View Full Version : Battlefield uses for Peasants...
Peasants suck, we all know that.
But they sure do have their uses, besides garrisoning. I have found the following to be their effective uses, perhaps you guys have better or more uses for them.
The Bloodlusted Peasants-
Their charge rocks in early game, have had them Winning Easily against very tough units for a few seconds. Always charge them.
After a while I remembered that units are now far better at disengaging. So I tried disengaging my Peasants and charging in time and again from the flank. It worked wonders... The enemy Spearmen were simply cut down. I have now had about ten battles where my Bloodlusted Peasants have killed more and better enemies than they have lost, simply by doing this.
The Peasant Pincushion-
Peasants are rabble, never consider them good at anything and you can never do wholly wrong in battle.
So use them as rabble, for rabble is good at catching arrows for your archers to use.
While the Peasants might suffer apalling losses, but that is good, for they are not your costly Knights or Sergents.
This is, again, great for the rivercrossings. You can soak up up half the enemy arrows with one single unit of Peasants, that is great. You can even have them stop on the middle of the bridge to soak up even more arrows.
Another great situation for The Peasant Pincushion is for castleassaults where you haven't got any siege engines. Have your Peasants take the gate, one at a time or else they might run together. Not viable above normal Keep.
The last situation for The Peasant Pincushion is basically the same as Braveheart ("Won't we hit our own men?" "Yes, but we'll hit theirs too."). Send you brave and loyal Peasants into melee with better or more enemies and then fire into the melee. The Peasants will die a very honorable death for their Lord. http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif
The Stoic Peasants-
If the enemy is trying to get you at an incline or does not charge (hard to guess) and he does not use good quality troops (above Spearmen, Archers and Urban Militia), have your Peasants put on Hold Formation (to have losses be as low as possible) and take him head on. You can even charge him for some impact effect.
Your Stoic Peasants will no doubt lose in the long run, but they might buy you enough time to flank the enemy. This can win the battle.
CAUTION: Don't ever use this if your general has a bad morale Vice, other units might hold, but Peasants certainly won't!
And never use it if the enemy troops outclass you too much, then go for The Bloodlusted Peasants.
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You may not care about war, but war cares about you!
TenkiSoratoti
09-09-2002, 03:22
1 thing never use peasants online!!!!!
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"The good fighters of the old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an oppurtunity to defeat the enemy."
Red Peasant
09-09-2002, 05:20
PEASANTS RULE!!
Power to the people!!! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
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To see a world in a grain of sand,
And Heaven in a wild flower,
To hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
William Blake.
How do you disengage units from combat? My units never stop fighting and always head back in unless I constantly click very rapidly away from battle and EVENTUALLY they get disengaged. There has to be a better way.
Iced~Metal
09-09-2002, 08:38
JRock, I'm pretty sure it's a morale thing. If your units are Impetuous then they tend to head back in and kick some more ass.
Warmaker
09-09-2002, 09:06
... which is why I love discipline in the troops. Western European knights are can be uncontrollable once the swords are drawn which irritated me when playing as the Spanish.
Anyways, peasantry are good fun to watch. I sent a full 100 man peasant formation charging downhill against foot knights of some sort (only 20 men). It was shocking and hilarious to watch the opposing knights pave a road composed of my peasants uphill.
RTKLamorak
09-09-2002, 09:40
just a single double click not far from the battle they are in will disengage them. It seems if u keep clicking then they keep going to the start of the disengage cycle. Thats what i thinks anywyas.. test it
RTK7Lamorak
yes, if you keep clicking it confuses them. :-)
spiffy_scimitar
09-09-2002, 10:22
You can also pres ctrl-w to withdraw the troops, as long as you remember to eventually assign them a new destination. Otherwise theyll withdraw right off the map.
(this is great for cycling out archers with no more ammo to be replaced by reinforcements)
I often find this easier than double clicking.
Lord Romulous
09-09-2002, 11:27
A bit off the subject but how often do people find the computer ai actually attacking them in battle ?
I play the game with the timer off cause i like to have the time to chase down all the routers and butcher them http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
but my problem is that with the timer off the ai never attacks. i will form up my troops in front of the ai's and the ai will withdraw to higher ground. even if he is already on a hill. i only get to fight the ai when he is on the highest possible mountain. i often split my army to try and trap him. other wise he just move from mountain top to mountain top when i approach
btw this is my first campaign so i am playing on normal. i always attack with a really bad ass general who is seven stars. and usually numerically superior to the ai.
Another good use for peasants: Bait http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif
I got the idea after reading about the Fall of Constantinople (vs the turks I believe). Sending in your Peasants first can tire out the enemy while they kill/chase your Peasants, making them that much less effective vs your main troops.
