Do's and don't

[Skoran]

Well ive been playing RTW and EB for years now but when I look around on the forum I still read stuff that make me say "wtf I didnt knew that"
For example: I just read that you putting your hoplites in guard mode on the walls is not good. I had no idea (I usuall fight with guard mode on). Why is this?

Are their any other things that most ppl dont know but that can save lives/give an advantage/.... ?

[Vasiliyi]

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=103424

Eb game play guides. Should help a bit.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Are their any other things that most ppl dont know but that can save lives/give an advantage/.... ?

The list for RTW is endless. Guard mode will only work if you are trying to hold the line. Your soldiers will barely fatigue, if at all, and their defence is better due to the adherence to the formation, and all soldiers facing the enemy directly, but if you attack a unit, switch the guard mode off. Not to mention various bugs happen when attacking in guard mode, where only some soldiers fight, but not all.

On the wall, guard mode will slaughter your men. I once had Hastati holding the walls of Ippone against kart-Hadastim, with Numidian skirmisher unit wiping out 8 men (large Unit Size) before I realised I forgot to turn the guard mode off. Once I did, the Hastati slaughtered the skirmishers without a single casualty. Note the skirmishers were coming from the ladders, right in front of Hastati.

In guard mode, soldiers do not move to attack the enemy. This can prove crucial if the enemy has long overhand spears and you have shortswords. The Hoplitai Haploi, the levy hoplites, can annihilate Hastati this way. In general, even when defending, sword units should be put off the guard mode.

Spear unit are another matter. Mostly the spear units with long spears should be put on the guard mode. This does not apply to the Celtic (for example) spear units, who have short underhand thrusting spears. For them, guard mode is best left off, although it is also feasible to leave it on. Going back to the units with long spears, Triarii, Hoplitai, Hoplitai Haploi, and such do the best in a tight formation on guard mode. In such formation, they suffer the least casualties while being just as effective due to their ultra-long spears. They do especially well in guard mode against other sword units, who must come very close to attack with swords, while even the second row of Triarii can jab at them.

[Exosus]

A lot of it is just stopping to consider your choices. It goes against the grain, at least for me, because I tend to think in terms of games rather than in terms of history. Any historical game I have played tends to operate by the conventions of gaming, so thinking of things as if they were real was an invalid and frustrating way of doing things.

The more I've overcome that, the better I have played. Just a thought.

[Urg]

A lot of it is just stopping to consider your choices. It goes against the grain, at least for me, because I tend to think in terms of games rather than in terms of history. Any historical game I have played tends to operate by the conventions of gaming, so thinking of things as if they were real was an invalid and frustrating way of doing things.

The more I've overcome that, the better I have played. Just a thought.

I think what Skoran has in mind is the little tricks in the game that few people know about, not general strategy advice.

One example is guard mode (or not) for troops on walls.

Another example I can think of was posted a few weeks ago by someone (Paulus?) saying that archer units get an accuracy penalty if their formation is more than 3-deep.

Tricks that have nothing to do with strategy, but are nevertheless important for gameplay.

[Skoran]

I think what Skoran has in mind is the little tricks in the game that few people know about, not general strategy advice.

One example is guard mode (or not) for troops on walls.

Another example I can think of was posted a few weeks ago by someone (Paulus?) saying that archer units get an accuracy penalty if their formation is more than 3-deep.

Tricks that have nothing to do with strategy, but are nevertheless important for gameplay.

Exactly. I want to know those little tricks :)

[Satyros]

The list for RTW is endless. Guard mode will only work if you are trying to hold the line. Your soldiers will barely fatigue, if at all, and their defence is better due to the adherence to the formation, and all soldiers facing the enemy directly, but if you attack a unit, switch the guard mode off. Not to mention various bugs happen when attacking in guard mode, where only some soldiers fight, but not all.

On the wall, guard mode will slaughter your men. I once had Hastati holding the walls of Ippone against kart-Hadastim, with Numidian skirmisher unit wiping out 8 men (large Unit Size) before I realised I forgot to turn the guard mode off. Once I did, the Hastati slaughtered the skirmishers without a single casualty. Note the skirmishers were coming from the ladders, right in front of Hastati.

In guard mode, soldiers do not move to attack the enemy. This can prove crucial if the enemy has long overhand spears and you have shortswords. The Hoplitai Haploi, the levy hoplites, can annihilate Hastati this way. In general, even when defending, sword units should be put off the guard mode.

Spear unit are another matter. Mostly the spear units with long spears should be put on the guard mode. This does not apply to the Celtic (for example) spear units, who have short underhand thrusting spears. For them, guard mode is best left off, although it is also feasible to leave it on. Going back to the units with long spears, Triarii, Hoplitai, Hoplitai Haploi, and such do the best in a tight formation on guard mode. In such formation, they suffer the least casualties while being just as effective due to their ultra-long spears. They do especially well in guard mode against other sword units, who must come very close to attack with swords, while even the second row of Triarii can jab at them.

I have found much to my dismay that guard mode doesn't work for hoplites when defending on the walls .

Mine ( a spartan hoplite unit , not the levies ) were being butchered ( about 20 casualties and showing the "defeat is certain , only a military genius could win the battle " ) by some Akontistai , until I turned guard mode off , then they slaughtered the Akontistai suffering only 4 casulties further.

I never used guard mode since when on walls , even with my hoplites .

Satyros

[Aemilius Paulus]

I have found much to my dismay that guard mode doesn't work for hoplites when defending on the walls .

Yes, thank you for the clarification . I did state that all units should have Guard Mode turned off on walls, but then said that hoplites must keep their guard mode, forgetting to insert the exception for walls. I did not, however, mean to say that they should keep it on the walls.

Basically, anyone with guard mode on while standing on the walls will not do anything to attack and just stand there while getting hit by the attacking enemy. This is usually the case with the enemy units coming from ladders, and not the enemy units who have already fully moved themselves to the walls though.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Yeah, guard mode also keeps your men from wrapping around the enemy in a field battle. I s'pose you knew that already...

Another wierd one I heard about was that you should deploy archers in a max of 3 ranks, or else their accuracy/rate_of_fire is lowered.

Is it the Ludus Magna in the RTW forum where they research all this stuff?

[Aemilius Paulus]

Is it the Ludus Magna in the RTW forum where they research all this stuff?

Yes, I always refer people with questions about RTW game mechanics there.