We all know the RTW battlefield AI sometimes has trouble getting out of its own way. On occasion, though, it can pull itself together and surprise you. Last night during some "pre-alpha testing" I was handed a defeat by the Empire of Harad. I wrote up a report (below) and shared it with the other devs, but then got to thinking - what's the most interesting or enjoyable way you've been beaten by the AI?
Feel free to share your own battlefield stories!
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Last night I'm playing as Rhun - and doing pretty good, having wiped out Dorwinion and North Rhun, and pushed Rhovanion and Adunabar back a bit. My alliance with Khand has held strong for the entire game (and the year is something like 397 or 400!).
I notice that Khand is once more at war with Harad. This worries me, because earlier Harad had owned Khand as a protectorate, and if there's one thing I don't need, it's a big war at my southern border. So I decide I can afford to throw together a decent-enough army and send it south, to help Khand and maybe snatch a town away from Harad.
I send a spy down south to see what's been going on. Far Harad is gone, and it looks like Khand had a hand in that, because Khand now owns some of its provinces. But Harad owns some as well, and what's more, Harad has Khand under siege in a couple of places. Saddle up!
My army consists of mostly the basic Axemen, with a good helping of archers/slingers, a couple skirmishers, a couple units of light cav, and my general (who is an Inept Commander, but I figured what the heck - it's just the AI, right?)
I send my guys down to Khand's capital, where a Haradrian stack is besieging it. Together, we manage to scare off the Southrons before a bowshot is fired; they retreat off the battlefield.
I notice lots of Haradrian stacks hanging around. Like, lots. Big deal! It's just Harad - those stacks are probably full of the Footmen and other weak infantry units. My army marches farther south, aiming for the province directly south of Khand's capital, which is owned by Harad and only lightly garrisoned. My plan is to take that settlement and build up to Tributary Camps there, since it's in a 'Khand' region - that should allow me to train some of the neat Khand-based units. I figure I can hold off a few waves of Haradrian conscripts and come out of this with a secure base in the south. I indulge, briefly, in fantasies about my fierce armies sweeping across the southlands, my wains slashing through the desert sand.
Next turn, I am attacked by a Haradrian army led by a lieutenant. It's ... stronger than I pictured. The supposedly trash infantry is actually some hardened units of swordsmen, and the cav wing consists of several Scarlet Shields, in addition to some lighter horse. I manage to pull off a victory with my missile superiority, but it isn't pretty. The heavy cav spends too much time running down my archers and slingers, so my axemen have free rein to hack up the enemy foot and any cav in the vicinity.
Same turn, another attack. This one is led by a general, with roughly the same army composition as before. Those Scarlet Shields are worrisome, and it occurs to me that I didn't really bring anything to deal with those guys. My wains and heavy cav are coming down from the north, but they're several turns away. I didn't bother with any armored spearmen, since I was "just fighting Harad". And while I still have around 8 units of axemen, they're only mid-tier, and will get crushed if the AI manages to pull off a charge.
If the AI manages to pull off a charge.... what am I saying?! When does that ever happen, right?
I set up my army a little differently this time, basically using the initial arrangement offered by the game, with a few missile troops up front, then a 'checkerboard' formation of my axemen, backed by a row of archers. My general and couple units of Eastland Raider cav wait behind the archers. I send a lone merc unit of HAs ahead to thin out the enemy cav and maybe pull them out of formation.
No dice. The enemy army marches forward in perfect cohesion. My HA's arrows clatter off the scaled bronze armor of the cavalry. I fiddle with the facing of my main body of troops, turning them towards the enemy as they approach.
The Haradrian cavalry surges forward as a single body, a blur of bronze and scarlet and tan. I'm powerless to prevent their maneuvering, and can only watch as the enemy horse lines up along my right flank while the Southron infantry faces my front. I peel off a line of axemen - some four under-strength units - to meet the riders, and send my general and 2 cav units in a headlong charge against them. Some part of me is thinking, if I can Warcry and catch the cav off-guard, I might be able to pull this off....
Before I can turn back to the enemy infantry, the Haradrians charge in perfect coordination. Their cavalry rides down my axemen before they are formed up, while their swordsmen launch javelins and sprint to come to grips with my feeble front line. While some of my units fight on, I know this is all over. Maybe a minute later, my general goes down in a swirl of scimitars, axe in hand. The shattered remains of my army retreat into Khandian territory. We'll see if they can run the gauntlet of Haradrian stacks and make it back north for retraining.
It was actually such a great example of maneuvering and decisive action on the part of the AI that I didn't mind losing. You get used to the AI doing silly things in this game, like running back and forth in front of your lines, getting shot up by your missiles the whole time, or charging foolishly head-on into your superior formations. But the AI beat me fair and square. My chieftains won't be so dismissive of the Men of the South from now on...