-USEFUL INFORMATION-

[Obliterate76]

It has come to my attention, that very few M2TW players know and understand how to make missle units, (cavalry, bowmen, gunpowder, etc...) Charge...What's this? Charge you say!?! "Don't they have to wait till their quivers are emptied?? No, no my friend. All you simply have to do, is hold down the ALT key to enable your missle units to charge. May your battles have new meaning!

[carbuncle2322]

haha. Useful fodder indeed.

[lordextra0]

the problem is that when they charge they get right to the enemy and THEN draw they meele weapon wich nullyfies their charge bonus
anyway good idea posting this here (would have lost lots of battles already had I not found this out (I did find this out in my 2nd battle though))

[Aenima]

wow i thought everyone knew this already? i feel privileged to have discovered it myself

[Gnostiko]

the problem is that when they charge they get right to the enemy and THEN draw they meele weapon wich nullyfies their charge bonus

Hmmm, that's odd. My archers are nothing if paranoid; they pull out their melee weapons far too often, and whip 'em out the second I send them in for a last, desperate, charge.

[Yojimbo]

the problem is that when they charge they get right to the enemy and THEN draw they meele weapon wich nullyfies their charge bonus
anyway good idea posting this here (would have lost lots of battles already had I not found this out (I did find this out in my 2nd battle though))

OMG not their 1 or 2 charge bonus!! yes i get that bug too its annoying.

[lordextra0]

OMG not their 1 or 2 charge bonus!! yes i get that bug too its annoying.

I know it's basically next to nothing but it also makes them not block so the fist line basically dies agains well peasants or milita if not well armoured

[penquin11]

no the question is how to charge successfully with archers...aka: ROUND 1 peasant archers(away team) vs. Muire......who will win (audvious)

[Lulian]

I never knew this. Thanks for the tip. :-)

[RomulusAugustus]

Take them off skirmish first.

[Irish guy]

Ive been doing this since Shogun.

[lordextra0]

Take them off skirmish first.

tried this
but usually it doesn't work even this way

[caralampio]

Some missile units are pretty hardy melee fighters- look at the stats, sometimes the unit description also says something about this. Don't try it with peasant archers though.

I wonder if missile units that have swords fight as well as infantry units that have swords? When they have the same attack value I mean. A sword is a sword but perhaps missile units have some handicap? They seem kind of brittle in melee.

[_Belisarius_]

Some missile units are pretty hardy melee fighters- look at the stats, sometimes the unit description also says something about this. Don't try it with peasant archers though.

I wonder if missile units that have swords fight as well as infantry units that have swords? When they have the same attack value I mean. A sword is a sword but perhaps missile units have some handicap? They seem kind of brittle in melee.

Bulgaria Brigands Prussian Archers and Byzantine Guard archers are pretty nice is a tough melee fight.

[RomulusAugustus]

tried this
but usually it doesn't work even this way

Oh, and turn off fire at will (oops others have already said that). Other wise they will be firing instead of pulling out their weapons for a charge. They(missle cav) also run much faster when they arnt firing. If you turn off both skirmish and fire at will you basically have light cav. Some cav work better then others.

[Deadly Rabbit]

Can be especially handy when you want your horse archers to mop up, or have your archers in good position for a flank attack... however peasant archers vs Muire will never end well.

[marceror]

I don't have much of a problem getting archers to draw their melee weapons. In addition to turning off skirmish, I also turn off "fire at will." It doesn't always work the way I'd like. Then again, I try to avoid getting myself in situations where I'm using my archers in melee a lot.

[_Belisarius_]

I don't have much of a problem getting archers to draw their melee weapons. In addition to turning off skirmish, I also turn off "fire at will." It doesn't always work the way I'd like. Then again, I try to avoid getting myself in situations where I'm using my archers in melee a lot.

Ive found that fire at will is probably the best. When I choose the target they always will go after that target even if its not a optimal trajectory to fire. When fire at will its enabled they fire the closest and when something better comes along they fire at them. To each his own.

[marceror]

Let me clarify, I turn off fire at will specifically when I'm planning to use archers in a melee role (which is what this thread is discussing). I sometimes turn it off in archery mode, when I have a specific target that I want to be certain my archers are aiming at.


As a quick addendum, I find that sometimes the AI don't pick the best targets on their own anyways. Sometimes, especially when they're defending walls, only a few will fire if I don't take some more direct control. I will look for a good trajectory and can often get my archers to, you know, actually fire their weapons.

[_Belisarius_]

I use my archers a very useful melee role *mongols*. I was just mentioning the fact that micromanaging archers to change targets can be a hassle if I'm focusing on countering an AI attack.