Step two three, shuffle two three, dance two three : the big phalanx question

[Doug-Thompson]

[Edited note: barocca's post and mine "passed in the ether." This reply is not a reply to barocca's.]

As barocca mentioned, I use 4 rank depth to give width to the 121 man German phalanx.

... The 80 man phalanx units are too small. I don't know what CA was thinking, but they don't work well at that unit size. If you could "weld" the phalanx units it would be different although they would still suffer inordinately from the loss of individual soldiers.

Well, if you infantry pros would tolerate some guesses from an enemy (cavalry) player ...

Having a formation only two ranks deep seems to relieve the deadly "friendly fire" problem quite a bit when a friendly missile unit is behind you. I think (guess?) that the 80-man phalanx units are meant to work in very close conjunction with missile units.

Although a triarii is not a phalanx unit, I tried some experiments tonight with the triarii and hastati (sp?). There is no triarii rank bonus. However, there is quite a charge bonus. Stretching the triarii into a thin, 2-rank line put the maximum number of spear points on the front line, maximizing that charge bonus. The hastati were behind the spears and threw their javelins over the heads of the triarii without killing their friends in front. After a couple of throws, the hastati charged and finished off the Carthaginian Long-Shields unit.

The cavalry fought to the end, losing their general just before the whole unit was destroyed, leaving two routing survivors. The infantry had no height advantage. The test was run a couple of times on grassy flatlands, with the AI obligingly charging right in. I still had only 20 triarii and 55 hastati left, but destroyed a very good cavalry unit.

I suspect that a long, thin phalanx (which I admit is an oxymoron) backed by slingers or archers would be very deadly.

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As for big phalanx units, it seems that phalanx combat is not very satisfying but it is effective. A phalanx unit four ranks deep cuts down hastati, leaving three survivors and losing only eight men. It took time, however -- which was interesting, considering all the complaints the forum has had about kill rates.

============

I never thought a spear unit would need more micro than horse archers, but it does appear that big phalanx units can be manuevered effectively by keeping one finger between the phalanx and "run" buttons, and switching between the two a lot. The facing buttons help a lot, too.

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As for the crushing advance of a charging phalanx and historical accuracy, I'm -- just going to stop now.

[Postino]

i give the phalanxes somewhere to walk to that is behind the enemy, and hope they dont wheel uncharaisterically. i get good odds on doing it right as long as i do it one at a time and nobody ios in a group.

[Arakasi]

The problem is not the rightward drift. The problem is them not engaging the enemy properly. They don't drift right when they manage to lock spears with the enemy, or if they do its not by much. I've had phalanx on phalanx combat before and if they get their spears engaged they basically don't drift. What I find to be the problem is like what many said here. They attack the enemy but really don't attack. Their spears are not touching the enemy and they're not doing any damage. Why this is I don't know. This needs to be looked at by CA.

[Finn]

I havent really worked out how to use the phalanx properly but i have worked out what NOT to do if it is any help..

was playing one of the historical battles where you get 'phants and pha'nxs and i had the brilliant(?) idea of sending my elephants charging lengthwise down the line of enemy phalanxes closely followed by my phalanxes (i have no heavy sword infantry) marching forward into their completely disrupted formations...

Elephant manouver worked perfectly, charged straight down their line sidewise disurpting all their nice neat formations with them all scattered around on the ground, my phalanxes move in to what i hope is a massacre as they kill all the enemy soldiers lying on the ground...

well it was a massacre all right, their disrupted troops all promply get up and are now surrounding my nice neat formation of phalanxes on all sides, my phalanxes promptly shuffled about not knowing where to put its spears (ooh matron!) while all the enemy just stood around them in a nice big mulberry bush circle stabbing inwards.

lets just say its not a tactic i would reccomend...

[frogbeastegg]

Ok, the test is done; here are the results. Forgive me if I keep this very brief; I have way too many things to do.

Flat map, assorted phalanx units with pikes/spears etc. Same as last time, except just Louis and myself.

Guard mode is responsible for the majority of drifting. If guard mode is off, no matter whether the unit is actively attacking or standing so another hits it, drifting will be substantially reduced.

Turning guard mode off does help the unit engage; not only does it reduce the combat dodging drift but it also encourages the unit to get close enough to attack.

With guard mode off telling a unit to walk behind it's target is more successful. Not perfect or the best, but more successful than with guard on.

Single clicking and double clicking: absolutely no noticeable difference between the two. The people still didn’t yell ‘charge’ either, just ‘attack quickly’. Must be a culture voice set thing.

Taking a charge: a unit of Greek cavalry was charged into the front of a unit of Seleucid silver shield pikemen. With guard off the SSP lost roughly 40 men (my number memory is bad, so no exact number. It’s correct, give or take a man or two) and defeated the cav quickly. With guard off they looked as if they performed the same, until you checked the losses – around 60 men. Having guard on was worse. *But* on the guard charge the cav did hit ever so slightly off centre, so this one could use a bit more investigation. This is the only test where I am mildly dubious as to the results. We didn't have enough cav to run it again; we only took 2 units since our tests were not aimed at cav.

