Favourite battle tactic

[Krieglord]

I was just wondering what is your favourite tactic in a fight give details on it and how it works if you want post pics.

My tactic is a very simple one that works very well against mass armies of weaker units.
You need 3 hoptile units spartans work best but other hoptiles will work just not as good.
You need to start the battle with all your troops in the far left corner of the far right corner of the deployment box.
When the battle starts take your 3 units and line them up in the corner of the map from 1 side of the edge to the other so that your 3 units are only able to be attacked from the front.
Put them in gaurd mode and wait your enemy has no chioce but to attack from the front and as long as you keep your units from braeking the line you will win or atleast destroy 3/4 of the enemy.

Again this tactic works best against large armies of lighter infantry parthians and pontus and saba are the best enemy to use with this tactic.

So thats mine whats yours.

[atraps]

that tactic works but i stay away from it

wat i like to do is block the enemy at a bridge, put a couple of phalnxs at the end of the bridge and enjoy the show

sometimes if the enemy brings archers or ha i also bring a couple of archers so i can counter them

only problem comes is some units in XGM can swim...

[EyebrowsMulligan]

wat i like to do is block the enemy at a bridge, put a couple of phalnxs at the end of the bridge and enjoy the show

Doesn't work against the Parthians, their heavy javelin-armed cav will murder any infantry unit attempting to guard a bridge.

The Parthians are unquestionably the toughest army my Seleucids have faced, they can annihilate most units using concentrated armour-piercing javelin fire without breaking a sweat. The most effective tactic against this particular foe seems to be to use a few phalanxes (flanked by Thorakitai), deploy slingers in front of them and foot archers behind and then lure the heavy cav into charging at the slingers, normally the slingers can melt away into the phalanx, which the cav then collide with (all the time getting shot up by the archers) and then as they retreat the slingers go back in front and the archers shoot them up from behind. Even doing this it's a war of attrition against these pink pyjama wearing sods as they invariably blast you with so many missiles that you really are "fighting in the shade".

Another dodgy thing about fighting the Parthians is that it's almost impossible to inflict losses as they retreat since every single one of the vermin is normally riding some kind of horse.

[atraps]

Doesn't work against the Parthians, their heavy javelin-armed cav will murder any infantry unit attempting to guard a bridge.

The Parthians are unquestionably the toughest army my Seleucids have faced, they can annihilate most units using concentrated armour-piercing javelin fire without breaking a sweat. The most effective tactic against this particular foe seems to be to use a few phalanxes (flanked by Thorakitai), deploy slingers in front of them and foot archers behind and then lure the heavy cav into charging at the slingers, normally the slingers can melt away into the phalanx, which the cav then collide with (all the time getting shot up by the archers) and then as they retreat the slingers go back in front and the archers shoot them up from behind. Even doing this it's a war of attrition against these pink pyjama wearing sods as they invariably blast you with so many missiles that you really are "fighting in the shade".

Another dodgy thing about fighting the Parthians is that it's almost impossible to inflict losses as they retreat since every single one of the vermin is normally riding some kind of horse.

it doesnt work against parthians but it sure works against romans

[CaesarVincens]

I like to do whatever version of the hammer and anvil I can, or just a hammer. That works if you have enough cavalry coming from at least two or three sides.

[TM Is Back]

It depends on the map.

When i got hoplites and the corner is not much lower then the rest of the map then i place my soldiers there. It only works when the enemy doesns't have to many peltasts or archers cause then the hoplites die so quickly. When they do have many peltasts i place the troops in the corner and when the enemy is close i charge with all my troops on them so, because they are tired.(Yes in my game the soldiers exhaust. I left that off)

When playing Romans, i place my soldiers in the Battle line the Romans used.
Velites,Hestatis,principis and in the final infantery line Triarii.

When playing as parthians or an other faction with horse archers, i try to get the enemy between 2 lines (or in a box) so i can easely shoot them down.

[Hurlbut]

When playing as parthians or an other faction with horse archers, i try to get the enemy between 2 lines (or in a box) so i can easely shoot them down.

Which is really what you want to do with the horse archers. The shield bonus is doubled against arrows, so you want to attack the units from different directions for two reasons; 1. to get around their shields and 2. to keep them focus on one of your units while the other units shoot them from right and behind of the enemy units.

[TM Is Back]

Which is really what you want to do with the horse archers. The shield bonus is doubled against arrows, so you want to attack the units from different directions for two reasons; 1. to get around their shields and 2. to keep them focus on one of your units while the other units shoot them from right and behind of the enemy units.

And when all your arrows are gone, and there is still an enemy left, you charge at them from behind.

[DimeBagHo]

I try to avoid using bridges or the corner of the map to gain an advantage, but I do take high ground if it's available.

The tactic I use most often is just the hammer and anvil - rapid advance to engage with the enemy line, followed quickly by a flank attack with cavalry.

The tactic I like most when it works is to break through the center. I put one or more elite units of infantry or cavalry in the center of my second line to exploit the break. I use one of several tactics to create the break: concentrated missile fire on the center of the enemy line; an elite unit of mine matched against a a weak enemy unit; a staggered advance where one half of my line advances further than the other half; etc.

[Spartan Guard Itachi]

I dont like using a kind of glitch, like map corners to gain advantage either.

My favorite tactic up until recently was unload Parthian horse archers and let them run amok firing arrows and pretty much killing anything, but its way way to easy to kill any army no matter what and so gets boring

[TM Is Back]

I try to avoid using bridges or the corner of the map to gain an advantage, but I do take high ground if it's available.

The tactic I use most often is just the hammer and anvil - rapid advance to engage with the enemy line, followed quickly by a flank attack with cavalry.

The tactic I like most when it works is to break through the center. I put one or more elite units of infantry or cavalry in the center of my second line to exploit the break. I use one of several tactics to create the break: concentrated missile fire on the center of the enemy line; an elite unit of mine matched against a a weak enemy unit; a staggered advance where one half of my line advances further than the other half; etc.

You use that tactic with phalanx as well?

[CaesarVincens]

EyebrowsMulligan,
If you are the Seleucids then you should have access to Syrian Archers, and if the Parthians haven't taken Media, Median Cavalry. Those two can give the Parthians a run for their money.

Recently in my H/H Roman campaign, I had to fight off a nearly full stack of Scythian Horses, about half HAs. Fortunately, I had three Numidian archers, two Roman archers, each with silver weapons, and one Balearic and three Roman slingers, those combined with three Equites at 66 men each (on huge scale) and a General with about 50 men, drove that stack off, killing about 95% of the horse archers and 80% of the whole stack. I lost a unit of Numidians and a slingers unit, but I beat them.

[EyebrowsMulligan]

EyebrowsMulligan,
If you are the Seleucids then you should have access to Syrian Archers, and if the Parthians haven't taken Media, Median Cavalry. Those two can give the Parthians a run for their money.

I do have quite a few Syrian archers, many of which are 5-6 chevron veterans with silver weapon and armour upgrades. But I gave up Media early on to form a defensive line between Susa-Charax while I concentrated on destroying the Ptolemies and taking Asia Minor so the only Median cav I've got are mercs.

The problem is that virtually every single Parthian unit has a ranged attack of some sort - some of which (heavy cav) are extremely powerful armour piercing attacks - so my usual tactic of 'thinning out' the enemy's missile units as they advance isn't nearly as effective against Parthians as it is most other factions. Added to that is the decent armour that both Persian cav and heavy cav have; because of this I've found slingers to be increasingly useful against this foe (especially when they start to get a little experience).

All in all I second TM Is back's statement that this is the "Best mod I've ever played". It's nice to be challenged - it makes victory all the sweeter.

[Ephialtes The Dog]

My favorite is the hammer and anvil tactic.

[TM Is Back]

My favorite is the hammer and anvil tactic.

Yes well could you explain those cause i have no idea what they are

[Hurlbut]

Yes well could you explain those cause i have no idea what they are

Anvil is the hardest place, basically you use heavy troops, who are very tough, to pin the enemy in place. Then the hammer is something like heavy cavalry (big charge bonus) which you use to hammer the pinned down enemy, catching it between hammer and anvil.

[TM Is Back]

Anvil is the hardest place, basically you use heavy troops, who are very tough, to pin the enemy in place. Then the hammer is something like heavy cavalry (big charge bonus) which you use to hammer the pinned down enemy, catching it between hammer and anvil.

Ah thank you. Hold the enemy at bay and then flank them. Only problem with me is then that i dont got so many heavy cav. I usually use just infantery, some missile units and maybe 3 or for cavalrie units.

[Zarax]

My tactic is simple: an anvil with 5 of the heaviest armored troops that I can afford will soak arrows nicely from the front and last reasonably long even against legionaries while the hammer is usually 2-4 heavy cav or sword/axe inf with 4 heavy peltast style inf behind.
All this supported by 4 skirmishing cav if available and 1-2 slingers/archers/jolly units plus general.
Works reasonably well against all but post marian stacks which requires either elites or a stack of skirmishers in support (mostly because of the scary experience bonuses that the romans have in recruitment).

[Krieglord]

I still like the corner trick because it lets me slaughter large armies with a few units.

[Scutarii]

I still like the corner trick because it lets me slaughter large armies with a few units.

Its also an RTW exploit, which is too cheap for me to use. Its a bit like a noob box with phalanxes...

Anyway, I usually just use a hammer + anvil, with anvil consisting of 4-5 phalanxes, plus 1-2 hoplites/whatever I can find to protect the flanks and act as slower hammer. Then its just heavy cav as the hammer, and with archers + skirmishers to back them up (usually try to concentrate fire on a couple of units in the centre or one flank to break it first) it works quite well.