Do's and don't

**Satyros** · 07-01-2009, 17:57

Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus

The list for RTW is endless. Guard mode will only work if you are trying to hold the line. Your soldiers will barely fatigue, if at all, and their defence is better due to the adherence to the formation, and all soldiers facing the enemy directly, but if you attack a unit, switch the guard mode off. Not to mention various bugs happen when attacking in guard mode, where only some soldiers fight, but not all.

On the wall, guard mode will slaughter your men. I once had Hastati holding the walls of Ippone against kart-Hadastim, with Numidian skirmisher unit wiping out 8 men (large Unit Size) before I realised I forgot to turn the guard mode off. Once I did, the Hastati slaughtered the skirmishers without a single casualty. Note the skirmishers were coming from the ladders, right in front of Hastati.

In guard mode, soldiers do not move to attack the enemy. This can prove crucial if the enemy has long overhand spears and you have shortswords. The Hoplitai Haploi, the levy hoplites, can annihilate Hastati this way. In general, even when defending, sword units should be put off the guard mode.

Spear unit are another matter. Mostly the spear units with long spears should be put on the guard mode. This does not apply to the Celtic (for example) spear units, who have short underhand thrusting spears. For them, guard mode is best left off, although it is also feasible to leave it on. Going back to the units with long spears, Triarii, Hoplitai, Hoplitai Haploi, and such do the best in a tight formation on guard mode. In such formation, they suffer the least casualties while being just as effective due to their ultra-long spears. They do especially well in guard mode against other sword units, who must come very close to attack with swords, while even the second row of Triarii can jab at them.

I have found much to my dismay that guard mode doesn't work for hoplites when defending on the walls .

Mine ( a spartan hoplite unit , not the levies ) were being butchered ( about 20 casualties and showing the "defeat is certain , only a military genius could win the battle " ) by some Akontistai , until I turned guard mode off , then they slaughtered the Akontistai suffering only 4 casulties further.

I never used guard mode since when on walls , even with my hoplites .

Satyros

**Aemilius Paulus** · 07-01-2009, 18:06

Originally Posted by Satyros

I have found much to my dismay that guard mode doesn't work for hoplites when defending on the walls .

Yes, thank you for the clarification

. I did state that all units should have Guard Mode turned off on walls, but then said that hoplites must keep their guard mode, forgetting to insert the exception for walls. I did not, however, mean to say that they should keep it on the walls.

Basically, anyone with guard mode on while standing on the walls will not do anything to attack and just stand there while getting hit by the attacking enemy. This is usually the case with the enemy units coming from ladders, and not the enemy units who have already fully moved themselves to the walls though.

**Ariovistus Maximus** · 07-01-2009, 18:13

Yeah, guard mode also keeps your men from wrapping around the enemy in a field battle. I s'pose you knew that already...

Another wierd one I heard about was that you should deploy archers in a max of 3 ranks, or else their accuracy/rate_of_fire is lowered.

Is it the Ludus Magna in the RTW forum where they research all this stuff?

**Aemilius Paulus** · 07-01-2009, 18:56

Originally Posted by Ariovistus Maximus

Is it the Ludus Magna in the RTW forum where they research all this stuff?

Yes, I always refer people with questions about RTW game mechanics there.

**Satyros** · 07-01-2009, 19:41

@ Aemilius Paulus , no problem , I didn't mean to correct you , rather , I was aiming to get another opinion about hoplites on the walls , by presenting my own experience with them .

Glad we agree on this .

Satyros

**Skoran** · 07-01-2009, 22:29

So

Hoplites and phalanxes: Always on guard mode (while defending) except on walls
Rest of the units: always guard mode off

Right?

**Centurio Nixalsverdrus** · 07-02-2009, 00:16

Originally Posted by Skoran

So

Hoplites and phalanxes: Always on guard mode (while defending) except on walls
Rest of the units: always guard mode off

Right?

The first thing I do before every battle is I command all infantry units into guard mode, into fire at will mode and out of skirmish mode. I don't like it when the line gets torn apart. I do command out of guard mode only when I order the respective unit to attack.

On walls I have learned that guard mode has no uses, so I always turn it off.