3.3.3 [SOHY] Enemy Tactics change Daily against pure Archer Retinue

[Skurrio]

So according to the Wiki, every Tactic lasts a set Amount of Days. According to 00_combat_tactics.txt the lowest Amount of Days in the Skirmish Phase is 12 Days (Defence Tactics). Therefore a pure welsh Archer Retinue should be able to fire their Massive Longbow Volley for atleast 12 Days before being crushed by Charge on the Undefended Flank.
So I tried it with a max_tech Isle of Man in the 769 Start against the King of Pictland. I used a single Longbowman Retinue. To my Surprise the enemy Flank changed their Tactics daily, despite the UI saying "Next tactic change: 17 days". When I tried the same fight with a more balanced Army Composition 5 Trapper: 2 Longbowman the Tactics where changed according to the displayed Days.
I gave my Character +50 Martial, the Unyielding Trait, the Patient Trait and the Strategist Trait. I used the Console Commands piety, cash and prestige once.
I didn't used any Mods and I own all DLC. I waited until February 773 to let my Retinue fill up.

 

[redtide]

I have encountered this behavior when a flank has >60% archers.

I composed three different archer-heavy flanks (100%, 62%, 50%). During battle, the enemy flanks opposing my 100% and 62% archer flanks changed tactic every day, which allowed Charge on Undefended to trigger as soon as it became available (after three days). The enemy flank opposing my 50% archer flank behaved as you would expect, i.e. not changing tactic until its initial tactic had run its course.

EDIT: I ran another test that confirms that this is hardcoded behavior tied to the 60% archer threshold. I composed a flank of 58% archers and 42% light infantry. I modded their defense values such that the light infantry would die at a higher rate, allowing me to observe the tactics of the enemy flank before and after the 60% archer threshold. Under 60%, the enemy flank tactics behaved normally, but as soon as the fraction of archers exceeded 60%, the enemy flank's tactics changed daily. They fired Charge on Undefended as soon as it became available (interrupting their existing tactic) and thereafter chose a new melee tactic each day. But this behavior happened even when I commented out the Charge on Undefended tactic. As soon as my flank hit 60% archers, the enemy flank's tactic was interrupted and they chose a new skirmish tactic every day. So it does seem to be an ill-executed attempt to allow Charge on Undefended to fire as soon as the opposing flank hits 60% archers, with the problem being that the hardcoded tactic interruption does not cease after Charge on Undefended has fired. But I think it's worth pointing out that the hardcoded tactic interruption should not just be "fixed" but removed altogether because it frustrates modding, and the same effect (getting Charge on Undefended to fire before 12 or 18 days of battle have elapsed) could be achieved by instead changing the scripting in 00_combat_tactics.txt, e.g. by decreasing the duration of skirmish tactics.

 

[redtide]

Compare to this patch note from v 2.8.1:
"Fixed combat tactics changing every single day while flanking"