Is there a way to give my units amphibious? 2nd Syndicate Campaign Tips

[giovdb]

I'm playing the second Syndicate Campaign. Although I love the concept of this island-based scenario, it's extremely annoying to move around the island map, especially with three factions requesting quests (I stopped doing quests for two of them). Is there a way to give my units amphibious? Is there a unit mod for that? I don't think there is, but I'd thought I'd ask.

How do you guys handle water-based maps? Do you focus mostly on air units? Do you focus on islands with the teleport platforms (something I didn't focus on and I'm now regretting)? Are ships worth it or should I just make a couple of aerial squads?

 

[Ericridge]

Check out the social tech tree and look at the very beginning, u should see a blueish icon there. Its the amphibious tech. Researching this allows your land bound units to get into cargo shops by hitting the nearest beach and entering the water.

As for what I did, I took out Kir'ko first then sailed around and killed everyone counter clockwise.

 

[BloodyBattleBrain]

As you are Syndicate, you have flying Wraiths, floating obese men in power chairs, floating tier 3 tanks and a floating tier 4 healer/hitter.

And you have a decent navy too.

In other words, many options.

 

[Ethorin]

And you have a decent navy too.

This is an understatement, Syndi ships are among the best ships in the game even with only the T2 ship.

EDIT: Also, every unit past Mirage is floating so it shouldn't be too hard to get decently mobile comps.

 

[giovdb]

Check out the social tech tree and look at the very beginning, u should see a blueish icon there. Its the amphibious tech. Researching this allows your land bound units to get into cargo shops by hitting the nearest beach and entering the water.

As for what I did, I took out Kir'ko first then sailed around and killed everyone counter clockwise.

That's not what I meant. I know how to get my units in the water, but the turn is wasted. It takes so long for land units to get in and out of water. Once you research the tech with the relays it's not so bad, but the beginning is just awful.

 

[giovdb]

As you are Syndicate, you have flying Wraiths, floating obese men in power chairs, floating tier 3 tanks and a floating tier 4 healer/hitter.

And you have a decent navy too.

In other words, many options.

Good point. It's those free land units that I'm getting with the collars that are slowing me down. My production is terrible in this game (not a single cog in capital island), so I haven't gotten around to building the high tier units yet. I'm still using a lot of random garbage.

 

[Sandman25DCSSS]

Please don't call them garbage. I am killing hero stacks of 150% my power using nothing but 6 indentured, stunning 2 units with every attack is fun.
Edit. I didn't produce any of them.

 

[Ericridge]

That's not what I meant. I know how to get my units in the water, but the turn is wasted. It takes so long for land units to get in and out of water. Once you research the tech with the relays it's not so bad, but the beginning is just awful.

That's pretty normal considering that people need to board ships and then disembark from them. One turn cost is pretty cheap for piece of space that is basically impassable otherwise. I'm old enough to remember the older strategy turn base games had people build actual transport ships and then put tanks, soldiers into them and then have the transport ships carry your army to next piece of land you want them on. If they got sunk via route, well, sucks to be you. Should've built a strong navy first beforehand but that's the risks of gambling.

That cargo ship with six tanks that cost 70 cosmite each for a grand total of 420 cosmite just got torpedoed and sunk in one hit.

You'll need alot of destroyers patrolling and scouting and escorting your cargo ships to make it super hard to happen. Plus antiair cover for your cargo ships as well. Even then it isn't not guaranteed.


The current cargo ship system is carebear system implemented by Civ5. On top of that, there's no actual oceans or continents. The current Continent map is more of an huge island chain with big and small islands and water between them while pangaea is more of a one huge island with some tiny islands just off the coast. Map types is improperly labeled for aow planetfall.

I have to admit, it did lure a bunch of people that normally play on tiny maps to play on maps bigger than they'd like to. Although it results in nonsense complaints all the time I'd like it if we could go to the old system. People will shut up real quick about simple two turn cost + losing just one unit compared to old system of requiring a proper navy + harborage + transport fleet.

 

[giovdb]

Please don't call them garbage. I am killing hero stacks of 150% my power using nothing but 6 indentured, stunning 2 units with every attack is fun.
Edit. I didn't produce any of them.

Ohhhh arc mods in them. That's cool. I'll do that when I get enough cosmite. You don't have a hero with that stack?

 

[giovdb]

That's pretty normal considering that people need to board ships and then disembark from them. One turn cost is pretty cheap for piece of space that is basically impassable otherwise. I'm old enough to remember the older strategy turn base games had people build actual transport ships and then put tanks, soldiers into them and then have the transport ships carry your army to next piece of land you want them on. If they got sunk via route, well, sucks to be you. Should've built a strong navy first beforehand but that's the risks of gambling.

That cargo ship with six tanks that cost 70 cosmite each for a grand total of 420 cosmite just got torpedoed and sunk in one hit.

You'll need alot of destroyers patrolling and scouting and escorting your cargo ships to make it super hard to happen. Plus antiair cover for your cargo ships as well. Even then it isn't not guaranteed.


The current cargo ship system is carebear system implemented by Civ5. On top of that, there's no actual oceans or continents. The current Continent map is more of an huge island chain with big and small islands and water between them while pangaea is more of a one huge island with some tiny islands just off the coast. Map types is improperly labeled for aow planetfall.

I have to admit, it did lure a bunch of people that normally play on tiny maps to play on maps bigger than they'd like to. Although it results in nonsense complaints all the time I'd like it if we could go to the old system. People will shut up real quick about simple two turn cost + losing just one unit compared to old system of requiring a proper navy + harborage + transport fleet.

