PROJECT A.B.C.D.E.
Advanced Battles & Combat Depth Essentials
[a comprehensive combat overhaul project]
Release Version: DOWNLOAD 0C_Vanilla, DOWNLOAD 0C1_HIP-PB
Steam Workshop: Vanilla, HIP-PB
Date Released: August 28, 2014 (1852, UTC+8), and September 3, 2014 (2227, UTC+8)
CK2 Compatibility: 2.1.6 and some earlier versions
Mod Compatibility: vanilla,HIP-PB, Lux Invicta (to be integrated); CK2+ (pending the rewrite)
Next Update ETA: some time from now
O. SCREENSHOTS:
I. INTRODUCTION:
(So, after a year or so of hibernation and existing only as a blog post in the forums, this mod project finally starts getting momentum enough that I decided to make a proper thread.)
This project is a bifocal attempt that aims to rebalance combat via a tweak of both unit stats to make each unit a functional combatant in its own right as well as combat mechanics in general (like how long battles last - specifically, making them last longer than they do in vanilla), and most importantly a complete overhaul of the tactics of the vanilla CK2 game and eventually code it into a modification module.
The tactics system is quite flexible in and detailed enough that it allows a rock-paper-scissors system that makes units more nuanced in the field. The problem with vanilla tactics though is that they aren't nuanced enough to allow a wide variety of possibilities depending on army composition. Granted, army composition in vanilla is relatively homogeneous, but with mods like Better Armies or Lux Invicta, army composition is not taken advantage of properly.
The project aims to change that by adding a large amount of different tactics that are applicable for different situations, each which has a strength or weakness relative to other tactics, to more closely represent the chaotic flow of the battlefield. To illustrate, vanilla has around 26 generic tactics - this project is estimated to have more than 100 generic tactics whose availability is dependent on traits, terrain, unit composition, and attributes like martial, intrigue, and learning. The latter two of course would only apply to special tactics (mostly ambush/subversion-type for the former, and unique/innovative tactics for the latter)
To see how such a system could potentially improve CK2 combat mechanics, you could read about coanda's detailed FAQ on how tactics in general work.
I won't exactly be adding/doing duel-events and battle-event mods, as there are a lot of mods that do so anyway with better skill than I could possibly hope to achieve - not to mention it'll be a headache to maintain compatibility with the main overhaul mods (that use defines.lua) anyway.
The project aims to change that by adding a large amount of different tactics that are applicable for different situations, each which has a strength or weakness relative to other tactics, to more closely represent the chaotic flow of the battlefield. To illustrate, vanilla has around 26 generic tactics - this project is estimated to have more than 100 generic tactics whose availability is dependent on traits, terrain, unit composition, and attributes like martial, intrigue, and learning. The latter two of course would only apply to special tactics (mostly ambush/subversion-type for the former, and unique/innovative tactics for the latter)
To see how such a system could potentially improve CK2 combat mechanics, you could read about coanda's detailed FAQ on how tactics in general work.
I won't exactly be adding/doing duel-events and battle-event mods, as there are a lot of mods that do so anyway with better skill than I could possibly hope to achieve - not to mention it'll be a headache to maintain compatibility with the main overhaul mods (that use defines.lua) anyway.
II. UNIT REBALANCE:
The funny thing about "rebalancing" troops is that they're actually a byproduct of the situation of Lux Invicta which has a lot of cultures with unique troop-ratios due to the way cultural buildings are set, which made me want to standardize all troops and make them "balanced" relative to each other in terms of stats.
And so, I decided first to play some TW games for a while to sort of reimagine how different troop types would function in battle and how to rebalance their stats to fit the Lux Invicta setting. Then, I needed to confirm just how combat damage works, and came to the following thought process:
first, troop deaths are determined by [Total Attack Points Received / Total Defence Points Available]*[Troop Kill Factor]. These determine how many troops you lose per day. vanilla has it set at 0.015, and I decided to set it a 2/3, ie. 0.01 (well, technically it's been freely floating whenever I randomly tweaked it, but I thought I'd use this value as the standard now).
Second, morale loss is determined by [Troop Morale Points Lost + Morale Loss Factor]. As each soldier has a base morale point, each troop death reduces the total morale points pool (hence morale drops faster) as well as incurs a morale loss factor too (even more morale loss). This made morale a sort of "HP" system that determined just how long a battle would last. Since it has been agreed upon previously that Lux Invicta battles are all about small scale drawn out conflicts, I've decided to both increase the base morale of all troops as well as reducing the morale loss factor to 3 (vanilla had it pegged at 6).
first, troop deaths are determined by [Total Attack Points Received / Total Defence Points Available]*[Troop Kill Factor]. These determine how many troops you lose per day. vanilla has it set at 0.015, and I decided to set it a 2/3, ie. 0.01 (well, technically it's been freely floating whenever I randomly tweaked it, but I thought I'd use this value as the standard now).
Second, morale loss is determined by [Troop Morale Points Lost + Morale Loss Factor]. As each soldier has a base morale point, each troop death reduces the total morale points pool (hence morale drops faster) as well as incurs a morale loss factor too (even more morale loss). This made morale a sort of "HP" system that determined just how long a battle would last. Since it has been agreed upon previously that Lux Invicta battles are all about small scale drawn out conflicts, I've decided to both increase the base morale of all troops as well as reducing the morale loss factor to 3 (vanilla had it pegged at 6).
As such, below is the matrix I've decided on so far:
Light Infantry
cost = 1
morale = 3
attack = 4/3/3
defence = 3/3/4
notes: I've tweaked LI a bit so that they function more as all-around-skirmishers rather than simply junk troops. They're still the least valuable troop per person, but at least they're less trash now.
Heavy Infantry
cost = 2
morale = 5
attack = 1/8/2
defence = 6/4/3
notes: A slight few tweaks from vanilla, heavy infantry are twice as expensive as light infantry, but are slightly stronger in skirmish/melee as well as a bit more defence. These units are offensively-oriented, and thus have a minimal melee defence boost to reflect their high risk, high-reward combat.
Pikemen
cost = 2
morale = 5
attack = 0.1/6.9/1
defence = 6/8/2
notes: Pikemen-type troops had a bit of rebalance to them, having equal morale with heavy infantry now but still defensively-oreinted. Their melee attack is relatively slighly weaker than heavy infantry, but they have twice the defensive capabilities in melee of heavy infantry (a vanilla ratio anyway) in exchange for weaker performance in pursuit. Also, the decimal-value skirmish is mostly a vanilla safeguard I retained to keep them marginally useful in siege assaults (which apparently use skirmish values).
Light Cavalry
cost = 2.5
morale = 4
attack = 5/4.5/12
defence = 6/4/6
notes: Light Cavalry had been rebalanced by a fair amount. They have strengthened a significantly strengthened skirmish offensive and boosted pursuit value and thus more valuable as a combat unit.
Heavy Cavalry
cost = 5
morale = 8
attack = 0.5/10/9
defence = 6/7/5
notes: Heavy Cavalry underwent a fair amount of rebalance as well. I've reduced their base morale relative to vanilla, as well as slightly boosting their skirmish/pursuit offensive in exchange for reducing their skirmish/melee defences.
Archers
cost = 1
morale = 3
attack = 8/3/2
defence = 1/3/3
notes: Archers also were rebalanced by much as well. Aside from having the same base morale of light infantry (3), they now have a stronger skirmish value (twice of light infantry) and a bit more melee in exchange for reduced skirmish defences. This essentially makes them a glass-cannon variant of light infantry then, but significantly more stronger than the vanilla version.
cost = 1
morale = 3
attack = 4/3/3
defence = 3/3/4
notes: I've tweaked LI a bit so that they function more as all-around-skirmishers rather than simply junk troops. They're still the least valuable troop per person, but at least they're less trash now.
Heavy Infantry
cost = 2
morale = 5
attack = 1/8/2
defence = 6/4/3
notes: A slight few tweaks from vanilla, heavy infantry are twice as expensive as light infantry, but are slightly stronger in skirmish/melee as well as a bit more defence. These units are offensively-oriented, and thus have a minimal melee defence boost to reflect their high risk, high-reward combat.
Pikemen
cost = 2
morale = 5
attack = 0.1/6.9/1
defence = 6/8/2
notes: Pikemen-type troops had a bit of rebalance to them, having equal morale with heavy infantry now but still defensively-oreinted. Their melee attack is relatively slighly weaker than heavy infantry, but they have twice the defensive capabilities in melee of heavy infantry (a vanilla ratio anyway) in exchange for weaker performance in pursuit. Also, the decimal-value skirmish is mostly a vanilla safeguard I retained to keep them marginally useful in siege assaults (which apparently use skirmish values).
Light Cavalry
cost = 2.5
morale = 4
attack = 5/4.5/12
defence = 6/4/6
notes: Light Cavalry had been rebalanced by a fair amount. They have strengthened a significantly strengthened skirmish offensive and boosted pursuit value and thus more valuable as a combat unit.
Heavy Cavalry
cost = 5
morale = 8
attack = 0.5/10/9
defence = 6/7/5
notes: Heavy Cavalry underwent a fair amount of rebalance as well. I've reduced their base morale relative to vanilla, as well as slightly boosting their skirmish/pursuit offensive in exchange for reducing their skirmish/melee defences.
Archers
cost = 1
morale = 3
attack = 8/3/2
defence = 1/3/3
notes: Archers also were rebalanced by much as well. Aside from having the same base morale of light infantry (3), they now have a stronger skirmish value (twice of light infantry) and a bit more melee in exchange for reduced skirmish defences. This essentially makes them a glass-cannon variant of light infantry then, but significantly more stronger than the vanilla version.
To be able to obtain a useful comparison, I'm using a concept called "relative worth" which factors in morale, which I treat as a sort of "HP" bar instead of ignoring it all together as coanda did. I did this by adding in all the offensive/defensive "pips" of a unit, then multiplying it by its morale, then dividing by the greatest common factor, which gives the ratio which determines their maintenance factor:
1 light infantry, archer = 2 heavy infantry, pikeman = 2.5 light cavalry = 5 heavy cavalry.
Horse Archers, Camels, Elephants, and other vanilla special troops are not yet part of the balance yet, and I'll be making them up as I go ahead with making the special troops matrix and find relevant cultures that would use them (and tweaking accordingly). But a tentative strength ratio I have is 1 LI = 3 HA = 3 Cm, 10 El. But of course, that'll change as I get a more in-depth look into them.
note: and yeah, some might have noticed I just essentially just edited this from a large chunk of a thread I made in the LI sub-forums, but hey, this was essentially previously a project started for Lux Invicta
III. TACTICS OVERHAUL:
And here comes the bulk of the mod (and ironically the part with the shorter introduction). Generally, as has been noted previously by PAnZuRiEL with his previous two mods (the gist of which is noted in the OP of Concerning Military Matters), vanilla tactics have a lot of weaknesses that can be addressed. They mainly boil down to two critical matters that they fail to make use of well enough: terrain, and unit composition.
That said, this is probably where our two projects diverge in focus. PAnZuRiEL's desired emphasis is on terrain, which certainly is a critical component in battles. I however would like to focus primarily on unit composition first (as this project is designed to take advantage of unique army compositions after all). As such, all of my tactics take the various potential compositions of armies as their main rubric - that is, an army that has a high ratio of cavalry is significantly more likely to use cavalry-based tactics in both skirmish and melee just as much as a pike-and-bow defence retinue is more likely to use archery-oriented tactics in the offence, and perhaps even ambushes with the appropriate terrain if the leader is skilled enough.
That said, the following is the cumulative list of tactics I've designed so far - you might notice that I haven't actually finished assigning statistics to most melee tactics. Well, I've been only working on this project rarely in the past, but they'll be updated properly as I work on the project now.
#format:
tactic_name (! prefix means a bad tactic)
- ideal_composition (bell curve distribution of modifier weight, ideally 3 to 5 intervals), flank leader required/bonus/unnecessary, ideal/trigger_martial_skill (depending on tactic) , weighting_traits
= vs *"weakness_and_strengths_vis_a_vis_other_tactics*" ^ enemy_tactic_trigger
> TYPE(HI/LI/PI/AR/LC/HC/HA are heavy/lightinfantry/pikemen/archer/light/heavycavalry/horsearchers, where camels and elephants are treated as LC/HC respectively)_O(ffensive)/D(effensive) +-(relevant modifier)
#misc notes
note: further subdivision would be necessary for more effective counter-effects
note: for modifiers, ideally max/min of 100 to 150% except for specialist/unique tactics
note: for tactic affinity, vs "A" means against a specific tactic while vs *A* means against a group of tactics
note: there still is no tactic synergy designed/written (ie. tactics benefiting from another flank's/centre's tactic choice)
note: unless noted, basic skirmish tactic lasts 4 days, melee 5 days
note: currently, only horse archer special troops have their unique tactics and modifiers. camel cavalry will currently follow light cavalry designations until I can make separate tactics for them, while war elephants follow heavy cavalry designations (with requisite amounts reduced by 1/10th) for that matter
note: regarding the bell-curve distribution, there are two variants: the first which has a right-side component which decreases the chance/weight if you go over the ratio, and the second has only a left-side component, thus you get the max chance/weight once you hit the ideal ratio
notes: offensive/defensive tactics simply indicate where the buffs are concentrated (ie. offensive/defensive buffs), and are not restricted to attacker/defenders
That said, the following is the cumulative list of tactics I've designed so far - you might notice that I haven't actually finished assigning statistics to most melee tactics. Well, I've been only working on this project rarely in the past, but they'll be updated properly as I work on the project now.
