Most useless technology?

[dondoolee]

I don’t get the hate for Adv Artillary.  For the US/UK it is a wonderful money saver and probably more useful than mech inf in the long haul being that the majority of your land forces are just being used for amphibious assaults.  For Russia it is probably more useful than long range airplanes It is good for any allied power, but kind of worthless for any Axis power.

I would also say that Germany could probably use super subs liberaly to put decent pressure on allied shipping.  You have something that attacks way better than a fighter and ignores enemy airplanes so it can get to the transport ships quickly all while being 4 IPC’s cheaper.  I’m not saying it’s a game breaking tech for Germany, but still I can see the use.  Really I would rather have super subs with Germany or Italy than Japan.

Also the UK starts off with 3 AA’s, that alone makes radar not worthless for the UK.  2 US fighters on Australia, and a stiff defense in Persia and all the sudden you may stall Japan for an extra turn or two  more than you would have normally.  Also, I am used to the German bomber(s) being on france to put pressure on allied shipping, when they aren’t being used for an attack I am used to seeing the UK get bombed; radar would end that. Once again, not game breaking, but hardly worthless for the UK.

As for warbonds, i don’t see how extra cash to spend could ever be considerd a bad thing.  This is the most flexible tech out there.  That being said if you spent 30+ IPC’s to get it, I could see how it wouldn’t pay off.

Also whoever said paratroopers were underated: anyone who finds it a useless tech/ non game changing concept ought to re evaluate this tech.  Paratroopers can make everywhere in the world (except europe) your personal playground, this can change the entire landscape and strat of everyone once this tech is recieved by any power.  I do think it benefits Russia the least, simply for the fact that Russia would have to buy a bomber it may not be able to afford.

[Seador]

I voted based on “how many powers would make use this tech if they got it”, and came up with in no particular order:
#1 Super Subs
#2 Ship Yards
#3 Paratroopers
#4 Radar

I can see an application for all the air tech for any power; as for War Bonds, every single nation can make use of them and see some gain, so I can’t see how they make the list of “the worst”

[umrmeche]

I feel super subs are pretty darn useful for anybody but Russia. Unless of course you are Germany and the U.S. decides to concentrate its fleet in the Pacific and the U.K. does what sometimes ahppesn in our games. Build a factory in South Africa and India and put all resources to holding it with russian support for india thus depriving german subs of targets. but even if an enemy fleet gets destroyers it doesn’t negate the fact that your subs still atack at 3 for only6 IPCs. and improved shipyrads can be quite aweomse, each bship 3 IPCs cheaper etc

[jsp4563]

@Cmdr:

I do have to admit that Paratroopers technology is perhaps the most under appreciated technology on the charts.  I don’t think many players fully comprehend the utility of paratroopers in the grand scheme of things.

You can use them for island hoping, for sniping under-protected territories for additional income (territory and sometimes national objectives), you can use them to augment attacks where you don’t quite have the manpower and would like more infantry, etc, etc, etc.  Meanwhile, you can still use the bomber in the attack, which is REALLY nice!  Some incarnations in the past said the bomber EITHER bombed OR hauled paratroopers making the paratrooper ability pretty useless.

Agreed.  Getting them is the problem. :-D

[Romulus]

@Emperor:

@Cmdr:

I do have to admit that Paratroopers technology is perhaps the most under appreciated technology on the charts.  I don’t think many players fully comprehend the utility of paratroopers in the grand scheme of things.

You can use them for island hoping, for sniping under-protected territories for additional income (territory and sometimes national objectives), you can use them to augment attacks where you don’t quite have the manpower and would like more infantry, etc, etc, etc.  Meanwhile, you can still use the bomber in the attack, which is REALLY nice!  Some incarnations in the past said the bomber EITHER bombed OR hauled paratroopers making the paratrooper ability pretty useless.

Agreed.  Getting them is the problem. :-D

And also having bought the bombers necessary to paradrop them.

[Gallo Rojo]

• super-subs for USSR (now, if you’re USSR and you’re rolling for naval/air you should had been murdered during Stalin’s purges)

[Jennifer]

Super Submarines for Russia is not useless, it’s just very limited in use.

I’ve found a good role for my Russian submarine, and if I happened to get Super Submarines (and I do not know how or why since my Russia never goes tech anymore, and when it did, it was chart 1, not chart 2) it wouldn’t be bad, it would just enhance the duty of my Red Oktober submarine.

