The Gentle Art of War: being a battlefield guide
This chapter is dedicated to the battlefield half of the game; I bet you couldn’t guess that, could you? In both of my previous Medieval: Total War guides I went into some detail on the battle side of the game; I won’t be doing the same here, at least not in such depth. You see we don’t know the combat calculations, the unit stats are only just being discovered, the bonuses are mostly hidden, and generally it is all very vague. I will pass on what I can and note a few dos and don’ts.
RTW is a more dynamic game than MTW, to me at least. It relies more on logic. I find that on normal difficulty, without any bonuses to either side as given by difficulty, that logic and historical knowledge provide plenty of basis for what really happens on the field. Of course there are some exceptions to this rule, but overall what you thin should happen does. If you think of a cavalry charge against a ragged, strung out unit you expect the cavalry to mow the infantry down. That’s what happens in RTW. If you think of a cavalry charge against a solid, well formed and disciplined infantry force you expect them to get bogged down and killed. That’s what happens in RTW. I am sure you are getting the picture now.
One very small yet oh so important note on difficulty and battle: On harder difficulties the AI gets bonuses, to the tune of an extra +7 to attack on very hard. That means that when playing on any difficulty except normal you should expect to see odd outcomes, such as cavalry riding over your phalanx as if they were not there.
Rank and file.
A quick intro in terminology for those of you not already acquainted:
Say hello to our happy little Roman cohort. As you can see I’ve clumsily labelled the various parts of the unit. The front and rear are obvious. The flanks go on both sides, predictably, and are also obvious if you are familiar with the word in a military context. The rank is a little less easy to point out on this diagram; it’s a row of soldiers standing side by side. For more on flanks and the rear of the unit read the next little section.
Rank is a less … concrete concept then in MTW. In MTW I could, and did, say how to optimally deploy each and every unit in all situations. In RTW rank is so different that’s not really possible. Instead I get to tell you general guidelines.
The deeper a formation is the larger its flanks become and the less ground it covers with its front. The thinner a formation is the more fragile it is. It is a balancing act, playing depth and coverage off against each other, and the needs vary quite a bit depending on what unit you are using and what is about to happen with that unit in the battle. I can offer one firm bit of advice here: using a unit in just one rank is asking for trouble; your enemy will tear right through the heart of the formation and destroy it faster than you can blink. Ok, two firm bits of advice. Some units have nice, orderly formations, such as the legionaries in the picture above. Others have looser, more ragged ones, especially barbarian units and missile units. The solid formations are more effective at resisting charges than the more disorderly ones. That out of the way it is time to go to the vaguer bits.
For infantry (not phalanx).
When facing cavalry or a strong infantry charge rank is key; four ranks is a very good depth for infantry to repel charges with. If you are facing chariots or elephants five, even six ranks can be needed to stand solidly and dispatch the charge. I would say that the absolute minimum you want to use in any situation is three ranks; I myself have settled into using four ranks almost all the time, with the exceptions being when I need to cover a lot of ground (drop to three ranks) or need to repel a very dangerous charge (increase to five or six).
For cavalry.
Depth is a little less important for cavalry, and they tend to be charging, not receiving charges. I like to use my cavalry in three ranks for smaller units, and four ranks for larger ones. This makes the formation sturdy (thinner formations collapse on impact) and gets the maximum number of men slamming into the enemy as the charge hits. Sometimes I use five ranks, generally when I need the unit to be more mobile.
For missiles
Since there is no line of sight accuracy penalty in RTW I have taken to deploying missiles in short, squat blocks about five ranks deep, sometimes more. It makes them easier to position, and this way they are a little better at pulling back on their own without human intervention if left to skirmish.
It is also good to remember that unlike MTW the advantages of a few of your men wrapping around the enemy formation are minor. In MTW this would cause the enemy unit to crumple quickly; in RTW more often than not a few men will simply turn around and start fighting on the flanks while the others fight on the front. That means there is no longer a very good reason to string your formation out to be a little longer than the enemy’s.
For advice on phalanx units read on; they have their own special section.
Front, flanks and rear.
Hitting a unit in the flanks or rear gives you an advantage, and probably a small attack bonus. Hitting any unit in the rear with something will be devastating; if you manage to charge heavy cavalry into the rear of an engaged unit you will cause tremendous damage and possibly even cause an instant rout. The flank of a unit seem less vulnerable then they were in previous TW games. This is because the men on the flanks do a better job of turning and fighting, in effect allowing the unit to fight on two or more fronts at once. Note that men will turn and fight on any front, so you can actually surround a unit and see it fighting on four fronts. Obviously dividing manpower up like this is a bad thing, and so being flanked, hit in the rear or surrounded is still a powerful and dangerous thing. The phalanx deserves special note; it is practically invulnerable from the front unless they lose cohesion and start using their swords instead of spears or pikes. Hit them from the rear for best effects. Hitting the flanks is also good.
