[PvK]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
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Again, I think having all your guys into one or two really big squads helps with this.

That is silly. It makes separating them into multiple squads to have greater tactical flexibility a bad idea.

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No it doesn't. It just provides you with choices that have trade-offs. Sometimes larger Groups make sense, sometimes smaller ones are good, usually an intelligently-deployed mix is best, etc.

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* Assassinate the commanders.

I tried that, actually... my assassin with Machaka just got slaughtered by a centaur commander. Do those regular troops that look like the assassin commander participate in the assassination battles?

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I'm not familiar with the details of Machakan assassins yet, but no I expect they attack alone. In some cases, naturally they will fail, particularly against tough targets. Assassins are usually pretty dangerous, and combat in Dominions is never a certain thing. It's not that assassins aren't a good idea (they can be very effective), but they aren't sure to work, as no one would want them to be. So, use more assassins, or different types of assassins, or give them equipment that will tip the scales, or be content with killing the weaker targets using assassins, or try any of the other techniques, or a combination.

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Maybe a matter of taste, or your particulars and inexperience. Having played a lot and watched all the battle replays, I think the morale system works really well.

Probably a matter of taste. I find it absurd that so many units will just run like hell after taking small losses when they are defending their homeland. Units should only very rarely be routed when defending their homeland (such as with independants), and even then it should just be a few units routed, not the entire army.

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Another thing which is a matter of taste, but which I really enjoy, is that few outcomes are certain in Dominions. There is a morale bonus for defending in home territory, and in friendly dominion, but they aren't a guarantee. Similarly, units can and do rout in small Groups sometimes - there are morale checks both for Groups and for armies.

For those interested in military history, morale was a major part of historical ancient/medieval combat, as well. Frequently, most of the killing in a battle was done after one side routed.

Furthermore, retreating can often be a good thing. If a small group routs, it is often beaten up, fatigued, and about to die, and having it withdraw to fight another day can be a very good thing. Same is often true for an army. Fighting to the death when overpowered is often a bad idea, and you need to start running before its decided, to have a reasonable chance of escape.

It's also more interesting to play a game where a reasonable number of the defeated side are able to continue to fight in later battles, instead of being wiped out in all-or-nothing battles. It makes wars much more strategically interesting than if it were like, say, SE4, where entire wars are frequently decided by single to-the-death-despite-the-odds bloodbaths. It's also a lot of fun to have both friendly and enemy characters and armies re-appear in multiple battles, even after being defeated.

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PvK