Making effective use of commanders

[Gandalf Parker]

Id have to question a couple of those answers.

There are commanders which SEEM to have some benefits to handling certain troops. Abyssia with the dragon handlers, Ctis with the lizard handler. Doesnt Pythium have one for hydras? Not sure the names for all of them but I could look them up. The way they read I suspected they help avoid routing though Ive never actually tested it.

Also, combining 2 and 3, I often give standard commanders things like a dragon helm or a bow to give them something to do while "stay behind troops".

The other answers I agree with.

[ March 30, 2004, 16:14: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[BkWyrm]

I often throw some commanders a Rod of Authority to bump up their Leadership. A bow or casting item, as stated, also gives them something to do. Decorating an assassin with an assortment of items and turning him loose is also quite fun. You can turn them into Deathmatch/Assassinate wonders.

[Taqwus]

Scouts deserve special mention, for being both cheap and stealthy -- a combination which makes them good for holding things like supply items, extra gems for forays far from labs (say, when you want to ration gem usage), and for carrying things you _might_ want to use in battle like a Staff of Storms; perhaps you have your own archers and don't always want storms, but will be storming a castle with loads of towers soon or something like that.
It's also reasonable to have cheap commanders to ferry reinforcements, or to soak up Seeking Arrows , or to have a few regular troops on 'bodyguard' so the local province defense commanders aren't totally unprotected when the cheap hordes all run forward.

[PvK]

Originally posted by Firebreath:
...
6)Off topic - taking ulm as an example, what difference does it make if I pick units with a sword, say, or an axe or a halberd (ignoring the very minor differences that they bright to attack/defence Ratings) - I assume that some are better against various shield or armoured units, whilst others are less encumbered and so better at militia bashing?
...

Various subtle differences which sometimes make a difference. For Ulm, most of the units come both in Plate and Chainmail Versions. The Plate ones cost more (resources), and are harder to kill, but are easier to hit (defense will be very low, even with a shield), move slowly in combat, and also get fatigued more quickly in combat, so they do better in shorter battles, but not as well as the chainmail troops in long fights where they are outnumbered or the enemies avoid immediate death somehow.

The usual Ulm infantry weapon combos are:

Shielded ones: The shield gives even better anti-missile protection, and protection/defense overall, but it adds encumbrance, reduces speed, and limits the fighter to less powerful single-handed weapons.

Hammer and shield: Good overall baseline weapon mix.

1-handed flail and shield: Advantage against enemies with shields. Not quite as good at defense, and costs a bit more resources.

Unshielded: Without a shield, they're easier to shoot, chop, and kill. But they also move faster, don't get tired as quickly, and cost fewer resources.

Halberd - good damage and length, though more difficult to hit and defend with. Note though that the Ulmish halberdiers are all Guardians, who are elite troops with superior skills, full plate, and fort defense bonus. The Guardian commander is the most skilled Ulmish infantry commander. The Guardians also cost more.

Pike - longest weapons, this gives them an advantage over low-morale enemies, who will have a hard time getting past the pike to attack them. Pikes are also pretty quick to make.

2-handed flail: Gets an advantage against shields, and two attacks per turn. Good against targets without a lot of protection.

Battleaxe: Good damage - good against heavy armor, and takes less resources than flails.

Maul: Almost as good damage as a battleaxe, but not as good defense. Requires the fewest resources, however, so you can equip more troops if they have mauls, and of course:

all Ulmish infantry is potent, at least against typical physical opponents.

One can experiment with various mixes of the Ulm unit types to try to match their strengths to enemy weaknesses. Within their own ranks, one can group them by speed to get them to all arrive at once, or have different types arrive at different times. Shielded troops can be placed forward of the unshielded ones, hopefully to draw arrows to the least vulnerable targets, etc.

PvK

[ March 30, 2004, 22:27: Message edited by: PvK ]

[Yossar]

Originally posted by PvK:
1-handed flail and shield: Advantage against enemies with shields. Not quite as good at defense, and costs a bit more resources.

That's actually a morningstar but close enough. Are you sure the flail gets an advantage vs shields?

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by Yossar:
That's actually a morningstar but close enough. Are you sure the flail gets an advantage vs shields?

Morningstars ignore the defense modifier from shields.

[PDF]

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:
Id have to question a couple of those answers.

There are commanders which SEEM to have some benefits to handling certain troops. Abyssia with the dragon handlers, Ctis with the lizard handler. Doesnt Pythium have one for hydras? Not sure the names for all of them but I could look them up. The way they read I suspected they help avoid routing though Ive never actually tested it.

Also, combining 2 and 3, I often give standard commanders things like a dragon helm or a bow to give them something to do while "stay behind troops".

The other answers I agree with.

Well, when playing Pythium and Abysia I usually don't bother with the special commanders, I just give the beasts to standard commanders and didn't see any difference. Maybe I've missed stg as you suggest (the special cmdr giving morale boost or stg) ?
And the question was formulated for "normal" cmdr (hoplite, Ulm leaders, etc) where it's certain that there's no special effect associated to the fact that one is named "Hoplite", the other "Hypaspist", etc..