Missiles in general.
There is one big change to the established system that TW veterans generally have an issue with. This is not a grumbling ground, so I will simply log it quickly and informatively for the newbies and those just making the transition from the older games. Your units can now fire with no accuracy penalty if they are in more than two ranks; the old line of sight penalty has been dropped. This means you can deploy your archers in ten ranks without any loss in performance. I repeat, the old line of sight penalty is gone.
If your missile units are left on fire at will and given no orders they will shoot of their own accord at any enemy units in range, unless they are likely to hit their own friends in doing so. Note that if you order a unit to shoot at a specific target they will keep on shooting regardless if any friendly casualties they may cause.
Missiles of all types are more effective in RTW than in BI due to higher armour and shield values. Shooting the flanks or rear of a unit is far more important in BI.
Height is still an advantage to ranged units, increasing the damage they do and the range at which they can fire.
Rain and snow still dampens bowstrings, reducing both accuracy and range.
Armour reduces the effectiveness of missiles; heavily armoured units will only suffer a few casualties per volley as their armour protects them. Lightly armoured units will take heavy losses per volley.
Shields also protect men for missiles effectively; the larger the shield the better the protection. You can bypass the shield’s protection by shooting from the side or rear of a unit. You only need a 45 degree angle from the front to bypass the shield, so you do not need to stand right off to one side.
Shield and armour values do stack, so shooting head on at a heavily armoured, shielded unit will probably do no damage at all beyond the odd man killed every other volley.
Archers.
Archers are the basic ranged unit most people will understand instantly. They come in infantry and cavalry flavours; the cavalry version is covered a bit later on. They shoot in an arc so you can position them behind your line and they will fire over the people in front. They have good range, and some elite archer units like archer auxilia and Pharaoh’s bowmen have extra long range compared to other bow units. Surprisingly arrows seem to be the most effective missile against heavily armoured enemies; I would have expected them to be the least effective. You can send archers forward to skirmish and rely on the skirmish mode to bring them back to safety because their range is long enough to allow them to shoot a few volleys before the enemy close enough to force them to pull back. Note that your archers may pull back reliably but they may also move to a stupid location, such as in the middle of your heavy infantry line, and then continue shooting. If your archers stand in the middle of your infantry line and shoot you will suddenly notice half your front line is dead. For this reason I never leave archers to skirmish, preferring to control them myself or to keep them safely behind my front line firing overhead. Arrows are not armour piercing.
Sling units.
Sling units are the only unit in the game which will not shoot in an arc; they release their shot in a mostly flat trajectory, just like a gun. This means you should never place them behind another unit and leave them on fire at will or give them an order to shoot – they will very often mow down the unit in front of them without a single bullet making it to the enemy. They have good range, though lower than archers, and because of their unique trajectory they cause a lot of deaths per volley. This is because any bullets which miss are likely to hit the man behind the original target. Slingers can be devastating. They have enough range that you can send them out in front of your lines to skirmish, but due to their trajectory problems it’s best to control them yourself; if you don’t you might turn your attention back to your skirmishing slingers only to find they have wiped out half your army for you. An alternate line of skirmishing, the only one you should drop to using after the battle lines have joined, involves running your skirmishers around to the flanks and rear of the enemy line and unloading on them as they melee with your own front line. Slingers often have loads of ammo, in the form of bullets, so you can rely on them keeping up a sustained barrage for quite some time. You may like to know that sling bullets are not armour piercing.
Javelin units.
Javelin units are short range skirmishers. They come in infantry and cavalry flavours; you can also find some units of heavy infantry (mostly Roman, in both BI and RTW) who have a special variety of javelins called pilums. The heavy infantry version is covered in the section called ‘Roman infantry and the pilum’ further down.
Javelins are more damaging per volley than arrows, as in they cause more deaths on average assuming all things are equal. They do have a short range, shorter than the skirmish range so you will probably find your men run away without throwing so much as a single javelin if skirmish is on. Therefore most of the time you want to turn skirmish off, either turning it back on when you want the unit to pull back to safety or withdrawing them manually. You get fewer shots per man with javelins than the other missile types; the actual number varies from unit type to unit type. The dedicated skirmishers have more missiles than the heavy infantry with javelins. Javelins are thrown in an arc so you can position javelin using troops behind your front line and they will throw over the heads of the other units. Occasionally I find this courses problems with friendly fire, but not often as long as your javelins are not on a backwards slope and so lower down than your front line.
