Author Topic: IG Battle Tactics Discussion  (Read 6580 times)

Ehndras

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IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Topic Start: July 15, 2012, 01:43:44 AM »
As a new arrival to the glory of Battlemaster, I am still learning the combat process and the intricate details of how battle strategy and tactics function in this ever-interesting game.

I've noticed that every nation and indeed each commander has their own preferred fighting style - obviously requiring adaptability depending on the location, time-span, enemy faced, and enemy troop content.

Some employ vast archer legions to cut down their enemies mid-stride while others organize massive infantry charges not unlike great blackened clouds which shroud the lands and echo a thousand battle-cries in unison. Some have tightly-knit cavalry formations with infantry walls while others forsake tactic and troop specialization to simply bash at their enemy with everything they can muster.

Having fought in Belluaterra against daimonkind, in Dwilight against Kabrinskia, and of course the endless stream of monster and undead uprisings, I've noticed two utterly diverging schools of thought, and a dozen or so different "primary" groups between the two.

The two main schools of thought are of course the "Death by a thousand cuts" method, the employing of endless legions to crush your enemy with sheer numbers, and the more specialized usage of highly-trained specialist troops to tactically engage the enemy and gain the upper hand.

I would like to learn more about YOUR preferred method of waging war, against what sort of enemy fighting styles you've used your methods, and how they fared for you. Don't be afraid to mention either crushing victories or embarrassing defeats - each has their merits and teaches all those involved how to better wage war.

As a newbie Marshal I feel its my place to learn the nuances of BM's combat system so that I may better serve the nations I am loyal to. :-)

My two main concerns are fighting cavalry charges and fighting infantry-walls, not the tactics per-se but armies that use a healthy dose of cavalry and armies that employ a cluster!@#$ of infantry.

Thank you in advance for your information and assistance, and I hope this leads to many an interesting discussion!
Old (Deleted) Aurea family= Alura (Ruler/Marshal-Terran); Alekhthaeos (Arcaea); Ehndras (Riombara); Vvaros (Arcaea); Magnus (Xerarch-Xavax); Alekhsandr (Marshal/Hero-Fissoa); Decimus (Warrior-Sandalak); Khets'aeïn(Assassin-Riombara)

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Zakilevo

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #1: July 15, 2012, 02:08:30 AM »
I usually change unit types according enemies. I usually ask for volunteers and get 5-10 nobles willing to change their unit types. Good to be in a realm with active and willing people :D.

Having 2-300 cavalry units help a lot against infantry heavy armies.

Do not worry too much about cavalry charges. Just shove a lot of units in the same line to spread the damage across as many units as possible.

If you are defending the dig-in option+sentry helps a lot.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2012, 02:11:43 AM by Zakilevo »

Ehndras

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #2: July 15, 2012, 02:12:25 AM »
Ah, thanks. The Cavalry info helps a lot! :-)
Old (Deleted) Aurea family= Alura (Ruler/Marshal-Terran); Alekhthaeos (Arcaea); Ehndras (Riombara); Vvaros (Arcaea); Magnus (Xerarch-Xavax); Alekhsandr (Marshal/Hero-Fissoa); Decimus (Warrior-Sandalak); Khets'aeïn(Assassin-Riombara)

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Indirik

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #3: July 15, 2012, 02:39:28 AM »
Massed infantry is the best all-around option, unless you know you will only be fighting monsters. (Massed archers/MI are best for monsters.) But trying to tailor your army can be very difficult and frustrating.

One problem is that you can't tell people what to recruit. You're limited to offering an opinion when asked, or generic statements like "our army could use more archers".

A second problem is that many people are going to be hesitant to drop their units and recruit what you want.
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Zakilevo

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #4: July 15, 2012, 03:01:11 AM »
Massed infantry is the best all-around option, unless you know you will only be fighting monsters. (Massed archers/MI are best for monsters.) But trying to tailor your army can be very difficult and frustrating.

One problem is that you can't tell people what to recruit. You're limited to offering an opinion when asked, or generic statements like "our army could use more archers".

A second problem is that many people are going to be hesitant to drop their units and recruit what you want.

I usually ask people once they lose most of their units. It is easy to convince them by funding them a full unit :D or assigning militia units.

