Effectiveness of Lancers? Uhlans?

[Ben]

How effective are Lancer Cavalry units in battle? Does it make a difference? Comment your opinion below. (Pitted against other Cavalry units, of course)

[Champion of Sparta]

all cav get killed with line infrantry guns

[Ratselhaft]

Lancers are Light Cavalry:-

They have no use against other cavalry.. Especially Heavy Cavalry.

They do have a use in the following ways:

A) Attacking artillery... DO NOT attack head on or across flat ground. Use the terrain to block the round shot and wait for the momment when you are close enough to charge them between re-loads

B) Hunting down Light infantry. Lancers are good at this as they are fast. BUT. Be carefull of some Skirmishers deploying stakes.. If they start to. Stop your charge and let them deploy then avoid a head on charge through said stakes.. also do not charge at them head on as you will loose more of your cavalry this way from their volly.

C) Hunting down routing units that may reform. Hit em with your lancers and they aint coming back.. However make sure all their artillery is gone before you start doing this.

Do not attack lines in square.. if you must attack lines hit em in the arse or flank them pull out and repeat. They do not stand up in long melees. They are charge and pull back. Charge and pull back. Same vs other Cav if you must use them as a counter charge.

[Ratselhaft]

The hearts are the behind area, daft steam editing.

[PapaHeav]

Lancers are extremely effective against all forms of cavalry as long as the get there charge and not in forests they will slaughter other cav units in open field

[Ratselhaft]

Only if you micro manage the Lancers and that amount of micro management on one unit is wasteful.

[voleur65]

I find that I use a mixture of light cavalry. I like using lancers as follow up cavalry. If I get a enemy unit shaken, a charge from the lancers gets them broken quickly and then I let them ride them down for a bit. I also like to use all types of light cavalry to flank large enemy units and seek out that nasty artillery and get at it. When I attack a bunch of militia or armed citizenry, I love coming at them from the flank and rolling up that flank. I prefer to use my bullets from my line infantry on more imporant targets like regular enemy infantry.

Voleur

[Janko]

They're not really effective if they get bogged down, the trick with lancers is to charge, fall back, and charge the enemy lines again repeatedly from the rear or sides. Never let them engage in melee for too long though, or they'll get slaughtered. Ideally they should be used to target light enemy cavalry and artillery (don't attack arty head on of course or you'll face numerous casualties). Never put them up against heavy cavalry though.

[Ratselhaft]

Exactly.. Though dont get me wrong. Lancers are one of the best of the lighter Cavalry and one of my first choices of light cavalry if an option.. More "bang for your buck" so to speak because of that huge charge bonus. Thus they can route units with that initial hit, that do not have resitence to moral shocks but as indicated at directly above they can loose their charge bonus in the following ways.

Attacking uphill. This i have noticed reduces the charge or on steeper slopes nullifies it entirely though downhill increases it.

Charging through trees is inaffective.

Sudden big changes of dirrection at the gallop. Dont change target too much to the left or right once you initiate a charge. Stop it and reform out of range before choosing another target, eg line goes into square when you had it on a flank, out of formation or on its rear before.

Target being too close.

Starting a charge before they are fully formed up.

Charging in built up areas, around buildings that force a formation change

In all these cases the lancers loose their charge bonus and without that charge bonus they dont do enough of the initial damage to be effective against the likes of Heavy Cavalry... Or even other light Cavalry, the likes of hussars and the mounted musket/ carbine units.. They dont have the staying power for long protracted melee's.

Good tactic vs AI is to hide them in forest before the start of the battle and use them as surprise attacks as they are formed up perfectly ready for a charge in that dirrection, getting their full charge bonus but make sure they are hidden.. The game has a bug where in certain woods/ forests your not hidden which is a pain, make sure you get the hidden icon in the top right of their card.

[=CAW=aldarions-lament]

NVM Microing your lancers back and forth Just send 3 waves. If the first wave hits tell the second wave to go then tell the first wave to push past the other side of the unit it just hit the second wave will hit and do the same then let the second and 3rd waves smack that unit from either side good way of getting rid of old guard.

