Suicide Missions!

[Nazgûl Killer]

I'll introduce the subject by introducing myself first, my name is... Well, you know my name (Just look to the left...), I'm a veteran M2TW player and have played it ever since it appeared magically on the shelves one day. Been playing Stainless Steel for the past 2-3 years or so also (Can't really recall the exact time) and have fixated myself on Stainless Steel 6.1, truly believing it is the best version of Medieval II: Total War out there. Yes, the best version of the game, not the modification.

Now, for the subject at hand;
To start my road, I used to be a 'dreadful' general, pursuing dread rather than chivalry, and winning battles with ease at that. I gradually evolved and became a more neutral general, having half my generals prone to chivalry and the other half to dread... Then came my latest evolution, the chivalrous general. I've noticed that my troops listen to me a hell of a lot more when I am chivalrous (I'd much prefer my troops to listen to me than have the enemy run, I like big battles), and my entire bloodline is now chivalrous, any general with dread is quickly ushered off, be it to the next world or to some random city somewhere.

Another thing I've noticed of my latest evolution, is that, whilst I used to keep my soldiers of high regard and preserved them with all I could, fighting for every single soldier and making sure I get minimum casualties... Nowadays I tend to use cannon fodder a hell of a lot more (Usually the light infantry and early spearmen) while keeping the expensive, powerful units in reserve. I've noticed that I've been sending more and more of my soldiers to suicide missions in battles and in the campaign, to achieve a greater goal. Be it to delay an enemy army long enough for my main force to arrive in the campaign map, or be it to keep them busy until I can flank them on the battlefield itself...

I tend to find myself ushering off generals to the next world more and more often, too. Quite funny if you ask me.

My point is; Have any of you noticed such evolutions in your style of play? Do any of you send your troops off to a suicide mission, knowing full well they won't survive? And how often?

[Magic Man]

Only really with mercenaries, or if i have to to win a battle.


Ill often leave a few slots open in my army to hire mercenaries that i can cheerfully send to their deaths. Delaying a second force, first up the ladders, pushing the ram, standing 50 metres in front of my main line while the archery duel commences so that my actual troops don't get shot at etc.

[Ahmed IV]

Most of the time lol. I make all my troops go for the enemy general or die in the process. If they manage to kill him then the battle is half over.

[_Elysium_]

I created "Stacks 'O Doom" in my last campaign, with no regard for their safety.

Playing as Spain, I'd taken all of Iberia and the four western-most regions of Africa. I decided to target Sicily next, seeing as they were moving into Egypt, so I stopped upgrading all but my two latest settlements and started spamming units, rallying them at Pamplona and Zaragoza due to that part of Iberia having the most advanced military buildings and the only Siege Maker. So I'm spamming Spear Militia, and Crossbow units, and Dismounted Feudal Knights, and Catapults, when France starts having a tantrum.

My spy network on the French side of the Pyrenees detected multiple small stacks converging at Bordeaux and Toulouse, eventually ending up with multiple full stacks, three or four French family members in the area, reinforcements joining from Marsielle, and almost a full stack of Catapults, with relations disintegrating every few turns.

I continued to spam units, creating two full stacks, a 1/3 stack and about ten units in total garrisonning my Pyrenean settlements, when France declared war. If they'd waited a few more turns, the majority of my units would have been in Tunisia and Libya. So I abandoned my African plans and focused on France.

The French units started crossing the Pyrenees at multiple points, so I quickly "disappeared" the family members leading the stacks and sent my lads out to meet them. I was throwing Spear Militia and Peasant Crossbowmen against Armoured Sergeants and Sergeant Spearmen, but I wasn't bothered. I had almost another full stack making it's way through Iberia in drips & drabs. I chased one stack up to Bordeaux and pulled it's garrison, leaving the city undefended after the battle. Toulouse was another matter.

After attacking without laying siege, I breached the walls with my three catapult units then lobbed Spear Militia and Dismounted Feudal Knights through those breachs, straight at the waiting Armoured Sergeants, Sergeant Spearmen, Dismounted Feudal Knights and Peasants. It took over 15 minutes to clear away the breach defenders. Knights were fighting knights, Crossbows on both sides were firing into a crowd of over 1000 men, towers were firing, catapults were burning. It was glorious.

I took heavy losses in that battle, managing to inflict 96% damage on the inner wall of the defenses before running out of ammo. Not to worry. I had another 1500 men waiting up the road from Toulouse, so I lobbed them in aswell. Another bloody mess. I eventually took Toulouse, recombined the survivors then got excommunicated. Lovely.

