The real secret to geting knights to charge:

[dearmad]

I had 2 cards of Knights of St. John. They were green. In battle after battle they just couldn't get it together. I'd line them up. Wait a bit- then single click... they charged sometimes, othertimes not.

I've noticed lately, however, in battle after battle they have been two very cohesive units. ABle to charge headlong into the enemy- knock many out. Pass through. Turn. Line up again CHARGE! -wham!-

So, instead of congratulating myself on figuring out how to do it right- I'm wondering if unit experience has something to do with it.

They got through two battles jsut now and charged elegently each time- even when I rushed them. I had them in a heaping mass in the middle of h/h with some unit- told them to bolt from that, then halfway out told them to charge... and they DID! They didn't even pause. Just whipped out their lances, lowered them, and WHAM!

If this is indeed how it works- they need some experience to get things right, I APPLAUD CA for this awesome gameplay choice! Thank you!

[Kye]

if the charging issue was about the experience of the unit i would cry. It would mean people could of played the game, and would with a gameplay mechanic which everyone thought as a flaw and a game killer. it would be the better kind of irony.

Kye.

[Lavastein]

it shouldnt or wouldnt really make a difference in terms of the charge, only in fighting ability. Simple becasue these knights have been trained since childhood to fight as knights. So why would they do horribly in terms of a trained charge?

[Hansa]

it shouldnt or wouldnt really make a difference in terms of the charge, only in fighting ability. Simple becasue these knights have been trained since childhood to fight as knights. So why would they do horribly in terms of a trained charge?

I agree completely. I can understand that experience should make a difference, and I applaude CAs idea when it comes to the idea, that experience decides whether a charge is successful or not. However, as you point out, Lavastein, knights were trained at charging from childhood, so they definitely knew what they were doing regardless of battle experience. Charging depending on experience might be a good feature for mounted sergeants, but not mounted warriors of noble birth.

[Ludicus]

From Horse Archer:

If you'd notice, cavalry gets scattered around many times during pursuing routers

Right,this is a well known bug.(since RTW)

..as well as they cannot handle obstacles well during "charging"

This is not a bug:How can they handle obstacles well and charge at the same time?

from lawgnome:

You can also observe the obviousness of the bug by noticing that when your cavalry is charging, if the unit they are charging moves, they will pull out swords and 'pursue'... so pursuit takes away their charge bonus... definitely not intended

Right.It is a bug.


I played a lot of Costum Battles testing the charge:
It works quite well with only one click.And yes there is a delay before the charge,it is a feature,not a bug.(they are approaching the enemy before charging)
And I like the way it works,it´s not ridiculary powerful like in RTW.

Off course,the bugs above mentioned need to be fixed.

[MasterAdnin]

it shouldnt or wouldnt really make a difference in terms of the charge, only in fighting ability. Simple becasue these knights have been trained since childhood to fight as knights. So why would they do horribly in terms of a trained charge?

Training and fighting actual battles is different. I doubt that even if you were trained from birth to fight and then went to war, you'd remember much of what you were taught. You'd be frightened, and the only way to over come that would be through expierience.

If this is true, then I applaud CA. It is a wonderful addition to the game as well as the armor.

Adnan

[Oracle]

if the charging issue was about the experience of the unit i would cry. It would mean people could of played the game, and would with a gameplay mechanic which everyone thought as a flaw and a game killer. it would be the better kind of irony.

Kye.

I have the same problem, calvary feels like they've been nerfed, big time. It's near impossible to get a decent charge going and even when I do, they sometimes slow down before hitting the enemy then instead of punching throw they stale and engage in hand to hand and get their arses handed to them by handgunners of all units. Srsly weak. In RTW, you can gather up a huge force of horses and wash away the enemy flank. Can't anymore in M2TW.


One thing you can try though is issue charge commands to individual units instead of the whole cavalry force. That way they won't get their panties in a bunch about formations etc etc.

[Cadmium77]

if the charging issue was about the experience of the unit i would cry. It would mean people could of played the game, and would with a gameplay mechanic which everyone thought as a flaw and a game killer. it would be the better kind of irony.

Kye.

There's been a lot of young'ins kicking up a stink over nothing around here when this game came out.

There's very little wrong with this game; it's a masterpiece.

[El Hamburglo]

1) Direction - Have your cav pointing straight at the enemy. Theres a cone of about 15 degrees where a charge will work, if the enemy is outside of it, it wont work. Line them up 1st.

2) Distance - You can't charge from 2 metres away. Anywhere from about 10 is mint, but the further the better.

3) Cohesion - Wait for your guys to form up 1st.

4) The enemy can't be running away or skirmishing or they'll just whip out the swords.

5) A clear path. If your other units or one of theirs are in the way of the target unit, they charge will sometimes fail.

In other words, select your cavalry, move them to a spot where they have a clear line to an enemy unit. Click just infront or behind the unit to make them walk directly towards it. Once your cav are moving towards the enemy and are fairly square, attack the target unit. Double or single click, it doesn't matter. Enjoy the carnage.

Its not rocket surgery. This works almost all the time for me. 150 kills per unit becomes the norm and your cav become the weapon they're suppose to be.

If its flawed, its only because its a lot of micromanagement. Apart from that, I think its mint. It makes it really hard to field anymore than 2 or 3 cavalry units at once because of the management needed, but it really makes that sweet-spot charge feel really, really good.