DO NOT waste your lancers attacking head on. Where possible send one squadron of lancers into the back of a unit first then spam them

[=CAW=aldarions-lament]

Also lancer CAN be useful against heavy cav and i've seen a regular french lancer kill 25 brit horse guards but they must hit head on. Also it is smart to flank another unit of say chasseurs a cheval or heavy cav to snipe or charge the flanks of the cav unit your lancers just hit front on

[batcat]

all the games in this series seem to have just stopped updating their software engines 25 years ago. regardless of your machine, all the total war games are going to run like a model T ford on vegatible oil. its pathetic. the idea of the games is great, but the execution makes them unplayable. they are slower than a dead turtle, and you're thinking, why?? its just gotta roll dice and move icons on a map... ?!?!?!? crap crap crap software engineering all the way around. the guys that wrote these games should be ashamed. they're probably cuckolds if they're married or have a girl at all, because they aren't real men if they trash good games like this due to their impotence and incompetence.

[PANZER]

Lancers are my faforite cav!!! The are the fastes cav in the game! That is the most important factor if you can engage faster and disengage you have the advantige and initiative! the are cheap! And can kill the best Heavy cav in a charge.I have seen it! Also heavy cav are to slow. when they enter the battle field,.. lancers are already on tactical retreat (regrouping),... and they have made there devastating charging blow. Also You should use lancers in a 3 row battle formation rather then formations like diamond and so. in a 3 row charge you do max damage!

And if you play French on muliti campaing like ik do. Dutch Lancer Guard, and Polis Lancer Guard are appart from ther devatating charge 42, 44,.. have a verry good melee attack of 12 and a very high morale,... I am Dutch by the way lol,... Dutch lancers of the French army has 14 morale,... More then ALL other cav in the game. Hmm only british horse guards has 14 but the are not lancers. Bitish cavaly suck because they lack lancers!

I only use lancers,..
If possible i try to use 8 lancers on one flank. Use 4 to charge,... then retreat the first 4 lancers and then charge with te second wave of 4 lancers,... repeat this,...

BUT!!! if you do this right,... this requires timing,... you should first charge with some regiment of infantrie first and then use your lancers,... so the enemy cant use square formations,..

Try to charge on front with line inf at the same time your lancers charge in the flank,... if that is not possible charge in front together with you inf charge (prefeably grenadiers or elite line,.. like Old gard)

If you manage micro management and timing,..... you wil prevail.

Try to lure the enemy in you left flank,.. by faling back,..use tactical retrating,.. to lure then in an trap bu using you strong right flank,.. use hamer (right) and anvil (left) tactics. So hould one flank stil or retreat,.. so you can hit with your other flank with 3 inf and 6 to 8 lancers lol.

Dont ever panic,.. then you will lose,... always be cool and calm even when you front is colapsing,... then tactical retreat wile sacrfising some units.

On multie Campagn i did with 10 AI regiments 20 or so,..so much damage that it was a phyrus victory.
With a 1.000 or so i killed 1500,.. He did win but in the battles wich followed i muped up 500 of his soldioers with 2000 of my own (not AI) army

The harder the storm,.. the calmer you should be,..

Ik hope this wil help you,..

[PANZER]

Originally posted by batcat:

all the games in this series seem to have just stopped updating their software engines 25 years ago. regardless of your machine, all the total war games are going to run like a model T ford on vegatible oil. its pathetic. the idea of the games is great, but the execution makes them unplayable. they are slower than a dead turtle, and you're thinking, why?? its just gotta roll dice and move icons on a map... ?!?!?!? crap crap crap software engineering all the way around. the guys that wrote these games should be ashamed. they're probably cuckolds if they're married or have a girl at all, because they aren't real men if they trash good games like this due to their impotence and incompetence.

What is your point?? I dont get it??

What are you trying to say?

[Ben]

Good tips, I will try to use them.

[PANZER]

PS: Try it out 1 Lancer against a Cuirassier. If you charge and regroup you defenately win. At the first charge you do already mass damage. And the Cuirassier cant do anything about it, because the Lancer is the fasest cavalry in the game! That reason would be enough to use lancers. I alway only use lancers and some heavy to block enemy cav so my lancers can regroup and charge again from the flank and behind,.... and again,.. And always use inf also charging the enemy inf but also enemy cav to block. Alway charge together. Cav and Inf Never seperate. At waterloo the cav charged first and got beaten back. After that the Inf did the same. If they coordinated their charge,.... the enemy cant form Sqaure if your grenadiers give them the BAJONET! Timing is everything. First charge inf,.. 3 seconds later,.. your lancers,...

I hope this helpes, Good luck