I don't think you have the balls

[Lycurgus the Lawgiver]

It really annoys me when an enemy accepts a fight. But once in the fight he and his army almost instantly run away..

Does anyone know if there is a way to stop this from happening? I know this won't happen when the odds are equal or in the enemies favor, but sometimes smaller armies also need to be squashed.

So is there any way to change files or something of the sort, to stop this from happening?

[Publius Quirinus]

Don't know, but I agree, it's extremely annoying. I also don't like it when the AI exploits the border and camp near it, which can be more annoying than them just running away imo. At least with the former you can mass cav charge a straggling light unit for free kills.

[DimeBagHo]

I don't think there is any way to stop them from withdrawing. It seems to happen more often when I have reinforcements comming onto the field. I guess the AI thinks it can take the attacking stack, but changes its mind when it sees the combined force.

[Lobo Solitario]

I believe that the behaviour is hard-coded. You could tinker with unit stats, especially secondary HP, to fool the AI into miscalculating the odds, but this would mess up auto-resolve battles (including those between AI factions), so it's likely a lot more trouble than it's worth.

Against small AI armies, I find the easiest solution is to just attack them with a small part of your forces, not enough to cause them to withdraw. The smaller battles tend to be quite easy to win with minimal losses anyway. If you're really annoyed by this, you could always consider creating a screening army made up of jav-cav or horse archers, to deal with all these minor inconveniences.

[GoldShield Guard]

This behavior is indeed annoying, but I like it to be there! It adds a sense of realism. At the first impression the enemy captain or general believes he can win, but then he is approved to be a coward and runs away. Finally, XGM is not meant to be easy!

[Unknown Soldier]

Thats what a screening cavalry force is for - especially javelin/bow cavalry

use 4 stacks of 5 units to rove ahead of your main thrust when u are on the offensive - u can pull them together to form a full stack as necessary and u can pin/cut off enemy forces by seizing bridges etc.

On the defensive u can engage - harass - withdraw and wear down enemy stacks also your mobile troops allow u to pick and choose a battle field to your advantage.

Try using a set of 6 - 9 single expendable spear units to draw enemy forces apart retreating from the initial battle when the enemy attacks....they rapidly use up their moves chasing your men about.

[Stu.]

I dont find it that annoying to be honest..