what type of cannon should i use

[Balher Marzor]

i normally run a mix of old napoleons for anti infantry and some james guns or 3 inchs for counter battery fire im just looking for some recommendations or some new ideas

[ghyslain]

30 pdr Parrott rifle! Best canister shot range (690 yards) amazing damage per hit and as such great damage output over multiple days battle when ammo supply becomes the limitating factor.

[Old War Dog]

My recommendation and how I organize for combat, I try to go heavy on Artillery. I put at least one Battery of Artillery per Division (three or four Brigades under a Division) best choice 12 Pound Napoleons, (Big Shot Gun), deploy some where in the forward Brigade lines, the Corps gets a Artillery Division made up of 12 and 24 Lb Howitzers, I try to put at least 6 Batteries in that Division, (Division Artillery). Each Corps has an Independent Cavalry Corps made up of two Divisions, two Brigades each and a Horse Artillery Battery in Each Division armed with 3 inch Rifles (long range, light weight, High Accuracy), Note this is relatively early in the War (most of the subsidies need are accomplished and when Army command is available these Army/Corps become Corps in the new Armies). Bigger and better Artillery will be developed in Army Artillery Corps. This is just my deployment technic and is expensive. Other rapid fire pieces can be included in the Army Artillery and detached to Corps Divisions as needed.

[HenryPigLatin]

With the new patch, build and buy strategy needs to be a major factor as production will take a while to ramp up.

For the union, where production and resources are less an issue, the parrots are great. The 20lbs parrot is a contender for best, flexible artillery. It's only downside is that it can't be use for horse batteries. But getting 3 cannons means you can be building 3 at once to get numbers up.

The riffled artillery is the other great domestic package, and the 3inch gun is the one I would put up against the 20lbs parrot as possible the best. The 6lbs gun is very solid secondary but had half thr damage as the 3in.

Cast iron for napoleons and James cannons is not a bad idea for either side to get some earlier production going. The south might rely on it more, too.

For imports, the British guns are simply fantastic. The Prussian Krump gun is also fantastic, but Prussian package is too expensive for what you get.

[Timmer120]

it depends on what the situation is

ofc, this is presuming mid-war, after those initial days where you are getting any gun that you can to replace the god-awful 6pdrs



The good General-Use guns I'd say are the Rifled Guns, the 10pdr Ordnance and Parrot along with the 12pdr Bakerly Rifle, as these are easy to get and have good damage output at all ranges(and more importantly good damage at longer ranges, which is where a good portion of your fire is likely going to be). Honorable Mention goes to the 20pdr Parrot which is a bit more difficult to get, but is the perfect balance between rate of fire and damage when compared to the 10 and 30pdr Parrots

For close range, you have the choice between the good Machine Guns(Coffee and Gatling Guns), the 24pdr Howitzer, and the 12pdr Napoleon. the 24pdr does best damage per hit, and the MGs absolutely MELT Morale, however the MGs are limited to largely defensive weapons due to their cripplingly low range while the 24pdr is mediocre at long ranges, meanwhile the Napoleon still does okay at longer ranges

As for absolute best, it depends on context:
if you are in for a long multi-day siege of a battle, then the 30pdr is your best bet, with it getting the most efficiency out of your shot and its cripplingly low 1RPM doesn't matter as much

if you are in for fast damage, then the 12pdr Armstrong is your bet, as it combines good hitting power with a blisteringly fast 7RPM which is over double most standard guns rates of fire. Its a wonderful piece of kit though it requires British Guns and was hard to get compared to the other guns last time I checked

if you are wanting to break a charge ASAP, then Gatling Guns are probably your best bet, as infantry in the open get their morale just DELETED incredibly fast while under fire from a battery of Gatlings, though be aware that the enemy likes counter-battery and the Gatling has the shortest range of the Machine Guns