Tatics and Melee Commanders

[mlepinski]

I'm new to the game and I haven't figured out yet how to get good mileage out of melee commanders with good statistics. I've observed that if I put some nice magic weapon/armor on commander, I end up with a pretty impressive melee unit. However, I'm not sure what to do with him in combat.

It seems if I put him behind the troops he commands then he stands around watching while the infantry in front of him get slaughtered. And if I put him in front of the troops he commands then he's likely to be the first person to reach the enemy and he gets surouunds and killed (but at least he takes some of them down with him).

Perhpas what I need to do is put him off to the side? Or perhaps clump all of my melee comanders together so that none of them can be surrouned?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks,
- Matt Lepinski :->

[Saber Cherry]

Unfortunately, I find melee commanders to be either disposible or invincible. Using multiple forges on disposable commanders (aside from a single elemental resistance / water-breathing / flying / arrow resistance / magic unit command / supply-bonus item, depending on the opponent and troops) is a bad idea. Melee forges like swords, helmets, shields, and armors are excellent on invincible supercombattants, and nearly worthless on mortals. Take your choice - forge logistical items (above) or ranged items like bows, lifelong protections, wands of wildfire, and such for mortal commanders, or melee items for invincible commanders. But never vice-versa.

Assassins and heroic leaders are exceptions. They are mortal, but you want to keep them alive as long as possible. But don't send a unit with ~10 HP into general melee combat, regardless of its equipment.

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
Take your choice - forge logistical items (above) or ranged items like bows, lifelong protections, wands of wildfire, and such for mortal commanders, or melee items for invincible commanders. But never vice-versa.

Zen pointed out to me that Ulm can make decent use of it's forging bonuses by providing items for black lords. An elemental armour removes most of their vulnerabilities, and nature mages aren't too hard to find for poison resist rings. They have fairly decent survivability in close combat at that point, and really only need something like a sword of sharpness or firebrand to make them complete.

Assassins and heroic leaders are exceptions. They are mortal, but you want to keep them alive as long as possible. But don't send a unit with ~10 HP into general melee combat, regardless of its equipment. [/QB][/quote]

Depending totally on the situation/gem income/weaknesses of your nation and other aspects of gameplay. Making a high powered strike force that is immune to certain elements can be a great asset (especially for the magically focused Ulm and a few other nations)

The Black Lord is a great example of this, as he can be equipped with a Elemental Hauberk, Poison Ring, AMA and a Sword of Sharpness and lead a cadre of 5 Black Knights (On Guard Commander) to hammer into a rearmost position or archer position.

It's not for every game or every opponent, as there is a chance for them dying (and thus losing not only gold but gems as well) but the highly mobile and highly armored knightish units if equipped right can turn battles. They are especially useful with fear causing items.

[Argitoth]

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
...heroic leaders are exceptions. They are mortal, but you want to keep them alive as long as possible.

Why do I want to keep heroes alive? A lot of them are usually not good enough for melee combat.

[Arryn]

Originally posted by Argitoth:
Why do I want to keep heroes alive? A lot of them are usually not good enough for melee combat.

There's more to the usage of heroes than just melee. Magical research, site searching, ferrying troops back and forth, just to name a few. You can even use them for diVersionary attacks if you don't feel they are up to the task of a major battle.

Not every problem can be solved by a hammer (ie: a head-on confrontation, a melee). Try to use all the tools you have to their best advantage.