Reserves

[antisocialmunky]

I always set a giant massive single line but that ever feels right. Everything tells me that I should have several lines of infantry where one after another marches forward and falls down. However the AI always does a massive assault on your line so it seems better to frontload all your damage on the AI rather than spread it out by using a reserve.

So now, the AI pretty much rips my center to shreds, I kill it on the flanks and then it turns into 2 fights with it splitting its center in 2 to face my flanks and my horses smashing into them from where my center was.

:-\ Not really satisfying or epic. It would be so much nicer if reinforcements wasn't so retarded and we could control more than 20 units. We really should be controlling 40 or so for a proper experience.

[Warhammer3025]

The worst part is how we're forced into melee so damn quickly. Shooting it out with the AI on H or VH is suicide so if you want to win with as few losses as possible we gotta rush hard and pray you can hold em in placel ong enough for the cav to wheel and flank.

[quadalpha]

Have you tried doing what you suggested, viz., keep a reserve?

[Feanaro]

I think the AI is far too willing to engage in melee. It doesn't seem particularly historical, though I'm not well versed in the era. Worse, to me, it removes some of the fun of having firearms and guns. I want to shoot stuff, not play M:TW with some gussied up arqs!

I'd like to see a mod that increases infantry range needs half again, or perhaps double. Pretty poor accuracy at the far end though. Either seriously decrease infantry running speed or up the stamina penalty. Possibly lower morale for both attackers and defenders in melee. Give artillery better range and sightly better accuracy across the board. Maybe lower the height of bouncing cannonballs, if possible. They always seem to bounce right over everything.

[Ardri]

I'd like to see a mod that increases infantry range needs half again, or perhaps double. Pretty poor accuracy at the far end though. Either seriously decrease infantry running speed or up the stamina penalty. Possibly lower morale for both attackers and defenders in melee. Give artillery better range and sightly better accuracy across the board. Maybe lower the height of bouncing cannonballs, if possible. They always seem to bounce right over everything.

You may be interested in http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=240571. I haven't personally given it a try, but seems to be what you are looking for.

[Feanaro]

You may be interested in http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=240571. I haven't personally given it a try, but seems to be what you are looking for.

Oooh, thank you. I'm not necessarily wild about all the changes but until more accessible modding tools are available to tailor things to my taste, this might work.

[antisocialmunky]

Have you tried doing what you suggested, viz., keep a reserve?

Never saw the need to since techs don't really give you better guns nor does XP give you more range. So more guns being brought to bear would seem to be the winning strategy here, not holding guns back. Now, unless the first line can whittle down the enemy's whole line so you reserves can break them with a shot, that would be a different story. But the fact that they have more guns bearing on your fewer guns allows them to kill your army in piecemeal.

Actually the best strategy would be to shoot the enemy and fall back immediately and repeat so they can't set up and return fire.

[Prodigal]

The only time I've tried it is with line troops, sending grenadiers & 50% of cav out as a flanking assault force.

The AI seems to love chasing horse so can draw some off with them, while grenadiers bomb their way into the flank, keeps the pressure off the centre.

[Forward Observer]

While you can't do this early in the game, once you have teched up to the level of having cannister for the 3 and 12 pounder guns plus exploding shells and carcass for the howitzers, here's a technique that has worked well for me.

It also really helps to have your infantry teched up to the fire by ranks level.

In the center of my lines I alternate one or two cannister capable cannon units with my infantry units--if only one gun unit then it's dead center and if two they are on each side of the center infantry unit. I then place an reserve infantry unit directly in back of each cannon unit. These reserve units are set in mêlée mode and fire at will is turned off. They are actually mingling with the horses and limber.

I also try to have a gun unit at the end of each of my lines flanked by cavalry.

Then about distance of four rows back of center I place my howitzer units set to exploding shells and carcass shells. The howitzers are fairly high angle weapons, so they will shoot over your lines and soften up the enemy as they approach with all that nasty exploding stuff.

I leave my regular guns shooting solid shot until the enemy is with in cannister range and then change them all. The change to cannister is instantaneous even if the gun is loaded (hey, it's a game and not real life, so take advantage of it) I actually group all the guns in the center and the flanks so I only have to click one change to cannister for them all. I angle my flank gun units a bit
so they sometimes are spraying cannister shot in enfilade across the enemy lines. I've seen a lucky 3 gun cannister salvo take out 1/2 of a full unit of attackers. If that doesn't put a hurt on their morale, nothing will.

If your infantry is also teched up to fire by ranks, they will get 3 volleys off before they reload.

With this set up I have had the enemy center fully break without even having to go into mêlée and even if I do, it is usually over quickly because the attackers are so weakened by the time they reach my lines. If I feel the enemy is going to reach my guns, then I charge the reserve unit that I placed behind each cannon unit forward to intercept.

All of this requires a bit of micro management, but it worth it in the long run.

I don't know about others, but I always try to build an army with at least 6 or 7 artillery units and those bad boy howitzers have almost single handedly won several of my battles. Check my sig and you will know why.


Cheers

[HKDDJulker]

I don't know about others, but I always try to build an army with at least 6 or 7 artillery units and those bad boy howitzers have almost single handedly won several of my battles. Check my sig and you will know why.
Cheers

Haha with that many artillery units, if they don't win you the battle, your hosed! If 18 guns can't win it for you...

10 Inf and 6 arty vs 16 inf, should be inf every time i think...

RE: topic

I feel similarly about reserves. On VH, holding anyone out of the fight simply will not work when I fight stack to stack with no reinforcements. Its a darn shame, but putting more guns on the bad guys (ie committing everyone to the fight as quickly as possible) really does seem to be the best strategy. I don't seem to ever have time to do much maneuvering :(