Placing Warriors In Boats: A Civ 5 Guide

how to put warriors in a boat in civ 5

In Civilization V, warriors are the earliest combat unit available without any technological research. They are useful for battling barbarians, early city defence and limited exploration. To put warriors in a boat, you must first research the relevant technology in the science tree. The Optics research allows your units to embark onto coastal tiles, and the Astronomy research allows them to move into ocean tiles. Once you have researched the relevant technology, you can move your warriors into water tiles, where they will automatically become their own transport ships.

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Warriors can't be put on boats, they embark and make their own

In Civilization V, warriors and other land units cannot be put onto boats or ships. Instead, to get them overseas, they must embark and make their own transports. This is done by moving them into a water tile.

To embark, the player must first research the relevant technology in the science tree. The technology required depends on the type of unit and the type of water tile. For workers, the player must research Sailing or Pottery. For all other land units, the player must research Shipbuilding. To cross shallow water or coastal tiles, Optics must be researched, and to cross ocean tiles, Astronomy must be researched.

Embarking and disembarking expend all of a unit's remaining movement points for the turn. While embarked, land units are classified as civilian units and are defenceless, so it is recommended to have them escorted by a naval unit such as a galley or caravel.

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Optics technology must be researched to unlock embarkation

To put warriors in a boat in Civ 5, you need to first research the Optics technology to unlock embarkation. Embarkation allows land units to move into water or embark onto water tiles in boats.

  • Returning Units to Friendly Territory: If your units were not in friendly territory when you discovered Optics, you need to return them to your territory or a city-state with a friendly status of "ally" or higher. This will grant them the Embarkation promotion at the start of the next turn. Barbarian units that join the German army are an exception and can embark immediately, regardless of their location.
  • Movement Restrictions: Initially, embarked units can only move through Coast tiles. To move through Ocean tiles, you need to discover Astronomy. Embarking and disembarking expend all remaining movement points for the turn, except for Danish units, which are exempt from the disembarking penalty.
  • Offensive and Defensive Capabilities: Embarked units have reduced offensive power and limited defence. Melee units can attack from the water but suffer a 50% Combat Strength penalty, while ranged units need to disembark to perform a ranged attack. Naval units can easily destroy embarked land units, so consider escorting them with a caravel or other naval vessels.
  • Polynesian Units Exception: Polynesian units are an exception to the rules. Their unique ability allows them to embark and enter Ocean tiles from the start of the game without needing to research Optics or Astronomy.

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Astronomy technology allows units to move across ocean tiles

In Civ 5, you cannot put units onto a ship. Instead, land units can move into the water and sail themselves by embarking. To do this, you must first research the Optics technology, which will unlock the embarkation promotion for any unit that has passed through your territory since you researched the technology. This allows units to move through shallow water or Coast tiles, but not Ocean tiles.

To allow units to move across Ocean tiles, you must research the Astronomy technology. This will increase embarked movement speed by 1 and allow units to move through Ocean tiles. It is worth noting that early naval units such as Triremes and Galleasses cannot enter Ocean tiles even after researching Astronomy. The Caravel is the first ship that can sail in deep water.

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Embarking and disembarking uses up a unit's entire turn

In Civilization V, embarking and disembarking uses up a unit's entire turn. This means that a unit can only move one tile when embarking or disembarking. However, this penalty does not apply to Danish units when disembarking.

Embarkation is a promotion in Civilization V that allows land units to move into water tiles in boats. To unlock embarkation, players must first research the Optics technology. This allows units to embark onto coastal tiles. To embark onto ocean tiles, the Astronomy technology must also be researched.

The ability to embark a unit into shallow water is unlocked by the Optics technology. The Astronomy technology expands this ability by allowing units to also move across ocean tiles, not just shallow water. The movement speed of land units in water is 2. Another movement point is gained once Astronomy is researched, and another after Steam Power. Adopting the Naval Tradition policy also increases movement by 1.

Embarked units are considered defenceless and are classified as civilian units. They are vulnerable to attack by naval units and cities and ranged units on land. It is recommended that embarked units are escorted by naval vessels for protection.

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Embarked units are defenceless and need to be escorted

In Civilization V, embarked units are vulnerable and need to be escorted by naval units. While embarked, land units are defenceless and classified as civilian units, so it is important to have them escorted by a naval unit such as a caravel.

Embarkation is a promotion in Civilization V and its expansions. Land units can move into water or embark onto water tiles in boats once Optics has been discovered. Initially, embarked units can only move through Coast tiles, but discovering Astronomy allows them to move through Ocean tiles and increases their movement speed. Embarked units have much less offensive power than they do on land. Melee units can attack from the water but suffer a 50% Combat Strength penalty, while ranged units need to disembark to perform a ranged attack.

Embarked units can defend themselves with limited defence, which increases as the game advances to a new era. Any naval unit can attack an embarked unit, but cannot move again until the next turn. Cities and ranged units can also easily destroy embarked land units by bombarding them. As such, it is crucial to have embarked units escorted by naval units for protection.

Some civilizations have unique abilities that can aid in defending embarked units. For example, all Songhai land units get the embarked defence promotion for free, while the English get a +2 movement bonus for embarked land units.

Frequently asked questions

You don't need to put warriors in a boat in Civ 5. Once you've researched sailing or shipbuilding, your units can turn into "ships" and cross water by themselves.

No, once you have the required technology, any unit can cross water by itself.

You need to research the "Optics" technology to embark units onto coastal tiles. To move through ocean tiles, you need to research "Astronomy".

No, embarked units have a lower movement speed than ships. Their movement speed increases as you research more technologies, such as Astronomy and Steam Power.

Embarked units have limited defence capabilities, which increase as you advance to a new era. They can be easily destroyed by cities and ranged units, so it's recommended to escort them with naval ships.

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