Most javelin skirmishers are fast, so you can actually skirmish with them. Send them running out to throw a few volleys at the enemy as they advance, then pull them back before the enemy reach them. Beware of cavalry when doing this; even the AI won’t miss the chance to mow your skirmishers down and unlike the other missile units javelins have such a short range they have to get very close to the enemy to work. This means you don’t usually have time to pull them back before the cavalry hit and wipe them from the face of the planet. Cavalry based skirmishers are usually fast enough to nip back out of the way, but they probably won’t have time to throw many javelins before the AI sends its cavalry to intercept. You can also send your javelin units around to throw into the flanks and rear of an enemy once battle is joined.
Ordinary javelins are not armour piercing. Pilums are.
Crossbows
A few units in BI are equipped with crossbows. These have a flat trajectory, and so can’t fire over other units or terrain features like hills. Otherwise … it’s pretty much business as usual.
Spears.
Spear equipped units have a bonus against cavalry; the bonus is added on to the spear unit’s attack when facing cavalry of any type. Spears do not receive a rank bonus in RTW, unlike in MTW. There have been some big changes to spears since BI appeared, meaning my advice for them must change to almost the opposite. Now I say don’t charge when facing cavalry! Er, well, it’s not entirely so simple as that.
When a unit is left standing still (doesn’t even need to be on guard mode) and an enemy unit comes close enough, the unit will assume a ready position, raising shields and settling weapons. If a spear unit does this then it receives an extra bonus against cavalry, a new bonus for braced spears. This bonus can only be gained if the unit is not moving and has had time to brace itself. Note that the bracing cannot be ordered by you; it must be left to the little virtual captain of the unit. This, combined with the general spear V mount bonus (also increased a bit) should be enough for you spear unit to make some nice horse kebabs. Bulk is necessary; four ranks at the least, or the unit will be swept away by the impact of the charging cavalry.
Life, sadly, is seldom so happily simple. The AI may be rather moronic, but it won’t often send cavalry onto your waiting spears. So often you have to go and attack, forfeiting that brace bonus. In which case my old advice still seems to hold true: counter charge, preferably hitting the unit in the flanks or rear while it is engaged with another unit, and attack with the unit formed up into three ranks so maximum men get into battle right from the start.
Spear units can and will beat sword units with similar stats. However my testing has revealed that the results of any such match ups are unpredictable; one time the spears will win, another the swords, and seemingly no clear reason for either outcome. Again, three ranks and counter charging really did help the spears out a lot. So remember your spears are not helpless little bunny rabbits; they can fight very effectively, although you should probably keep a close eye on them and ensure that they are adequately supported.
The Phalanx.
The phalanx is a tricky unit to use properly, although it is now much easier to get along with than in the original versions of the game thanks to changes made in the patches. All the same it takes a little more practise and work to use these units to their best, but they can be rewarding if you do master them.
The phalanx is practically invulnerable head on, so long as it maintains discipline and uses its special ‘phalanx formation (it’s the unit’s special ability). When the special ability is turned off the phalanx will convert, for all intent and purposes, to an inferior unit of swordsmen. They may use their spears/pikes for a little while, but not effectively and not for long before they draw swords. In this mode you can also hold alt and right click to order them to go straight to their secondary weapons, just like you can with missile and cavalry units. You probably don’t want to do this very often, and you should try to get at the enemy from an advantageous spot, such as the rear, when doing this. Most phalanx troops are quite weak when out of phalanx mode.
With phalanx mode on the unit will use the long spear or pike and only drop to the weaker sword if the enemy manage to force their way past the spear points.
I suppose now is a good time to mention a few quirks related to the statement “The phalanx is practically invulnerable head on.” Well, firstly I have seen quite a few people saying that cavalry can beat a phalanx even if they charge head on into the spear points. I have spent hours testing this in both single player and multiplayer and found it to be untrue. Cavalry lose about 98% of the time, and their victories were freak accidents. As long as the phalanx is in phalanx mode, in good formation, and hit head on they will slaughter the cavalry. Many times I even found the phalanx could see off cavalry when charged in the flanks or rear, times when I fully expected the phalanx men to be slaughtered. This is because the phalanx managed to turn around and start fighting the cavalry effectively very quickly. If the phalanx is occupied to the front when the cavalry hits the flanks or rear then the chaps on horses do much better. Secondly I have seen it said that spear using hoplites (as in short weapons) can beat pike using phalanx (as in much longer weapons) head on, even though the spears have the shorter range and need to push past the pike points. This one is … true. To a certain extent. Heavily armoured spear phalanx can push their way past the pike points of the weaker pike phalanxes. Given equal match ups stats wise and the spear phalanx dies. So both of these points are worth bearing in mind.
Thanks to the alterations made in the 1.2 patch giving advice for phalanx units is much simpler than it used to be. Take guard mode off unless you intend to stand still and need to hold your position. Guard mode makes the phalanx less dynamic; it reduces the pushing effect and ability to reform to get more men into combat. It is … quite hard to explain, but with guard mode on the little men don’t wander forwards to take up their positions and attack quite so well. Also some very odd things can happen, such as the formation redressing its ranks so it ends up backwards to the enemy it is supposed to be attacking.
