Adding artillery to the legions

[wafflezboy]

Has anyone tried using artillery with your legions in the field? I've tried using scorpions, but all they did was hit my troops in the back and barely killed anyone!

I'm thinking of adding two lithbolos units to my campaigning legions to help thin the oncoming hordes of enemies to make it easier for my cohorts. Does anyone have any thoughts or comments on using artillery in the field, or is using regular missile units better?

[DarthLazy]

I tried 1 ballista to try and scare the gauls but it didnt work, the AI likes to rush you and I needed space for other units

[bleep bloop]

i used 2 large lithhbolos and enemy stopped then they got killed 400-500 and started to run away all of them and we both had full stacks

[Sebastos Abdes Pantera]

What some people used to do is have a sort of 'baggage train' stack. This would go right behind the legion and you would replace units for siege weapons as you needed them for sieges or field support.

[DarthLazy]

Yes but siege weapons that take down stone walls are expensive and slow..

[MadJackMcJack]

I've used Balista and aside from a river defence found them to be fairly useless in a field battle. Regular bolts don't do much damage and the fire bolts do even less because they miss too much to make up for the few men they do kill when they hit.

Lithbolos can be worth it because the fire shot does a ton of damage when it hits, and it's worth all the missed shots when a well-placed one can rip a huge hole in an enemy formation. Just use an Empire-style infantry/cannon/infantry formation to prevent friendly fire (fire shot can and will plow straight into any unit directly in front of the lithbolos ) and shift a unit forward when it's go time.

[Sebastos Abdes Pantera]

Yes but siege weapons that take down stone walls are expensive and slow..

That is why you dont keep it in the same stack as your legionaries. It will follow it around, but at a slower pace. Its quite realistic when you think about it, you have to protect your baggage train and supply routs. Also the logistical nightmare when the Roman legions were engaged using guerilla tactics by Barbarians or Parthians.

[Miroslav Klose]

I never use artillery, except in some bridge battles.

[Din432]

the artillary is very affective and if used corretly with fire can couse route
when you attact the enamy/atacked place the artillery in the left and right of you formation
use the first line to hold the enamy and maneuver the artillery/archer/spearthrowing to the rear of the enamy units that atacking you first line - and fire/
also you need to have one or two units that protect them.

[Leeham991]

I actually found all artillery to be very useful.

All my pre-marian legion have one/two scorpion or 1 scorpion 1 ballista.

Scorpions/ballistas should be deployed on the front line but behind the skirmish line, also there should be a gap in the skirmish line made for them to fire through. They are then useful to kill of generals, make gaps in the enemy by forcing them to move, or just firing into a command unit to cause morale problems.

[DarthLazy]

Strange though, artillery has been useful in a blitz to take down greece.. since the settlements are really close together