The best (and worst) techs.

[eugenioso]

This is kind of a no brainer, but im still struggling to understand what techs you can consider the best vs the ones that just make you go... why. All research times are assumed in sequence, that is, you have all buildings made and built for them, as well as estimated research time with at least a university.

In no particular order:

Military land:

THE GOOD:

Fire by rank. Research time est: 14 turns since gamestart

This is a major dealbreaker. Your infantry go from firing single line to the 3 front ranks kneeling and firing. Most AI factions never even research this until very very late in the game, and this in turn makes your infantry unstoppable. As a Prussian Junker myself, my infantry have slain millions of austrians who usually retreat by the third volley. Its not perfect, sadly; the infantry will still fire single line against cavalry, another wonderful mistake by those wubs at crEAtive ASSembly. Also, if the enemy retreats mid volley, your men will stop firing if they took a single casualty during it, as they have to regroup once again.

Square formation. Research time: 2 turns

Another necessity. The AI, especially smaller single country powers, loves to spam provincial cavalry. Square formation doesnt make your troops anti horse though; a well timed charge can still either break your square or even outright shatter it, but the trade of one horseman for one soldier is a K/D im willing to accept. Interestingly enough, it also increases the range of your infantry, for some reason, but its not a good trade off due to the lack of Fire by Rank.

THE BAD:

Percussion shell. Research time: 50 turns at minimum

5% chance of less misfiring. Instead of something like faster shooting rate, more accurate bullets or the like, we get the equivalent of rotten trash. For a late-game tech, its useless. It does help you unlock top specialist units, but for the final tech you'd expect better.

Military Artillery:

THE GOOD:

Quicklime shells OR Shrapnel shot. Research time: 15-20 turns

Im more of a howitzer man myself, but Quicklime and/or Shrapnel turns the oft-forgotten cannonballs into cannonmore. Theoretically cannons get more benefit out of this as they manage to keep the longer range instead of the howitzer, and it helps in that it makes the morale crusher a killer unit. Two or three of these batteries can rip a unit to shreds and force a retreat in little time.

THE BAD:

Improved Grenades. Research time: 2 turns

Grenades are cool. I get it. However, they are very situational weapons to use. On the off chance you do get to use them, the enemy will either melee too quickly or your men will miss and blow up half of their own unit. Im not saying its not useful against horde armies like the Turks, but its such a useless charge overall it just becomes an irrelevant tech.

Military Naval:

THE GOOD:

Lime Juice and Sauerkraut. Research time: 25 turns

The naval hospital is the fastest way to get to Heavy 1st Rate. Stick to your fancy frigate fleets if you really want, but 4 or 8 of these behemoths can crush entire fleets with ease. Nuff said.

THE BAD:

Rifled cannons. Research time: 30 turns

Ill be honest, but ive never even noticed if they are indeed more accurate or if they're not. From what i've seen and researched, the benefit of rifled cannons is about a 1% increase in accuracy, while increasing the expenses of your main fleet. This is a tech you will get if you dont have anything else useful to research.

What are your thoughts?

[alhoon]

My thoughts are that if it unlocks good units, a tech is good even if the benefit is subpar.

[eugenioso]

My thoughts are that if it unlocks good units, a tech is good even if the benefit is subpar.

I tried Prussian Jaegers once and i was somewhat impressed, but not enough to warrant the tech.

[Alwyn]

I agree that Fire by Rank and Square Formation are important and useful - and that techs are good if they unlock useful units.

As I see it, the best techs depend on who you're playing, what your economy is based on and who you're fighting. if you have a lot of farms and plantations (like the Thirteen Colonies/United States), you'll want the techs to improve them. If your economy is based more on industry (as mine was when I played as Poland-Lithuania), you'll want those techs. If I'm sending line infantry against a faction with good melee units, I'll prioritise bayonets.

[eugenioso]

I agree that Fire by Rank and Square Formation are important and useful - and that techs are good if they unlock useful units.

As I see it, the best techs depend on who you're playing, what your economy is based on and who you're fighting. if you have a lot of farms and plantations (like the Thirteen Colonies/United States), you'll want the techs to improve them. If your economy is based more on industry (as mine was when I played as Poland-Lithuania), you'll want those techs. If I'm sending line infantry against a faction with good melee units, I'll prioritise bayonets.

100% of course. Im talking from the standpoint of universal techs. As Prussia i always focus land first (duh) and i also love to have 4 to 5 working schools to give me a definitive tech lead over my enemies, which by lategame turn out to be most everyone except Saxony and PL. Even then, researching some techs is useless yet necessary to get more advanced techs. Shogun 2 did ti just a bit better, but i'd still like more research options.

[Sar1n]

You should also consider two factors beside the quality of the tech itself, its position in tech tree and ease of obtaining it through trade.

For example, this is why I never research Square formation, it lies outside of main branch and you can easily get it quite early through trade.