Bouncy... Bouncy

[katar]

don`t know if anyone has done this one or not.

i had just invaded ireland with a force; ten units, comprising of three longbows, three catapults, three knights and two spearmen.

battle was fought, on a small map, between two steep slopes with a village in the middle, irish units were on the far side of a forest close to the bottom of their slope, i was on the opposite slope.

before the battle i had placed my catapults just below the crest, facing that forest.

when the battle started i sent one unit of knights in loose formation towards the enemy, to draw them out, but while they did move forward, it was still out of catapult range.

in my frustration i fired them at a building instead, they flew through the air, hit the building and then to my surprise continued to bounce up the hill and into the units of bonnachts and kerns hiding in the trees, that got my attention all right. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

after repeating it ten times it got their attention as well, they moved forward to engage my units, not much to say after that, i just wiped them out as they surged up the slope towards me. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

so if you ever want that extra little bit of range, fire at the buildings, once the building is destroyed you loose that option, but as they are not 100% accurate, you can get some decent use out of them. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif

[katank]

wow, nice tip.

might not actually work with higher valor ones as they actually hit the building.

u modded in bonnachts? how did ya get bonnachts facing knights and longbows?

[nightcrawlerblue]

Eh, I don't like catapults anymore. I just did a custom game with 5 catapults. I fired them throughout the entire battle and they never hit a single thing...

[katank]

low valor cats=crap.

also, don't use fire at will.

defend bridges with em and hand target front enemy units while they are crowded around bridgehead and watch the shots bounce through enemy formation. beautiful http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

[katar]

Quote[/b] ]u modded in bonnachts? how did ya get bonnachts facing knights and longbows?

it in MedMod. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-yes.gif

bonnachts, norman knights and enlish longbows all make life more interesting, unfortunately the bonnachts loose the throwing spears.

instead i use them all the time as my standard shock troops, faster than spearmen and a good attack bonus to compensate for their weaker defence (they are the reason i invaded ireland in the first place). http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-2thumbsup.gif

luckily the rock trick is not mod specific, it will work on any version.


Quote[/b] ]might not actually work with higher valor ones as they actually hit the building.

i had the exact same thought, it`s a bit of a surprise for a weapons inherent inaccuracy to be a bonus point http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif



Quote[/b] ]Eh, I don't like catapults anymore. I just did a custom game with 5 catapults. I fired them throughout the entire battle and they never hit a single thing...

keep them off fire at will, place the catapults in a high spot and try to lure the enemy to come straight towards your catapults.

if they come at you one unit behind the other, fire at the leading unit, you`ll probably miss the first unit entirely, but the rocks will keep on bouncing through the units behind it (that`s when you get the best kills per shot).

anytime the enemy stops to reform or stop is a good time to fire, as with bows catapults are not so good with moving targets, get the enemy pinned down, or unable to decide which of your units to attack and you have a nice juicy static target. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-yes.gif

[katank]

yep, medmod. I was thinking maybe medmod.

heavy spears are good though. why did he take those out? balance? who cares about balance? Overpowered stuff all the way

BTW, didn't he do the same thing with amulghavars?

[discovery1]

Amulghavars are still in, as I recall. They require the Argonese to build an Inn and some other stuff that I don't remember.

Edit:Also late only

[katank]

i think he took away their jav though http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[katar]

Quote[/b] ]heavy spears are good though. why did he take those out? balance? who cares about balance? Overpowered stuff all the way

BTW, didn't he do the same thing with amulghavars?

i miss the spears, but the way they are now i use them instead of swordsmen completely. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

attacking the enemy with 60 claymores is ok, attacking them with 100 bonnachts is even better, while they don`t have the initial shock of a spear unit, their speed and greater attack value means that once they bite into the enemy they give as good as they get. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

[katank]

true. But still one good volley before they hit can't hurt.

*drools over buffed up 100 man unit of bonnachts that still keep their heavy javs*

balance aside, let's up the ammo and range, shall we not? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[son of spam]

Erm...nice title. Should belong in Soly's thread. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

Liked your idea about catapults. About how far do the rocks go over their supposed max range?

Yeah, medmod stuff are so underpowered I think heerban should get +2 morale, highland clansmen should get attack and charge of chiv knights, and above all, woodsmen should get a shield hmmm...while we're at it, I think peasents are too weak...they should get 8 morale


(yes sadly I implemented those changes) http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wacko.gif

[Mouzafphaerre]

Quote[/b] (katar @ April 11 2004,21:20)]i had just invaded ireland with a force...
...
before the battle i had placed my catapults just below the crest, facing that forest.
-
How did you do that? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-confused.gif How can you place your catapults as you wish while you're attacking?
_

[katar]

Quote[/b] ]Quote (katar @ April 11 2004,21:20)
i had just invaded ireland with a force...
...
before the battle i had placed my catapults just below the crest, facing that forest.


How did you do that? How can you place your catapults as you wish while you're attacking?


you can`t, notice that i said "before the battle i had placed my catapults" , i just happened to place them in a good spot before the battle started.

in the pre-battle screen you see all your troops arranged in lines, well they always face in the direction that the enemy are going to come from (more or less).

that usually gives me a good guide as to where they will appear and given that i had cavalry and archers with me i assumed that the AI would station the troops close to, or in the forest, from that i placed the catapults in the most advantageous place i could (high up on the slope, to increase my range and get a nice wide field of fire).



Quote[/b] ]Liked your idea about catapults. About how far do the rocks go over their supposed max range?

the range increase was not that great, but it was sufficient. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

it was an increse in distance roughly equal to 30 men wide (an 60 man archer or sword unit 2 men deep for example).

forgot to mention, that as these rocks were bouncing slightly UPHILL at the end of their flight the overall effect is proably less than them landing on level or ground that is sloping away, i`ll have to try it out on different grounds to see how much further they travel.

as i say this is not an immence increase, if you really want longer range, mod the units, but as a handy tactic it has the merit of surprise.

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

[katank]

yep, I wouldn't expect them to do wonders like give siege cannon range but it would still be a nice boost esp. if not on upsloping ground.

[Doug-Thompson]

I do this in castle sieges, firing at the shacks.

Did it once and it killed the enemy general on the bounce. That was sweet.

Another catapult tip: When you fire at castle towers, the misses often hit the adjoining walls.

So, when I have plenty of siege, I just target the towers. They are knocked down, sparing my siege crews from casualties. Meanwhile, the walls are destroyed too.