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Thread: [RTW AAR] Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

  1. #1
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    Default [RTW AAR] Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    ONLINE BATTLE REPORT #345: Pontus vs. Rome
    Every so often, I like to mess around with a non-Macedonian faction. On this day, I chose to try my luck at Pontus. In my opinion, Pontus is one of the deadliest factions online. I’m quite surprised that people hardly use them.

    For my experiment with Pontus, I had to get into character. I read a short history on Mithridates VI, King of Pontus. He passed himself off as a champion of Greek culture, and gave military aid to nearby Greek cities.

    This eventually got him into a fight with Rome. For awhile, Mithridates VI was quite successful in fighting the Romans. On a darker note, he was known for exterminating Roman civilians living in those cities that he passed through.

    Anyways, I had no idea that a forumer here was named “Mithradates.” So I apologize to anyone who gets confused by my use of the name, but it is quite famous in Pontic history.

    When I got online, I setup a game, and I hoped that my opponent would pick a Roman faction. That would make this battle a historic-confrontation.

    As luck would have it, my opponent (HELLBOY) chose the Brutii Romans to confront me. Here’s what our armies looked like:

    Mithridates (Pontus)
    - 4 Bronze Shield Pikemen (including the general)
    - 3 Chariot Archers
    - 4 Pontic Heavy Cavalry
    - 2 Cappadocian Cavalry

    HELLBOY (Brutii Romans)
    - 8 Urban Cohorts (including the general)
    - 6 Roman Archers
    - 1 Heavy Onager

    This is how we deployed our armies:


    My opponent deployed in a defensive formation expecting a hail of missile fire. And he was right.

    I, on the other hand, chose a balanced formation which could be used very offensively. On my wings, I stationed my chariots and my Pontic Heavy Cavalry. Pontic Heavy Cavalry are sweet indeed - not only are they decent heavy cavalry, but they can also skirmish. Behind my pikemen, I stationed a reserve of 2 Cappadocian Cavalry units. Romans don’t like cataphracts in any shape or form. And I was going to exploit any fear that the Romans had! That's the way we roll in Pontus!

    So the battle started off with my chariots advancing forward to drain his missile supplies. He gave his Roman Archers order to use flaming arrows (hoping to panic my chariots):


    As I said, my chariots had orders to drain those missiles. And so I placed them in Cantabrian Circle. Even with concentrated fire, he was still missing most of his shots:


    While his archers were missing my chariots, I was slowly shooting his archers to death with a constant flow of arrows from my 3 chariot archers. I didn’t want this to take forever so I sent my Pontic Heavy Cavalry forward on both wings to speed up the attrition. As my Pontic Heavy Cavalry threw their javelins, I realized that the Roman Archers on both wings were running away from their protective formation. My opponent should’ve disable his skirmish mode because nothing could protect his archers now from my Pontic cavalrymen.

    I exploited the situation by chasing his isolated Roman Archers down and massacring them with my Pontic Heavy Cavalry:


    Now that my arrows would rule the skies, I was free to strike from any position I wanted. I used a few rounds of arrows on Urban Cohorts who were facing the wrong direction. Urbans fall quickly when you shoot them from behind.

    I now brought my Cappadocian Cavalry out from behind my pikemen. I’m going to hit this guy from the flank with my Cappadocians. So I move my Cappadocians out in a position to strike my Roman enemy from the flank. Along the way, a few units of Urban Cohorts threw their pila at my horses. I didn’t lose many horses so I didn’t really care:


    At this point, I moved my wall of Bronze Shield Pikemen forward. HELLBOY must’ve been delighted because this was the first time that I presented him with something that could be fought with Urbans. Seeing this opportunity, HELLBOY charged his mass of Urban Cohorts directly into my Pikemen:


    Unfortunately for my Roman opponent, my Cappadocians had raced in behind the Urban Cohorts to deliver a death blow:


    Almost instantly, a chain-rout occurred among the Roman ranks:


    It was not a pretty sight for the Romans. They were surrounded by troops who hated Rome. As my circle of Bronze Shields, Cappadocians, Pontic Heavy Cavalry and Chariots closed in, his huge pocket of Urban Cohorts were reduced to a single unit:


    And it wasn’t long before that last batch of Romans was served to my troops for dinner:


    Long live, Pontus! Underrated, yet extremely lethal!

