Combat M2TW

Various Combat Arms Usage

What I recommend is pick your faction and start a campaign. Go to the building browser for a settlement and right click on the troop producing buildings. They will list what troops you can get at what level. If you right click on the unit, it will pull up the unit card with a full description and the key stats. That way you can see your entire unit line up and what buildings you need to get them.

Beyond that, M2TW is not that dissimilar from other Total War games.

A list of Faction units and stats can be found by clicking on the 'M2TW Unit' link at the bottom of the page.

Stats

In earlier Total War games, a good summary measure of unit combat effectiveness was their attack stat and their combined defence stat (armour+shield+defence skill). The chance to kill was driven by the difference between attack and defence stats, so each could be regarded as roughly of equal importance. In STW and MTW, a one point difference in the (attack - defence) differential led to an increase in the kill rate of about 20%. In RTW, the stats differed more and the corresponding increase was about 10%. In M2TW, we have no hard information yet but since the game uses a modified RTW engine, a 10% effect seems plausible.

However, in M2TW (and also RTW), the attack animations of the units also play a role, so the stats alone do not tell the whole story. This was seen most visibly in 1.0 and 1.1 when many two handed units could not damage cavalry much due to their animations. Due to differences in the animations, some units may hit more rapidly than others.

Beyond the attack and combined defence stats, the player should consider a range of other factors: - Unit size: as Stalin said, quantity has a quality all of its own. - Charge stat: this is particularly important for cavalry (it adds to their attack value if "charging" or if following through on a charge) - Morale: on VH, militia will often prove fragile due to low morale - The range, rate of fire and ammunition limit of any missiles - Unit speed (this is especially important for cavalry wanting to catch routing enemy cavalry, e.g. defeated generals!) - Armour piercing weapons: this may halve the effect of enemy armour. - Spears vs swords? Spears are more effective against cavalry, less effective against infantry. - Does the unit have a special formation? Phalanxes make pikes almost invulnerable to frontal melee attack on level ground. etc

General's bodyguards have two hit points making them twice as hard to kill. They also regenerate losses between battles.

In MP, the purchase price of the unit is the cost and should represent CA's assessment of the unit's overall combat effectiveness. However, in SP, upkeep is likely to have a much bigger effect on the overalll cost of a unit (providing surival prospect are not too grim). Upkeep is not closely tied to combat effectiveness and so some units are clear bargains (e.g. England's armoured swordsmen are more effective than the more expensive Dismounted Feudal Knights and cost about the same as far inferior militia).

Sieges

Sitting out a siege reduces the number of tiresome siege battles you have to fight and also paces your expansion, perhaps producing a more challenging game since the AI has more time to build up. However, storming settlements may bring you closer to victory. Here are some reasons:

1. Siege battle is the best place to clear out your low-tech troops such as militia which could give room to maintain better troops.

2. Each settlement at least give you 700 forin per turn which could recruit 2~3 low tech troops. Lets say you sit for 5 turns on a sieging a settlement you actually lost 4~5k forin potential income. By comparing the cost of the troops you may lost in battle, it does not worth it. [You will only lost 40~100 militia men in early game by taking a settlement even on VH/VH, and they only cost around 700 forin.]

3. Sitting on siege is a waste of your army force, especially for France you have lots of bother to defend.

4. Time is important, the faster to take the settlement, the quicker you establish your power and develop your faction. At least this is true for France.

It's all a matter of taste and preference.

Siege example:

Breach the walls (Not the gate) preferrably opposite one of the main raods to the settlement centre. If you have any artillery take out any dangerous looking towers first.

Having made the breach move forward your missile troops and place them as close to the breach as possible so that they fire through it into the defenders on the other side. (You will probably need to limit firing to one unit at a time, otherwise you are wasting missiles.)

If the enemy bunch on the approaches to the city centre as they sometimes do then then use massed fire arrows to thin their ranks and panic them.

If the enemy fall back from the breach and approachs to the town centre then move your best heavy infantry through the breach and order them to block the approach roads, remembering to cover the approaches from right and left not just the main route to the centre (especially if the enemy has cavalry). Choose this location with care preferably just behind a point where the street narrows and never with a side road just behind one of your flanks (unless you have a spare unit to block that too).

Having established a foothold inside the walls move selected units of missile troops through and deploy them just ahead of your blocking force on the road to the town centre. (Don't let them fire at will, they will just waste arrows in house walls, choose deliberate targets and use fire arrows if the fire is parabollic)

Move the blocking force and missile screen forward slowly preferably using the overwatch system where one group stands firm and the other moves.

Let the missile unit trigger counter attacks by the defenders along the street and then kite the attackers onto the heavy infantry or spearmen and let them deal with the attack. (Remember to switch 'Skirmish mode off' on the missile unit otherwise it will do really weird things, and don't leave your withdrawal too late as missile troops tend to dither before running.)

Rinse and repeat, until your assault group reaches the town centre or the enemy runs out of troops, or both. Upon reaching the town centre don't move anything inside the flagged objective area. Move forward and deploy your heavy infantry around the edge and then march any remaining missile units forward and empty the rest of your missiles into the defenders clustered around the objective.

If you run out of arrows before killing them all bring up your cavalry to deliver the 'coupe de gras' or merely have your infantry finish them.

I find this minimises my casualties during an assault and the only real threat is usually the General's Personal Bodyguard who can normally chew up the blocking force if its formation isn't solid enough to prevent penetration.

The AI seems to do best when the human player rushes the breach and then attempts to rush on to the town centre. Units get very distended in the narrow streets and if not allowed to reform regularly become easy meat for defending cavalry. Its much better to force the defenders to come to you and suffer this disorganisation themselves instead.

After the Battle

Ransom, execute or release?

Generally releasing raises chivalry; executing raises dread so it partly depends on how you want to develop your general. It is generally better to have either dread or chivalry, so you may want to accentuate the current leanings of your general rather than reduce them by acting contrary to his nature. If the number of captives is less than 80, your choice will not affect your traits. Releasing raises your reputation and executing lowers it. Ransoming is neutral.

Ransoming is good when you need the cash and/or when the captured enemy troops are relatively low grade types, who you don’t mind eating up the AIs budget. It is particularly profitable if you capture a general. Kings fetch 10000 florins; family members 5000 or so. Note: often the AI factions cannot afford the ransom, so it is way of executing without penalty.

Releasing may be an attractive way to boost chivalry or reputation when the prisoners are not seen as much of a threat.

Executing is sensible if you are in a really tight spot or when you have captured an enormous amount of prisoners and fear the AI can afford the ransom.

Experience and combat stats.

experience 1: no effect experience 2-3: +1 attack, +1 defence experience 4-6: +2 attack, +2 defence experience 7+: +3 attack, +3 defence

There may be morale effects, but these are not visible. Experience effects seem somewhat smaller than those in earlier TW games.

Curiously, after a crusade, all my units were rewarded with going from zero to one experience and this single point did raise their attack and defence.