Defensive Siege AI...

[DVX BELLORVM]

That is very good tactic, I also use it often, depending on a situation. The worst thing you can do during a siege, is to fight on the walls and central square.

[phonicsmonkey]

Hi - nice work

you might find some good ideas here if you get bored with that rinse-and-repeat tactic and want to try something else

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=88794

[ReiseReise]

Great strategy!!! Call me a fool, but I don't think taking cities should be too easy and therefore don't mind taking a few casualties doing it the traditional way ie meat waves. However I may have to try this out in my current Russia campaign because Const. has a huge garrison (~15 units), pretty unusual for the AI. I won't be ready to go down there for 20 turns or so but my spy has been checking it out. Right now I am torn between my original goal (and Victory Conditions) of an Asian Empire vs extending my recent conquest of Scandanavia over to the British Isles. I have all the steppe provinces except Bulgar, ready to build an army and pounce on Tblisi and Yerevan, but at the same time Britain is so much closer and richer... I have to decide between conquering and building up Asia and battling the mongols on my home turf (~50 turns away) or evicting England and Scotland (both have regions on the mainland, as Scotland took Bruges!?!?!?) which would give me a nicer economy to face the mongols from a safer distance (unless they appear by Sarkel ). The Britain route is much more interesting to me as a sort of alternate history, but the Asia route will be more difficult, which also makes it appealing.

[ReiseReise]

I've also found that once you punch a certain number of holes through the walls, the defending AI retreats to the city center, at which point they are at the mercy of your arty/missile units. Haven't experimented to find out how many holes, if it works on castles etc, its just something I noticed.

[Old Geezer]

From my experience in Kingdoms the AI does not always abandon the walls in such circumstances. I have shot the walls out from under men on the walls quite often when the AI has a large force in the settlement.

[rvg]

From my experience in Kingdoms the AI does not always abandon the walls in such circumstances. I have shot the walls out from under men on the walls quite often when the AI has a large force in the settlement.

I do not have Kingdoms, but in vanilla game this tactic works time and again.

[ReiseReise]

I actually first noticed it in Americas as Spain, I have never used much arty in vanilla. Punch a few holes in the walls and all the natives group together in the square to receive my lovely gift.