Chapter 18: Appendix (iii)

[^Marcus Cornelius^]

APPENDIX (iii)

18. Frequent Mistakes When Playing TW Multiplayer Games

..1 Introduction

In describing mistakes frequently done by players I shall follow the usual path used by this guide in previous chapters. That is parallel to the phases found in setting up and fighting a multiplayer game:
1. Selecting faction
2. Choosing units
3. Deploying on battlefield
4. Starting,
5. Fighting,
6. Ending the battle.

18.2 Hints in Selecting Factions

..2.1. Choose Competitive Factions

Unless you have particular historical or attitude preferences, avoid choosing not competitive faction. That is true particularly if you are new to the MP game.
Some are less competitive than others if not properly used.

..2.2. Choose Easy to Use Faction If You are New

If you are new and do not yet have a good skill in moving and employing units, it is better if you choose an easy and static army. This could help you practising without immediate slaughter of your army and “ruining” the game to your team mates.

..2.3. Agree Faction with Your Team Mates

Agree with your team mates the faction to be chosen, in order that everyone gets the right faction to accomplish specific tasks.
Some are strong in cavalry, others in infantry, other in missiles. Choose a faction that fits the team strategy well and is complementary with your team mates factions.

18.3 Hints in Selecting Units

..3.1. Choose a Balanced Army Unless You Agree Otherwise with Your Team Mates

Spam armies (all cavalry, all infantry) can be easily beaten buy a good balanced army.
That is because cavalry costs much and can be beaten buy cheap spearmen.
If you have all infantry you can be easily flanked too.

..3.2. Choose Good Archers: In Quality and Quantity

Winning the shootout phase can give you a great advantage. Especially if you did not plan a sudden attack and a rush at the beginning but you expected a long phase of skirmishing and moving to gain a position as an advantage to shoot.
If you want to have a chance to win the shootout you have to choose good archers, both in quantity and in quality, at least six units of upgraded archers in weapon and armour.

..3.3. Choose Artillery If Allowed If You Are Going To Be Static

If the game allows artillery, it is better for to you take one or two onagers, or you will take shots from a distance without being in a position to reply, losing the initiative in the shootout phase. That is especially true if you planned to have a static game with few moves and you did not plan to be aggressive and to rush the enemy at the beginning.

18.4 Hints in Deploying

..4.1. Deploy As if You Are Just Starting Missile Phase

Deploy your units as you are going to be when you are in front of the enemy. If you do so you will be able to move your entire army with a single drag and drop of the mouse. Moving if you are attacked will be easier too.

..4.2. Missile Units in Front

Put your missile units (archers and horse archers) as first line in two to four rows. They can shoot as soon as the enemy is in range.

..4.3. Back up Your Archers/Missile Units in Front

Put some cavalry and spearmen to back up your archers. If your foot archers are attacked by enemy cavalry you have to defend them. Failing to do this could cause immediate lost of missile war and game will be seriously compromised.

..4.4. Do Not Deploy Too Far from Your Team Mates

Do not deploy to far from your mates. This could cause a delay before regrouping together and a risk of being doubled.

..4.5. Do Not Deploy Too Near to the Enemy Line

Do not deploy too near enemy lines. You could be immediately shot by enemy artillery and long ranged archers. You could even be targeted by a sudden enemy charge and rush without having enough time to organize a defence with your team mates.

18.5 Mistakes in Moving

..5.1. Not To Communicating With Your Team Mates the Approach To the Enemy Strategy

Better if you communicate your thoughts and next moves to allies. There is nothing worst than an allie acting like an independant army. If you approach the enemy alone and expect your allie to understand what you have in mind without having talked to them, you could be the cause of defeat and with no excuse.

..5.2. Being Separated From Your Team Mates

A team has to act as one. Act separated from your allies only if you have a clear plan that helps you to reach and fight with them when the skirmish and the main fight occurs. You must not miss the fight, or your mates will be doubled/tripled and the next step will be your army with no chance to survive because of being overwhelmed by numbers.

..5.3. Moving in Range of Missile Units

When you move just in front of enemies deployed, just do it when you are safe and you are sure missile enemy units cannot reach your moving units with their volleys.
That is especially true if you are marching aside and shifting to the flank of an enemy army well drawn up and ready: they could quickly move a bit ahead and start shooting at your units that are not ready to respond. Volleys taken with no replies are a great disadvantage in missile warefare. The advantage is gained by your enemy.

..5.4. Losing Heights

Moving in the first phases of the game has one objective only: taking an advantage position. Height is the only clear advantage position on open ground. Move to gain height when you move.

..5.5. Running When Not Necessary

If you have time enough to move to your position without you and your allies being endangered by the enemy, do it walking. Running causes your units to get fatigued, especially armoured ones. Men tired get severe combat penalties.

..5.6 Walking When You Have to Hurry

If your mates are in trouble do not hesitate to run to reach them. If you are in trouble and risk a double, do not hesitate to run to gain safer position.


..5.7. Moving Army with Inf/spears Set in Shieldwall

Units set in shieldwall mode walk slowly and cannot run. So, when your are moving on the battlefield but your are not close to fight phases, keep the shieldwall mode switched off.

18.6 Mistakes in Skirmishing

..6.1. Not Using All of Your Missile Capacity, Resulting in a Loss of the Missile Warfare

The missile superiority by numbers applied can give you an advantage in kills far more superior than the difference between number of men at start. This means that even a little difference in archer number at the start can make a big difference at the end of the missile duel.
This means that it is not of any convenience if your archers are fewer or equal to the enemy’s, keep some as reserve.
Use all of your archers from the beginning of the skirmish phase.

..6.2. Not Using Your Archers with Efficiency.