Another use is luring the enemy from a hill. I had a particular battle once where the enemy had good position on a hill, with no real way to flank him. Plus I was outnumbered, with the wrong units for an up-hill battle. So I positioned my forces within arrow range of the base of the hill, then put my peasants at the base directly under him. Sure enough, he sent a unit downhill. As they hit my peasants, I told them to rout, and the enemy followed. Down came my sledgehammer, which forced the enemy to send more units down the hill to level ground. Peasants won that battle for me that day http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif
Of course, it's always a risky business intentionally routing peasants as bait. Sometimes the rest of your army follows the peasants =)
Quote Originally posted by Lord Romulous:
A bit off the subject but how often do people find the computer ai actually attacking them in battle ?
I play the game with the timer off cause i like to have the time to chase down all the routers and butcher them http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
but my problem is that with the timer off the ai never attacks. i will form up my troops in front of the ai's and the ai will withdraw to higher ground. even if he is already on a hill. i only get to fight the ai when he is on the highest possible mountain. i often split my army to try and trap him. other wise he just move from mountain top to mountain top when i approach
btw this is my first campaign so i am playing on normal. i always attack with a really bad ass general who is seven stars. and usually numerically superior to the ai. [/QUOTE]
the ai rarely attacks me when im the agressor, but always attacks when im defending..
the Count of Flanders
09-09-2002, 15:01
Quote Originally posted by hoof:
Of course, it's always a risky business intentionally routing peasants as bait. Sometimes the rest of your army follows the peasants =)[/QUOTE]
That's just the good thing about peasants: if they rout nobody cares, they even expect them to run away. Sergeabts, men-at-arms and knights ignore non-noble (militia and peasant) routers.
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Proud member of the OOOO (http://www.oooo.freewebspace.com)
Hmmm... Bait hadn't thought of that one even though it is in the demo... hahaha http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
The Carrot Peasants-
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You may not care about war, but war cares about you!
the Count of Flanders
09-09-2002, 15:21
I have also noticed that if my knights do go on uncontrollable charges they usually do it on peasants or militia. So it makes them an even better bait.
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Proud member of the OOOO (http://www.oooo.freewebspace.com)
Peasants are easy to disengage, especially if they are on the flanks of the enemy (but that position won't help them much normally).
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You may not care about war, but war cares about you!
Come on, there must be some people who have actually been forced to use Peasants in battle...
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You may not care about war, but war cares about you!
Dionysus9
09-10-2002, 02:15
To tell you the truth, Kraxis, in spite of your formidable Bloodlusted Peasants, I just dont use them at all. I don't even produce them unless I need an IMMEDIATE garrison in a piss-ant province with no spearmen available.
And, I agree, NEVER use peasants in Multiplayer....
I'd like to see Kraxis prove me wrong on that last one...
Soapyfrog
09-10-2002, 02:24
I've used peasants early in the single player campaign, they have their uses, but later on they simply never get built.
Hehehe... seriously, Peasants sucks! Badly.
I might have forgotten to say that I never actually train them besides in very early game. But it is those Peasants that might happen to get stuck in a battle.
So I wanted to see how you use them.
Clearly I thought a little too much of this... http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
Online... NEVER!!!! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif
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You may not care about war, but war cares about you!
Peasants, good for all your dieing-related battlefield tasks! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
I've been using peasants to get into castles early in the game. Very useful for breaking down the gates, while soaking up arrows at the same time.
Anyway last night i charged my peasants up to a motte and bailey fort, started attacking the gate, & it opened of it's own accord. Hmm, is this a trap i thought? better find out! So i sent my brave peasants charging into the enclosure (which had two much depleted enemy units inside it), and ordered them to attack the second gate. LOL, my peasants marched into the compound & the gate shut behind them! my peasants got butchered to a man!
It's SO nice that the AI will try to lure single units into its killing ground! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif I really love this game!!!
After i stopped laughing, I cursed the devious cunning of the Moorish commander and swore i'd see his head on a spike before the end of the day. I gave the order and the next unit of peasants marched forward to force open the outer gate...
[This message has been edited by Wart (edited 09-10-2002).]
Nice!!!
It would be nice if you could open the gate yourself, to have a situation like that.
I tried to do that once, I had one Viking and used him to open the gate and lure in a few units. Worked but it was hard after he died.
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You may not care about war, but war cares about you!
Last try to wake up some of the better players. http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
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You may not care about war, but war cares about you!
