This method wins ANY battle.

[tauris]

This isnt a tactical discussion hence why Im posting it here, it's more of a game criticism.


Ok, so are you having problems with winning any battles?
I find that doubtful, even with the difficulty set to hardest for the battles.
And hey, the only difference that makes is how much the enemy moves around which isnt harder, it's just annoying repositioning your entire army every 2 minutes.


Ok so you don't need a general or any kind of cavalry, they're out of here, gone.
Artilery?
No, for the 5-6 kills it gets per battle its hardly worth the upkeep.


All you need is one stack of line infantry, that's it.
Even without decent bayonets it doesnt matter, you dont even need to adjust your deployment.

When the battle starts just select all, move em forward and wait for the enemy to run into you, fire off one round of musket fire, put on the bayonets and charge, battle won.

It NEVER fails.

[Pink Beard]

Mortars


besides your method is not valid.

I could also say EVERYBODY COULD WIN THE GAME JUST MAKE 20000 STACKS FULL OF LINE INFANTRY!~

your army is not cost-efficient

[The Count(er)]

if your only getting 5 or 6 kills with artillery then your doing something seriously wrong, I'm getting over 100-200 kills per artillery unit and I just use line infantry to protect them from any cavalry flanks they try

[MyKingforahorse]

Go ahead, a few well placed canister shots and half your line breaks morale. Grenadiers to break the rest and then your entire army is routing only to be run down by a few Calvary units.

This may work against the AI, but in MP you'll get demolished.

[Faris ad Din]

if your only getting 5 or 6 kills with artillery then your doing something seriously wrong, I'm getting over 100-200 kills per artillery unit and I just use line infantry to protect them from any cavalry flanks they try

How do you do that?

And besides, 20 units of line infantry is indeed not cost-efficient. In M2:TW it was quite possible to get a simple "mow all" army of 20 heavy cavalry and just CHARGE in a straight line and sweep them off the field. 20 line infantry won't defeat an equivalent size army as efficiently as you could and you'll take losses.

It's better to flank the enemy and positioning and timing is important. Have your line infantry in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and the enemy can very easily gain an upper hand over you with some melee units, light infantry, and grenadiers. It's just that the AI is darn awful.

A few units of Cuirassiers/Sipahis do wonders. Just remember to use them against the enemy's rear while they are engaed with your army and attack them quickly before they can turn around or go into square formation.

Line infantry IS preponderant in ETW, but most anyone can see right off the bat that it is not "pwnz all." This is a different game.

[The Count(er)]

How do you do that?

properly placed artillery that are battering their army the whole way to my army, I can usually get a couple of their units to route before they even reach me with a few good precussion shots with my howitzers and when they get close I have cannons with canister shots waiting for them, their morale is usually so low by the time they reach my line infantry that it's simply a matter of charging with my bayonets and then firing my artillery on them again the whole time their retreating(obviously I'm not going to be chasing them with my line infantry if I do that)

[Faris ad Din]

properly placed artillery that are battering their army the whole way to my army, I can usually get a couple of their units to route before they even reach me with a few good precussion shots with my howitzers and when they get close I have cannons with canister shots waiting for them, their morale is usually so low by the time they reach my line infantry that it's simply a matter of charging with my bayonets and then firing my artillery on them again the whole time their retreating(obviously I'm not going to be chasing them with my line infantry if I do that)

Excellent, I think I will focus on artillery buildup (I'm a low-casualty focus general ) as I'm still early in my campaign. Mostly 24-pounder foot howitzers and a few 24-pounder foot cannon once I can get them. I have to figure out how to recruit Organ Guns as the Ottomans in my Special Forces edition...

As in general - most any human player > TW AI. No dinky little PC set has the processing power and coding to defeat an average human gamer with hundreds of TW battles of command experience.

20 cavalry > 20 line infantry.

I've tested it myself.

This is a great discovery! Saves me the testing I was about to do!

[Sharpe]

Lol Owned. Balance is the key my friend. Why do you think every single army in history is not just infantry?

[von Steuben]

He's talking about beating the AI, not something that can think.

[Elta]

20 cavalry > 20 line infantry.

