Introducing the Medievalopedia

[Ishan]

There added in the stickies for M2TW related guides.

[Plagio Maxim]

Thanks for the kind words. It was a labor of love.

Ishan, thank you for making it a sticky. Now I don't have to do the monthly bump thing.

[Plagio Maxim]

Well, the Medievalopedia has reached 1000 downloads. Woo-hoo! I never, in my wildest dreams, thought there would be that many downloads. Thanks for the support and kind words. Good Gaming everyone!

[EmperorDan]

A real work of art man. Much appreciated.

+rep.

[Sitalkes]

A real labour of love and very useful, thanks a lot for putting it together. Here's some more information you might like to add if you are still working on it. Oh dear, I did this as Word document and it seems the battlefield formations didn't work when I copied them to this screen.

MTW II Battlefield Strategy Guide

• Multi-army battles
• Deployment
• Formations and battle plan
• Combat – dealt with in other MTW 11 strategy guides
• Pursuit

1. Multi-army battles


These are the options are available in multiple army battles.
a) - you may be lucky and have a general who can do night attacks. Choose the night attack option and you only fight your commanding general's stack vs his commanding general's stack. After finishing him off, you can then make another night attack on another of his stacks, and so on.

b) - you have a few partial stacks that add up to a full stack or less. In this case, you untick the box that allows full AI control on the reinforcements. Your general's army will start the battle alone but the other ones then come on as reinforcements, and as they appear you can click on each unit individually just as though it were in your army and order them to act accordingly. The reinforcements won't come on in dribs and drabs, they will come on at more-or-less the same time at the locations indicated before the battle starts (ie if one army was on your left on the campaign map, that's where it will appear in the battle)

c) - you have a full stack plus some others.
(a) If you do not tick full AI control for the reinforcements, they will come on in dribs and drabs because they can only come on when one of your original units has routed off the battlefield and created a blank place to fill in your 20 possible army roster places.

(b) If you do tick full AI control on your reinforcement armies then they will appear as indicated on the campaign map and you will get three choices - attack, defend, or shoot.
i. Defend, which is the default, means the reinforcements will move towards the enemy but try to stay out of combat. If you are constantly having to tell an army to attack because it isn't doing anything, it may be because you have forgotten to switch it to shoot or attack mode.
ii. Shoot - the reinforcements will switch to shooting formation and give priority to shooting. They will try to remain at shooting distance from the enemy. Note: this can be nasty for their general/captain as he may still charge out in front on his own and attack the enemy - getting good attributes if he survives!!!. You only get this option if you have troops that can shoot so you have to remember the contents of each stack so you can decide if this is a worthwhile option. Obviously it's not much use to choose this option if the reinforcements consist of ten heavy cavalry and one archer.
iii. Attack - the reinforcements will attack. Hopefully their commander will be accompanied by some other units but if he is the only cavalry unit he still might go it alone. Sometimes even shooting units will attack rather than shoot in this mode, but this doesn't always happen if there is sufficient variety in the reinforcing army.

When you choose a different attack, don't expect immediate results, as the AI often responds by reorganising into attack or shooting formation. After choosing the attack style, you can then click on the army and direct where it is to go. You can only control the whole army but you can direct it so don't just select "Attack" and wait for the result. In sieges, you can also change the formation of the attacking reinforcements before the battle.

If you have several stacks, consider separating them into cavalry and infantry stacks if possible. Take control of the cavalry yourself as the AI is prone to charging cavalry onto spearmen. Also consider making the stack you control smaller in total size than the enemy army as if you win this will gain your general more points (possibly even get an "Heroic Victory") and if he is a captain he will be promoted via a "Man of the Hour" event. Yes it does take time for your reinforcements to join you but you can compensate for this by checking the location of the reinforcements on the campaign map before the battle and deploying your army nearest to them. So if the reinforcements are on your right, you deploy on the extreme right of the battlefield, closer to the back of your deployment area. You can sit and wait for the reinforcements to join you and meanwhile the enemy army may get a little tired marching to your position. Obviously it is best to get the reinforcements to appear behind the enemy and if that happens you march to meet the enemy as slowly as possible so the reinforcements can catch the routers.

