Why am I bad in tactics?

[MoKus]

Is there any guide for tactics? I know that I am slow and cannot take care of 16 units at the same time.

[DEB8]

General Tip : Do not give multiple orders in real time - using the pause button often helps a lot.

[ NB : It is OK to do this as the AI thinks a lot faster than a human can - and often does multiple things at once ( usually on different flanks ) ! ]

[MoKus]

General Tip : Do not give multiple orders in real time - using the pause button often helps a lot.

[ NB : It is OK to do this as the AI thinks a lot faster than a human can - and often does multiple things at once ( usually on different flanks ) ! ]

Thanks for the tips.

[Gilrandir]

Is there any guide for tactics? I know that I am slow and cannot take care of 16 units at the same time.

Besides what I said elswhere, try to fight custom battles, where you can choose your army (and your enemy's army) yourself. Start with smaller armies (7-8 units) and, well, practice. I can send you some of my saved battles.

[DEB8]

You could also set up a custom battle, where both your army and your enemy's army and the terrain involved, come from a pending campaign situation.

I find this quite helpful when playing with ( or against ) units ( or nations ) I have not come across before...

[ReluctantSamurai]

As mentioned, the custom battle is an excellent way to hone your skill. You can fight 1 vs 1 to see the effectiveness of certain units against others; you can try units of various sizes to see if you are more comfortable with small unit sizes or large size; you can fight in different kinds of terrain to see the effects of hills/forest/weather; and don't overlook the historical battles, which are quite fun and can be replayed again and again.

Mostly, don't worry if you lose a lot of battles at the start. There's a lot to learn both on the battlefield and on the strategic side of things. When playing a campaign, do read some of clan/faction/nation guides for both good and bad ways to play a particular faction. It also is helpful to read up on some of the more technical aspects of a game, like how the economy works, or trade, the effects of roads, temples, etc.

You'll find yourself upping the difficulty setting in no time

[Gilrandir]

As mentioned, the custom battle is an excellent way to hone your skill. You can fight 1 vs 1 to see the effectiveness of certain units against others;

Doesn't always work. Once I tried it and fought several battles with the same units in the same terrain. Outcomes were different. Besides, in a campaign battle you will never have a pure 1 v 1 unit melee. One of the units will have more valor, less armor, more fatigue, less morale, etc. Moreover, there always will be other units close by which will also factor in. So my advice is to fight custom battles with several units (much the way you will have in a "real" battle).

[ReluctantSamurai]

Doesn't always work.

Probably true. However, practicing 1 vs 1 isn't simply about winning or losing the battle. With only two units involved, you can zoom in close and actually watch the action, without distraction, to see how a particular unit functions in battle.

As an example, for the longest time I never realized that elephants don't actually rack up a lot of kills, but instead cause major disruption in enemy formation leaving them vulnerable to a cavalry charge. In-game, with many multiple units engaged, it was difficult to see. But in 1 vs 1 it became clear as day. It took seemingly forever for the ellies to kill or rout the enemy, and if the action went on long enough, the ellies themselves might rout because of fatigue. That caused me to change my tactics with ellies. I began stacking a cavalry unit in echelon, had my ellies charge to a point beyond the unit they were attacking, and sent in the cavalry charge immediately. Devastating.

In RTW, Cataphracts have two weapons, the primary spear, and the mace. The spear is best used for the initial charge, and then when melee ensues, switch to the AP mace. It's much easier to practice, and actually see them switch weapons, in 1 vs 1 than with multiple units.

But yes, to get closer to what will actually occur in-game, multiple units is better, but with some 1 vs 1 experience, you already know how your units will behave, and don't have to micro-manage as much