Castle Assaults

[Casca]

Ola THERE, NOW THAT i HAVE SAID MY INTRODUCTIONS i WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT i AM NEW TO THIS FORUM AND HAVE A QUESTION. WHEN TESTING TACTICS I LIKE TO GO TO THE CUSTOM VERSION BATTLE VERSION OF THE GAME AND TEST SOME IDEAS. EVERY TIME I TRY A CASTLE ASSAULT THOUGH, IT ALWAYS GETS BAD FOR MY POOR TROOPERS. I USUALLY TRY TO BLOW DOWN A FEW WALLS AND DESTROY THE TOWERS IN MY PATH TO MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR MY ASSAULT. THE PROBLEM IS THAT BY THE TIME I FINISH DOING THIS MY CANNONS ARE OUT OF AMO AND MY SOLDIERS ARE AT THE MERCY OF THE SURVIVING TOWERS I HAVE TO GET THOROUGH TO GET TO THE ENEMY TROOPS. ANY SUGGESTIONS????

[Monk]

well first, why all caps? that kinda scares me http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif.

now to ur question. to survive an assualt you must first understand that you will most likely take many losses. if you have cannons my advice is to take out a wall then the one behind it, then rush most of your forces in and Kill the enemy Units Residing there. once you get ur forces into and passed the towers i think they stop firing, but ur still gonna have to deal with the keep shooting at you.

My advice to you: Kill the Walls, Get in, Kill all the Enemy Units, Get out.

[Demon of Light]

Welcome, brother We greet you with open arms here at the forum. My first suggestion is that you check to see if caps lock is on before you post. Also, autoresolve your battles. The computer calculates impossibly low casualties when left to its own devices.

[Gregoshi]

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif Hi Casca, I'm glad you found us and signed on.

If the siege artillery had too much ammo, then you could take a castle with too few losses. Use the artillery to knock a hole or two in the walls and then tell your boys Once more into the breach

Final note: in internet etiquette, typing a message in all captial letters is the equivalent to shouting your message. Therefore, use all lowercase or the correct mix of upper- and lowercase.

[Cazbol]

Quote[/b] (Monk @ Mar. 04 2003,22:18)]now to ur question. to survive an assualt you must first understand that you will most likely take many losses. if you have cannons my advice is to take out a wall then the one behind it, then rush most of your forces in and Kill the enemy Units Residing there. once you get ur forces into and passed the towers i think they stop firing, but ur still gonna have to deal with the keep shooting at you.

My advice to you: Kill the Walls, Get in, Kill all the Enemy Units, Get out.
I think the towers keep shooting at you once you've passed them if there are still enemies there. For example if you breach the outer wall the towers along it (and the walls themselves) keep firing while you fight the enemies there. Once you kill the last of them, they stop as the outer perimeter is now under your control. The inner wall and keep will still be shooting. If you take the inner perimeter first the inner walls will cease fire and the keep as well, I believe. It is therefore important to send a unit to both parts of the castle even if there are only enemies in one of them.

[Casca]

Thanks for the advice Gregoshi I gues it's obvious I don't know much about online ettiquette but am learning

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Cazbols advice is pretty interesting I'm going to have to test it out. Also just out of curiosity has anybody out there ever gotten Expert Assaulter or Expert Sieger if so I would like to hear your story. Asta luego I'm going to go and have some fun storming the castle http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

[Snowhobbit]

Ypu could autoresolve, wont take much casualties http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[ToranagaSama]

I find, if you have two catapults and use them to make two breaches in the walls, then attack from two directions (flanking) my troops take less casualties.

[Asmodeus]

If there are quite a few soldiers in the castle wait a while for some of them to starve

Then take plenty of artillery, ballistas are only good against wooden walls but you are much better taking catapults or heavier weapons. Always take minimum of two - preferably more.

Place the artillery at the maximum range needed to hit the target. E.g. Place it at the edge of the map and reposition it nearer until the mouse pointer goes green on the target (meaning in range). This means the artillery crew are unlikely to get shot. Also position all your attacking troops safely out of range but at a sensible distance from where you intend to assault.

Always avoid going through the main gate. The entrance is two narrow and tends to be well guarded by multiple towers. Your troops get cut to pieces as they get squashed together outside the gates. Just wait for the boiling oil in VI http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

My favourite tactic is to smash down two or three walls (with at least one of them an inner wall) so i can charge in with a load of heavy duty shock troops. When the walls are down use any remaining ammo against towers or against the defenders if they try to block the breach http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif Its like 10 pin bowling. I often assist them with cavalry if i can spare them - the faster you slaughter the enemy the less arrows etc will kill your men. But it's always bloody. I will even risk using a general/prince/king to lead the assault if the odds look favourable - helps his reputation and his soldiers will admire him - especially if he quotes a bit of Henry V.