I've tested it myself.

[Gonzo89]

I just tried it, doesnt work. Full stack of 20 line infantry, moved them forward, they auto fired, I ran in with bayonets, the AI went round the back with there cavalry, my General was killed, eventually enough casualties were sustained for my units to rout.

This was on Hard.

I hate committing all my units, I felt stupid just letting them all charge at once. No strategy or anything.

I'll stick to my own tactics.

[Rickster11]

He said its not a tactical discussion. "it's more of a game criticism." He’s saying how bad the game mechanics are. Not talking about MP, obviously that tactic wouldn't work with MP..but thanks for pointing that out.. duh people.

Btw, your doing something wrong with your art. Canister shot is devastating..you should be getting more than 6 kills.

[nicotine]

[Inhuman One]

Usually not good to place cannons behind your line, you kill your own troops that way.

I once had it happen that in the first second of the battle the enemy general died from his own cannons that stood behind him.

[Anbar]

Usually not good to place cannons behind your line, you kill your own troops that way.

I once had it happen that in the first second of the battle the enemy general died from his own cannons that stood behind him.

my cannons have never hit much of anything other than my own troops.

i stick them in the middle with pikes around them, turn them off and let them act as cavalry magnets.

the AI is too focused on artillery killing... mind you, having said that, maybe given the above, it isnt

[68 Powers]

This isnt a tactical discussion hence why Im posting it here, it's more of a game criticism.


Ok, so are you having problems with winning any battles?
I find that doubtful, even with the difficulty set to hardest for the battles.
And hey, the only difference that makes is how much the enemy moves around which isnt harder, it's just annoying repositioning your entire army every 2 minutes.


Ok so you don't need a general or any kind of cavalry, they're out of here, gone.
Artilery?
No, for the 5-6 kills it gets per battle its hardly worth the upkeep.


All you need is one stack of line infantry, that's it.
Even without decent bayonets it doesnt matter, you dont even need to adjust your deployment.

When the battle starts just select all, move em forward and wait for the enemy to run into you, fire off one round of musket fire, put on the bayonets and charge, battle won.

It NEVER fails.

if your crying about AI so much go play multiplayer, i assure you that tactic will never work

[Inhuman One]

Or name a game that has better AI on a similar campaign map and also in real time battles.

The AI is very good compared to many other games.

[BigB]

Usually not good to place cannons behind your line, you kill your own troops that way.

I once had it happen that in the first second of the battle the enemy general died from his own cannons that stood behind him.

Just put your general behind the cannon and that will never happen again.
I put my cannon behind my troops in every battle and havent lost enough men to friendly fire to notice. All you have to do is space them back a bit and they fire over their heads. Put them on a little incline up and its never an issue.

Or name a game that has better AI on a similar campaign map and also in real time battles.

The AI is very good compared to many other games.

What do other games have to do with this one?

Although if you want to get your butt kicked, try a skirmish in Supreme Commander and play the AI on the adaptive setting. It scouts you out to see what you are building and what defenses you have. It adjusts its strategy to compensate for what you are doing. If you try to counter it will adjust its strategy to something different.

if your crying about AI so much go play multiplayer, i assure you that tactic will never work

What does multiplayer have to do with the solo campaign?

You guys will come up with excuses for anything wont you?

[Kiljaden]

Just put your general behind the cannon and that will never happen again.I put my cannon behind my troops in every battle and havent lost enough men to friendly fire to notice. All you have to do is space them back a bit and they fire over their heads. Put them on a little incline up and its never an issue.

I use light infantry to place stakes in front of the artillery, and have a line infantry sit behind it to rush up to them and defend in the event of a charge. That way, on flat territory, your artillery can sit at your line, but be safe. Just keep an eye on charging melee enemies trying to kill your artie crew.

[Inhuman One]

surpreme commander is just another rush game as far as I know. I must admit I never played it, but pretty much all RTS games are.

Personly I never play for the challenge, but for enjoyment. and challenge doesnt always equal enjoyment to me.

I dont mind challenges when they come along, but I dont need big armies attacking me every turn. I prefer to have big clashes rare as they where in history.