Stakes - Archers....

[Artimus the Conquerer]

simple basic question...
i have no idea why i cant figure this out, so im asking...

how do you set up stakes for archers?
if i have longbowmen -- using england...
where is the selection or choice to set them up -- during or before battle?

i apologize again for the basicness of this question...
any help is appreciated.

thanks!

[econ21]

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...97&postcount=1

[Slaists]

Before the battle begins, archers by default are frequently positioned too close to "the red line". Position them a bit away from it an the option to deploy stakes appears. Also: watch out for roads: cannot deploy on those.

[Gdek]

And a related question... what precisely is the effect of stakes? The few times I've deployed them, they seem to have limited effect. Are they intended to do anything other than deter a cavalry charge?

I haven't really noticed that they do that, and they certainly don't seem to have any effect on infantry.

Gdek

[Lusted]

They're only effective against cav, try getting some cav to charge into them and you'll see what they do.

[vonsch]

They're only effective against cav, try getting some cav to charge into them and you'll see what they do.

I just used them in bridge battles with Mongols last night. I lined the edges of the road at the bridge head, angling them to point at the exit from the bridge. Placing them that close is a pain as the road itself and a lot of the shoulder (especially when angling them) and the red line all interfere. But it's possible. And with some anti-cav spears to bottle the gap, you get a nice pocket.

Cav that charges into them (which they resist doing!) gets impaled. And infantry doesn't like them either, but can slip through. They disrupt any formation so they stop charge effects.

You have to place the unit in the setup phase, then deploy the stakes. If you move the unit's position in the setup phase, the stakes are torn out. So if you want to deploy stakes but have the unit elsewhere, you need to move the unit as soon as you start the battle.

I prefer melee infantry behind them and the archers up the slope with a line of fire over them to having the archers right behind them. Usually. If you do put the archers right behing them and they have much melee ability, don't forget to turn skirmish off right away. The unit behind them can be nicely formed, and the arriving unit will be disrupted, so the carnage can be lovely.

They are also very nice for protecting artillery. A little upsidedown U around the artillery discourages cav charges on it, while not impeding fire badly. Only tried this with pre-gunpowder so far. Some of the flatter firing stuff may hit the stakes.

I love stakes. They make me really like longbows, Janissary archers and the like.

[Morgomir]

place your your infantry on the stakes and longbows -skirmish off- behind. put your infantry on top of another to hide the stakes. the enemy will not see the stakes and if youre lucky he will charge directly into it. watch how enemy cav get thrown off their steeds.

[Hochmeister]

I love stakes. They make me really like longbows, Janissary archers and the like.

I have checked the faq but couldnt find anything. My question is what other archers can use stakes apart from the above?

[Slaists]

I have checked the faq but couldnt find anything. My question is what other archers can use stakes apart from the above?

Lithuanian archers. And that's about it (Longbows, Janissaries and Lithuanians)

[Bobo]

But be careful if you move your own troops after deployment. If you run your own cavalry through they will also suffer. I lost quite a couple of Hospitallers that way...
I prefer not to place stakes unless I'm sure that my deployment area is where I'll be staying and the enemy will be coming to me.

[Juergen Geist]

Good Tips on the deployment of stakes. I also like to use stakes when my castle or city is underseige. I place the Archeres behind the gate, and run a long line down the wall. They usually like to bust in at the gate and both sides flanking the main gate with their seige equipment. SO if you buy enough archers for defence, ( I usualluy have 4 to 5 archer units per frontline terrortories) you can really defeat the Charge attacks when they do penetrate your walls, and then with spearmen, or Pikes wreak havoc on their cavalry.

I usally make my 20 unit defences as follows;

*General
*5 Archer Units
*4 Cavalry Units (Used to run outside the side of the castle with the General and cause extreme damage when the invader is seiging my walls, and when they have penetrated my defences. The Attack from mass Cavalry from behind is very devestating. (They also destroy fleeing units in mass)
5-6 Spearmen/Pike Units
5 Swordman Units

I have never lost a Seige battle as of yet.

[Slug For A Butt]

Maybe someone can give me some pointers. I almost always find that I deploy stakes in defence and then the enemy come at me from a different angle making my stakes useless. Is the answer to deploy further back nearer a corner like the hoplites in RTW which I always thought was a bit lame? Or am I really missing something?

[Slaists]

with sufficient number of archers, when on defense, one can effectively create a square of stakes (place the adjacent archer units so they overlap. that will create stakes with no gaps between them). of course, one has to rearrange the archers after the deployment (placing the archers inside the stakes and letting them skirmish back if charged by cavalry is an option).

[Juergen Geist]

For me this works, 90% of the time..

Set up phase if your out in the field and defending, Place the Archers in a line or on the flanks creating a stake wall either on your flanks or in the Center.

Then use spearmen to offset where you put the stakes, if you placed the stakes in the center put Spearmen on your flanks so cavalry can not come in on you from either the sides or the rear, if he does move to the rear, hopefully you have some units as reserve to take out this threat, or at least impede the mobile charge from cavalry.

if your in a castle, I like to set up spikes behind the castle wall, but only works early, because later if you get rock paths, or roads its rather difficult to deploy them, unless your right up against the wall. this will create a barrier, becuase they always attack the gate, and its flanking positions.

Use spearmen on the sides to rush the cavalry from both sides or from 3 sides creating a box of sorts, from the breach point.

Hopefully this helps you out.

[gardibolt]

Playing as the English, about half the time my archers will only deploy stakes if they are on the walls, and not if they are on the ground. I fail to see the utility of stakes on the walls....not a lot of horsies up there. I'm assuming this is some kind of bug, but I haven't seen anyone else mention this problem.

[vonsch]

Playing as the English, about half the time my archers will only deploy stakes if they are on the walls, and not if they are on the ground. I fail to see the utility of stakes on the walls....not a lot of horsies up there. I'm assuming this is some kind of bug, but I haven't seen anyone else mention this problem.

Well, they're mighty handy when the cavalry comes up those ladders!

[HoreTore]

Well, if you're looking to kill all the enemy cavalry with your stakes, you'll be disappointed...

IMO, the way to use stakes, is to have a place where the enemy cavalry will NOT attack. They'll probably go around, if they do try to charge through, they'll die. So, if you deploy stakes, you suddenly have a cavalry-free area. That can easily be used to your advantage...

The stakes are primarily a tactical thing, not a killing thing.