Fighting the danes becomes a lot easier with a couple of Mailed Knights and some patience, because when you get the knack of it they'll run over dismounted huscarls, militia units and axemen like they were possums on a freeway.

CA will likely make it easier in the patch if only to stop people whining, but I sincerely hope they don't.

[ENSAIS]

Its not rocket surgery.

THAT quote is awesome!!!

[Lionel-Richie]

There's been a lot of edit kicking up a stink over nothing around here when this game came out.

There's very little wrong with this game; it's a masterpiece.

There are also quite a few people trying to hide bugs by claiming they are "uber leet techniques that only the elite will know."

[headcoat]

I'm used to RTW where I simply double clicked on an enemy and my cavalry charged full speed ahead while gaining momentum. I can't for the life of me get a decent charge in MTW 2. Ive tried double clicks, click then pressing the RUN key, trying to run in from various distances, etc. But none of them work. Only a couple of times did I even see my cavalry lower their lances to charge in.

How can I play the cavalry like RTW?

[Sammyboi]

I've found the best way to get a proper charge requires nice flat ground and a unit that has had time to line up correctly. Which basically means that I'm getting one decent charge a battle, if the terrain is good enough. After that my knights might as well stay in melee because they aren't likely to get another shot at a charge...
If the charge 'bug' turns out to be an actual feature linked to EXP points I'll laugh so hard I'll poop

[HorseArcher]

Despite the rumors and explanations of "how it should work", the entire cavalry deal is related to the cohesion bug, which was announced by the developers themselves, just after the game went gold.

The experience points versus how the cavalry charge and stay in formation was always related in previous TW games too so there is no suprise that they charge better.

If you'd notice, cavalry gets scattered around many times during pursuing routers as well as they cannot handle obstacles well during "charging" and sometimes there is a delay when executing commands and sometimes they get completely confused and even run to the wrong direction.

So this is definetely not a feature especially when the devs are the ones telling us that they have a fix for the cohesion problem.

[NoSiS]

Despite the rumors and explanations of "how it should work", the entire cavalry deal is related to the cohesion bug, which was announced by the developers themselves, just after the game went gold.

The experience points versus how the cavalry charge and stay in formation was always related in previous TW games too so there is no suprise that they charge better.

If you'd notice, cavalry gets scattered around many times during pursuing routers as well as they cannot handle obstacles well during "charging" and sometimes there is a delay when executing commands and sometimes they get completely confused and even run to the wrong direction.

So this is definetely not a feature especially when the devs are the ones telling us that they have a fix for the cohesion problem.

that i did not know

good to hear

I read an interesting post over at Totalwar.com, to the effect that double clicking a unit on an enemy unit tells them to get there as fast as possible, it doesn't tell them to charge it. One click will tell them to attack and they automatically charge once within they're within their predetermned charge distance. I've tried getting them to gallop to close to the target and single clicking but as yet I can't ascertain the truth of the post.

And no i can't find it again to link this post to.

that is true, alot of the time thats how ill issue the order to charge, simply because all the units of cavalry will arrive at around the same time and they consvere energy

but it has no effect on the lethality of the charge

[NoSiS]

interesting theory, but i dont know - ive done alot of cavarly testing in SP and MP and ive noticed alot of variables that effect charges, but expirience isnt one of them

basicaly, for the charge to work you need to be under these coniditions:
1) have a moderately flat and clear path between the charger and the chargee
2) if the unit being charged turns its back to the cavalry, they will raise their lances and engage in sword combat (i dont know if this is a bug or what but i hate it, why not just run them down with the lances?!)

more or less thats all ive noticed thats conistent and i have run alot of tests, it may not seem like much but i think atleast those 2 factors are the source of most of the cavalry problems

what i think would be the perfect solution, is having specific units of cavalry that ALWAYS use their lances, and as such are useless in melee and serve only one purpose; the charge. thats how i use my cavalry anyways, and i think that is tacticaly sound and would be balanced but hey, i guess im just dreaming.. O_o

[Dora190]

I read an interesting post over at Totalwar.com, to the effect that double clicking a unit on an enemy unit tells them to get there as fast as possible, it doesn't tell them to charge it. One click will tell them to attack and they automatically charge once within they're within their predetermned charge distance. I've tried getting them to gallop to close to the target and single clicking but as yet I can't ascertain the truth of the post.

And no i can't find it again to link this post to.

[lawngnome]

You can also observe the obviousness of the bug by noticing that when your cavalry is charging, if the unit they are charging moves, they will pull out swords and 'pursue'... so pursuit takes away their charge bonus... definitely not intended

[Templer]

Overall the calvary charges suck, and they will have to make a patch for this.

[Hedniskhjäertad]

He is right in some aspects. The cavalry have a better 'formation' when experienced.

I had a unit of Mailed Knights, that served in many wars. From the scottish highlands, to the sands of the Sahara. They had golden chivrons, fully upgraded. I could see that when i ordered them to charge, they would form up, knee to knee, low down their spears and charge.

But, still.. the cohesion bug is there. I can see it clearly when the AI charges, and some of their troops just stand there, while a few are fighting.

So, with the next patch, i do hope that everything will be ok.