how do I control my army in battle

[Capn Awesome]

it seems like whenever I'm attacked, my army just is a blob that charges the enemy completely disorganized. my cav will even run ahead and attack first and die.
how do i make my army organized?

[Darth]

There are commands you can give to your army through the F1-F4 keys.

[Seal Enthusiast]

use keys "F1" through "F5" for commands, keys 1,2,3 for direct units and 0 for everyone

[F*ckingDelicious]

Or you can use backspace to pull up a tactical menu thingy

[Senlassa Foxy Lassa]

1 = Infantry
2 = Archers
3 = Cavalry
0 = All Units

Select the group you want to control and then use the F keys to provide orders, and if you want to select two instead, say the cavalry and the infantry, then first press 1 to select the infantry and then hold Shift and press the cavalry button, then both of those will be awaiting orders simultaneously.

[Hurkaleez]

As Ishida said.

Common strings you might type:

• at the start of battle is f1 > f2 (follow me, since everyone is selected by default at start of battle you tell everyone to follow you). I just found that spamming this command when you have a lot of cavalry helps to avoid the bug where they dismount when they cannot move.
  
• 2 > F2 > F2 (archers fall back 10 paces)
  
• 1 > F2 > F1 (infantry advance 10 paces)
  
• 2 > F2 > F3 (arches spread out)
  
• 1 > F2 > F4 (infantry stand closer - prob only use if they have shields or about to take a cavalry charge)
  
• 3 > F1 > F2 (cavalry follow me. Often when I see the enemy charge toward me on minimap at start of battle I will have my Cavalry wait until their Cav is near my infantry line, tell Cav to charge( 3 > F1 > F3) then when their first cav wave is killed off I call back my Cavalry (3 > F1 > F2) until their infantry and archers are near mine then I tell them to charge again. That way the enemies forces are separated and any reinforcements they send in will not overwhelm mine thus minimizing my casualties)
  
• 2 > F3 > F1 and 2 > F3 > F1 (archers and cav archers to stop firing. Why waste ammo on low percentage shots when the enemy is far away. Just remember to tell them to F3 > F2 again when the enemy is nearer)

Hope that helps.

[xShapelessx]

You can also make each unit in your army a specific "class" and assign that class to a number key. I created the Elite Guard - Who is all of my hero characters, and I have "Defenders" who I make sure follow my hero character at all times for maximum defense. I usually make my archers hold position then immediately fire at will then I sent my infantry charging with the cavalry and badaboom I participate and slice some fools.

[Peaceful Panda]

I keep archers back (on a hill ideally). Infantry in front of archers. Cav to the side. Wait for enemy cav to rush my infantry line. After enemy horses are all tied up, lead my cavalry to charge enemy archers/infantry. Once their line is broken everyone just charges.

[Paperclip *PIRX*COP*]

It may also be to your advantage during large battles to have the actual fighting happen close to your spawn. Find a location nearby that you think will give you the best advantage, arrange your forces in a way you think is best, and then wait for the enemy to come to you. This way, when your reinforcements arrive, the new guys that show up will all be right there right next to you, so they'll spawn and all immediately rush in ready to fight and help out at the same time.

Your enemies' reinforcements on the other hand will have to run a far distance before they can be of any help to their comrades. It'll take them forever just to get there (especially if it's one of those extra hilly maps like in the Rhodok territories). And they won't be arriving all at the same time, and so their impact will be less powerful.

[[S-UK] Takendown]

Originally posted by Hurk:

As Ishida said.

Common strings you might type:

• at the start of battle is f1 > f2 (follow me, since everyone is selected by default at start of battle you tell everyone to follow you). I just found that spamming this command when you have a lot of cavalry helps to avoid the bug where they dismount when they cannot move.
  
• 2 > F2 > F2 (archers fall back 10 paces)
  
• 1 > F2 > F1 (infantry advance 10 paces)
  
• 2 > F2 > F3 (arches spread out)
  
• 1 > F2 > F4 (infantry stand closer - prob only use if they have shields or about to take a cavalry charge)
  
• 3 > F1 > F2 (cavalry follow me. Often when I see the enemy charge toward me on minimap at start of battle I will have my Cavalry wait until their Cav is near my infantry line, tell Cav to charge( 3 > F1 > F3) then when their first cav wave is killed off I call back my Cavalry (3 > F1 > F2) until their infantry and archers are near mine then I tell them to charge again. That way the enemies forces are separated and any reinforcements they send in will not overwhelm mine thus minimizing my casualties)
  
• 2 > F3 > F1 and 2 > F3 > F1 (archers and cav archers to stop firing. Why waste ammo on low percentage shots when the enemy is far away. Just remember to tell them to F3 > F2 again when the enemy is nearer)

Hope that helps.

Very helpful. Many thanks. We share the same tactics.

Archers must be protected at all times and should be at the rearmost. Infantry should be at the front, as stated. Cavalry should be somewhere between the Archers and Infantry. When they begin to retreat, that is when one should initiate all categories to charge and rid of the routing enemies. However, these tactics change over different terrain, which is of most importance to consider.