#format:
tactic_name (! prefix means a bad tactic)
- ideal_composition (bell curve distribution of modifier weight, ideally 3 to 5 intervals), flank leader required/bonus/unnecessary, ideal/trigger_martial_skill (depending on tactic) , weighting_traits
= vs *"weakness_and_strengths_vis_a_vis_other_tactics*" ^ enemy_tactic_trigger
> TYPE(HI/LI/PI/AR/LC/HC/HA are heavy/lightinfantry/pikemen/archer/light/heavycavalry/horsearchers, where camels and elephants are treated as LC/HC respectively)_O(ffensive)/D(effensive) +-(relevant modifier)
#misc notes
note: further subdivision would be necessary for more effective counter-effects
note: for modifiers, ideally max/min of 100 to 150% except for specialist/unique tactics
note: for tactic affinity, vs "A" means against a specific tactic while vs *A* means against a group of tactics
note: there still is no tactic synergy designed/written (ie. tactics benefiting from another flank's/centre's tactic choice)
note: unless noted, basic skirmish tactic lasts 4 days, melee 5 days
note: currently, only horse archer special troops have their unique tactics and modifiers. camel cavalry will currently follow light cavalry designations until I can make separate tactics for them, while war elephants follow heavy cavalry designations (with requisite amounts reduced by 1/10th) for that matter
note: regarding the bell-curve distribution, there are two variants: the first which has a right-side component which decreases the chance/weight if you go over the ratio, and the second has only a left-side component, thus you get the max chance/weight once you hit the ideal ratio
notes: offensive/defensive tactics simply indicate where the buffs are concentrated (ie. offensive/defensive buffs), and are not restricted to attacker/defenders
#####SKIRMISH PHASE#####
##Offensive Tactics##
*Cavalry Strikes*
- weak vs Shield Formations & Manoeuvres
- strong vs Infantry Screening
mobile swarm (HA neutral)
- 30+-10% HA
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.5
> HA_O +0.5 HA_D +0.5 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
rotating swarm (HA good)
- 60-20% HA, flank leader req, Cavalry Commander
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.5
> HA_O +1 HA_D +1 AR_O -0.25 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
horseman harass (LC neutral)
- 30+-10% LC
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.25
> LC_O +0.5 LC_D +0.25 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
cavalry hit and run (LC good)
- 60-20% LC, flank leader req, Cavalry Commander req
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.25
> LC_O +1.5 LC_D +0.5 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
cavalry raiding (LC good)
- 60-20% LC, flank leader req, martial > 16 & Cavalry Commander bon-trig
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* v+0.5
> LC_O +3 LC_D +0.75 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
swarm and harass (HA good)
-30-10% LC and 30+-10%HA, flank leader req, martial > 16 req, Cav Commander bon
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* +0.5
> LC_O + 1.5 HA_O +1.5 LC AR_O -0.5 LI_O -1 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
*Archery Strikes*
- weak vs Shield Formations & Manoeuvres & Ambushes
- strong vs Cavalry Strikes
Light Volley (AR neutral)
- 30+-10% AR
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Ambush* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
> AR_O +0.5
Heavy Barrage (AR good)
- 60-20% AR, flank leader bon
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Ambush* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
> AR_O +0.75
!Indiscriminate Barrage (AR bad)
- 30-10% AR, no flank leader bon, cruel, wroth bon
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Ambush* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
> AR_O +1.5 AR_D -0.25 HI_D -0.5 PI_D -0.5 LI_D -0.5 LC_D -0.25 HC_D -0.25 HA_D -0.25
Arced Arrow Assault (AR neutral)
- 50-15% LI or 50-15% HI, and 30+-10% AR , flank leader bon
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Ambush* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.25
> AR_O +0.5 AR_D +1
Ambush Volley (AR good)
- 30-10% AR, flank leader req, intrigue > 8 OR rough/mountain/jungle/experimenter req, forest/hill/mountain/jungle terrain req
= vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.75 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.75 (special bonii)
> AR_O +1.5 AR_D +1 LI_O +1
*Infantry Screening*
- weak vs Archery Strikes & Cavalry Strikes
- strong vs Ambushes & Manoeuvres
Average Light Bait Vanguard (LI neutral)
- 60-20% LI
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.75 vs *Manoeuvres* x+0.75 vs *Ambushes* x+0.5
>LI_D -0.5 LI_O +0.5 HI_D +0.25 PI_D +0.25 AR_D +0.25 LC_D +0.25 HC_D +0.25 AR_O -0.75
Skilled Light Bait Vanguard (LI good)
- 60-20% LI, flank leader req-bon, light foot bon
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x1 vs *Ambushes* x+0.75
>LI_D -0.25 LI_O +0.75 HI_D +0.5, PI_D +0.5, AR_D +0.5 LC_D +0.5 HC_D +0.5 AR_O -0.5
Heavy Advance Vanguard (HI neutral)
- 60-20% HI
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x+0.75 vs *Ambushes* x+0.5
>HI_D -0.25 LI_D +0.5 PI_D +0.5 AR_D +0.5 LC_D +0.3 HC_D +0.5 AR_O -0.6
Average Light Foot Feint (LI neutral)
- 40-15% LI, flank leader req, martial > 16 req
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x+0.75 vs *Ambushes* x+0.5
>LI_O +0.5 LI_D + 0.25 AR_O +0.5
Skilled Light Foot Feint (LI good)
- 40-15% LI, flank leader req, martial > 16 req, light foot req-bon,
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x+1 vs *Ambushes* x+0.75
>LI_O +1 LI_D +0.5 AR +1
Heavy Foot Feint (HI neutral)
- 40-15% HI, 30+-10% AR, flank leader req, heavy infantry leader bon
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x+1 vs *Ambushes* x+0.75
>HI_D -0.25 AR_O +1
##Defensive Tactics##
*Shield Formations*
- weak vs Infantry Screening
- strong vs Cavalry Strikes
weak shield link (HI neutral)
- 30+-10% HI, NO flank leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.25
>HI_D +0.15 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
shield chain (HI neutral)
- 40+-15% HI, flank leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.25
>HI_D +0.3 LI_D +0.3 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
shield wall (HI good)
- 60-20% HI, flank leader bon, heavy infantry leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
>HI_D +0.75 PI_D +0.25 LI_D +0.75 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
strong shield wall (HI good)
- 75-25% HI, flank leader req, heavy infantry leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
>HI_D +1 PI_D +0.5 LI_D +1 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
spike wall (PI good)
- 40-15% HI 40-15% PI, flank leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+2
>HI_D +1 PI_D +1 LI_D +1 PI_O +2 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
*Manoeuvres*
- weak vs Infantry Screening
- strong vs Ambushes
!Obvious feint (LI bad)
- NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.5 vs *Ambushes x+0.25
>HI_D -0.3 PI_D -0.3 LI_D -0.3 AR_D -0.3 HA_D -0.3 LC_D -0.3 AR_O +0.1 LC_O +0.1 HA_O +0.1
Skillful feint (LI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Ambushes x+0.5
>HI_D -0.1 PI_D -0.1 LI_D -0.1 HA_D -0.1 LI_O +0.2 AR_O + 0.2 LC_O +0.2 HA_O +0.2
Misdirection (LI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Ambushes x+0.75
>HI_D +0.25 PI_D +0.25 LI_D +0.25 AR_D +0.25 LC_D +0.25 HA_D +0.25 LI_O +0.3 AR_O +0.3 LC_O +0.3 HA_O +0.3
Obfuscation (LI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 24 experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Ambushes x+1
>HI_D +0.5 PI_D +0.5 HC_D +0.5 LI_D +1 AR_D +1 LC_D +1 HA_D +1 LI_O +0.5 AR_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
*Ambushes*
- weak vs Manoeuvres
- strong vs Infantry Screening
notes: higher bonus for terrain-traits (5), then unit traits (4), then experimenter/trickster/organizer (3)
desert ambush (LC neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, desert terrain, desert expert/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>LI_O +0.25 AR_O +0.25 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5 HC_O +0.5 CM_O 1 (special)
crushing desert ambush (LC good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, desert terrain, desert expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>LI_O +0.5 AR_O +0.5 LC_O +1 HA_O +1 HC_O +1 CM_O +2 (special)
hill-side ambush (AR neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, hill terrain, rough terrain/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_D +0.3 LI_D +0.3 HI_D +0.3 PI_D +0.3 AR_O +0.75 LI_O +0.4 HA_O +0.4 HC_O +0.4 LC_O +0.4
crushing hill-side ambush (AR good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req-bon, intrigue > 8 req, hill terrain, rough expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_D +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HI_D +0.75 PI_D +0.75 AR_O +1.5 LI_O +1 HA_O +1 HC_O +1 LC_O +1
mountain ambush (HI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, mountain terrain, mountain expert/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_D +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HI_D +1 PI_D +0.5 LI_O +0.75 AR_O +0.75 LC_O -0.5 HC_O -0.5 HA_O -0.5
crushing mountain ambush (HI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, mountain terrain, mountain expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_D +1.5 LI_D +1.5 HI_D +2 PI_D +0.75 LI_O +1.5 AR_O +1.5 LC_O -0.5 HC_O -0.5 HA_O -0.5
forest ambush (LI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, forest terrain, rough terrain/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_D +0.5 LI_D +0.5 HI_D +0.25 PI_D +0.25 LI_O +1 AR_O +0.75 LC_O -0.3 HC_O -0.3 HA_O -0.3
crushing forest ambush (LI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, forest terrain, rough expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_D +1 LI_D +1 HI_D +0.5 PI_D +0.5 LI_O +2 AR_O +1.5 LC_O -0.3 HC_O -0.3 HA_O -0.3
jungle ambush (PI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, jungle terrain, jungle terrain/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_D +0.5 LI_D +0.5 HI_D +0.25 PI_D +0.5 LI_O +0.75 AR_O +0.75 LC_O -0.3 HC_O -0.3 HA_O -0.3
crushing jungle ambush (PI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, forest terrain, jungle expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_D +1 LI_D +1 HI_D +0.5 PI_D +1 LI_O +1.5 AR_O +1.5 LC_O -0.3 HC_O -0.3 HA_O -0.3
lure and bait (LI neutral)
- 40-15% LI or 40-15% HI or 40-15% PI, flank leader req, martial > 8 req, plains/farmland/steppe terrain, flat terrain expert/experimenter/organizer bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
> LI_D +1, HR_D +0.75, PI_D +0.75, HI_D +0.75
hit and run (LI neutral)
- 60-20% LI or 60-20% AR, flank leader req, plains/farmland/steppe terrain, martial > 8 req flat terrain expert/organizer/light foot bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_O +1 LI_O +0.5 AR_D -0.25 LI_D -0.25
skillful hit and run (LI good)
- 50-15% LI or 50-15% AR, flank leader req, plains/farmland/steppe terrain, martial > 16 req flat terrain expert/organizer/light foot req
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_O +1.5 LI_O +1.5
surprise assault (HC good)
- 30-10% LC or 30-10% HC or 30-10% HA, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, plains terrain, cavalry leader/flat terrain expert/organizer bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_O -0.15 LI_O -0.15 HC_O +2 LC_O +1 HA_O +1 HC_D +2 LC_D +1 HA_D +1
##Melee Transitions##
*Standard Charge*
- strong vs NONE
- weak vs Defensive Traps & Combined Arms Advance & Mounted Combined Defensive
!Bungled Advance (PI bad)
- NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon, day 12+, 4 days, shift~>melee
= vs *Defensive Traps* x-0.75 vs *Combined Arms Advance* x-0.75 vs *Mounted Combined Defensive* x-0.75 vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.5 (special)
>HI_D -1.5 PI_D -1.5 LI_D -0.75 AR_D -0.75
General Advance (PI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, day 12+, 4 days, shift~>melee
= vs *Defensive Traps* x-0.5 vs *Combined Arms Advance* x-0.5 vs *Mounted Combined Defensive* x-0.5
>HI_D -0.5 PI_D -0.5 LI_D -0.25 AR_D -0.25
Methodical Advance (PI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, day 12+, 4 days, shift~>melee
= vs *Defensive Traps* x-0.5 vs *Combined Arms Advance* x-0.5 vs *Mounted Combined Defensive* x-0.5
>LI_D +0.25 AR_D +0.25
Intricate Complex Advance (PI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 24 req, day 12+, 4 days, shift~>melee
= vs *Defensive Traps* x-0.25 vs *Combined Arms Advance* x-0.25 vs *Mounted Combined Defensive* x-0.25
>HI_D +0.75 PI_D +0.75 LI_D +1.5 AR_D +1.5
*Combined Arms Charge*
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs Standard Charge
Supported Cavalry Charge (HC neutral)
- 30+-10% HC/LC/HA, flank leader req, martial > 16 bon, cavalry leader bon, day 9+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
Coordinated Cavalry Charge (HC good)
- 60-20% HC/LC/HA, flank leader req, martial > 24 req, cavalry leader, day 9+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>HC_O +1 LC_O +1 HA_O +1
!Unsupported Cavalry Charge (HC bad)
- 30-10% HC/LC, NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon, wroth/(ditto) bon, day 9+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>HC_D -0.75 LC_D -0.75 HA_D -0.75 HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
!Cavalry Charge on Skirmishers (HC bad)
- 30-10% AR/LI bon, NO flank leader bon, wroth/cruel/(ditto) req, day 6+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>AR_D -3 LI_D -3 AR_O -1 LI_O -1 HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
!Collateral-Casualty Cavalry Charge (HC bad)
- 30-10% HI/PI bon, NO flank leader bon, wroth/cruel bon, day 6+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>HI_D -2 PI_D -2 HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
Coordinated-Volley Advance (AR neutral)
- 30+-10% AR, martial > 16 bon, organizer bon, day 12+, 5 days, shift~>melee
>AR_D +2 AR_O +1
Synchronised-Volley Advance (AR good)
- 60-20% AR, flank leader req, martial > 16 req, organizer req, day 12+, 5 days, shift~>melee
>AR_D +4 AR_O +1.5
!Uncoordinated-Volley Advance (AR bad)
- 30-10% AR, NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon, day 12+, 5 days, shift~>melee
>LI_D -1 HI_D -1 PI_D -1 >AR_D +1 AR_O +1
Infantry Rapid Charge - (HI neutral)
- 30-10% HI/PI/LI/AR bon flank leader req, aggressive leader bon, day 3+, 2 days, shift~>melee
>LI_D -1 HI_D -1 PI_D -1
Fervoured Frontal Charge (HI good)
- 30-10% bon, flank leader req, wroth, zealous, aggressive leader bon, day 3+, 2 days, shift~>melee
>LI_D -1 HI_D -1 PI_D -1 HC_D -0.5 LC_D -0.5 HA_D -0.5 LI_O +1 HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
!Chaotic Frontal Charge (HI bad)
- NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon, wroth bon, day 3+, 2 days, shift~>melee
>LI_D -2 HI_D -2 PI_D -2 LC_D -2 HC_D -2
*Opportunity Attacks*
(tactics that trigger when the enemy has a certain tactic)
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs TRIGGER TACTICS
notes: yeah, I still haven't thought of any tactics to go in here, but I'll be adding/making up some in the future as I go along.
