I am very good at RTS games but awful at this game. I can't even beat the computer. I did the tutorial and completed it. Now I tried the campaign and I have no idea whats going on. I went to attack some country and got destroyed. Then it kept cycling through different things for 5 minutes until I could play again. Help?
k seriously I have lost 4 battles in a row, 1 ship battle lol. Every battle but the last one I was outnumbered. Last battle I was 540vs320 or something. I lost all my units. I had some garrisoned in a town hall which was useless. I tried to set my guys in a circle and had 1 group flanking but I was destroyed. My guys don't seem to fight very well.
[QUOTE="jakes456"]k seriously I have lost 4 battles in a row, 1 ship battle lol. Every battle but the last one I was outnumbered. Last battle I was 540vs320 or something. I lost all my units. I had some garrisoned in a town hall which was useless. I tried to set my guys in a circle and had 1 group flanking but I was destroyed. My guys don't seem to fight very well. What nations?
Empire: Total War took me some time to figure out. If you don't have Fire By Rank, when you're doing the prep for the battles, spread your infantry as wide as possible, or else you're just wasting space. I typically keep my cavalry back around by the artillery so they can defend the artillery.
what is my strat though? Rushing in does nothing. I set the guys to meele and they still get slaughtered. I feel like some of my units just stand in there and not attack. I have fire at will turned on so it doesn't make any sense. I don't get the flanking. I try to come behind and the enemy units just run away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZkxvur9T-M Watch that and see if you can pull anything from it. I typically use cavalry to flank around the city and distract the rear guard troops while my front line infantry gets covered by artillery. Make sure you disperse them though, concentrating them to one point is dangerous when climbing walls, it makes the battle slow down and your infantry can easily be slaughtered. If you continue to have issues, just get a nice powerful army and do an auto-resolve.
yeah well I got a huge army now and built a bunch of artillery. I can't build horses anywhere so I don't think I can flank like you guys say. gonna try to own these guys again.
this game makes no sense. I just lost with 1000 men vs 600 men. I had artillery too. He didn't flank me at all. All my units kept running away from combat.
I don't seem to have many issues honestly, maybe you should tone down the difficulty for now and just learn the basics. Also, the turns thing will decrease as the game's time goes on, since nations and minor nations will be absorbed/destroyed.
so is it a waste of time setting up my units before a battle? I have tried circling my artillery to protect them. I just got owned. I just stayed in a line formation with the artillery behind and got owned. Should I just send my whole army zerg style with meele weapons out and artillery in the back?
I don't know a way of making a video. Like I said though my men seem to do nothing at times. They stand their and get shot at. I know sometimes they reload, but other times they just get slaughtered. I keep right clicking for them to attack but it doesn't always work. They always retreat too.
try funnelling the enemy towards your cannons. once u get cannister shot for ur cannons it will tear them up. keep ur general close to ur troops for morale with out getting him kiled. normally the ai will make a bee line for ur general. use this to ur advantage. try to hide some troops to flank with maybe in some woods and try bait them to attack u. alot easier to defed then attack. even if ur the attacking force theywill usually engage u especially if some of ur troops are hidden.
[QUOTE="jakes456"]this game makes no sense. I just lost with 1000 men vs 600 men. I had artillery too. He didn't flank me at all. All my units kept running away from combat. Check the units you're running, or pick your fights better - you could have more units and that 'prediction' bar pre-battle can still be in the enemys favour. Apart from that, if you tackled them while they were set up on a hill--which the AI tends to do--then that's probably the answer of why it didnt go well. In terms of flanking, a regiment just has to be a certain angle to take advantage.
well this battle is an open field. my cannons also stayed still and got raped. I am gonna try to attack a different area now. I accidentally allied with these guys and lost a ton of money. What happens if I turn toggle fire off? Also what is grape shot, canister shot, and the other shot? Why should I change them?
You only need to click once for attack. Your dudes need time to set up and fire. What kind of infantry are you building and what kinds are you fighting against? My strategy is to let my people fire a few volleys before going with a bayonet rush, or if my guys are sustaining too many casualties. Seems to work for me. Cavalry absolutely rape up if you attack from the sides or back. They can also really help any unit that is losing melee combat. Artillery (Even if its only one or 2) is immensely helpful since it lowers the moral of the enemy units. Also be sure to keep your general alive or else your guys will run like the cowards that they are.
canister shot works close range. i would usually position my troops around my artillary in a line. hold a couple units in reserve to charge with bayonnets and eveyone else hold the line. use ur general to go to trouble spots and try to flank. if u can get one of there units morale to break and then charge u can usually break there line.
no idea what my infantry are. Just a bunch of random guys I chose. I have only upgraded to the plug bayonets and made like a school or something. I have no idea what I am doing lol.
