Unit Formations. What are they, What do they do?

[Eldren]

So there are several unit formations in game. I was hoping to know what they did for a troop unit. Not what they do in theory, But actual cause and effect.

I know of 3 formations so far.

1) Shield Wall:
Shield Wall brings your Solders closer together in a Box like form. The Models will raise their shields. The unit in this formation will move slower while travailing acrossed the battlefield. But what else?

2) Spear Wall:
Spear Wall brings your Solders closer together in a Box like form. The Models will raise their Weapons and then point them foreword. The unit in this formation will move slower while travailing acrossed the battlefield. But what else?

3) And Schiltrom:
Schiltrom brings your Solders closer together in a circle like form. Your solders will face away from the center of the Circle With their Weapons Raised and pointed outward. Any Officer or Hero will be in the dead center of the Circle. The unit in this formation will move slower while travailing acrossed the battlefield. But what else?



Do these Formations do any thing else? And are there other Formations? If So, what do they do?

[Drazule]

Shield Wall puts units closer together, which means that there's a lower chance of individual units being picked off by being separated and surrounded by more numerous foes. It would be logical to assume they take reduced ranged damage in this mode too.

Spear Wall wrecks cavalry charging in like wooden spikes do afaik. They get more spread out, and are meant to take cavalry like in guard mode.

Schiltrom increases the mass of the unit, which means they are much less likely if not impossible to move or break their formation, and they will be much more effective as they will not break formation. There is also just more of them physically attacking because they are in a circle, thus more damage.

There is also a Wedge formation where cavalry form up in a giant triangle. This allows the unit to charge deep into enemy formations, physically separating the two halves with a column of horsemen.

[Teknokraatti]

This topic was also discussed in H:TW - Quick Questions & Answers thread at page 7. You might want to check there too, Eldren.

[VictorAYorke]

I've seen units in Schiltrom take far fewer losses than without while in melee, and I suspect it's something to do with reducing quick-kill chance instead of holding off the enemy or stunlocking them with dense spears. Couldn't tell you for sure however, at least without staring at Zora Infantry squads fighting Sheikah and Hylian Infantry over and over...

Spear Wall, if memory serves, is a pike phalanx formation, so most likely comes with all the bonuses and restrictions associated with pike blocks.

Shield Wall is a Viking / Saxon formation designed for defensive melee, close-in and with swords instead of spears. I'll need to investigate them though.

@Teknokraatti
I suspect Eldren is trying to kick off more discussion, to prevent the forums from lapsing into total inactivity (thus the four bumped threads yesterday) . For that reason I'm willing to help him along, despite the possible duplication of information.

[Drazule]

Yeah. Oddly enough, once Neph starting posting Hyrule Historia stuff again, the forums just kind of fell silent.

[Teknokraatti]

The game actually features 9 different formations:
1. Square: Most common formation featuring good cohesion, maneuverability, mass and flexibility. Square and horde are the only normal formations and every unit must have this formation or horde or else they will crash the game. One'll find yourself using this formation all the time and it is quite often the best choice even for units that have other possibilities.

2. Horde: The other basic formation. Horde is pretty much the worst formation available because of its extremely poor cohesion, pretty poor maneuverability and poor mass while being somewhat vulnerable to light ranged units and prone to usually take a few casualties from area damage. However, horde is quite resistant to ranged fire because of its irregular form and the empty space between units. As horde is so much more prone to casualties in melee, one should always be more careful with his horde units. I can't remember any horde units having other formations available, so they are somewhat compromised by this fact.

3: Wedge: This formation is very cumbersome and hard to steer while being an easy target for ranged fire. However, at the same time the wedge offers superior cohesion, mass and speed. It is formation for heavy cavalry charges, used to break through the lines and attack the weaker units behind and disrupt enemy cohesion. Usually only cavalry can use wedge, and even then it is very situational. I don't usually use the wedge.

4: Shieldwall: This formation has very good mass and cohesion while retaining some flexibility. However, units in shieldwall move slowly, can quickly suffer crippling casualties from heavy fire and due to slow moving are vulnerable if caught on move and tend to tire faster when covering large distances due to having to run for longer periods of time. Shieldwall vastly improves the unit's defensive capabilities and thus are much less vulnerable to light fire and melee than they would be without shieldwall. Can be used with spear units too. Use whenever sensible.

5: Schiltron: This formation is a dense circle of troops which, when stationary, is impossible to flank and has good mass. Schiltron also offers some protection against melee, but not as much as shieldwall. It can be used to stop charging infantry to give your ranged units a few more volleys, or to fight enemy cavalry. Schiltron is slow and vulnerable to heavy fire and should thus be used with caution. I don't usually find much use to this formation.

6: Spearwall: This formation is also known as phalanx, as mentioned earlier. It can stop light enemies for a long time and offer heavy enemies good resistance. Spearwall, if used correctly, is a very murderous formation able to stop enemy charges like a brick wall and get rid of their cavalry very quickly. Spearwall, while retaining some flexibility, is very slow and suffers massive casualties if flanked or attacked from rear. It is also weak to both heavy and light fire and without protection will suffer heavily. Use with every unit that can use it, a very good formation.

7: Contramarch: This formation is a specialized formation for musketeers and while looking quite good, is heavily bugged. If used like it should be in M2TW, units with contramarch will rain fire upon their enemies with very good speed causing great casualties. However, they tend to stop firing if facing casualties itself. IRL there was also a very similar tactic called the caracole.

8: Testudo: This formation grants the ultimate protection against light enemy fire but takes a long time to arrange and is very slow and vulnerable to heavy fire.. However, while many parts of it still remain in the game files, it can't presently be used at all.

9: Cantabrian circle: This formation gives horse archers protection against enemy fire and enhanced mobility, helping them to retreat when threatened, but it has drawbacks too. Cantabrian circle occupies a lot of space and quickly exhausts the unit, due to constant running. Use with horse archers that have to stay at some place near the enemy to give them help in getting away should a counterattack occur.