AI in latest patch

Before the latest patch, the AI in NTW was reasonably good. It didn't rely on melee at all and it often tried to outflank opponents and rely on concentrated fire.

However, I have noticed that ever since the latest patch, the AI has been downgraded enormously. It always bunches up its infantry into melee columns and allows itself to get slaughtered. It always sends in its cavalry parallel to my men so that they get slaughtered while inflicting no casualties at all. The AI is now totally inflexible. It never ever does anything else other than what I described above.

The craziest thing that I have now seen is that the AI thinks that horse artillery is actually cavalry and the AI melee charges them against my light infantry. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

Has anybody else experienced this? Please CA, fix the AI!

im afraid i have seen nothing of what you speak of. i have found the AI since the patch to attack with melee less.

is there somekind of Battle/campaign AI mod?

if yes, can You recommend any?

tnx in advance

Haven't seen any behaviors like this at all I'm afriad. AI is better since the patch from my observation.

It seems that I am the only one which makes it no less frustrating.

I have the same problem. It really annoys me. Its back to the cheap, lame, predictable, fail AI that ETW launched with......if not worse.
EDIT: which is really saying something.

I've found the AI to be better actually....which was the point of the patch....

The AI is definitely better.

Also, some of the MODs tend to exaggerate their influences on vanilla. To be honest, I have fun more with vanilla NTW at times then I do with mods. True, suicidal cavalry charges are lame, but that unpredictability has caused me to loose infantry and artillery many times.

Sometimes that kind AI is more of a challenge. Adds to that 'in war nothing is certain' element.

The only thing I hate about vanilla (really) is 1) sounds (which can be changed via mods) and 2) the power of the musket (accuracy and lethality)...

Otherwise, I think it got canister shot down well and the fact that forces resist till the last 20-30 men makes battles more decisive and less like skirmishes.

Originally Posted by Erkli Pasha

The AI is definitely better.

Also, some of the MODs tend to exaggerate their influences on vanilla. To be honest, I have fun more with vanilla NTW at times then I do with mods. True, suicidal cavalry charges are lame, but that unpredictability has caused me to loose infantry and artillery many times.

Sometimes that kind AI is more of a challenge. Adds to that 'in war nothing is certain' element.

The only thing I hate about vanilla (really) is 1) sounds (which can be changed via mods) and 2) the power of the musket (accuracy and lethality)...

Otherwise, I think it got canister shot down well and the fact that forces resist till the last 20-30 men makes battles more decisive and less like skirmishes.

good post

Originally Posted by KillaJules

Before the latest patch, the AI in NTW was reasonably good. It didn't rely on melee at all and it often tried to outflank opponents and rely on concentrated fire.

However, I have noticed that ever since the latest patch, the AI has been downgraded enormously. It always bunches up its infantry into melee columns and allows itself to get slaughtered. It always sends in its cavalry parallel to my men so that they get slaughtered while inflicting no casualties at all. The AI is now totally inflexible. It never ever does anything else other than what I described above.

The craziest thing that I have now seen is that the AI thinks that horse artillery is actually cavalry and the AI melee charges them against my light infantry. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

Has anybody else experienced this? Please CA, fix the AI!

About the cavalry thing, did you have light infantry in front of your line?

About the horse artillery, was that particular unit a reinforcement?

On the artillery thing, a few times it worked out very well for AI. They advanced an artillery battery in front of their infantry, drawing all my musket fire. Since artillery is invulnerable to musket fire, it effectively blocked all the bullets from hitting their infantry (I was microing cav atm so didn't switch fire-at-will on/off) and their infantry stopped about 10m short of my line, shot a volley, then charged.

Originally Posted by Chewie

About the cavalry thing, did you have light infantry in front of your line?

About the horse artillery, was that particular unit a reinforcement?

Yes and no respectively. With the horse artilery, the AI didn't simply send them in a forwards position, the artilery charged home at my light infantry. Charged home as in melee charge and this happens often.

I have never used mods for NTW so my judgement is not effected by that. Also, I have the AI set to hard so difficulty setting isn't the problen.

Also, ever since the latest patch, I have never ever seen the AI form up into lines. I have played 20 hours since the latest patch and not once, did the AI ever get into a large scale shooting match with me. Sometimes I see one or two of their units shooting mine.

Out of desperation I gave the AI an army entirely of riflemen and light infantry. They still melee charged my infantry, then stopped right in front of them and then started shooting.

Don't recognise the issues you describe. I'm still losing plenty of times in the Peninsular Campaign and the campaign-map AI in particular is very sly and ready to exploit weaknesses. Maybe you're not playing it on a high enough difficulty-setting? I always have the battle AI on VH and the GC on H.

The enemy form lines fine and don't melee too much but I too have seen cavalry almost always run parallel along my lines and get slaughtered or charge all by itself into lines of light infantry and get decimated before it even makes contact. The AI also seems to sometimes try to run up close say 20 feet away and unload a volley point blank so they can slaughter your units with a hail of gunfire but usually their infantry are shot to bits before they can do much.

Cavalry that charges into a line or anything else but a square should be devastating. More so as a morale factor then pure casualties.

Originally Posted by Erkli Pasha

Cavalry that charges into a line or anything else but a square should be devastating. More so as a morale factor then pure casualties.

They don't make contact. The cav charge three units of rifles, they fire, the cav loses 75% of its strength and they rout.

True...muskets shouldn't be that lethal at the perimeter of their range...only closer....

Or better yet, have the cavalry be more resistant to muskets and that's about it.

Really? Because how come my game's AI can make formation now like this?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

(Print Screen and long-distance screens like this do no justice to ny game's actual graphics.)

Originally Posted by Erkli Pasha

True...muskets shouldn't be that lethal at the perimeter of their range...only closer....

Or better yet, have the cavalry be more resistant to muskets and that's about it.

yeah because 80 horsemen charing at three groups of 160 guys all firing at once would easily survive...

Or increase the ratio of horsemen to infantry.

Like if you have 160 infantry, then you should have 130 horsemen and not 80-90-100.