How to avoid losses during sieges?

[hugorune]

One of the ways that M2TW differs from RTW has really messed with my game style. It's this one: When you're besieging a city/castle, and you take the gatehouse, you no longer are able to capture the towers. Technically, you take the walls once you've broken through the gate, but the towers will still fire on your units right below. This is true even if you've knocked out all units nearby, and have a unit sitting right between 'up top'.

This is particularly frustrating if you're trying to melee nearby units on the walls, etc. because you end up losing more from the towers than fighting the other unit.

Does anyone know a way to actually capture or disable the towers? Or do you need missile siege equipment to destroy them?

[Mikelus Trento]

Always for me when I take the gatehouse *if there are no more enemy stragglers hanging around* they stop firing.

[superstylin]

No, I think he means when there are troops directly ontop of the gate, and you assualt the gate, with a couple squads under the group, and their towers just pelt you the whole time!

[ProudNerd]

its meant to be who has more men on top of the gate but it seems bugged it said i lost the walls but i never did they fired at the enemy and before I've taken the walls but still been shot and sometimes it wont let me take them even if I'm above the gate.

[Sammyboi]

The game seems to decide who 'owns' the towers at the gatehouse based on the number and proximity of both sides units. It looks to me like the calculation is based too heavily in the favour of the defender, so you (the attacker) might have two full units standing on the walls but as long as the defender has a couple of men standing near the base of the walls they still control the towers. The only way to stop the towers shooting you (short of destroying them) is to clear away every single non-routing enemy soldier from anywhere near it. Which is really quite annoying sometimes.

[mercja]

I just use catapults, etc at the beginning of the battle to take out all the towers before I actually advance toward the walls, then they don't fire at me anymore. Thats what the AI does in the holy lands and it irritates me to death.

[Lubeck]

I just use catapults, etc at the beginning of the battle to take out all the towers before I actually advance toward the walls, then they don't fire at me anymore. Thats what the AI does in the holy lands and it irritates me to death.

God forbid the AI do something smart

I use the same tactic if I am assaulting a city. Catapults are nice but I prefer trebuchets. That way I can also blow some holes in the walls to avoid the mass slaughter that comes from assaulting a single entrance. Kinda nice being able to flank the enemy and avoid that bloody battle.

[mercja]

@Lubeck

Have you discovered gunpowder yet? Just wait til you see what grand bombards and culverin do to them.

[hugorune]

I just use catapults, etc at the beginning of the battle to take out all the towers before I actually advance toward the walls, then they don't fire at me anymore. Thats what the AI does in the holy lands and it irritates me to death.

Sounds like that's the way to go, then. Thanks to everyone for the advice

[Trajan]

Moved to Battle Planning.

Using artillery to destroy towers is usually the best way to remove them out of the equation. I used to do it in RTW and it's still a good strategy in this game.

[CartmantheLame]

Hello all, I'm new here but decided to come out of lurk mode to post.

I sort of have a question regarding hitting towers during a seige. If you take the city are there any repairs that have to be done on the towers you took out?

[Mangalore]

you are attacking a bloody fortication!! Of course you'll take losses which is why you have to sweep the defenders of the walls and from the gates quickly. Retain an elite force to assault the gate (usually beefed up with some crappy units just to increase the numbers which the enemy has to shoot at to reduce the casualties among my core troops), simultaneously attack the walls beside the gate and where he has men on the walls (so they don't come to the others aid).

In short: Occupy the whole garrison with a multiple attacks all along the wall while breaking down the gate. usually he will only have one or two units to spare to hold the gate (with the guys ontop of the walls being attacked by ladders/siege towers). Then simply swamp that unit with about four units of any of your heaviest troops. If they hold, send in reinforcements, if they still hold unleash your cavalry.

However usually such an orchestrated attack leads to a quick rout by the unit near the gate at which point the units on the walls either try to retreat or are cut off and routed as well.

Other than that I really see no problem in having losses attacking a fortress or city, I usually only need at max two turns to get my army back to battle readiness (defeating an enemy full stack), and if I have to be quicker can easily rally mercs and stuff to strengthen me temporarily thanks to a just aquired settlement.

I actually like that the capture of the gatehouse can swing back and forth, this gives a sense of people running chaotically through town either quickly remanning the battlements or being chased away by a furious attack.

Otherwise a trebutchet shot certainly takes care of towers...

[Eric]

They key is artillery, trebuchets, mangonels, cannon. Whatever you can get. Get lots and lots of artillery, then pound their town to dust. Destroy towers, destroy the gates, destroy walls, reduce their units. Decimate them with artillery fire falling like snow, then you'll see if they still put up much of a fight

[OGGleep]

Eric, just clicked on your sig, what is that site all about?

Sorry don't mean to hijak.