    (and once again, I apologize to the forumer here named Mithradates. I didn't realize there was someone here with a similar name)
    Last edited by Prince_of_Macedon; July 16, 2007 at 06:05 AM.
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  2. #2

    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Bah, he used the Urbans in a very n00bish way. A n00b general can lose even with the elite, and surprisingly it's not very hard to exterminate a phalanx with a Roman Legion. Just set everyone to fire at will, halt them when the phalanxes are on range, let them throw everything they have and then engage. Meanwhile your Leg. Cavalry and General move to the right flank, get behind the enemy lines and rout everything on the way while your auxilia protect your left.

    That works 90% of the time, unless we're talking about a seasoned human player who has some hidden and unusual tactics that I don't know about.
    "Romans not only easily conquered those who fought by cutting, but mocked them too. For the cut, even delivered with force, frequently does not kill, when the vital parts are protected by equipment and bone. On the contrary, a point brought to bear is fatal at two inches; for it is necessary that whatever vital parts it penetrates, it is immersed. Next, when a cut is delivered, the right arm and flank are exposed. However, the point is delivered with the cover of the body and wounds the enemy before he sees it."

    - Flavius Vegetius Renatus (in Epitoma Rei Militari, ca. 390)

  3. #3
    Prince_of_Macedon's Avatar Πρίγκηψ της Μακεδονίας
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    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Quote Originally Posted by Marcus Tullius Cicero View Post
    Bah, he used the Urbans in a very n00bish way. A n00b general can lose even with the elite, and surprisingly it's not very hard to exterminate a phalanx with a Roman Legion. Just set everyone to fire at will, halt them when the phalanxes are on range, let them throw everything they have and then engage. Meanwhile your Leg. Cavalry and General move to the right flank, get behind the enemy lines and rout everything on the way while your auxilia protect your left.

    That works 90% of the time, unless we're talking about a seasoned human player who has some hidden and unusual tactics that I don't know about.
    He had no more pila. He used them all up during my numerous cavalry feints. The last of his javelins were exhausted when my Cappadocians passed fairly close to his Urbans.

    EDIT: Actually, he still had a few pila which he threw at my oncoming phalanx. But he didn't have time for another volley because I put the pincer on him.
    Last edited by Prince_of_Macedon; July 11, 2007 at 05:14 PM.
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  4. #4

    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Quote Originally Posted by Barbarian_Prince View Post
    He had no more pila. He used them all up during my numerous cavalry feints. The last of his javelins were exhausted when my Cappadocians passed fairly close to his Urbans.

    EDIT: Actually, he still had a few pila which he threw at my oncoming phalanx. But he didn't have time for another volley because I put the pincer on him.
    But then it looks like he took no providence to flank your phalanxes, and his elite urban cohorts couldn't fight forever against your spear wall. He should have put some Pretorian Cavalry and auxilia instead of all these missile troops.

    But then, congrats for your victory .
    "Romans not only easily conquered those who fought by cutting, but mocked them too. For the cut, even delivered with force, frequently does not kill, when the vital parts are protected by equipment and bone. On the contrary, a point brought to bear is fatal at two inches; for it is necessary that whatever vital parts it penetrates, it is immersed. Next, when a cut is delivered, the right arm and flank are exposed. However, the point is delivered with the cover of the body and wounds the enemy before he sees it."

    - Flavius Vegetius Renatus (in Epitoma Rei Militari, ca. 390)

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Quote Originally Posted by Marcus Tullius Cicero View Post
    But then it looks like he took no providence to flank your phalanxes, and his elite urban cohorts couldn't fight forever against your spear wall. He should have put some Pretorian Cavalry and auxilia instead of all these missile troops.