[QUOTE="jakes456"]no idea what my infantry are. Just a bunch of random guys I chose. I have only upgraded to the plug bayonets and made like a school or something. I have no idea what I am doing lol. Take your time and read about all the different buildings and units and such in the campaign map. It will help you immensely.
spread ur infantry thin 2 deep till thier upgraded better becuase i think only the front line fires till u upgrade them. unit types matter too look at the stats. use ur best troops on the ends where there apt to flank u. and charge with one with bonuses ect....
ok one of my small countries just got invaded. 180 of me vs 800 of them... I had no chance. My general died but I didn't even see a general? I had just the same basic infantry? How do I control my general? I ran my guys to some bushes and I got attacked from the side by horses. I had no chance at all. And again, 1 of my groups just stood there doing nothing. I had toggle fire on and meele toggled on. Then my guys retreated and it said I lost.
spread ur infantry thin 2 deep till thier upgraded better becuase i think only the front line fires till u upgrade them. unit types matter too look at the stats. use ur best troops on the ends where there apt to flank u. and charge with one with bonuses ect....
beachbob1
I disagree. 3 deep is normally good enough for me. If you make it any less then everyone will move to fill up the ranks when enough die, but when you have 3 ranks the 2 back ranks move up to fill in the spaces. If you outnumber the enemy, then its a good idea, but if you want to live longer, stack up your guys a bit. Idk about the rest of you, but I almost always play early in the game technology wise.
ok one of my small countries just got invaded. 180 of me vs 800 of them... I had no chance. My general died but I didn't even see a general? I had just the same basic infantry? How do I control my general? I ran my guys to some bushes and I got attacked from the side by horses. I had no chance at all. And again, 1 of my groups just stood there doing nothing. I had toggle fire on and meele toggled on. Then my guys retreated and it said I lost.jakes456
that was lost cuase.. once u plug baynoets i think that unit becomes exclusive melee till thier upgraded further.. u need to puase battles and strategize till u learn it.dam think im gonna fire up empires that game rules.....:
[QUOTE="jakes456"]ok one of my small countries just got invaded. 180 of me vs 800 of them... I had no chance. My general died but I didn't even see a general? I had just the same basic infantry? How do I control my general? I ran my guys to some bushes and I got attacked from the side by horses. I had no chance at all. And again, 1 of my groups just stood there doing nothing. I had toggle fire on and meele toggled on. Then my guys retreated and it said I lost. IIRC your guys dont auto target at all. Gotta tell them what to do. 180vs800 is pretty impossible. I think that it may be possible if you have a fort and maybe a couple extra militia. You cant have both fire and melee on at the same time. If you dont have socket bayonets then melee will stay on until the end of battle due to the older plug bayonets. Your general is in the unit that has the star next to it, or rather the first unit listed. If you have him as a general infantry then he will be leading that group. Get a generals body guard and keep him in the back. Its also a good idea to get him into battle every now and then so he gains better traits.
ok I just won a decent battle. I find this game pretty random though. me 1151 vs them 1080. My artillery was like useless. only 1 group was doing something, the rest were so slow and in the middle of a town. they got flanked but I saved them. Basically I just sent tons of guys running in. I had 2 groups with rifles shooting from one side. I made them retreat a few times. But my general died 2 minutes into the battle. Wtf is the point of this guy he dies all the time. Also on the meele. so if I choose to turn on meele I can't turn it off after?
ok I just won a decent battle. I find this game pretty random though. me 1151 vs them 1080. My artillery was like useless. only 1 group was doing something, the rest were so slow and in the middle of a town. they got flanked but I saved them. Basically I just sent tons of guys running in. I had 2 groups with rifles shooting from one side. I made them retreat a few times. But my general died 2 minutes into the battle. Wtf is the point of this guy he dies all the time. Also on the meele. so if I choose to turn on meele I can't turn it off after?jakes456
its not random. till u upgrade ur baynottes u cant turn it off. only use ur general to charge if its a quick hit. run right thru the enemy dont stay and fight and only if its from behind the enemy. use ur general for morale. once u upgrade ur artillary it can be super destructive especially when sieging or repelling troops with canister shot.
you keep saying charge, how do I charge? Do you just mean clicking right click once on an enemy and hitting R to run? I upgraded to the plug bayonets. But not all my guys had them. Some of the guys just had meele.
my empire is freaking crumbling. I have 1 won battle and lost about 15 since I made this post. I took over a town and the people rioted and killed 1500! I started with 32000 cash now I have 164! I managed to get 2000 from a trade agreement now it's all gone!
The Ottoman Empire is probably the hardest faction to play as. I would recommend England for your first game. Your general is basically there for morale. You should maneuver him so that he only engages combat as a last resort and target your cannons at the enemy's general, unless they have a bunch of troops in a large mass. If you have enough artillery, the AI won't sit and get shelled, so they will come at you. Take advantage of this by forming a defensive position around your cannons. This way you will get the first volley. When your enemy gets close to the cannons, switch them to canister shot. It eats them up. On the campaign map, focus on your economy first, and try to play peacefully until you have decent tax revenue. If you are playing as a naval power, build trade ships and take over the nodes at the trade theaters. You can place up to 10 ships on a node. Monopolizing a resource will give you even more profits. In naval battles, always position your ships so that they fire at the front or back of opposing ships. If firing at the front of the ship, I use chain shot. This will tear down their sails. Fire cannons at the back. You can hit their gunpowder reserves and blow the ship, and all ships around it, out of the water. Oh, and if playing as England, France, or Spain, do not take the Native Americans for granted. They are extremely numerous and their arrows are just as deadly as your muskets.