If you are fighting several enemy armies, it is best to try and beat the first army as soon as possible and then move onto the next. There is usually some time before the enemy reinforcements arrive for you to rest and re-organise so don't worry too much about being exhausted. Rush to meet them as fast as possible and try to occupy the high ground first. Use a refused flank strategy is best. It''s possible you may kill or capture the enemy main commanding general which will make all his reinforcements a little unhappy.
2 Deployment


Check the Strategic Map

On the strategic map, you will have moved into contact with the enemy army on one of the brown dots next to it. This brown dot shows the approximate location of your army relative to the enemy. So if you attack from the centre brown dot, the enemy army is likely to be in the centre of the battlefield at deployment. If you attack from the right side dot, then the enemy is likely to be on the right side of the battlefield. Bear this in mind when you are deploying – if you expect to march onto the enemy then you want to be as close to him as possible when the battle starts.

Battle speech

Listen to all the battle speech, it often reveals some details about the enemy force, such as they have many spear men or that they prefer to use missiles.

Weather – Delay the battle?
Ensure that the weather suits your troops – if you are allowed to delay the start of the battle so that the mist or rain go away or start, then do so

Terrain
– Start the deployment. First look around your deployment area for ambush sites or raised terrain. You want to be on top of a hill or able to get to the top before your opponent. You may be able to hide troops behind a hill (don’t bother trying to hide your general) or in a wood. Usually you want to be on top of a hill and hope your opponent attacks you but sometimes the AI opponent will sit on its hill and wait for you to attack – you have to have a strategy in place to march to that hill eg along a ridge line. Stay on top of the ridges , not in the valleys unless you are planning an ambush or have a huge army and it doesn’t matter.

3. Battlefield Formations


Now you have scouted the terrain you know where you want to place your army and should choose your formation and battle plan. Your battle plan will have one of four basic types – refused flank, breakthrough, envelop, or ambush. Note that to maintain formation you may need to group your units after forming them up. I usually put my archers behind the infantry in two ranks and turn off skirmish mode and fire arrows. Put your cavalry into wedge during deployment.

Artillery can nullify these formations because of its longer reach. Although artillery may not do much damage this is its real benefit on the battlefield – it gives you the initiative. If you have artillery and your opponent doesn’t, you can sit there and shoot at him without any damage to your own troops. This will force your opponent to come off his hill and attack you in your more favourable position. If using a refused flank strategy, the artillery should be placed on the refused flank so as to get as many shots in as possible, preferably firing diagonally across the enemy line. If your opponent has artillery you had best have some artillery of your own plus some light cavalry – one or the other can be used to attack the enemy artillery. Either way you may be forced to attack to escape his artillery fire.

1. Refused Flank
This is my favourite as the AI has trouble opposing it and it often allows you to defeat opposing armies twice your size. It has two variations. In the classic form you form up with your best troops in large numbers and well supported on one flank, well forward. Then you step back across the battlefield successive blocks of troops, the weakest being as far back as possible.
(Enemy)
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

yy
yy
y
y
y
y
y

This is the refused left flank and the idea is to get a mass of your best troops into action (in this case on your right flank) with superior numbers and quality against your opponent before the rest of your army becomes engaged. Hopefully achieving this local superiority will win the combat at that end of the line so that they can sweep into the enemy flank when the rest of your army gets into contact. Thus if the rest of your army is of inferior troops they will have the benefit of some routing opponents and flank support. The Greek general Epaminondas and Alexander the Great used precisely this formation to win their battles. They focussed on killing the enemy general and destroying his best troops, which is why they used the refused left flank rather than the refused right flank formation.

The other form of this attack is used when you have an inferior number of troops to your opponent and you may be able to gain some terrain advantage by rushing to the top of a hill. It works best if the computer can’t see where you have deployed immediately. You know the computer will place its troops roughly in the centre of its deployment area. What you want to do is mass all your troops on the left in a small area as far to the front as possible, probably on the extreme left of your deployment area. Ensure they have a small frontage and are massed one unit behind the other in attack formation (ie not in columns). You want to be on your left flank because the computer places its weakest troops (especially those vulnerable to cavalry) on that side ie its right flank. When the battle starts, you RUN with all your troops to your desired position and hopefully get there first. From there you charge into the enemy – maybe downhill, maybe into their flank, but certainly with a local superiority of quality and numbers. You hope you can smash the first few lines of enemy troops and get them routing before they can bring up all their other troops. Also, you may be able to attack the enemy general as he is generally in the centre behind his line.

