MP help guide

[Dionysus9]

When I played RTW MP (notice the past tense) I used the method sweetzero describes-- grouping the entire army.

Unfortunately, groups are so flawed in RTW that they have become less than useless (actually they are a hindrance).

I agree with Louis. At this point the movement and grouping "functions" are so flawed there is no "guide" that can help. The problem is with the game itself.

We simply have to wait until the patch.

[Sid_Quibley]

I group my whole army as one and when I need to make a smaller group they need a new formation order (ie shift 1 single line) to break the link to the old big group formation.

Kyodai, as for tactics it seems flanking is everything especially with cav.Also cav shouldnt be left in melee too long pull out and recharge as often as you can and units rout pretty quick.

Missiles are far more effective firing at a flank (preferably the enemies right as this is unshielded) or rear.

Hope this helps a little.

[KyodaiSteeleye]

thanks guys - i'll try the grouping suggestions. Is it my imagination, or are missile units (esp' archers) far more effective in RTW - eg: faster fire rates, higher kill rates and far more ammo? (except face on against phalanxes and cohorts).

[Cheetah]

No, it is not just your imagination and whenever possible you should have one of the advanced archer types, such as cretian archers, chosen archers, pharaohs bowmen, archer auxilia. Also, horse archers are better and need less micromanagement as in MTW. However, friendly fire is a lot more devastating, you should be very careful not leting your archers firing into a melee.

[Agravain of Orkney]

I find it very tedious to form/break/reform groups during a game. My solution was to break free of my MTW habit and stop trying to move my entire army at once while keeping it in formation. During setup I create roughly six groups, by purpose, and I avoid mixing unit types within the group. So one group is my spear wall, I have left and right infantry groups, left and right cav groups, an archer group, etc. Each group I usually give the single line formation order (shift +1) so that I can draw the group on the map in any thickness or orientation that I want.

When I want to move my whole army from point A to point B, I just Ctrl + A to select all and then right click on point B. A press of the space bar will show that if you did nothing else, your army formation will be all jumbled once they got to point B. So while they are marching to the new location, I redraw the groups on the map in the exact place and orientation that I want them to be when they get there.

There is a change from MTW to RTW for the better (IMO) in that unless you are setting waypoints, when you issue a movement order it automatically cancels the previous order. In MTW you needed to either wait for the previous order to complete, or you needed to manually cancel with a halt command (bringing your units to a stop), before you could change the order. So in MTW, when moving my whole army in formation, I frequently had to move/rotate several times until I got it in exactly the position and facing that I wanted it. In Rome, I just draw it on the map where I want it to be....if I don't like it or want to change it, I just redraw it.

[KyodaiSteeleye]

Hi Agravain - yes, i've been doing something similar, in that i've been using 4 or 5 seperate groups for my missiles/main line, secondary line and cav wings, but to be honest its a real fag having to redraw them all to get them into some sort of ordered formation - although i will try a bit harder to redraw while they move.

[Nigel]

hmm, this is a useful thread.

I am still struggling to control my formations, too.
Will be interesting to see how other people deal with it.

[Agravain of Orkney]

but to be honest its a real fag having to redraw them all to get them into some sort of ordered formation

Agreed Kyodai. Would be a whole lot easier if you could just CTRL+A to select everything and then just draw it once on the map, while having everything retain their original groups, spacing, facing, etc. Both methods described in this thread have their advantages and drawbacks. Guess it comes down to individual comfort in the end.