Civilization 5 Units Guide

Military Unit Types, Promotions, and Strategies for Brave New World

This Guide covers all Military Unit Types in Civilization 5 Brave New World. UUs are covered elsewhere: Click to learn about Unique Units in Civ 5. All UUs are special variants of these Units, so it is not necessary to cover them in two places.

Ranged Unit Stats and Strategies - Archers to Machine Guns and Bazookas

Ranged Units are necessary for defending your Cities and entering Warfare in Civ 5. They do not get damaged when firing, so this makes them excellent at picking off enemies from a distance and attacking Cities alongside Siege Units. Four to five Ranged, along with Siege Units like the Trebuchet and a couple Melee to capture the City are all you need to effectively break through defenses and capture a City from an opposing Civilization.

The only drawback to Ranged Units is that early on, they are weak to Melee attacks. In the tables below, you can see the ranged strength/defensive strength of each Unit. Though their Combat Strength on the Defense evens out with higher Technology, the Melee units of the Modern Era tend to have a higher CS. They also lose range, because changing from arrows to bullets requires a straight shot. To use them effectively at that time, they'll need good positioning to Fortify and support from other Units, like your own Melee, Armor Units and Aircraft. In fact, one of their better uses by that time is to weaken targets other Units, who can then move in for the kill. A wounded Unit does less damage and a dead one is unable to counter-attack on the next turn.

Along with Melee, use Ranged Units to protect your borders against Barbarians and Civs which may Declare War on you. Positioning is key with ranged early to Mid-game due to Line of Sight issues. Fortify them on Hills so that they are well-defended against surprise attacks by mobile units, like Cavalry. The Hills will also allow them to fire over forests and other terrain that blocks their sight.

Ranged Promotions
While they still lack fear of retaliation when engaging a target, Units past the Crossbowman have a range of 1 as opposed to 2. This means if you want them to have good Range when Upgraded to later Units, you'll need to get them Promoted through combat. Two upgrades for Ranged are very important, and both require Accuracy (Open Terrain Bonus) or Barrage (Rough Terrain Bonus) III. The Range +1 Promotion very important, as it can allow you to attack a City without retaliation. However, it should likely be prioritized after Logistics, which grants an extra attack - so you can use your 2 moves to attack twice. The extra attack will allow you to gain XP faster each turn, leading to a Unit that is able to fire twice up to 3 hexes away for Crossbowmen or lower, and 2 hexes for Gatling Gun, Machine Gun, and Bazooka. March (requires Accuracy/Barrage II) is also very helpful, providing healing whether the unit has performed an action that turn or not. as well as Cover (Accuracy/Barrage I) for protecting these defensively-weak Units against the attacks of Cities and other Ranged.

After Artillery, I do not find myself training as many Ranged to assist my moving army. In the Ancient to Renaissance Era, I might have twice as many Ranged than Melee, but by the time the Industrial Era hits, I'd have about 1:1 Melee to Ranged, with a number of Artillery/Rocket Artillery to aid with taking Cities. With a range of 3 and the ability to deal extra damage to Fortified Units and Cities, the Gatling Gun and onward change from an active role in taking Cities to being more focused on weakening enemy Units and protecting the homeland. So, the ratio changes at that point. I'd then rather train a higher proportion of Infantry, capable of actually capturing Cities and possessing higher Combat Strength. Given Ranged Units' importance in the early game, some of those will survive with Promotions intact to be a useful part of my moving Army. The only drawback to Artillery is that until Rocket Artillery, you have to Set Up, which consumes a move. Thankfully, you can usually do that outside the range of the City's defenses as long as there are hills or flat terrain surrounding it.

Using Machine Guns/Bazookas to protect your Cities is a very good idea because of their higher Combat Strength than Artillery. It will contribute more to the City's own Combat Strength score, while dishing more damage to any attackers, especially when upgraded with Logistics. Use them to damage the Melee units you must clear out in order to prevent a City being captured, while other Units or your own Artillery go after any enemy Siege Weapons. You should always have at least a couple extra units nearby to help with Defense, more so on higher difficulties. Fortifying border Cities with these units and moving them along in front of Artillery with your Infantry/Armor preferred use by the late game.

Unlike other Unit types, Ranged units never require a resource to be trained (aside from certain Unique Units that utilize Horses). Aside from their Ranged attacks, there's nothing special about them either - you determine their specialty through Promotions.

Archer

Archer Stats, Upgrades, and Requirements
Combat Strength: 7/5	Range: 2	Movement: 2
Upgrade from: None	Upgrade to: Composite Bowman	Upgrade Cost: 80
Cost: 40 or 200	Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Ancient, Archery

Chariot Archer

Chariot Archer Stats, Upgrades, and Requirements
Combat Strength:10/6	Range: 2	Movement: 4
Upgrade from: None	Upgrade to: Knight	Upgrade Cost: 135
Cost: 56 or 260	Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Ancient, The Wheel, Horse

Loses all movement upon entering Rough terrain because of their wheels. This is a good unit for running down Barbarian Encampments for City-State Quests and chasing wounded Units during an Early War. Chariot Archers upgrade to a Melee Unit, so consider this when selecting Promotions. Accuracy and Barrage will not help a Knight, nor will +1 Range. Logistics, however, will provide an extra attack. Look to get Promotions like Cover, March, and Medic to give your future Knight Promotions that are actually useful.

Composite Bowman

Composite Bowman Stats, Upgrades, and Requirements
Combat Strength: 11/7	Range: 2	Movement: 2
Upgrade from: Archer	Upgrade to: Crossbowman	Upgrade Cost: 100
Cost: 75 or 320	Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Classical, Construction

Crossbowman

Crossbowman Stats, Upgrades, and Requirements
Combat Strength: 18/13	Range: 2	Movement: 2
Upgrade from: Composite Bowman	Upgrade to: Gatling Gun	Upgrade Cost: 220
Cost: 120 or 460	Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs:Medieval, Machinery

Gatling Gun

Gatling Gun Stats, Upgrades, and Requirements
Combat Strength: 30/30	Range: 1	Movement: 2
Upgrade from: Crossbowman	Upgrade to: Machine Gun	Upgrade Cost: 260
Cost: 225 or 740	Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs:Industrial, Industrialization

Machine Gun

Machine Gun Stats, Upgrades, and Requirements
Combat Strength: 60/60	Range: 1	Movement: 2
Upgrade from: Gatling Gun	Upgrade to: Bazooka	Upgrade Cost: 60
Cost: 350 or 1030	Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Modern, Ballistics

Bazooka

Bazooka Stats, Upgrades, and Requirements
Combat Strength: 85/85	Range: 1	Movement: 2
Upgrade from: Machine Gun	Upgrade to: None	Upgrade Cost: N/A
Cost: 375 or 1090	Era, Tech, and Resource Reqs: Atomic, Nuclear Fission

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Bill W says...

It seems like the advanced ranged units are hard to kill with bombers, like they have some sort of innate defense. Just an observation

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10th October 2014 10:37am

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