With guard mode off … click once to attack. It’s really quite simple. Phalanx units can’t charge and they can’t run if in phalanx formation. They will march up into range, pull up their shields and begin to advance, pushing the enemy back and stabbing with their spears. Alternatively you can stand still and hope the enemy walk into the spear/pike points.
As far as depth goes it depends which type of phalanx you are using. Both types need depth in addition to cohesion to function well; these two factors make it harder to disrupt the formation and thus rob the phalanx of their best weapon. Spear phalanxes can have the first two ranks of the formation fighting at once when in phalanx formation. They also have fewer men than pike phalanxes. I find that four ranks suits them nicely, keeping a balance between frontage and depth. Pike phalanxes can have the first four ranks fighting at once, and they are some of the largest units in the game in terms of manpower. I find that six ranks is good; again, a balance of frontage, combat power and depth.
While in phalanx formation the unit cannot run; it is also very slow when turning. If you urgently need your men to run turn off phalanx mode, tell them to run and then turn it back on as they arrive at their destination and begin forming up again. To get your phalanx to turn properly issue the order, then turn off phalanx mode, turning it back on just as the unit finishes the manoeuvre. I say issue the move order first because the unit can get underway that little bit quicker and be on their way while you give the exit phalanx mode order. Always, always remember to turn phalanx back on if you turn it off or you will get a nasty surprise because your unit will not fight as you expect them to.
How to deploy your phalanxes; this one is a rather long and important topic.
This is from what I call the “Please, I want to die!” school of phalanx deployment. There are large gaps between the units, exposing their flanks. Remember it’s the front of the phalanx you want to be fighting, not the rest! Always guard your flanks; never leave them exposed like this.
Now this one is right from the school of “I’m here to kill you.” Notice how all the phalanx units are in a single line with only tiny little gaps between them? That’s as close as the game will easily allow you to deploy them. This phalanx is strong. You will notice an array of other units scattered about; this is because you should never use phalanx units unsupported. They need some other unit types to guard their flanks, in this case units of cavalry. Peltasts (javelin units) are deployed out front to skirmish and break up the enemy before they reach the phalanx; they will need to draw out of the way to the sides, not straight back. Why? Because if they go right back they will disrupt the phalanxes and that does not help your cause much. It’s usually possible to run your skirmishers about to the sides, then support with cavalry if the enemy pursue them. Behind the phalanx line are some archers; they will fire over the heads of the phalanx and keep on disrupting and demoralising the enemy even when melee is joined. Make sure you turn skirmish off for them though, or they will scuttle back when the melee begins. You can also send the archers forward if you are on the offensive, to pummel the enemy before sending in your infantry. The cavalry are there to support the flanks over and above all else. They are not rout chasers, not unless the flanks are safe and will continue to be so. If the enemy hit the flanks of this line then things will more than likely go to hell in a hand basket. The general and his bodyguard take a central position, nice and safe, ready to support if needed.
When you have a big line of phalanx units like this it is … not so good to click on the targets you want the to attack. This is because they tend to lose that single, close line as they advance, making themselves more vulnerable. Instead try selecting your entire phalanx line, holding down the alt key and then clicking behind the enemy. This will get the line to advance in perfect order and position, maintaining the same facing as before. As the units run into the enemy they will begin to fight, and they will do so, if you got the command right, in the same single line that they set out in.
Cavalry, how to use it and how to stop it.
Cavalry is made to charge; in melee it will usually die quickly, but on the charge it will cause much pain and suffering. Any ragged, strung out unit will be swept over by the charging cavalry, mown down as if it were never there. This makes cavalry devastating against most missile infantry. The key to real cavalry use is motion; keep them moving as much as possible. Let them charge; the unit will usually pull away slightly and recharge of its own accord. When they finally stop and become stationary pull them back by double clicking on some empty ground, let them regroup as they run away from the enemy, then send them back to charge again. Rinse and repeat. Note that if your cavalry has fragile morale pulling them back may cause them to rout. This is highly irritating.
Never, ever charge your cavalry at a phalanx head on unless you really want to see them turned into little horsemeat kebabs. Even charging into the rear of a phalanx is dangerous if you do not pull your cavalry back before they have change to enter melee. Charge, pull back quickly, then charge again. Phalanx units eat horses for breakfast. Charging into the front of any well formed infantry is a risky proposition and should only be attempted by heavy cavalry in an emergency. Spear units will also give your cavalry a headache. Chariots, well just keep your cavalry away from chariots if you are attached to them in any way. Chariots mince horses. Oh, and elephants – elephants tread on horses and laugh evilly while scraping the ex-cavalryman off the soles of their big feet. Use your cavalry primarily to tackle vulnerable missile infantry, to harry the enemy’s flanks, and to charge home into the rear of an engaged unit. Never, ever hang around in melee; that cannot be stressed enough.
The key to killing cavalry is stopping them, then mobbing them. Use deep units to take their charge, and then hit them with more infantry in the flanks or rear. Don’t let them withdraw for another charge; get them bogged down. You can also shoot them to soften them up a bit. I suspect horses are big targets and therefore easier to hit than infantry. Once cavalry are stationary they are very vulnerable, as I’ve been saying repeatedly throughout this section.
Camels have an advantage when fighting horses; keep your horses away from camels and send your camels after horses.
A good demonstration of how best to use your cavalry against infantry: in support. The Roman infantry is slugging it out with the Carthaginian infantry; the cavalry charge is just about to hit the Carthaginians in the back. Because they are already tied up with will be less capable of fighting back against the cavalry, and they will also take a lot more damage when the charge hits. This in turn inflicts quite a blow to the Carthaginian morale, both because of the losses and because of being surrounded.
The same scene a little later. The first unit of Carthaginian infantry is routing with only a handful of survivors. The cavalry is just beginning its second charge, having pulled out when the momentum of the first charge was lost.
Horse archers and mounted javelin throwers.
Horse archers can fire on the move; they can also pull off the famous Parthian shot and shoot backwards. They might be large targets but they will be able to beat infantry archers most of the time in a shooting match. If they use their cantabrian special ability (assuming they have it) then the infantry archers will barely be able to touch them. They are vulnerable to nearly anything in melee; with a few exceptions missile cavalry are very light. The heavier variety can melee like any other cavalry. You should use most missile cavalry to charge into the rear of enemy units if you have to sent them into melee. They also make very good rout chasers due to their speed, although be aware that they will shoot routing enemy if they have ammunition left.
Horse archers are great at nipping behind units and bypassing their shields, robbing them of the significant anti-missile defence bonus they impart. They can draw off enemy units, leading them away from the main army so they can be fallen upon and killed safely, or simply to keep them out of the way for a bit.
Javelin cavalry have a shorter range but they pack more of a punch per volley. The same general principles apply to using them, you just need to be a little more attentive.
Roman infantry and the pilum.
If you just click once to attack with Roman infantry you will find they rarely, if ever, get the chance to use their trademark pilum throw before drawing swords and getting stuck in. If you want them to use their pilums you will need to turn fire at will on; note that this option is off by default. Draw your unit up in a reasonable depth and wait for the enemy to close. Don’t give any orders at all. Your men will now throw their pilum into the charging mass, then draw swords and charge into the disordered, reeling mass.
A small, related note: All pilum using Roman infantry is set to use their pilums as their default attack. This means they will always pause and begin to go through the throwing animation even if they have no pilums left. To get them to charge properly, and remove the annoying delay, hold alt and right click.
Pilums are great in a multitude of situations; the only real time you do not want to be using them is when you need to get into a melee quickly. A chance to cause damage without letting the enemy hack at your men is almost always great, and the casualties you inflict on the enemy with the pilum volley make them a little easier to break. If your legionaries are about to be charged by cavalry draw them up in four ranks, turn fire at will and guard mode on and simply stand still. The cavalry will get a lot of pilums in their face, their charge will make little impact, and your legionaries will begin to fight the demoralised survivors. I’ve seen off many cavalry charges with little damage this way. Do note that it really works best if you have a line of legionaries, rather than a single unsupported unit.
When facing pilums, i.e. when charging Roman legionaries and their clones as used by other factions, speed is the key. If your men run in (double click when giving the attack order) then most often they will hit the legionaries before they have chance to throw. Once melee is joined only the men at the very back will throw their pilums.
Pilums are armour piercing.
Size matters! The importance of a big pike.
This kind of ties into the phalanx blurb but hey, I’ll put it separately for emphasis. Spears will engage with the front ranks only. Spear using phalanxes will engage with the front two ranks. Pike using phalanxes will have the first four ranks fighting all at once. As you might imagine the more ranks fighting at once the more devastation the unit puts out.
Also note that size matters in another regard; long weapons will keep the enemy at bay. Units with swords cannot even get close enough to attack a pike or spear using phalanx from the front, not until the phalanx loses formation and starts to use swords as well. So, part of the advantage of big weapons is being able to fight when the other guys can’t.
War dogs.
War dogs regenerate automatically after each battle as long as the handlers survive, as in the dogs will regenerate, not the handlers. The handlers have to be replaced by retraining just like any other soldier. War dogs are fast enough to be excellent rout chasers; they have trouble keeping up with some of the faster light infantry and cavalry but otherwise they can give chase and bring men down. War dogs are very effective against phalanx units because they get past the spears and start shredding the men who are not very well equipped to handle dogs. Aside from phalanx units war dogs are most effective against rabble type units; heavy infantry will usually see them off without too many problems. They are also quite effective against stationary cavalry. It is impossible for you to issue and attack order targeting the unleashed dogs themselves; you can only give orders to attack the handlers, and that does not help much one the dogs are loose. If a unit is being eaten by dogs about all you can do is leave them to fight alone, perhaps ordering another friendly unit to stand in the same spot with the hopes that those men will also begin to attack the dogs.
