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On the use of melee cavalry in M2TW

I will present here an overview of what I have learned on the effective use of melee cavalry. This will mostly cover field battles, though I will also give some pointers on using cavalry in settlements. I posted something like this months ago but this is totally re-done, as I've learned much more since then.

I don't mean to sound authoritative like I'm some war master, for I too am still learning new tactics all the time and I'm as fallible as the next guy. That said, much of what I've learned here is from making serious efforts to get better at using cavalry, including reading many of the posts here by the vets. My intention is not only to help "beingds2" with cavalry use, but to generate further discussion on the topic and get more ideas myself.

There are stylistic differences for everyone on how they like to conduct battle (e.g. some of us try to keep our casualties to a minimum while others don't care), so it is inevitable that some of my personal style of play will be at odds with other players reading this; nonetheless I consider myself objective, and most of what I lay out here applies to most field battles. Any comments, disagreements, suggestions on this post are encouraged.

One more initial comment: @ beingds2, if you feel overwhelmed trying to handle multi-unit armies, make heavy use of the pause key. I still do from time to time, especially for huge battles but also any time I'm trying to be careful and clever. I find when I pause and study things I come up with some good tactics I never would have thought of before. Anyhow I hope my pointers here help you…

1) Know your units.

Learn the strengths and weaknesses of all the cavalry units you'll be using, as well as all the units of the enemy. Unfortunately just reading the unit info sheets isn't enough; there are things like mental aspects, heat fatigue, terrain type modifiers, mount types, and special attributes, that you can mostly learn only by studying the EDU (export_descr_units file), and to do this you have to unpack the game files. It's a hassle, but well worth it. However there is a reference that has already done this for you. Download a pdf file called FAUST (Faction and Unit Stat Tables), version 1.3. It doesn't have everything, but certainly far more than you'll learn from the unit info sheets alone.

Link: http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=93740

2) Flanking and envelopment.

It cannot be overstated that the main advantages of melee cavalry are mobility and charging. A full strength, upgraded, elite cavalry unit can charge head-on into a heavy infantry unit's front line and still do amazing damage- I've seen as many as ¾'s of the enemy unit die in that first hit if you do everything right- but they will do even more damage when you are hitting them from the flanks or rear, and if you surround ANY enemy unit, no matter their discipline and morale, they will quickly become shaken or wavering. Even if they don't retreat right away, scared men make poor fighters, and that means less casualties for you. Other benefits of envelopment- sending one or two fast cav units to take care of those damn catapults, trebuchets or cannons that are raining fiery death on your men.

When their army begins to crack and run- which will happen very quickly when you have them surrounded- you have hundreds of riders right there behind them to "capture" most of them, and gain plenty of experience that way too. Even though heavy cavalry are relatively slow, their mobility is still a huge advantage on any battlefield.

3) When to charge.

In field battles, one of the best times to charge is often right at the beginning, when the enemy's front row is laden with a bunch of pesky missile troops. This is where Mailed Knights (or equivalent), or any of the lighter melee cavalry [Mounted Sergeants, Jinetes (I know, more of a missile cav unit)], are used best. This is because those units are faster (either riding a "heavy horse" mount or one of the pony types), and so when those crossbowmen or archers try and flee from your charging cav, simply put, they'll never make it. There's few things as frustrating as trying over and over again to hit fleeing missile troops with your ultra-heavy cavalry, failing 4 out of 5 times. The much heavier damage of the really heavy cav units is better used on enemy infantry or other cavalry, but your swifter cav will still do great damage to missile troops in a charge. After taking out some or all of their missile troops, you want to pull right back while your infantry still approach. At this point very often the enemy's infantry line is now exposed, and probably approaching fast. If you like, you can now charge in with your heavies, and it's quite possible if you do everything right that the battle is now nearly over without need for your infantry at all! If you instead opt to send in your infantry, now is the time to flank. This envelopment is also a great way to kill the enemy general quickly, who often is hanging in the very back ranks like a REMF.

It seems obvious but never charge head-on into polearm troops, and try and avoid doing so against enemy spear units. These are reasons you want to get your heavy cav around the enemy's main bulk and you will be poised for a charge-kill massacre.

If the enemy has several missile cav on the wings, send your own lighter cav out to attack them to keep them from firing on your heavies. If they have lots of melee cavalry of their own and you do as well, try and envelope them same as with infantry, far out away from the enemy infantry. If they have much more cavalry than you do then use your cavalry only in defense, helping out where needed.

Never attempt to charge when some friendly units of yours are already in the way, the charge will completely fail.

4) How to charge: preparation.