If two phalanx units are fighting then it does not matter if you order an attack or not *as long as guard is off*. We found that the results were identical with both phalanxes moving to attack and with one moving to attack, as long as guard was off on both of them. This is handy; it reduces micromanagement as you can turn guard off and let the enemy close while you handle your flanks.

Size definitely does matter; there is no disputing this at all. Pikes will trash anything with a shorter weapon if met head on, even when the enemy phalanx is not shuffling.

With guard mode off I was interested to see my phalanx start forward and attack of their own accord when the enemy phalanx got close enough. It did this in every guard off and standing still test. They begin to attack *roughly* when other infantry units begin their charge.

froggy conclusion: turn guard mode off at all times. If you have to attack yourself a single click is the best way (double click produces the same result but tires your finger out more :p), but if the enemy are coming to you then standing is fine.

Now I shall try to make some headway in my PM/email inboxes.

[barocca]

The problem is not the rightward drift. The problem is them not engaging the enemy properly.
They don't drift right when they manage to lock spears with the enemy, or if they do its not by much. I've had phalanx on phalanx combat before and if they get their spears engaged they basically don't drift.
What I find to be the problem is like what many said here. They attack the enemy but really don't attack. Their spears are not touching the enemy and they're not doing any damage. Why this is I don't know. This needs to be looked at by CA.

this is what i cannot understand,
it does not happen to me at all,
when i tell phlalanx "go kill" it does exactly that,
it goes and it kills.
Mostly it kills quickly, sometimes it kills a little slower, sometimes it shuffles WHILE it kills, but it always kills.

Have you tried following my advice exactly?
Guard Mode OFF, Phalanx Mode ON and Double click the target unit?

MAYBE it is something i am doing instinctively/automatically and have not realised that i need to explain it,

TRY double clicking the target unit when it is about the same distance from your Phalanx THAT, you would order a charge if you were using a Hastati Unit.

and i will try and analyse exactly what i am doing with my Phalanx units...

[andrewt]

When I double click, my units say unleash hell and attack quickly but they just stand there doing nothing. They eventually attack but absolutely not quickly.

I've only used militia hoplites but they seem to switch to their swords too quickly. They get slaughtered after that.

[TheDuck]

this is what i cannot understand,
it does not happen to me at all,
when i tell phlalanx "go kill" it does exactly that,
it goes and it kills.
Mostly it kills quickly, sometimes it kills a little slower, sometimes it shuffles WHILE it kills, but it always kills.

Have you tried following my advice exactly?
Guard Mode OFF, Phalanx Mode ON and Double click the target unit?

MAYBE it is something i am doing instinctively/automatically and have not realised that i need to explain it,

TRY double clicking the target unit when it is about the same distance from your Phalanx THAT, you would order a charge if you were using a Hastati Unit.

and i will try and analyse exactly what i am doing with my Phalanx units...

I fear asking this question, but is there a difference in release level? I'm on 1.1, and I have no problem with phalanx based units. I have to believe the AI is the same for all units of the same type, but you can never tell... I have most experience playing w/ Germans and Egyptians.

[Arakasi]

barocca, do phalanxes automatically start on guard mode? Playing Parthia now so hard to test. I don't switch on guard mode anyways. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm using a partial kill speed slow down, which might cause more problems? It hasn't been game breaking for me anyways. With the RTW Realism Mod and such (even with Vanilla too) I've been having a lot of fun with the game. :)

[Colovion]

Phalanx units start with Gaurd Mode on, yes.

I've done some tests and it seems that the phalanx units attack much better with the Gaurd mode off (as many here have attested to). This is both an annoyance to me as well as something that makes sense. It's annoyin because phalanx soldiers are supposed to be a tight knit group that tries as hard as they can to stay together. Gaurd does this with all units, but it also tells the unit to stay put (for the most part) and gaurd the area that they are at and to not break formation to attack anyone unless they get inside that danger zone.

1) With it Off the phalanx soldiers will not stick together as much but they will be much more agressive and will kill more units as they are attacking. This is only really good against an enemy that is not charging you and you are just worried about fighting, not stopping a charge.

2) With it On it is much better for when the unit is halted to take any kind of charge (especially Cavalry). Having it turned off makes the formation be able to be broken up easier, but not by much. Clicking the Phalanx Formation button tells the soldiers to stick together a lot - but the Gaurd button does it again, which may confuse the combat ability of the phalanx into thinking that they are supposed to hold so close together that they can't advance as a group to attack anyone.

This little problem would be fixed if the phalanx's zone of attack is just reduced by a couple feet.

Then again, I'm no expert.

[Thrudvang]

As the Germans, my main phalax strategy was making varius U shapes with a few Phalax units. I'd get up within a decent range (out of phalax, charging), then set up the U quickly. Then i'd put screetching women and maybe some cavelery within the U if it was reversed (facing me). The enemy will swarm around the phalax and they'll hold off and fight the enemy. The screetching women will sap morale and will send units routing for a little while, then I just use the cavelery and charge their running backs.

They usually go in singles so it's just a matter of chopping down.

Forward Us are mostly offensive, I leave the phalax open like \_/ and then when the enemy comes in I close it up, if there is alot of guys I have back up Us incase I get surrounded.

[R'as al Ghul]

I can confirm what barocca and Colovion have said.
In my experience there are two "stances" of the phalanx.
Defensive stance:
You have your Phalanx in phalanx mode and guard mode.
This is most immobile and perfect if you're attacked. Your phalanxes work like a wall, everything that charges this wall will be killed. It's good to have your formation deep to repell even cavalry and chariots. Keep in mind that in this mode your phalanx will only kill when charged. Shuffling to the right does occur.
Aggressive stance:
Guard mode off and in phalanx mode:
Your phalanx can move at reasonable speed. When ordered to attack an enemy unit, it will play its "thrusting" animation and will kill. If you had the guard mode on it would only push the opponent away or keep it at bay. You can test this when two phalanxes push against each other and you take yours off guard mode.
I tested this yesterday evening and even my Greec militia hoplites did well against the seleucids scythed chariots. BTW, when two of your phalanxes fight one enemy phalanx, it's most of the time recommended to take one of yours off phalanx mode and attack with the secondary weapon from the rear or flank.

R'as

[barocca]

R'as al Ghul has explained it perfectly,

I would still recommend the double click when using Phalanx in Aggressive Stance,
and preferably at about the same range as if you were using a Hastati or other pilum/javelin armed infantry unit.

I think that - range for a unit to become classed as "charging" - may be a function of game mechanics.

[*Ringo*]

I have to say, after reading this thread yesterday i thought i'd try out the Phalanx formation, i'd not used it before, and i have to agree with Barocca & R'as (& anyone else who's made the point) As soon as i turned off guard, my men couldn't wait to stick the pointy end in the enemy; Otherwise, while attacking they would do a maneuver something similar to doing the Charlston!?! Which while quite nice didn't really help!

I say who need to guard anyway, attack, attack, attack!


*Ringo*

[jjnip]

I am currently playing Macedonia after a long campaign with Julli and I have found them pretty straight forward. On normal difficulty, normal size units I in most my armies right now have 8-12 Phalanx Pikemen, 2-3 Light Lancers, and Mercs for missle troops. Trying to build a few Archers now to fill out my Armies.

I tried a peace with Greeks, they turned on me so I had to take them out. After that I knew I had to take Brutti out so I took the (2) provinces Brutti had and crossed the small sea with ships to Italy. There I took out (2) Brutti provinces, (1) Scippi Province, then Rome, then finally last (3) Julli cities.

Currently have near (3) full stacks who are spread out and just took (2) Northern Italy Gaul cities and was planning on going North and West and then pure East taking out Dacia and perhaps most of Germania. Then after creating forts to hold Guals in Spain, with Spain and fort for Brittania, fort for Germania was going to go across and South into Greek, Seleucid territory and finally Egypt. Was just playing to get 30-35 territories but could probably easily get 50.

I just line phanlanx units up across in phalanx formation, highlight them all and just right click ahead on the map to close on the enemy. Separately move up Cavalry on flanks, mostly grouped. Separately move up Geneneral unit behind Phalanx, with any missle troops behind the Phalanx units, also moved up separtely. So micromangement, definitely. Often prepare to pull archers, missle troops back and to flank for charging the enemy when they route.

I judge each as different, and micromanage each. When I close, get close enough often the enemy AI would throw a few pila, their missle troops then attack some too. Starting from the right and going left I just highlight a Phalanx unit and right click on the desired enemy infantry unit. Often I have (2) Phalanx units attack one infantry unit, if I especially outnumber the enemy in infantry units. I close, they close, we all start attacking, its nothing really spetacular. My Phalanx is mostly just a "shield". My Cavalry, up till this point +2-3 exp Light Lancers have been enough to flank and attack the enemy in rear and flanks and that accounts for most of the damage. The Cavalry is the "sword".

Usually after the battle, or towards the end I have phalanx units facing all which ways, in, out, toward each other, but mostly its not to big of a issue, they are still in Phalanx formation.They are just all facing different directions because during the course of the battle I will say, "Hey you attack here,'' seeing a opportunity to flank or outnumber the enemy. At this point its best to wait to watch for right moment to send Cavalry, but it is possible to grap unit and attempt to have them "get out of Phalanx formation and have them run to set up a Phalanx flank attack". Just have to be careful and watch out for last minute enemy Cavalry charges into your Phalanxs often turned backs.
Often for reasons really unknown to me some of the leading men, a few of a Phalanx unit will pop out of and into Phalanx formation, and fight with sword, then switch back to Phalanx. It appears to be mainly if they are being flanked or if the enemy has some how managed to deeply invest themselves into one of my Phalanx units.