Ballistae.
Ballistae can shoot down the gates of wooden and palisade walls. This saves you a turn or two building siege equipment.
Alternate attacks, getting missiles to melee and so on.
All missile units have a melee weapon of some sort; usually it is a crappy weapon but better than nothing in a tight pinch. You can order them to melee by holding alt and right clicking. Note that you do have to turn skirmish mode off if you want your unit to melee, otherwise they will keep dodging back and the whole thing begins to resemble a farce.
Most cavalry has two weapons, usually a lance or spear of some sort and then a sword, mace or other short weapon. The lance or spear does more damage on the charge, but in melee it is not as effective. Sometimes that secondary weapon is very powerful, or has an armour piercing effect; check the unit’s stats to see what is what. You can hold alt and right click to attack; this causes the cavalry to charge with the spear/lance and then draw their secondary weapon, if they have one. Heaven knows why they don’t do this automatically …
Skirmish mode.
Skirmish mode is actually useful this time, as long as you keep an eye on skirmishing units and steer them out of any trouble they may be working their way towards. Generally it is quite reliable at keeping your units out of enemy reach. Do remember that chaps on foot can’t outrun horses.
Cantabrian circle.
This special ability is used by some missile cavalry units. It enables them to keep up a constant, morale sapping stream of missiles on a target unit. It also makes them very hard to hit with missile weapons. It does tire them out rapidly though, and it is a reasonable target for hostile cavalry to charge.
Wedge.
Wedge is a special formation certain units of cavalry can use, usually heavy cavalry. As you might guess from the name your cavalry will form up in a wedge shape with one man at the front, two men behind him, and so on. Because the guy at the front is the unit’s leader you should avoid using this formation if your general is in the unit – Alexander the Great may have survived leading many cavalry charges but chances are your own generals will not share his luck.
In my experience wedge formation is best when facing a thinly strung out enemy formation; the wedge will punch through the centre of the enemy unit and keep going before wheeling around to charge into the unit’s back. Against denser formations the wedge will stall before more than a handful of men have started fighting. When charging dense formations it is best to use a line; you get more men into the fight right from the start and therefore do a lot more damage. Once your cavalry charge has halted you will want to take your unit out of wedge so it can fight more effectively or you will want to order them away from the melee to charge again. Don’t let them melee in wedge; it’s not too effective.
The shield wall
This formation is BI only. Units with this special ability will form up into a tightly packed form presenting a continuous row of shields to the front, rather like a phalanx but without the pikes and phalanx bonus. It’s quite hardy in most respects; able to resists charges very well if 4 or more ranks deep, and not too bothered by any missile weapons except javelins unless said missiles are coming from a direction other than the front. One great feature is that if you select two or more units in shield wall mode, group them, and order them to use the group formation ‘single line’ they will form up into a single line with no gaps between them at all. This is amazing for presenting a solid defensive line with no weaknesses to be exploited. The formation does not kill quickly, it is defensive in nature, with the emphasis on outlasting the foe and wearing them down.
The shield wall is very vulnerable to flanking attacks, and to attacks on its rear. Protect it well. While the formation can move it is slow, and unwieldy.
The schiltrom
Another BI exclusive formation. This one belongs to some spear armed troops. When the order is given the men in the unit will form up into a sort of circle, with spear points presented in a bristling hedge. It cannot move at all. It is horrifically vulnerable to missiles, because missiles not hitting the men and shields in front tend to hit the backs of the men standing behind them. It’s a very good formation for repelling attacks of any sort, and impossible to flank. It can do plenty of damage in melee.
Guard mode.
Guard mode makes a unit keep its formation as best as possible and remain on the same spot as far as it possible. It prevents a unit from chasing routers. Giving the unit a move or attack order will override the stay put function of guard, but they will still try to keep their formation. If you have given an attack order they will chase the routers. Guard mode is good in some circumstances, such as holding a defensive line, but in melee it can be a real pain. I often find units with guard on don’t engage properly and then slowly rotate and reform after the charge so their back is facing the enemy. Yes, that means the enemy gets a huge advantage.
You’re test(udo)ing my patience!
The testudo formation that the post Marius reform legionaries use makes them quite immune to missile fire … small missile fire, catapult boulders still squash men flat. It is terrible for melee, men tire quickly in the formation, and the transition to and from testudo is slow. It’s really only useful when you need to advance under heavy missile fire and don’t need to fight or defend yourself at the end of it all.
Pulverising problematic pachyderms.
