Useless ladders ...

[IliaDN]

In my opinion ladders in RTW are the most useless siege equipment , because if enemy have strong walls it is much better to assault them using towers.
Have you EVER used those things?
I think they would be more useful if there were some cities ( levels of city development ) when towers are not avaluible and walls are present , so you have to use ladders.

[RabidGibbon]

I always use ladders in a seige. I build about 4-6 of them, and my usual array of seige equipment and then go at the defenders from as many points as possible.

Having so many ways of going over the walls mean the outnumbered defenders can't hold them all off, and the ladder climbers get over the walls a lot quicker than the tower climbers (A tower only has one ladder to the ladder users 5.)

By the time the tower ramps drop the ladder climbers are normally already on the walls, capturing defense towers and pushing for the gates, the seige towers then provide the knock out blow, capturing the walls and seizing the gate allowing the reserves to storm into the city centre.


Typical Gibbon style assualt on settlement. Towers attack the gates whilst ladders go for unmanned portion of the walls.

[IliaDN]

Actually I rarely met strong resistence when assaulting city , as for your screenshot I don't see why do you need so many ladders - in my opinion one tower ( maybe two ) is more then enough to capture the walls.

[magnum]

I use ladders a lot. I prefer to assault a city as quickly as possible, so often times build only ladders. All depends on how many build points I have. If you build 4 or more ladders you can almost always have one of them facing a section of the wall with no troops defending it.

[vale]

I use as many type as can be, sometime some of my ladder don't show up though, anyone got the same problem?

[RabidGibbon]

Yep the screenshot does show an OTT example (Although there were some hoplites, archers and peltasts on the other side of the gatehouse). It was just to show the technique, and in that battle it was troops that used ladders that captured the gatehouse, whilst the towers that where closer were still loading up and hadn't even dropped their ramps yet, opening the gates and letting troops in whilst the defenders on the wall were still fighting troops who'd climbed over on other ladders.

So in short (In my opinion only of course), Towers are good against defended portions of the wall, ladders are good for quick assaults on undefended sections of the wall (Which can sometimes decide the battle before the tower using troops have cleared the defended sections of the wall).

[nameless]

Depends on the situation. I took some screenshots but I can't find them on my computer, where does the game store them?

I always use towers regardless because the towers at "Fire on Will" can take down an entire unit to half strength with its ballistas. So when the guys come in, half of of the job is already done for them.

Ladder units make my guys open to enemy fire and I'll lose some, more if there's an archer unit on the wall. Ladders are good if the defenders are hoplite - related because they can't do jack on walls.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Actually I rarely met strong resistence when assaulting city , as for your screenshot I don't see why do you need so many ladders - in my opinion one tower ( maybe two ) is more then enough to capture the walls.

Usually, i get quite a lot of resistance on the walls. The walls is where i suffer the most casualties. But after you get past the walls (and the giant killathon that goes on there) it's a cakewalk from there onward.

[gardibolt]

Once you've captured the gatehouse, how do you open the gates?

[RabidGibbon]

Just march on in gardibolt, and the doors will open for you. And no one will pour boiling oil on you either. Yuu can tell if youve got the gatehouse or not by putting the cursor over it and seeing if it says your faction owns it.

[gardibolt]

Just send the guys outside the walls toward the doors and they will open? Huh.

[hoom]

I always use ladders where available.
because there is so rarely a significant defence & its historically correct I have a house rule that I only use one or max two siege engines (ram/ladder/tower) now though.
Makes those seiges more interesting when you actually have to fight from only one side.

[RabidGibbon]

Sorry for any misunderstanding Gardibolt, I was answering your first question directly, your first question being "Once you've captured the gatehouse, how do you open the gates"

The answer is - if you order any of your units to move through the gates whilst the gatehouse is under your control then the gates will open automatically.

[vale]

nameless you was asking how to find your screen shot? it should be in your activision total war gta folder go in there and see if it is there.

[antisocialmunky]

I think I've heard once that if you capture the gate, you can pour oil on teh defenders.

[gardibolt]

Sorry for any misunderstanding Gardibolt, I was answering your first question directly, your first question being "Once you've captured the gatehouse, how do you open the gates"

The answer is - if you order any of your units to move through the gates whilst the gatehouse is under your control then the gates will open automatically.

Thanks for that RabidGibbon. I had captured the gatehouse & moved my army up to the gates, expecting them to open. But nothing happened. So my guys on the inside eventually got slaughtered because there was no way I could come to their aid. I didn't think of just marching through the closed gate.

[soibean]

are you sure you have control of it? just my moving your cursor over the gateway it should say who controls it. if you are in control, click the men on the outside and give them some point on the inside and they should go inside

[Red Harvest]

I've never once used a ladder in the game. I usually sapped walls and perhaps sent a tower or two.

[gardibolt]

are you sure you have control of it? just my moving your cursor over the gateway it should say who controls it. if you are in control, click the men on the outside and give them some point on the inside and they should go inside

Yeah, mousing over it was how I knew I had control of the gateway. I just didn't know what to do with it once I had it.

[mfberg]

I think I've heard once that if you capture the gate, you can pour oil on teh defenders.

This is very useful in battles where you are outnumbered. If one of your unit routs you can pour oil on the defenders who chase them out the gate. A very nice bonus.

mfberg

[katank]

I build almost exclusively towers and use the spare build points towards ladders.

I find too high a casualty rate with ladders. However, they are handy with light troops charging onto an undefended section and drawing the enemy away by capturing towers and even securing a side gatehouse.

However, ladders don't work on any thing larger than stone wall. You can build em but they are too short and don't show up on the battle map.