Vlah Rebel
09-27-2002, 02:11
execpt for cannon(arrow) meat i sometimes use peasents to chase of archers and leave the rest of my forces fight the infantry and cavalry or you can use them as a temporary boundry aganst troops trying to attack my own artylery or archers.
i first saw how incredibly crappy peasants were when 300 vikings routed over 1500 peasants.
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"samishika wa nai shitte irukara saigo wa itsumo hitori to"
"I'm not lonely Because I know I'll be Alone at the end"
email me at: Luftwaffle@mad.scientist.com
MajorFreak
10-08-2002, 12:03
why would you garrison with peasants? They're the same upkeep (per unit) as crossbowmen and militia? (besides, most units give the same province loyalty boost per unit as the rest)and when you're dealing with numbers, one usually needs about just under 500 units to have 200% loyalty for a normal tax rate province (medium distance from king)[/list]I personally go with pavise xbow/arbalest with urban militia all packed in a keep for my cheapo provinces. (never know when that darned blockade is gonna drop them loyalty numbers)
BACK ON TOPIC: nah, never use peasants myself...though the castle storming idea has merit. might have to get me some pincushions too. muahahaha
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[This message has been edited by MajorFreak (edited 10-08-2002).]
Bob the Insane
10-08-2002, 19:53
ergh...peasants.....
I don't use them...period...
They are totally unreliable and can alway be beaten by professional soldiers unless they rediculoussly outnumber them (and even then it is no sure thing..).
As for using them for garrisoning, I perfer to use professional or at least militia units, something that will be of some use in a peasant revolt...
Don Megel
10-08-2002, 22:47
Now remember, if EVERYONE says Peasents are nothing then that too can be used as an advantage...
I only built Pesants in the early game but I still had a tone left over by 1230. My Crusiade to Constantinobal picked up a lot too. I sent in a unit of Pesants to attack some woodsmen. My mouth dropped open as the Yellow Pesants became blue. When the woods men left only a pile of bodies remained. It only took 5 seconds! I couldnt belive it.
THe other Pesant units did alright, they do well if you use them for flanking, like the clansmen. I personaly use them for decoys and flanking which they work well for.
Every unit has it's uses...
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Praise the Lord for He is mighty and great!
MajorFreak if you notice I was talking about early game...
So there is no crossbows around to take up the garrisoning. Later I begin to Change them out.
But they are really good for garrisoning in early game. Imagine you need your entire army from a province to attack. If you train one Urban Militia it might not be enough to stop a Bandit uprising, and the cheap 100 men in one turn is good for loyalty as well. Those are my reasons for using them to garrison. Slowly they vanish again (due to attrition from the Peasant Pincushion).
If you really want to take a smaller castle, but better than Fort they are great at breaking open the gate. I use them for that quite often.
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BTW, Danish Crusades are true to history.
You may not care about war, but war cares about you!
Don Megel
10-09-2002, 22:15
Lol, as fate would have it I read this thread before playing yesterday. When I did I had 2 or 3 battles where pesants where the largest part of my forces. I was like "You have got to be kidding me!"
So I tried a new formation I had been working on and I lived. The next battle I lived also. It turns out that if you use Pesants propperly they can be quite an asset. Use one group to attack, another to flank. Granted, most units will eat them alive and spearmen are much better but a pesant army is not a "No win situation"
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Praise the Lord for He is mighty and great!
ravenking
10-09-2002, 22:46
I prefer to use what I call "peasantry" units. Cheapo units that you can build quit early on with little to no buildings. For example: Hobilars, woodsmen, vikings, gallowglasses, steppe cavalry, clansmen and the such. Most of these are region-based, and can make the game much more fun. They work wonders in the early game.
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"You there, knight!" "Yes, sir?" "We just lost that battle. Why did you order your men to charge that unit of enemy sergeants?" "Uh, I was impetuous, sir" "'IMPETUOUS!? Impetuous!? Men! Kill him, I want his head!"
Don Megel
10-10-2002, 22:17
Actualy, I find the CLansmen to be exelent ambush troops even mid game. Recently I was fighting a hoard of Turks (3500 vrs my 600). I put the clansmen in the woods opposit my main force. SIngle handedly those clansmen saved my main forces half a dozen times, slaughtering entire units of Kaprati Cav and other cav and inf units. I couldnt belive it. Just use one group to hit them head on and anohter to go around and flank. Works like a charm...
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Praise the Lord for He is mighty and great!
el_slapper
10-10-2002, 23:29
Yep. In a long, terrible fight against the momoheads, 2 of them plus a sergent's team did ambush several cavs of any kind, and destroyed them. I finally lost that one, but this did increas from far the enemie's losses.
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