I shall quote Mike B in CA’s official FAQ: “Burning pigs and siege artillery are the classic counters. Defeating elephants depends on the circumstances where the elephants are used, but usually fighting head-to-head with them will result in a lot of casualties before the elephants drop. We favour hanging back and hitting them with as many missile weapons as possible, as quickly as possible. Sometimes you might have to sacrifice a unit as a ’speed bump’ to delay the elephants and give your missile troops more time but nothing in Rome: Total War is invincible or undefeatable.”
I will also add that phalanx units will kill elephants quite nicely so long as the phalanx keeps formation and engages the elephants head on. If the bit grey lugs get to the phalanx’s flanks or rear expect Pain with a capital P. For this reason it’s a good idea to try and get a line of several phalanx units to tackle elephants.
The wheels on the chariot go round and round, round and round (a children’s song from 2000BC)
Chariots are a bit of a problem. One rule of thumb I now obey as far as possible is to keep my own cavalry and other quite loosely formed units away from chariots. I try to shoot them as much as possible to cause what damage I can. When melee is forced I try to hit them with densely formed, disciplined infantry. Once the chariots are stopped they are dispatched reasonably easily. It’s the stopping them which is hard.
Flaming ammo.
All archers along with catapult based siege equipment can fire flaming ammunition. Flaming ammunition is less accurate than conventional ammo but it causes a bigger morale hit when (if!) it actually does hit its target. The flaming pots fired by onagers will cause more casualties than normal ammo if it hits down in the centre of a tightly packed mass of men, but it is so inaccurate this effect is rare. Flaming ammo can also set fire to buildings; burning buildings will take constant, steady damage.
Fatigue.
When a unit is doing something, be it marching, running or fighting, it will steadily get tired. The rate it tires at depends on the unit, climate (hot weather is more tiring for heavily armoured units), and the activity. Walking up hill is more tiring than marching down hill, for example. It’s all very logical. When a unit is standing idle it will slowly regain stamina. It is a good idea to rotate troops if you can, using a few units to fight while others rest and recover. This is mostly possible in battles on a limited front, such as bridge defence.
Height.
Height accords a significant advantage to the man who is highest up, and a penalty to the one who is lower down. Fighting up hill is a bad idea and should be avoided wherever possible. Charging and fighting downhill is a great thing to do, just make sure you remain on the slope or you will lose your advantage. As noted earlier missile units can shoot further and do more damage when they are higher up. Height is great; love it and use it to your advantage.
Trees.
Some units get bonuses when fighting in forests. You can also hide troops in forests to spring ambushes on unsuspecting enemy units. Cavalry perform badly in trees; it’s hard to ride, fight and watch out for branches all at the same time. Keep your cavalry away from trees and try to lure enemy cavalry in. Trees also intercept missiles, giving shelter to units being shot at or hampering the effectiveness of any missile unit shooting out from forests.
Long grass.
Some kinds of infantry can hide in long grass and spring ambushes.
Bridges.
I’ve not fought many bridge battles so far. Note that some units have problems crossing bridges, especially when they are crowded. Chariots should cross only when the bridge is empty or they will possibly fall off and drown. Yes, any unit can fall off a bridge and drown in the river.
Defending a bridge is quite simple.
I have my legionaries (or other good, solid infantry) arranged to block the mouth of the bridge. One main unit is set to block the bridge; that unit has guard mode turned on so it will not move out of place. Other units stand ready to reinforce as needed, and in clear spells one of the other units stood behind that bridge blocking main unit could swap places with it, cycling in fresh troops quickly. I have my missiles arrayed behind; they can provide a constant stream of fire support until they run out of arrows. Note that using slingers like this is really not recommendable; they will probably kill more of your own men because of their trajectory. My general is safely out of the way, and a unit of cavalry stands by ready to gallop across the bridge when the enemy completely rout, mowing them all down. Since my infantry in this picture have pilums they are all set to fire at will. If the enemy have a lot of missile units it is advisable to set up slightly further back, safely out of range. As long as you can attack the units pouring off the bridge before they have chance to regain their formation and cross in bulk you should do well.
Attacking a bridge, now that is harder! No fancy pictures this time, just general tips. Do as much damage as you can with missile units first. Send some units with good morale and good armour across first; they will survive longer and hold the bridgehead while the rest of your units begin to cross and add their own weight. Using units with fragile morale or poor protection to lead the assault usually leads to them routing back into the rest of your crossing troops, spreading panic, slowing the crossing and achieving nothing at all. Expect a lot of casualties when attacking a bridge.
Charging, running and that old debate.
It appears that right click once is still attack, right click twice is run to attack, and charge is a completely separate thing you cannot order. Know that all infantry and cavalry, at least the ones I have tried, have automatically begun to charge when they get in range of an enemy when I single click. Reiterated: single click=walk, double click=run. Yes, I do know what the tutorial says, but the tutorials in MTW and STW said the same thing and it was proven wrong.