*Cavalry Strikes*
- weak vs Shield Formations & Manoeuvres
- strong vs Infantry Screening
mobile swarm (HA neutral)
- 30+-10% HA
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.5
> HA_O +0.5 HA_D +0.5 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
rotating swarm (HA good)
- 60-20% HA, flank leader req, Cavalry Commander
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.5
> HA_O +1 HA_D +1 AR_O -0.25 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
horseman harass (LC neutral)
- 30+-10% LC
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.25
> LC_O +0.5 LC_D +0.25 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
cavalry hit and run (LC good)
- 60-20% LC, flank leader req, Cavalry Commander req
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.25
> LC_O +1.5 LC_D +0.5 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
cavalry raiding (LC good)
- 60-20% LC, flank leader req, martial > 16 & Cavalry Commander bon-trig
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* v+0.5
> LC_O +3 LC_D +0.75 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.75 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
swarm and harass (HA good)
-30-10% LC and 30+-10%HA, flank leader req, martial > 16 req, Cav Commander bon
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* +0.5
> LC_O + 1.5 HA_O +1.5 LC AR_O -0.5 LI_O -1 HI_O -1 PI_O -1
*Archery Strikes*
- weak vs Shield Formations & Manoeuvres & Ambushes
- strong vs Cavalry Strikes
Light Volley (AR neutral)
- 30+-10% AR
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Ambush* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
> AR_O +0.5
Heavy Barrage (AR good)
- 60-20% AR, flank leader bon
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Ambush* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
> AR_O +0.75
!Indiscriminate Barrage (AR bad)
- 30-10% AR, no flank leader bon, cruel, wroth bon
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Ambush* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
> AR_O +1.5 AR_D -0.25 HI_D -0.5 PI_D -0.5 LI_D -0.5 LC_D -0.25 HC_D -0.25 HA_D -0.25
Arced Arrow Assault (AR neutral)
- 50-15% LI or 50-15% HI, and 30+-10% AR , flank leader bon
= vs *Shield Formations* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Ambush* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.25
> AR_O +0.5 AR_D +1
Ambush Volley (AR good)
- 30-10% AR, flank leader req, intrigue > 8 OR rough/mountain/jungle/experimenter req, forest/hill/mountain/jungle terrain req
= vs *Manoeuvres* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.75 vs *Infantry Screening* x+0.75 (special bonii)
> AR_O +1.5 AR_D +1 LI_O +1
*Infantry Screening*
- weak vs Archery Strikes & Cavalry Strikes
- strong vs Ambushes & Manoeuvres
Average Light Bait Vanguard (LI neutral)
- 60-20% LI
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.75 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.75 vs *Manoeuvres* x+0.75 vs *Ambushes* x+0.5
>LI_D -0.5 LI_O +0.5 HI_D +0.25 PI_D +0.25 AR_D +0.25 LC_D +0.25 HC_D +0.25 AR_O -0.75
Skilled Light Bait Vanguard (LI good)
- 60-20% LI, flank leader req-bon, light foot bon
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x1 vs *Ambushes* x+0.75
>LI_D -0.25 LI_O +0.75 HI_D +0.5, PI_D +0.5, AR_D +0.5 LC_D +0.5 HC_D +0.5 AR_O -0.5
Heavy Advance Vanguard (HI neutral)
- 60-20% HI
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x+0.75 vs *Ambushes* x+0.5
>HI_D -0.25 LI_D +0.5 PI_D +0.5 AR_D +0.5 LC_D +0.3 HC_D +0.5 AR_O -0.6
Average Light Foot Feint (LI neutral)
- 40-15% LI, flank leader req, martial > 16 req
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x+0.75 vs *Ambushes* x+0.5
>LI_O +0.5 LI_D + 0.25 AR_O +0.5
Skilled Light Foot Feint (LI good)
- 40-15% LI, flank leader req, martial > 16 req, light foot req-bon,
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.25 vs *Manoeuvres* x+1 vs *Ambushes* x+0.75
>LI_O +1 LI_D +0.5 AR +1
Heavy Foot Feint (HI neutral)
- 40-15% HI, 30+-10% AR, flank leader req, heavy infantry leader bon
= vs *Archery Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x-0.5 vs *Manoeuvres* x+1 vs *Ambushes* x+0.75
>HI_D -0.25 AR_O +1
##Defensive Tactics##
*Shield Formations*
- weak vs Infantry Screening
- strong vs Cavalry Strikes
weak shield link (HI neutral)
- 30+-10% HI, NO flank leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.25
>HI_D +0.15 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
shield chain (HI neutral)
- 40+-15% HI, flank leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.25
>HI_D +0.3 LI_D +0.3 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
shield wall (HI good)
- 60-20% HI, flank leader bon, heavy infantry leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
>HI_D +0.75 PI_D +0.25 LI_D +0.75 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
strong shield wall (HI good)
- 75-25% HI, flank leader req, heavy infantry leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+0.5
>HI_D +1 PI_D +0.5 LI_D +1 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
spike wall (PI good)
- 40-15% HI 40-15% PI, flank leader bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Cavalry Strikes* x+2
>HI_D +1 PI_D +1 LI_D +1 PI_O +2 AR_O -0.5 LI_O -0.5
*Manoeuvres*
- weak vs Infantry Screening
- strong vs Ambushes
!Obvious feint (LI bad)
- NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.5 vs *Ambushes x+0.25
>HI_D -0.3 PI_D -0.3 LI_D -0.3 AR_D -0.3 HA_D -0.3 LC_D -0.3 AR_O +0.1 LC_O +0.1 HA_O +0.1
Skillful feint (LI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Ambushes x+0.5
>HI_D -0.1 PI_D -0.1 LI_D -0.1 HA_D -0.1 LI_O +0.2 AR_O + 0.2 LC_O +0.2 HA_O +0.2
Misdirection (LI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.25 vs *Ambushes x+0.75
>HI_D +0.25 PI_D +0.25 LI_D +0.25 AR_D +0.25 LC_D +0.25 HA_D +0.25 LI_O +0.3 AR_O +0.3 LC_O +0.3 HA_O +0.3
Obfuscation (LI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 24 experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Ambushes x+1
>HI_D +0.5 PI_D +0.5 HC_D +0.5 LI_D +1 AR_D +1 LC_D +1 HA_D +1 LI_O +0.5 AR_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
*Ambushes*
- weak vs Manoeuvres
- strong vs Infantry Screening
notes: higher bonus for terrain-traits (5), then unit traits (4), then experimenter/trickster/organizer (3)
desert ambush (LC neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, desert terrain, desert expert/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>LI_O +0.25 AR_O +0.25 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5 HC_O +0.5 CM_O 1 (special)
crushing desert ambush (LC good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, desert terrain, desert expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>LI_O +0.5 AR_O +0.5 LC_O +1 HA_O +1 HC_O +1 CM_O +2 (special)
hill-side ambush (AR neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, hill terrain, rough terrain/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_D +0.3 LI_D +0.3 HI_D +0.3 PI_D +0.3 AR_O +0.75 LI_O +0.4 HA_O +0.4 HC_O +0.4 LC_O +0.4
crushing hill-side ambush (AR good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req-bon, intrigue > 8 req, hill terrain, rough expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_D +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HI_D +0.75 PI_D +0.75 AR_O +1.5 LI_O +1 HA_O +1 HC_O +1 LC_O +1
mountain ambush (HI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, mountain terrain, mountain expert/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_D +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HI_D +1 PI_D +0.5 LI_O +0.75 AR_O +0.75 LC_O -0.5 HC_O -0.5 HA_O -0.5
crushing mountain ambush (HI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, mountain terrain, mountain expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_D +1.5 LI_D +1.5 HI_D +2 PI_D +0.75 LI_O +1.5 AR_O +1.5 LC_O -0.5 HC_O -0.5 HA_O -0.5
forest ambush (LI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, forest terrain, rough terrain/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_D +0.5 LI_D +0.5 HI_D +0.25 PI_D +0.25 LI_O +1 AR_O +0.75 LC_O -0.3 HC_O -0.3 HA_O -0.3
crushing forest ambush (LI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, forest terrain, rough expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_D +1 LI_D +1 HI_D +0.5 PI_D +0.5 LI_O +2 AR_O +1.5 LC_O -0.3 HC_O -0.3 HA_O -0.3
jungle ambush (PI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, intrigue > 8 req, jungle terrain, jungle terrain/experimenter/trickster bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_D +0.5 LI_D +0.5 HI_D +0.25 PI_D +0.5 LI_O +0.75 AR_O +0.75 LC_O -0.3 HC_O -0.3 HA_O -0.3
crushing jungle ambush (PI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, forest terrain, jungle expert/experimenter/trickster req-bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_D +1 LI_D +1 HI_D +0.5 PI_D +1 LI_O +1.5 AR_O +1.5 LC_O -0.3 HC_O -0.3 HA_O -0.3
lure and bait (LI neutral)
- 40-15% LI or 40-15% HI or 40-15% PI, flank leader req, martial > 8 req, plains/farmland/steppe terrain, flat terrain expert/experimenter/organizer bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
> LI_D +1, HR_D +0.75, PI_D +0.75, HI_D +0.75
hit and run (LI neutral)
- 60-20% LI or 60-20% AR, flank leader req, plains/farmland/steppe terrain, martial > 8 req flat terrain expert/organizer/light foot bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.5 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1
>AR_O +1 LI_O +0.5 AR_D -0.25 LI_D -0.25
skillful hit and run (LI good)
- 50-15% LI or 50-15% AR, flank leader req, plains/farmland/steppe terrain, martial > 16 req flat terrain expert/organizer/light foot req
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_O +1.5 LI_O +1.5
surprise assault (HC good)
- 30-10% LC or 30-10% HC or 30-10% HA, martial > 16 req, intrigue > 8 req, plains terrain, cavalry leader/flat terrain expert/organizer bon
= vs *Manoeuvres x-0.25 vs *Infantry Screening* x+1.5
>AR_O -0.15 LI_O -0.15 HC_O +2 LC_O +1 HA_O +1 HC_D +2 LC_D +1 HA_D +1
##Melee Transitions##
*Standard Charge*
- strong vs NONE
- weak vs Defensive Traps & Combined Arms Advance & Mounted Combined Defensive
!Bungled Advance (PI bad)
- NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon, day 12+, 4 days, shift~>melee
= vs *Defensive Traps* x-0.75 vs *Combined Arms Advance* x-0.75 vs *Mounted Combined Defensive* x-0.75 vs *Infantry Screening* x-0.5 (special)
>HI_D -1.5 PI_D -1.5 LI_D -0.75 AR_D -0.75
General Advance (PI neutral)
- flank leader req, martial > 8 req, day 12+, 4 days, shift~>melee
= vs *Defensive Traps* x-0.5 vs *Combined Arms Advance* x-0.5 vs *Mounted Combined Defensive* x-0.5
>HI_D -0.5 PI_D -0.5 LI_D -0.25 AR_D -0.25
Methodical Advance (PI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 16 req, day 12+, 4 days, shift~>melee
= vs *Defensive Traps* x-0.5 vs *Combined Arms Advance* x-0.5 vs *Mounted Combined Defensive* x-0.5
>LI_D +0.25 AR_D +0.25
Intricate Complex Advance (PI good)
- flank leader req, martial > 24 req, day 12+, 4 days, shift~>melee
= vs *Defensive Traps* x-0.25 vs *Combined Arms Advance* x-0.25 vs *Mounted Combined Defensive* x-0.25
>HI_D +0.75 PI_D +0.75 LI_D +1.5 AR_D +1.5
*Combined Arms Charge*
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs Standard Charge
Supported Cavalry Charge (HC neutral)
- 30+-10% HC/LC/HA, flank leader req, martial > 16 bon, cavalry leader bon, day 9+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
Coordinated Cavalry Charge (HC good)
- 60-20% HC/LC/HA, flank leader req, martial > 24 req, cavalry leader, day 9+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>HC_O +1 LC_O +1 HA_O +1
!Unsupported Cavalry Charge (HC bad)
- 30-10% HC/LC, NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon, wroth/(ditto) bon, day 9+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>HC_D -0.75 LC_D -0.75 HA_D -0.75 HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
!Cavalry Charge on Skirmishers (HC bad)
- 30-10% AR/LI bon, NO flank leader bon, wroth/cruel/(ditto) req, day 6+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>AR_D -3 LI_D -3 AR_O -1 LI_O -1 HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
!Collateral-Casualty Cavalry Charge (HC bad)
- 30-10% HI/PI bon, NO flank leader bon, wroth/cruel bon, day 6+, 3 days, shift~>melee
>HI_D -2 PI_D -2 HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
Coordinated-Volley Advance (AR neutral)
- 30+-10% AR, martial > 16 bon, organizer bon, day 12+, 5 days, shift~>melee
>AR_D +2 AR_O +1
Synchronised-Volley Advance (AR good)
- 60-20% AR, flank leader req, martial > 16 req, organizer req, day 12+, 5 days, shift~>melee
>AR_D +4 AR_O +1.5
!Uncoordinated-Volley Advance (AR bad)
- 30-10% AR, NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon, day 12+, 5 days, shift~>melee
>LI_D -1 HI_D -1 PI_D -1 >AR_D +1 AR_O +1
Infantry Rapid Charge - (HI neutral)
- 30-10% HI/PI/LI/AR bon flank leader req, aggressive leader bon, day 3+, 2 days, shift~>melee
>LI_D -1 HI_D -1 PI_D -1
Fervoured Frontal Charge (HI good)
- 30-10% bon, flank leader req, wroth, zealous, aggressive leader bon, day 3+, 2 days, shift~>melee
>LI_D -1 HI_D -1 PI_D -1 HC_D -0.5 LC_D -0.5 HA_D -0.5 LI_O +1 HC_O +0.5 LC_O +0.5 HA_O +0.5
!Chaotic Frontal Charge (HI bad)
- NO flank leader bon, martial < 8 bon, wroth bon, day 3+, 2 days, shift~>melee
>LI_D -2 HI_D -2 PI_D -2 LC_D -2 HC_D -2
*Opportunity Attacks*
(tactics that trigger when the enemy has a certain tactic)
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs TRIGGER TACTICS
notes: yeah, I still haven't thought of any tactics to go in here, but I'll be adding/making up some in the future as I go along.
#####MELEE PHASE#####
##Offensive Tactics##
*Foot-Melee Advance*
- weak vs Cavalry Counter-charge & Ranged Combined Defensive
- strong vs Blundered Advance
Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI
>HI_D -0.5 LI_D -0.5 HI_O +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HC_O -3 LC_O -3 HA_O -3 AR_O -3
Planned Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial > 8
>HI_D -0.25 LI_D -0.25 HI_O +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HC_O -2 LC_O -2 HA_O -2 AR_O -2
Organized Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial > 16
>HI_O +0.1 LI_D +1 HC_O -1 LC_O -1 HA_O -1 AR_O -1
Alternating Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial > 25, learning > 16
>HI_D +0.25 LI_D +0.25 HI_O +1 LI_D +1
Intricate Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial > 25, learning > 24
>HI_D +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HI_O +1.5 LI_D +1.5
Spearwall Advance - 70& PI
>PI_D +0.5 PI_O +0.5 HC_O -3 LC_O -3 HA_O -3 AR_O -3
Combined Spearwall Advance - 50% PI, 20% HI/LI, martial > 8
>
Chequered Spearewall Advance - 60% PI, 20% HI/LI, martial > 16
>
Spear-Winged Infantry Advance - 40% HI/LI, 20% PI
>
Foot-Flanked Spear Advance - 40% PI, 20% HI/LI
>
*Range-Melee Advance*
- weak vs Cavalry Counter-charge
- strong vs Massed Infantry & Blundered Advance
Flanking Volley - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, martial > 8
>
Overhead Volley - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, martial > 16
>
