Ways of fighting horse archers

**Boriak** · October 20, 2009, 02:08 AM

How does one fight the Scyths or any other light cavalry based nation? You can't catch them, that's for sure. Even their generals are skirmishing.

I may be new but many people aren't. So how does one usually take on light cavarly based armies?

**DimeBagHo** · October 20, 2009, 02:49 AM

(1) Lots of heavy spearmen. Put them in a long line. Heard the enemy cavalry into a corner and kill them.

(2) Even better - lots of spearmen armed with javelins, like Thureophoroi and Thorakitai. Herd the enemy into a corner while throwing volleys of javelins at them and then kill them.

(3) Heavy spearmen plus slingers. Wear the enemy down with the slingers, and engage with the spearmen when they try to attack. You can also try archers but I've always found slingers more effective because their ammo lasts longer.

(4) Fight them in forests. Especially combined with (1) and (2) you will have a huge advantage.

(5) Fight them at bridges. Use phalangites (if you have them) or heavy spearmen to hold the bridge, and any sort of ranged units you like as support.

(6) Fight them in cities - preferably theirs.

**gingerbill** · October 20, 2009, 11:43 AM

DBH has basically told you the answer but...

fighting the scythian horse archers is awful , it's not warfare it's just boring , nothing fun about it at all .

I can't believe any sane person would enjoy fighting stacks off those horse archers over and over again . Scythia has ruined a couple off campaigns for me as i had to fight 2-3 battles against them (full stacks of OP horse archers) every turn , it's not fun so i gave up . You can't auto resolve because they win every time . Personally i think it's the big weakness in this game and stops me playing as a faction anywhere near them .

I wish i could think off a better way of fighting them or changing them in the game but i can't . I think they should just be removed from the game or forced to sit in a few towns were i can just avoid them . It's ok if your a faction thats miles away from them but if you right next to them its torture and makes playing some factions a waste of time .

I hear they have been toned down a bit but i couldnt stand fighting battles against them again so ive not found it . One way round it i used in my H/H armenia campaign was to force peace with them but you have to do it every turn . I challenge anyone to have a campaign as armenia on H/H or higher and tell me they had fun fighting the scythians.

**Fouch** · October 20, 2009, 03:59 PM

I was very frustrated with fighting the horse factions. Anymore though I just fight fire with fire. My armies along borders with Scythia and Parthia are almost totally cavalry. The new greek Promadoroi, I'm sure I butchered that name, work well. Once you get into Scythian lands their noble archer auxiliaries work even better. In Parthian lands I've always found the eastern heavy cavalry too slow so you're better off sticking with greek style units or bactrian horse archers if you can get them.

**The Hedge Knight** · October 20, 2009, 04:01 PM

Bedoin camel archers are good if you can get them there.

**GoldShield Guard** · October 20, 2009, 05:27 PM

I haven't had a battle with Scythia yet, but I am at the end of my GCS campaign and Scythia is still in their lands. Actually they had taken a hard lesson from Armenia, and if I hadn't gone to war with the latter, I am pretty sure that Scythia would have been wiped out. I have prepare a special army consisted of thorakitai and archers and I am anxious to have my first battle with the orangees! I am about to attack them...

**gaius_caesar** · October 20, 2009, 08:08 PM

1) The Best way to fight HAs is not to fight them at all. I don't because they are my ally in my campaign

2) D-Day on the steppes. Really, Imagine 10 stacks of roman legions attacking a poor little Scythian town. Basically, it means if you take out where they are coming from, then you have them beat. They are NOT that good in defense especially against those Roman Legionaries with testudo

**D.B. Cooper** · October 20, 2009, 08:17 PM

Hopefully you'll do it without exploiting the map boundaries, that's cheap.

**Grimbold** · October 21, 2009, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by gaius_caesar

1) The Best way to fight HAs is not to fight them at all. I don't because they are my ally in my campaign

2) D-Day on the steppes. Really, Imagine 10 stacks of roman legions attacking a poor little Scythian town. Basically, it means if you take out where they are coming from, then you have them beat. They are NOT that good in defense especially against those Roman Legionaries with testudo

Hehe typical Roman strategy, similar if not the same that was used agaisnt Carthage.

**gaius_caesar** · October 21, 2009, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by Grimbold

Hehe typical Roman strategy, similar if not the same that was used agaisnt Carthage.

well it's a lot of fun doing it.. you can only imagine the fear a little barbarian town is feeling when they see 10 full stacks of Roman Legionaries...

**Boriak** · October 23, 2009, 02:05 AM

Well, it worked. I've defeated a Scythian invasion coming for my northern Greek cities (Chersonese I think and one other); they'd put three family members to face me, inclunding their leader as well as heir. After making mince of their horse archers, they all fled. Scythian bravery my arse!

Anyway, I took Neapolis Scythica (hope that's spelled right) and can now make horse warriors of my own

. Not sure if I will go conquering Scythia. I really don't see the point.

**Celt Centurion** · October 29, 2009, 11:52 PM

I'm taking a few days break from XGM but since Scythia is the strongest faction I'm at war with as the Romans, they besiege me often, usually with a full stack, each card having 70 Horse Archers or cataphracts. Usually, it was them initiating the battle but they were hard fought.

Then I got an idea, for the most part, their arms and armour were the "copper" type. If I could use heavy cavalry against them, I might be able to win. So I've trained up three full stacks simply to fight the Scythians. I use the Legionary Cavalry with a minimum of "silver" armour and I try to have all cards at at least a two copper chevron experience.

Keep in mind that such a number is hard to control, but this has worked in at least six battles and I've won them all. I select all of them at once and put them back a bit, preferably on a flank. After they have made their march across the field, my entire army is on their flank with their horse archers usually being the flankers. Then I attack their flank hard with my full stack. In seconds, their horse archers and even light auxilary cavalry are being routed. I do it again with their other side leaving just cataphracts which lack the speed to catch me. From there, they usually send a squadron or two at a time which my Legionary Cavalry has for breakfast. The battle usually ends with the last six or so sqadrons of cataphracts leaving the field.

They have come to fear my full stacks of legionary cavalry and seem to avoid them now.

Fortitudo et Fides

Celt Centurion

**Hakomar** · October 30, 2009, 11:51 PM

I just went against the Scythian leader (after Marian reforms) and he trashed my loads of Germanic Cavalry and Scythian Mercs, taking about 5 casualties, and in the end it took a half-stack of horse archers recruited in Campus Roxolani to destroy him, and they used up all of their ammo.
Was a pain as Macedon, it was unusual using horse archers recruited locally and mercenaries against them. It gets easy once you put cantabrian circle, you should shred them apart. For their cataphracts, tire them out by letting them chase you, then crush them one by one with loads of strong cav.