I managed to conquer all of Italy without appreciating the ability of Phalanx units to run. During one of my last battles against Gaul I was taking a city and was highly irritated at the Phalanx units desire to run into a breach in the wall and quite literally run all the way in before going to where I wanted them to go.

Watching the first Phalanx unit in the breach get slaughtered mostly by the AI, so me trying to be smart would try to send a Phalanx unit "not in Phalanx formation" but running, hugging the wall, hopeing to avoid the conflict waging in the breach so I could position them to attack in a more advantageous position.

The problem was and I dont know how I missed it before was they would run into the battle, to far into the breach and start fighting with sword, and its not what I wanted.

So I tried playing around with "running" then quickly switching to Phalanx once through the breach and that is probably best bet. Whats interesting is after trying this battle over and over to see what was up with these units I came to appreciate their running ability.

They can be ordered to run, and when you press "f" will rather quickly switch to Phalanx formation. So you have (2) options, it appeared to me: 1) have them charge the enemy then go to Phalanx formation and that works, but if they charge the enemy well, then the leading men of the unit will fight with sword, this is not so bad, for you get well invested into their ranks, and many of the units will still pull out Pikes. Also 2) you can quickly if the enemy unit is near full strength just right before contack switch to Phalanx formation and they will do that too.

I mean I would switch to "no Phalanx formation" double right click on a enemy unit, they would run, and then I had option "with a little micromanagement" to make that individual unit switch to "Phalanx formation" rather quickly.

If the enemy units are near route or half strength then it seems maybe ok to let them get invested in the enemy before switching to Phalanx. If the enemy units are strong then switch to Phalanx right before.

Otherwise in normal battle situations I would just march till close to enemy 8-10 Phalanx units across, and then right to left highlight each individual Phalanx unit and right click on a enemy infantry unit. Seems to work, just have to watch their flanks. Helps if you have more infantry units to begin with. In a battle they are just the shield anyway.

What I still wonder about is their relatively high charge value, and how to use it. I didnt and still do not think they can charge in Phalanx formation. I guessed, and still assume, they get charge bonus when they run into the enemy, which might be to help in breaches, and getting invested in enemy ranks when desired with some degree of shock. I have had some success in switching to Phalanx when doing that when the I outnumber the enemy.

They do have power I see afterwards with battle results, often a +3 Phalanx Pikemen will get many kills and suffer hardly no casulties. Like I said I have generally been successful.

Worst case I saw was in the last Gaul Battle I did, which I ran several times, to try to understand how to do breaches, was (2) near full routed German infantry units just tried to run into my Phalanx units for I had them surrounded, and they routed into a Phalanx unit. I never seen so many units just melt.

I have to admit I still don’t feel like I completely understand them and it has caused me quite some frustration and bewilderment that I have been so successful yet feel like I know nothing. Heck I beat Rome factions without even thinking of using run, which actually causes me more displeasure to realize than satisfaction.

As it stands I just highlight my Phalanx units from right to left and right click once on a single enemy unit to attack. They stay in Phalanx formation and attack mostly organized left to right in North South formation until the enemy starts to route or die. I am satisfied with them being a shield and my Calvary the sword I just wish I understood the Phalanx unit better.

[jjnip]

I just checked, Guard mode is on by default. I never really noticed, to change it. That means I have always fought with it on. I never switched it off for my units.

What that means for me on normal diff, normal size units, based on my success I have no idea. They do fight, I have seen it, they do fight organized, in Phalanx formation, they do kill the enemy, I seen it. The fact I have always had it on, I have no idea what that means.

Would they be more effective with it off, I have no idea, they are pretty effective as it is. Lately I just finished off Roman factions, many with +exp.

Now that I think about it, I cant really see a reason for it being on, since I have been mostly attacking. Maybe they would be less likely to engage in sword, and more flexible with their Phalanx formation, but I am grasping. Like I said, sword only seems to occur when heavily invested or flanked with a few units with guard on.

I learned another new thing, lol, after spending 20+ hours playing Macedonia, lol, apparently you can disable Phalanx formation, go to loose, then back to Phalanx and have a loose, wider, Phalanx formation which I am embarassed to admit.

I am kinda under the impression Guard mode reduces attack chance, damage output (something/trade off), but increases defense rating. Pure guess. With Roman Faction I never had guard mode on, unless in certain situations on defensive, never attacking.

Perhaps my Phalanx units would be even more effective with guard mode off. I will have to see.

[jjnip]

I have not really experienced as many issues using Phalanx units as some of the posters in this thread. I have for the most thoroughly enjoyed them. My experience has been mostly straightforward but I do have some questions and have had to spend some time thinking about them. It is this endeavor that has brought me here, now. And so I have attempted to read each post in this thread and combine it with my knowledge and experience to create a more complete description of what we are all seeing. Hopefully it can be built upon, and eventually we will understand all the game mechanics of the Phalanx unit. Of all the different ways I have described using Phalanx units none of them are purely defensive, in that you just sit there and do nothing, hence they all have (offensive) to the right of them.

The Phalanx Attacks
Phalanx Line Attack Aggressive
Phalanx Line Attack Defensive
Phalanx Unit-by-Unit Attack Aggressive
Phalanx Unit-by-Unit Attack Defensive
Phalanx Run Attack Invest
Phalanx Run Attack Stop Short

Phalanx Line Attack
-Aggressive (offensive)
Highlight all Phalanx formations, take them off of guard mode and right mouse drag a new formation line behind the enemy. The Phalanx formations will move toward the new destination, fights the enemy once engaged and fights aggressively. Aggressively means they will not guard this area, will more or less maintain Phalanx formation but will move and follow the enemy, crossing other Phalanx lines. You can in this situation advantageously have “what might seem impossible” a Phalanx inside another Phalanx formation fighting together. However it is harder to maintain unit responsiveness in that so many men can be so intertwined. I mean those units are more or less committed and it will take a bit of time to reposition them for a attack in another direction, which is highly dependent if they are still engaged with the enemy. It is perhaps best used when you are greatly superior to the enemy in numbers or quality. For once these Phalanx units are aggressively engaged it is hard to maintain a solid line or “hold a cohesive line”. These Phalanx units being more aggressive will often have their flanks and rear exposed to enemy attacks as they position themselves aggressively to engage the enemy. A General would also have to be watchful of all his Phalanx units, because those not engaged with the enemy will continue to their destination if not engaged with the enemy.

-Defensive (offensive)
Highlight all Phalanx formations, leave them on guard mode and right mouse drag a new formation line behind the enemy. Phalanx Line Attack Defensive is potentially more predictable and conservative. As the units move to their new destination they will once engaged with the enemy, stop and protect themselves and essentially “guard this area”. A General would have to be watchful of his Phalanx units, because those not engaged with the enemy will continue to their destination if not engaged with the enemy. Phalanx formations would be apt to stay in formation, and most of the killing would be the result of the enemy attacking the Phalanx formations. Phalanx formations will be more apt to maintain formation and will not actively, attack the enemy and the potential for a more cohesive, front line is assured. Phalanx units will guard the ground and not cross over each others formations, unless ordered to attack a enemy unit as opposed to aggressive which does it naturally. Guard Mode by Nature is Guard this area. Guard/Defensive Phalanx formations tend to not xcrossx another phalanx formation, and tend to keep their shape and consequently can be easier to extract and reposition.


When these highlighted Phalanx units are “walking” toward this new destination you have right drag clicked behind the enemy they will walk in Phalanx formation if in Phalanx formation, or you can have them run, either way switch to Phalanx plenty time before engaging enemy. Also “backspace” can be used to stop immediately all highlighted units and “F” then to switch to Phalanx formation.

Phalanx Unit-by-Unit Attack
For either –aggressive or –defensive Phalanx Unit-by-Unit Attack wait till the enemy engages (ultimate defensive) or until they start to charge (defensive-offensive), or you are less than one unit width away (offensive) before selecting individual units to attack for this will help you maintain your frontline.

-Aggressive (offensive)
This mode, Phalanx Unit by Unit Aggressive is essentially moving up your Phalanx units in a cohesive line by having them all highlighted r-clicking a destinatin in front of the enemy, and then selectively, starting from the right or left going down the line and assigning each Phalanx unit an enemy unit to attack. The unit-by-unit attack and the aggressive attack in general might be best when you are superior to the enemy in number or quality, or when the enemy is about to rout. One could start defensive as a alternative to starting aggressive and once the enemy commits and you feel satisfied you have the advantage just highlight “ctrl-a double click unit card” all Phalanx units and switch too aggressive for example if previously defensive. This could also be done on a unit-by-unit basis if one previously started defensive to take advantage of flanking opportunities or to take advantage of local superiority in numbers on the battlefield.

If one moves up Phalanx units in a cohesive line and selectively assigns each Phalanx unit a enemy unit to attack one must watch for the aggressive Phalanx units opening gaps in the line or exposing themselves to flanking and rear attacks. On aggressive, the Phalanx units once ordered will actively engage, and follow the enemy unit as it shuffles from one position to another. This can cause the aggressive Phalanx unit to cross another friendly Phalanx unit’s formation, exposing its flanks, and opening a hole in the front line.

-Defensive (offensive)
This mode, Phalanx Unit by Unit Defensive is essentially moving up your Phalanx units in a cohesive line, and then selectively, starting from the right or left going down the line and assigning each Phalanx unit an enemy unit to attack. You can do this either with the intent to be either offensive or defensive.
In guard mode Phalanx formations will attack an enemy and move toward an enemy once an enemy is right clicked but will fight and engage in guarded mode formation. Meaning the Phalanx formation will not actively (a frontline Pikemen even on guard/defensive mode would probably argue that point), aggressively engage the enemy and for the most part the enemy kill themselves attacking the pikes. The Pike formations in Guard Mode will move toward the enemy, stop once the enemy is engaged, will maintain formation, and not follow the enemy.

