2 simple questions about desert fighting

[paul3373]

Do provinces with "Arid Ground" count as desert? More specifically, do I need to worry about the armor level when fighting in Arid Ground because my troops will tire too fast?

Also, I read that when fighting in the desert, use troops without armor - or armor 5 or less. Just want to verify that Men at Arms are OK to use? They are armored, but the armor value is only 3 (according to the unit guide I have)

[Procrustes]

Do provinces with "Arid Ground" count as desert? More specifically, do I need to worry about the armor level when fighting in Arid Ground because my troops will tire too fast?

Also, I read that when fighting in the desert, use troops without armor - or armor 5 or less. Just want to verify that Men at Arms are OK to use? They are armored, but the armor value is only 3 (according to the unit guide I have)

Hi,

The desert provinces are the ones that say "rocky desert" or "sandy desert". Arid ground is different.

I'm not sure about MAA - they are listed as armored, but if you don't give them any armor bonuses I would guess they would do OK.

HTH,

[Adrian II]

Do provinces with "Arid Ground" count as desert? More specifically, do I need to worry about the armor level when fighting in Arid Ground because my troops will tire too fast?

Also, I read that when fighting in the desert, use troops without armor - or armor 5 or less. Just want to verify that Men at Arms are OK to use? They are armored, but the armor value is only 3 (according to the unit guide I have)

Hi Paul3373,

Arid Ground is decidedly not Desert, so there is no fried chivalry bonus.

As for Desert fighting, it depends a bit on your playing style what you wanna bring. Armour 5+ is definitely out of the question, certainly after 1205 by which time the gentlemen of the Muslim persuasion have strong and highly mobile armies that can easily wear you out.

Check the guides and faqs on the .org and over at Gamefaqs.com for details on periods, factions, Crusades, etcetera. It's worth an in-depth look and some trial and error; it really pays off if you develop your own Desert tactics, because this great game allows for so many individual styles.
Enjoy!

[ichi]

Arid is not nearly as harsh on armored troops as either Rocky or Sandy Desert, but heavily armored troops will experience heat related fatigue. All troops get fatigued, even lightly armored in Lush or Temp, so when I play in arid lands I am more careful about when I run my guys - walking whenever you can can rather than running is the single easiest thing you can do to help reduce fatigue load.

I prefer FMAA that have been pumped up a little over vanilla CMAA. A Valor 3 FMAA is quite similar in stats to a Valor 2 CMAA. I rarely use CMAA in desert conditions, and try (hard) to use FMAA in arid (same thing for Feudal Knights and Chivalric Knights).

ichi

[Thessalos]

Excuse me jendlemen but i am a bit confused!
Where can i see the armor lvl with such details that you have mentiont(5+,3+)

[Adrian II]

Excuse me jendlemen but i am a bit confused!
Where can i see the armor lvl with such details that you have mentiont(5+,3+)

Thessalos, you can find all such stuff in the Complete Total War Unit Guide as compiled by our Lady of the Pond.

[Thessalos]

Thanks Adrian II,but this does not work...
Yesterday i downloaded the XL version of MTW(VI) and the statsof the units have changed a lot... Some units from levies have turned to elite!!!

[ajaxfetish]

After you're in battle with your troops if you hit F1 it will show you all their stats. I don't know a way to access them between battles if they're different from the guides.

[ichi]

Look in the MTW directory for a file with UNIT_PROD in it.

I'm not familiar with the XL mod but this is the file that contains the unit's stats. My guess is that the XL mod either uses its own file or modifies the Viking_Unit_Prod file.

Use a text editor to view the file, don't save it when you are finished or you'll screw it up. Just close the editor without saving.

ichi

[mfberg]

If you are stuck in the desert with heavily armoured units the only way to win a battle is to hit hard and fast. Take the battle to the enemy immediatly with your heavy units.

mfberg

[bretwalda]

Somehow Almohad Urban Militia does pretty good job in the desert despite it says "heavily armoured"... How come?

What I also observed in playing with Almos: Spain attacked, decided not to fight the battle - and the next message was that the Pope asked a crusade against me. Funny, because I did not touch a christian soul at that moment, in matter of fact only took one rebel territory (easily killed El Cid). Oh well, since then Spanish and Aragonese are history...

[EvilNed]

Somehow Almohad Urban Militia does pretty good job in the desert despite it says "heavily armoured"... How come?

They do? Cause whenever I used them in the desert, they tired just as fast as any heavily armoured knight. That's why I kept them far away from the desert, only using them when fighting in Europe. In the desert I was forced to use Militia Sergeants instead.

[bretwalda]

They do? Cause whenever I used them in the desert, they tired just as fast as any heavily armoured knight. That's why I kept them far away from the desert, only using them when fighting in Europe. In the desert I was forced to use Militia Sergeants instead.

Well, that was my first time with Almos but AUM did pretty well. That was without any further armor upgrade. Not for chasing but did fairly good job on the first impact. I was careful enough only run them at charging.
It might have been because of my general, or the poor enemy general, or whatever.