Quote Originally Posted by Gaius Scribonius Curio
Its an exploit really as the AI never has enough cavalry to engage your archers effectively. One time, with a single stack, two generals one lot of cataphracts, a few archers and slingers and the rest persian cavalry or horse archers, I won 7 heroic victorys in 3 turns, each against a full stack or more of roman troops. That was when I decided to start a new campaign.
No exploit, historically take a look at the Battle_of_Carrhae one of those great examples of rushing into a campaign with the wrong type of forces for opponents & terrain. The Roman HI army outnumbered the missile cavalry opponents + cataphract heavy cavalry, but could not break out, and their last hope was dashed when a camel train arrived re-supplying the victors with arrows. 45,000 Romans surrounded and annihilated by about 10,000 mobile troops suited to the terrain.

This is an issue with the AI playing strength, if it doesn't learn how to tune it's force composition. Having devestated several phalanx heavy stacks once in a sequence of light infantry + cavalry missile v HI battles, it did seem not to produce any more of the slowest types, but try new ones, but that may have been coincidental due to higher quality units becoming available.
Quote Originally Posted by Omanes Alexandrapolites
The weakness of light cavalry, horse archers and skirmishers is, their weakness when out of missiles.

Although the heavy infantry is unable to catch up, the enemy usually have to engage eventually, resulting in dramatic losses for them if the infantry survives.
No having inflicted morale sapping casualties on the HI, whilst taking none in return, the light forces simply withdraw and re-engage once re-supplied. If you're faster, you can rendez-vous with supply train.

Unfortunately RTW doesn't feature supply trains, or siege trains, so much of the campaign strategy is lost, and even civilised stacks can cut through enemy territory, and they even have magical access to new funds, from home, rather than just what they can capture.

The Heavy infantry is however great at holding ground, breaching and standing up to Heavy Cavalry designed for Shock combat ie melee. Philip II, Alexander and the Romans succeeded in the end because they tended to raise combined arms armies. Native Italians were specialising in HI, but those Auxiliaries and mercenaries were vital components.

Where ground is not important, and there's space to make strategic withdrawals, then Missile Cavalry will be the Dominant force. This is why the Huns on the steps were mounted archers, but converted to more infantry based forces when operating in Western Europe.


For example had 3 Spartan Hoplites attack a rag tag band of weakened stack, 15 2nd rate Generals HC, 45 Equites, 55 Veteran Hastati, 60 Illyrian Missile men, and 80 Velites. The Spartans sallied forth, I'd made a slight error in force division and expected the other stack to be the one fighting the main battle, and couldn't re-inforce with mercenaries, nor undo the move in time. So accepted the fight with pre-battle stats gave it as 2:3 against. The Spartan Hopplites were double-cheveron and had a sky high attack factor of 26 or something.

All the Spartan units got routed, and only 4 men survived due to my unwilligness to risk further casualties, with the General developing a pacifist streak refusing to spear routers. This victory despite a major cock-up in my part early on mis-handling the Equites and letting them get caught by Sarrissas after only 1 charge into rear routing Spartan unit. Frustrating battle for Fire & Maneuver, as the battle seemed to be running double-speed and due to my Generals status, all command responses were much more laggedly than I'm used to.

It's not just german spearmen phalanxes and low quality hoplites that are dead meat, it's also all those elit Phalanx units, which look great on paper.


Most of the casualties my force suffered were done by fire from walls and the gates where the game did a magical pause on my troops to have boiling oil poured on them, without hitting any of the routers. As the Equites routed, early rather than get killed.

Those were decent phalanx units, and it was only control issues which led to me taking significant losses. And not having any baggage, with additional missiles.


Armour and concentrated force is sexy, but most players posting in forum, seem to underestimate the deceptive strenghth of mobile battle strategies, except for those fans of Horse Archers, who don't worry overly about the Victory/Defeat stats.

Why the game doesn't have an "Indecisive", in cases where the field is held, at cost of significant casualties and little damage inflicted on attackers I don't know.