Rake Usefulness

[realms18]

I have been reading a lot of complaints about rakes being useless, and I think that a lot of people are forgetting one of the fundamental principles of warfare --intelligence and reconnaissance. I use rakes a lot, not to sabotage or assassinate, not to infiltrate. Hell, sometimes i really wish I could recruit as many as I want like the spies of RTW and M2 (autogeneration sucks, CA) Why? Because I use them to observe far away enemy movements. For example, In my Prussian campaign, Russia eventually declared war on me while I was fighting the Dutch, Denmark, and Sweden in the West. Well, I didn't have a big enough economy to have tons of full stacks roaming the East, plus I needed to focus my attention on the West. So I sent out lines of rakes into russia. Each rakes viewable area was just slightly overlapped with the one further into enemy territory, and I had several such lines. This way, when the AI put together a full stack and starting moving west, I knew what was up, and had time to move a full stack from the west all the way to the east.

[Tsar Brodsky]

I'm with you on this, I rarely use my Rakes for assassinating or sabotage but they are awesome scouting units. I have to admit though, I would normally just toggle_fow but since I can't I find Rakes fulfill the same function once you have enough of them. I mostly use them to sit by enemy cities so I can find the right time to strike...like when the AI isn't hording three stacks next to a city.

[nicotine]

One thing that bugs me about doing that with the rakes is that in previous game when your spy was near armies and spotted them you would at least get some partial information on unit types and some numbers, but in this game you don't get anything.

[Nevins]

One thing that bugs me about doing that with the rakes is that in previous game when your spy was near armies and spotted them you would at least get some partial information on unit types and some numbers, but in this game you don't get anything.

True that. You really should be able to see what some of the units are or how many men that they have by being in their ZoC. Plus, the infiltration rates are too low IMO

[nicotine]

True that. You really should be able to see what some of the units are or how many men that they have by being in their ZoC. Plus, the infiltration rates are too low IMO

Way too low, how can I only have a 23% chance of infiltrating some farm on the fringes of enemy territory.

[upsettingshorts]

It took me almost two decades, but I did manage to cause a revolution in Mexico using only rakes and missionaries, so they do have some use! You just have to be patient and hit the right buildings.

Oh, and I cheated and saved before many attempts, but I consider this fair as long as the rakes never improve. If they did, there would be more of a risk/reward aspect to consider.

...next up, Colombia!

[Keline]

I assassinated Prince Eugene of Savoy. It took 5 turns with 5 rakes, but eventually he was gone and the Austrian fullstack army next to Vienna was a lot easier to defeat without such a strong general.

[Hellman109]

I use them to kill enemy generals.

I dont care about chance, but they only get killed about as often as they kill, so its not all bad. (EG, 25% chance to succeed, 25% chance to die, 50% chance nothing happens).

And for scouting for stacks.

[Skeleton Of The West]

I have been reading a lot of complaints about rakes being useless, and I think that a lot of people are forgetting one of the fundamental principles of warfare --intelligence and reconnaissance. I use rakes a lot, not to sabotage or assassinate, not to infiltrate. Hell, sometimes i really wish I could recruit as many as I want like the spies of RTW and M2 (autogeneration sucks, CA) Why? Because I use them to observe far away enemy movements. For example, In my Prussian campaign, Russia eventually declared war on me while I was fighting the Dutch, Denmark, and Sweden in the West. Well, I didn't have a big enough economy to have tons of full stacks roaming the East, plus I needed to focus my attention on the West. So I sent out lines of rakes into russia. Each rakes viewable area was just slightly overlapped with the one further into enemy territory, and I had several such lines. This way, when the AI put together a full stack and starting moving west, I knew what was up, and had time to move a full stack from the west all the way to the east.

I agree. Rakes are excellent source of intelligent and that is very important. I also use rakes to sabotage enemy income towns(weavers cottage etc...) and assasinate enemy generals. It does not always work but it worth it if you can assasinate a good general before you face his army.

One thing that bugs me about doing that with the rakes is that in previous game when your spy was near armies and spotted them you would at least get some partial information on unit types and some numbers, but in this game you don't get anything.

Yeah it bugs me too, but thats what we have.

[Mahatma Gandhi]

This last campaign I've had a lotta success w/them much like you guys as scouts, observers of armies and the like. But, this last oh.. 6-9 yrs I've had 2 rakes that are just butchers of my NME scholars, generals. 1 has had a 9-0 streak to kills w/3 or 4 failures to succeed, but able to get away, and the other is on a 3-0 streak to killing scholars, even the hardest ones w/7-8 stars, and 25% chances. You get them on a streak and they just become "The Jackel" and just cant seem to fail ( now watch, I'll log in and both will die in 2 turns *knocks on wood*).

[Grimmy]

I have always used my spies/rakes in the same way as stated by the OP. Mobile watchtowers in enemy territory. Love em.

Also, sometimes, once you've kicked some furrin devils out of the lands you want to make your own, the nasty boogers leave heathen preachers behind. The only way to get rid of em is to put a knife in em with a rake.

[GeorgiaPeanuts]

You can double click the enemy stack when it is visible and it shows you the unit card of one of the units.

[Gallimatias]

The thing is what your describing can be done by a missionary or a gentleman all the same. Well the opponent can (always) see the scout then but against the AI I doubt that matters.

I think rakes should have superior movement speed to gentlemen and missionaries to give them more of an edge in scouting. Im sick of having to walk them many, many years before they get to the front Im interrested in which is often the case given that agents usually spawn in the central, developed, parts of your Empire. Coincedently where you have your schools, meaning the gentlemen can reach their destinations before they die of old age.

Really thats the problem for me. When a rake spawns I see a use for him and tell him to go there. When he gets there five or so years later I have already forgotten about him, and probably moved my front some place else.

[Flavius Silvanus]

They are very useful fighting the American Indians. Send one ahead of your army to scout ahead to keep from getting ambushed. If you have foot artillery in your army they are more than fast enough.

[thijser]

i think the infeltrate rates are way to low
i already had 1 time there was a 30% change of killing the enemy when assasination but only a 27% to infeltrate while the only unit was the general!!!