Cannons ???

[Kimse]

Greetings :)

First off, i love the game. its good fun and entertaining for sure :)

1 thing i have noticed though is Cannons and how they work, or seem to work. wich can descrbed as.. uhmm ?!? they suck ?!?

I get why a regiment of 2000 men volley can do more damage, but im puzzled when i see a volley of cannon fire smashing into same regiment killing 5-10 soldiers pr volley.

They seem to do next to no damage so my question here is are they worth the resources to get them and keep them going and upgrading ?

Im considering starting over, and just ignore Artillery completely. Currently a few battles after 2nd bull run main battle i think its called. playing as the South btw.

So what are you guys thoughts about this ?

regards

Kim

[BigJKU316]

What type of guns and at what range?

Good guns are worth their weight in gold. I routinely kill 2-3k with large howitzers and often 1-2k with rifles ordinance batteries. It's all about sighting them properly and employing them at the correct range.

[Imbezile]

You´re engaging at long range right?

STOP. right now. You´re wasting ammo.

Move those guns behind your line and watch the blueys get ripped to pieces when they advance close enough.

The key to increasing artillery damage is using it on short and medium range (i.e. shells and canister shots.)

Moneyworthy cannons: Napoleons 24PDR howizers, Tradegars and 10PDR Ordanances.

[Kimse]

i currently got/using 12 PDR Napoleon guns. Effective Range 1400 and accuracy 10 it says.

[Kimse]

and yes, imbezile i tend to have my cannons stay safely back at long range and i deffo will try your way thanks :)

[BigJKU316]

Originally posted by Kimse:

and yes, imbezile i tend to have my cannons stay safely back at long range and i deffo will try your way thanks :)

Napoleons are fine but use them as shotguns only at very close range. Ordinance rifles you can keep further back and use on a wider front as they have good shell range. IMHO they are better offensively as well as you can advance they outeange many other guns and can advance to shell range without being devastated. Using Napoleons offensively is in my view quite difficult.

[Kimse]

hmm so what Cannon is best to use offensively ?? best = easy to use offensively. or is it a matter of the most expensive cannon is the best ?

[BigJKU316]

Originally posted by Kimse:

hmm so what Cannon is best to use offensively ?? best = easy to use offensively. or is it a matter of the most expensive cannon is the best ?

Ordinance 10 pound are easier to use offensively in my view.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/98351256274234610/5DFA09EA65F7BD336064903A42484A4EAF0899F1/

I think this is a bit dated but the general picture is given here. Effective range to me is a less important criteria than shell range and accuracy. If someone has numbers for shell range would love to have them.

Give a good crew ordinance rifles are very accurate and being shelled crushes morale and the ability to charge. I don't get charged a lot in big numbers because of that. If I use Napoleons I do because my Fire isn't effective at range. Offensively with Ordiance Rifles I can establish my infantry outside of effective range of smoothbore weapons and still shell enemy positions. Then if I can seize a dominant position I can exert influence well up and down the enemy defensive line without respotting my guns.

You will find adherents on both sides of the issue though. Napoleons have their place and I will let others argue their merits.

[Marcomies]

Ordnance 10 pdr is probably the most all-around efficient cannon considering practical performance, price and availability. Napoleon 12 pdr is also good especially since you get a lot of them as loot. Both of these guns are fairly easy to keep at real effective range from the enemy. If you move them behind your infantry they should be within shelling range of infantry's shooting targets and they will use canister if the enemy charges your infantry.

Parrot 10 pdr has a bit more range but does significantly less damage than Ordnance or even Napoleon but if you are faced with either having to pay for guns or using captured Parrots you might as well use them. Howizer 24 pdr is the deadlies artillery piece but has high price and low availability through the entire campaign.

The rest of the guns I wouldn't recommend using unless you really have to or you have a lot of unnecessary money to burn (although the 10 pdr Ordnance would probably still have better practical performance than any of the fancy guns). You will most likely be looting enough Ordnances and Napoleons to equip most of your batteries with them quite easily.

[The King of Spades]

10pdr Ordance is where its at. best all rounder and can really smash on charging infantry if your batteries are massed and volley fired.

[The King of Spades]

Has anyone tried the 20PDR Parrots with canister? Are they effective or similar to the 10pdr Parrots?

[Dr Duh]

It's amazing what you can find on youtube. Search for "Canister shot from civil war cannon" to see a real Napoleon in action. What I found particularly interesting was how the canister shot animation in the game really reflects the look of the actual piece in action.

[Stelios Blackeyes]

First of all, American Civil war was the first recorded modern war, where rifles caused more deaths than cannons in the battlefield.Rifled muskets of the period were far more deadly and accurate than their smooth bore predecessors, but on the other hand, rifled cannons where not that common yet.Only at the later stages of the war, were enough of these advanced artillery pieces.That element has probably been integrated in the game.For this reason, canister shot, is the most effective in the game.That is why you need mainly 12pdr and 24pdr Napoleons(smooth bore cannons).10pdr Ordnance(rifled cannon) is the only which is good all around, but its availability maybe a little low.

[Kristoph42]

The 10# Ordiance Rifle is probably the best all around gun you can have in quantity.
24# howitzers are the best period, that is why they are limited.

Personally, I like the 20# Parrot and I love the 12# Whitworth also. They have awesome range and they can actually inflict damage upon enemy artillery units. Their range is so long and their canister range is the longest. I have had whitworths and 20# parrots lobing canister fire at enemy guns whch make them flash white and withdrawl/rout . . . My INF men love those long range guns because they don't eat as much canister shot from the enemy guns. The 20# parrot is ok for canister into enemy INF, the whitworth is horrible at canister into enemy INF. You will need to micro manage them and use the Whitworth and 20# Parrot soley for breaking up enemy artillery, once those are gone then have them shot at INF and you no longer have to micro manage them.

[Kinakin]

Personlly i feel cannons are best used within canister range. long range does very little but softening the morale before a charge.

Time constraints means spending a long time shelling the enemy at long range is less effective then using infantry to break them.

[Scottster]

get them 24lbers and its game over. i get as many of them badgers as possible. they are
a game changer. love them blue coats walking face first into my 24lbers...