How do you choose your battlefield?

[Timoleon]

I have some difficulties choosing a favorable battlefield in my current EB 1.1 campaign.
I place my armies in places in the campaign map that seem to have an altitude advantage but when the battle starts in my surprise the enemy owns the high ground!
Does anyone have the same problem? Is there any way to positively know the landscape of the battlefield by examining the campaign map?

[Lysimachos]

I have some difficulties choosing a favorable battlefield in my current EB 1.1 campaign.
I place my armies in places in the campaign map that seem to have an altitude advantage but when the battle starts in my surprise the enemy owns the high ground!
Does anyone have the same problem? Is there any way to positively know the landscape of the battlefield by examining the campaign map?

If you position your army on top of a hill on the campaign map the hill will be in the middle of the battlefield, so you'd face uphill. If you position your army in a way that the top of the hill is behind it on campaign map, they will stand on higher ground in the battle.

[overweightninja]

This is kinda off topic but along the same lines so I'll ask here anyway...
Has anyone else noticed there seems to be more forest fights in 1.1? The amount of times I've picked a plain to fight on only for the battle map to load up and the whole area covered in trees, gets a little irritating (I HATE forest battles :laugh4:).
Anyway is this just me?
Cheers

[Korlon]

I don't choose my battlefield. I just fight where ever, unless it's a damn forest map. I withdraw from those.

[Nobo]

Yea, I don't really choose a battlefield... i try to avoid forests, but that never really seems to work out anymore

[General Aetius]

overweightninja-You get a lot of open land in the east

general aetius

[Dhampir]

This is kinda off topic but along the same lines so I'll ask here anyway...
Has anyone else noticed there seems to be more forest fights in 1.1? The amount of times I've picked a plain to fight on only for the battle map to load up and the whole area covered in trees, gets a little irritating (I HATE forest battles :laugh4:).
Anyway is this just me?
Cheers

Absolutely. If the battlefield ends up being a forest, I just quit and take the loss.

[Cartaphilus]

I don't choose my battlefield. I just fight where ever, unless it's a damn forest map. I withdraw from those.

I do the same.

[-Praetor-]

I do the same.

Unless I`m a barbarian, in which case the battle turns out to be a gigantic ambush and head collecting fest. :grin:

[lobf]

Don't you lose men for withdrawing?

[Dhampir]

Don't you lose men for withdrawing?

And if you're out of movement points, you lose the whole army.

But it's better than fighting in those forests and not being able to see anything.

[Korlon]

Don't you lose men for withdrawing?

Manually withdraw, don't click escape and such, just press the withdraw button and wait for all your troops to run out of the battlefield; you won't lose any troops that way, unless you had that all troops will die if you lose thing, but I think you can't choose the withdraw button if that were the case.

[Timoleon]

If you position your army in a way that the top of the hill is behind it on campaign map, they will stand on higher ground in the battle.
I'll try it out. Thanks Lysimache!

[Cartaphilus]

Unless I`m a barbarian, in which case the battle turns out to be a gigantic ambush and head collecting fest. :grin:


When I play barbarians I search open fields too.
(I hate that nasty battles under the trees).

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Blame it on me. It was me who urged them to resize the trees.:grin:

:tomato2:

[saftglas]

NOO!!!! YOUUUUU!!!!!! :furious3:

xD:laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4:

[Dhampir]

Blame it on me. It was me who urged them to resize the trees.:grin:

:tomato2:

Well, it's probably more accurately shows the difficulty of commanding troops in a forest. :balloon2:

[Nobo]

yea, I can see how it would be more realistic and all.... but still :furious3: hehe

btw, whats the idea behind the balloons?

[Cambyses]

Yeah, some factions get a massive bonus fighting in forests. Most notably Lusotannan, they can get up to +4 moral while some enemies can get -2 or more?. That's a 6 point swing (for the mathematically challenged) and makes for an easy win against the hated Carthies or Romans.

Plus it really makes cavalry and missile troops less powerful, so you cant use the same tactics you use on open ground. Overall, forest battles are annoying but ignoring them does cut a big chunk out of the game IMO...

[Cartaphilus]

Nothing better than a charge in the open field.

And for the bridge battles, now (unless I'm in a great numerical inferiority) I do as the saxons in Maldon battle, I let the enemies cross and I give them a fair fight.

[Dhampir]

Nothing better than a charge in the open field.

And for the bridge battles, now (unless I'm in a great numerical inferiority) I do as the saxons in Maldon battle, I let the enemies cross and I give them a fair fight.

On a bridge, I put a few strong units at the end of the bridge and the enemy crowds onto it. Then I find a ford and flank them with the bulk of my army. Encircle them and destroy them.

[Cartaphilus]

On a bridge, I put a few strong units at the end of the bridge and the enemy crowds onto it. Then I find a ford and flank them with the bulk of my army. Encircle them and destroy them.


Too easy. I'm tired of that.
Now I let them pass untroubled and fight in open field.

[LorDBulA]

Battles in forests are fun, unless you are cavalry heavy or fight in one of the very dense forests with huge trees.
Still in many cases even in tree heavy map you can find small or medium openings in the trees and fight there, it looks really amazing. Add to it few small hills on the map and you get very interesting terrain.
Plain flat maps are just boring.

[Nirvanish]

Just last week I was playing in my Dacian Campaign and fighting somewhere just north of the starting province, wow such unformitable terrain. Not only did I have to contend with crazy slopes but giant forests as well, its a shame you can't really hinder the computer in these battles as much as a player but it is good that they be given advantage in some other ways.

[Korlon]

Battles in forests are fun, unless you are cavalry heavy or fight in one of the very dense forests with huge trees.
Still in many cases even in tree heavy map you can find small or medium openings in the trees and fight there, it looks really amazing. Add to it few small hills on the map and you get very interesting terrain.
Plain flat maps are just boring.

I fight in those if they are available, though once an enemy unit just didn't seem to move and it took me ages to find that little hiding critter.

[Megas Methuselah]

Battles in forests are fun, unless you are cavalry heavy or fight in one of the very dense forests with huge trees.
Still in many cases even in tree heavy map you can find small or medium openings in the trees and fight there, it looks really amazing. Add to it few small hills on the map and you get very interesting terrain.
Plain flat maps are just boring.

I migrated to Carthage as the Pahlava yesterday and fought a battle just outside of Utica. Much to my surprise, despite there being so signs of it on the campaign map, the battlefield was a huge forest.

Yeah, I withdrew.


Well, it's probably more accurately shows the difficulty of commanding troops in a forest. :balloon2:

Can I please have that balloon?
:yes:

[Timoleon]

Yeah, some factions get a massive bonus fighting in forests. Most notably Lusotannan, they can get up to +4 moral while some enemies can get -2 or more?
I didn't know that! This make my heroic victories is Iberia even more...heroic.
Which other factions get these bonuses? The Gauls?

[Ibrahim]

in my case, I will quote Robert E. lee in the movie Gettysburg:

"from Behind, in front, we will attack the enemy wherever he is"

I don't care where; I just fight..:wall: :wall:

[Dhampir]

in my case, I will quote Robert E. lee in the movie Gettysburg:

"from Behind, in front, we will attack the enemy wherever he is"

I don't care where; I just fight..:wall: :wall:

Do you wear a really bad fake beard as you do it.:clown:

[Ibrahim]

Do you wear a really bad fake beard as you do it?:clown:
dream on dhampir:laugh4:

actually, if you could obtain for me a union army uniform (say 8th Ohio), that would be what I'd wear to EB.:clown:

[mini]

I only hate it when i have to fight in a forest when there's no tree to be seen on the campaign map. There was no way I could have avoided it


If my stack is standing in forest area on the campaign map, then I fight the batle. The prize to pay for not paying attention :)

[Cambyses]

It entirely depends on what faction Im playing. Any western barbarians I will look for forested areas as they gave me an advantage. Greek type troops and Romans have trouble in the woods, so I avoid them. I very rarely withdraw from battles however. Unless my reinforcements are "delayed" that is...

pcaravel, all info for bonuses etc is on the recruitment viewer.

[Lysimachos]

I'm really astonished about how big the dislike for forests is here :)

[Sdragon]

EB forests annoy me to death. They are so dense that the AIs troops get stuck and it screws up their path finding. I've had enemy forces march across the battlefield and out the other side and leave because one of the men got caught on a tree. Happens quite a bit but it's not too bad as long as I don't try to move the unit too far away from those who got stuck. Another big annoyance is when a soldier gets stuck before he enters battle and you've basically lost control of that unit.

[jhhowell]

I'm really astonished about how big the dislike for forests is here :)

Normal forests are fine, but the skyscraper tree extremely dense forest maps one sometimes sees (mostly in the Alpine provinces, maybe Germany and Gaul - it's been a while since I've played in that part of the world) are terrible. Unless you manage to fight in a clearing you have to fight the battle maximally zoomed in. If I wanted to play like that I'd set the general camera restriction... :thumbsdown: I'd try to avoid such forests even with a forest-friendly faction or unit mix - just too obnoxious to try to command units on such a map.

[Megas Methuselah]

I think the "skyscraper trees" have been removed in EB.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

I think the "skyscraper trees" have been removed in EB.
For most parts of the world yes, but certain areas accidentally kept the Redwood-forests, for example the Alps. They are not only ugly, but also make it even harder to battle in them. I'd really like to know whether this issue could be solved in 1.1 or not.