Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: The myth of battle_surgery

  1. #1

    Default The myth of battle_surgery

    There's two pervasive myths around battlefield surgeries that need to be debunked. The first is that casualties inflicted by arrows are more likely to heal, and a related myth is that having your cheap levy troops absorb missile fire is a good strategy.

    First, casualties are healed precisely by order of occurrence. If, over the course of a battle, a unit of Hastati suffers 30 causalties, then a unit of Principes suffers 40, then the Hastati suffers another 50, and the general has a 40% casualty recovery rate, then the Hastati will heal those first 30 casualties and the Principes 18. It won't matter how those first 48 casualties fell in battle. This theory not only confirms the missile casualties healing more, but also why the unlucky frontline troops that perish en-mass during an enemy cataphract charge are revived in droves. Try it yourself - play an Areukoi campaign (but use console commands to give your general a battle_surgery ancillary first) and fight one of those early battles where your frontlines get shredded by enemy heavy javelins. You will find that your frontline troops will mostly be healed, as expected. Next play a Nabatu campaign and award your general a healer ancillary, then besiege Dedan and fight the relief force which consists of some nasty Nabataean Lancers. If you pull your right flank (which would be showered by arrows by the enemy's horse archer left) back, and your left flank (which will bait a charge by the enemy's lancer right) forward, your left flank infantry will be bulldozed. Do your best to win the battle anyways, and when you do you will find that your left flank infantry will be mostly healed while your right flank horse archers, despite bravely soaking up the enemy horse archer's storm of arrows, will stay dead.

    This can only be explained by M2TW's battlefield surgeons not understanding the concept of triage. Your more valuable troops that fought in critical moments deserve medical attention, not the bums who got themselves killed right as the battle begins!

    This brings us to the other myth - that having useless levy troops get slaughtered by missile fire to preserve your elite troops is a good idea. Knowing that only the first 40% or so casualties get healed, you should not get your healers tied up healing useless levy troops while your elite troops get into the thick of the action. At the end of a battle like this, you will have effectively lost most of your elite troops while your levy troops emerged unscathed. In a long-term campaign this is not sustainable.

    What's the solution then? Soak up enemy missile fire using your heavily armored troops, not your barely-armored levies! Notice I said heavily armored, not elite. Heavily armored (and shielded) troops will take FAR fewer casualties, and thus a far fewer percentage of total casualties, allowing your healers time to attend to your hard-working elites. This means that heavily armored but not necessarily high-quality troops (Punic Militia Hoplies, Akkadian Heavy Infantry, Armenian Spearmen) should be used to absorb missile fire, and of these, only the Akkadians have above-average mass that allows them to perform well against cavalry charges. In other words, have your elites do the dangerous tasks FIRST, and then have your levies sustain casualties while your healers tend to said elites. This works well within the context of a single battle, and is sustainable over the course of a long campaign too - your elites will barely lose any numbers and can jump to the next battle while your battered levies can be tasked with garrison duty. A thankless job, but that's what their true calling is: gaming the percentage-based healing mechanic.

  2. #2

    Default Re: The myth of battle_surgery

    The Keltoi factions and Hayastan are especially good at gaming this mechanic with the Celts having access to druid traits and Hayastan being capable of stacking both physician/doctor and Ananya Healer on the same character (The KB can also gain this combo!) whilst also having easy access to both Akkadian Heavy Infantry, Armenian and Parthian Spearmen , giving them much better casualty replenishment rates than most.
    To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
    - Sun Tzu



  3. #3

    Default Re: The myth of battle_surgery

    Quote Originally Posted by realm56 View Post
    The Keltoi factions and Hayastan are especially good at gaming this mechanic with the Celts having access to druid traits and Hayastan being capable of stacking both physician/doctor and Ananya Healer on the same character (The KB can also gain this combo!) whilst also having easy access to both Akkadian Heavy Infantry, Armenian and Parthian Spearmen , giving them much better casualty replenishment rates than most.
    Haha yeah, at that point it's no longer battle_surgery, it's battle_necromancy.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •