Cavalary

[Paxx]

Hi again,
I'd like to ask just for the record, which cavalary type do you prefer and how do you use them during the battle.

personally I almost never use cavalary holding missile weapons as the only use (for me) is before battle, firing usually spearmen(without serious results) and getting away quickly. Also use them as bait to distract some enemy units.

Favorite is pronoiai agalion and kataphraktoi.
The 1st move quickly anytime anywhere, crash sword units, but low morale(I ve seen them root where they shouldn't).
The 2nd move very very slow but they are efective to almost every unit (they are handling well against engaged spearmen)

Last, I use cavalary to distract the enemy infantry and archers before the battle but never charge with them. After almost all troops are engaged I use them to support units that are loosing and charge from left or right of the battle. If I win the cavalary will chase the rooting enemy units to collect ''hostages'' http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

[Snowhobbit]

I prefer byzantine cav of all sorts and mounted crossbowmen. My byz cav rarely flees like yours, but maybe it's because they usually have six valour two valour is buildings and location, and the other four is generals stars.
I mostly use them for raiding the french provinces http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[torsoboy]

I like to use a stack of 16 fully upgraded Chivalric knights with gold armor and gold weapons trained in Franconia and Bohemia to steamroller all over Europe. I call it the Chivkrieg.

Jokes aside, I am of the opinion that cavalry should not be committed to frontal assaults. I place my cavalry on the flanks, hold the enemy with my infantry, then smash them in the back and on the side with my faster cavalry. Speed and charge are more important in my style than defence and armor.

[Eastside Character]

I like missile cavalry. Szekely are my favourite, but I like also Byzantine Cavalry and Golden Horde Horse Archers.
Oh and Boyars http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

[Hetman_Koronny]

*bows*

I'd go for Royal Knights, definitaly. The later, the better. They have great morale and charge, att, def values are outstanding as well. If there were 40 of them it would automatically make the Royals an uber unit of the game (that's why we get only 20 RK, lol). Finally, RK have almost none requirements to train them (especially when you compare them to, say, Gothic Knights) so you can build them almost at the very beginning of your early game.

I enjoyed Lancers at a time and I love all those crusader cavalery - they look amazingly beautiful (Knights of Santiago, Hospitalers or Templars).

*bows*

[The_Emperor]

I use an assortment of Cavalry.

I tend to have My light Cavalry as cav/missile combo units Mounted Crossbows, Byz Cav, Faris/Mamlukes, and Turcoman Horse for example.

In my view they are just as good as ordinary light Cavalry such as Hobbilars but a lot more versatile thanks to their missile abilities... and their speed is great for chasing down the Routers

Of course I always have the deciding arm of Heavy Cavalry, normally made up of Chiv Knights/Royal Knights, Kats/Prononai/Lancers, or Ghulums/Armenian/Kwarazmian.

[Dhepee]

I like to tech up Franconia and build Gothic Knights. They hit like a ton of bricks and with a unit size of 80 they are large enough to not get wrapped up by the enemy. Also Gothic Foot Knights are a great melee unit, especially against the stronger spear units.

Anybody know how and where you can get Teutonic Sargents and Teutonic Knights? Prussia has a bonus for them, but I have yet to get Prussia teched up enough for them.

[rfdamian]

I see 3 different uses for the cavalry in this game:
1. A big punch: heavy cav. with good (preferably irresistible charge) - always in the rear or flank, and always only the charge - never long hand to hand fighting.
2.Collecting routers: light infantery is better: hobilars, mounted sergents,
3.mounted archers in defense to lure some units away, or to do some ranged killing all the way to my line defenses plus collecting routers.

So the kats are useless IMHO (why would someone use slow moving cavalry?) except when they are the generals' unit. If I want the general in the field I must accept them.

[Jacque Schtrapp]

My favorite cavalry unit has to be the Polish Rycerz from WesW's MedMod3.13. Place them in a wedge and charge them downhill at any unit and they will utterly crush their foes. What's more is that they can stand toe to toe with spear and pike units while giving at least as good as the get. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

My vanilla MTW fav are the Alan Mercenary Cavalry. They can outrun anything. Hit and run all day long. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Mega Dux Bob]

Quote[/b] (Dhepee @ Nov. 07 2003,08:23)]I like to tech up Franconia and build Gothic Knights. They hit like a ton of bricks and with a unit size of 80 they are large enough to not get wrapped up by the enemy. Also Gothic Foot Knights are a great melee unit, especially against the stronger spear units.

Anybody know how and where you can get Teutonic Sargents and Teutonic Knights? Prussia has a bonus for them, but I have yet to get Prussia teched up enough for them.
Launch a crusade from Prussia as the HRE.

[Cebei]

Any kind of horse archers.. They are best on tactical war of attrition, they give you most flexibility http://smilies.jeeptalk.org/contrib/sarge/BoomSmilie_anim.gif

[juststeve]

I like to grab Moldavia (in Early) so I can train Avar Nobles - they are a good heavy cav unit. Great for hitting into flanks and/making units route. Pretty low reqiurements, and unit size of 40, so that makes me like 'em.

I also like the Heavy Steppe Cavalry, for missle units. Good for softening up spearmen.

I like to use Polish Retainers to chase off horse archer units, and they are also have a very strong charge, which makes them that much more versatile. They have the speed to mop up routers, and the strong charge bonus lets them be used in a heavy cav role, if you dont have any true heavy cav in the stack.

I also like to use dismounted Chivalric Knights, because they can wreak havoc. They have to be right up there with JHI and VG units in melee.

[Cebei]

I've never seen Avar nobles in my entire life What do they look like?

[hellenes]

Quote[/b] (Hetman_Koronny @ Nov. 07 2003,13:04)]*bows*

I'd go for Royal Knights, definitaly. The later, the better. They have great morale and charge, att, def values are outstanding as well. If there were 40 of them it would automatically make the Royals an uber unit of the game (that's why we get only 20 RK, lol). Finally, RK have almost none requirements to train them (especially when you compare them to, say, Gothic Knights) so you can build them almost at the very beginning of your early game.

I enjoyed Lancers at a time and I love all those crusader cavalery - they look amazingly beautiful (Knights of Santiago, Hospitalers or Templars).

*bows*
Lancers ARE 40 late royal knights BUT they arent overpowered Gothics and Mamelukes (upgraded at same fl lvl) will kick their @SS...

Hellenes

[Kurlander]

Naa, lancers ain't late royal knights. They are a bit upgraded mounted sergeants. To see the defaault (valor 0, nothing upgraded) stats, make a custom battle select a unit of lancers and u'll see.

[Kurlander]

I'm talking about byzantine lancers here... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[juststeve]

Quote[/b] (Cebei @ Nov. 07 2003,14:31)]I've never seen Avar nobles in my entire life What do they look like?
They are available only in Moldavia, in Early with the VI expansion. I don't know how to get a screen cap, so I can't help you out with an image, but they are basically similar to the Mongol Heavy Cav of the GH. If you have played VI, you might have run across a few units of Khazar Royal Cavalry out on the steppes - they are pretty similar. Their unit icons remind me of the Byz Kat's.

[Paxx]

I see many people using missile cavalary http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Paxx]

Quote[/b] (rfdamian @ Nov. 07 2003,12:05)]So the kats are useless IMHO (why would someone use slow moving cavalry?) except when they are the generals' unit. If I want the general in the field I must accept them.
I always use them against heavy infantry also spearmen and manage vary well...thats my experience...

[Togakure]

I think Hellenes was referring to Spanish Lancers, m8, not Byzantine Lancers. Late Period Spanish Lancers' base stats are equivalent to Late Period Royal Knights, and Spanish Lancers have a unit size of 40 to the Royal Knights' 20.

[MrWhipple]

I like to use Spanish Jennettes. They engage with javelens, then close with swords. I use them with a unit of spears or infantry and a unit of javilens. The spear or inf holds the enimy unit down while I pummel them with javelins. Works epsecally well against heavly armored horse units.

[Fragony]

I never had any great succes with heavy cav, strange huh. They seem to be useless after the first (devastating) charge, they tire soooo quikly. I like medium cavalry like armenians and retainers so much more, they are hard hitters and are fast enough to get away on time, all fresh and fruity for the next charge.

[kataphraktoi]

Klibanophori,

They're slow and frustratingly so. But, whenever they trot towards the enemy they look intimidating. Their greatest asset unlike most heavy cavalry is not their charge but their ability up close against the enemy: melee.

[biguth dickuth]

I always use cavalry and i have reached the conclusion that the cav units i find more useful are the ones with bows (horse archers, turcomans, byz cav etc) and the fast moving medium cavalry (i love alans...).

I use cavalry always on flanks. The horse archers fire on infantry or on slower heavy cavalry units and hunt down routing units. The medium cavalry charges light, non-spear infantry units and hunts the routers.

I don't really need heavy cavalry but i use them as an extra luxury. I avoid using them against other heavy cavalry or against spear-infantry, especially in a frontal assault. I only do so when there is an absolute need for it. When i have heavy cavalry in an army, i prefer using it against sword-infantry and lighter cavalry and as an outflanking unit which will give the coup de grace to the opposite army.

[L`zard]

Lt. Cav (esp missle types) scts and to screen the red zone.
Hv. Cav to use as morale modifiers/Imperial Gds.

Depends on whether one uses 'limited camera', eh? Also whether one is playing mods.

Use of cav really depends on opposing army unit types, eh?

[The_678]

I love my Heavy cav. A lot of times my armies are composed of at least 8 heavy cavs. Nothing beats a group of 16 Royal knights for subdoing the russian rebels in early. I once had a stack of 16 Royal Knights fight so many rebellions (and win) that the general was specialized attacker, against odds and defender, butcher, highest prisoner-killer and like 5 more all from the combat in the steppes.

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif WooHoo 69th Post http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Guthwyn]

I had really good luck as the HRE using spanish jinettes to combat the mongol Horde. They had one weapon and two armor upgrades, and were valor 3 due to the general's command. The jinettes could defeat the infantry and horse archers in hand to hand (and they are fast, so they can catch up to the horse archers). They could also skirmish with javelins versus the heavy cav, significantly reducing their number and exhausting them. Probably my favorite cavalry unit.
I would have to say that I prefer the light cavalry types in the game. They tend to have significantly fewer building requirements, but still have the primary advantage of mobility. If you are charging an engaged unit in the rear, lighter cavalry can break a unit almost as fast as knights.
I tend to start games during the early era, so the heavier cavalry tends to arrive too late to play a pivotal role.
I've also learned to respect beduin camel warriors. I've used them as the Turks and I was amazed when I saw them chop up kats. I've also faced them crusading in the desert, and they can be a real headache.



Guthwyn

[Cebei]

I realized that turcoman horse is a real kataph killer with arrows. Even on expert. 3 formations of turcomans horses ate 2 formations of kataphraktoi among which the emperor was riding. Kats never reached Turcos.

[Etym]

I'm still new at this, but I was recently surprised by the abilities of the lowly Hobilars. Playing English Early, I was just trying to consolidate the British Isles and build some economic strength when the frickin' Frogs jumped me, invading all 3 of my French provinces. All I had there were the peasants I started with, plus one unit of Hobbies in Aquitaine and Anjou. Fortunately, the French didn't have any spears (at least, none that they sent in), so they attacked with 1 peasant and 2 groups of archers in one place, 2 peasants and 1 archer (plus a Ballista commanded by the General) in the other case.

Though I lost Normandy (temporarily), the Hobilars were all I needed to blow the French out of the other 2 provinces. Since I was defending, I backed up on a ridge and charged the peasants as the enemy came up the hill. The 1 peasant unit was way out in front of the archers, so while my guys charged them, I swept the cav around the archers' flank and rolled them up. One of these archers had the general, so when he took off running the peasants decided to leave, too. The other general (from his Ballista) sent his 2 peasant units up together. I held at the top, waiting, while the Hobilars went around again and attacked the Ballista crew. This got the General thinking about home, and when he ran I turned on the archers. They weren't hard to convince, and they split, too. By this time, unfortunately, my decimated peasants had run off (what was left of them, anyway), and I still had almost 200 pissed off farmers to deal with. I didn't really think I could pull it off, but then I noticed that one of their peasants was chasing my runners. I managed to walk uphill from the remaining peasants, and (since I was defending, I guess) they obligingly decided to come up and get me. One hard charge and they'd had enough. I chased them to another ridge, and waited there for the routers to return. But after the 2nd group got back from chasing my poor peasants off the map, they took one look at my cav and ran away

This isn't likely to happen often, of course, but I've also had decent luck using Hobbies as convincers in larger battles when some equal units of spears (2 feudal sergeants, say) are locked up and evenly matched or winning/losing slightly. A rear charge from the Hobilars usually clears up that roadblock in no time.

[Rajput]

I love cavalry, all cavalry, any cavalry.

Cav archers to chew up ranks, heavy cav to charge, light cav to run down fleeing soldiers.

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

[kataphraktoi]

ANy missile unit can be a Kataph killer and to put it in perspective it can be heavy cav killers as well.

Thats why I use steppe cav or any other light cav to whip the Turcomans in their place.