Help against HA's

[DonRaphael]

Hi guys, I'm currently playing a campaign with TSE on VH/VH. Things are going great, almost wiped out Egypt (two besieged settlements left), wiped out Armenia and Pontus and Parthia have the one settlement left up in northeast.

Although, it seems I've run in to trouble since Scythia seems to move in on me which isn't a problem in itself. The problem is they have loaded a full-sack army with HA's. Seeing that, I immediately put Phalanxunits on the three bridges above the armenian/parthian settlements in northeast. I'm aware that if they attack me my phalanx at the bridge will get massacred so this is kind of a temporary solution. What should I do, how do I kill a full-stack army of HA's? I don't have the economy to bribe them since I've been a little of a spender and had to exterminate some population to finance my wiping-out agenda of Armenia, Egypt, Pontus and Parthia at the same time.

Thanks! =)

[Maiar93]

Well, you don't even need a full-stack for that. Quick solution: unite the phalanxes, attack them and autoresolve.

[DonRaphael]

Oh, that easy? Haha, will try it out.

Thanks!

[TheJim]

If you want to use actual tactics and fight the battles, use lighter cavalry (replace Catas with Companions) and spam loads of foot archers.

1x General
4x Companions
5x Silver Shield Pikes
10x Archers

Set the Phalanx out in a long, thin line, archers behind, and cavalry behind that so as to be out of range. Decimate the HAs with archer fire.

The HAs will either stand still and get massacred by arrows, charge and get massacred by pikes (and you can attack them with your own cav once they are engaged) or do cantabrian circle, take many casualties from arrow fire, get tired and you can catch and destroy them with the companions. This set up would get trashed by a player but works wonders against the AI.

Jim

[|Sith| Max]

If you want to use actual tactics and fight the battles, use lighter cavalry (replace Catas with Companions) and spam loads of foot archers.

1x General
4x Companions
5x Silver Shield Pikes
10x Archers

Set the Phalanx out in a long, thin line, archers behind, and cavalry behind that so as to be out of range. Decimate the HAs with archer fire.

The HAs will either stand still and get massacred by arrows, charge and get massacred by pikes (and you can attack them with your own cav once they are engaged) or do cantabrian circle, take many casualties from arrow fire, get tired and you can catch and destroy them with the companions. This set up would get trashed by a player but works wonders against the AI.

Jim

I am not going to bother with the SP forum anymore now.

[TheJim]

I am not going to bother with the SP forum anymore now.

Pray tell, what exactly is wrong with this tactic against the AI? It beats them every time with minimal losses. Just be quiet. You are not superior to everyone in every way so if you don't actually have anything to contribute, just keep scrolling and then exit the thread. Thanks babe.

[DonRaphael]

One thing I don't understand though is how this thin line of phalanx overcomes the AI. I mean, a full-stack of HAs is going to shredder apart the line, isn't it? They got to shot a couple of arrows which should be enough to eliminate the line, right? Never tried it out.

[Magmaniac]

I am not going to bother with the SP forum anymore now.

Good, your snide condescending remarks like these aren't welcome anyways.


OT: As others have said, don't expand into Scythia. Just set up a defense in a town or two on the border and don't worry about it.

[Genius of the Restoration]

I wouldn't remove any Cataphracts. There are a few things you can do:
Bring heaps of archers and put them in long lines in loose formation with some phalanx troops at the front to stop any charges (or legionaries if it's a full-HA stack as they'll take less missile casualties).
Bring a few Scythed Chariots and autoresolve , or use them like Cataphracts to run through the enemy HA, trying to attack from different directions to drive them into a small area.
Attack them on a forest and hide units in them, only to drive the HA into the ambush.
I don't know how your armies are mostly composed, so try one of these that fits you best and see how you go.

[jbelaguas]

Use heaps of archers and light cavalry. Fighting on bridges and forcing them to charge right into a phalanx works too.

[Veliky Kaiser Theos]

Also try to avoid fighting in the open. The Scythians are much easier to beat if you focus on taking their settlements.

[DonRaphael]

Thanks for the advices guys, but this is the situation;
The long lines of phalanxes and archers you are referring to was what popped up in mind first but there is a slight problem to this solution: I'm in the early game (year is 248) and I don't have access to either Cataphracts, Archers (except in Alexandria) or Companions. Concerning the silver shields I think that the only settlement near the boarder to Scythia where I can recruit them is in Antioch.

As you see I put myself in quiet a problem since I exterminated the pop. in Sidon and Jerusalem when taking these settlements. It maybe was the wrong decision but it allowed me to wipe out Armenia, Pontus, Egypt and Parthia (except the one settlement in northeast) at the same time. Soooo... this is not a solution.

Seems that the only way to solve it is by doing as J. Philip said, that is besieging their settlements (four of them) and wipe them out. Although this would put me at the boarder with Dacia and Thrace :/ or as the first tip, put together a bunch of phalanxes and autoresolve which I rather not.

EDIT: For the one asking about my armycomposition: This is the first time I've played a phalanxfaction so the composition looks like this most times:
1x General
6x Phalanx
4x Archers
6x Cavalry
3x Shock units (until now I've used elephants)

Although it depends on wether I'm besieging a settlement or if it's an army supposed to fight in the open.

[Genius of the Restoration]

If yo can recruit Silver Shields your settlement is at the required level to get Cataphracts too, so change to them in Antioch. You should have plenty of settlements that can recruit archers. They only need to have built the governor's crib for pop. 6000.

Honestly, I wouldn't bother expanding into Scythia because it's not really worth the effort. The land is poor, recruiting troops there will take an age to reach any battlelines (at which point they will have likely cost more in upkeep than simply buying them closer to the action) and you suffer tough distance-to-capital penalties. Better to just keep a half stack around the border and fight them off as an ever-present rebel army. There are much better targets in the world to your east. Your army composition looks fine to me.

[DonRaphael]

Yeah, I'm aware of the poor lands northwards but I was kind of afraid of all the HAs, haha!
Doesn't matter however, I've decided to quit that campaign and start it over and writing an AAR for it. Hope there will be any interest for such a campaign. Thanks for the tips everyone!

[Triarii]

Having chosen to expand into Scythian territory as Armenia in the past, I can confirm that it is a complete waste of time, manpower and money.

I had to devote most of my resources into defeating Scythia as unlike against most factions my HAs could not defeat them with minimal losses, especially as the Scythian basic HAs are superior to the eastern HAs.

Substantial culture and distance public order penalites meant that I had to use large garrison forces to keep order in settlements that are strategically and economically worthless. This left me in a financial blackhole.

Diverting resources to Scythia also allowed Pontus and Seleucia to grow strong (Egypt was oddly inactive) and my capital was under constant siege for some time.

It certainly made for an interesting campaign, but I really wouldn't bother with invading Scythia again, just protect my borders.

[daxypoo]

never underestimate the utility of militia cavalry spams