Is the amok feature bugged?

**Lochar** · 03-22-2005, 02:40

I sent a unit of elephant to batter downb a door and all was fine til I tried to charge them at the cavalry parked there, they got routed, so I cleared the way for them.

After they got a bit out from the fort they went back to normal. I figured I wouldnt use them anymore but I move them back to where I held some reserves.

Well as I am focused on the fort battle I happened to see the amok symbopl for my elephants and they were trampling up my reserves. This I cant understand, if they are not fighting and not near the enemy why would they panic? I have this hapopen with chariots too, and now I try not to use them too much or waste them for early charges. I take more casualties from them than I do the enemy on some battles.

I am just curious tho is this intended or is there a bug with these?

**SpencerH** · 03-22-2005, 03:13

I'm not ready to call it a bug but chariots and elephants do seem to go crazy at the most inopportune times. I've learned to not allow them to become tired or winded in the face of the enemy.

**Sam Adams** · 03-22-2005, 04:42

are you sure they didnt rout first, recover, and then go amok?

ive never seen a unit go amok and then recover.

**Lochar** · 03-22-2005, 06:12

Originally Posted by Sam Adams

are you sure they didnt rout first, recover, and then go amok?

ive never seen a unit go amok and then recover.

yes, thought said that before, sorry,but it did route and recover, the thing was, it sat on the sidelines after that and still went on a rampage, nothing was firing at it.

I can understand it happening if still pressured, but just standing off doing nothing should not send a animal into a craze, unless the elephant is reliving its past actions and goes loopy.

**Sam Adams** · 03-22-2005, 06:22

oh I see.

maybe they saw a mouse:P

**Craterus** · 03-22-2005, 18:06

i think the advisor tells you that the noise and violence of battle can sometimes send elepahnts crazy

**Spetulhu** · 03-22-2005, 18:09

Perhaps being sent to the sidelines made them roll for morale? You know, flank unprotected, too few friends near etc. They had just been taking losses and routing.

**EvilNed** · 03-22-2005, 19:32

The fun thing is when your elephants go amok, the AI still targets them. Once, I had a unit of Armoured Elephants going amok. The battle was pretty much over anyway, just my cavalry mopping up the remaining troops. Anyway, so out there in the corner of the map are those elephants... Amoking... And the enemy realizes that "Shit, these elephants are an immidiate threat to us! Nevermind the cavalry that's pounding us from all sides!" and it sends its general (a unit of equites) to go and hunt those damn elephants down.

Well. Equites vs Armoured Elephants. You know the outcome.

**Someone Stupid** · 03-23-2005, 09:50

I don't even bother with elephants to use as a direct killing unit. I use them to break up any lines which are a bit to thick or have units which I don't like. Otherwise they sit on the sidelines to knock holes in walls and stomp the occassional unit that tries to flank me. After having a mercenary elephant unit kill my 8 star faction heir I decided that it wasn't wise to use them as a sustained shock element. :) Not very fun paying upkeep on a unit to have it kill a general. Mind you I should have waited a bit longer to have charged my heavy cav in for the kill, but I was playing with an imposed 10 unit per army limit (to help the AI since it doesn't have that limit), so my cohorts were quite busy elsewhere at the time.

**Craterus** · 03-23-2005, 17:56

elephants can be a probelm when they run through your own troops..
i also lost a general when his reinforcements arrived but i couldnt control them because the whole unit "hadn't entered the battlefield" and my generals chariot was killed by a unit of early legionary cohort!

**Wishazu** · 03-23-2005, 19:50

Originally Posted by Sam Adams

are you sure they didnt rout first, recover, and then go amok?

ive never seen a unit go amok and then recover.

i have on the odd occasion. however i try not to rely on ele`s. they are a very powerfull double edged sword.

**Joker** · 03-25-2005, 01:04

I think elephants are just plain bugged period. I use them, they go amok, I have the drivers kill them all, but then they aren't dead after the battle and the first thing they do next battle is...guess what? Go amok. It makes me lose all interest in using them almost.

**soibean** · 03-25-2005, 01:42

I really havent had to deal with the running amok alot...
the only unexplained time that I can speak of when they ran amok was when I had them walking under a gateway, the one got stuck and they panicked and whiped out my men.... yea thats always fun

but what I usually do is get 2 units of elephants and have them collapse on the enemy from each side, bring my infantry up to their front to keep them disorganized, and then the cavalry flanks. At that point I move them away and wait for a time for them to strike again... The time being if there is 1 unit of mine against multiple enemies and they're getting crushed, might as well try to rout the enemy at the cost of a few good men