Learning the hard way

**mikeb32123** · January 09, 2008, 07:50 PM

So I was pumped that I now had Lithuanian Archers, them being able to lay down those nasty stakes. I'm being attacked at my castle, and I lay them down right in front of the gates. As one expects, they shred the enemy cavalry. My infantry soon routs those that survive the stakes. I send out my general's bodyguard to chase down the routers and get me some prisoners. So they do. Then I see that the second wave (reinforcements) is getting near my gate. So I charge my general back inside the gate.

Oops.

It took me a minute to figure out why my bodyguard unit went from 27 guys to 2, and why my general (prince!) was dead. Lesson learned, never charge in on your own stakes

Aftermath: Thankfully, my prince was 60 years old, so losing him wasn't that big a blow. And I still won the battle, the reinforcements were only a few units. But still, I'll make sure I know exactly where my stakes are from now on...

**homefry** · January 09, 2008, 11:14 PM

That sucks...

Can your cavalry get killed from your own pikemen spear wall?

**loquar** · January 10, 2008, 01:45 AM

Originally Posted by homefry

That sucks...

Can your cavalry get killed from your own pikemen spear wall?

No, your cavalry/pikemen will always move aside or split ranks and let the cavalry through. Or else the cavalry will go around. The only troops that usually have a chance of killing your own troops are missile and siege, or in the unlucky case of mikeb archers with stakes

@ mikeb32123 your prince was 60? how old was your king/sultan? O_o and can i get some of his longevity pills please?

**Garnier** · January 10, 2008, 06:20 AM

Spikes kill 100% of the cavalry. So yeah, don't send your general out the gate if there is no way for him to get back in.

**mikeb32123** · January 10, 2008, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by loquar

@ mikeb32123 your prince was 60? how old was your king/sultan? O_o and can i get some of his longevity pills please?

Hah the king was only like 55 or so, the prince was somehow older

**loquar** · January 11, 2008, 02:05 AM

Originally Posted by mikeb32123

Hah the king was only like 55 or so, the prince was somehow older

Realy? I wonder how the game justifies him being older than his dad? I mean cousins and uncles and stuff.. who knows... but father and son?

Seems a little bit of a programming faux-pas to me lol

**Pontifex Maximus** · January 10, 2008, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by homefry

That sucks...

Can your cavalry get killed from your own pikemen spear wall?

no. but it slows them down

**Kratos** · January 10, 2008, 01:05 AM

That happens to me all the time... It's the kind of situation where I usually load and replay the battle.

**Hungary Horace** · January 10, 2008, 07:33 AM

cheaters never prosper Kratos!!!

**eggthief** · January 10, 2008, 06:41 AM

not 100%, but it´s between 95% and 100% for sure.

**Maul_R** · January 10, 2008, 01:31 PM

Untrue. Im fairly sure you can walk your cavalry through spikes with zero fatalities. If you charge/run them through, yes most if not all will die.

Ive actually seen enemy calvary "walk" through my spikes unharmed as well.

**Sacc** · January 10, 2008, 12:28 PM

Been there done that. What's worse is having your calvary route and just run right into them. Otherwise, you can kinda control your cav and stop them from doing that.

What do your need for lith. archers? I just started the tetonic and only have gotten baltic and peasent

**Ältester der Motten** · January 10, 2008, 01:12 PM

Does that only happen when they charge or generally when they move at stakes, even if at slow pace?

**Captain Spanky** · January 10, 2008, 01:25 PM

Walking through stakes wont cause cavalry to suffer, so a little micromanagement can save a lot of lives.

And cheaters always prosper, thats why they cheat...

**eggthief** · January 10, 2008, 01:48 PM

Which Captain Spanky said.

**Xix** · January 10, 2008, 02:02 PM

I also learned this lesson the hard way -

a couple of weeks ago I had just gotten the ability to recruit basic longbowmen in my first campaign. I set them up in a defensive position and deployed stakes. The battle started and I sent my general out to harrass the enemy as he approached my lines. He had just killed 80%+ of the enemys archers and all of his arty and I was bringing him back to my lines for safety. I had plotted a course that I thought went around my forces, but he ended up just barely scrapping the stakes of my leftmost archer units and in less than 2 seconds I lost just about every bodyguard and the general.

Sure as hell taught me a lesson.

**Razbojnik** · January 10, 2008, 04:28 PM

Just surround yourself with stakes,and harras your enemy with archers and arty(you should have some),its like you're fighting from your miniature fort.You'll be able to kill more thatn 60% of the enemy army,the remainders will be easily killed by your longbows and general.You dont even need to return bact to miniature fort.And in city-defending cituations,just enter on the other gate.

**Garnier** · January 10, 2008, 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by Razbojnik

Just surround yourself with stakes,and harras your enemy with archers and arty(you should have some),its like you're fighting from your miniature fort.You'll be able to kill more thatn 60% of the enemy army,the remainders will be easily killed by your longbows and general.You dont even need to return bact to miniature fort.And in city-defending cituations,just enter on the other gate.

You will kill all their cavalry, if they charge you. But infantry don't die on stakes, and of course if they have archers they'll fire back. But yeah, against cavalry nations, this tactic is hard to beat.