Formation Attack on the walls.

[Scuta]

Ive read that turning off formation attack gives the player unfair bonuses vs the AI. Is this true while scaling/defending walls?

Ive had some weird behaviour from units with this ability turned on during siege battles, but wondered if turning it off (to better let my men navigate the battlements) would cause them to slaughter any AI units they come across.

Thanks!

[ThatWhichThinks]

My advice is to never turn off formation attack if the unit has the ability. Turning off formation attack makes it basically impossible to move your troops around with any sort of cohesion. You will get "flanked" because a random group of idiots decided to wander off by themselves and run straight into a blob of enemies. Without formation attack I have had weird scenarios where somehow one unit gets split in two and, when moving, takes two different streets in a city defense. Whatever combat benefits turning off formation attack may offer, it is not worth the headache of trying to manage the units without formation attack on.

Also, all of the units are balanced with formation in mind. In my experience, turning off formation attack makes your units more likely to thin out and get hit in the rear instead of just the flanks.

[MaverickBlack]

I typically turn off formation attack for assaults on the walls as it is usually impossible for them to actually form up into ranks. However, once there are no enemies I will turn it back on.

In either case, killing on the battlements is usually inefficient and you probably won't slaughter any of the tougher AI units very quickly, regardless of the formation attack being on or off.