Tactics Style

[bretwalda]

What kind of tactics suits you? And which is the best faction for you style?

Is this the horse archer archer, soak with arrows? Or the swordmen rush? Maybe heavy cavalry? Play on lots of low tech units? Or do it with hardcore troops? Let's see the styles...

[bretwalda]

My style oddly seem to be my "national" style I am Hungarian and my favourite tactics is relying heavily on horse archers and other missile troops. These are versatile especially at the beginning of the game (early) and can cause losses without taking any themselves. They remain useful later as well, as battle starters: they shoot their arrows and withdraw: the damage is done :)

[Don Corleone]

Apparently, I'm a little too up the gut for my own good. I think everyone has heard of Stonewall Jackson, a Confederate American general, famous for feints, bluffs, and elaborate flanking maneuvers. There was another general in the confederate army, by the name of John Bell Hood. Jackson said of Hood "He can perform any maneuver you could ask for, so long as you only ask for a head on charge".

That was why I started this Turk campaign to begin with, to learn some of the finer points of tactics. Old habits die hard I guess, trying to use my Turcoman as heavy cavalry, in the woods no less! (I did know better than that, I just couldn't think of a way to get them out).

[bretwalda]

There are cases, where the head on charge is the best idea :) E.g. if the enemy is archer heavy and is on a hill, but no heavy cavalry, the best thing you can do is an infantry charge...

[el_slapper]

There are cases, where the head on charge is the best idea :) E.g. if the enemy is archer heavy and is on a hill, but no heavy cavalry, the best thing you can do is an infantry charge...

Infantry charge is a cool initial setup. Balanced & efficient. Of course, against special enemies as horse archers, it is not that efficient. But I stick to it, keeping cav only for last times of a battle. I've lost too much cav by charging too early.

[bretwalda]

I would not rely on one type of tactics: there is an efficient counter - force for every army setup. As you pointed out horse archers would do well against a swordmen and slow cavalry army... But would be useless against e.g. steppe cavalry or against spearmen + archer (on a hill)

[Kommodus]

My favorite tactic, which I find most enjoyable, would have to be the Turkish cavalry-heavy approach, relying on the mobility of horse archers and other cavalry to get the job done. Of course, the army needs a core of infantry, including some good hybrid archers and solid spearmen, but the real punch comes from horse archers, which harass and isolate enemy units, and heavy cavalry, which delivers decisive blows to the flanks and rear. The Turkish army is my favorite one in the game.

However, I recently found a very nice tactic for Catholic armies, which has proven very effective and fun to use. The core of the army is polearm troops, particularly halberdiers and their variations. This core is augmented by the best cavalry available and enough arbalesters to win a missile duel. After maneuvering for position, the attack commences with an infantry advance, with cavalry to flank and take out enemy missile troops. Halberdiers have low morale, but as long as you keep them from being isolated or flanked, they can beat just about anything in a head-on fight and take very few casualties in the process, including elite heavy cavalry, which would otherwise be a problem. The only weakness this type of army has is fighting in the desert. Other than that, it can take on any army you throw at it, even the pesky Mongols.

[CherryDanish]

I used to spend heavy cav like it was monopoly money. As a catholic faction it's easy to do because later in the game you simply outclass your opponents. Now I try a combination of tactics based entirely off of the strengths of the available troops of the faction I am playing. For instance, when playing the Byz, head on is the way to go. Kataphractoi are murderous head on and their only real weakness is against mobile missile troops. VGs can shred any force, but if you can't catch em, you can't kill em.

With the Turks, until you get JHI, you need to dance around your opponents and you don't charge until your foe is about to break or is actually fleeing. As for Futuwa, keep em in the treelines and reign death on your opponents. If they have horse or spear and send them after you, withdraw into the woods and make your stand there. If they send sword or axe infantry, skirmish with bows. I use some interesting indirect tactics when playing lighter forces like the Turks.

