Defending against a siege question

**JeromeBaker** · 06-01-2011, 17:49

What factors cause an enemy to continue to attack with multiple stacks during a seige versus withdraw?

I just hit Realm Divide as the chokosabe (hard) and quickly created a couple vassals as a buffer zone and prepared other choke point areas to defend siege battles to widdle the enemy down. The first town I defended, the enemy surronded me with 4 full stacks and 1 half stack. They kept comming and I really started to wear down after I defeated the first 2 stacks because I ran out of ammunition. The enemies 3rd stack took the town after I almost took it all the way down.

The next seige on another town I once again had 1 full stack guarding a town from 4 full enemy stacks (different clan than the first siege). This time, after I crushed the first army. They paused the attack, and when the 2nd stack arrived on the map, they just stood still in the distance and didnt attack. Aside from making me wait out the entire game clock, the end result was a Heroic victory, and they re-sieged the next turn with 3 stacks. Once again, after I beat the first stack, they paused and didnt assualt with the 2nd stack and I won with a decisive victory. After this, they retreated their last 2 stacks and I have not seen them again.

What cuases the enemy to continue to attack during a siege versus stop and hold off an assault?

Is there something I did to cause the enemy to hold off?

I dont like exploiting the game, but if I am being over run during RD and can stop the enemy from throwing every stack they have at a siege assult, this would be a big help. Why would the enemy AI allow my bowmen a turn to resupply arrows and then re-attack? Glitch?

**Leptomeninges** · 06-01-2011, 18:14

This isn't a full answer to your questions, but a couple comments:

On higher difficulty settings I find limiting the number of defensive chokepoints at RD to be *really* important. I'm not so interested in high level castles, but I need the enemy to funnel through one or two spots where I can concentrate my forces and achieve something close to numeric parity. Everyone plays the game differently, but one of my highest priroties in S2 is to fight in only one or two places at a time. (I play on VH. Can't convince myself to make the jump to Legendary as the thought of losing a game around turn 70 and not be able to reload an earlier save is too painful.)

I don't know why the two stacks retreated, but a great way to prevent those armies from attacking in concert is to use ninjas and the "Sabotage Army" feature if you're not already. The "Night Fighter" general trait accomplishes the same thing offensively, but defensively I find a couple high level ninjas at the front lines to be invaluable.

**JeromeBaker** · 06-01-2011, 21:51

@Leptomeninges - I use Ninjas a lot, but I havent taken advantage of using the night battles yet. Thanks for the reply

Another Siege question is, if you are going to get attacked by 3 or 4 stacks and are preparing the best troop mix to defend your town fortifications, should you include a general or instead place another bow or infantry unit. If you are going to be worn down by multiple stacks, wouldnt it make more sense to have another samuri unit than the 30 calvalry you get with your general's unit? Keep in mind my goal is to A. hold the town and B. kill as many of the enemy as possible if I am going to lose the town.

When RD starts and I have planned for it, I will take a few towns to create a vassal buffer zone, then pick a couple choke points to defend myself. I will put 1 full stack into each of the towns, with a reinforcment stack behind it to shuffle in troops each turn to keep the town at full strength. A little farther back I have 1 offensive army to retake towns/vassal towns. The goal is to wear down the enemey and absorb the intial attacks from multiple enemies with 2 to 4 stacks. Once I get past(if I get past) their initial rush of troops, I then try to expand out and keep using the original formula to defend the chokepoints until I get enough territories that I am firmly in the drivers seat.

**Leptomeninges** · 06-01-2011, 22:10

In my opinion you always want a general in the mix. Bear in mind that you're going to run out of good spots to position your troops on the walls against the invading army for these big RD battles. But drop your general in the middle of the castle and activate "Stand and Fight" and your entire army fights like tigers.

I actually find siege defenses to be fairly easy to run although the four stack situation you described earlier is a challenge for anyone. One of the biggest strengths of any siege defense is the walls. (That sounds stupid and obvious. Let me explain!) Armies climbing up castle walls get chewed up quite badly. Try an experiment when you are attacking a poorly defended castle. Just have a unit climb up an undefended but reasonably tall segment of wall and watch how many of your own men fall to their death. I do my best to keep archers on the walls until the invading armies are on their way up. Then move them off the walls to a point they can still shoot out at the invading armies and replace them on the walls with a melee unit with some punch. (I personally like Naginata samurai although Katana samurai are a good alternative. Nodachi samurai are too charge-dependent to be useful in this role.) Use these tough units to keep the climbing armies on the walls as long as you can. Climbing those walls against tough defending melee units is enough to break almost any attacking army.

**TinCow** · 06-01-2011, 23:46

The siege AI is heavily bugged and it encounters serious problems assaulting a castle with multiple stacks. The first stack always attacks properly, but reinforcing stacks often sit and do nothing. I would estimate this occurs in about 75% of my multi-stack siege defenses.

**frogbeastegg** · 06-02-2011, 00:15

Originally Posted by TinCow

The siege AI is heavily bugged and it encounters serious problems assaulting a castle with multiple stacks. The first stack always attacks properly, but reinforcing stacks often sit and do nothing. I would estimate this occurs in about 75% of my multi-stack siege defenses.

I encountered that for the first time tonight. I found that the AI would wake up if I send a unit near enough, although it would only follow and attack the unit I used as bait. It would not try to scale the walls or attack the units inside.

After the battle I was awarded the achievement for winning 20 MP naval battles.

I have never played a single MP game and I hate naval battles!

**JeromeBaker** · 06-02-2011, 17:44

Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

I encountered that for the first time tonight. I found that the AI would wake up if I send a unit near enough, although it would only follow and attack the unit I used as bait. It would not try to scale the walls or attack the units inside.

When you used bait to draw the enemy in, would they venture into bow range of your walls? I wouldnt mind drawing them in and thinning out the reinforcing stacks until I run out of arrows.

**frogbeastegg** · 06-02-2011, 19:18

Originally Posted by JeromeBaker

When you used bait to draw the enemy in, would they venture into bow range of your walls? I wouldnt mind drawing them in and thinning out the reinforcing stacks until I run out of arrows.

Archer range, no. Tower range on a level 3 castle, yes. The final pair of activated units stood there getting whittled away until they routed. I found that out when my cavalry had to run for safety after getting beaten up killing the other 3 units I managed to wake up.