If you have the luxury of setting up for a long-distance charge, you want to spread out your cavalry's width to give a maximum number of lances/spears bearing down on the enemy. Spread your cavalry to only 2 or 3 ranks deep, otherwise the men in the rear ranks of a charging unit simply never have a chance to hit the enemy while moving fast, greatly reducing your kills. Sometimes in the heat of battle there is no time to re-form your lines; for instance when I'm sending heavy cavalry in a flanking motion I don't usually bother with stopping them, making them form up to 2-3 ranks again facing the enemy from the new position, and then charging……all of this takes too long and battle conditions change too fast. So in this situation I tend to put my cavalry in a square formation. That way, any direction they charge in there will be a decent number of hits. This is ideal for large cavalry battles as well, where units are constantly flanking and surrounding each other; there is simply no time to change the number of ranks and orientation. Use your judgment based on battle conditions. Note- it is perfectly acceptable to have two cavalry units on top of one another (occupying the same space), just make sure their front ranks are about on top of each other. Sometimes I do this on purpose for extra hitting power in a particular area, or to lend support to a general with a small bodyguard.

You do not want to attempt a charge into a unit that is moving fast in a lateral sense with regards to you (perpendicular). Meaning if I'm attacking with some knights some enemy infantry that are running at full speed from right to left in front of me, it becomes a worthless charge. This is because once locked into a charge, your units will move almost in a straight line and will correct for a moving target very little. By the time they get to where their targets were the enemy is no longer even there, you might kill five stragglers at best. This is especially the case with fast foot units like many archers. Try to make your charges more in line with their own line of motion, preferably from the front.....the higher the closing speed, the higher the damage, just like car accidents. ;-)

For charging enemy javelin/missile cavalry, catch them first with some light cavalry of your own. Then while they hold them in melee, wheel your heavy guys around and crush them from the sides or from behind. For enemy generals out in the open, hit him from ALL sides as quick as possible, the quicker he dies the better and those two hit points make his unit very tough to kill off quickly.

5) How to charge: execution.

You need to start off a charge from a certain minimum distance from the enemy. Most of us figure this out quickly, but it is very important that you give your cav enough distance. Distance not only makes sure that they charge, you need to make sure they are able to build up full speed, and heavy cav take a long time to do this. Another reason- if you give an attack command from when your cavalry are standing still, and they are close to the enemy, often there is a sort of bug where the charge will start and then simply stop, or only a few men in the unit charge while everyone else stands still. Yet another reason for spacing- you'll notice when you give heavy cavalry a move or attack order, at first it takes them a LONG time to actually start moving their butts. Some will move before others do. This causes the formation to break up a little. But then, once they get moving, notice as they gain speed they start to reform proper ranks again. It is important that your men are in close ranks, neat rows, before they hit with a charge. Learn to get a "feel" for the distances needed, it will pay off.

Some people don't seem aware so I'll point out what might seem obvious- make your attack command a double right click, not a single click. Always double click. We're trying to encourage speed. :-)

Another point about being already in motion when the charge order is given- it's okay to be moving laterally or even away from an enemy and then give a charge order. I've noticed if you give a charge order right when your men are coming to a stop, they often won't charge at all, or a few of them charge and the rest stand still; try and time the attack command while your cavalry are still galloping in any direction. Let them build up momentum perpendicular to the enemy or away from them, and then charge while they still have momentum. Of course for frontal assaults build your momentum towards the enemy.

Once you hit with a charge wait until all the momentum is gone out of your cavalry and into the enemy's flying broken bodies. You now have to decide whether or not you want to leave your cavalry in hand-to-hand fighting, or pull them back for another charge. The deciding factor is usually the enemy's morale……..and, oh, whether there are nearby enemy spearmen about to take revenge on you! If the enemy unit is already to "shaken" or "wavering" morale, I tend to leave them in melee. But- you might notice sometimes it takes your cavalry a long, long time to switch to their secondary weapons and start swinging. To compensate for this I sometimes right after the charge is complete, give a movement order (anywhere)- single click is okay for this- wait about one second, and then follow with another attack command. (This is also a great way to wake up your cavalry from just standing in place asleep for like 8 seconds when the enemy first starts to route……perhaps they're so stupefied and amazed at their own destructive ability, it takes awhile to soak it all in? LOL)

If the enemy is still high on morale, high in numbers, or other deadly units are about to hit your cavalry back, pull your men out of there. Have them charge somewhere else, or pull far out if you're going to charge the same place again; you need to make sure ALL of your cav unit's members have freed themselves from the enemy and are a decent distance away again otherwise they will not charge but will merely "run into" the enemy. There are ways of minimizing your cavalry getting some of their members stuck in amongst the enemy while you try and pull out, but sometimes it can't be helped.

