“They’ve breached the gate, let’s fall back… or not?” :knight:

[elbasto]

A small question for the experienced players out there; when do castle defenses stop firing?

For instance, if I’m defending a Citadel with Barbican and the enemy breaks through the gate, do the first line of defenses stop firing or they continue to do so either until the end of the siege or until they are destroyed by siege weaponry?

As far as I know, castle defenses have unlimited ammo, so I really need this info in order to set a standardized small but reasonably strong garrison that can keep the line while my castle defenses pounded the besieger’s morale and manpower.

I was thinking maybe two halberdiers per castle with ballista and catapults towers could hold at most what the AI throws and at the same time won’t starve?

Thanks for throwing any light into this.

[matteus the inbred]

so far as i know, a castle in general will keep firing until the garrison are all dead, although towers appear to stop once they've been destroyed. i assaulted a small fort with motte/bailey using trebuchets and a merc regiment of Byzantine swords, and even though my siege engines took out the keep building itself, my attacking units CONTINUED to take arrowfire casualties until the last defenders got taken out. not many,as it was a small castle, but assaults on big castles have cost me 3-400 men before now.

one thing that someone suggested to me was organ guns, if you have VI. very small garrison, lots of devastation. but yeah, one regiment of halberdiers would do the trick nicely, i think, as long as it's a 60 man or fewer. maybe dismounted knights as well.

[elbasto]

I thought about dismounted knights but wouldn't they starve quicker? (because of the horses I assume)

[Geezer57]

My experiences, plus what I've read, indicate that each "ring" of defenses keeps firing until either the individual towers are destroyed or there's no garrison within that section of the defenses. Once the enemy "captures" each concentric portion of the fortification, it no longer fires.

One wag told of hiding Hashishin on the far side of each ring from the point of attack - that way the towers would keep firing even after the gates were destroyed. The AI apparently will only "see" the hidden units when its units get quite close. This would also work with Sherwood Foresters - any unit able to "hide".

[Ironside]

Destroying all the wall segments together with all the towers also prevents arrow fire too.
How those wall segements attack is another issue though

[Frankymole]

Destroying all the wall segments together with all the towers also prevents arrow fire too.
How those wall segements attack is another issue though

Using arrow slits and battlements - that's what they're for!!

Remember the "castle defenders" who shoot arrows (and artillery from towers) are not your garrisoned troops - they're extra and come with (and hide in) the fortification structure. You doin't see them. You can have a garrison of only one man, and still all the towers and walls and gates shoot arrows/rocks/pour boiling oil :)