How do I use elephants properly?

**Tigranes** · 05-12-2005, 13:57

How do I use elephants properly? I've tested them in several battles, as the S.E., but I just can't manage to kill many of the enemy with them. Perhaps I am using them wrong. Is there a specific strategy one should follow with elephants?

**edyzmedieval** · 05-12-2005, 15:31

Elephants are similar to cavalry... They make the best impact when they charge!!! They are devastating!!!! I killed 2 units of Principes with 13 War Elephants!!!

**Somebody Else** · 05-12-2005, 15:49

Following an elephant charge up with normal cavalry's a good idea, they mop up any survivors... do the same with chariots instead of elephants, if you have them.

As with anything, try to charge into the rear if possible...

Being able to beat wooden walls down is handy for a quick siege resolution...

They're also quite good for dealing with cavalry, and stopping chariot/elephant charges.

Just having them around is also a good morale dampener for the enemy.

Also, being in towers on the elephants' backs, the archers in War and Armoured Elephants can get a decent angle of fire over wooden walls at the defenders... though this is a fringe benefit.

**Dutch_guy** · 05-12-2005, 15:52

make them run through enemy line's , if possible do it from behind.
If you have War Ele's you can also just let them shoot every arrow the've got
and then charge.

However watch out for pikes and fire arrows, never take on pikes from the front (

) and let cav, take out the archers, this is important because you do not want the ele';s running amok into your own lines, I've lost generals due to that.

Also be sure to send in your own units once the ele's have charged through the enemies lines ( for maximum impact dubble - click behind the enemy units ) this will cause terror and panic amongst enemy lines, they can never keep up the fight for long that way.

Hope that helped

**derF** · 05-12-2005, 15:55

For some reason, when i pursue with elephants, they do not inflict any casualites. They simply knock the soldiers to the floor and they get back up again.

**Beefy** · 05-12-2005, 16:10

Elephants Bah!

Keep them far far away from fire arrows.

Use em when u are already engaged and want to really hit the enemy hard send em in. dont use them as a primary attacking force

**Count Belisarius** · 05-12-2005, 16:47

The trick is to keep them moving. Elephants get a huge charge/attack bonus, so don't squander it by letting them stop and melee with an individual enemy unit. If I am using elephants in the center of my line, instead of simply attacking an enemy unit, I usually double-click BEHIND the enemy unit, so that the the elephants will run through and not get bogged down, thus losing their charge bonus. If I'm using them on the flanks, I will charge them - not at the very nearest enemy unit - but at the next-to-nearest enemy unit in the battle line. Keep doing that all the way down the line, spreading fear as you go.

As already noted, preserve your elephants by 1) only attacking pike or phalanx formations from the rear (even a flanking attack can get them killed); 2) retreating from missile fire, especially fire arrows; and 3) using them in tandem with another unit right at the elephants' feet (skirmishers or cheap melee infantry are great for keeping enemy skirmishers out of range).

Elephants in R:TW are unrealistically powerful, even after the last patch. However, watching elite Roman infantrymen get tossed into the air like matchsticks IS rather fun. R:TR takes a more realistic (though less enjoyable) approach: the elephants are much easier to kill, especially with javelins, and they rout if you breathe on them wrong.