Which maps are best for artillery, and what type of artillery is best for these maps?

some maps are clearly not good for artillery, while on others artillery can be crucial.could anybody tell me which maps fall into which category?it would help so much for choosing units on multiplayer mode. thanks for all your help in advance

Aosta valley is good for offensive horse art cannister shot. Syrian Ridge, Homestead and Prussian Hills are good with howitzers. Mostly it depends on your play style.

Any map is good with unicorn guns .

on the average map i would take:
generals unit (0 or 3stars)
two light cav
two heavy cav
2 rifles/long distance skirmishers
2 light infantry
3-4 units artillery, one 6-lber horse, along with either howitzers or rockets, or a mix
5-6 line infantry, perhaps one of these being elite if i have funds
1 unit militia-usually to act as a least defence for artillery/rockets

is that a balanced unit selection, or am i bringing too much artillery?and i guess that would depend on the map right?

Originally Posted by Y@$!N

is that a balanced unit selection, or am i bringing too much artillery?and i guess that would depend on the map right?

For me, 3-4 art is a bit too much on any map. With the micro required to use it properly, it either stands around uselessly or eats up time needed for my other units, I keep it to one or two.
With rockets, you won't have that problem; but I never take rockets since I advance immediately, which would leave the rockets vulnerable to cav strikes if I don't leave behind protection (which I usually need on the front). You can of course not advance at all, but that means you're a sitting duck against skilled aggressive play.
Now, what's dependent on the map is what kind of artillery you take. Sadly, howitzers work better than cannons on almost all maps; I still usually bring 1 of each out of general principle. The cannon's kill count usually disappoints me though, especially in comparison to the howies; they do tend to make opponents uncomfortable however and are sometimes useful to protect areas. I manage to use aggressive use of horse art cannister - as blonkers proposed - only against less experienced players who don't strain my micro as much.

One last specific map I'd like to quote Keiichi on, Homestead: "If you're serious, you take two howitzers"
(because I only had one and he had brought a cannon for the lulz. My howitzer's kill count was 245 in that game btw).

Your unit selection is not all that terrible Y@$!N. I normally don't use militia because their firepower sucks and they run at the first sign of trouble. Also, on some maps you may have to increase your skirmisher/light infantry allocation. As far as artillery is concerned, four units isn't really all that much. I usually bring anywhere between two and six units of artillery, depending on the situation. I prefer howitzers however, because of their utility and ease of use.

would you recommend using an elite infantry unit, or upgrading the experience (chevrons) of existing units?im not sure how changing the number of chevrons affects the statistics for the unit.do you know whether it has any effect?

Unfortunately Y@$!N, Napoleon Total War is a game of trade-offs. In order for me to be able to bring a ponderous amount of artillery and avoid fielding a crappy, militia laden army, I must stick pretty much with regular line infantry and voltiguers. If the host limits artillery however, I use the extra funds to purchase elite lancer units as opposed to buying elite infantry. I've found that any decent line infantry and skirmisher units can pretty must always delay my opponent long enough for my artillery to blow the hell out of his army! Also, remember that artillery support is absolutely essential to a successful combined arms attack! I invariably move my units forward at least as far as my opponent does in order to seize the best ground to position my howitzers so that they can dominate the battlefield. Of course, at least 95% of the time I'm accused of being an artillery spamming noob camper and "rage quit" on, but that's because the vast majority of my opponents are unable to counter aggressive use of a powerful artillery "grand battery" (Napoleon's favorite tactic by far!).

By the way, because of most players' complete ineptitude at countering well handled artillery, almost every game on Napoleon Total War Online now includes the rule "no artillery"!

does the infantry column work much? i was experimenting in single player and the a.i doesn't really know how to deal with it...

A good player will blast your tightly packed columns into oblivion with his massive artillery barrages, Y@$!N! Of course, most Napoleon Total War players suck, so you can probably ram your columns right up their asses!

austerlitz lol...

Originally Posted by Y@$!N

some maps are clearly not good for artillery, while on others artillery can be crucial.could anybody tell me which maps fall into which category?it would help so much for choosing units on multiplayer mode. thanks for all your help in advance

Homestead is a great map for camping with artillery.

I just move my men to the middle with a few units of howitzers. The infantry protect the choke points, while my howitzers poind the F#%K out of my opponent!


I wait around for hours until my enemy is weak enough for me to attack and get a "sure-thing victory"

Nice Strategy Crizpy Apple! However, I think you stole that one from me!

Originally Posted by Major Hemorrhoid

Nice Strategy Crizpy Apple!

Its fool-proof.

One of the best and most agressive strategies ever !

It's only foolproof if I don't break out my .50 calibur Barrett rifle units who outrange your howitzers several times over!

Originally Posted by Major Hemorrhoid

It's only foolproof if I don't break out my .50 calibur Barrett rifle units who outrange your howitzers several times over!

No, my camp is unbreakable.

My men do a matrix-style slow-mo dodge, then catch the bullet, and throw it back!

BOOM HEADSHOT!

Your men are now in heaven / hell. (your men are probably bad-ass so they are going straight to hell)

Crizpy Apple><Major Hemorrhoid

Originally Posted by Major Hemorrhoid

Crizpy Apple><Major Hemorrhoid

You should try my "bullets make my men stronger" hacks.

After a few volleys from my enemy's line inf my men have INCREASED POWER!

I used that hack once Crizpy Apple, but I stopped because it felt like cheating.