XGM: Tactics and Strategies

[HeroSK]

Hi all...

Please share your experiences here, your strategies on campaign map and tactics on battlefiled such as troop combinations and your formations..

Here my experiences, since I mostly played with Parthia, I can only give information about them.

Campaign Strategy; capture quickly rebels towns around, then attack seleucids especially from south of Caspian Sea since there are some cities that dont have wall and they are easy targets for HA based armies. Also, for battering rams try to hire eastern spearmen merhaneries. Also, try to reach Indian Aor to get cheap indian spearmen. If bactrians are still waiting, then make a good army and invade bactria..but be carefull there is always unrest there..


Battlefield Tactic; horse archers are the only units that you have as Parthia but in XGM they have larger numbers than ordinary cavalry (in large settings 70). Thus, this make HA even more powerful. Seleucid armies are asy targets for your HA. Try to surround them and shoot their backs. But be careful about heavy peltasts (thureophoroi), they have large shields and can survive under heavy arrow fire. Also, dont engage in melee until you run out of ammo. Lastly, carefully observe enemy troops morale. Charge the enemy unit that are wavering.

Thanks in advance..

[supeerme]

Greek city's states:campaign, start building a barracks in Sparta (or a wall.) and then start churning out your troops out of there. attack cydonda (spelling) and then (when you can train it) train hoplites, light cavalry and archers. you WILL go to war by the TSE and the macs even if you help them. (as that happens to me when i was owning Egypt)

but also at the same time.....you should also start to get an army to Italy/sicily if you want....but then you will face the Romans. you shouldn't worry about Asia unless you want to recreate the empire.

Battlefield: if you got a mostly plnakex (spelling) army, and there is a hill, use that hill!

If you got archers, put them in front of the army, cav at the sides but also behind the infantry as well.... if fighting the Romans, then you must make sure that your sides and back is well defended (as they ALWAYS go behind your army and then strike while your front is under attack.) attack the flanks using your cav but make sure that your achers are NOT firing on any troops that are about to attack your cav.

this is what i mostly do....so if you got a different strategy then that's cool with me.

[Hurlbut]

Well you want the Minor Asia because it is an economic powerhouse, especially around the coast.

[synthesis]

Here's my classic steppe tactic versus a more powerful enemy. If I have an army of HAs, I let an enemy army attack and I expend all my arrows and then withdraw from battle. The AI will then follow up and attack me once more, where I will proceed to expend all my arrows again. By now, the (originally) superior army can be dispatched in hand-to-hand.

[HeroSK]

Here's my classic steppe tactic versus a more powerful enemy. If I have an army of HAs, I let an enemy army attack and I expend all my arrows and then withdraw from battle. The AI will then follow up and attack me once more, where I will proceed to expend all my arrows again. By now, the (originally) superior army can be dispatched in hand-to-hand.

Nice tactic. Have you ever lose men while withdrawing..?

Also, how to fight aganist skirmisher heavy armies ? Especially, thureophoroi is really a pain...

[Balikedes]

Nice tactic. Have you ever lose men while withdrawing..?

Also, how to fight aganist skirmisher heavy armies ? Especially, thureophoroi is really a pain...

Lots and lots of cavalry, jav cav are good, you can use them to isolate/draw out a unit then pound it with your cavalry regulars. You can combine this tactic with some archers to thin out their numbers.
I hate thureophoi armies....

[synthesis]

Nice tactic. Have you ever lose men while withdrawing..?

Also, how to fight aganist skirmisher heavy armies ? Especially, thureophoroi is really a pain...

The point of the first time around is not to take casualties. I keep at a distance and use the cantabrian circle when necessary, so I only take losses from other missile units. When the enemy engages again on the campaign map on the same turn is when you gotta break a few eggs. Still works pretty well except for say, those obnoxious argyraspids.

[Hurlbut]

Skirmishers are a bit more vulnerable to arrows than your heavy troops. Their only main protection is shield which is very situational on directions of the attacks against them

[Unknown Soldier]

If enemy troops are set to skirmish - the way to beat them is to keep them moving so that they cannot hurl/fire their javiln/sling bullets/arrows at you.
Your missile troops remain stationary and just mow them down - easy.

[Scutarii]

If enemy troops are set to skirmish - the way to beat them is to keep them moving so that they cannot hurl/fire their javiln/sling bullets/arrows at you.
Your missile troops remain stationary and just mow them down - easy.

I love using this last one. AI archers firing on you? Just mock-charge them with some light cav. Problem solved.

I have another. As Carthage, there are a number of opening campaign strategies:
1. This is my favourite. Withdraw your troops from Sicily, including that general in Lilybauem, and leave one unit in Lilybauem. Take those troops back to Africa and conquer the Eastern Kingdom cities there. Then concentrate on Iberia. Conquring IBeria is relatively easy, and is a great source of money. It also allows you to avoid fighting a long drawn out war with a powerful Rome. Once Iberia is conquered, there are two options: 1, you can continue along the mediterranean coast to the North and East of Iberia, or 2, you can hit Rome from behind in Sicily(this ones usually better).
Once you've done that, just blitz Sicily, send some spies to tell you if Rome is sending back some stacks from Northern Italy, and keep pushing until you have all of Italy. Then post a stack to guard Italy, one to guard Iberia (you should already have one here), and move onto greece or Egypt.

2. You can go for the long drawn out war with Rome from the start. But without Southern Africa and Iberia to draw tropos from, it wil be difficult. I like the first one better.

[Unknown Soldier]

Faction with elephants fighting infantry armies

The ol' pachyderm sandwich tactic.

2 Units deployed, one far left, one far right.

Pin the opposing army in place.

Move the two elephant units past the enemy line and then swing round 90 degrees towards the centre and charge along the back of the enemy line!

Watch the enemy fall apart and rout in terror as you laugh!

[Unknown Soldier]

Barbarian Factions Gaul/German/Thrace - always try fight battles during the winter - barbarians get bonuses in the snow - unlike the soft southern perfumed non hairy peoples

[Ephialtes The Dog]

Please edit post next time.

[Ephialtes The Dog]

Hammer and anvil and choke tactics work best with the GCS imho.