if the paratroopers were able to attack immediately after they landed.

[Arrian]

I have never built choppers, paratroopers, or even marines.

And I've done a lot of fighting.

-Arrian

[Jaybe]

Arrian, using marines to capture AI workers repairing coastal bombardment damage is ENTERTAINING!

Underseer, build a few choppers & paratroops to have on hand for when an opportunity comes to use them. It will probably be rare that it comes, but if you don't have the units you probably won't notice the chance when it comes.

[Theseus]

Originally posted by Arrian
And I've done a lot of fighting.
-Arrian

You crack me up.

I'm pretty much the same... although I live in mortal terror of Bowman delivered via Helicopters!

[Tattila the Hun]

Once had my only source of oil in small island far away from main empire. Lost my tought for a while, and suddenly the used-to-be peacefull Greece starts landing tanks on the shores of the island. I politely tell them to take a hike, they (politely) tell me to shove it. I have a spearman defending... But I also have 3 helos and infantry. I do the loading, rebasing and activating routine, and my troops hold of the attack untill I can rush airport and airlift couple of tanks to take the rest of them out. I could have transported couple of mousketeers too... Just forgot to upgrade them.

My greatest enemy in CIV isn't AI, it's UI. (Unartificial Intelligence, eh, me.)

M.I.C.K.E.Y M.O.U.S.E!

(sing happily)

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by Underseer
...
Is there any reason to compose an invading army out of anything other than tanks, artillery and the occasional bomber?

INFANTRY, or MI when available!
Assuming that the AI doesn't have tanks yet, he will cut down your tanks with cavalry and guerillas. Yes, he will lose 2-3 units for each one of yours, but if you are in representative government then you want to keep your losses at a minimum. Until his offensive units are mostly depleted I would much prefer to not have tanks hanging out to dry!

If the AI doesn't have cavalry or infantry, then you are taking it too easy (i.e., not building or keeping your cits happy enough).

[Arrian]

Theseus,

Yeah, you gotta watch out for those AirMobile Bowmen.

Jaybe,

I'll grant you that it could be entertaining. My use of a largely useless unit for fun is the Privateer. That's entertaining too, because it lets you fight while at peace. I like creating stacks of 'em (2-4 each) and roaming the high seas, nailing any AI ship I see. I've destroyed entire navies that way. Like the marines stealing workers, it doesn't really do much, but it's amusing.

-Arrian

EDIT: Jaybe's correct about bringing along defensive units on an invasion, btw. Allowing AI Cavalry to hit your Tanks is... err... suboptimal. Plus, if you're gonna capture cities (and/or razing & rebuild) you need units to defend them, right? Plus, infantry can do neat things like march untouched along a mountain range to an enemy resource and then cut it. If they do decide to hit it, the odds are with you. Infantry can defend luxuries you capture (I often build forts with my newly acquired slaves and stick an infantry or two in them). You can funnel AI counterattacks just where you want them by fortifying infantry on good defensive terrain. Then you can bombard and slaughter the AI's attack troops. Once you've bled them dry, it's all over.

[laissez-faire]

Originally posted by Arrian
(I often build forts with my newly acquired slaves and stick an infantry or two in them)

Although slaves perform most other tasks at at half-pace, they are nifty radar tower builders behind newly acquired cities. Of course, Arrian et al have ended the game long before Radio. I, myself, still require tanks to win.

[High_Lord]

I never research the advanced flight to get the paratroopers. But I do like to use the marines, like 2 transports full, to go along duking it out on as many coastal cities as possible

[notyoueither]

If you want to see the benefit of Airbourne, Helicopters and Marines... play a scenario in the modern age and clean out the South Pacific.

Actually, I usually use Copters and Marines. It is a very rapid way to take out an extended series of islands without risk of naval losses.