Failing that send in a spy to open the gate at night, that way nobody gets killed.

[deus ex machina]

Quote[/b] (Asmodeus @ Mar. 10 2003,09:50)]Failing that send in a spy to open the gate at night, that way nobody gets killed.
Can you do this? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/idea.gif

[Jazzman]

in theory you can, just drop the spy on the castle and it'll tell you what the chances are, but everytime i tried it says 0% chance or very low so never actually did it. if he fails is there a chance he is killed? if he succeeds do you automatic win or just get to do the battle with gate already open?

[Red Harvest]

Quote[/b] (Asmodeus @ Mar. 10 2003,09:50)]ballistas are only good against wooden walls but you are much better taking catapults or heavier weapons
Most of the other things you said were good advice, but ballista's are not completely useless against stone walls (and you sort of left that impression.) Sure, cats are better, but ballista's can still make a breach (just not very many.)

[wordsmith]

I like to send in lots of peasents to get slaughtered and all that peasent killing will tire out even the hardiest of elite soldiers. Then when there walls are lined with the bodies of my loyist, and stupidest peasents I send in heavy cavalry to wipe them out. against a tired enemy heavy cavly can somtimes eliminate them with one well placed charge, and the arrow towers are hard pressed to hit a horseman marching at full speed.

For more serious seiges with larger garrisons and castle upgrades you will want to bring units with large shields, shields greatly reduce losses to arrow towers. Although cannons will kill even the mightest of kings, so be wary.

[Brutal DLX]

Quote[/b] (Casca @ Mar. 05 2003,04:08)]Ola THERE, NOW THAT i HAVE SAID MY INTRODUCTIONS i WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT i AM NEW TO THIS FORUM AND HAVE A QUESTION. WHEN TESTING TACTICS I LIKE TO GO TO THE CUSTOM VERSION BATTLE VERSION OF THE GAME AND TEST SOME IDEAS. EVERY TIME I TRY A CASTLE ASSAULT THOUGH, IT ALWAYS GETS BAD FOR MY POOR TROOPERS. I USUALLY TRY TO BLOW DOWN A FEW WALLS AND DESTROY THE TOWERS IN MY PATH TO MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR MY ASSAULT. THE PROBLEM IS THAT BY THE TIME I FINISH DOING THIS MY CANNONS ARE OUT OF AMO AND MY SOLDIERS ARE AT THE MERCY OF THE SURVIVING TOWERS I HAVE TO GET THOROUGH TO GET TO THE ENEMY TROOPS. ANY SUGGESTIONS????
Welcome
Seems like you stood next to an artillery for too long ;-) But it's ok with me.

[Asmodeus]

Quote[/b] (Red Harvest @ Mar. 10 2003,22:59)]Most of the other things you said were good advice, but ballista's are not completely useless against stone walls (and you sort of left that impression.) Sure, cats are better, but ballista's can still make a breach (just not very many.)
Sorry I should have made that a bit clearer. Yes they can be used successfully against stone walls (in the case of a stone Keep) - however, what i meant to say but didnt, was that most of the castles, fortresses etc that have stone walls also have longer ranged catapult towers or worse, that will pulverize your ballista before they have knocked through the walls. For these you need the extra range of Catapults, Trebuchets or Bombards. Also if you play with the time limits on you may run short on time knocking through more than one stone wall with a ballista. But by all means have a go http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Re: Using Spies to open the gates to end a siege. I think (but i'm not 100%) you have a better chance if you wait until the 'Castle is about to fall' i.e. one more turn before the siege would end anyway and result in the castle being degraded 1 level. The spy should have some valour stars too, dont send a rookie. I dont normally use this as I love assaulting castles. Never yet had the chance to defend a castle assault though, still hoping http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[TanDaraDei]

I've had a chance to defend a castle (citadel i believe) against the horde. Twas pretty fun. Just kept my 14 spearmen in the inner ring and watched as the arrow and catapult towers decimate the enemy. Finally I appreciated all those florins spent on castle upgrades. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[deus ex machina]

On a related note, I was wondering if there was a way to minimize the destruction of buildings/improvements when I choose to retreat to a castle? I appreciate that there will (and should be) some damage when an enemy army rolls through my proviences, but at times the damage caused seems to exceed the abilities of even the most committed troops.

Any suggestions or comment would be appreciated as I often find myself accepting battle on less than favorable terms because I do not want to lose ALL or most of my buildings/improvements. Thanks.

[HopAlongBunny]

One note.

In a custom battle you get no reinforcements; that hurts the amount of artillery you can use. In a SP game I usually take 0 or more arty; blast til they're out of ammo; march reinforcements in and rush the castle.

The faster you slaughter the owners of the castle; the less losses you take.