This is the most defensive formation other than Phalanx Line Attack Defensive in that you can wait till the enemy commits then selectively determine how to respond by choosing which Phalanx unit you want to engage what enemy infantry unit. Wait till the enemy or you are relatively close before selecting and giving individual orders because you want to maintain a fairly cohesive front line. When you are ready you could for example send two Phalanx units to engage one powerful Infantry unit. One could even call it a defensive-offense; if you unit by unit choose the particular enemy unit you want pinned on the front line.

You could start off as a Phalanx Line Attack Defensive and then switch to Phalanx Unit by Unit Defensive as needed and as you engage the enemy and the battleground develops. You could also attack with the intent of being offensive but perhaps more conservatively and with more control by using Phalanx Unit by Unit Defensive initially.

Even though you are sending individual units to attack/guard/defend against individual enemy units to pin them on the line with Phalanx Unit by Unit Defensive one would still have to work to maintain frontline cohesion and work to protect the Phalanx’s flanks and rear. Typically as opposed to aggressive this is an overall more conservative and predictable approach to the enemy and consequently you should have more control. Here one could also easily switch if appropriate on a unit-by-unit basis or all at once, to aggressive if desired.

Phalanx Run Attack
Invest
Phalanx Run Attack Invest is charging your Phalanx units with sword into the enemy then having them switch to “f” Phalanx formation. I have had success using this on breaches taking cities. It is also a good opportunity to quickly move from one spot to another to attack the enemy in the flank or rear. If an enemy unit is currently engaged, charge them in their flank and quickly change to Phalanx especially if the enemy unit is near routing or low in number.

Stop Short
Phalanx Run Attack Stop Short is running a Phalanx unit to attack an enemy unit but stopping short and forming Phalanx formation. This is best when the enemy unit is currently unengaged, full health, and the Phalanx unit is a vanguard unit on the battlefield. In this case it would be best to await the second Phalanx unit, and if possible let it do a Phalanx Run Attack Invest.


Battle Tactics and other Future Questions

Shield and Sword Philosophy
Is that you allow, work to pinning, keeping the enemy infantry engaged in the frontline, while the enemy exhaust themselves you move your Cavalry to either attack the enemy in the rear if needed to push them to rout and you prepare the Cavalry to attack the enemy when it does decide to flee and routs. The actual killing is the destruction of the enemy as it flees the battlefield. Maintaining the line, cohesion, and protection of flanks is most important job and responsibility of the front line Phalanx units. That’s how I understand the philosophy and if I could I would point to a better description on the Internet. It is my opinion and playing experience with Macedonia that Calvary are the sword and the killers. The Pikemen are ruthless and the enemy exhausts themselves trying to fight them and take casualties and eventually give up, and when enough do, the whole enemy army routs, and then its time to chase them down. Using them in primarily aggressive mode to me creates a situation that goes against the Shield and Sword Philosophy. They are not as mobile as Hastati or other Faction infantry units, and vulnerable when not in Phalanx formation which leads me to believe their best use is a shield.

Phalanx Charge
Phalanx Units like Macedonia have a relatively high charge value compared to other infantry units which makes you wonder not only how to use it but also what does it mean.
How to use it? Because they can’t run in Phalanx formation and you need to run to charge. Nobody knows for certain that double r-click in Phalanx formation produces a charge. There is no reason to believe it does that I am aware of. I do not as of now believe double r-clicking does anything. Somehow possibly related to this, they say for example that the defense of a Macedonian Phalanx Pikemen is 13, which one would think has to be in Phalanx formation, so when not in Phalanx formation their defense must be really low. Their sword in this case is only 5, barely enough to match Hastati, however taking all this into consideration one asks can they charge in Phalanx formation? One would think so, far as I know and believe it appears they can only charge when running, when not in Phalanx formation and in essence cant charge in Phalanx formation. Why? That just seems the way it is. I could be wrong.

I have formed the belief that they can only charge when running, when not in Phalanx formation and its purpose is to get invested in the enemy. By invested I mean to crack their line, and then form Phalanx, which creates a situation of having multiple Pikes piercing the enemy formation, rapidly. In essence it works out about the same in result.

Attacking not Attacking
If the enemy attacks the Phalanx formation they will die. Sometimes it takes time, sometimes, occasionally you might need to highlight a Phalanx unit and r-click on an enemy unit to get it to reposition itself in a more favorable position. In guard/defensive mode the killing will be relatively slow in Vanilla RTW, then the killing might speed up as they enemy becomes shaken and moral is lost. It takes sometimes a second or two for the enemy and Phalanx formation to form up, to engage properly. I have witnessed no issue with this. Sometimes you will look at the frontline and see 1-2 dead enemy infantry, then quickly a third of the enemy unit is gone, then they rout, etc. It depends on your formation frontage, number of men in front of Phalanx and who you are attacking, their defense rating. I typically have had 10 wide by 6 deep with Phalanx Pikemen, but it really depends on the infantry front line. I want to if I can be a little wider than their front line.

20 wide 3 deep
Is there not reason to believe that since only the first 2-3 are engaged in fighting, that it might be appropriate to go 20 wide? Especially when attacking, perhaps? Or other situations.