Now I am assuming that the old need for a good run up to reach full speed, and therefore full charge bonus, is present and correct in RTW. This means that if you only have a short distance between your unit and their target it might be beneficial to order them to run to the attack, giving them more impetus. Cavalry in MTW benefited greatly from running for a bit first, because their charge threshold (the distance at which they began their charge) was too low for them to reach full speed. If they were travelling faster when the charge began they gathered more of a bonus.
Um, in summery this is still under investigation and none of this should be taken as 100% fact, but in my experience charging is still automatic and double click is still only run. I order units with a double click if I need them to close quickly, if the enemy are already close, or if they are cavalry. Two of these three are motivated by the desire to get them moving quickly now so as to stand more change of hitting that full bonus, one is motive solely by the desire to get close quickly for some reason, such as a vulnerability in enemy lines, or incoming missile fire.
Sieges.
In the set up phase on the campaign map the siege equipment you will be able to build depends on the level of fortifications present in the city. Wooden walls only need battering rams, and so this is all you will be able to build. Stone walls require tougher equipment so you can choose from siege towers, sapping points and a few other bits and pieces. Note that while the more advanced types of stone walls look as though they have exactly the same siege equipment this is not exactly the case; siege towers will be taller, tougher and armed with more effective weaponry (including ballistae) with which to cover the assault. You can also bring your own portable siege weaponry, such as onagers. Elephants can also ram doors down. Your army will have a certain number of build points, depending on what units make it up. Each item of siege weaponry costs a certain number of points to build; most of them take one turn but I have hear it is possible to build some in less than a turn if your army has enough build points. At the least large armies can build several bits of weaponry in one turn because they have more points than small ones. Make sure you use as many of your points as possible, and don’t skimp on siege weaponry. There is little worse than turning up with just two battering rams, only to find they are both destroyed and you can’t get in past the walls. When faced with stone walls and a lack of onagers I like sap points. I use a cheap, expendable unit to do the sapping, and then mob the dirty great hole in the wall with my shock troops. Several holes are better than one, so set up several sap points.
The central square, marked by those nice faction related flags, is the objective of the attacking army; if they have men in the central square and there are no defenders present a countdown of three minutes will begin. Unless the defenders manage to get some men back into the central square before the time runs out the attacks will win regardless of how many defenders are left. The siege will also end with victory for the attackers if there are no defenders left alive, or if the last few defenders are routing. The central square gives units infinite morale; they will steadfastly fight to the death and any routing units will head for the square. However if the last few men are routing towards the square but are not actually in the flagged area the attackers will win.
Never, ever go in through the front gate in stone walls – your troops will be boiled with oil! This includes gates a spy has opened for you; the daft idiot opens the gate but leaves the boiling oil intact. Spies must get some sick pleasure from seeing their compatriots being burned alive. Bash a hole in the walls or use siege equipment to get on top of the walls, then capture the gatehouse, then you can send your men in through the gate because the oil is disabled.
On stone walls towers will only stop shooting arrows if you capture them. Select a unit of infantry and click on the wall top near the tower; the infantry should enter the tower and climb up onto the walls, capturing the tower in the process. If your infantry are already on the walls just tell them to walk to the walls on the other side of the tower; they will then pass through the tower and capture it.
Siege towers have their own weaponry mounted on them, as I briefly mentioned before. They can only attack if you turn fire at will on. Do so; having repeating ballistas sweep the top of that epic stone wall you are assaulting really helps your men out.
Reinforcements.
All armies adjacent to the attacked party will participate in the battle, unless it is a night battle, in which case only those led by generals with the night battle trait will join in. When more than one of your own armies is involved, you may choose whether to have your other armies led by the AI or standing by to act as reinforcements under your own control. If you let the AI have a bash the result is fairly predictable: the army marches on the field and then behaves like any other AI army. You can’t give it any orders, and it makes no attempt to coordinate with you. Under your own control one of two things will happen. If you have less than 20 units in the army you are controlling the extra units will march on from the correct direction and immediately come under your control. If you have 20 units then the units will have to be summoned using the reinforcement button on the interface; summoning will only become possible when one of the twenty unit slots is empty. You can order a unit to withdraw; once it has left the field its slot will be empty. It is a good idea to withdraw badly mauled units during lulls in very long, big battles so fresh troops can be brought out, assuming you have any.
The battle timer.
The more units you have in a battle the longer the time you will be allotted. With patch 1.2 (and all later versions) you can turn the timer off in the options at the start of a campaign.
Unit guide
I have not produced my own unit guide for RTW, and as far as I know there are no guides by other people in the same style as my unit guide for MTW and STW. However I have been given a link to Soulflame’s unit guide which contains all the unit stats and unit availability.