Unit sizes&deployment

[Woreczko]

What are your favourite unit sizes and deployment (number of ranks, formation, etc.)

Personally, after some modding I play (on huge unit sizes) with:
Archers - 60 men, 3 ranks deep.
Cavalry - 40 men, 2 ranks deep - mounted archers, elite units
- 60 men, 3 ranks - ordinary melee cavalry
- 80 men, 4 ranks - I plan to put some trash cavalry in here.
Melee Infantry - 120 men, 6 ranks - most units
- 200 men, 10 ranks - trash units, spearmen with 4+ supporting rank
javelins- 80 men, 4 ranks.

Btw: Anyone know, how does number of ranks affect unit performance (other than spearmen rank bonus) in game mechanics (if there are any special effects)?

Edit: fixed bolding for 'javelins' - Gregoshi

[katank]

archers get accuracy penalty for 3 ranks+ so I usually keep em in 2.

pikers get more supporting ranks than spear and need about 6 ranks to be fully effective IIRC.

longer front also allows the unit to wrap around the enemy's flanks.

ie. the enemy spears in 4 rans mean 25 men front while your MAA in 2 ranks have 30 men, which means the extra few guys can wrap around and disrupt the spear formation, making them break faster.

I almost always use swords in 2 and cav in 1 rank.

put them in wedge, maneuver, then slam into a flank and hit close to unfurl the gorgeous length which almost invaribaly fully envelops the suckers.

[Woreczko]

Yes, that is a good argument, that longer front, less ranks, allows you to wrap around enemies flanks. However I find such deployment somewhat clumsy on a battlefield and, I guess, units in 1 or 2 ranks may easily get disordered. Anyway, I never played MP, and unit guide supports your opinion... I`ll have to try these overstreched units.

[katank]

well, I always maneuver in wedge.

wedge allows flanking cav/swords to turn on a dime and also hit harder in the charge.

switching to close then gives wrap effect.

optimal is punching clean through the enemy on the charge with wedge and then subsequent wrap around flanks which spells instant rout for most enemy units.

[Ragss]

usually 2.5 rows for archers, 4.5 for spears, the rest is subjective...

[Drake]

Infantry units like Janissary Heavy Infantry or Chivalric Men-At-Arms gain from having deep ranks as it gives a small morale boost. By having deeper ranks the ones at the front have less chance to flee in terror so kinda get pushed on the enemy. Deeper ranks therefore equal braver troops, though to be fair the ones at the front don't really have a choice.

Chivalric Man-At-Arms #1 (Percy) - Why am I going first?

Chivalric Man-At-Arms #2 (Crawford) - Cause you've got a sword at your back now chargeeeeee

[katank]

well, that's only for a eating a cav charge.

I rarely let my swords get charged by cav.

I prefer the normal formation of rank 2 and change for swords.

if the cav is charging, I would sometimes make a wedge and counter charge then switch to close to flank the cav.

this is crazy but it occasionally works.

I think hold hold does a lot more than deep ranks.

you can use swords as spears for pinning if using hold hold

[Ludens]

Quote[/b] (Drake @ May 26 2004,14:19)]Infantry units like Janissary Heavy Infantry or Chivalric Men-At-Arms gain from having deep ranks as it gives a small morale boost. By having deeper ranks the ones at the front have less chance to flee in terror so kinda get pushed on the enemy. Deeper ranks therefore equal braver troops, though to be fair the ones at the front don't really have a choice.
Unit morale is calculated on unit-basis and not on soldier-basis, so the front ranks will keep fighting as long as overall morale is OK. Because of this I don't see any special virtue in your tactic.

A wide front means a better charge, more chance of wrapping around an enemy formation and simply more swords in the fight. You only want deep formations if your formation stands a chance of being scattered, like by a cavalry charge.
There is another bonus to a deep formation: in a deep formation only the front rank fights, so the unit tires less. The effects of fatigue are calculated too on unit basis, so it means that the men in front will keep fighting even though they should be exhausted (while the men in the back get tired while just standing there and doing nothing). And the reduced fatigue also makes the fatigue penalty for morale less.

But whether the effect is enough to compensate for the reduced combat ability of the unit (less men are effectively fighting) ?

[katank]

I still like very long formations as the disruption if you can wrap around the flanks is invaluable and while have staying power if you can beat them outright?

[Woreczko]

Well, at least from historical point of view and regarding infantry, deeper formation allowed you to concentrate more strength in one place. The visual effect was that the side, which deployed deeper (to a reasonable extend of course) could simply push back their enemies, disrupt their formation in the process and force them to retreat.

[katank]

game mechanics seem to make longer wrapping lines better though as the few men wrapped around get flank attack and also disrupt the formation even better.

wedge and then wrap results in a mauled enemy formation and frequently routs them close to instantly.

[Woreczko]

Yes, I`ve checked that, you are right.