How many missile and artillery units do you use in a full stack army?

[jahjeremy]

I like ranged units a lot because you can inflict a ton of damage before the enemy army even reaches your front line.

And you have a lot of versatility with these units, e.g. fire arrows, stakes, skirmish, change to melee if necessary, defending the walls from a distance in a siege, moral effects, etc.

I tend to use a lot of missile troops and artillery in my full stack armies, and I'm wondering how many of these types of units everyone is putting into their mid to late game "ideal" full stack armies.

I guess part of this is the brain dead tactics of the enemy AI, where they will just sit there for minutes on end soaking up arrow, crossbow, and artillery fire.

By the mid to late game, I usually have about 4 missile troops (infantry) and 3-4 artillery in my full stacks.

Of course, this is playing with England, who have uber archers.

Regular artillery is pretty good. Especially the ballista on fire mode can absolutely devastate bunched up groups of infantry.

Experienced gunpowder artillery is just ownage. Especially once you get some experience, the accuracy improves greatly.

With missile troops, I find that I have usually almost completed my campaign by the time I get gunpowder units. So I usually have 2 units of archers and 2 of crossbows, sometimes more. With England, I stick to 4 archers and hire maybe one mercenary crossbow.

This leaves room for approximately 3-4 cav, 5 infantry, and the general.

Of course, this all depends on the faction. With England, the archers are fantastic, but most other factions do not get such high quality missile troops, especially not as early. And some factions are more dependent on horse archers (Novgorod, Turks, Byzantine, etc.).

Curious to see how everyone else is doing it.

On my Turkish campaign (never completed...damn Mongols!) I had armies that were half blue chevron turkomans, siphasis, etc. It didn't actually work that well though because they are too vulnerable to enemy archers and light cavalry. Great for skirmishing and chasing down routers though!

BTW, I play with maximum unit size (vanilla archer unit is 120 soldiers on this setting).

Cheers!

[Landtuber]

Assuming its an assault army, not a siege army, I'll have at least 4 stacks, always. Preferably crossbowmen. For a siege army just a couple stacks, to pick off any tough defenders in the town square before I charge in.

However, I have played full stacks of 1 general and the rest a mix of archers and crossbowmen. Great fun, really only works well though if you can position on a high hill, or you have archers/crossbowmen that don't get immediately rocked in close combat . If your bored one day, give it a try! The trail of corpses to your lines is great to witness.

[Silent Assassin]

In general 2 units of artillery, at least 6 units of archers 6 units of infantry and the rest cavalery, it also depends of if it's an attacking army or defensive one.

[France]

2 units of artillery, archers depend.

[damn u obama]

All artillery would be fun

[pileyourbodies]

Since I have discovered them i will always use magorels whenever I can, nothings better than 4 magerols against mongols on a bridge.

[France]

Lol ya

[Muagan_ra]

I absolutely love artillery in this game - the gunpowder varieties, in particular. If I could, I would have half my army as Artillery, with five heavy infantry and five heavy cavalry.

Mowing down hordes of infantry with Ribaults is a passion of mine.

[France]

Mowing down hordes of infantry with Ribaults is a passion of mine.

Same thing with me, only with serpentines.

[Owain Glyndŵr]

When playing as France, I adore Serpentines. I can mow down so much of the enemy's infantry before they finally reach my infantry... at which point the glorious knights of France hammer-and-anvil them to oblivion.

I like to use two(one on either side) in a moderately sized army, or two on each side in a full stack as I'm relying on artillery for initial killing power and the shock of my elite knights to finish the enemy off. In earlier parts of the game, two or three ballistae behind the infantry(they can shoot over) will also do the trick. The same strategy applies.

As for archers, I'll have one less unit than I do infantry to allow them to spread out and easily withdraw behind my lines. They're helpful when the enemy has large groups of lighter units that the pinpoint punch of the Serpentines will do poorly against.

If facing an Eastern faction with good HAs, use less artillery(can't target fast-moving units) and more archers and light cavalry. If you can't out-skirmish them, missile-spam them to death.

[Viking Prince]

My general purpose beseige and open field army (usual for Crusades):

1 General
4 Cav
4-6 Missle (foot and cav)
2 artillery (usually catapaults)
7-9 infantry

I will often when playing a good missle cavalry faction (Spain, Orthodox, Islamic mainly) also field a general and 4-8 cav as a harrassment force and/or an anti-rebel strike force.

