chariots getting stuck

[stomp bash chop]

i am playing as the sellucids for the first time and as a result i am not really used to using chariots.

my problem is that over the last series of conflicts i have fought on two occasions my scythed chariots have sat in front of an approaching phalanx and refused to move when clicked to do so.
this resulted in them being minced from 18 to 3 or 4 before being routed.

i cannot afford this retraining even though it is giving them serious experience as currently i am at war with, in order of their attacks on me armenia, parthis, pontus, egypt, the greek cities the brutii (and the rest of the romans) and macedon.
each and everyone of them has attacked me. as you can imagine i am short of money with no trading partners so i can`t afford to be constantly fighting them.

despite this i have managed to hold sardis and take pergamum in the west, i have taken both pontic cities to my north and have pushed the egyptians south taking sidon jerusalem and bostra.

i am currently sieging the greek cities in ancyra which will remove them from the area and possibly wipe them out and havee had a series of battles outside susa which has worn down the parthians enough to take them. i would have them already except for a unit of cataphracts that keeps surviving.

anyway can anyone tell me what is going on with those chariots

[Selifator]

You shouldn't put them in front of your phalanx, that's for sure. Place them at the flanks, make mincemeat of enemy cavalry, and then charge in the rear of melee troops. Even if they go amok, they should cause loads of casualties.

[General Nuisance esq]

Chariots can be stubborn at times, best to keep clicking until they move and as seli points out give phallanxs a wide berth and use them for flanking (I tend to take them wider when flanking than normal cavalry) and obviously keep well clear of fire arrows

[Lord Thesaurian]

never put anything but skirmshers in front of ur phalanx, cause even these will congest ur formations when they retreat, but chariots especially will wreak havoc. always put cav in the flanks or rear unless a unique situation(s) require otherwise. with chariots, it is best to either engage the enemy immediately or keep ur chariots away from the action when defending so they dont run amok amongst ur own men. In this way u will b able 2 fully engage the enemy, then bring up ur chariots to mulch the enemy's flanks and rear.

[Selifator]

Scythed chariots are best used as a fire-and-forget weapon. Just blast them at weak enemy units and hope that their attack will kill them. And keep them mobile, getting them bogged down in combat is the best way to lose them.

[daxypoo]

this is one reason why i hate chariots....

for scythes especially; have them way outside of your main army force
--- 1. they have room to maneuver( chariot turn radius is enormus)
--- 2. they stay away from things that make them go amok (pretty much anything that is thrown or hurled and expecially fire arrows)

for scythes on campaign mode save them till your infantry closes w/ enemy armies inf and then send the chariots into flanks or to charge wandering infantry units that have broken away from main army

as most of selucia's campaign mode battles rarely offer epic infantry battles till late game scythes arent that great as most battles are shooting down tons of peltasts and crap units that want to thin your infantry numbers


however, if you play multiplayer scythes are awesome for getting enemy cavalry to rout....

[SonOfAlexander]

I think its just a glitch mate, don't worry about it. Its hard to be at war as the seleucids with that many people and still get conquering so well done! Careful you don't over extend yourself though !

[stomp bash chop]

I think its just a glitch mate, don't worry about it. Its hard to be at war as the seleucids with that many people and still get conquering so well done! Careful you don't over extend yourself though !

i have rebels appearing all over the place to boot.

every time i look around the disloyal bums are popping up with three and four star generals who refuse to take cash for an answer.

either my faction leaders are cruel tyrants or they simply have a taste for other mens wives to inspire such unrest.

my plan is to take nicomedia, rhodes and halcarnassus in the west secure the passes from the black sea right around to susa with forts and stop all advances other than to pursue the egyptians.

once that is done i will build a fleet to keep the greeks and the romans out of asia minor and a large army to wander around the armenia and parthia to keep them busy while i crush the egyptians.

this should allow me to build my economy while i replace militia hoplites, mercenarys and peltasts with peasants as my garrison troops. they will then be eiither disbanded or worn down by years of pursuing rebels

[OccamR]

The reason they're being made into mincemeat is because of the very low defense and armor they have. The only way for them to survive is to keep moving, which is why even a group of peasants will destroy your non moving chariots.

[darthbane7]

Chariots? Only deploy em on the flanks, as counter cavalry. Running them into missile fire or heavy infantry will get them killed or make 'em run amok!

Never, EVER, use them as a frontal assault unit, unless you are facing weak sword units, or peasants. Their low defense leaves them waaaayy too vulnerable to heavy infantry, or a phalanx.
The nice thing about them is, if they don't go amok and kill your troops, they are fairly effective as anti-cav units.

[Selifator]

I've had someone tell me that the trick is to order them to move behind the enemy lines, not attack the enemy units. This way they should keep moving, and not get stuck as badly. Though I'm not sure if that is as effective as an attack order.

[Scutarii]

They won't kill any that way, but just follow them up with some good assault troops and make mincemeat of the enemy line. It destroys their cohesion. Then once you're behind enemy lines, kill the general (anti-cav chariots) and hit them from behind.