Are Helicopters and Paratroopers Really Useful ?

[SorvinoBackhand]

I find when I play (Monarch) that, 1) I don't really use paratroopers or helicopters much, and 2) the AI doesn't use them much against me.

Paratroopers don't seem as useful in taking over nuked cities as they were in civ 2 and often my opponents resource tiles are too far away to land on.

Helicopters too don't seem terribly useful, given how superior armor is to infantry in the game. Whatever I chopper in behind enemy lines gets mowed down by enemy armor right away, unless I have a lot of choppers to fly in at once. That means a lot of production that might have gone into armor and other things ...

So in my experience, the opportunity costs of advanced flight units are too high for the seemingly limited use.

If you use them a lot and find them effective, please tell me how.

Thanks.

[Jaybe]

As I have posted in another similar thread: paratroops, helicopters and (even) marines are not often useful. But once in a while you will find yourself with an opportunity and you have to have them already in place to take it. So build a few, just in case.

Besides, you probably have already built too many tanks/MA anyway!

[SorvinoBackhand]

So what do you use them when you do build them ?

And what do you mean about building too many tanks and MA ?

Thanks.

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by SorvinoBackhand
So what do you use them when you do build them ?

Mostly, they just hang around. I keep them up at the front during warfare, WAITING for that opportunity. Used several once to cut off a town surrounded by mountains.

I also found out you want to recon the Landing Zone first. Landing a paratroop atop even a worker is fatal!

And what do you mean about building too many tanks and MA ?

Regarding an offensive (not devensive) war, by that time I am usually far ahead enough by that time that my success in the war is not in doubt.

[Catt]

Originally posted by Jaybe
As I have posted in another similar thread: paratroops, helicopters and (even) marines are not often useful. But once in a while you will find yourself with an opportunity and you have to have them already in place to take it. So build a few, just in case.

I'm a fan of the marine in Civ 3, but I think Jaybe's point is absolutely true. I find a good use for marines only rarely (but they're very powerful in the right circumstances), and I very rarely find a good use for helicopters and paratroopers. Still, I will often build several marines, and sometimes build a few paratroopers. 'Course, I also often build a pair of explorers too, but infrequently use them.

I tend to find all these units much more helpful when I am behind or at best at parity with several AI civs -- if I am just choosing which victory method to complete, then it doesn't really matter what I build.

Catt

[Odin]

I moded the helicopter to hold 4 foot units. One time I sent a few cheap Geurillias into the interior of a oppenent's empire on a PBEM game via Helicopters. I attacked an interior city, moving his units from the border, and I took out a few major border cities.

[badams52]

Until my NIC game, I never built marines and never saw them used well against me, but there was an instance where it could have been beneficial. One of my islands had only 2 tiles and had the oil resource on it. The AI took my city with marines (I was behind in tech and only had infantry). He then loaded infantry into the city for defence and kept the marines on the other tile. I didn't have marines and it would have taken me many turns to research them. Fortunately, the marines went back into the city when my transport came by with tanks giving me a landing zone. Effectively, the AI could have kept me from retaking that city for a long time.