Army Setup Questions

[das123]

Looking for some advice from the gurus please.

Company vs Squad?
Is it best to use all of the 5 slots for each commander and have many small squads or is it best to lump all the archers together in a large company, all the light infantry etc?

Spread Amongst Commanders?
I don't think troops get any direct benefit from their immediate commanders so is it best to split the troops up amongst the various commanders?
If a commander routs do his/her troops follow suit?

Using Cannon Fodder
I've tried using cannon fodder troops but I find they just get in the way of my veterans and thugs. They may take a few arrows for the team but I hate watching a decked-out thug hovering around behind the troops and not being able to use his shiny new weapons.

Using Trample Troops
Should elephants and other trample troops lead the army into battle, or should they 'hold and attack', or should they attack from the flanks?

Other Tips
What other things do you look for when setting up your army? Do you have a standard 'core' setup?

Thanks. Looking forward to reading your insights.

[Zylithan]

If you are Abysia, dont burn all your independants with your national troops. I suck at this game.

To be a little more helpful... cannon fodder can be nice if you have some guys with shields but most without and you know you'll face archers.

Smaller squads can route more easily. If you have a big squad, sometiems it makes a sqaure, where a line would let you get more attacks in.

Commander usually doesnt matter.

Spread out wizards is good, so they dont all get hit by the same thing.

Don't let cavalry flank your grunts and kill your wizards.

For tramplers, the flanks is best. I put them back a little but, but dont have them hold. You dont want them roughed up, or running backwards through your army, but you dont want them missing the action either. Until this gets fixed/unless its considered bugged, puttign some high morale troops with elephants in one squad helps them not run and squish you. Some people dont like this tactic I think.

etc.

[Velusion]

Company vs Squad?
I much prefer bigger companies because they are harder to break via morale.

Spread Amongst Commanders?
Again - the bigger the company the stronger via morale they are. Splitting up decoys (for archers) is a notable exception. Also some troops you want to keep separate (e.g. those that radiate heat/cold.
My understanding (and I could be wrong) is that when a commander routes it simply lowers the morale of your troops, but does not make them automatically flee. Also I get the impression that if all the commanders on your side flees your troops will break very easily.
I typically never let my normal commanders enter the fray (though there are always exceptions).

Using Cannon Fodder
Cannon fodder should be used to
a. Decoy archers... you don't need a lot of troops to do this.
b. Absorb spells like Mind Burn / Soul Slay. Your goal is to either wear out the mages or at least absorb some of the spells.
c. Take hits as a meat shield so your casters can do real damage.

I would recommend putting your fodder up front on one side of the battle field set to "attack closest" and put your thugs/good troops slightly behind them on the other side and "hold and attack rear".

Using Trample Troops
Totally depends on your opponents setup and what else you have in your army. Default I'll usually put the tramples close to the front with a very light screen in front of them to absorb the inital hits.

Other Tips
Big army vs. army battles are very difficult to pull off. Experience is the best teacher. Typically you want all the logical things - mages in the back, archers in front of them, main force in front of them and decoys/screens up close. But it all depends on what you can muster and what you fight. As Abysia for example you might want to put a number of mages up close as it helps thier accuracy in throwing fireballs and it allows them to use the killer fire spells (e.g. Fire Storm).

MP is the true test. IMHO the really really good players are very skilled at setting up thier battle troops/squads. Most of that knowledge is gained through hard won experience and play testing. I still sometimes feel like a complete newb when I watch my battle results...

[das123]

Thanks for the tips guys.

It would be great to see 'battle replays' (like many other games have) from some of the MP games. There is no way of saving these in Dominions, is there?

[Velusion]

das123 said:
Thanks for the tips guys.

It would be great to see 'battle replays' (like many other games have) from some of the MP games. There is no way of saving these in Dominions, is there?

Only with third party utilities - and it would be a strait screenshot/movie.

I've learned a lot just by having scouts in MP games watch battles between other nations.

[lch]

das123 said:
It would be great to see 'battle replays' (like many other games have) from some of the MP games. There is no way of saving these in Dominions, is there?

You can just keep and distribute the savegame files.

[Sombre]

I don't like to use 2 or 3 guys as archer decoys vs the AI because it's unfair - they never learn to target random or target archers/cavalry instead. It's also very silly to see in battle replays.

Instead I go for semi realistic troop deployment - I just find it more enjoyable.

[thejeff]

I tend to put tramplers in the middle, with archers and support troops on the flanks. Make sure any mages or commanders are on the flanks as well.

I've found that if I start tramplers on the flanks, they're usually in the middle by the time they rout, thus trampling anyone I'd put in the middle. If everyone else is on the flanks, they tend to be safe.

[Lord_Bob]

Another question is what makes a group of Longbowman set to "fire archers" and put in front simply refuse to fire on archers and just waste the whole time shooting at tower shield protected longdead?