Fortifications: Yes or No

[michacey]

I have been watching most of the videos available and have noticed very few players bother putting up palisades or city walls. In my game (first) I have been building them as they become available. Is this a mistake? What are your thoughts on this topic?

[Beorn]

I generally build them. In case of war, you cannot count on these to hold the enemy for very long, but it does prevent some small army from just zigzagging through your empire, taking one region per turn. Which, in turn, allows you more chance to concentrate your troops rather than spread them around.

[Ragu777]

if you want play with counterattacks - then walls good (but low lvl can be easy sieged/assaulted by AI)

but if you want to have some small armies in regions where you think enemy will go - then it can bad for you, because region garrison don't help

[guanotwozero]

if you want play with counterattacks - then walls good (but low lvl can be easy sieged/assaulted by AI)

but if you want to have some small armies in regions where you think enemy will go - then it can bad for you, because region garrison don't help

They're useful if you have a reinforcement army that can arrive soon - fortification can delay an enemy owning the territory 'til you ride to the rescue, e.g. for the Romans, the camp/limes are useful on the Celtic frontier.

[shockk]

Sieges are pointless in this game, the only reason to make walls, is to force the enemy to stop at the one they want to take. Otherwise once you have roads, if something gets behind your lines, they can conquer 5+ cities a turn

If your op hellen just build the free walls when you see them

[Demetrios_of_Messene]

I always build them to delay the enemy and hopefully catch him with a nearby army. Also to deter smaller enemy armies from causing unnecessary havoc.

[WG]

Also, fortifications help if you border a nation that raids.

[loki100]

yes - for two reasons.

in border regions they pretty much end successful raiding so you don't need small armies scattered around.

I'm in the middle of a war with Rome and they like sending 100-300 pwr armies deep into my territory. If I hadn't built up my forts I'd be losing 2-4 regions per turn --- now yes I could take them back but with unrest/decadence etc. As it is I lose say 1, and their raiding armies get caught up so my defensive armies can catch them.

[vakarr]

Note that palisades have no upkeep so they are good value, they allow you a turn to get your troops to the rescue if the region gets invaded. In the manual it says that military buildings contribute in a small way to loyalty. I have seen enemies avoid my outer ring of fortified regions and attack the inner, unfortified ones. Proper fortifications do have an upkeep cost but come with larger garrisons, while coastal forts etc actually attack the besieger and cause them damage. It's a good idea to have fortified regions scattered throughout your empire in case a wandering horde decides to attack you or your empire splits apart or has other rebellion problems. I'm not sure yet what happens if a fortified region rebels - if the fortified town stays in your possession with the rebels besieging it, or if the fortified region has some of your troops in it then the rebels don't get the region until they have successfully laid siege, or if the rebels get the fortified town automatically and it actually makes it harder to get back the region.

[eddieballgame]

Pretty much an automatic build for me.

[Pocus]

Definitive yes against raid, as each defensiveness rating is equivalent to 5 CP of troops to repel raiders. Quite a good bargain!

[Bobitron]

As Syracuse I got pushed back to 1 city by the Romans. The siege took so long the attackers starved and went to face another enemy. 200 years later, I reach League/Empire level. So yeah, extremely important for cities in the middle of the sea.

[vakarr]

I haven't worked out yet if it is better to be inside the fortified town or outside it when the region is raided, but I think it's better to be inside. The thinking is that the raiders are not affected by the army if they are garrisoned inside, as they can't catch the raiders. Or else if they are in the town then the town doesn't get attacked, the garrison gets involved and also the defenders are stronger.