Army formations

[iberus_generalis]

in vanilla i loved defending walls too, but then i started playing EB, and now the defenders of walls look a bit weaker, especially against hoplite units...sometimes my legionaries get totally wiped out by hoplit units using swords..i don't feel it's realistic...some chances for the invader is good, but overpowering them is too much...i just doesnt feel right that my soldiers defending walls get so many caualties and loose so much morale defending walls, man, they should not waver rout, and fight to the death and i cannot control them...maybe in sieges the defending units should stand their ground no matter what, cuz the don't have nowhere else to run to, or at least have the ability to fight thru the attackers and run away from the city, or run away through the alternative gates still under the control of the player...so i got smart and faced my invaders where i actually have a chance..the streets of the cities...tell me if you could hold this situation under control just by manning the walls....

guess not...they had rams,ladders,siege towers, and even a sapping point..

(this pics are some of those i posted in the EB screenshot Thread a few weeks ago...

moving units one by one is boring...i prefer forming my army group by group, but tend to keep my army all in a big formation...but then i put sub formations.. one for the infantary..other for the triarii backbone, and so on...sometimes i don't even have to strike flanks, cuz when the enemy atacks my ranks they see that my army is so well organized, and that they have no chance of breaking my line that it simply wavers and routs, and i play Hard/VeryHard....

[Lusitani]

Thanks a lot for your info guys. I know the importance of a good army setup...although i use the pre-made ones a lot i find that system too rigid to be actually usefull after a battle has begun...maybe EB could do something about it.

@iberus_generalis Avé Scalabitano!! Somos poucos mas bons hehehe, enviei-te uma private msg, Ab

[Orb]

With Armenia, I never found it much effort to deploy vs. Phalangites

1) HAs in front, they gun down any real cavalry the enemy has
2) Kluddolon mercs en masse in the centre, they suicide charge.
3) one weighted flank of heavy cav. overruns their side (flank while the enemy try to deal with mercs)
4) the other heavy cav. flank the other side if that goes to help.

[Rhyfelwyr]

I've only played as Rome so far on EB. What I do is put any Leves at the front of my army in loose formation, quite a bit ahead of the rest of the army. Then the backbone consists of my infantry, with Rorarii at the front, Hastati in the middle, and Principes at the back, all in one big manipular formation. I also put any non-Roman infantry, such as Samnites or Enoci Curoas, in front of the Rorarii. Triarii are at the far rear of the army in phalanx formation, with one other unit of infantry behind them to prevent them being flanked. Any cavalry go to the flanks, usually weighted towards on flank in particular. Accensi are also on the flanks of my army. So, the order of battle is:

1. Leves skirmish a little, then retreat through my army to the back to act as reserves next to the Triarii

2. Rorarii throw javelins and fight, Accensi fire from the flanks

3. If Rorarii start to struggle, Hastati throw javelins and engage throught the spaces left thanks to the manipular formation

4. If Hastati struggle, Principes join in

5. As Principes start to struggle, Triarii are sent in

Whenever the enemy morale changes to 'shaken' or 'wavering' I send in my cavalry round the rear to charge them, hoping to start a chain rout

[Zaknafien]

As the Romans I tend to deploy in the standard triplex acies, with allies on the wings of course.

And hey, the whole fight to the death thing--the Saguntines did it

[CountArach]

I like to make most of my armies along a similar vein. For example in my Casse armies I will have 4 Goidillic Spearmen, 4 Mala Gaeroas, 2 Calaware and Cwymr, 2 Chariots, 3 Sotaroas and 2 Goidillic Hammer guys and of course my general. I will set these up in the same way in every battle.

For those who are interested, the pattern is Spears to the front (They have the fast moving ability), Mala Gaeroas Behind on Fire at Will (Will panic the enemy front ranks very often, causing a massive morale drop, which the Spears can then capitalise on).
There is a cwymr, Calaware and Hammerer unit on both flanks, with a Chariot unit further out.
The Sotaroas stay behind my Mal Gaeroas and my general stays behind them.

It is utterly brilliant in defence.

[Discoskull]

My Casse formation is somewhat different. This is my standard army at the moment, which is, in comparison to some, rather easy on the upkeep... I only have 2 of these armies, though the further they travel from Gaul, the spicier they get...
All in all, this set-up is pretty flexible and relatively cheap.
Also, pretty easy to retrain.
I've been playing my campaign for awhile...my warriors have seen much bloodshed, and spilled much blood...and they're expert rapists. They've got it down to a science.


4 max-gold-chevroned Clyddabre (shortswordsmen) in front.

4 Mala Gaeroas behind them of various experience levels.

(those first two switch places if facing more than a couple cavalry units)

2 max-gold-chevroned Calawre behind the main lines, either side, who only get into it if things look bad.

2 Lugoae guarding the flanks to guard against...well, flanking. By cavalry. Always local troops, little experience, rarely armored.

2 silver/gold chevroned Spear-throwing cavalry.

1 max-gold-chevroned Brethen (sp), heavy cavalry.

1 max-gold-chevroned Sotaroas to hit all the right spots at the right times.

My fear-inspiring general, of course

Remaining 3 spots are filled with various units depending on the location - if available, always shock troops - mercenaries or elite local troops. More often than not, these are disbanded after the immediate threats are dealt with...




If facing any western European civ (lots of infantry), it's a cake walk.

If facing phalanx (which doesn't happen as often), the cheap Clyddabre hold the line with help from the Calawre, while the Mala Gaeroas either split up and widen the battle line or take on whatever enemy cavalry is present. The Lugoae help in this as well.
The elite local troops (I enjoy the shock variety) flank the phalanxes, along with the cavalry and archers. If this doesn't break the enemy line, then the sound of my general's chariots will always finish the job. Rarely do my chariots have to actually engage...which is good.
Mostly use my general to chase down and kill the enemy general when he is already exhausted and running for his life.

I have not yet had the opportunity to face all that many scythians with this. Good thing, really, since horse archers would eat this army alive.