Multiplayer Strategy help...

[HeroSK]

Hi for everyone..

I played a series of LAN battles, aganist a player that uses deployment below...




How can I handle with this..?

Any suggestions will be welcomed..

Thanks..

[Prince_of_Macedon]

I need specifics:

What denarii level are you playing at?

What kind of maps?

Which faction are you using?

Could you tell me the exact composition of his army? How many Praetorian Cavalry, Triarii, Urbans, etc...

Etc, etc, etc...

Just looking at the diagram, though, I'd say he was slightly deficient in cavalry but that really depends on what kind of army/faction you're using.

[HeroSK]

There is no specific faction, you may offer any faction...

The game is 25K denarii and the map is grassy flatland....

Here the analyze of my last battle..

Deployment of my army...





Deployment of the Romans..



Enemies right flank..



Enemies left..



At the sente Legionary First cohort insipires the nearby troops...



Then, battle starts and I attack from all sides..
Cetral move..



Catas attacks to Romans left..


Caming back for another charge..



Charge again..



At the same time my right flank attacks enemies left...



Enemy sends Triarii but it is too late...



I moved my remaninin catas from my left and attacked to the general, fotunately I killed him..



Maces are armour piercing so I tried to use them as much as possible..




Here my big mistake, when I was too busy with flanks, in the center I attacked improperly and lost too many men..



After killing enemy general I used catas to charge behind the enemy line..I do it several times but their moral is very high I cannot manage to get a mass rout..




All catas died remaining routed...



Enemy moves his remaining troops from his left..



End The Result of battle...

[Oman]

It is hard to give advice without knowing exact armies, however just as a general guide i always do the following when using selucids against rome.

First thing to think about is the strengths of each faction.

Rome has its urbans and pretorians, Selucids have there Cataphract and Chariots (Im not including eles here as they are mostly banned). Cataphracts will beat pretorians almost every time as long as you use alt attack and the mace, they will also, only horse unit to do so, beat urbans 1 on 1 if the mace is used. So , used carefully, and in correct numbers, Selucids have the ability to take out the 2 most effective roman units that there are. Chariots, if youre a fan, will also wipe out horses, i typically take at least 2 as they can make such a mess of the roman horses, which subsequently leaves my cataphract for there real duty, taking out urbans.

I would use something like the following army against rome, with a little note beside to explain why i would take each unit.

1. 5 gold attack, gold armour silver sheild phallanx. - These wont win the battle on their own for you, but serve the purpose of holding the line very well.

2. 6 gold, gold archers - For the simple reason of making sure that i can either force an attack (no one will sit and get shot to death, well almost no one), or if i have to attack (rome has more), to make sure that i can hold the enemy archers in an archer war, and away from my most important units, cataphract and chariots.

3. At least 6 Cataphract with minimum gold attack and defence, more upps if you can afford it. - These are the main part of the selucid army IMO, they are what will either win you game if you can get amongst the urbans with that mace, or if you waste them, you will almost definetely lose.

4. At least 2 chariots, with minimum 1 upp on the experience (for some reason the experience/valour is more important with chariots i think) - These units are primarily to take out enemy horse, but if you have any left over after horse are dead, they make very good units to smash into engaged urbans cohorts.

Tactics: If the enemy has a load of archers, then this army is more diffucult to use, make sure you move your archers up and engage them quickly, the last thing you want is for them to be firing at your chariots or catas. If out arrowed, attack. Move your spears up ready to engage the urbans. At same time, flank with chariots and cata and make it your sole objective to take out the pretorians 1st, do be a bit careful of triarri as they are pretty good, value for money wise against chars and catas, best to stay away from them if possible.
A combination of catas and charitos should be able kill off any pretorians, but the actuall skill and way of doing this is impossible to tell, it just takes practice and timing.

When horse are dead, your entire focus should be on getting your spears to engage the urbans, they wont win by themselves, but they hold a line well and give your chariots and catas the oppurtunity to flank. Use them wisely, only attack units that are engaged, or attack chasing units (that are alone or outnumbered) on mass with your cata/chariots. ie. a unit or two of urbans will last seconds against a mass attack. Youre spears are holding while you cav are charging (using that mace once engaged) into sides/backs etc. Not orginal, the oldest tactic in the book.

