Why are stacks limited to 6 units?

[Indure]

This isn't a complaint that a stack size of 6 is bad, but rather genuine confusing on why they chose to limited it to 6?

I don't understand why they made stack size 6, but then allow 3 full stacks to be used in combat. Why not just make the stack size 18 and subdivide it into a central and left/right flank within the stack? That way moving troops around the map isn't this super taxing problem of moving 3-6 stacks at a time, which is just a hassle especially for the AI.

Also why not allow the player to auto deploy troop formation prior to battle, I hate having to spend the first 1-2 getting my troops to look like they should have at the beginning of the battle.

[suejak]

So what, 1 stack up to 18 but you can't reinforce? Your idea sounds super confusing.

[The Former]

Probably due to a combination of balance concerns (particularly with regards to battle pacing) and performance.

If we can put 18 in a stack and reinforcements remain a thing (which they should), then we're talking up to 24 units *per side* in a battle, which would get pretty crazy.

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by suejak:

So what, 1 stack up to 18 but you can't reinforce? Your idea sounds super confusing.

Give them some time. If they think about it they should be able to see their flaws in their thinking...

[Indure]

Originally posted by アンジェル:

Originally posted by suejak:

So what, 1 stack up to 18 but you can't reinforce? Your idea sounds super confusing.

Give them some time. If they think about it they should be able to see their flaws in their thinking...

I genuinely don't get it, that is why I'm asking.

If you had a stack of 18 you wouldn't need to reinforce, if you had a stack of 12 and a stack of 6 they could reinforce. Nothing would change expect the chore of moving 3 stacks around instead of 1.

EDIT: In Endless Legends I saw the appeal of small 6 stacks that could combined together into larger battles, but their maps were far tighter and getting 3 stacks into strategic locations to attack was part of the strategy. In AOW4 the map is so open that I have never felt a struggle to position troops or move them through mountain passes. Look at cities for example you can station like 7-8 stacks in a city.

[Drake]

Because move speed is a thing. Having 3 stacks with the reinforcement range means you can save turns to reach armies by having your fast units in front to attack and your slower units several hexes behind.
Youcan also take advantage of this by having 4 stack and swap to heal units between fights, since the 4th won't take part.
Havong a single stack would mean that the slowest unit would drag you down, and you would have to split to reach a sensitive target.
Then there is the hero army buffs, they only empower their stack, not all three, so you need to manage them.

[Indure]

Originally posted by Drake:

Because move speed is a thing. Having 3 stacks with the reinforcement range means you can save turns to reach armies by having your fast units in front to attack and your slower units several hexes behind.
Havong a single stack would mean that the slowest unit would drag you down, and you would have to split to reach a sensitive target.
Then there is the hero army buffs, they only empower their stack, not all three, so you need to manage them.

I understand the speed thing, but I assume for general play it wouldn't change much, because you would just move an 18 stack and if you don't reach your opponents you send out a cavalry to start the battle with the reinforcement feature.

[identity]

It's fine the way it is, imo. It's basically HoMM.

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by Indure:

Originally posted by アンジェル:

Give them some time. If they think about it they should be able to see their flaws in their thinking...

I genuinely don't get it, that is why I'm asking.

If you had a stack of 18 you wouldn't need to reinforce, if you had a stack of 12 and a stack of 6 they could reinforce. Nothing would change expect the chore of moving 3 stacks around instead of 1.

EDIT: In Endless Legends I saw the appeal of small 6 stacks that could combined together into larger battles, but their maps were far tighter and getting 3 stacks into strategic locations to attack was part of the strategy. In AOW4 the map is so open that I have never felt a struggle to position troops or move them through mountain passes. Look at cities for example you can station like 7-8 stacks in a city.

Oh dear. You have not played long enough, I can tell.

[Indure]

Originally posted by アンジェル:

Originally posted by Indure:

I genuinely don't get it, that is why I'm asking.

If you had a stack of 18 you wouldn't need to reinforce, if you had a stack of 12 and a stack of 6 they could reinforce. Nothing would change expect the chore of moving 3 stacks around instead of 1.

EDIT: In Endless Legends I saw the appeal of small 6 stacks that could combined together into larger battles, but their maps were far tighter and getting 3 stacks into strategic locations to attack was part of the strategy. In AOW4 the map is so open that I have never felt a struggle to position troops or move them through mountain passes. Look at cities for example you can station like 7-8 stacks in a city.

Oh dear. You have not played long enough, I can tell.

Ditto.

[Drake]

Originally posted by Indure:

Originally posted by Drake:

Because move speed is a thing. Having 3 stacks with the reinforcement range means you can save turns to reach armies by having your fast units in front to attack and your slower units several hexes behind.
Havong a single stack would mean that the slowest unit would drag you down, and you would have to split to reach a sensitive target.
Then there is the hero army buffs, they only empower their stack, not all three, so you need to manage them.

I understand the speed thing, but I assume for general play it wouldn't change much, because you would just move an 18 stack and if you don't reach your opponents you send out a cavalry to start the battle with the reinforcement feature.

Yeah but it doesn't allow for area coverage.

Let's say you have 5 stacks of 6. 2 cover the right side of an area, 2 cover the left side. They are both out of reach of each other, then the 5th stack can act as a keystone in the middle and allow for both armies to get to 18 in battle.
That allows for a greater coverage, whicg is very useful to cover 2 cities at the same time, or guard beacons or seeds for the victories.

You can make a whole net with positioning, just like in chess.

[Indure]

Originally posted by Drake:

Originally posted by Indure:

I understand the speed thing, but I assume for general play it wouldn't change much, because you would just move an 18 stack and if you don't reach your opponents you send out a cavalry to start the battle with the reinforcement feature.

Yeah but it doesn't allow for area coverage.

Let's say you have 5 stacks of 6. 2 cover the right side of an area, 2 cover the left side. They are both put of reach of each other, then the 5th stack can act as a keystone in the middle and allow for both armies to get to 18 in battle.
That allows for a greater coverage, whicg is very useful to cover 2 cities at the same time, or guard beacons or seeds for the victories.

You can make a whole net with positioning, just like in chess.

Do you actually use this?

I can only go from my own personal experience and although I try to min-max to some degree, my stacks often vary heavily in strength. With 3 stacks having way more power than the next 3 stacks and even more than the next 3. A lot of this is due to heroes having wildly different levels, or items, or builds as well as the hodgepodge of units that slowly get accrued, with some having legendary archers and others having fresh recruits.

Using you method is the reason why the AI gets picked apart so easily. It brings 6 stacks to a fight, but 3 of them are weak and you can just pick a battle that brings in 1 strong stack and 2 weak reinforcements and wipe them for it.

Also as a side note, by increasing the stack size to 18 it really doesn't stop any of the tactics you mention from being used. I think the bigger issue you brought up was the hero buffs being meant for their personal stack, which I think can be solved with having 3 subdivisions for center, left/right flank.

[ben]

Originally posted by Lockfågel, Paradoxriddaren:

Probably due to a combination of balance concerns (particularly with regards to battle pacing) and performance.

If we can put 18 in a stack and reinforcements remain a thing (which they should), then we're talking up to 24 units *per side* in a battle, which would get pretty crazy.

By crazy do you mean hella fun?