Charging cavalry

**Boriak** · November 10, 2009, 03:57 PM

Reading this forum, I got the impression that one must be careful when to charge their cavalry to get the maximum effect. Personally, I mostly move cavalry with double clicking since their stamina is good enough unless there is a large portion of the battlefield that needs to be crossed.

Is there any difference between a running cavalry and a charging cavalry? I noticed that when I give my light cavalry (can't train heavy cavalry yet in either of the campaigns) an order to charge in the back of a enemy unit, they stop just before hitting, never delivering the true impact. Is this connected with my first question?

**DimeBagHo** · November 10, 2009, 04:45 PM

Yes, there is a big difference between running and charging. To reliably get a real charge, line up the unit with the target so that your unit is in good order and facing directly towards the enemy unit, then order the attack.

If you did things right then your unit will lower spears and accelerate to a speed that is a little faster than normal running speed. When you mouse over them you should see a message saying that they are "charging". IIRC you will sometimes see the message even when they are not really charging, so the key indicator is the lowered spears.

If your unit is too close to the target, or if it has to change direction even slightly as it moves towards the target, then it won't charge properly and you won't get any charge bonus.

**Alavaria** · November 10, 2009, 05:22 PM

If the enemy is moving away as your horsemen are trying to charge them in the back, your cavalry will never be able to hit. Basically, you can't charge into the back of the unit if its moving since your men reach - and stop - as the infantry walk away from them.

Oddly enough, if you see horsemen charging your light infantry, running away is good, as they'll stop charging and raise their spears (they are "pursuing"). Then turn around and attack them. It works better than it ought to.