If the enemy is about to flee, or you're fighting a mass of wimpy units (peasants, skirmishers, most missile troops), then leaving them in melee is perfectly fine if you want to. But if you can pull back and charge again to kill another hundred men in an instant, why wouldn't you? Again, use your judgment.

6) Cavalry in melee.

I find the way units in melee tend to spread out backwards, so that only a handful of men are actually fighting, very annoying. Add to that the way individuals in a cavalry unit sometimes go a LONG time without taking a swing at the enemies right next to them, and you not only have aggravatingly-long fights that tire out your men quickly, it is simply a huge waste of your units' capabilities. So……….as I often do with infantry as well:

Give your cavalry a movement order so that they begin to move through the enemy unit- doing this with a double right click "run" command- then once they're mixed in with the enemy somewhat give an attack order again. Warning! Only do this in certain situations- I would certainly not move my general's bodyguard into a bunch of a Dismounted Noble Knights, or anyone with two-handed weapons or axes for that matter. Any unit of yours that is moving somewhere that comes in contact with an enemy unit will stop moving and go into a sort of half-effort fighting mode, so you have to: a) initiate contact first, b) give the move order through the enemy, c) wait awhile until your units are mixed into theirs, and d) give the second attack order.

There are several advantages to doing this with heavy cavalry. One is that you bring most of your men's secondary weapons to bear on the enemy instead of just a handful of men in the front while the rest hang back and watch (and get tired from watching!). Secondly, this always "wakes up" your cavalry from that stupor of just standing there for a long time, not taking a swing, not doing much of anything. It forces them (all of them) to immediately take a swing at the enemy the moment you give the attack order. (so you should do this multiple times within a fight.) Thirdly, mounted units I believe have a bonus against all foot units except spears and such, or it might be that the foot unit gets a penalty fighting against cav.

If you're willing to risk a few more casualties, using your cav in melee this way will do wonders. It kills off the enemy foot units VERY quickly (especially defenseless archers and the like!). It makes the enemy route much quicker. It keeps your cav from getting fatigued way too soon. It makes your killing expedient and that in turn frees up your cavalry to be used elsewhere if there's a need…….there's usually a need. Lastly, in many situations your cav will pour around the enemy unit like water around a rock, so that some of your cavalry are now hitting the enemy from the sides and back……again, getting more kills sooner. Just be careful what unit you attempt this against. I will sometimes be quite bold and do this in a general vs. general battle, if my man is more armored and experienced and I have greater numbers. Otherwise it's near suicidal.

You need to know what your cavalry's secondary weapons are, the attack values, whether they're armor-piercing, etc., to help you decide when cavalry melee is worth it. The unit info sheets don't show you the secondary weapons' properties unless the primary weapon is a missile weapon. For instance, I only recently found out Norman Knights have a much higher attack value in melee than most, and Teutonic Knights have a 12-attack armor-piercing mace! I would therefore leave those units in melee more often. (note- my stats/experiences are based mostly on Retrofit Mod / Kingdoms stats, where cavalry have been toned down but are still ultra powerful.) On the contrary, many of the Mongols' cavalry have armor-piercing maces, so you definitely don't want prolonged melee with them if possible.

7) Be prepared to have your plans ruined.

Battles are quite dynamic. If the enemy changes tactics, or a situation develops where you no longer surround the enemy, pull away and keep adjusting, even pulling completely away from the enemy for a moment if necessary- to make sure you're always the one doing the charging and enveloping. If you notice you're sending a cav unit into a charge of the enemy's rear formations, into a situation where they themselves might soon be sandwiched between two enemy units, then have another of your cav units be ready to support them from further out by sandwiching the sandwich-er, if you follow my meaning. Never leave your cavalry open to attack from multiple directions, this will get them killed very fast especially if much of their armor rating was from a shield. Your cavalry are the last units you ever want to "throw away" on the battlefield. There are much less of them per unit for a reason- used correctly they are highly efficient enders of lives. :-D

8) Spears and pikes and such.

Pay attention whether or not the enemy unit you want to charge has the "bonus versus cavalry" feature. If they do, you should only be charging their flanks and rear (and NOT leaving them in hand-to-hand!), or if you're confident and can afford some casualties hit them from the front AND sides but make sure your numbers are so great that the enemy freaks out and runs soon after the charge. A general's unit with full armor and weapon upgrades and maximum experience will annihilate a row of spearmen head-on, but will still take higher casualties than usual of their own.