I never played any other AOW games, but I have played all the Civ games since Civ 2. I don't mind having to have a navy to do things. It's more realistic. It does seem like ships in this game are mostly useless, as they are the only units that can only access one terrain type. With that said, Losing all your troops because of a lucky shot on a transport is terrible too, so it is nice that the troops actually fight over the water.

And to be clear, I'm not really complaining about the wasted turn to embark and disembark... I'm just wondering if there was a unit mod to make them amphibious, because there really should be. In an island map, regular ground units are just bad.

Also, 10 turns to complete faction demands in an enormous island map is also not enough, especially when fighting scripted wars and trying to clear structures for my colonies at the same time. But, these challenges do make the game more interesting though. So again, it's not really a complaint... more like a suggestion... add unit mods (that only costs energy) to reduce embark and disembark cost.

 

[Ericridge]

I never played any other AOW games, but I have played all the Civ games since Civ 2. I don't mind having to have a navy to do things. It's more realistic. It does seem like ships in this game are mostly useless, as they are the only units that can only access one terrain type. With that said, Losing all your troops because of a lucky shot on a transport is terrible too, so it is nice that the troops actually fight over the water.

And to be clear, I'm not really complaining about the wasted turn to embark and disembark... I'm just wondering if there was a unit mod to make them amphibious, because there really should be. In an island map, regular ground units are just bad.

Also, 10 turns to complete faction demands in an enormous island map is also not enough, especially when fighting scripted wars and trying to clear structures for my colonies at the same time. But, these challenges do make the game more interesting though. So again, it's not really a complaint... more like a suggestion... add unit mods (that only costs energy) to reduce embark and disembark cost.

And I have answered your question in my first post. https://minionsart.github.io/aowp/techtree.html#/

Click on society tech tree and look to the left side, you'll see Aquatic Deployment.

If you feel like you can't make it to an aquatic sector in time for the demand, it might be better to accept the demand to hand over a sector and then immediately buy it back with influence if you need that sector badly. It can be done. I've done that. Its cheaper to pay 60 influence to buy the sector back and rebuild the stuff in it repeatedly than it is to get into a war with a npc.

And other way to respond faster is to build the hovering/flying syndicate units and station them on your important spots so they can move fast to intercept a npc demand on water. even when this involves building several stacks but its only way to get more faster.

 

[giovdb]

And I have answered your question in my first post. https://minionsart.github.io/aowp/techtree.html#/

Click on society tech tree and look to the left side, you'll see Aquatic Deployment.

If you feel like you can't make it to an aquatic sector in time for the demand, it might be better to accept the demand to hand over a sector and then immediately buy it back with influence if you need that sector badly. It can be done. I've done that. Its cheaper to pay 60 influence to buy the sector back and rebuild the stuff in it repeatedly than it is to get into a war with a npc.

And other way to respond faster is to build the hovering/flying syndicate units and station them on your important spots so they can move fast to intercept a npc demand on water. even when this involves building several stacks but its only way to get more faster.

We are not talking about the same thing at all. I have 184 hours into the game... Aquatic Deployment (the first freaking water tech) is not the answer to my question LOL.

I have no idea what you're talking about with the sector demands. That's not something I brought up above. I've never had to be at war with an NPC, and I never had to give them a sector, so again, I have no idea what you're talking about.

Building extra units as a response to an enormous map will work later in the game, but by then, traveling around it's not an issue due to relays and multiple transport stations. It's not a feasible strategy, IMO, at the beginning and middle, especially since troop losses would be high if you spread your troops around due to lack of hero in every army and lack of mods due to limited resources. I usually focus on buildings first, then units later. But with the low production value of land in this island map, it's taking forever to get anything done.

But regardless, I'm almost winning that campaign. Between myself and my ally, we hold over 50% of the sectors on the map, now that I can finally start pumping out units. LOL.

 

[Ericridge]

We are not talking about the same thing at all. I have 184 hours into the game... Aquatic Deployment (the first freaking water tech) is not the answer to my question LOL.

I have no idea what you're talking about with the sector demands. That's not something I brought up above. I've never had to be at war with an NPC, and I never had to give them a sector, so again, I have no idea what you're talking about.

Building extra units as a response to an enormous map will work later in the game, but by then, traveling around it's not an issue due to relays and multiple transport stations. It's not a feasible strategy, IMO, at the beginning and middle, especially since troop losses would be high if you spread your troops around due to lack of hero in every army and lack of mods due to limited resources. I usually focus on buildings first, then units later. But with the low production value of land in this island map, it's taking forever to get anything done.

But regardless, I'm almost winning that campaign. Between myself and my ally, we hold over 50% of the sectors on the map, now that I can finally start pumping out units. LOL.

No such mod exists aside from aquatic deployment. There is however one notable exception, playing as shakarn race. Shakarn can walk on both water/land. They're amphibious from start. You'll need the Invasions expansion to get them.

Also, 10 turns to complete faction demands in an enormous island map is also not enough, especially when fighting scripted wars and trying to clear structures for my colonies at the same time. But, these challenges do make the game more interesting though. So again, it's not really a complaint... more like a suggestion... add unit mods (that only costs energy) to reduce embark and disembark cost.

You said it there in this small paragraph. That's why i'm saying this in response.. If a NPC Faction demands a sector from you, its easier to just give it up and then immediately buy the sector back with influence if you can afford to.


Finally, I would prefer the ocean sectors to be not trivialized so easily, two turns cost in total to embark/disembark is enough. If it was trivialized even further then it would just be another land sector. Shakarn however can just trivialize ocean sectors or if you feel like it, buying a ton of autonom units.

 

[Sandman25DCSSS]

Ohhhh arc mods in them. That's cool. I'll do that when I get enough cosmite. You don't have a hero with that stack?

No, I split the invading army after defeating opponent to capture more colonies and one of the colonies was close to another AI who tried to get it. It is not campaign though.