Fighting all cavalry armies (RTW)

[Upward Mobility]

Hello all,

Well, this is my first post, though I have been lurking and learning here for a few months.

I just got into MTW a few months ago and was having a blast, when along came RTW. I had to have it! This is my favorite time period of warfare with the Romans, Greeks, Carthage, etc. All of the things I disliked about MTW were fixed in RTW (like the game-boardishness of the strat map), and I had not quite become expert with the controls, so I had few issues adjusting to RTW's battles.

Anyway, to my question. I have been playing a Brutii campaign on VHard/Medium, and I have made the mistake of not keeping Macedon off balance and allowing them to build up some respectable full stack armies. Several of these armies consist of almost entirely light lancers, versus my predominantly hastati and velite armies. To make a long story short, I got my hat handed to me by lots and lots of horsies.

My question is, what is an effective way for the Roman factions to deal with VERY cavalry heavy armies?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[Tamur]

hiya Upward, welcome to the land of the lurkless (that's got to be in the OED somewhere)

I know for sure there are people who could help with this better than I. The only survival technique I've found is to bait them into an all-out charge with velites. The AI will sometimes fall for this, in which case you just let them smack into your front (keep your infantry bunched tight and as deep as you can), and they'll get cut down quickly.

Other than that, keep your back against trees or a cliff, be very scared of being flanked... and pray they don't have blasters.

[Mikemyers64]

make a circle of hasati and set them to guard mode, they will do suicide charges into your lines. they generally run away after about 20 secs of real fighting.

[TN[ KrAzY!]

leave your roman infantry on fire at will, the roman javelins are very good at killing horsies, i found even when they get charged and continue to throw their javelins they cause more damage, not allways but alot. anyways the first volley of javelins helps to stall the charge

[smoothiemaker]

use town people or what ever thay are called in front of the hastings and use the skineriser to lure the calvery in to the town peoples spears (while town people deal with horses hastings throw pumas) if any calvery get through be quick to attack with hastings before he his back of town people

[Doug-Thompson]

Well, on the theory that poachers make good gamekeepers ...

I'm pretty much a cavalry player, although I'm more into missile cavalry than melee.

I'd form a square, especially if it was a defensive battle. I'd also put some good, potent long-ranged missile troops in the middle of it. The deployment controls and options in RTW are excellent.

There's also the option of doing what the Romans did: Build a fort at the end of every march. Build a fort. Advance and build another fort, and so forth until you are within striking distance of an enemy town. Besiege it, forcing the cavalry to attack you. Form up in a square and dare them to come get you.