Double r-click
I haven't noticed any real difference between single clicking and double clicking enemy units with Phalanx units. Double click is just run for all I know. Phalanx units can only charge in non-Phalanx formation far as I know.

Phalanx shuffle
Phalanx shuffle is probably most pronounced when a lone Phalanx unit attacks another lone Phalanx unit, such as when you have Phalanx mercenary auxiliary engagements. However when you have an army of Phalanx units the shuffle tends to not be noticeable for the numbers of the units restrict their movement from left to right. Also 12+ Phalanx units do not shuffle to the right during a major battle, especially if they are on “guard mode”, however if they are on “aggressive mode” they will chase/engage/shuffle with the enemy. This last mode the aggressive mode could wreak havoc with your front line and in some cases is worse than a shuffle for they can end up facing the opposite way of the enemy.

Phalanx Formations
Keys () These keys can be used to move a Phalanx formation. You can also right mouse click or right mouse click drag a new formation and direction. It appears it might be quickest to first get out of phalanx formation “f”, wheel around, then switch back “f”.

U shapes
Thrudvang mentioned U Shapes and I think formation Shapes could be, and probably should be explored some more.

Phalanx Formation, Loose Formation
Purpose? Uses?

In my last post I said, “Perhaps my Phalanx units would be even more effective with guard mode off. I will have to see.” I have come to the conclusion it depends on what you mean by effective. Is effectiveness holding a cohesive, strong frontline, or is effectiveness, killing many enemies. I think there is a trade off, and the decision depends on your battle tactics and overall strategy and to maximize the two you definitely need to enjoy, possibly be prepared to micromanage your units.

[Maltz]

Hopefully it is not too late to contribute a few personal experiences after an entire Sunday of struggle. The following suggestions are based on vanilla patch 1.1, VH difficulty and Huge unit size.

A working phalanx, with their spear sticking out, is undestructable against regular, non-phalanx infantry, no matter how sharp their blades, and how naked and chest-hairless your men are. This is because the enemy soldiers can't even get close enough to you to start their attack animation, so there is no chance for your phalanx to get scratched.

Of course, things are not always so ideal, so you will lose a few men due to a "temporarily" disrupted formation. This can happen... of couse when you get flanked or backstabbed. There are some not so obvious circumstances, which you obviously want to avoid:

(1) Enemies' strong charge, head on.

Usually by cavalry, or some infantry that has a fast running speed and charging bonus. A powerful charge will rush into a phalanx formation, and suddenly all the phalanx spearmen decides to abandon their good spears and switch to tiny softy knives that can't touch anything.

Actually, every faction uses some cavalry, so it is very likely that some suicide generals will eventually rush and jump into a phalanx line, thus screwing up your phalanx formation entirely (because they all switch to that f* knife!). That's why people don't like to play phalanx on VH. Because of the +7 attack bonus the enemy has, your formation gets disrupted very often, and so your men all prefer their tiny softy knives. You will end up losing more men than the enemy.

That's also why people complain about Germany spear warband. (or admire, depending on whether you speak German I guess ) These spearmen don't carry a little knife, so they are forced to stick with their spears even if someone rushed into their lines. This disadvantage actually makes them THE MOST USEFUL phalanx in the RTW world, because they always maintain their phalanx formation. Keeping their spears maintain their bonus against charged-in cavalries, holding the majority of them at a distance. At the same time, the rear guys get rid of the disruptors quickly and resume the great spear wall. If you are frustrated with regular phalanx and want to see what kind of damage they are supposed to deliver, definitely give these spear warbands a try. If you don't laugh in your sleep, I guarantee you still laugh in front of your monitor.

So for regular phalanx that does carry a little knife, there is no way to avoid enemy cavalry charging into your line and distrupt your formation. All you can do is make sure your better phalanx are used against these charges, and make your poorer phalanx against poorer infantry.

The other source of disruption is, shamefully:

(2) Our own fault.

Phalanx requires a few extra care to manuever. I have failed it so many times that I learned a few tips:

2a. Don't order a phalanx to attack an enemy. Just tell them to walk to a distant line behind the enemy line.

Most of the time they will deform their lines when hearing the attack command, and some stupid soldiers will go ahead, while others dropped behind. Even worse is the "double right click" charge. You don't need the charge attack bonus at all - because the enemy can't touch you when you have your phalanx formation intact.

You can group your phalanx, so you can order the entire line walk together at the same time.

2b. Order your soldiers to stop walking when other units are engaged.

This way you keep your entire wall as one single line. The AI is sometimes smart enough to detect a gap in your wall, and assign some units to flank from there.

Don't worry about the engaged unit, as long as they keep the formation, they are safe. If their formation is gone and you can see close-distance combat, they will be dead before your other phalanx turns 90 degrees trying to flank.

2c. Order your soldiers to stop and continue walking when the engaged unit rout.

You don't want to chase the routers because you can't catch them, and you don't want your line disrupted when there are other non-routing enemy units nearby. The AI will sense where weakness is, and preferably attack the non-functioning phalanx.