I'll definitely be creating sacrificial stacks in the future. Twas fun.

[Christonikos]

I never disband armies. For any reason. But when treeasury is empty, I turn my soldiers to kamikazes!

[crzyrndm]

Suicide is only for mercs, especially the hugely expensive ones that I won't need after the current battle.

Definite evolution from how I used to play, because mercs were the better troops in the early game I used to try and preserve them(which crushed my economy so many times)

[Emperor of The Great Unknown]

I have had a experience maybe it wasn't intentional but I was playing a polish campaign and on crusade. My army got jumped by two Turkish armies after the crusade. I opted to retreat back to Jerusalem hopefully, but stupid path-finding moved two tiles being blocked by a river.

And of course my army was a mix of crusade mercs and polish nobles. My army was quickly surrounded by the much more mobile force so with my faction leader I went after their archers and generals, soon he was surrounded also. But my main force ended up making his way to my king. Eventually it looked like a last stand of 30 or so men vs over 400 Turks.

My King soon found himself alone and fought himself out of a mess and killed both of their generals and eventually caused a mass rout of their infantry. Granted he had some scarred traits and fine armor but him and his bodyguard killed over 300 most of which by himself. Ironically he died of old age years later.

I usually will send by generals into a death trap to get the good +hitpoint traits.

[Vanderdecken]

I have had a experience maybe it wasn't intentional but I was playing a polish campaign and on crusade. My army got jumped by two Turkish armies after the crusade. I opted to retreat back to Jerusalem hopefully, but stupid path-finding moved two tiles being blocked by a river.

And of course my army was a mix of crusade mercs and polish nobles. My army was quickly surrounded by the much more mobile force so with my faction leader I went after their archers and generals, soon he was surrounded also. But my main force ended up making his way to my king. Eventually it looked like a last stand of 30 or so men vs over 400 Turks.

My King soon found himself alone and fought himself out of a mess and killed both of their generals and eventually caused a mass rout of their infantry. Granted he had some scarred traits and fine armor but him and his bodyguard killed over 300 most of which by himself. Ironically he died of old age years later.

I usually will send by generals into a death trap to get the good +hitpoint traits.

Man, I wish my generals lasted that long. They usually get killed by a pathfinding. The general gets hung on a building or a rock and boom! He's dead.

[AJenny58]

I love the "Scarred" trait. Plus 4 hit-points is awesome. In my Americas Campaign I played as the Apachean Tribes and composed two full stacks of Mounted Thunder Braves (missile cavalry, in case anyone didn't know). Their sole purpose was to kill as many units as possible before death. Each of my stacks wiped out about 3 enemy stacks before they lost about 50%. Then I combined them and kept on murdering until they all died. It weakened the enemy so much that they were no longer a serious threat and I used my balanced armies to take their lands and crush them. That was my first use of suicide armies ever, but it was not my last. After such a great outcome I have used this tactic again and again, sending armies tromping around and killing whatever comes near.

As for changing from dreaded generals to chivalrous generals: I have never done that. I abhor releasing prisoners that will come to fight me the next turn, and I always win my campaigns with a global reputation of "Despicable."

[mesor]

Ive evolved .

I used to slaughter all prisoners figuring a dead man can do me no harm.
Now i slaughter all prisoners couse its funny listening to them scream .

As for suicide's i dont do it.
I might send units into a fight they cant win themself but in this case its always very strong defensive units and always just to fix an enemy in place while better troops get into position.
My army's never contain weak units.
If i unlock a stronger unit then is in my current army then i take a city or 2 and leave them units to defend them and put the better units into my army.
I also tend to field large merc forces permanetly.
Normally on a hot frontline where i need to use multiple forces ill use merc army's as raiders to slip behind the enemy line's and pick apart enemy reinforcements as there moving towards the frontline.

One of my campaigns im running currently ive got 4 pureblood british army's in the field each with 2 merc army's in support 1 that scouts around ahead of the brits for ambushes and 1 to cover there rear.
Then those 2 spread out halfed into 4 forces durin siege's to screen my brit's and act as early warning.

Its expensive but ive found that on average a carefully built merc army can be stronger then your own units especially given the ability to get merc units that u can not recruit at all yourself.
Plus im a lover of rape and pillaging so i loot every city i take im constantly advancing so a 1/4 ish loss to tax income dosnt hurt me when every 1-2 turns im lotting 5-10k from a new city anyway.

Plus rebels r handy if im prepping for a new war then i encourage rebellion in the area im massing my forces to get them so experience before they cross into enemy territory just to give them that extra boost .