Do you use your faction leader on the front lines?

[unseen11]

When you begin a war against someone (say Julii vs Gaul) do you guys use your faction leader to command the troops into victory? I remember in MTW it was a good idea to use your leader in battle so your underage princes get some command stars but i'm wondering if the same tactic is valid in RTW?

So what do you guys usually do? Use your faction leader as general? or let some other general go to war (maybe faction heir?)

[Browning]

I don't, provided I gave enough good military leaders. The faction leader is an old chap with excellent management skills and a high office with the Senate - he cannot be absent from internal politics.

As you see, I role-play it a little.

[AussieGiant]

As long as the family is doing well and the heir to the faction leader is a competent fellow then he is free to go running around slaughtering everything.

I role play my guys from when they come of age. The initial traits and charateristics determine what I do with them.

They either end up as administators or generals and they will hold those positions until they die or something drastic happens.

[SpencerH]

The death of the faction leader in MTW could have tragic consequences especially for a large empire. The faction leaders death doesnt seem to effect anything in RTW, so why not use em if they have multiple stars.

[Uso Da Namu]

i use the one with highest command and then 5 low"level" generals to acompany him (until they have atlest 3-5 stars and some bronze cherons)

my army is mosly made up on generals (as calvary)/infantery with whatever ranged support i can get.

[Quietus]

I cycle:

1) Faction Heir does all the main battles ( I normally use just one army unless) the AI decides I should use more by attacking me).
2) When the Faction Heir turn Faction Leader, he retires.
3) Repeat 1)

[Fist of Brutii]

hmm, my faction leader sits bag in Sparta, while my other fameli members fight the war on the Scippii, and Julii....
(Damn them! they threw my out of the senate because i didnt want to kill my faction Leader!)

[Somebody Else]

In my current RTR game, I've got my faction leader beasting on the Gauls, as the previous incumbent did before him. My generals always fight in the front line, usually taking on the enemy general - heavy duty spearmen as a bodyguard are pretty useful.

However, since I don't ever adopt/allow people to marry in, I'm running fairly thin of family members - I've had about a third of them die on the field of battle - no-one dies peacefully in my campaign. Except my first faction leader, who died after surviving a battlein which his unit went down to just his standard-bearer, himself and a couple of men.

[Aetius the Last Roman]

Who wouldn't use the faction leader if he is capable,
There is no great consequences of him dying and he gets many uber-general guards.

[NobleRubberChicken]

Well, I use him to chase down routing enemies in the early parts of the game

In the later parts he isn't as useful because of the more advanced cavalry,so I tend to keep him out of combat as much as I can.

[katank]

I always blitz AI factions at the beginning of the game. Faction leaders and faction heir's uber size BG units mean that they are real battle turners.

I almost never pitch them into a frontal assault unless it's a enemy unit that is guaranteed to rout at the charge (ie. peasants or missiles). I use them to flank and deliver the crusher blow to rout the enemy battle line and then chase routers. They also guard flanks and countercharge.

They regenerate for free and rarely die if you use them carefully and sensibly. With some retinues, my faction leader and factio heir often have several silver and even gold chevrons.

That's when I transfer the valor boosting retinues to other generals and they will get the retinues again in no time.

My faction leader/faction heir almost always have might, conqueror, or victor epithets.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I think it is even more reason to use your faction leader if he is incompetent, because he will either die and pave the way for new competent blood or he will live and learn to fight well and influence well.

[The Stranger]

in my current RTR 5.4.1 and manual modded campaign, my biggest victories are fought by captains, while most family members do the city, only when a member is totally unsuited for city control or exels in fighting i use them to fight battles. it has prove worth, cause i launched a full scaled invasion vs the Carthaginian empire (damn it was huge), and minor invasions vs gaul, thrace and greece. the carthaginian invasion was a succes, 6 out of 7 objectives capture by six different armies, one army failed cause it was attack 4 times by overwhelming odds but stoud firm every battle but was halved after the 4th and a 5th army was approching so i retreated him, and let him retrain and guard the Rhine borders. a army of early legionares was annihilated by thrace with a army of mercs and family member. greece was a succes too, but due the low support of the local tribes in gaul i had to abort it after taking on settlement.