One should balance out their men between Archers, Cavalry and Infantry. With myself, I build up my army of Sharpshooters before Infantry and Cavalry. But that's just me.

[xShapelessx]

Originally posted by S-UK Takendown:

Originally posted by Hurk:

As Ishida said.

Common strings you might type:

• at the start of battle is f1 > f2 (follow me, since everyone is selected by default at start of battle you tell everyone to follow you). I just found that spamming this command when you have a lot of cavalry helps to avoid the bug where they dismount when they cannot move.
  
• 2 > F2 > F2 (archers fall back 10 paces)
  
• 1 > F2 > F1 (infantry advance 10 paces)
  
• 2 > F2 > F3 (arches spread out)
  
• 1 > F2 > F4 (infantry stand closer - prob only use if they have shields or about to take a cavalry charge)
  
• 3 > F1 > F2 (cavalry follow me. Often when I see the enemy charge toward me on minimap at start of battle I will have my Cavalry wait until their Cav is near my infantry line, tell Cav to charge( 3 > F1 > F3) then when their first cav wave is killed off I call back my Cavalry (3 > F1 > F2) until their infantry and archers are near mine then I tell them to charge again. That way the enemies forces are separated and any reinforcements they send in will not overwhelm mine thus minimizing my casualties)
  
• 2 > F3 > F1 and 2 > F3 > F1 (archers and cav archers to stop firing. Why waste ammo on low percentage shots when the enemy is far away. Just remember to tell them to F3 > F2 again when the enemy is nearer)

Hope that helps.

Very helpful. Many thanks. We share the same tactics.

Archers must be protected at all times and should be at the rearmost. Infantry should be at the front, as stated. Cavalry should be somewhere between the Archers and Infantry. When they begin to retreat, that is when one should initiate all categories to charge and rid of the routing enemies. However, these tactics change over different terrain, which is of most importance to consider.

One should balance out their men between Archers, Cavalry and Infantry. With myself, I build up my army of Sharpshooters before Infantry and Cavalry. But that's just me.

To be honest I send my infantry, and cavalry in for a charge once the enemy starts to close in on my position ( I usually stay back with the archers and wait for the enemy to approach) and I never wait till the enemy is routed. The charge is what stops their infantry and cavalry from breaking your line of archers.

[Senlassa Foxy Lassa]

Originally posted by S-UK Takendown:

With myself, I build up my army of Sharpshooters before Infantry and Cavalry. But that's just me.

This is the most cost-effective strategy in most parts of the continent, as a good wall of arrows from the back will hinder, if not utterly decimate, a slowly moving wall of foot soldiers. The only time I would say do not focus on your ranged soldiers right from the start is if you are dealing with a lot of cavalry units, in which case archers would just be little toys for them to knock over effortlessly. I would initially try for a standard 10/10 balance for archers and infantry, slowly building more on each side as you feel is required, because while the archers are great, you will still need that little bit of muscle for anything that makes it through, and recruits fall hard.

[[S-UK] Takendown]

Originally posted by Varas Karn:

Originally posted by S-UK Takendown:

Very helpful. Many thanks. We share the same tactics.

Archers must be protected at all times and should be at the rearmost. Infantry should be at the front, as stated. Cavalry should be somewhere between the Archers and Infantry. When they begin to retreat, that is when one should initiate all categories to charge and rid of the routing enemies. However, these tactics change over different terrain, which is of most importance to consider.

One should balance out their men between Archers, Cavalry and Infantry. With myself, I build up my army of Sharpshooters before Infantry and Cavalry. But that's just me.

To be honest I send my infantry, and cavalry in for a charge once the enemy starts to close in on my position ( I usually stay back with the archers and wait for the enemy to approach) and I never wait till the enemy is routed. The charge is what stops their infantry and cavalry from breaking your line of archers.

That's a great strategy. I also do this however that would soley depend on whether the opponent has already sent their Cavalry to charge. In most cases, the enemy, assuming we're not up against Bandits or Looters, usually slowly advance towards our men as we sit back and get into formation. As they slowly advance, our Archers begin firing, weakening their shields and even killing them off. It is worth noting that I have a mix or Archers from all factions, most of them being Rhodok Sharpshooters (since I am of the Rhdook faction). Once they are close enough, I tell my Archers to fall back ten spaces while the rest charge. If they are in numbers greater than my Battle Size settings allow and new enemies arrive, and I've time to pull my men back and re-organise, then this is what I do.

Originally posted by Ishida:

Originally posted by S-UK Takendown:

With myself, I build up my army of Sharpshooters before Infantry and Cavalry. But that's just me.

