How to beat Skaven ambush?

[the leaf]

Hey I'm encountering strong Skaven armies around turn 150 and I move my armies in groups of 3 but I keep getting wiped out by their ambushes. How do I counter them while moving my armies to take out their cities?

[Yellowdragon]

Use only 1 strong melee focused army.

Don't use arty in the army that you know gonna get ambushed.

Use ambush defence stance.

Lay ambush yourself.

[CatMeow]

If it's an attack from the skaven, pace yourself out of their movement range or try setting up a counter ambush.

If you walked into an ambush anyway, what's important is to disrupt their ranged. Skaven melee units just have poor... everything so being surrounded by them isn't a big deal, even if it keeps most of your units occupied. However, getting 6 tons of warpstone injected with a gatling gun will. Having fliers or cav break off and chase them around will help - you don't even really have to kill them yet, just prevent them from firing.

[Just end trashbag.]

always set you army to encampment and put hero to scout the place first. wait2-3 turn. hero is the best one to detect ambushes.

[archmag]

Originally posted by Spitfire:

always set you army to encampment and put hero to scout the place first. wait2-3 turn. hero is the best one to detect ambushes.

Encampment does not protect against skaven attack-ambushes. Heroes don't notice passive ambushes and this thread is not about passive ambushes. Waiting 2-3 turns at one place just lets them ambush-attack you. So anything you said doesn't help at all against skaven ambushes which happen when they attack your army.

Originally posted by the leaf:

Hey I'm encountering strong Skaven armies around turn 150 and I move my armies in groups of 3 but I keep getting wiped out by their ambushes. How do I counter them while moving my armies to take out their cities?

Personally I don't know how to beat them if they attack-ambush you. I often just lose an army but luckily that does not happen often. You need to design special armies but even they suffer large leadership penalties during ambush that on higher difficulties are very hard to deal with. I even lost my Nakai's main army with blessed temple guards and some dinos to such an ambush once.

That is why I do my best to avoid them. I don't move in packs of three or even two. I try to create balanced armies which are easy to recover and that don't have trouble in dealing with enemy armies one on one. I jump from settlement to another settlement, they can't ambush you in settlements. I hide in ambush. I destroy skaven faction as soon as possible if I get at war with them. I position my armies near their major settlements when I declare the war so that I can quickly take some major positions from them.

[the leaf]

okay thank you guys for the replies! so sounds like i need to move in ambush stance myself and go heavier meele and take out their ranged

[pin]

which race you using. People probably can help you build a mid-game rouster that can both attack and defend against most skaven armies even if ambushed.

[JODEGAFUN]

If you play HE, 4 heroes (best with resistance ore incendary trait), each with one Chrace Scout follower, and the stupid rats ambush you no more if you take the blue line skill too. Other race have traits and followers ore skills which helps too.
Agents can help to spot rats armies are detect an prepared ambush, but the prevent you not from being ambushed if they can reach you and attack you. Do not camp outside a settlement, and never ever siege a Skaven settlement, always assault it.

[SeriousCCIE]

I have found that fast, hard hitting melee -- or if you got it, fire weapons or spells -- do a good job.

Taking out their ranged guys, like gatling guns and warpfire throwers -- are to me, critical.

If I have any cavarly, I'll go out of my way to run around behind them and charge them. I am not so good at fielding mounted units, but when I do... I go for their catapults and ranged weapons teams if I can.

Often in ambush everyone is Right There, and if in the commotion you can get a few units to peel out to the side and run around, it may seem like everyone is taking a beating while a few units are bravely running away, but once they are back into the fray--and preventing suppressive fire on your troops (even if your units get sacrificed in the process), it buys you additional time to regroup the main cohort of your army and form a defensive formation (or climb up a hill or into the forests and then try to hold your ground).

But that's assuming you're ambushed and don't have units to aggressively beat them back with.

Preventing an ambush is the best strategy, and the heroes/ambush stance are the two best ways to do that, although it really can slow your progression through an area. Of course, if you have that army defeated, you'll have *no* progression through the area.

I also have used a strategy of having two armies within support/reinforcement reach of one another. This has often, but not always, reduced my being ambushed via what I expect to be some game calculation that 2 armies in reinforcement distances are not worth the trouble to try to ambush one of them just based on the numbers.

It doesnt actually help if I am ambushed--only one army, in my experience, shows up in that case -- but it does leave the enemy ambusher in a weakened condition should it be victorious and my remaining army is standing right there for me to attack back with on my next turn.

[Sarcastro]

Only real way to stop Skaven ambushes is to go into ambush mode yourself. Stacking armies does nothing as ambushes are like lighting strike except they allow enemy reinforcements.

[Greldinart]

use a couple of mouse trap, and gruyere.

[EazyLee]

playing as dark elves, im finding taking out their leader seems to scatter them each ambush and they are easy to eliminate after that.

pesky vermin, they are a huge annoyance in the game, no matter how many battles you beat them theyll have thousands more in numbers to keep coming.

[crispy D pancakes]

the ratboys is stupid, stupid like me gobbos. but I is a clever greenskin and I says we aint gonna get ambushed by no stupid ratboys.

[SeriousCCIE]

Greidnart, I prefer Limburger to set my traps with, because it stinks just like the Empire and will attract Skaven.

[Ashley]

You probably don't. If ai is attacking you it means it has a good shot it'll win.

[Ashantai]

It depends which army you are. Some factions are much better at countering them than others.