[QUOTE="PurpleMan5000"]The Ottoman Empire is probably the hardest faction to play as. I would recommend England for your first game. Your general is basically there for morale. You should maneuver him so that he only engages combat as a last resort and target your cannons at the enemy's general, unless they have a bunch of troops in a large mass. If you have enough artillery, the AI won't sit and get shelled, so they will come at you. Take advantage of this by forming a defensive position around your cannons. This way you will get the first volley. When your enemy gets close to the cannons, switch them to canister shot. It eats them up. On the campaign map, focus on your economy first, and try to play peacefully until you have decent tax revenue. If you are playing as a naval power, build trade ships and take over the nodes at the trade theaters. You can place up to 10 ships on a node. Monopolizing a resource will give you even more profits. In naval battles, always position your ships so that they fire at the front or back of opposing ships. If firing at the front of the ship, I use chain shot. This will tear down their sails. Fire cannons at the back. You can hit their gunpowder reserves and blow the ship, and all ships around it, out of the water. Oh, and if playing as England, France, or Spain, do not take the Native Americans for granted. They are extremely numerous and their arrows are just as deadly as your muskets. really? I thought all the factions were equal. I guess I will try England then. What do I do about the economy? I had no idea what I was doing. I raised and lowered taxes and people still got mad. I lost all my money LOL!!! I was doing fine at the start of the game by not touching anything.
um, to skip the other players turns on the campaign map hit space. that should speed everything up.
yeah, of all of the total war games to get into you picked the most dense. Shogun2, rome or medieval might have been a better choice.
jettpack
what do you mean most dense? I like this era, although medieval is my fave. Not gonna give up on this game though I like it. I just suck and don't know wtf I am doing. and yes I hit space it speeds it up, but it's not like instant skip.
you keep saying charge, how do I charge? Do you just mean clicking right click once on an enemy and hitting R to run? I upgraded to the plug bayonets. But not all my guys had them. Some of the guys just had meele.jakes456
No, you have to double right click (fast) on an enemy to charge them.
You can switch back to ranged or vise versa in the HUD with the unit selected.
Also cannons aren't really that good, especially with just the standard ammunition so you shouldn't really rely on them for anything. I generally just use them for trimming the flanks of a line. Cavalry is much more deadly.
any tips for naval battles? I won have 4/7 naval battles. 4 were even, 2 they out numbered me, 1 I out numbered them. I try to use the left and right cannons on the ship. I try to circle around them and fire. damage seems like crap though. I usually get them to retreat. I don't sink them, they sink me. Should I be changing to grape shot or chain shot? What do those do. any good upgrades? Should I not circle around
[QUOTE="jakes456"] really? I thought all the factions were equal. I guess I will try England then. What do I do about the economy? I had no idea what I was doing. I raised and lowered taxes and people still got mad. I lost all my money LOL!!! I was doing fine at the start of the game by not touching anything. The economy in this game is sort of complicated. Acquire trade partners early in the game and make strategic alliances with people you don't anticipate going to war with. As you build more ports, you will be able to have more trade partners. Secure resources from the new world and the trade nodes. Also make sure to upgrade your roads. If you are playing as England, I would hold a sufficient garrison in England so that you are safe from an invasion and focus most of your efforts in the Americas. Take out the pirate islands first so they will not harass your trade ships. If possible, keep trade low to encourage growth. This will help your economy in the long run because the population will grow faster. Don't build a gigantic army until you are making a lot of money.
[QUOTE="jakes456"]bump I just lost 2 fleets to the same Spanish fleet. I gave Sweden some cash for 5 uses of their military but I can't use their military. wtf. Military access gives you permission to march your army through their lands. It doesn't let you use their military.
[QUOTE="jakes456"]any tips for naval battles? I won have 4/7 naval battles. 4 were even, 2 they out numbered me, 1 I out numbered them. I try to use the left and right cannons on the ship. I try to circle around them and fire. damage seems like crap though. I usually get them to retreat. I don't sink them, they sink me. Should I be changing to grape shot or chain shot? What do those do. any good upgrades? Should I not circle around Fire chain shot at the front of their ship. This will cut down their sails. Fire grape shot to cause casualties to their crew. This is useful if you are trying to board the ship. Use cannons when firing at the sides and backs of the ship. Watch the health bar above your ships. It shows the health of your left and right sides. If you have a bar in the red, turn your ship so that the other side takes fire. That will help you hold off from sinking.
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