Chequered Volley-Advance - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, martial > 24
>
Feint and Advance - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR martial > 16, intrigue > 16, light foot leader, heavy infantry leader
>
Ordered Combined Melee - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, brave, gregarious, heavy infantry leader, experimenter
>
Guarded Barrage - 20% PI/LI/HI, 40% AR, martial > 8
>
Secured Barrage - 20% PI/LI/HI, 50% AR, martial > 16
>
Shielded Barrage - 30% PI/LI/HI, 50% AR, martial > 24
>
*Cavalry-Melee Advance*
- weak vs Ranged-Melee Advance
- strong vs Massed Infantry & Blundered Advance
Basic Cavalry Charge - 40% HC
>
Solid Cavalry Charge - 50% HC, brave, inspiring leader, cavalry leader
>
Wedged Cavalry Charge - 50% HC, martial > 16, Cavalry Commander,e experimenter
>
Charge and Harrass - 30% HI/LI, 30% LC
>
Assault and Raid - 30% HI/LI, 30% LC, martial > 16, Cavalry Commander
>
Flanking Cavalry Charge - 30% HC/LC 30% HI/PI/LI, martial > 16
>
Ripple Cavalry Charge - 30% HC/LC, Cavalry Commander, Experimenter
>
Hammer and Anvil - 30% HI/LI, 30% HC/LC
>
Cavalry Pincer - 30% HI/LI, 30% HC/LC, Cavalry Commander
>
Mobile Superiority - enem < 20% HC/LC, Cavalry Commander, experimenter
>
Skirmisher Overrun - enem > 60% AR, Cavalry Commander
>
*Combined Arms Advance*
- weak vs Defensive Traps
- strong vs Blundered Advance
Rapid Advance - 40% HI/LI 20% HC/LC, martial > 16 aggressive leader
>
notes: yeah, I still don't have much in this category
##Defensive Tactics##
*Massed Infantry*
- weak vs Combined Arms
- strong vs Foot-Melee Advance
!Weak Infantry Block - 30% HI/LI/PI, martial < 8, shy, craven,
>
Tight Infantry Block - 50% HI/LI/PI, martial > 16
>
Cohesive Infantry Wall - 60% HI/LI/PI, martial > 16
>
Spearwall - 40% PI
>
Reinforced Spearwall - 30%PI 30% HI, martial > 16
>
Superior Spearwall - 40%PI 30% HI, martial > 24
>
Failed Feined Collapse - 50% LI
>
Successful Feined Collapse - 50% LI, martial > 16, light foot leader
>
Footman Pincer - 50% LI, martial > 24, light foot leader
>
Heavy Pincer - 30% LI, 30% HI, martial > 16
>
Countercharge - aggressive leader
>
Feinting Countercharge - martial > 16, aggresive leader
>
*Cavalry Counter-charge*
- weak vs Ranged Combined Defensive & Combined Arms
- strong vs Cavalry-Melee Advance & Ranged-Melee Advance
Cavalry Bait and Switch - cavalry leader
>
Cavalry Superiority - enem < 20% HC/LC
>
Harrasing Swarm - 40% HA, martial > 16
>
Feinting Swarm - 30% HA, martial > 24
>
Direct Countercharge - 60% HC
>
Rippled Countercharge - martial > 16
>
Feinted Countercharge - martial > 24, cavalry leader
>
Ambush Cavalry Charge - martial > 16, rough terrain leader
>
!Discordant Countercharge - martial < 8
>
!Premature Countercharge - aggressive leader, wroth
>
!Trampling Countercharge - wroth, cruel
>
*Ranged Combined Defensive*
- weak vs Combined Arms
- strong vs Cavalry-Melee Advance
Static Barrage - 40% HI/PI,40% AR
>
Hold the Line - 30% HI/PI 40% AR, martial > 24, brave, gregarious
>
Melee Bowmanship - 60% HI 30% AR, martial > 16, brave, aggressive leader
>
Integrated Archers -40% HI 40% AR, martial > 26
>
Pike and Shoot - 40$ PI 40% AR, martial > 16
>
!Mismanaged Barrage - martial < 8
>
*Mounted Combined Defensive*
- weak vs Offensive Formations
- strong vs Blundered Advance
Cavalry Bait and Retreat - 30% LC/HC, enm > 40% HC/LC/HA, martial > 16
>
Hold and Harass - 40% HI/PI 30% LC/HC/HA, enm < 10% HC/LC/HA, martial > 16
>
Defensive Mounted Anvil - 50% HI/PI, 30% HC
>
##Special Tactics##
*Blundered Advance*
- weak vs NONE/ALL (all get affinity bonus vs this)
- strong vs NONE/ALL (tactic has mostly maluses with minimal bonii)
!Chaotic Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial < 8, shy, wroth, stutterer
>
!Uncoordinated Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial < 8
>
!Chaotic Spearwall Advance - 70% PI, martial < 8, shy, wroth, stutterer
>
!Diseastrous Foot Charge - 40% HI/LI/PI, martial < 8, shy, wroth, stutterer
>
!Chaotic Combined Melee - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, cruel, wroth
>
!Uncoordinated Rapid Advance - 40% HI/LI 20% HC/LC, aggressive leader
>
*Offensive Formations*
(misc tactics - martial/learning dependent)
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs TRIGGER TACTIC
*Defensive Traps*
(misc tactics - martial/intrigue dependent)
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs TRIGGER TACTIC
notes: yep, completely empty. I was hoping to come up with unique tactics here, but I'll guess that'll have to wait for now.
*Melee Avoidance*
(TRANSITION TO SKIRMISH)
notes: again, skirmish values are automatically used
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs TRIGGER TACTICS
Volleying Fall-back - 70% AR, martial > 24, light foot commander, shift~>skirmish
>
Cavalry Breakaway - 60% LC/HA, martial > 24, cavalry commander, shift~>skirmish
>
Fallback and Reorganize - 70% LI, martial > 24, light foot commander, experimenter, shift~>skirmish
>
*Foot-Melee Advance*
- weak vs Cavalry Counter-charge & Ranged Combined Defensive
- strong vs Blundered Advance
Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI
>HI_D -0.5 LI_D -0.5 HI_O +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HC_O -3 LC_O -3 HA_O -3 AR_O -3
Planned Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial > 8
>HI_D -0.25 LI_D -0.25 HI_O +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HC_O -2 LC_O -2 HA_O -2 AR_O -2
Organized Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial > 16
>HI_O +0.1 LI_D +1 HC_O -1 LC_O -1 HA_O -1 AR_O -1
Alternating Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial > 25, learning > 16
>HI_D +0.25 LI_D +0.25 HI_O +1 LI_D +1
Intricate Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial > 25, learning > 24
>HI_D +0.75 LI_D +0.75 HI_O +1.5 LI_D +1.5
Spearwall Advance - 70& PI
>PI_D +0.5 PI_O +0.5 HC_O -3 LC_O -3 HA_O -3 AR_O -3
Combined Spearwall Advance - 50% PI, 20% HI/LI, martial > 8
>
Chequered Spearewall Advance - 60% PI, 20% HI/LI, martial > 16
>
Spear-Winged Infantry Advance - 40% HI/LI, 20% PI
>
Foot-Flanked Spear Advance - 40% PI, 20% HI/LI
>
*Range-Melee Advance*
- weak vs Cavalry Counter-charge
- strong vs Massed Infantry & Blundered Advance
Flanking Volley - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, martial > 8
>
Overhead Volley - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, martial > 16
>
Chequered Volley-Advance - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, martial > 24
>
Feint and Advance - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR martial > 16, intrigue > 16, light foot leader, heavy infantry leader
>
Ordered Combined Melee - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, brave, gregarious, heavy infantry leader, experimenter
>
Guarded Barrage - 20% PI/LI/HI, 40% AR, martial > 8
>
Secured Barrage - 20% PI/LI/HI, 50% AR, martial > 16
>
Shielded Barrage - 30% PI/LI/HI, 50% AR, martial > 24
>
*Cavalry-Melee Advance*
- weak vs Ranged-Melee Advance
- strong vs Massed Infantry & Blundered Advance
Basic Cavalry Charge - 40% HC
>
Solid Cavalry Charge - 50% HC, brave, inspiring leader, cavalry leader
>
Wedged Cavalry Charge - 50% HC, martial > 16, Cavalry Commander,e experimenter
>
Charge and Harrass - 30% HI/LI, 30% LC
>
Assault and Raid - 30% HI/LI, 30% LC, martial > 16, Cavalry Commander
>
Flanking Cavalry Charge - 30% HC/LC 30% HI/PI/LI, martial > 16
>
Ripple Cavalry Charge - 30% HC/LC, Cavalry Commander, Experimenter
>
Hammer and Anvil - 30% HI/LI, 30% HC/LC
>
Cavalry Pincer - 30% HI/LI, 30% HC/LC, Cavalry Commander
>
Mobile Superiority - enem < 20% HC/LC, Cavalry Commander, experimenter
