How to use ogre infantry?

[Dallar]

They feel really weak. Both bulls and maneaters just get swarmed and die incredibly fast and often lose 1v1 to anything above basic tier 1 infantry unless I'm constantly cycle charging, which is a pain to do because they also love to get stuck in a blob.

Is there some secret to using them? People often mention how fun ogres are in battle, but I struggle to make them work.

[A.Pot]

Pretty much you have to cycle charge them. Ideally with Gnoblars to tie up the enemy first.

[Fryskar]

Bulls work decent enough early on.
Its just an overwhelming amout of monsterous units crashing into the ai in too many places for it to handle.

Although no idea what you send your maneaters into if they commonly lose an 1v1 besides high tier anti large units.

Cycle charging helps a lot with them.

[Orophen]

Originally posted by Dallar:

They feel really weak. Both bulls and maneaters just get swarmed and die incredibly fast and often lose 1v1 to anything above basic tier 1 infantry unless I'm constantly cycle charging, which is a pain to do because they also love to get stuck in a blob.

Is there some secret to using them? People often mention how fun ogres are in battle, but I struggle to make them work.

That is why I don't play ogres.

[Tommytools]

Ogres are fine as long as you avoid getting them surrounded (easier said than done, their mass/charge means they often end up in the middle of an enemy unit. Use sabretusk packs to flank units engaged with your bulls (or equivalent), you can buff them significantly if you have a hunter in your army.

Later on you could use gorgers as flankers, or mournfang cav, but I find the sabretusks work great (when buffed by a hunter) for a long time.

My ogre army tends to have 2-3 sabretusk packs, a hunter hero, 3-4 gnoblar trappers (slow fast units so you can catch them with something else), a few regular gnoblars and the rest bulls (or equivalent higher tier unit). I send in the gnoblars first to tie up the enemy infantry then use the packs and bulls to flank/rear charge the enemy.

Ogres don't have line infantry, they need to stay mobile to take advantage of their charges.

[Lampros]

All Monstrous Infantry/Cavalry should get some version of "Stomp" from tabletop that gives them bonus against infantry. The same goes for Monsters and "Thunder Stomp." Problem solved, and balance restored.

[Fryskar]

Originally posted by Lampros:

All Monstrous Infantry/Cavalry should get some version of "Stomp" from tabletop that gives them bonus against infantry. The same goes for Monsters and "Thunder Stomp." Problem solved, and balance restored.

I don't think a global large vs small buff is needed.

[Dallar]

Originally posted by Fryskar:

Bulls work decent enough early on.

Although no idea what you send your maneaters into if they commonly lose an 1v1 besides high tier anti large units.

I fight mostly welfs and chaos warriors right now, and they lost to jaegers, bladesingers(somehow), any type of chosen, struggle against trolls and chaos spawns,take a lot of beating chewing trough demon infantry...and all that besides obvious loss to anything with pointy stick. Really feels like all their damage disappear the second charge bonus wears off.

[Cacomistle]

You get the food effect that gives +10 melee attack, you split up around the ai's army, when they leave their archers open you just kill their archers, and then then you surround any stray units with 2-3 ogres, attack, route them asap, and back off before your units start getting surrounded by infantry.

Its kind of micro heavy, but the ai has bad micro so the micro isn't too hard for you.

[Fryskar]

Originally posted by Dallar:

Originally posted by Fryskar:

Bulls work decent enough early on.

Although no idea what you send your maneaters into if they commonly lose an 1v1 besides high tier anti large units.

I fight mostly welfs and chaos warriors right now, and they lost to jaegers, bladesingers(somehow), any type of chosen, struggle against trolls and chaos spawns,take a lot of beating chewing trough demon infantry...and all that besides obvious loss to anything with pointy stick. Really feels like all their damage disappear the second charge bonus wears off.

No idea what jaegers are, modded units?
Bladesingers and chosen are both elite inf which should fairly easily dispatch bulls, any variant of either.

Maneaters should be more or less tied, depending on which variant faces which. Chosen wH should demolish either pretty well. Regulars vs maneaters GW should again be more tied if you don't cycle.
As chaos lacks ranged, but masses armor, GWs should be your go to if you bring normal melee inf.

Bladesingers lack armor, but got physical resist which "wastes" the good ap ratio of any maneater. Their high speed denies you circle charging as well as you take way too many rearhits should you attempt to pull out w.o. another unit covering. They got a bit higher MA and MD besides ironfists as well, so i'd guess you're dependant on support if you engage them or rely on breaking them on the first charge.
I take it for granted that one brings more ironfists than the other variants.

Vs either of them, you lack MA to really push dmg after charge wears off.

I think trolls should break fairly quick on your charge. Low LS, low MD and not good armored.

Chaos spawns will be a lot of trading due to unbreakable. Spawns hit a lot harder, but got poor MD.

Maneater GWs should handle both well enough, but spawns are certainly doing more than trolls.

Daemon inf should either break and vanish or get very close to during your initial charge, ofc depending on which you hit. Plaguebearers will stay a lot longer than deamonettes of horrors.

[Arthur two sheds Jackson]

they could be better if they could hold a line instead of charging straight into the middle of everything they attack getting their ass spanked repeadly while surrounded

[pyremind]

Sabertusks + the Hunter with his sabertusk upgrades to run crowd control and dive on your Ogres if they get surrounded.

[Sn3z]

The early roster is very 1D, bulls really suck, CA should of made more a duality between gnoblars and ogres, gnoblars indirectly buffing ogres per battle, as this is how they work, used as distractions, trappers are interesting the ability is thematic but just implemented weirdly. I think we could do with gnoblar cavalry options aswell, missile and melee, I have no idea why gnoblars were so sidelined forOogre kingdoms, they need to play a very big role in basic army's atleast but different from what skinks, goblins, hobo's are each doing for their respective races.