Attack Formations

[Bobablooie]

I'm in quandry about which attack formation to choose at the start of a battle. I know my force mix and my foe determine my ultimate tactical plan, but each of the options offered doesn't really come close to what I ultimately need.

So which formation do you all (generally) use?

Also, how can I get my attacking army to deploy into a different area of my starting radius? Sometimes, the staring position (with respect to terrain) is ridiculous and I spend the first 15 minutes of the attack just getting the boys into the correct positions!

[bretwalda]

I think the trick is that you can place your troops any way you like when defending but you can only choose formation when attacking, but you cannot place them forward, e.g.

And of course there is no "best formation". When I intend to chew up the enemy with horse archers then I put them forward, when I rush then I put melee (sword inf) forward and so on...

For me I usually place the defending army unit by unit to the best defensive position. When attacking I usually leave the way the game suggest, unless I want to rush (infantry charge) or I want to skirmish with horse archers (cavalry charge). It would be nice to know, though which deployment is suggested by the game initially in the battle...


I'm in quandry about which attack formation to choose at the start of a battle. I know my force mix and my foe determine my ultimate tactical plan, but each of the options offered doesn't really come close to what I ultimately need.

So which formation do you all (generally) use?

Also, how can I get my attacking army to deploy into a different area of my starting radius? Sometimes, the staring position (with respect to terrain) is ridiculous and I spend the first 15 minutes of the attack just getting the boys into the correct positions!

[OlafTheBrave]

I generally try and find the one closest to what I have in mind and then onece the battle starts re-arange my troops from there. I Think the only time the scorpion formation has played out for me was against the Mongols as the Turks. I had Horse Archers and Heavy Cav with Muwahdid. Generally I don't like how that one does my Infantry. Also I have had some good attacks come out of some of the deffensive formations.

[ichi]

I rarely use the preset formations, preferring to custom build my own, which is usually a variation of the three line.

I prefer pavs/archers out front, with 2-4 cav behind, then infantry behind. Since I use lots of cav, the remainder, including cav archers, go on the flanks. Gen in the rear.

This is because in either SP or MP I can push my pavs/archers farther out in front and still protect with cav, and do harassment of enemy pavs/archers. When the melee starts I usually pull the cav in front either back or to a flank.

When I group my units I try to set them up so that the unit on the right of my formation is on the right of the group in the little icons at the bottom, it helps me keep track of units during battle.

Here's a screenshot - the icons at the bottom roughly correspond to the units in formation from left to right.

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/story/ichibyzgroups.jpg



ichi :bow:

[Si GeeNa]

I think the starting formations for the attacking force are not really useful. The fancy ones are fun to look at but generally left unused by me.

At the start of the battle, my concern is that my army is in a state of security position. i.e., infantry in the line, cav in the wings and archers in the rear. This can easily be achieved with the Infantry Charge formation. It is also relatively good for movement towards the enemy in defensive formation.

Since you rarely start the battle in the midst of it, the starting formations have very little value in the final disposition of your forces prior to actual engagement.

Use the Attacking Formation that best allows you to deploy units fast. With high levels of mutual support. I think the best is therefore the one which you are most familiar with.

[macsen rufus]

OK, if you want something unusual to start with, always pack an extra artillery piece, and take 17 units into battle - then you can place your cannon, cycle it with reinforcement unit. Then bring back your cannon, place it again, another reinforcement unit, and so on. You end up with your attacking army starting wherever you like in your zone, and any formation (okay, so it takes forever and you screw up a lot, but it is different!!)

I usually start with a basic three-line, but also like half-square (refused wings when you advance), and of course steppe envelopment when I have a lot of cavalry archer types.

But there is no general rule, as I put together the appropriate army for defeating the enemy's actual army.