These are simple rules to follow to use your missile units with good results:
- put your units in line
- put your units in loose formation
- put your units in 2 to 4 lines maximum
- put your horse archers in Cantabrian Circle
- do not put a missile unit on another: 1 enemy volley will catch 2 of your units
- do not shoot with your unit at an angle: less efficiency.

..6.3. Archers Following Targets Unintentionally

If you target enemy units with your missile units and leave them in engage at will mode, they will follow their targets moving on battlefield. That could be a not expected result: if your target is retreating behind enemy lines, your following target archers could find themselves too near to enemy lines and easy to be caught by mounted hunters.
After you have clicked on your target, put your archer on defend mode to prevent them from moving ahead.


..6.4. Not Backing Your Archers

You always have to defend your archers from hunting enemy cavalry. So back them with cavalry and spearmen, ready to run and catch anti-archer enemy cavalry. This require some micro-management: charge enemy incoming units with cavalry and spearmen, withdraw your units before losing control when enemy gives up catching your archers, etc. But you cannot do without it.

..6.5. Getting Trapped in “The Catch My Archers” Trap

Some veterans use the “The Catch My Archers” Trap.
That trap works in this manner:
1. Some cavalry, well armoured, charge your foot archers.
2. Your cavalry reacts hunting for enemy incoming cavalry.
3. Enemy withdraws cavalry and target your cavalry with his foot archers shots.
At the end of it, you lose some of your cavalry, the enemy is untouched.

To counter the trap you can:
1. Use your armoured cavalry to counter enemy cavalry. Result: a draw. Or
2. Put your archers in defend mode, support your archers close with your armoured infantry. You can use spearmen. If the enemy try to catch your archers he loses cavalry. Result: some infantry lost for you, many knights lost for enemy if he dares to try catching your archers.

..6.6. Not Recalling Cavalry Hunting for Archers

You have to micro-manage yor cavalry hunting for archers. If you forget to withdraw them when they cannot catch archers without getting caught by enemy back units, you will lose your cavalry. So, use only cavalry in numbers that you are sure to be able control, when you are trying to catch foot archers.

..6.7. Being involved in an important melee with only a few units

Sometimes, during initial movement phase or skirmish phase a melee between cavalry can occur: for example it can be caused by an attempt to catch foot or horse archers . This can start as a few units involved and end as a crescendo of cavalry and infantry massed in a bigger melee.
Be ready to move into the melee all the unit you can send. The one that succeeds in involving the most units wins the melee and gains a substantial advantage for the rest of the fight.

..6.8. Using Heavy Cav to chase Horse Archers

There is no use in trying to catch horse archers with heavy armoured cavalry. Only fatigue and shot by horse archers, you are too slow to reach them.

18.7 Mistakes in Melee

..7.1. The All in One Click Group

This is a mistake frequently done by new players: a massive click, after having selected all the army, on an enemy unit.
A veteran could easily reinforced the unit atacked with some of his and then use other units to flank and sorround the army. Disordered attacks do not suceed by rule and can be easily countered.

..7.2. Charging Under Fire

So when you are going to charge ready to throw units you will have to draw their fire away from your valueble melee units.
This can be done using less valuable units, like peasants.
Put your less valuable units in front, charge the enemy, catch the fire, and then engage enemy with good melee troops almost untouched.

..7.3. Cavalry Versus Spearmen

Avoid enemy spearmen if you are manouvring cavalry. Cavalry must be used to flank enemy or to counter cavalry. They get stuck to spearmen and lose men and get fatigued.

..7.4. The All Employed - No Reserve Mistake

This is a common mistake and easy to do even for veterans.

The situation is explained as follows.
1. You are involved in the main melee with almost all your units enployed and fighting. They are holding the fight well even if there is some uncertainty.
2 Only a couple of infantry and cavalry units lay not engaged, waiting for your orders.
3. Your enemy is more or less in the same situation, with some units left as reserves.
4. The fight is uncertain, and you decide to resolve it by throwing your reserves into the melee.
5. The enemy line holds to your last effort enough to allow enemy reserves to flank and charge into the back of your lines.
6. Your army collapses.

The lesson is: use your few reserve units only if it is necessary. Do not waste them. Be patient and use them only for filling dangerous gaps in your line or to flank and surround the enemy.

..7.5. Not Proper Use of Defend and Engage at Will Modes

Use defend mode if you want your men to hold front line longer.
Use engage at will mode if you want your men to kill faster.

..7.6. Standing Still Under Heavy Fire

If you lose the shootout phase or, you risk catching heavy fire on your units and lose your strength.
At this point you have to make a quick decision. Probably the choice will be between these:
a) Get cover near or in a safe distant position behind an allie still strong in missile units, or
b) 1. Communicate that you have to attack enemy and agree with your allie the course of action,
2. Organize your army to attack: units to catch fire in front, good melee units behind,
3. Launch the attack and engage in melee.


18.8 Mistakes in Chasing and Regrouping

..8.1. Chasing Not Dangerous Enemy Units

The enemy army is giving up. Some units are fleeing, but the main line is still standing. Your cavalry, and some of your best infantry units broke the line and are starting to chase fleeing enemy units.
Fleeing units are not a danger. Order your winning units to reverse their chase and turn towards the back of still standing and fighting enemy units. If you do that entire enemy army will collapse.If you do not do that then maybe the rest of enemy army will beat yours and some enemy units will survive, being much more difficult to be defeated now.
No use in chasing fleeing units if the battle is not totally won.

..8.2. Not Regrouping Before Last Melee

Always regroup before engaging in a second melee phase. The survivors need rest and reorganization before engaging again. The Wise Totalwar Player once said: “Don’t get carried away with small victories. Whatever kills might be earned in chasing are offset by the fatigue it costs you. If you get a moment to breath, take it and regroup.”