Quote Originally Posted by Sebastian Seth View Post
I have serious problems getting decent results in mediaval 2 tw. Where as in rome tw: bi I was relying in cavarly and got insane results with them.

I'm pretty sure that this is because there is no physics (no momentum, no weight) in the game. Because of this my super heavy sock charge cavarly doesnt charge trought the enemy town guards leaving body parts after. It just charges and kills some with the bonus and then begins brawl and isnt able to come out whitout heavy casualties.

Another thing is that the cavarly units have turning rate and they get stuck between each other. So they act like they where on horse first time and keep on brawling since there no way out. Where as trained horse unit would just turn right, keep shield to left and give out overhead punishment with weapon.

The horse units seem to walk instead of run most of the time too. You really dont do that when theres someone hanging from ur horses tail and another hanging from your shield.
Mostly agree with the above post, only the quoted part wants refutation. Cavalry charges are absolutely devastating if done right. You can basically expect to obliterate any single unit in your tech class when you pull off a full charge with heavy cav/knights, even head on. Obvious exceptions are pike units, of course.

On physics: Rome was the game with no (realistic) physics, whereas Medieval II has it all: mass, momentum, acceleration, and so on. Regardless of obstacles, Rome always let you run your horse full speed, meaning it was basically impossible to stop them once they were at "cruise speed". Even Triarii couldn't easily catch and hold an enemy horse unit. Generals were impossible to stop with infantry - with the exception of phalanx units, naturally.

In Medieval II, many things can stop your horses cold, and it is a little bit harder to pull out of (not to mention through, as was all too common in Rome) engaged enemy units. This means you must carefully maneuver your cavalry. They can win the battle for you, but they're not the "I win" button they were in Rome. In Medieval II, you need a more balanced army than the typical all cavalry armies of Rome. Hell, in Rome I conquered the map with Roundshield Cavalry. You won't see me doing the same using Mounted Sergeants in Medieval II. This is as it should be IMO.

The recipe for pulling off a successful charge is as follows:

0. Don't charge up a steep hill, or in areas with lots of obstacles, or against a pike unit.
1. Walk or run up your heavy cav/knights, then wait. Let them reform before charging.
2. Make sure your heavy cav/knights is aligned as parallel or as much at right angles to the target unit as possible. Make sure you have sufficient space to reach full gallop (ca. 100 meters or so).
3. Order the charge with a single right click. Lean back and watch the carnage.

Obviously it can be a little hard to pull this off perfectly in a big involved fight. Still, try to be as close as you come to this ideal charge, and you'll see much better results. Try it in small rebel clearing battles at first, to get the hang of it. Also, cavalry is very good for running down missile troops and attacking an enemy's rear (even without charging, which is often difficult against a unit already engaged in melee). They have a tactical role, but they're not unstoppable behemoths.

And forget all Rome supposedly taught you about the "physics" of heavy horse.