Battle School

[ShuShu62]

War academies are usually one of the first set of expert threads created on Civilization forums. CivWorld is an exception. The reason is the hidden battle logic combines with human ingenuity to obscure just what works when. That is not to say that nobody understands combat. It means nobody feels completely comfortable justifying what they do.

I have had a number of vanquished foes ask me why the things I did worked. I have been directing them to this link: http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread...ttle+Mechanics and to my stories if they really liked sifting through words. But neither of these accomplishes what a good thorough strategy wiki would.

So that is what I hope to do with this set of threads. Structure a complete guide that can eventually be uploaded to a wiki on a thread header page = wiki page basis. Conversation and consensus are encouraged for each thread in the Battle School series. I will incorporate additional consensus information from the threads into the headers.

Curriculum
Battle Basics --- http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread...-Battle-Basics
Advanced Battle Topics --- http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread...-Battle-Topics
Battle Tactics --- http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread...Battle-Tactics
Battle Life Cycle --- http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread...tle-Life-Cycle
Battle Strategies ---

[HandEyeProtege]

Thanks for these threads! I've quickly been getting the hang of this game, but battles are one area where there was still lots of mystery. This helps a lot.

[ShuShu62]

Thanks, I was beginning to wonder whether I was writing a series of useless threads for a dying game...

Its nice to know somebody is making use of them beyond Robin using them to point out how much I am wrong about.

[robin74]

Lol
I don't think you're completely wrong ;p
I think these guides are really useful, for the most part. If I criticize, it's only to make them even better. You know that

[ShuShu62]

...If I criticize, it's only to make them even better. You know that

I do, and it does. Thankyou

[Kinga]

these post make a lot more sense now that I've played a few games and watched a few battles. . Thanks for your efforts Shushu

[ShuShu62]

Thanks.

Gandalf told me something along the same lines in the baby rides again gain. Reading between the lines... I felt he was pleasantly surprised to play with the author of these posts and find out that I wasn't the crack pot he had assumed I was after just reading my posts.

[Kinga]

I keep finding myself the sole person logged on for my Civ when battles start and being the King I have the power to fight or retreat. The opposing Civ usually has such a massive advantage that even when I have fully Heroic, I still don't have a power advantage. I take this as a sign that I can't win the battle since I will almost never "get the shot" so to save the troops I just retreat them all.

No one in my Civ has complained about this yet (I guess if they really cared they might actually show up to the battle) but I worry that I am doing the wrong thing. Maybe I should waste all our troops if it gets us even a few hits on them. Or that maybe there might be some way to still win the battle even against overwhelming odds. But though I have read your Battle School posts I can see the dancing working if the other guy is dancing as well, but if he already has numeric superiority without even going to full Heroic, then it seems to me that he can just sit there on Normal or Heroic and I will never get the shot to hurt him.

Am I right or am I missing something?

[ShuShu62]

You are absolutely correct.

The conflicted feelings you describe are exactly why I spend so much time emphasizing when and how to retreat. One of the reasons I am able to become a military powerhouse as a single nation is because most of my opponents never retreat, and thus fall behind my military totals as they sacrifice their troops on a nightly basis.

There is no way to win against overwhelming odds. If you are all heroic and the other side is not and still has power superiority. Time to go.

There is a grey area where the opponent has power superiority but not overwhelming power. I will tend to probe those opponents until I fail to trade shots. So, If my opponent is willing to dance, even though he shouldn't, I will dance with him if I am gaining an advantage. If the opposing general is 100% heroic and not springing traps, I will try to momentum pop his heroic troops .... (ummm, only 1 to 2 odds or better please). These things are very advanced though and require you taking risks with fully heroic troops, so expect to get popped, especially when first trying it.

ultimately, If your opponent has superior heroic power AND
--- uses fodder effectively
--- or has superior power without going all heroic

Time to go.