Ports - ever use them much?

[Sitalkes]

Well I know ports make money for you but have you ever used them much? Usually they are too far away from a town to be useful - I just put a ship next to the town, then move the troops into the ship from there. Ports usually have roads connecting them to their nearest town and I wonder if there is some sort of reduced movement between ports and their towns - is there? What about embarking and disembarking, is there some sort of benefit to doing it in a port as opposed to the open shore? About the only uses I can see for ports are to make money, repair ships, and protect against storms and enemy attack. The last three happen relatively infrequently so I was wondering am I missing something by moving to the closest location to a settlement instead of its port ? Do ships cost less upkeep when in port?

[Delvecchio1975]

The only additional benefit of ports apart from the ones you listed is that they protect you from attack by enemy navies. They'll embargo you, but they won't attack your ships when in port ...

[EP!anastasi]

Well I know ports make money for you but have you ever used them much?

Nope

I wonder if there is some sort of reduced movement between ports and their towns - is there?

Whatever applies to all roads (increased movement points) applies to those connecting the settlements with their ports i suppose.

What about embarking and disembarking, is there some sort of benefit to doing it in a port as opposed to the open shore?

I don't think so.

About the only uses I can see for ports are to make money, repair ships, and protect against storms and enemy attack. The last three happen relatively infrequently so I was wondering am I missing something by moving to the closest location to a settlement instead of its port ?

I don't believe so, except for the fact that enemy ships can attack you outside your ports.

Do ships cost less upkeep when in port?

I don't think that's even possible...

The only additional benefit of ports apart from the ones you listed is that they protect you from attack by enemy navies. They'll embargo you, but they won't attack your ships when in port ...

But he did say that...

<snip> and protect against [storms and] enemy attack. <snip>

[Silverheart]

That´s pretty much what ports do: encourage more trade and build and repair ships.
But no, there´s no benefit to landing your troops in a port rather than on the open coast - it will be blockaded when you land your troops there, but I´m guessing you don´t usually land troops there for that purpose...

[Dredd]

Well.. I use ports to build some ships to land troops on the shores of my enemy's land instead of having to go through attrition and possibly being intercepted by a much larger army. I also use ports alot when trading with Scandinavia and North Africa.

[Blaze of Macedon]

I use them pretty often but 90% for trade purposes.

Check out the additional settlement info button to see how much difference building a port would make. In rich coastal provinces it usually makes a lot of difference so i build a port, upgrade it and also build wharehouses and get a crapload of additional income...

[EP!anastasi]

Guys, it's obvious he knows this stuff, he asks for extra uses of ports

[Avatar]

Beyond the fact that you get a lot more money for building them up, the more ports you have = the more ships you can churn out in a short space of time. In some areas of the map it barely matters, but when you are fighting over the Mediterranean then sea power becomes rather more important.

[Surgeon]

Well, I often use ports to create navies to keep my waters clear. Beyond that and trade I don't think there are any special perks for ports.

[Drachos]

I use them mainly for trade. I tend to build as many ports as I'm able to.

[Nazgûl Killer]

I used them for trade, and are quite likely the first thing I develop along with a market, and it's the first thing I build in a new settlement after roads.

[Silent Assassin]

I used them for trade, and are quite likely the first thing I develop along with a market, and it's the first thing I build in a new settlement after roads.

As Naz said, Ports and roads are very important to help you gain resources and gold via their trade routes so players hould build them ASAP.

[Drachos]

That works best playing an Italian faction(Mediterranean)

[Sitalkes]

So why aren't ports right next to their associated settlement if it is by the sea? Sometimes the port is so far away from its settlement it is hard to work out which port belongs to which settlement (important if one has a dockyard and the other one doesn't)

[Delvecchio1975]

So why aren't ports right next to their associated settlement if it is by the sea? Sometimes the port is so far away from its settlement it is hard to work out which port belongs to which settlement (important if one has a dockyard and the other one doesn't)

There's one settlement and one port in each region, and each region is delineated with a border - so it's not that hard to figure out which port belongs to which settlement, is it?

[Silent Assassin]

There's one settlement and one port in each region, and each region is delineated with a border - so it's not that hard to figure out which port belongs to which settlement, is it?

But not all cities can have ports for example Franfurt or Vienna as they are in the middle of land only.

[Delvecchio1975]

But not all cities can have ports for example Franfurt or Vienna as they are in the middle of land only.

True:

There's one settlement and one port in each coastal region, and each region is delineated with a border - so it's not that hard to figure out which port belongs to which settlement, is it?

corrected.

[Nazgûl Killer]

So why aren't ports right next to their associated settlement if it is by the sea? Sometimes the port is so far away from its settlement it is hard to work out which port belongs to which settlement (important if one has a dockyard and the other one doesn't)

You could attribute it to historical accuracy. For example; in the Jerusalem province, the port is located where the city of Jaffa was and is to this very day, which was a port city in those days.

I assume the same applies to other regions in the map.