Great General XP

[Dennis[DK]]

I think that the benefit of having a Great General is too small. I really not find them useful enough to I will work to get one, to defend and use them. Theirs +15% attack bonus are often outweighed by a single unit upgrade. I think that the Great Generals should earn XP just like regular units, and so have its own upgrades. Upgrades could be extra attack bonus, extra heal, the ability til defend itself, an extra hex of coverage etc.
Great Generals earn XP each time a unit within its coverage area, earn XP's.

What do you think?

[Twelvefield]

I think this is a good idea, although I have no concept as to how this could be made into a mod. I figure the General would have to earn a lot of XP to get an upgrade, though. Maybe you could also sacrifice a General and get to change a policy, simulating a military junta or coup.

I agree that the Generals and Admirals are underwhelming. They seem to be the ugly stepchildren of the Great Artist and the Culture Bomb from Civ IV. The devs (and the players) like that mechanic, but the devs seemed unsure of just where that would go. I guess a General makes more sense for creating a new, aggressive border than an artist.

Citadels are powerful map counters, though, if used well on the correct maps. But I rarely use them, maybe once or twice a game. I usually have Great Generals to spare.

[Tikka Qrow]

i like citidels, i'll have settlers go with my general and whatever units and settle as close to the biggest city i can, then use the generals citidel ability to extend my border even closer to enemy city, they'll try and rush their units to take your new city, but the citidel does damage to them so they retreat, as for cities being to close together, i'll jus raze the conqured city+^_^+

tl;dr, General's citidel is a great launching point for an invasion +^_^+

[Octavia]

I personally disagree; while the Great General's boost is the equivalent of a combat upgrade, the two differ. The Great General bonus is universal and stacks with upgrades, while the former tends to be limited to a unit, terrain or health modifier, preventing it from activating at all times. There's also the fact that upgrades are per unit, unlike a Great General's "aura", which will be able to boost all units within the field; multiple Great Generals can be used for larger armies, or to prevent a cheeky opponent from removing that bonus.

I think they're fine the way they are; Great Admirals can be used, if you have them in excess, to repair ships on faraway skirmishes, which would be particularly useful on larger maps with bodies of water dividing Civilizations. If you have too many Great Generals, then you can use them to easily take enemy strongholds with Citadels, or to stall an enemy invasion. There are uses, and having a sort of leveling system would more or less make the Khan 'broken', due to normal Great Generals gaining that bonus, or due to an unfair 'ramp-up', making Khans either better or worse than Great Generals, particularly if the experience needed to level is too low.

Being very stingy when you have many Great Generals or Admirals is something that I'm guilty of, and I'm attempting to do it less; I think they're fine, considering how you can effectively use them in a consumable way if you wish, or keep them with them still being viable. A fifteen percent upgrade to each unit's combat strength on the offense and defense, taking into account modifiers that already exist such as terrain, can turn the tide of battle; if you have too many of them, make sudden repairs or Citadels to tip the odds in your favor, even if you're winning. The more you win by, the less time you waste, the faster you get on with conquering.

[Twelvefield]

Sun Tsu says that the war is won before the battle begins. If the enemy has strongholds, then I've done something wrong. I'm not saying that the enemy doesn't get powerful, but that's Plan B for me. I prefer underhanded completely unfair battles over fair fights. Win enough of those, and the enemy doesn't have strongolds to storm, just a series of welcome mats.

Mind you, I'm a pretty casual player, I don't find the min/max you need to win at the highest levels very entertaining.

[Dennis[DK]]

I think, if the great generals could own promotions, the player will also be more liable to take care of a great general, as it is more valuable than a new great general; like units with a lot of promotions.
And as Twelvefield say, a Great General should own much more XP to own a promotion, than regular units
As say, promotions could be:
More attack bonus: 20 % > 25 % > 30 %
Extra heal: +5 HP > +10 HP > +20 HP
Self defense: 10 Defense Point > 20 DP > 30 DP
Extra hex coverage: +1 > +2
Extra movement for units within coverage: +1 > +2
Extra experience for units combat within coverage: +50 % > +100 % > +200 %

[mss73055]

The general's effect on siege weapons is near nothing.

In modern age battles generals are about useless, unless you pick Blitzkrieg. And while you're in Autocracy you can pick a couple of tennets what are a lot better than a general.

[Dennis[DK]]

Originally posted by mss73055:

The general's effect on siege weapons is near nothing.

In modern age battles generals are about useless, unless you pick Blitzkrieg. And while you're in Autocracy you can pick a couple of tennets what are a lot better than a general.

Oh, yes, specialized promotions for generals, for example siege related promotions, so generals could give extra bonuses for siege weapons (more damage, ignore obstacles etc.). That will also be great!