Someone help me I have no idea how to use battering rams in this game

[Kloko Jonko]

whenever I command my men to charge during battle to break down the second gate, they just go to the ladder!! someone help me it's really frustrating because they just keep breaking open the gate and then quitting to go to the ladder during a siege

[Action Man]

Keep them on Delegate Command until the second gate is broken.

The Charge command tells the AI to go attack the nearest enemy via the fastest available route. The gate is blocking them, so they'll run through the ladder.

[GIJoe597]

I have seen various posts about this over the years. I respond the same way to all of them. I never order my troops to do anything in sieges, they just do what needs to be done. I never have them not manning siege engines/towers or breaking down a gate.

Give it a try once, at least once. Start a siege and just let your troops do whatever they want, issue no orders. At least that will let you know if it works or not.

[Keijo]

Press the key to select all your forces and hover your mouse over the door you want to break, the cursor should change, then press left mouse button and then press esc to close the troop command menu. It doesnt give any feedback but it just works.

[Kloko Jonko]

Ty guys!!

[Kloko Jonko]

also btw GIJoe I usually prefer not using the ladders because when you bust through both gates, your forces are coming in with more bulk, meanwhile if you order your troops up the ladder, you'll either 1. lose men because they keep knocking down the ladder and 2. if your soldiers make it up, they will most likely die because its one guy surrounded by like dozens of men waiting for the soldier.

[GIJoe597]

Kloko, the purpose of using all three axis of attack is to split the defenders. If you only attack at the gate the entire defensive force can station there.

By using a three pronged attack the defenders need to split their force into 33% at each entrance. The ai will hold that position until all three are breached/secured, then push in. This is done with the best infantry you have so they can take some hits while marshaling. I always suggest using infantry with shields so they can absorb arrows as they wait.
Side note, ensure in options you have unit spawn priority set to spawn highest tier first.

It is best to have adequate ranged units during a siege. The ranged are what keep the walls clear and the ladder pushers away. And always destroy enemy siege engines in the setup before you press that attack button.

Now of course you can do whatever you fancy, but I assume the reason for your post is that what you are currently doing is not working?

[Cuddle_Rat]

Originally posted by Kloko Jonko:

also btw GIJoe I usually prefer not using the ladders because when you bust through both gates, your forces are coming in with more bulk, meanwhile if you order your troops up the ladder, you'll either 1. lose men because they keep knocking down the ladder and 2. if your soldiers make it up, they will most likely die because its one guy surrounded by like dozens of men waiting for the soldier.

I always rush the ladders personally, quickly wipe the defenders and open the main gate before the ram ever gets to it. I just build them for insurance in case everything goes tits up.

[Urmel]

GIJoe persuade me that ladders are equal or better then a siege tower or a breached wall.

1) you need time to build a siege tower or destroy the wall

2) a siege tower or a destroyed wall is a single spot the AI can easy defend .

but ladders are always 2 points and AI dont know to defend both + the enemy on the wall is a easy target for ranged units.

edit:
very important in sieges are max unit size. i always play with max size 800 or 1000.
i think with lower unit size ladders are much more powerfull.