[silver_shadow14]

That depends on what the stack is for. If it is to clear out an enemy in the open then I have quite a few, but if I am taking a city or settlement, I use only one or two. I always have more than two garrisoned in case of enemy siege.

[France]

Same here

[merocaine]

sometimes for s and giggles I field a 3/4 stack of heavy and light Cavalry,

I line em during the deployment stage so they stretch across most of the map, The AI usually has a brain fart when it see's this and turns itself into a milling ball of troops reforming in the middle of the map.

I charge my line of cavalry towards them and wrap them around them, 15 sec melee, followed by a mass rout. It hardly seems fair, but a great way to get those silver and gold troops.

[Voolma]

I use no artillery at all. Exept Mongols where i have only full stack of crossbowmen. Mongols get owned so badly . But yea i use no artillery. 1 general, 3 teutonic knights and others are all dismounted feudal knights or that other dudes whose name i cant remember.

[jahjeremy]

Am I the only one who finds it amusing to bring 8 pieces of artillery to siege battles? Especially as the English, I bring as many mortars as possible. We don't need no stinking rams!

It usually costs a lot to clean up the mess afterwards, though.

[Hetairoi]

In vanilla I use 3 Byzantine Guard archers + 3 (whatever the name of the mounted archers for the Byzantines are). Combined with 3 Kataphractoi, 4 Latinkon, a general, and 6 Varangian Guard and/or Dismounted Latinkon. I find I don't really use artillary in the field armies, but more for defense in cities/forts. I don't like the movement penalties.
IN MTW and RTW is when I take artillary in the field armies. Nothing like 4 serpintines or repeating ballista to give the AI a bad day.

[DeMolay]

Depends the faction i'm playing with , but in general rules , i try to reproduce more or less realistic armies , so that means for France as an example :

in early period : cavalry only + peasants (that i throw against spearmen , they lose quickly but allows me to ruin every other opponent's units and harrass spearmen with many charges later on , preferably from their rear and after they got tired chasing my peasants ) , i barely use archers , 3 units max , usually i use mercenaries with arbalesters .

In high period : at least 50% cavalry , 3-4 units of crossbowmen like adventurers (no archers , we never used them much in our armies as opposed to the Englishmen for instance, whereas crossbow was extremely popular , even the Pope himself had to ask for a ban of it in southern France and parts of Italy ) + at least 4 heavy infantry units to destroy spears . Always at least 2 catapults/ballistas etc for sieges or if i defend a position like a bridge or mountain-ous region (sorry for my poor English )

in late period : balanced set between strong cavalry and heavy infantry , then always 4 units of riflemen on the flanks , always at least 1 artillerie (our beloved serpentine )

With Byzantium for instance , i often end up with armies that are 90% of Vardaroii (those mounted archers with decent melee , since Kataphraktoi is a bit underrated IMO so i don't use it much ) basically much of my army "spits" arrows , then 2-3 units of Varangian guards to take care of spears (as you understood , i rarely use spearmen/pikemen , except when i play factions with weak cavalry or against factions with very good cavalry (ie Mongols ) . With Russians , same , mainly Dvor cavalry and Dvor archers (that are nice as infantry ) , so my armies with them have plenty of missiles , same with Turks and in a lesser extent with Hungary ( i use Hungarians nobles a lot ) . With Moors or Spanish i use Jinettes extensively .

So to sum up , i'm not a big fan of missiles except when they are on a horse , but always use at least 3 units of them (when dismounted ) , preferably crossbowmen , i love cavalry and "blitzing" tactics (by encirclement ) , usually my missile units spam the enemy general or the spears (i hate spears , the worst ennemy of my noble Knights )

[Panzerbear]

I do not even use artillery in my armies .

I have always regarded artillery as a waste of a good spot in my stack. I prefer heavy knights with a good charge bonus instead .

missile units - about four is the optimal solution.

[Beeeno]

I do not even use artillery in my armies .

I have always regarded artillery as a waste of a good spot in my stack. I prefer heavy knights with a good charge bonus instead .

missile units - about four is the optimal solution.

... same here !!!