I used to think it’d be fun to have heavy artillery for Russia, but it’s never really helped as much as I thought it would. (how often do you send 10 IPC worth of gear to trade a territory?  Inf/Arm would trump 2 inf/art + getting the technology I think.  At least most of the time.)

[ksmckay]

@dondoolee:

I don’t get the hate for Adv Artillary…

With advanced artillery it allows you to save ~1 ipc out of every 21 you spend on arty and inf.  For numbers sake lets say w/o you attacked with 15 arty and 15 inf which would cost you 105 ipc  with advanced arty now you need 10 arty and 20 ipc for a measly savings of 5 bucks.  Considering you most likely spent more than 5 bucks to get it and you didnt get one of the other techs it really sucks.

[dondoolee]

@ksmckay:

@dondoolee:

I don’t get the hate for Adv Artillary…

With advanced artillery it allows you to save ~1 ipc out of every 21 you spend on arty and inf.  For numbers sake lets say w/o you attacked with 15 arty and 15 inf which would cost you 105 ipc  with advanced arty now you need 10 arty and 20 ipc for a measly savings of 5 bucks.  Considering you most likely spent more than 5 bucks to get it and you didnt get one of the other techs it really sucks.

Yeah, I don’t know where my head was at, it would most likely take too much to make that tech pay off.  I will still defend adv art for UK/US as better than mech inf, assuming you are more concerned with landing troops than sending troops over large areas of land, on top of that it is going to force you to spend 24 IPC’s for 3 tranny loads with mech inf vs 20 IPC’s for 3 tranny loads with adv art.  The only time I see mech if of marginal use for UK/US is in Africa, and that is only if you can’t clear out the Italian fleet (otherwise the transports move at the same speed as the mech inf anyway).

[Jennifer]

I think super submarines is the most stupid technology, not the most useless.  I mean common, 5 IPC units that attack as good as a 12 IPC cruiser? (Imp Ships + Super Subs.)  If that wasn’t good enough for you, they also get to sneak shot!  No, that’s a bit too powerful.

I usually recommend swapping Super Submarines out for Super Destroyers.  Your destroyers may now attack at 3 and may shore bombard (if you have the technology) at 3.  That’s a bit more realistic.  Now you have an 8 IPC unit attacking like a 12 IPC unit, not a 5/6 IPC unit attacking as well as a 12 IPC unit and sinking the enemy before they can return fire.

[dondoolee]

@Cmdr:

I think super submarines is the most stupid technology, not the most useless.  I mean common, 5 IPC units that attack as good as a 12 IPC cruiser? (Imp Ships + Super Subs.)  If that wasn’t good enough for you, they also get to sneak shot!  No, that’s a bit too powerful.

I usually recommend swapping Super Submarines out for Super Destroyers.  Your destroyers may now attack at 3 and may shore bombard (if you have the technology) at 3.  That’s a bit more realistic.  Now you have an 8 IPC unit attacking like a 12 IPC unit, not a 5/6 IPC unit attacking as well as a 12 IPC unit and sinking the enemy before they can return fire.

I don’t see how that’s stupid.  In a way that is one of the few techs that may really end up paying off.  Even so, they are submarines, which means they are not really acting like a better cruiser.  They have no bombard, defend at 1, and can’t hit airplanes.  I don’t know if I would value a super sub at 12IPC’s.  Or at the very least, they are still a gimmicky unit that can’t be built as arbitrarily as a cruiser.

Rockets/heavy bombers/paratroopers/increased factory production all yield a better IPC output than supersubs ever will.  Add to the fact that they aren’t as gimmicky makes their value to tech ratio far superior to the super sub.  If you are saying the super sub is stupid because it is underpriced, I don’t think the math adds up vs the techs I mentioned, even assuming super subs are worth 12.

[Lucifer]

Imo super subs are not THE most useless tech, but I would rather have many other techs. The strongest techs also depends on that the power that got the tech have a lot of money, so any tech for Italy is almost useless anyway.
And super subs will only be useful for either US or Japan, if the US attacks Japan in the Pacific.

Heavybombers, paras, long range, and mech infantry is very powerfull for right nations to get it.

[chuckcarey]

I got super subs today against my son.  He laughed in my face.  :|
I still beat him.  :evil: