Fighting on the Walls

[Azurius]

I've been wondering about this for quite some time, even into my veteran years of my M2TW, is there any way to get the upperhand during a fight on the wall?

Back in RTW, I remember you were able to knock enemy soldier off the walls therefore I always sent my heavy infantry to wedge into the enemy. Generally, with a Siege Tower or two it was an easy victory.

Now in M2TW I feel as if it's a fight and forget type of battle. I send up my soldiers and they sort of duke it out, sometimes gaining some ground. The only thing I can really do is set my general nice and close and rally the hell out of my wavering troops. Even with multiple ladders and/or siege tower my troops get very boxed in and the only way I can get them to make a break is sending troops through the gate and into the enemies backside. Bad tidings to me if they have a better footsoldier up there. I think it's useless to take the walls unless anybody knows a few tricks?

[stormbringer951]

Yeah, I know. It is useless as I play. I just build a ram, man it with peasants and ram down the gate. For more advanced settlements, I build 3-4 rams, and 7-8 siege towers if I outnumber the enemy badly.

[HighLord z0b]

Use catapults or trebuchets to knock down the walls and you don't need to worry about it. It sounds obvious but it does make a big difference. Sometimes you don't even need to knock down the whole wall, once you start hurling rocks at the wall the enemy will run off that wall and then you can send your ladders/ siege towers onto that section. The enemy will sometimes send them back up but hopefully you will have you men on the wall and it will be a fair fight.

If you can't build catapults yet and your up against big walls the only option you have is to rely on superior numbers and superior troops. In that case build lots of ladders instead of siege towers, that way you can get your superior numbers on the walls and eventually you will outflank the defenders.

[Elvallie]

Assault the walls with heavy swordsmen, preferably some foot knights. Try to take one segment of wall with two units and to assault at least two segments. Don't put all your troops in the same side. Spread the attack to the three sides if you can. Use the spears to go through the gates.

And before all, use all your bombardment ammo if you have.

[stormbringer951]

Just knock down the gate with a ram manned by cheap units. Use siege equipment to knock down two sections of wall on either side of that. The AI should begin to fall back, or if they stay in place, your HI slaughters them. If not, your heavy cav kills their retreating troops.

[Maurader]

defending units get a big bonus on the walls. I never take walls. Its either battering ram/spies in the early era, or its wait for the siege units to catch up with the army and take it in a turn. Once you are carting around a few mortars/culverins, even a citidel is easy to take down. God forbid you get a monster bombard or basilisk.

[phyacis]

>defending units get a big bonus on the walls

I think they only get the bonus if you're using ladders (and not with siege towers). Either way, more often than not the best use of ladders and towers is to spread them around at the time of deployment, so the defender has to spread out his troops leaving the gate less well guarded. Wait till the gate goes down, then drop the ladders If the defender doesnt guard the walls where your ladders are then of course use the ladders to take those walls and flank the gate defenders etc.

[Spartan90]

Just find a wall that is unprotected, and put your ladders there. Your men will scale the walls with no trouble, then they can run accross the walls and take on the men holding the walls near the gates

[blaunrated]

When I'm defending the walls I always put the guys with the largest possible attack and don't even care about their defensive skills, and when I'm attacking I try to focus more on their armor then their overall defensive skills, because it seems to me that that's all that helps up there. Also have archers wherever the enemy is not coming, don't put archers with no hand to hand skills up there hoping that they will delay the enemy from getting down, they'll do more damage the longer they can keep shooting their bows. Of coarse if the archer also has good hand to hand attack that rule obviously does not apply to them, but I'd still try to let them shoot as long as possible.

[Grimmy]

Taking the walls is always an ugly business. Best avoided, when possible.

[Tantive]

Theres a tactic I found out, which only works actually if you have a forrest or hidable something on the battle map, to get a sorta ninja ladder attack.

Go to the side of the settlement, as far away as possible as deployment allows, compared to your main army. Place the ladder as close as possible to the castle wall, then let the unit drop the ladder, and hide them in the forrest.

The enemy will not see the units, and will not defend against it when the battle starts.

Then run your units to the ladders and climb the walls. Even if they send units to intercept them, it means there is less at your main armies side.

You could even rush yourself to the town center if nobody can respond sufficiently.