I like the English though. As a faction, you get one of the most lethal combinations of troops in the same year, still fairly early in the game. It is the only faction I have played so far that I can field an entire force without any cavalry and still win consistantly. That said, combining them with steepe light cav is a lethal combo as the fast cav is fantastic for chasing down withdrawing/routing enemies. Enemies can't stand off and kill your troops with missile fire as your longbowmen simply outclass any other missile troops and if the enemy closes, they will suffer from missile fire before they reach your formidable billmen wall. When they run, you chase em off with the light cav. Hobilars and Mounted Sergants are OK, but not as fast as the boys from the steepes.

[derF]

Flexibility and Potency are my keywords for battletactics.

At the moment i have about 8 full Byzantine armies with a few reinforcements on 3 frontiers. Each one (as is the Roman way) is standardised:

50% Varangian Guard. (From Constantinople, Greece, Rum, Crete, Nicea...)
30% Light, Medium, Heavy Cavilry. (From Constantinople or Greece).
20% Missile soldiers. (From Bulgaria or Trebizond).

I fight precise, calculated battles.

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The Varangian Guardsmen can kill spear, sword and horse with no problems. Some people say they cost alot. I can support them no problem because i emphasise strongly on economic growth.

Cavilry i have equal amounts of Cataphracts (Heavy), Pronoiai Allagion (Medium), and Byzantine Lancers (Light). The lighter the cavilry, the more flanking it does. The heavier the caviltry, the more it fights.

Missile soldiers. I accept only the best. Usually 1 unit of Pavise Arbalestiers and 1 unit of Trebizond archers in the early game or 1 unit of Bulgarian Brigands later.

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Pick a front, deploy the armies, push through all at once. Hold, reinforce, build. Push again...

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Deal with desert provinces by hiring muslim mercenaries. Deal with the mongols with Pavise missile troops.

There, thats my Byzantine tactic.

[Saracen_Warrior]

Once im in later part of game and have lots of surplus money I dont know what to do with, I like to hire mercs. Since they're not my countrymen I dont feel bad about sending them to their deaths. Ill usually hire a merc army, tac on a 3 star general(who will withdraw, i dont send my own men to bloddy deaths) and send them in to attack the enmy. I dont use any tactics, just tell evey unit to attack something. Hopefully, even if i suffer heavy losses, i also inflicted them. Then the next turn ill send in my real army. In this battle ill actually play.

oh and does anyone know of a good use, for abyssinian guards. They seem like ghazi, but cruddier and less useful, and more expensive. I have a hard time using hashishan, has anyone ever actually killed a genereal with these guys.

[derF]

I meddle not with the muslim scumbags.

[_Aetius_]

When thinking about tactics copy the best tactitions alexander the greats tactic of using infantry to keep the enemy infantry in place whilst using heavy cavalry to flank and hit from the side or behind.

Its simple and effective.

[HopAlongBunny]

oh and does anyone know of a good use, for abyssinian guards. They seem like ghazi, but cruddier and less useful, and more expensive. I have a hard time using hashishan, has anyone ever actually killed a genereal with these guys.

If there is a use for them it has escaped me as well; ghazi seem a better option for all circumstances. Hasishan require micro-management I think. If you want them to hide turn "fire-at-will" off. Can't say I've ever killed a general with one, but they can make a mess of a royal knight unit

[CherryDanish]

Hasishin are a remarkably amazing unit. I use them sparingly, but starting in an open field and hiding with fire at will OFF, they can snipe out key units, then duck into a grove of woods and take on the chasers. I do not build these guys in volume, but used in flanking and striking the rear of units, suprise sniping hig value units, used sparingly they are effective. I sent a unit of Huscarles to frontal engage 2 units of MHC and then a unit of hasishin in the mongol rear in melee, all inside the woods and the destruction was supreme. 21 of 80 mongols escaped and I lost 1 Hasishin and maybe 3 Huscarles.

That said, in open fields, all alone, they are going to get mulched by just about anyone. One more item, they are a 12 man unit with an insane attack value, so they will build valour very fast. For me, getting 3 valour for one of these units in a single fight isn't terribly uncommon. I have never seen one of them rout.

[Saracen_Warrior]

I guess if was hopped up on brownies i wouldnt care if i died either and probably wouldnt run. Except they probbaly smoked hashish back then, instead of baking it.