9) As with all the other units in the game, use the terrain to your advantage. Try and fight in open fields instead of forests which break up your cav's formations. Charging down a hill or even a slight slope gives you a much bigger edge than charging uphill.

10) Also as with all other units- upgrade armor and weapons whenever you can. It helps.

11) Capturing the routed.

This is the main means by which I gain huge experience for my cav units. Capturing hundreds of fleeing enemies, you may choose to let them go after the fight but you get to keep the experience. I usually will soon have a few cavalry units with silver or gold chevrons, and those 2 to 3 extra points of attack and the higher morale are always desirable. Heavy cavalry are not very good at chasing down fleeing rats, but have them do so anyway when you can.

12) Make use of the best cavalry unit at your disposal- the general! I find about 9 out of 10 battles I will have him doing some serious fighting/killing instead of sitting in the back ranks, just cuz the General's Bodyguard units are so tough, and for the command boost of having my general near the fighting. I do occasionally lose a general this way, but it's undoubtedly worth it.

13) Cavalry in settlement battles.

Charging is mostly out of the question in a settlement, but for those of you that want to try it, it is possible. I figured out that the reason cav don't usually charge in the streets is because they are normally given a formation width which is much wider than the streets themselves, so it's like the streets are funneling your units into a narrower shape than they want to be, and somehow this prevents charging from working. But if you give them a formation that is less wide than the streets themselves- meaning like 3 to 4 very long columns- they will successfully charge if they have an unobstructed path to the enemy, i.e. are not turning a corner. Also you can often charge in the town square, especially for huge cities where you have lots of space.

The main use of cavalry in city fights is their mobility. You want to have them riding around city blocks and trying to come up behind enemy units, sandwiching them between your cav and your infantry. Most enemy units flee almost instantly when I do this, even when there are many hundreds of them. That leads to another reason you always want a couple of cavalry around- to chase down all the routers. No point in making hundreds of enemy archers bug out and flee to the town square, only to have them firing thousands of arrows at you later when you could have captured them.

When the AI has many siege units like trebuchets, cannons, etc., I use some fast cavalry to take those units out before they are allowed to set up and start setting my whole army on fire in the narrow streets. The javelin type cavalry are wonderful in this role- fast moving and decent in melee, and able to put enemy infantry under missile fire to make them break sooner (and then capture them!)…….not to mention the wonders that javelins do against enemy generals. Also if you're assaulting a city with lots of missile units in it, and very few spear units, lots of cavalry come in quite handy for a complete slaughter-fest. ;-)

Another city-assaulting tactic of mine is to sometimes use an overwhelming number of heavy cavalry and just accept higher casualties than usual. If you break the enemy gates and just pour in a MASSIVE cavalry force, even against spears, you will make the enemy break rather quickly unless they're lead by a good general. I'll take heavy casualties from things like boiling oil, enemy spears, and heavy infantry with ap weapons who don't flee so fast, but the battle will be over quite soon once I route them all. When the enemy is surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of cavalry they tend to #$%% themselves rather quickly.

Yet another tactic of mine, when I'm assaulting a city but the enemy has brought up a reinforcement army, and I have lots of cav. Based on the campaign map you know where the enemy reinforcements will appear. Before the start of battle place all your cavalry and your general close to where the reinforcements will enter the battleground, and then while your main force is busy taking down walls, towers, etc., have your cavalry charging and destroying the reinforcements. This prevents having to fight the reinforcements later in the city as often happens.

For sally battles where you're sallying out, obviously having a larger contingent of heavy cavalry will be very much to your advantage. For defensive city battles, you can often send out your cavalry to destroy the men on the enemy's catapults, trebuchets and such, then beat a retreat back into town, forcing the AI to attack with their ladders/towers and rams only. Another tactic is to send your cavalry out the other gates, and come riding around the outside of your walls. Wait until the enemy is trying to push through your gateway or wherever and then hit them right then from the sides and behind………instant route.

Leckan wrote:

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Holy mother of god! That's the longest post ever. Wonder how long its gonna take for me to read it now O.0

Peacemaker EAF92 wrote:

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While a lot of Dale`s suggestion are good, one I do not like is his Pause suggestion. I figured leckan wasn`t pausing by reading between the lines and its good practise not to, especially if you might ever go online. Even if you don`t go online it makes for a more exciting, flowing and, imho, realistic game when you fight a battle `live` without pausing.

All this is doable without Pause. I have played the TW series for a LONG time and have never, repeat NEVER used Pause to help me fight the battle whether I lose or win. It also gives the AI a fair chance against you. We know it needs all the help it can get.

I would say keep at it without pausing Leckan. It will make you more skilled at TW eventually.