Selucids are incredibly powerful IMO, if you choose your units wisely, and protect the right units against the enemy units that can damage them, rome does not have many answers to them. Unfortunately, the faction is susceptible to archers, and if rome brings them on mass, they can be quite diffucult to beat. If they didnt bring archers, or few of them, i would back myself the majority of the time to beat them.

Even in high money, 50k and above, and without Eles, Selucids can take on Romans incredibly well.

And lastly, im playing tonight in UK at about 7pm, if you want to play some games i will show you how i use them and you can take/leave what you dont like to use against your mate.

Good luck.

Oman

[Prince_of_Macedon]

Good post, Oman.

By the way, HeroSK, here are some things I noticed about your pictures (and some other tips I can offer using the Seleucids)...

- Your phalanx was all out of alignment. It's best to keep your pikemen in a line when confronting the enemy infantry. Only break formation when it's absolutely necessary.

- I also noticed that some of your pikemen were bunching up. That's another mistake. Keep your phalanx in a line for as long as possible. And most importantly, don't let your pikemen bunch up together.

- I wouldn't waste my money/troop slot on artillery. Artillery is only effective against an enemy that isn't moving. When the enemy gets closer to you, you're gonna wish you bought a unit that could fight on its own two feet.

- As Oman said, don't forget to use the mace-attack with your Cataphracts after the initial charge.

- Cataphracts are indeed dangerous, but because the riders are so heavy, the horses get tired rather quickly. Therefore, you should only launch your Cataphracts when it'll prove decisive. Think of them as elephants if you will.

- Make sure you're upgrading your units. Judging from the casualties, you were either outmaneuvered by your opponent or his troops simply outclassed you (or both).

-

[Vault Dweller]

I recommend bringing some chariots to soften up the enemy, cavalry especially, which will leave some more of your Cataphracts alive to charge the enemy Legions. The only problem is, you have to be very careful, because if they run amok towards your phalanxes your line will be messed up. I also recommend that when you charge from behind, you put everything into the Legionary First Cohort. When you kill the eagle, the enemy will most likely mass rout easily. You may want to purchase 1 onager for the purpose of just pounding away at the general and 1st Cohort.

[LeonidasOfSparta]

heeey oman and prince gave good tips

do u play online hero? i mean mp

[HeroSK]

No, I dont have internet connection at home

Thanks for the answer by the way...

please keep them coming

[LeonidasOfSparta]

oh ok

what money is this?

[Wolf-RTG]

25K denarii

Leo you should read the topic before posting on it

[LeonidasOfSparta]

thx for ur most kind spotting wolf

[avesta]

quick question - which armor are maces effective against exactly? are macedonian companion cavalry consiered armored? what about royal pikemen? what about spartans?

[Prince_of_Macedon]

Yes, Macedonian Cavalry and Companion Cavalry are considered armored. In regards to Royal Pikemen and Spartiates, you don't want to be using your mace against them unless they were silly enough to use their swords on your Cataphracts.

By the way, the mace works very well against Urban Cohorts.

[LeonidasOfSparta]

Mace works very well against anything expect pikes in front . Just read atributes of units and see if they have: Armoured/Well armoured/Very Well armoured.

More armoured they are, easier they die.

[HeroSK]

I beat him ..

With an army of 9 macedon royals, 4 createan archers, 5 companions, a peltast, and a general...


I placed peltast just in front of pike line to absorb pila and save my pikes and it worked very well...

Then, he sent some infanty from front and just to pin my phalaxes and out flanked with some other infantry..

He also tried to charge my creatian arches from behind but archers killed preatorian cavalry so fast that when they reach
behind my line 2 units of preatorian reduced to almost 20

I used my companion cavalry to charge romans from back and they all routed..

and I win..

[Mr Longbowman]

Congrats to the win

[HeroSK]

Congrats to the win

Thank you ..

[Prince_of_Macedon]

I beat him ..

With an army of 9 macedon royals, 4 createan archers, 5 companions, a peltast, and a general...

Who did you beat?

[HeroSK]

The player uses this strategy..