New favorite thing to do...

**General Tony** · December 22, 2008, 06:33 PM

So I have started a campain as england because I love archers and england has the best. While playing I had an idea and tried it out. I discovered that I really enjoy doing it.

Well heres what I do, I make either an army of 10, 15, or 20 units, all archers, and use it to patrol my lands and crush smaller enemy armies. The biggest army I have taken out was about 600 men and I only had 6 peasent archers and 4 longbow men. That battle cost me bout 120 men but thats only because I hit enter and started the battle before I was ready

But I still took out almost 400 of the enemy! I normally put the weakest archers out front but if the enemy has cavalry I put a rank of longbow men it the front with stakes.

Bottom line is its a great way to take out some armys and an all archer army is great for ambushes

SO if you have never done this give it a shot, its great fun

**Lord Feloric's Ambassador** · December 23, 2008, 01:36 PM

What difficulty are you playing on?

**General Tony** · December 23, 2008, 04:50 PM

Right now I have the battle difficulty on medium as I havent really been a serious player for too long so im tryin to get the hang of things before I make it harder.

**Lord Feloric's Ambassador** · December 23, 2008, 05:44 PM

There's no shame is starting out slow, but you may not see as much success with this strategy on a harder difficulty. Especially if your fighting a more balanced army with heavy infantry and heavy cavalry.

**StalkAndStrike** · December 23, 2008, 09:04 PM

Originally Posted by Lord Feloric's Ambassador

There's no shame is starting out slow, but you may not see as much success with this strategy on a harder difficulty. Especially if your fighting a more balanced army with heavy infantry and heavy cavalry.

Thus the difficulty I encounter everytime....if theres enough infantry, you will lose regardless on hard, or veryhard, yet if cavalry if the main body, it shouldnt be hard with enough stakes

**Kawee** · December 25, 2008, 06:26 AM

But this will only work with England. "Normal" archers who can't plant stake would get murdered by cavalry charges.

**Lysimachus** · December 26, 2008, 04:34 AM

Deploy your longbow men two lines deep and in the front. If you deploy them behind suckish archers they'll have to adjust their arc which means that rather than shooting straight at the enemy they'll shoot a load of arrows in to the sky which is just useless.

**tuore** · December 31, 2008, 01:57 PM

I usually put stakes on two rows, so that those who get over the first one, get stuck on another one. Then put archers behind the stakes, and fire arrows towards them.

**Lysimachus** · December 31, 2008, 02:41 PM

You'd need alot of archers for that to be effective. The problem is, you're exchanging length for breadth, and if the AI decided to walk a round those stakes then they wouldn't have very far to go.

**Sodbuster** · January 01, 2009, 02:50 AM

Park archers on top of a hill, surround them with stakes, turn skirmish off. There, you win.

**Viking Prince** · January 01, 2009, 03:02 AM

When do you use the stakes? If I am attacking, I need to take the battle to the enemy or it will never end. If I am on the defensive and on an open field -- stakes might be useful for a handul of battles. The only use I can see is on defense in settlements or beseiging and awaiting the enemy to sally out. Any other ideas willl be appreciated.

**Lysimachus** · January 01, 2009, 07:03 AM

If you are against the mongols and you have an army in the open then stakes will prove VERY useful then. Those Mongol Heavy Lancers are a pain to deal with!

**Viking Prince** · January 01, 2009, 07:06 AM

Originally Posted by Alex Coles

If you are against the mongols and you have an army in the open then stakes will prove VERY useful then. Those Mongol Heavy Lancers are a pain to deal with!

Agreed, but I think I covered that:

If I am on the defensive and on an open field -- stakes might be useful for a handul of battles.

**Lysimachus** · January 01, 2009, 08:50 AM

Ah, my bad! I think you've covered pretty much all chances you get to use stakes in your post. The problem is, stakes just aren't an offensive weapon.

**Muagan_ra** · January 07, 2009, 12:32 PM

I remember the gleeful days of Horse Archer armies in RomeTW. Just amass them into an enormous block, a 'battery of firepower', and run them about when the enemy gets close. The overwhelming firepower makes a mockery of even the heaviest troops, and nothing can catch them.

**France** · January 09, 2009, 10:38 PM

On harder difficulty, cavalry likes to go around the stakes, so take care to set up a square of stakes or stakes in the front and a schiltrom of spearmen at the flanks.