Army Structure & Recruitment

[caravel]

This is one more area that RTW/M2TW was worse - the mounted missiles didnt need any skill and good judgement to play with really - since they were shooting on the run/march. In doing so, while SP enthusiasts were happy since that was perceived as *more realism*, gameplay wise HA were in those too games simply devastating (since they couldnt be caught and by virtue of their mobility they could surround and enemy army and fire from all directions ensuring that shields were no protection to their victims) while requiring almost no skill to control.

I liken them to (very) "mobile arrow towers" that move like a flock of birds/shoal of fish. There is no skill whatsoever in using horse archers in RTW. In fact when I first played RTW I went straight for the Parthian faction. Very disappointing all round. Silly and weak Cataphracts on mini horses and eastern infantry and hillmen spam that AI loves(called hillmen because they are famous for shouting "run to the hills" as they rout off the field). The only decent units are the HAs and using them to fight every battle is very boring.

Anyway HA usage in MTW is quite an art. I don't proclaim to be the expert, far from it, but I've had a lot of success in SP battles by turning off skirmish and effectively micromanaging the HAs. It's all about positioning and you should almost never actually order the unit to attack. It's best to let them find their own targets or place them in a position where you know they'll target the unit(s) that you want them too. Occasionally you do have to give them targets them but in general this should be the exception. I also make a lot of use of "fire at will" by toggling this on and off you can get your HAs to unleash volleys when required and it also helps to conserve ammo.

I find that with any missile unit there is no point in shooting to kill. The biggest advantages missile units give you is obviously range and in the "under fire" morale penalty that the attacked unit comes under. Also once the unit is under strength their morale drops lower. This is why on the occasions where I will target the enemy specifically (though this mainly applies to foot archers) I tend to target a unit until it's somewhat damaged and then switch to another unit, I never waste ammo shooting a unit to destruction as once a unit gets smaller you get more wasted arrows. I will also try to hit the lowest calibre unit first to rout it and then quickly switch to another. If you can have your HA's take up positions on the flanks the damages is greater. Also the morale penalty for an enemy unit being on the flanks is added to the equation.

HA's such as Turcoman Horse are good, because they have a decent attack. I like to bring my HAs suddenly swarming in for the kill on a weakened and isolated unit, or a unit that has exposed a flank and has switched to loose formation - indeed using HAs in this fashion can often change the course of a battle.