Cav domination (again) and other mtw2 thoughts

[Dorkus]

Finally got to play mtw2 a bit. didn't even bother with the campaign -- just tinkered a bit in custom battle. Some initial thoughts:

1. Cav are going to dominate, as in rtw. I won't be building anything but cav and peasants (for garrisoning) in the campaign. Cav charge is even more devastating than in rtw, and unlike in rtw, it seems that you can charge multiple times with equal effectiveness, even if your cav are fatigued.

A unit of armoured sergeants gets absolutely decimated 1on1 by most heavy cav. And non-spear units do even worse. JHI, despite their armor-piercing, literally are instantly annihilated by chivalric knights without doing any signifciant damage (2-3 knights, sometimes 0) themselves.

The only unit that does reasonably well against cav is a pike, since the charge bonus (as in rtw) is turned back against the cav. Even pikes do very poorly unless you spread out their formation a bit -- if cav charge in around the corners/flank, they'll send men flying all over the place.

2. Spears/pikes seem significantly nerfed, both against cav and other inf. Pikes can still do reasonably well if you spread out their formation, and give them support. But they seem to have problems engaging enemies unless you actually right click to attack. (They will stand there doing no damage, while the enemy infantry wakl straight into their pikes as if walking into a wall.) But if you do right click, they break formation.

3. Very disappointed in the lack of an easy way to manipulate unit stats. I scanned through the mtw2 directory, and no analog to the unit_descr file from previous tw games.

4. Gunpower units still seem very weak for their cost and tech requirements. Though i suppose, by the time they're available, cost probably isn't a problem. Still, as in mtw, i will probably end up ignoring them completely. Or at most including 1 unit for the morale effects.

[Widget Maker]

Cav seem to have become something akin to a glass cannon, whilst yes they can charge through a group of spear men and rout them in one charge, if anything goes wrong and they get bogged down then even basic militia units can often cause massive damage. The trick is simply to make your lines deep enough to absorb the charge so even if you lose that unit of speak militia to the charge their expensive knights will get cut to pieces.

I think they're including the tools to easily modify unit stats in the patch.

[Mechstra]

Plus peasants are crap garrison troops this time around - you want militia instead. Free upkeep in cities plus they don't have the public-order-keeping penalties that peasants have.

[Djurre]

wtf, i have yet to see a good charge from my own cavalry....

[Rurik the Chieftain]

It seems like there are a lot of conflicting accounts of the quality of cavalry and cavalry charges around here. Some say they are moronic ninnies who shy away from charges at the last second and gently caress the enemy when they do charge. Others, like Dorkus, claim cavalry to be unstoppable killing machines that explode through enemy ranks like a sledgehammer on a watermelon. I can't wait to see what this is all about when I get it in a few days.

[Garnier]

I have seen both occurences. Once I charged a group of mailed knights at a wall of egyptian spears, and the succeded in carrying out the charge without stopping before arriving. The spearwall was completely squished as if by a steamroller, no one got away. It didnt look good at all, basically the horsemen rode right through and the spearmen all did their hollywood death animation.

But most of the time, my charges have stopped before arriving at the enemy, drawn swords and walked to their deaths.

[Ibn Munqidh]

1. Cavalry need to be well lined up and facing their target unit to perform a proper, well penetrating charge, otherwise, they will become in bogged in a bloody melee fight and made in to mincemeat.

2. The cavalry seem to be more realistic (atleast to me), if they charge a well braced, deep ranked unit, plus on guard mode, they will get slaughtered, no matter how well armoured they are. However, if they manage to make a proper charge, at a thin unit, or one that is manouvering (not stationed), they will chop it up and rout it instantly.

[Cheetah]

It seems like there are a lot of conflicting accounts of the quality of cavalry and cavalry charges around here. Some say they are moronic ninnies who shy away from charges at the last second and gently caress the enemy when they do charge. Others, like Dorkus, claim cavalry to be unstoppable killing machines that explode through enemy ranks like a sledgehammer on a watermelon. I can't wait to see what this is all about when I get it in a few days.

It depends on whther you played a custom game (like Dorkus) or campaign battles (or MP). In custom games 1 knight vs 1 armoured sergeant knights feel like sledgehammer. In a campaign battle or in MP where you have terrain, other troops, and and an eager opponent to outmanouver you a clean cav charge is a lot more difficult make, thus cav does not feel to be overpowered, in fact it is not overpowered at all.