What do you do with your skirmishers?

[Casusbelli07]

If you are playing as rome and trying to keep some historical bravado, do you let the skirmishers run from the front lines or do you let them take the first charge by the enemy, I'm speaking of course of velitates, not the naked funditores?

[Quinn Inuit]

I usually let 'em take the first charge, just long enough for the hastati to throw their pila. Then I haul them out as fast as possible.

[Turrosh Mak]

Alt A (select all)
Alt G (form group)
Alt 4 (inf first row, skirmisher second row, cav to the flanks)
Alt M (select all missile)
click off skirmishing
Go to town

[Delvecchio1975]

Alt A (select all)
Alt G (form group)
Alt 4 (inf first row, skirmisher second row, cav to the flanks)
Alt M (select all missile)
click off skirmishing
Go to town

hold it right there mister! are you saying that Alt 4 places your infantry in the first row, your skirmisher in the second, and your cavalry on the flanks?

[Jamey]

Playing as Rome, I stopped using Velites and switched to the Light Samnites. They have fewer javelins but are better in melee. I used them as flankers, bringing them around to volley into the flanks and rear of engaged enemies and then charge in to finish them off.

[danflores]

Yep, the Light Samnite Infantry have great combat capabilities for it low cost. They can hold a line for some time, they can skirmish and also make good flankers. Of course hastati could do the same and are much more stronger, but they have twice the upkeep price. Better to use them as "line infantry".

As for funditores, they're great, but just because the AI usually doesnt know how to act against missile troops...

[jakobh94]

I put them infront first, when they have throwned their spears once i make them go behind the princepes and continue the firering, and they also work as a aid troop when missiles are out.

[caledonius]

front rank ,then retreat behind principles.
When fighting elephants i put then to the flanks and let them kill the phants
I prefer the Roman skirmishers,rather then veleties

[Quinn Inuit]

Fun fact re: skirmishers

I've done a ton of editing to the AI formations file, and the general is now much less prone to charging suicidally. However, I've discovered one instance where he will: skirmishers. If you have a line of skirmishers in front of your troops, the enemy general may charge those. He'll try to flee if you attack him with normal troops, though.

[Ramiro]

I usually use a very thin line of skirmisher in fron of my pikemen. Usualy the point of the pikes are in fact beyond the line of skirmishers. This makes the AI charge the pikes frontally killling the enemy general 90% of the times.

I know, I know, this is cheating. But i am sick tired of the suicidal tendencies of the enemy general that charge ANY light infantry unit in ANY part of the line. As I am VERy fond of my light units i think;

Are you charging them anyway? Fine, get impalated.

I am also sick tired of the "runlikehell" hoplite, so I am not bothered about philisophical questions when it comes to massacrate them. I love mowing down hoplites with cavalry or lights, but i usually respect pikemen.

[Tiberius Tosi]

Here's how I use my velites, but first you must see the formation I use....

--H---H---H
P-V-P-V-P-V-P
--T-V-T-V-T

H= Hastati
P= Principes
T=Triarii
V= Velites

Basically I keep my velites in between the checkered infantry, and let them bombard the enemy just before they hit my hastati, and then while they are fighting my hastati, the velites in the back can hit them. While this mass bombarding of misiles and infantry fighting is going on, I swing around the side with my cavalry and hit them. Sometimes however, especially with naked barbarians, the cavalry are not needed to rout the enemy because the sheer number of misiles thrown (from hastati, principes, and velites) at one time and casualties taken makes them rout. Also I keep skirmish mode off on the velites, and turn fire at will on for hastati and principes

[Saint_jimmyz]

Personally, I don't use skirmishers at all, but use Princeps as skirmishers/first wave infantry and Triarii as the line troops. While effective in campaigns this army is expensive to maintain, but when it gets very experienced I just point it at a nation and say: "KILL", and watch the world fall. I do need the first 20 turns in a campaign to build up Italy's economy before I go into a major war, or else I run out of money very quickly.

[Traianus IX]

I use my skirmishers on different fronts for different purposes. As a Romans.On VH/VH of course. Against Gauls you dont really need more than 1-2 just for little supporting tasks. Heavy infantry make easy deal with ligth galic warbands. But against Germans, I use as many javelins throwers as possible because they are cheap and therefore ideal for javelin "exchange" with bloody german light infantry. Then I engage few heavy infantry (3-4, not more) and some cavalry to finish the job. The same with Cartaginians because of their supreme Berbers. Skirmishers special task is again huge phalanx formation such as those of Mac's. Once I engaged my heavy infantry with phalanx formations- in defending quard!!! I flank the battlefield with my skirmishers and than comes the most deadly effect of javelins- to the back of phalanx. After the first phlnx routes (very left or very right one), one of my HI cohorts gets free to engage other phlx and then goes "domino effect" and soon thousands of pikemen are routing. So you don't need many skirmishers for this if used properly. Don't forget to keep HI on DEFEND GUARD since they don't get tired and don't suicaidly advance against pikes. Their defend is strong enough to withstand prolonged pike attacking. After phlnx get tired you can release them from defending mode.

[Dgirth12]

I use my Skirmishers as pure missile at the front then pull them back and keep them as reserve infantry incase the poo hits the fan!

I find the Hastati can hold the front line against almost anything for a long duration, I think maybe Hastati are a little bit to strong as first line infantry ?

Its good to see so many people use there Skirmishers in different ways. I think have a go at online totalwar.

[pdanders]

Some of the heaviery skirmishers (thureophoroi) are actually quite good as light flanking infantry.. the bactrian ones are particularly good due to their armor.. but I've had success with the ptolemaic ones as well

Regular javelin throwers aren't that useful (except as garrison troops).. but the heavier skirmishers are very useful.. particularly if you put one or two at each end of your phalanx line for the macedonian style factions...