Guard mode doesn't help at all. One time I had my phalanx on guard mode, and after routing the enemy, they gladly decided to rotate 180 degrees to show their arses to the 2nd wave of charge.

When I stick to these 3 simple rules my Germania spearwarband are simply invincible on the battlefield. Never did I see any unit like this in VH. Well, difficulty doesn't really matter because they enemy has no chance to start swinging!

Note: A thing line of phalanx work very well. 3 ranks is all you need against regular infantry. They also extend your wall longer so the enemy is less likely to get any chance to flank you. While against cavalry you will need more ranks. Or you don't need more ranks, because all your men will use knives even if it is 100 ranks!

[ah_dut]

In phalanx battle, head on; you'll find that levy pikes can actually win, due to longer spears. They can also beat Spartans somehow as well...

[HopAlongBunny]

This may have been posted somewhere else before, but how many of you "double-up" the phalanx?

During some bridge battles (and to a lesser extent in open battles) I have seen phalanx's completely run through by a cavalry charge. The unit becomes disorganized and while it may kill the "breaking" unit, the follow on units destroy the phalanx.

To get around this I layer one phalanx on top of another; usually dragging the second into formation so the overlap begins at the second rank. It seems that no matter how "vanilla" the phalanx is this formation will never break...even against successive waves of chariots/cav.

[Maltz]

Yes. During my current Greek campaign I always double up my thin-rank phalanx. The first layer is better phalanx, while behind them is poorer militia hoplite.

The reason is the tedious tendency of soldiers trying to switch to the little knife as soon as enemy intrudes their rank. Cavalry charge will certainly go through the first player, but they will get stopped at the second.

Phalanx 1 vs. 1

The other day I had a fun experience with phalanx - a militia hoplite duel (Greek vs. Rebel), huge unit size, VH.

Since the difficulty was VH I thought I was going to lose for sure, but just for fun I gave it a try. I set my formation 3-rank deep, instead of 5-rank deep used by AI. I approached the AI phalanx with an angle closing up from the right, meaning my right section will engage the AI's left section first, while some of my guys will be poking their left flank including their captain. I also stationed my men at a slightly higher ground.

My pikes had a slightly faster kill rate, about a 10-men difference.
Their captain was poked to the ground a few times, but he managed to stay up right afterwards. I never knew pikes do that. The AI captain along killed a lot of my soldiers.

My men also shifts to the left for some reason, so finally my exteded right is totally gone. But suddenly the enemy started to rout (probably due to their morale reached a threshold), and a lot of soldiers drop dead instantly. I won the battle with 90 left.

[Warspite]

As I understand it, the tendency to drift to the right was inherent to the phalanx, as some men involved attempted to squeeze themselves further under the protection of the shield of the man to the right of them, which resulted in the man to his left having to move right to stay under the original man's shield, and hence a chain reaction on down the line. As a result, the entire formation would often shift to the right (I know the phenomenon was touched on in the course of either Stephen Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" or "Tides of War"--unfortunately, I don't recall which right off hand).

This wasn't a good quality, however, and the tendency was drilled out of more experienced and disciplined troops. Has anybody tested to see if there's a correlation between the amount of right-shifting and the level of unit experience? If green troops shift to the right a great deal while seasoned troops are far more stable, this might actually be a rather clever depiction of a very real quirk inherent to the phalanx.

--Warspite

[Woreczko]

Hi

I have a question for you, phalanx experts :)
Did you try to experiment with short_spear hoplites (The ones, with only 2 ranks fighting)? I` ve just discovered this attribute and thought, that it could represent classical hoplites a bit better, as they did not have especially long spears (~2m IIRC).

[jerby]

hi,
i've read somethign else on phalanxes. the better untis where put to the right so that they had cover of other mans shield's or something. when both party's did this they would both try to break threw on the 'weak' side wich caused teh phalanx to turn.

is this true? or did is misconcept it?

[Al Khalifah]

i've read somethign else on phalanxes. the better untis where put to the right so that they had cover of other mans shield's or something. when both party's did this they would both try to break threw on the 'weak' side wich caused teh phalanx to turn.

In classical hoplite tactics, the best units were put on the right to try and stop the shift to the right effect. Experienced troops were less likely to try and shuffle to the right to cover themselves and so they normally stopped the rest of the army from doing so too much.
If the two armies were evenly balanced, then the weaker left of each would normally crumble to the stronger right of the other and the line of battle would turn. If the battle went like this casualties were normally very high for the losing side because they would be cut off from their line of retreat. Such battles could go on for hours.
The assumption of the hoplite general was that you had to hope your left could hold against the enemy long enough for your right to defeat their left and flank them. Casualties here were normally actually lower because the enemy had a direct line of retreat. Such battles could last meer minutes if the opposing side was strong enough - infact there are many instances where lines never even joined because the left of one side would flee in terror and so the right would have to follow suit because to stand and fight would be suicide.

The pike phalanx change all this....