You just have to give people a good incentive, good enough to make people give up on their captains.

Ehndras

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #5: July 15, 2012, 03:34:31 AM »
Few people tend to have captains, I've noticed. Only one of my characters have a captain, I wish it was easier to get one :-|
Old (Deleted) Aurea family= Alura (Ruler/Marshal-Terran); Alekhthaeos (Arcaea); Ehndras (Riombara); Vvaros (Arcaea); Magnus (Xerarch-Xavax); Alekhsandr (Marshal/Hero-Fissoa); Decimus (Warrior-Sandalak); Khets'aeïn(Assassin-Riombara)

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Zakilevo

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #6: July 15, 2012, 05:51:08 AM »
Few people tend to have captains, I've noticed. Only one of my characters have a captain, I wish it was easier to get one :-|

Really? All my characters have a captain. Just recruit 40 men at a time and you will get one.

vonGenf

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #7: July 15, 2012, 10:35:47 AM »
What you see in Beluaterra is completely different than the rest of the game. On Beluaterra, the ultimate goal is not to defeat the daimon army - it is to kill the daimon leaders, as that is the only thing that will ever allow you to win the war.
After all it's a roleplaying game.

Ehndras

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #8: July 15, 2012, 10:47:45 AM »
You can effectively employ the same tactics though. If you kill/disable half the enemy army, that tends to give you good results. :-P Not that Riombara's army hasn't been utterly raping Daimons like they're made of cardboard. Too bad my Hero got injured early on in the last battle, I've been hoping to get the chance at striking a daimon commander but no luck yet.
Old (Deleted) Aurea family= Alura (Ruler/Marshal-Terran); Alekhthaeos (Arcaea); Ehndras (Riombara); Vvaros (Arcaea); Magnus (Xerarch-Xavax); Alekhsandr (Marshal/Hero-Fissoa); Decimus (Warrior-Sandalak); Khets'aeïn(Assassin-Riombara)

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vonGenf

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #9: July 15, 2012, 12:50:40 PM »
You can effectively employ the same tactics though. If you kill/disable half the enemy army, that tends to give you good results. :-P Not that Riombara's army hasn't been utterly raping Daimons like they're made of cardboard. Too bad my Hero got injured early on in the last battle, I've been hoping to get the chance at striking a daimon commander but no luck yet.

Ah, yes, but the converse isn't true: death by a thousand cuts is worthless on daimons.
After all it's a roleplaying game.

fodder

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #10: July 15, 2012, 07:18:29 PM »
oddly enough... when rio had infantry and enweil had archers... enweil won a fair bit.
don't remember relative strength of sides... think it was just before daimons popped in
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Zakilevo

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #11: July 15, 2012, 07:38:19 PM »
oddly enough... when rio had infantry and enweil had archers... enweil won a fair bit.
don't remember relative strength of sides... think it was just before daimons popped in

I remember it rather clearly. Enweil always had 3k lower than Riombara but dig in + sentry helped us over come that. Also, breaking the archer line into two helped a bit as well.

fodder

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #12: July 15, 2012, 08:27:47 PM »
so.. i guess the difference is... with daimons, their ranged will 1 shot 1 or 2 of you. (half the time)

whereas with humans... they'll shoot up most of your army... fairly equally.
firefox

Indirik

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #13: July 15, 2012, 08:46:51 PM »
oddly enough... when rio had infantry and enweil had archers... enweil won a fair bit.
don't remember relative strength of sides... think it was just before daimons popped in
Relative quality of the troops is fairly important, as well as absolute numbers. Archers don't get overkill when shooting, so they can do some serious damage if you give them a chance. When facing an archer heavy army, Infantry Charge is your friend. Get in close, fast.
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Zakilevo

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Re: IG Battle Tactics Discussion
« Reply #14: July 15, 2012, 08:55:17 PM »
so.. i guess the difference is... with daimons, their ranged will 1 shot 1 or 2 of you. (half the time)

whereas with humans... they'll shoot up most of your army... fairly equally.

Range daimons were really easy for Enweil. We used skirmish then had a stand off against the daimons. But once Overlord changed his units to flying cavalries, Enweil's glory days ended.