[SPOILERS] yuris125 on a Pitboss77 boat

[yuris125]

Thanks - yeah, based on the estimates to full heal once I got the medic 3 to Silver Lake, it does seem to apply

The reason I asked is that I didn't want to unload the samurai who stayed on galleons last turn. No reason to show to Scooter how many amphibious samurai I have, and which other promos they have (it's just Combat 2, and he probably can figure it out, but why make his life easier)

This is the situation at One Eye Cat




Scooter has another galleon with (presumably) reinforcements sailing there, and he adopted Nationhood this turn. I'm actually not convinced SD has enough. The city has a castle, so maces will still struggle, and he doesn't have enough ships to fully bombard defences

I checked if Scooter can threaten retaking Silver Lake this turn, and I don't think he can. I have 5 defenders, 2 longbows and 3 samurai, the city is on a hill, and I haven't seen any amphibious units from him yet, and he only has 2 galleons in normal range (and the one next to One Eye Cat probably brought in reinforcements and is empty). He would have to have some fast ships ready. It's not impossible (I did note that great general he got earlier), but a lot of things would have to go right for him to retake it

I also consider the possibiltiy of taking Drift Avalii, I do think he's getting value from this city thanks to trade routes, and looks like it has oil (the extra hammers on the tile NEE of the city). But razing it this turn would almost certainly mean losing a galleon and leaving a samurai stranded. Better to do it next turn, when I can do it with frigate/privateer escort

Building wealth in many cities to ensure getting MilScience in 4 turns (unless SD asks to repay more of his money)

[yuris125]

I think Scooter gave up on One Eye Cat




The city no longer has any grens on defence, looks like all three were moved to Drift Avalii. SD's stack shouldn't have problems against 3 muskets and a longbow

With regards to "what next", I'm still not sure. Honestly, at this stage, it would probably be wise to wait for MilScience and unit upgrades. Realistically, I have two vectors of attack. One I discussed before, completing the fort in Nagoya and hitting Kartool and the Ubaryd island




I need to take a look at Ubaryd before deciding if this is viable

The other is northeast, via Barcelona




I don't have fully up to date info here, last turn I miscounted the moves I had on the scouting caravel; I took care to always end its turn in Cairo's territory, assuming Scooter wouldn't declare war on Cairo as well just to kill it, but last turn I didn't realise it already moved, and didn't have the move to return to Cairo's waters as a result. But from what I've seen, these cities have real defenders, but nothing unbreakable

The big problem, of course, is airships. A surprise move would be impossible

On the other hand, time is definitely on Scooter's side. He finished Steel this turn, meaning once he gets drydocks up, I no longer have the advantage with ship promos, and he can produce them faster. So even if I intend to wait for MilSci, I have to keep the pressure on, I cannot just wait 3 turns for research to finish, plus however long I need for upgrades (don't know how much it costs to upgrade a samurai to a gren)

With this in mind, I moved the ships from Silver Lake towards Nagoya. This does leave me open to Scooter pillaging the crabs SW of Silver Lake and blockading the city. But I cannot fight the stack shown in the first screenshot head on, and didn't think it was worth keeping most of my fleet at this island to protect the seafood

I'm also thinking about the upcoming golden age. Mostly trying to figure out if I'm going to get another one, and the answer is almost certainly no. The great person coming out of Kagoshima is the 700gpp one, and I don't see a reasonable way to get three more, let alone three different ones. Scooter of course claimed all the "first to" ones. This means I will have to delay firing the golden age until I'm certain I can finish Constitution by its end

[yuris125]

SD did indeed take One Eye Cat




Scooter left the 3 grens in Drift Avalii, so no razing it. Obviously it's a crappy city, not worth the effort at this stage, and I'm happy for 3 grens to be stuck there. Although one has to be concerned if Scooter considers 3 grens, including one with a great general, to be not essential elsewhere

Scooter did complete Kremlin this turn (to be expected, one of the reasons to beeline Communism of course). What was less expected was him declaring war on Cairo. Him feeling strong enough to not be concerned about adding another front is very worrying

That said, he did research Replaceable Parts this turn, and could well have enough cash to research Steam Power. If he gets to Combustion, that's the game

So while I would like to wait for MilScience and upgrades before the next attack, don't think I can. Every turn Scooter gets is another turn for him to get further ahead

So I set up to be able to hit Kartool next turn




The city currently has one gren, one longbow, and three trash defenders (2 archers and a warrior). I have 12 samurai in position to hit it next turn (one more galleon is inside Nagoya). We'll see if Scooter leaves an opening

Ubaryd, by the way, isn't well defended at all (three defenders, musket is the best one). But I'm one move short of being able to reach it next turn, and Scooter has to be able to reinforce

I also found myself short on galleons - I have 9, but only 5 have Nav 1. So building more