This is the most cost-effective strategy in most parts of the continent, as a good wall of arrows from the back will hinder, if not utterly decimate, a slowly moving wall of foot soldiers. The only time I would say do not focus on your ranged soldiers right from the start is if you are dealing with a lot of cavalry units, in which case archers would just be little toys for them to knock over effortlessly. I would initially try for a standard 10/10 balance for archers and infantry, slowly building more on each side as you feel is required, because while the archers are great, you will still need that little bit of muscle for anything that makes it through, and recruits fall hard.

Could not agree more. I've countless tales I could share of my Archery men completely wiping out an army of 50+, either wounding or killing them off, just alone, before they had even reached us. However, none of them were Cavalry and were all Archers and Infantry men. Had it have been Cavalry, this would be a tale that would not exist yet. This is why I have my Cavalry to take on the Cavalry and Infantry. My Infantry work well against them too, boxing the Cavalry units in and completely unhorsing them. Sharpshooters are also good for knocking out boxed in Cavalry. Perhaps I should build up more Cavalry and Infantry units, instead of stressing on Sharpshooters. They do prove most useful however.

[Senlassa Foxy Lassa]

Originally posted by S-UK Takendown:

Could not agree more. I've countless tales I could share of my Archery men completely wiping out an army of 50+, either wounding or killing them off, just alone, before they had even reached us. However, none of them were Cavalry and were all Archers and Infantry men. Had it have been Cavalry, this would be a tale that would not exist yet. This is why I have my Cavalry to take on the Cavalry and Infantry. My Infantry work well against them too, boxing the Cavalry units in and completely unhorsing them. Sharpshooters are also good for knocking out boxed in Cavalry. Perhaps I should build up more Cavalry and Infantry units, instead of stressing on Sharpshooters. They do prove most useful however.

You have to pick your fights, before being attached to a faction you can dodge combat with cavalry units until you get your front line infantry up to standard, at which point they can usually handle the cavalry on their own. The archers sit there looking at the pretty colors, occasionally hitting one or switching to melee one that is right next to them, but the infantry shines against cavalry because the slow rate of attack of the cavalry combined with the usually shielded foot soldiers, their faster rate of attack as well as their usual greater numbers. Cavalry would be greatest I think for quick skirmishes, as you set up your archers in the back and send in your cavalry to briefly harrass the enemy, sending them on an initial charge to keep their attention, halting their advance and then pulling them back to stop any damage, maximizing the kill zone time that your archers have; repeating over and over until either the enemy is dead or you are out of arrows/bolts. It's a dangerous game to become reliant on cavalry because of the cost of them combined with the unpredictability of battlefield and army arrangement, both of which can spell a horrible defeat for horsebound troops.

[Sohei]

You can also hit the backspace key to bring up a command interface.

[[S-UK] Takendown]

Originally posted by Ishida:

Originally posted by S-UK Takendown:

Could not agree more. I've countless tales I could share of my Archery men completely wiping out an army of 50+, either wounding or killing them off, just alone, before they had even reached us. However, none of them were Cavalry and were all Archers and Infantry men. Had it have been Cavalry, this would be a tale that would not exist yet. This is why I have my Cavalry to take on the Cavalry and Infantry. My Infantry work well against them too, boxing the Cavalry units in and completely unhorsing them. Sharpshooters are also good for knocking out boxed in Cavalry. Perhaps I should build up more Cavalry and Infantry units, instead of stressing on Sharpshooters. They do prove most useful however.

You have to pick your fights, before being attached to a faction you can dodge combat with cavalry units until you get your front line infantry up to standard, at which point they can usually handle the cavalry on their own. The archers sit there looking at the pretty colors, occasionally hitting one or switching to melee one that is right next to them, but the infantry shines against cavalry because the slow rate of attack of the cavalry combined with the usually shielded foot soldiers, their faster rate of attack as well as their usual greater numbers. Cavalry would be greatest I think for quick skirmishes, as you set up your archers in the back and send in your cavalry to briefly harrass the enemy, sending them on an initial charge to keep their attention, halting their advance and then pulling them back to stop any damage, maximizing the kill zone time that your archers have; repeating over and over until either the enemy is dead or you are out of arrows/bolts. It's a dangerous game to become reliant on cavalry because of the cost of them combined with the unpredictability of battlefield and army arrangement, both of which can spell a horrible defeat for horsebound troops.

Very well said! I try not to let my Archers go through much Melee unless the worst comes to the worst and they've no choice. I try to keep them as far away from the battle as possible so that they are able to fire into the area, unless the opponent really is coming on heavy. Rarely does this happen however. Now that I think about it, I do need more Cavalry. I only recall having a few which may prove useless against other parties with heavy Cavalry. Hmm...

In fact, I'll get right on that.

I love how the players of such an amazing game can discuss openly about their tactics that may aid others in their battles. I've definitely taken on some of your tactics and have applied them to my own. Thank you!

One last point about Archers; I get a weird sense of pride seeing them all firing off at the same at the enemy, in a well organised row. It looks a little intimidating too, seeing them all in a row. Here's what mine looks like: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=291644977

If I saw this formation of my opponents, I'd flee in a heartbeat.