Purpose of Shield Wall

[NinjaWJ]

Hi this is my first time on these forums. Firstly i would like to say i enjoy playing xgm mod very much because there is a lot of variety to the troops and it isn't bland.

my question is how do you use shield wall effectively? i don't know whether to use it to defend or attack. normally when i turn shield wall on my troops start dieing very quickly. does it give defense of offensive bonuses?

[gaius_caesar]

I use shield wall for defensive purposes.. and when you use shield wall, make sure they aren't engaged in combat before you activate it...

[aznflea]

shield wall is one of the best abilities in the game. it makes the worst of the units into a mid tier unit in terms of durability. you must use shield wall with guard mode on. it will increase the power of the unit dramatically, making them able to beat enemy that they normally wouldnt be able to. they also last much longer and as a result, they provide a much better anvil to the hammer.

i have had 3 carthaginian sacred band kill 1000 men each losing around 150 men in total with SW+GM

[htismaqe]

shield wall is one of the best abilities in the game

The one and only reason not to play using ALX.exe.

[Vercingetorix_Defeated]

Without shield wall I find my hoplites, elite hoplites especially, aren't versatile enough. They tend to take steep casualties when fighting heavy peltasts or thorakitai, shield wall helps prevent that.

[Spartan198]

The one and only reason not to play using ALX.exe.

Don't forget shiltrom...

[Balikedes]

Don't forget shiltrom...

The problem with schiltrom is any unit that has it inevitably forms into it and just sits there, where they eventually die in a hail or arrows or are bowled over by masses of cavalry.

[Vercingetorix_Defeated]

The problem with schiltrom is any unit that has it inevitably forms into it and just sits there, where they eventually die in a hail or arrows or are bowled over by masses of cavalry.

I doubt that in the 2 HP XGM they'll be killed by archers...unless the opposing army has 1500 archers and you just let the one unit sit there in their range for half an hour.

And cavalry...yeah, unless they have the craziest super elite cataphracts, they won't be killing a schiltrom unit that fast.

[Conqistador]

shield wall works only if i have BI?

[Scutarii]

It can be used both offensively and defensively (and for hoplites, probably should be). Keep in mind they walk very slow in the formation. Shield wall's main perk for me is its ability to crash right through the front of a phalanx, breaks 'em up the best out of any unit.

[NinjaWJ]

thanks for the tips guys

[aznflea]

SHIELD WALL POWER!

[gingerbill]

i remember i asked the same question not long ago as i basically hardly ever used it , most people thought it wasnt always good as you lose movement speed and attack but was good for a solid defence , but not a skill you would always use.

[Cal20]

I used to play on BI but changed to ALX and the only thing that I was losing was the shield wall and imo it wasn't a great loss, a worthy sacrifice you could say. You can still run with shield wall on.
But yeah you can use it for both attack and defence, block streets with them for defence and when attacking the charge bonus might be increased due to the higher density, *i think*.

[aznflea]

shield wall is soooooooooooooooo good i cant believe ppl dont use it religiously

[Vercingetorix_Defeated]

Does it help in bridge holding battles against huge enemy forces? I always put my forces on a bridge when heavily outnumbered, so the enemy just rushes across and I need a good defensive unit to hold them back.

When I use guard mode, they seem to take casualties more slowly, but they also don't attack the enemy as much.

[aznflea]

Does it help in bridge holding battles against huge enemy forces? I always put my forces on a bridge when heavily outnumbered, so the enemy just rushes across and I need a good defensive unit to hold them back.

When I use guard mode, they seem to take casualties more slowly, but they also don't attack the enemy as much.

yes! yes! yes!

it helps in pretty much every situation. try a test. have the agyraspid phalanx or any elite unit pit off against your hoplites. replay the battle with your hoplites in shield wall and guard mode and you will see that your units become more powerful.

you will see that with shield wall on, your units become much tougher and many times more powerful. not only that but even without guard mode on that makes your units more powerful than they should be, it allows more hammer and anvil time.

i said this somewhere before but ill say it again. i had 3 units of carthaginian sacred band of 120 men each kill 1000 men each on a bridge taking a total loss of 180 men. there was no routing on the enemy side or anything silly.

[gaius_caesar]

in guard mode, the 1st line is the most likely to attack. It can help in holding a bridge however your problem is when your enemy units can swim

[Hurlbut]

in guard mode, the 1st line is the most likely to attack. It can help in holding a bridge however your problem is when your enemy units can swim

That is what your reserve infantry and your ranged troops are for.

[Vercingetorix_Defeated]

I'm going to try a shield wall in my next bridge defense, see how it goes. On an open field it just invites your unit to be easily flanked and hobbles their attack power, it hasn't worked well for me in that capacity.

In a siege or bridge defense it should help a lot though.