Useless units?

[LordK9]

With archers and horse archers you can hold alt while clicking to attack while they still have arrows. (While holding alt the mouse icon will change from a bow to a sword)

With Turcoman Horse 'they can be ordered to charge' meaning because their stats are good enough that they can also be used as light cavalry, whereas vanilla HA are too weak to do so.

I personally prefer units like Byzantine Cavalry or Boyars; While they are slower than light horse archers which makes them not as good at skirmishing, they are much more durable and have even better attack.
And with the armor especially it makes them much better at missile dueling with all the vanilla HA the factions surrounding the Byzantines and Russians have.

Wow! All this time lamenting about inability to charge and it is actually possible. Many thanks! (I wonder how many other obscure things can be done that I have no knowledge of - I do miss the days of hundred page rule books)

[Stazi]

Wow! All this time lamenting about inability to charge and it is actually possible. Many thanks! (I wonder how many other obscure things can be done that I have no knowledge of - I do miss the days of hundred page rule books)

Looks like you've never played the tutorial. Try it. It's good.

[Gilrandir]

Looks like you've never played the tutorial. Try it. It's good.

And there is always the manual. Try it too. It's gooder.

[LordK9]

Did the tutorial and read the manual. Didn't remember that little tidbit, though (likely because in VI there isn't much in the way of mounted archers (I think the Picts might have had mounted crossbows but I find most (sorry guys) mounted archers not all, that useful so generally have 0-2 in my army). Not sure where the manual is now - that may be the problem :)

[caravel]

I don't remember playing the tutorial in MTW... but probably (I think that's the one where the Scots (rebels) invade?). I learned the basics from the tutorial in STW, in that first battle you have a unit of SA vs the enemy's YS, you cannot win the battle unless you take up the best position, hit them with enough volleys to bring their numbers down and then charge them.

HA's are tricky to get used to. When anyone starts out with HAs they will have a few disasters. Controlling large numbers is very tricky, especially if like me you do not use pause, but you do get used to it if you persevere. I find that that skirmish mode has little usefulness for HAs (it effectively means you're not in control - and skirmishing doesn't work that well for foot archers either) unless you feel they're safe enough and want to concentrate on another area of the battle.

[Gilrandir]

Not sure where the manual is now - that may be the problem :)

I can send you a pdf-format manual if you give me your e-mail or any other contact. And there is always "A beginner's guide to MTW" which contained a bunch of eye-openers for me even after 5 or so years of playing.

[caravel]

To save Gildrandir the trouble, I had a look here: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local....php?catid=166

Which turned up these...

MTW-GoldManual.zip: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local...tid=166&id=786
Medieval_Total_war_manual.zip: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local...tid=166&id=777
MTW-VI_tech_tree.zip: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local...tid=166&id=743

Haven't checked them myself, but might be worth a look...


Also the guides section: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forum...47-M-TW-Guides

I've not read any of that myself, but I've no doubt you'll find it useful - especially frog's guide.


And of course the numerology thread at .com:

http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topic...umerology.html (original archived site)
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthrea...War-Numerology (recreated thread at the new live forums)

[LordK9]

Gilrandir, thanks for the offer. It looks like using this site's on-line manuals will save us both some effort (thanks Caravel). But dog gone it, now I don't have an excuse! I had hard copies so it never occurred to me to look online (duh!).