Besieging for RTW players

[maximus overlord]

Besieging made easy!
The easiest way to capture any settlement is maintaining siege until: A)the enemy attacks you, or B)they all starve and the settlement surrenders.
B) doesn't happen a lot, but I swear I captured Pergamum this way. I was really disappointed...Thought the Greeks would bring their Spartans in. Yawn.
If A) happens, you have a huge strategic advantage. Use to the max your missile troops and machinery, and watch out for the enemy trying to crush your flank with some troops he sent by a side-gate. Simple enough, you should be able to hold on if you aren't using Peasants as your main attacking force.
Thats it for now

[Comrade Alexeo]

Good tips. This is generally my strategy, and is particularly useful against Epic Stone Walled-settlements because the ballistas in the towers will absolutely devastate your siege towers.

Some other tips:

Battering rams

Generally only useful against wooden palisades and walls, because they easily burst into flame from enemy archers and towers. If you're going to use them against stone walls, have at least two per assault position; higher walls, 3+, if you even bother with them. Against wooden walls, they can still catch if the enemy has archers, so it's wise to send some fodder (skirmishers, other archers, legionaries in testudo) to have the enemy waste their arrows on.

Ladders

If you want to force the walls ,the enemy has many archers, and you have numerical infantry superiority, you might want to try these. Though your troops are highly exposed when using them and they're prone to bugs, ladders don't catch on fire so you don't have to worry about losing them. When assaulting walls with ladders, ALWAYS have multiple waves because the intial attackers will be cut to ribbons as they attack the enemy; either keep troops back out of archer range, or keep legionaries in testudo at the base of the ladders. Assuming all goes to plan, your first wave will establish a foothold and allow more of your troops to continue pouring onto the wall and eventually force the wall by sheer weight of numbers.

Siege towers

These are almost certainly the "standard" method of assault. Siege towers are very effective because a large mass of units can hit the enemy all at once, instead of piecemeal as with ladders, and reserves can wait in the "protected" tower. This protection isn't perfect, however; if your opponent has a lot of archers, or if you're attacking Epic Stone Walls, your towers will soon turn into big piles of wood. BE SURE TO SET FIRE AT WILL "ON" - the towers will fire either volleys of arrows or, more devastatingly, ballista bolts at the wall defenders.

Sap points

I used to use these quite a bit more often, but I've stopped for the most part. Sap points are the only "guaranteed" way to breach a cities walls (the sap point itself can theoretically be set on fire, but I've never actually seen the AI manage it), and can, with luck, knock out a lot of the enemy if they're standing on the breached section, but they come with some drawbacks: you can't pick where the sap point is placed, you have a very poor assault position (an easily-defended choke point that is covered by towers and archers since you never took out either of them), and if you do take the city you have to pay quite a pretty penny to repair that gaping big hole you made. Think of them as creating another gateway into the city - NOT as a key to the doors. If you've got a lot of money to spend on refurbishing walls, you might want to give these a go. Keep in mind that only walls, never towers, are undermined.

[bedlam28]

Just thought I would mention this as advise as it fits this line.

I am extremely impatient when it comes to sieges and yet find that daunting climb up the tower an un-enticing preference.
So when your intending to take a city, and before you lay seige, check if there is another of the enemies army next to the target city. It may be guarding ( especially on the far side where you may have not spotted it - Spy time...), or just entering/leaving but if you can get it whilst its close enough to the city the guys inside will come to the armies rescue, rather than hiding behind their very big walls.

Now its just a matter of surviving a normal field Battle from 2 sides, but as usually a garrison is quite small you should be able to handle it. Wipe them out, and any that escape will become the new garrison.

Ive taken a city with 3 men inside guarding a huge city before, due to the AI's desire to attack my seige from behind... knocked 8 turns off my wait.

[Calgacus]

Excellent posts guys. I'm currently playing as Britannia and am having some difficulty taking the cities of the more advanced civilisations, who have a rather nifty line in large stone walls. I could starve them out, but find that relieving armies keep forcing me to break off the siege, and I keep having to start again. Obviously if I try ramming my way through an epic stone wall, my brave lads are going to find themselves on the sharp end of many arrows, and more boiling oil than is good for them, long before the walls are scratched.

Would you have any tips for quickly taking stone-walled cities with barbarian factions? Sapping sounds like an option - can Britannia sap? Also, as barbarians cannot use stone, can they repair damage to stone walls once they have taken a city?

[Miloshus]

Besieging made easy!
The easiest way to capture any settlement is maintaining siege until: A)the enemy attacks you, or B)they all starve and the settlement surrenders.
B) doesn't happen a lot, but I swear I captured Pergamum this way. I was really disappointed...Thought the Greeks would bring their Spartans in. Yawn.
If A) happens, you have a huge strategic advantage. Use to the max your missile troops and machinery, and watch out for the enemy trying to crush your flank with some troops he sent by a side-gate. Simple enough, you should be able to hold on if you aren't using Peasants as your main attacking force.
Thats it for now

I usually attack settlement before they attack me, and before they starve to death I think its more fair.

Try playing on hard, its more fun

[bedlam28]

Fair is Fair Milo,
I agree with you and as an impatient Siege'er I tend to attack first too, if there is no useful army nearby to use as a lure.

Not sure I would call it 'fair' though, when the enemy stand on walls towering over my army shooting arrows at me as I slowly push my towers close, then watch as only 1 lil' begger can climb up the ladder at a time to be met by full stacks of annoyed enemys standing on the wall ready to stab and prod us off the walls.

For info I play on H/H so believe me my men bleed.




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