Using siege towers when the AI sallies

[Conqueror]

I've found that if you want to starve a city instead of assaulting it, it's still a good idea to build some siege towers. They can be useful in case the AI sallies out at the last turn: your units will have the towers deployed at the start of the battle and if you turn on Fire At Will, then the towers will start shooting the defenders that rush out through the city gates.



Another nice advantage is that the towers can be used as defensive structures. Infantry units placed between the towers will have their flanks protected, and if you play on the huge size setting then the units will also benefit from greater depth of ranks.

[Scoundrel]

I have used this tactic few times. Its particularly useful against massive hordes of golden peasants that have bad habbit of throwing you out of your city. Just wait until they all gather infront of your siege towers against your own shieldwall, then give your troops "fire at will". There should not be too many peasants left after some 20 seconds.

They're not too useful if they are weaker ones with arrows only, but ballista versions are ultimate killers.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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I always fill up the quee with one tower per infantry unit. Turn on fire at will and the AI will suicide its best infantry units to the towers. Turn off fire at will after the first volley routs or depletes to save some magic ammo for the rest.
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[Red Harvest]

I've been using this technique in 1.3 for some time. I don't build rams or sap points anymore for stonewalls. The tower missiles cause some havoc when the enemy sallies.

I have cut the fire rate for towers in half, but that is just personal preference/balance.

[Dutch_guy]

yes this is a good tactic , it let's you win against very unfavorable odds.

And all because of those handy machine gun towers,and it also enables you to take the walls when the enemy retreats through his gates, and you still can't get through the gate.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Yep. So many sallies morphed into assaults that way.
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[Garvanko]

Interesting. You learn something new everyday.

[Revenant69]

Great stuff Conqueror. I'll have to remember to use this tactic. Although, the AI hasn't tried to sally against me, yet.

Cheers

[Siris]

Hows this for interesting. I set all of my seige towers to fire at will before the battle began, and placed them in a nice wall line to head for the walls.

Right as the battle started, they all fired "every single" of their missles at once! I had never sceen something like that before, so I printed the screen with it on pause, with over a hundred pikes flying from the towers.

I moved the camera behind the AI on the walls, hit play again. A wave of bodies went flying off the epic wall lol!!!

I later forgot about the print screen, and hit Ctrl + C on some text, and then realised what I did. I rushed to paint to paste the screen shot, but of course, it had been over written with the text.



Still one of my most interesting battles (was won by the way, took some losses, those epic walls shoot missles back you know!).

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Using a clipboard manager, such as the shareware ClipMate, helps in such situations.
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[Celt Centurion]

Great stuff Conqueror. I'll have to remember to use this tactic. Although, the AI hasn't tried to sally against me, yet.

Cheers

Wait long enough in "siege" mode, and they will sally out after you. When I lay siege to a city with a full stack, I find it's easier to let them wear themselves down by internal riots than it is to take the walls and then take the town square.

"If", I take towers in against a full stack, it's almost always to meet a deadline with a Senate Mission, and cannot wait another turn.

A few nights ago, the Senate gave me a mission to take one of the Cities along the East Mediterranean. That was fine, as I had already formed a 3 large armies of Urban Cohorts, Praetorian Cavalry and Archers and was sailing in that direction with one of them anyway with two more near a fort I had between Larissa, Thermon, and Athens.

The very next turn, I get orders from the Senate to have my faction leader commit suicide. I refused, and was immediately outlawed as I am sure all of you have been as well. I also turned my fleet around and headed it for Rome. I also put the other two armies on ships, and sent THEM to Rome as well.

I disembarked all three armies just outside of Rome simultaneously and laid siege.

SPQR's three full stacks attacked me, one at a time from outside, therefore dragging the city garrison into the fight but outside of the walls. That was foolish on the part of the AI as I put special effort on destroying the city garrison while they are outside of the walls.

Yes, SPQR sent three full stacks. Hastati, Principes, Triarii, Velites, and Equites; against Urban Cohorts, Praetorian Cavalry, and Archer Auxillia, in an open field. There may have been a few Legionary Cohorts and Cavalry Auxillia, but by and large, I felt like it was an unfair fight. But after being betrayed by SPQR, and knowing I was going to have to take on the rest of the Roman world in addition to everybody I had already taken on at the Senate's orders, I didn't worry about it. SPQR suffered some 6,000 casualties, to my less than 100 each attack.

By the time my own turn came up again, the tile reading "Faction Destroyed, SPQR" appeared.

They had it coming.

What I am getting at, is if you can starve them out, you have less casualties. If they have a 3rd party army ring your shield from outside while you are laying siege, it's easier to destroy the city garrison on the field than taking the walls, and in some cases, trying to "find your way" to the town square with towers shooting at you all the way. In some of those cities, the way to the town square seems to be a maze that takes you in loops all around the town. If your "go to the town square" force moves faster than your men running on the walls, that can hurt.

If an outside army rings my shield when I am laying siege, then they are doing me a favor.

Strength and Honor

Celt Centurion