Upgrade your Privateer! *read*

egovalor · November 23, 2001, 01:39

It's unanimous that privateers are completely useless as an offensive unit. *However*, they are now my favorite unit in the game and I produce as many as I can before they become obsolete and you can't build them anymore (question: not sure, but can anyone say when precisely this is? That is, what tech or resource renders them obsolete? maybe saltpeter?).

Here's why. I haven't experimented heavily, but it seems to me as though the AI will attack an undocked privateer mercilessly (I think perhaps they will ignore them or the pirates become less important if their navy is otherwise commited, i.e. the civ is at war with someone, but I'm not sure. Also an AI escort, that is, a powerful unit protecting a galleon or transport, rarely attacks), commiting their entire navy to hunt down this pirate.
BUT if you stack a privateer with a more powerful unit it is the powerful unit that defends.

*And neither you or the attacking civ are held responsible*

So don't think as a privateer as an actual combat unit. Think of it merely a flagship to accompany other units, that declares: "ARG, I'm a pirate, come attack me!"

I have used this to great effect. Sail the high seas with your pirate BATTLESHIP (or battleship armada...no limit to the stacking). The other civs HATE pirates and you can potentially wipe out their whole navy without going to war. In one instance I had 3 civs throw at LEAST 50 ironclads and caravels (no more pesky units zipping along my coast every turn) up against my pirate fleet of 3 battleships (note: escorting a single regular privateer) and lose every ship.

This seems like an obvious tactic, but I thought I would post it. I searched the forums and no one has seemed to discuss this (very fun) aspect of privateers.

Careful though...the AI is somewhat smart, and will catch on it seems. After losing so much the take to simply bombarding the pirates and running. lol but it's fun to watch anyway. Also...interesting to note that in one game, I had a 'gracious' relationship with the romans for 1000s of years, but after caesar wasted 90% of his fleet (ALOT of ships) trying to take out a single "pirate" battleship, he became annoyed. No way to know, but I think it was connected. It's as if he's mad because he knows it's my pirate he can't take out.

Any thoughts or suggestions or stories?

War4ever · November 23, 2001, 01:52

interesting read.... seems a shame that we have to disguise our fleets with a pirate flag and no war is declared....

it thats the only use for privateers....

its just another long list of loopholes that expose just how easy this game really is.....

but i guess i will build a couple of privateers now to help escort my navy

egovalor · November 23, 2001, 02:10

Quote:

Originally posted by War4ever
interesting read.... seems a shame that we have to disguise our fleets with a pirate flag and no war is declared....

it thats the only use for privateers....

its just another long list of loopholes that expose just how easy this game really is.....

but i guess i will build a couple of privateers now to help escort my navy

well every game as inevitable loopholes. It's just up to the individual whether or not it's fun to exploit them. In a serious game I wouldn't do it because it's not realistic. Or maybe do it with just a firgate+privateer, becase a pirate battleship is too unrealistic.

As for loopholes, take selling cities for example. It's possible to set your science at zero and keep on the forefront of technology and become a money powerhouse by conquering and reselling a single city over and over to the highest bidder. It should be fixed, like assign a value to the city based on size and proximity to the civ's capital. So that france WOULD pay an arm and a leg for orleans, but virtually nothing for war-torn edo on the other side of the globe.

War4ever · November 23, 2001, 02:24

i couldn't agree more........ i wasn't putting down the idea...just making a mental note of it...

heck i won't play the game if i get a nomad from a hut.... gives me a headstart the ai can't recover from ...

i don't chop trees and replant....

i don't sell cities over and over.... i might do it once to create a vassal state....

my favorite though is the kill the civ, let him show up somewhere else in the map sue for peace and take all his tech (usually around 3-4 i dont have ) all his workers (2) and his gold (100)

i rex (ics) my first nine cites on a donut and i am set to take on the world....

my favorite trick is the free conscript out of a hut two squares away from the capital.. send him back right away and if you have a kickin food tile rush the temple when the city goes to size two....usually just as your conscript makes it back...you lose 7 turns of growth (easily made up with the fat food tile) and you triple you culture 8 turns into the game expanding your borders quicker and expose different terrain to be worked.....

religious wars....... just like in real life

sachmo71 · November 23, 2001, 02:41

I read about that in some other thread, but I'll bet it's gone whenever the PATCH comes out.

War4ever · November 23, 2001, 03:01

i hope many things are fixed with a patch

Capt Dizle · November 23, 2001, 03:08

I think its quite funny that they worked so very hard to eliminate the tricks and exploits we had at our disposal in the previous versions....only to release a game with many new ones!

Roytheboy · November 23, 2001, 04:59

Interesting. I found that stacking a frigate with me privateers stopped the AI from attacing tham at all