How to improperly use a phalanx, lesson n. 32490etc.

[Connacht]

Another example of brilliant tactical skill given by the AI, in this piece also historically simulating the bad way of using their phalanxes the Successor kingdoms adopted against the Romans!



Note also my soldiers that are passing through the gate and the other ones on the left that are cheering at the camera while the Seleucid phalangites are "holding their position". :D

[Maion Maroneios]

Well, cases such as this one have stoped bothering me, as I deal with phalanxes all the time. Even though with Darth Formations the AI can handle phalanxes slightly better, during sieges they usually as dumb as always.

Maion

[Connacht]

Besides, it was enough funny that I reached the town centre, I killed the few soldiers there and then waited for the countdown to reach 0:00 while some phalangites (not all) were trying to hurry in getting downstair, exiting the walls and reaching the plaza.
Meanwhile my soldiers were taking a coffee and reading a newspaper.

[Maion Maroneios]

I know, it's afunny situation indeed. At least you don't have to worry about losi too many of your mean, right? :P

Maion

[Celtic_Punk]

When the counter reaches zero i hit CONTINUE BATTLE, and kill all who try to surrender. No mercy for the wicked! this is more for a role-play reason though... if theres just a handful of men left ill end the battle, as they would have surrendered, if theres many then ill continue since theres still a chance they could win(be it however small, one phalanx by itself in streets can do a shitload of damage)

I find the AI unusually aggressive in a city, they divide their troops way too much and send wave after wave at you without bothering to regroup. I wish really could do something about this AI... damn hardcodes.

[Maion Maroneios]

one phalanx by itself in streets can do a shitload of damage

If you are the one who controls the unit, maybe :P

Maion

[Celtic_Punk]

hahaha good call bro. still i dont get how they say phalanx's don't work well in closed spaces, theres no better flankguard then a brick wall if you ask me. I defended Baktra with 2 good phalanx's and a good general against about 3500 something persians. though Elephants can actually make short work of a phalanx if you are unlucky enough. (or lucky depends whichside of the elephants you are standing on... doesn't even matter if you defending or attacking!)

[Maion Maroneios]

Maybe they mean they're difficult to control in narrow streets. You see, when an inexperienced player is given control of a phalanx unit, he can mess up big-time. It has happened several times to me too, even though I've played the spear-devils for a long time. Getting your phalangites to run somewhere and hope that they will form an organised line before an enemy unit attacks your disorganised lines can be a nail-biting situation...

Maion

[Aemilius Paulus]

When the counter reaches zero i hit CONTINUE BATTLE, and kill all who try to surrender. No mercy for the wicked! this is more for a role-play reason though... if theres just a handful of men left ill end the battle, as they would have surrendered, if theres many then ill continue since theres still a chance they could win(be it however small, one phalanx by itself in streets can do a shitload of damage)

I find the AI unusually aggressive in a city, they divide their troops way too much and send wave after wave at you without bothering to regroup. I wish really could do something about this AI... damn hardcodes.

Yeah, that's what I usually do all the time. Usually by the time I reach the town square and the counter starts ticking, usually there are no more enemies left. The only remaining units that can possibly exist are routing.

However, one time in 250 BC I was sieging Gader, the last Karthadastim city, as the Romani. They have been there for about 8 years as the only city left of that faction, and I left them alone because I was fighting the Iberian and Lusotannan tribes. Anyway, in 250 BC I was sieging the city that had 4 units inside it and a full stack army outside of the city, that was reinforcing Gader in the siege battle. That full-stack army was made up of two generals and 18 Libyan Spearmen! I quickly broke into the city by annihilating the meager resistance at the gates with my Balearic slingers and quickly blocking the gate through which the reinforcement army was supposed to go through. However, the reinforcement army suddenly stopped marching and just stood there, halfway between the city and the edge of the map. So I took some of my troops and killed the Carthiginian defenders of the city square, waited until the timer ended and won the battle. Karthadastim faction was destroyed and the huge reinforcement army became a Rebel army. However, when I checked what units were in that army, I found out that all of the Libyan Spearmen have disappeared, and only the two generals remained! That decision to not attack the reinforcement army saved so many Roman lives!

As for the fighting the enemy on the walls, I never do that because the losses are always great. Once I had a unit of 3 exp/1 weap. and armour Triarii fight a unit of Lusotannan Ambushers on a stone wall and the Triarii ended up winning the fight but losing 30 out of 80 men! There is no way to flank the enemy on the walls either.

[Connacht]

When the counter reaches zero i hit CONTINUE BATTLE

I usually do this when I am interested in killing enemy troops in order to weaken their armies and avoid another fight after one or two turns (or in order to quickly crush the faction).

However, in some cases I simply quit since in those ones I would "hunt down" soldiers for nothing (and to me that's boring), for instance were I siege a city and the garrison would die anyway, or when I definitively destroyed a faction by killing the last generals and I don't have to seek renegade troops.
Today in my second Seleucid campaign I have just smashed the last three Bactrian generals in northern India with a 2vs2 huge battle, so when their two armies routed I simply left away running soldiers, either they would automatically disband or become vagrant rebels easily to defeat later with automatical resolution.

[AlexanderSextus]

When the counter reaches zero i hit CONTINUE BATTLE

i only do that if i havent killed the enemy general yet.