>
Skirmisher Overrun - enem > 60% AR, Cavalry Commander
>
*Combined Arms Advance*
- weak vs Defensive Traps
- strong vs Blundered Advance
Rapid Advance - 40% HI/LI 20% HC/LC, martial > 16 aggressive leader
>
notes: yeah, I still don't have much in this category
##Defensive Tactics##
*Massed Infantry*
- weak vs Combined Arms
- strong vs Foot-Melee Advance
!Weak Infantry Block - 30% HI/LI/PI, martial < 8, shy, craven,
>
Tight Infantry Block - 50% HI/LI/PI, martial > 16
>
Cohesive Infantry Wall - 60% HI/LI/PI, martial > 16
>
Spearwall - 40% PI
>
Reinforced Spearwall - 30%PI 30% HI, martial > 16
>
Superior Spearwall - 40%PI 30% HI, martial > 24
>
Failed Feined Collapse - 50% LI
>
Successful Feined Collapse - 50% LI, martial > 16, light foot leader
>
Footman Pincer - 50% LI, martial > 24, light foot leader
>
Heavy Pincer - 30% LI, 30% HI, martial > 16
>
Countercharge - aggressive leader
>
Feinting Countercharge - martial > 16, aggresive leader
>
*Cavalry Counter-charge*
- weak vs Ranged Combined Defensive & Combined Arms
- strong vs Cavalry-Melee Advance & Ranged-Melee Advance
Cavalry Bait and Switch - cavalry leader
>
Cavalry Superiority - enem < 20% HC/LC
>
Harrasing Swarm - 40% HA, martial > 16
>
Feinting Swarm - 30% HA, martial > 24
>
Direct Countercharge - 60% HC
>
Rippled Countercharge - martial > 16
>
Feinted Countercharge - martial > 24, cavalry leader
>
Ambush Cavalry Charge - martial > 16, rough terrain leader
>
!Discordant Countercharge - martial < 8
>
!Premature Countercharge - aggressive leader, wroth
>
!Trampling Countercharge - wroth, cruel
>
*Ranged Combined Defensive*
- weak vs Combined Arms
- strong vs Cavalry-Melee Advance
Static Barrage - 40% HI/PI,40% AR
>
Hold the Line - 30% HI/PI 40% AR, martial > 24, brave, gregarious
>
Melee Bowmanship - 60% HI 30% AR, martial > 16, brave, aggressive leader
>
Integrated Archers -40% HI 40% AR, martial > 26
>
Pike and Shoot - 40$ PI 40% AR, martial > 16
>
!Mismanaged Barrage - martial < 8
>
*Mounted Combined Defensive*
- weak vs Offensive Formations
- strong vs Blundered Advance
Cavalry Bait and Retreat - 30% LC/HC, enm > 40% HC/LC/HA, martial > 16
>
Hold and Harass - 40% HI/PI 30% LC/HC/HA, enm < 10% HC/LC/HA, martial > 16
>
Defensive Mounted Anvil - 50% HI/PI, 30% HC
>
##Special Tactics##
*Blundered Advance*
- weak vs NONE/ALL (all get affinity bonus vs this)
- strong vs NONE/ALL (tactic has mostly maluses with minimal bonii)
!Chaotic Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial < 8, shy, wroth, stutterer
>
!Uncoordinated Massed Advance - 70% HI/LI, martial < 8
>
!Chaotic Spearwall Advance - 70% PI, martial < 8, shy, wroth, stutterer
>
!Diseastrous Foot Charge - 40% HI/LI/PI, martial < 8, shy, wroth, stutterer
>
!Chaotic Combined Melee - 30% PI/LI/HI, 30% AR, cruel, wroth
>
!Uncoordinated Rapid Advance - 40% HI/LI 20% HC/LC, aggressive leader
>
*Offensive Formations*
(misc tactics - martial/learning dependent)
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs TRIGGER TACTIC
*Defensive Traps*
(misc tactics - martial/intrigue dependent)
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs TRIGGER TACTIC
notes: yep, completely empty. I was hoping to come up with unique tactics here, but I'll guess that'll have to wait for now.
*Melee Avoidance*
(TRANSITION TO SKIRMISH)
notes: again, skirmish values are automatically used
- weak vs NONE
- strong vs TRIGGER TACTICS
Volleying Fall-back - 70% AR, martial > 24, light foot commander, shift~>skirmish
>
Cavalry Breakaway - 60% LC/HA, martial > 24, cavalry commander, shift~>skirmish
>
Fallback and Reorganize - 70% LI, martial > 24, light foot commander, experimenter, shift~>skirmish
>
#####PURSUE/SIEGE PHASE#####
NOTES: I am not actually sure just how pursuit/siege tactics work. They probably are valid phases by themselves, but for now they'll be considered vestigial
##Pursue Tactics##
(note: it appears to be a defensive tactic)
*Standard Pursuits*
Orderly Retreat - martial > 16, brave, gregarious
>
Chaotic Retreat - martial < 16, craven, wroth
>
#Siege Tactics
(note: untested placeholder)
##Pursue Tactics##
(note: it appears to be a defensive tactic)
*Standard Pursuits*
Orderly Retreat - martial > 16, brave, gregarious
>
Chaotic Retreat - martial < 16, craven, wroth
>
#Siege Tactics
(note: untested placeholder)
NOTES: And yeah, you might have noticed I haven't added/noted anything about cultural tactics yet. For the most part, I'll be initially simply reusing vanilla tactics with some modifications (like giving emphasis to the cultural retinue composition) and balancing (like giving it appropriate weaknes/strengths as well as tweaking the requirements and effects to be on the same level as the others). If I ever get working on cultural tactics, it'll first be for Lux Invicta first, which I would then port for vanilla cultures.
IV. STATUS:
As you may have noticed, this project is not only a massive WIP in terms of actual coding, but in the design aspect as well...
like I still need to study further how to add modifiers so that a high-martial commander is more likely to choose the "better" tactics, not to mention I have a lot of categories that I don't even have tactics in-for, plus the glaring fact that the melee tactics don't even have modifiers yet and only exist as a sort of mental-url that helps me remember what I visualized but not managed to put into writing/coding yet. And I'm still not sure how to make tactics trigger another tactic yet either hahaha. I'm so naive...
This will be a long-term project I've decided to finally get working on (especially since I finally have enough modding time freed up since my LI-modding duties have been currently taken over by more competent council-members :rofl: ).
Still, there are four general phases I'd like to work on this:
I coding in most skirmish tactics - 100%
II coding in most melee tactics - 0%
III fleshing out these tactics - 0%
III porting cultural tactics - 0%
yeah, a WIP indeed....
I'll at least try to come up with an update/release every time a phase is completed, so let's see what happens with that...
For the moment, while melee tactics are uncoded, I'll be borrowing Six Gun South's Better Armies tactics, mostly because I also borrowed his sprites and it's easier to just use his tactics since the sprite assignments are done already (well, technically, I'm using my own sprites now anyway, but I liked the three-tier system enough that it'll probably be the main model of how I distribute iconography).
X. TL;DR:
I'm trying to recreate combat from scratch (well, not really, exactly, anyway) in a way that'll hopefully make troop-composition matter, and feedback is of course beneficial for both of us (well, for me first, then for you if I manage to actually pull this through .... and don't get threadlocked for dilly-dallying like my time-traveller invasion project had been :3 )
While I know hypotheticals don't exactly deserve as much attention as work with actual results anyway, if you have something you'd like to discuss/contribute regarding tactics/coding of them, by all means do share. I'm always on the lookout for ideas to incorporate (not to mention this thread also potentially becomes a tumbleweed circuit as well for the lack of discussion aside from me posting and talking to myself as is usual anyway).
XX. CREDITS:
Better Armies, by Six Gun South (I borrowed his sprites as well as his other tactics as placeholders while mine isn't done)
richvh (for bugtesting)
Darkgamma (for icon design help)
PAnZuRiEL (for borrowed ideas from his two tactics projects)
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