    But then, congrats for your victory .
    I think my opponent knew the danger of Pontus (but didn't know how to adjust to it). If he spent money on Praetorian Cavalry, my chariots would've slaughtered them at a huge discount. Auxilia might've been a better pick, but considering that I had Pontic Heavy Cavalry (with javelins), they would've also been outclassed as well.

    But thanks for the congratulations
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  6. #6

    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    lmao people still play vanilla RTW?

    rep me if you like my posts, and it's highly likely you'll get some back

  7. #7
    Prince_of_Macedon's Avatar Πρίγκηψ της Μακεδονίας
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    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Why not? You know a better way to play people online at RTW?

    Or are you just gonna suggest some mod where I play against a crappy AI opponent?
    Last edited by Prince_of_Macedon; July 11, 2007 at 10:02 PM.
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  8. #8

    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Quote Originally Posted by el_dude View Post
    lmao people still play vanilla RTW?
    Dont pretend you dont no the answer to your own question. They obviously do.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Auxilia might've been a better pick, but considering that I had Pontic Heavy Cavalry (with javelins), they would've also been outclassed as well.
    Since I've beaten Gothic Cavalry with Auxilia, they might have stopped your Cappadocian Cavalry. Triarii would also work well. I would put one unit of Auxilia in each flank and concentrate my cavalry in one of the flanks. Praetorians outclass Pontic Heavy Cavalry and Auxilia can do a lot of damage to Cappadocians, so why not?

    But then, I need to calculate the costs and there are a lot of other factors involved, including luck. Yesterday I lost a battle against Carthage because my Equites didn't charge at the enemy general as ordered but at the first Lybian spearmen nearby. You know, it sucks when your army is made of AIdiots :grrr:.

    Edit - Just made a test, against the AI: untrained Auxilia vs. untrained Cappadocians. It was a close victory for my auxilia. The AI was constantly retreating and then charging again for full effect, and my Auxilia were wavering, but I managed to charge on the backs of their cavalry once. In the end about 32 Auxilia remained vs. 11 Cappadocians routing.

    So, Auxilia can beat Cappadocians and or at least make them uneffective for decisive flank and rear charges, so it could be worth a try.
    Last edited by Marie Louise von Preussen; July 13, 2007 at 12:21 PM.
    "Romans not only easily conquered those who fought by cutting, but mocked them too. For the cut, even delivered with force, frequently does not kill, when the vital parts are protected by equipment and bone. On the contrary, a point brought to bear is fatal at two inches; for it is necessary that whatever vital parts it penetrates, it is immersed. Next, when a cut is delivered, the right arm and flank are exposed. However, the point is delivered with the cover of the body and wounds the enemy before he sees it."

    - Flavius Vegetius Renatus (in Epitoma Rei Militari, ca. 390)

  10. #10
    Prince_of_Macedon's Avatar Πρίγκηψ της Μακεδονίας
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    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Quote Originally Posted by Marcus Tullius Cicero View Post

    Edit - Just made a test, against the AI: untrained Auxilia vs. untrained Cappadocians. It was a close victory for my auxilia. The AI was constantly retreating and then charging again for full effect, and my Auxilia were wavering, but I managed to charge on the backs of their cavalry once. In the end about 32 Auxilia remained vs. 11 Cappadocians routing.

    So, Auxilia can beat Cappadocians and or at least make them uneffective for decisive flank and rear charges, so it could be worth a try.
    When it comes to micro & tactical choices, the AI is a poor opponent. I certainly would not chase after light cavalry with a cataphract-type unit.
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  11. #11
    Miles
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    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Very nice action story. I am looking for a reason to try out Pontus and this is a great introduction.

  12. #12
    Xavier Dragnesi's Avatar Esse quam videre
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    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Nice work Prince. Pontus is quite a blast when you know how to use it, I have to agree with you on that.

  13. #13
    Prince_of_Macedon's Avatar Πρίγκηψ της Μακεδονίας
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    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Thanks for the compliments (on a very old battle). This battle, from nearly a year ago, was the last time you'd ever see me using those over-powering Chariot Archers.
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  14. #14

    Default Re: Online Battle Report #345: Pontus vs Rome

    Another good battle(even though its extrmely old )
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