Generals wiping out whole spearmen units!?

[Richard]

in one charge usually only 10 or so survivors out of 60 from a charge by 15-20 general's bodyguards. Is there a way for me to change the charge bonus myself because currently it's not really much fun; to win a battle all I have to do is charge one unit with genral, pull back, charge the next, and so on until I've wiped out the enemy.

[infernocanuck]

General's bodyguard will wipe out spear militia. However, the bodyguard will have a much, much harder time dealing with professional spearmen. Militias are pretty weak in general, but are pretty decent defenders. Spear militia can hold gates prety well during a seige. On the field though, they do leave something to be desired.

However, don't see this too much as a defecit. In the very early game you will have economic problems if you build a sizable army right away. Since alot of the early spawned rebels and enemy factions are mostly militia units, your generals' bodyguard charge conpensates for your small army.

In the later game (after turn 100) you'll start to see some much more dificult spearmen. You charge those, and you'll be in deep.

[Richard]

What about for instance Dismounted Crusader Knights? Honestly, I haven't seen any unit able to stand up to a full frontal cavalry charge. I remember in RTW (or at least, RTR) charging spearmen full on was suicide

The keyword here being CHARGING. Running into really fast is fine, but the charge bonus is like hitting them with a truck not an armoured horse =/

[tornnight]

Those weren't spear men. RTW had the equivalent of pikemen.

In reality, small spears were rather useless against cavalry.

[Xeno_cws]

I must be playing a different game because in mine my general's body guard (usually around 60'ish) they get the floor wiped with their faces every time, unless I charge from behind and get out before they can fully turn around.

Usually when I leave them at it, one vs. one the militia man will win. This is mostly because after a charge the cavalry can't attack the front. That and it only takes one or two connected spear strikes to take the horse down.

Against later age spear men its not even funny.

[Hanny]

in one charge usually only 10 or so survivors out of 60 from a charge by 15-20 general's bodyguards. Is there a way for me to change the charge bonus myself because currently it's not really much fun; to win a battle all I have to do is charge one unit with genral, pull back, charge the next, and so on until I've wiped out the enemy.

There are a number of ways to go here.

One open up the unit file, look at the generals unit, see the 1.0 at the end?, thats the lethaility of any hit, ie any hit that overmatches defensive values produces 1 hp loss, so useing repalce all, replace 1.0 with 0.75, reduce other weapon types in the same order of magnitude, and you gain ameasure of uncertaitly of killing once a hit is adduced, making combat last a little longer and more specificly, the top end killers with high to hit values, less likly to mass exterimnate.

Two look at the generals charge bounus, reduce it to suit, i would not go this way persoanly.

Three, give everyone an extra HP, those 20 knights jnust inflicted 20 hps loss as they charged in, then did 20 against an inferior weapon armed oppunent, but now theat opponent has twice the satying power, and things will not be so hapy asa knight.

Four combinations of above, then you open up battle_config.xmland edit the following

- <config>
- <!-- global combat balancing factors
-->
- <combat-balancing>
- <missile-target-accuracy>
<infantry>0.8</infantry>
<cavalry>0.6</cavalry>
<elephants>0.4</elephants>
</missile-target-accuracy>
<melee-hit-rate>0.55</melee-hit-rate>
</combat-balancing>

change the melee-hit-rate>0.55</melee-hit-rate> to suit, yours may look like 2.0 at present, while mine does not, because im playing aropund with lethality myself!!.

[Richard]

Well I'll do a bit more playing and see if they can stand up to high end spears then. Thanks for the help guys =)

[Creslin]

Cav charges right now kill alot but I dont think its to bad, they are in general pretty terrible once they get into a melee so all they have in the charge. My cav units still take heavy loses charging spear units, maybe it would be better to have some of the soldiers thrown to the ground but still alive when they get charged.

Making it like RTW would be terrible, the phalanx units in that game were incredibly overpowered, they could stand up to a frontal charge from elephants for god sakes, I am glad that theres no really incredibly powerful formation like that in this game.