General tactical advise + cavalry tactics for the Brythonic factions
Here is an example of cavalry tactics with the British (Ebrauc here). They have real badass cavalry, use it excessively, even your faction leader and princes.
1. Use shield walls and put them in a STAGGERED formation like this:
Allways heavy spearmen in the front, the best spearmen, here Pedytes Ebrauc, to back the flanks and behind them campwyr (they have to be mobile after the charge so that you can choose where to send them in later). Light support infantry in the second line, center. Behind archers. Try to get the Rhyfelwyr and Awwrwesion, they are light unarmored archers but quite cabable shortswordsmen as well, so they can be send in after a while as support. Actually they should be used like this at some point in most battles, since they prove to be more effective in melee once the infantry hosts have clashed together, however its better to send them in in time if more counterweight is vital.
2. Put your cavalry in one well ordered formation at ONE flank. Heavy cavalry has to be put in the front in a broad formation, behind lighter or ideally medium support cavalry - Marca. the Marca are armed with swords and javelins. Dont waste your marca by letting them charge alone, allways use them as support for heavy lancers, like Marca Contwn. If you send them out in order to throw their javelins at the enemies shields, they will most likely get isolated very quickly and they cant be used against spear infantry effectively (most units have spears).
3. Dont wait and let the AI chose where to attack. Shift your whole formation a bit to the left or right when the enemy is halfway near, so that it has to approach in a slight curve. This will make the AI prefer one flank of your forces. Adapt to it by sending one heavy unit (here the Camwyr on the left. BTW: the campwyr give a morale bonus to your troops which is very useful to avoid desasters at the flanks) AFTER the charge of the enemy host, so that the AI has one choice less.
4. As said above dont wait for the charge, after you have adapted your initial positions, charge one flank (here the left one) of the enemy army prefering light infantry and skirmishers allways keeping your entire cavalry together. This will reduce their numbers more than yours so that you have gained a bit of an advantage before the actual charge. It also disorders the enemy formation and parts of its host will try to engage your cavalry. Pull your cav out after about 5 seconds and prepare to charge again and allways keep the formation: heavy lancers in broad formation in the front and Marca behind them. Let the Marca automatically throw their javelins, they will throw javelin volleys at the units that have allready been decimated by the charge while they retreat and regroup.
5. The enemy host will now charge completely disordered and slightly demoralised. By this time, you have allready sent a heavy support unit from the unburdened flank to the other one. Dont envelop the enemy immidiately, send in your troops as late as possible, so that you can allways keep the superiority with regards to where to put your units, but dont wait too long of course. This will also save your units breath.
6. Now engage isolated units with the rest of your infantry and kill off skirmishers in the back with your cavalry, while your infantry keeps the host at bay and pins it down. Use your generals ability to boost the morale of your troops as often as possible, let some of your archers use fire missiles (not all) or send them in as support if necessary (if your flanks get enveloped for instance).
7. After you have killed the AIs archers and skirmishers it held back, do the final charges.
8. Done (that was very hard difficulty, enemy infantry was superior)
General notes:
- dont give the enemy time to use its javelins, its not always the best solution to await the charge. This can be avoided, as in this example, by sending in your cavarly before the infantry charge. Dont underestimate light javelinmen, they are many times as effective as they are in melee if they are kept out of close combat, hence they should be engaged and destroyed as soon as possible.
- Mind the multiple-hitpoint-statistics of ATWs units! Archery and javelins will turn out much more lethal after some salvos than it appears to be in the first moments. This can be used greatly to your advantage, but it can also lead to fatally false estimations of your enemies strength. The cheaper archery units may appear to be ineffective, but they are able to wound lots of warriors prior to the charge so that its easier to kill them in melee.
- If you have lots of javelinmen, use them excessively and get the enemy unshielded (flanks or back).
- Draw your troops together in one large army, especially your family member cavalry.
- Allways use cavalry in one formation, dont split it up.
- Use shield walls but not during the march.
- use woods for ambushes
- raid: you dant have to capture everything, sometimes it is better to just capture a settlement, enslave the population and loot the town by destroying all buildings (i.e. as much as possible) and then leave it for the enemy to take it back. It takes time for the AI to rebuild its barracks.
- Use night battles in order to destroy enemy forces piece by piece.
- Use assassins to kill your enemies princes. You dont have to capture provinces necessarily in order to destroy a faction. Locate family members with spys and try to kill as many of them as you can with assassins (certain buildings produce upgraded assassins btw). If your enemys clan leaders are killed, the tribe will turn into a passive rebel faction.
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.....two probloms we have only the raven feeders 7.0 campwar do not have sheild wall 
Originally Posted by Dionisy