(Enemy)
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

(your entire army)
yy
yy


3 Breakthrough


(Enemy)
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

yy
yy
y y
y y
y y


Here you are going to mass your best troops for an attack near the centre of the enemy line, punch through, and turn the flanks from the centre outwards. If you are the sort of person who prefers to deal with problems head-on and you have good attacking troops you may prefer this attack. This attack is going to cause casualties to your troops so only use it if you are sure of your superiority in the centre and/or you need to get to the enemy general quickly. This is the Roman strategy – smash the centre and don’t worry about the flanks. So mass your bowmen one unit behind the other near the centre, put your best troops in front and charge! If your flanking troops are inferior, try to hold back the troops on the flanks, so your army attacks in an arrowhead or wedge formation. I have not tried this attack as it will probably cause casualties and may allow routers to get away. However it does have the virtue of being simple to plan and execute – many things can go wrong with the other plans! Of course if you can deliver a sweeping downhill cavalry charge then go ahead.

4 Envelopment

(enemy)
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

yyy yyy
yyy yyy
y y
y y
y y
y



In this attack, you refuse your centre and try to sweep around the flanks with fast moving cavalry and/or infantry. If you don’t have sufficient flankers/cavalry for both flanks then you flank on one side only and combine it with a refused flank attack. You should remember that the AI usually places its best troops and spearmen on its left flank nso if you are going to line up with the computer you want anti-spear troops on your own right flank and more cavalry on your left side nthan your right side. You also want to have some troops that can match up to his best troops on your right side. You hope to kill his archers and general early in the battle, surround your opponent, and catch any routers. You are hoping to have flank and rear attacks so as to minimise your own casualties. In terms of total annihilation this is the best option. You can do this even if you have fewer troops than the AI because usually the AI will deploy in depth three units deep and that allows you to spread out in an overlapping line one unit deep.





4: Ambush

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

◄◄ (hiding in wood etc)
◄◄
yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy


If you can find a place off to one flank for some troops to hide – behind a hill or in a wood, set up some troops ◄ there to attack the enemy when they have engaged your front line. Don’t bother trying to hide your general or in mist. If they are in a woods, ensure they have the tree symbol showing on their card or they can still be seen. Sometimes a single tree will hide a whole unit.

4. Combat

This is dealt with quite well in other MTW II guides.
5. Pursuit

It’s very important to catch enemy generals and just to kill or capture as many enemy troops as possible. Any you don’t catch may come back to fight you in another battle. Ensure to keep telling your troops to pursue, and when you do, tell them to move to a location rather than attack. If they attack, they will often try to get behind the enemy troops to chase them thus letting them escape. If you move your troops to a location in front of the enemy so they will catch the passing routers this works a lot better.

NB if you are on the chivalry path you should end the battle when first suggested, otherwise you will get the "winning first" dread trait or something worse

That’s the end of this guide.

[_Elysium_]

I'm new to Total War, having finished my first ever RTW campaign only a few days ago, and now I'm researching all the intricasies of M2TW. The Medievalopedia appears to contain all of the information I need in a single, easily printable file.

Thank you so much for creating this. You obviously put alot of time and effort into it, and it is massively appreciated.

[Plagio Maxim]

You are welcome.

[Princess Cadance]

Great job man. +rep

[Plagio Maxim]

After about 1.5 years after release I see the Mpedia has 1578 hits. That is great news. I am glad it helps.

[FootSoldier]

Very useful guide. +rep.

[Scotty1207]

If its ok with Plagio Maxim and he gives me permission, i wouldnt mind trying to convert this guide into a online wiki. PM me if you dont mind me doing it

[Britannia's Finest]

Very helpful and informative

+ rep. (when I get to 50, hehehe)