Dealing with hoards

[Syxx_Killer]

Hi guys. I have had BI for a while now, but never really got into it. Well, I modified the descr_strat file to unlock some more factions. I was playing as the Celts. Those guys are awesome. I think they are my favorite faction in BI. Anyway, I played long enough to get up to 150,000 denari. I was doing ok until the hoards arrived! What pain they are. It started with the Sarmations. I had pushed Rome-West off Briton and killed off the Romano-British that appeared. I captured the other city I have to capture on the mainland (I forget the name, I think it was Avaricum). I'm horrible at remembering city names. Anyway, I move west and take their city on the coast. It is the one above Spain. I had a full stack army of gallowglasses, three noble cavalry, and two family members. I was stuck at that city because of the Sarmation hoard. It was a hard battle, but I was able to beat them back. I sure wish I would have chased them down. Next came the Vandal hoard a couple turnes later. I had just enough time to retrain my troops and train a couple new ones for reinforcements. I was able to beat the Vandal hoards back. This time I chased them down and killed off the family members. Avaricum rebelled on me and I lost that. Shortly after the Goths arrive! They try taking my city on the coast but I again beat them back. They take Avircum from the rebels and settle down. I create a new army and start pushing into Spain to kill of the Western Romans. I am working my way south, clockwise across Spain. Then the Burgundii hoards arrive at my coastal city. I was able to fight them back with my main army and reinforcements. Each time a new hoard arrives, it seems like it is stronger than the last. They head south into Spain and eventually beseige my lightly garrisoned city there. I send my main army from the coastal city to the north to help. I beat them back yet again. In the mean time, the Sarmations had settled down in Corduba. I go to take the city, and after I took it, they went hoard on me again. They head east and lay seige to the city there. I again send my bigger army in Corduba to help out the other city. I was going to try and kill off their family members again. I left Corduba lightly garrisoned. I manage to kill of one family member but the hoard scatters after that battle. I chase down two other family members but just as I do, one of their smaller armies lay siege to Corduba! I only have a few peasants there. I send my army to try and help, but not in time. They attack and take back the city. I take it back and again they hoard on me! I have to hunt them down again! They have four full stacks again and new family members. I would have to retrain my army which would take too long. On top of that the Burgundii were still in Spain and I was chasing them with yet another big army. Shortly after the Sarmations went hoard on me again, I quit the game. It was so frustrating! How do you guys handle hoards? Do you chase them down and try to kill off their family members? Sorry for such a long post.

[Quillan]

In my experience, to wipe out a horde, you need to kill off the family members, which isn't as easily done as it is said. For starters, a general with the Night Attacker trait is incredibly valuable. It allows you to just pick on one army out of a mass and kill it, but you have to be certain to finish off the generals completely in the battles. Many times I've had one or two members of the bodyguard manage to make it off the field, and the bodyguard comes right back within a couple of turns. Assassinating them is great, when they have traits that make it easier and you have assassins good enough to do it, but that combination is rather rare.

I read a strategy that I found rather silly and cheesy, but effective, for dealing with the last city of a faction that will go into horde when you take it. The idea was to assault the city and kill off the generals, then deliberately lose the battle. Withdraw after their family members are all dead, and the faction will be destroyed. At that point you can capture the city from the rebels. Otherwise, taking the city just brings up a new horde.

Another possible tactic is attrition. Make mass numbers of cheap troops under captains, and go fight. Don't worry about winning or losing, just kill as many enemy as you can. As long as the fighting is in the field, you aren't losing anything, and they are getting weaker.

[Conradus]

So that's why the roxolani horded against me just now? I finished their heir and king in their only city (the very beginning as Huns) and yet after the battle they had a huge horde standing next to me

[Afro Thunder]

I read a strategy that I found rather silly and cheesy, but effective, for dealing with the last city of a faction that will go into horde when you take it. The idea was to assault the city and kill off the generals, then deliberately lose the battle. Withdraw after their family members are all dead, and the faction will be destroyed. At that point you can capture the city from the rebels. Otherwise, taking the city just brings up a new horde.

I actually tried that once as the Huns against the Roxolani. I killed off the faction leader and heir, and then scattered to the four winds. No luck. Maybe I should have killed the other guy too?

[Ciaran]

Yes, you have to kill every named family member, which, I might add, is harder in BI than in RTW, as the AI withdraws the family members at times to keep them from getting killed. It´s important to kill the actual general figure, he´s the important one, if he makes it off the field, he´ll come back with new bodyguards. If he´s the first to die, don´t worry about the rest of his unit, it´ll disband after the battle. Every time you actually kill a family member you should get the "enemy general killed" message, even if the one in question wasn´t actually commanding an army stack.

And the assasination difficulty has picked up in BI as well, training assasins up on rebels is way more difficult now. What that means for family members or faction leaders I don´t have to elaborate, I think.