"Battle tips 2.
See, when your being attacked, as opposed to attacking a province, you have the
advantages of choosing your ground and your battle formation before the
engagement starts. This is greatly usefull, and in many battles, I have not only
survived the assault, but gained kills in the order of 5000 plus good enemy
troops for losses as little as 200 of mine, (this ratio gets better if your
being attacked in a province with a bridge, trust me!) You can win wars with
such defences.
So being attacked, you can and should choose sloping ground with cover if
available, and preferably giving the enemy an exposed line of advance. You can
also place your troops out of range of any artillery units the foe may possess.
There is no need to advance at all from your positions, assuming they are
strong, for the enemy will come to you. Time and position are on your side, and
the foe has both against him.
Your archers will have greater range when firing from a raised position onto
enemy troops advancing up hill. Also, your advancing infantry, when you finally
give the order to advance, will inflict much greater damage charging down hill.
If you are at war with a strongish faction and you have one of their castles
under siege, the enemy faction will usually come to the aid of the besieged
garrison, i.e., they will attack your forces engaged in the siege. And as
stated, this can be turned to a great advantage, for it is better to be attacked
than to attack.
--
Troop tips.
In my experience and my opinion, the best READILY AVAILABLE units are:
The best heavy infantry are Halbrieders, Billmen or Chivalric Sergeants. Each
can easily hold the battle line for a great period, inflicting great damage on
assaulting troops, and all are excellent against armoured and mounted troops.
Their moral can sometimes be poor, but this is usually not a problem as long as
they are not flanked.
Light infantry is Gallowases, Vikings or Highlanders, which are all effective on
the charge. Note, that these units are only available in certian regions, and
cheap; so generally build heavier units, who will serve you better overall.
The best missle troops are Longbowmen far and away. Their range and power is
stunning, only lack of ammunition effects their dominance. Arbalesters are also
excellent, though their rate of fire is much slower. Their armour-punching
ability is impressive.
Dont use units that are archer/light infantry troops ( Bulgariand brigands,
Trebizond archers ect.) unless there is no other choice.
They are reasonable archer units, but will break quickly if they have to hold
the battle line, and get slaughtered, thus causing panic in the rest of your
army. Oh, and any gunpowder missle units are utterly useless, and not worth the
time, so dont bother.
The best heavy horse later in the game are Lancers, who are utterly devestating
and basically indestructable to anything bar archers. Earlier in the game Feudal
or Chivalric Knights are excellent, having good armour and good numbers (40
each). Royal knights are too expensive for what you get in my experience.
Light horse is Steppes cavalry or Mounted sergeants. Both are excellent at the
"ride 'em down" role, though both cant hold the battleline for long.
One last thing, it is vital that you upgrade your troop's armour and weapons,
along with moral improvements. Smaller numbers with these upgrades will
devestate a much larger army." - Spud
