How to properly use chariots in WH3?

[Lotor13]

I just played Slaanesh campaign, with Slaanesh faction having access to elite chariots..
But I have not found them useful , how to use chariots properly - I just used "cavalry" and Fiends of Slaanesh

[Enelith]

What's the question actually ?

How to use chariots, or where are Slaanesh's chariot ?
(and generally speaking, regarding their use, it's about keep moving ~ click further than your target, and heavy micro)

[Rollout]

if you do whats mentioned above each chariot can perform way above its value

[[AJSA]MeloDeath]

Chariots are the heaviest micro unit in game so i never use them battles are usally over before you have had the change to truly use them I will say that in small battles they are some of the best units but the bigger the battle the more you need to micro the rest of the army and so chariots are usally just a burden in big armies

[Lotor13]

Originally posted by Enelith:

What's the question actually ?

How to use chariots, or where are Slaanesh's chariot ?
(and generally speaking, regarding their use, it's about keep moving ~ click further than your target, and heavy micro)

Sorry , I wrote it wrong, I correcetd question

[leandrombraz]

Chariots are effective if you keep them moving. Charge an enemy unit, then order it to either move out of combat or charge another unit immediately. You don't want to keep it in melee combat, so charge and move, rinse, repeat. Mind which units you charge, since it can easily get stuck depending on the unit it gets in contact with.

It's really micro intensive. Chariots can do an incredible amount of damage if used correctly, and it's completely useless if you don't micro it. If you can't give it the attention it requires, it's better to leave it out of combat until you can, than to order it to attack and forget to move it.

[Feldhobel]

Originally posted by Lotor13:

How to properly use chariots in WH3?

simple answer you dont. too much micro too less damage
take 1 more melee unit instead.

[LORD-ORION]

Units that get knocked down do not take damage. Chariot knock down occurs before damage is applied. This is why they appear to not work properly.

[Amphibian Artillery]

Originally posted by LORD-ORION:

Units that get knocked down do not take damage. Chariot knock down occurs before damage is applied. This is why they appear to not work properly.

They changed that in 3.0 knocked over units take damage now,

[SBA77]

Originally posted by Lotor13:

How to properly use chariots in WH3?

Might be a bit outdated, but here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVW9XzeiUxc

[The Sand Witch]

they are plenty buggy, wrong mass and sometimes even missing attack animations (hello HE WL chariots).
Generally speaking, just don't use them.

[AkumulatoR]

Constant micro. Don't take more than 1-2 unless you can handle it. And you have to babysit them all the time, especially daemon ones. As soon as you look elsewhere for a second they tend to get swamped and disintegrate.

[leandrombraz]

Originally posted by Tunguska:

Originally posted by leandrombraz:

Mind which units you charge, since it can easily get stuck depending on the unit it gets in contact with.

I tested how chariots feel now (in skirmish) since I saw this thread, and Slaanesh ones at least seem to get stuck even in Cathay peasants and killed, not matter which chariots I try. They seem pretty useless unless you're charging infantry and already have another unit keeping them busy.

Overall are they even worth with the micro tax? They only counter (and work against in general) one singular type of unit, and even then they need help and insane levels babysitting to be effective.
Bretonnian Grail Guardians do the chariot thing better than actual chariots by pushing through units, what a joke.

Edit: I tried again, at least the Exalted Chariot can take one isolated unit of peasants at a time by itself if you get good charges off. Still pathetic. I know they can get value, but not worth the effort, especially in campaign. Oh, while I wasn't looking the chariot lord lost 1v1 to the Cathayan magistrate after I had shattered the peasants. Useless.

They are meant to be used in synergy with other units, so yes, they are more effective if you charge a unit that is already busy, so they don't brace and so you get the flanking bonus. It's meant for hammer and anvil tactics after all. They can be used to take out ranged units, but overall, they are better used attacking infantry lines that are already engaged with your own. That's their role, they aren't supposed to be anything but that, so testing it by seeing how effective it's at doing what it wasn't supposed to be doing doesn't say much about how good it actually is.

Cathay peasants might be a tier I unit, but it has expert charge defence and charge reflection, so it's not really a unit you want to target without an anvil.

They can do a lot of damage if used correctly, so, even though they are micro intensive, you can use them only at specific moments and still get a lot of value out of it, which limits micro a bit. On top of doing massive damage, they also cause fear, so they are great at breaking enemy lines.

They are effective and imo fun to use. They are also unavoidable on a Slaanesh campaign, since Disciple armies usually spawn with three Seeker Chariots, so you might as well learn how to use them to get the most of these armies.

As for Bretonnian Grail Guardians, afaik they aren't meant to be that effective at pushing through units, and it's likely they'll be fixed this patch, so I don't see the point of comparing chariots to them.

[A.Pot]

Same as Heavy Cavalry. Hammer and Anvil. The main difference is that Chariots sacrifice numbers for durability while also being mainly effective against infantry. Only have them fight monsters and cavalry if you absolutely have to as their anti infantry bonus will count for nothing against such targets.

[Verchial]

I always try to use chariots for flanking and rear attacks only.

Them, the trick is to keep targeting units beyond the next and keep momentum. Downhill is optimal of course.

Crossing patterns can sometimes drop a healthy enemy unit to around half health in one pass, but ya gotta watch that they don’t get stuck on each other.

And avoid artillery with chariots if possible. Whatever the “stickiness” variable is in this game I think its set to max when a chariot unit touches any artillery piece, whether manned or not. If you really wanna mow down some artillery crews, do it from behind and in a line parallel to the formation.

*note - this is based solely on Beastmen chariot units as I rarely use any others from any other race, especially if it’s a hero or lord and I can put them on a horse or horse-ish mount.*

[Zeek]

The idea is to micro them a lot and keep them moving as they crash into infantry.

In reality, they suck and aren't really worth using.

While they are better now than they used to be, the only thing they really do well is throw around units. Ok I guess, but for whatever reasons the damage they do is negligible and the moral shock isn't as great as most other cav.

Combine this with the constant need to micro or they get stuck and die results in a unit that is better off being replaced with anything else that can do its job better.