Quote Originally Posted by Tillan View Post
Thats the major dissadvantage as far as I can see, yes the guns in a V do have a tendency to shoot up your line, but I dont mind the micro manage involved in stopping that. However, if you are trying ensure there are no survivors that will pillage your lands after the battle, an envelopment is the best way to go. The V doesn't really allow that.
While it is true the AI doesnt always cooperate in running down the funnel, this tends not to matter *to* much, as I mainly use it as a way of protecting the guns, while ensuring they can fire as much as possible. So long as the AI doesnt outflank me, its all good.
Integrating the guns in a straight line (option # 5 in the formation list) seems to work well too, at least for me and especially in situations when I have more than 2 artillery crews (which is quite rare). It's easier to change the facing of such line than the one of the V formation too.

Speaking of the V formation, there is something about the offensive BAI that allows it to exploit its nag for flanking easily.

Put your army in a formation like this:

|\a_a/|

"a" is for arty, |'s are for line infantry.

For better counter-BAI efficiency, extend the vertical |'s to two units rather than one.

For some weird reason, if the AI faces this formation, it seems to forget about flanking and heads dead center... While it does that, the vertical I's can be "fanned out" for better envelopment.