Tips for single player siege battles?

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I'm not sure if all castles/towns has it (I doubt it), but quite a few have a gatehouse where you can open the gate. Once opened though I'm still not sure that your AI will be smart enough to head through the opened gate, but it's worth a shot I guess, if you manage to get past the throng and up on the walls!
 
Well its not easy, for a castle with about 120 men, i need about 60 on my side, for a 300+ castle, i need about 100 men.

This is how i do it.
First command: Follow me
When i'm close to the ladders: Charge
This way, you are still one of the first attacking, but the others get most of the arrow/bolts..
When you reached the top, try to hack your way through them and attack them from behind without pause.
After this, rush to the archers and finish them off on one side, your men can handle the other side.
Now you go with your men and help them, against the 2nd wave of enemies at the courtyard.

For this, i usea a shield and a two handed weapon

Or you could try to open the gates, but ranged enemies will hurt your army badly.
 
Nevertheless, I managed to defeat each attempt with only a few losses here and there. Defense is easy. Offense, however, is another story altogether. I really, really, really wish there was more than that Single Ladder of Death. Their troops attempt to climb down the thing while mine try to climb up. It's a massacre. I've found that the only way I manage to take a castle is by being the first up onto the walls and try to create a gap that my troops can pile into. Once they're actually ON the walls, things become a bit better.

True but defense is easy because of the single ladder of death, if there were 2 or 3 then you likely wouldn't be able to defend against 400+ enemies without at least half that number(or lowering the difficulty)
 
Master Looter said:
i wish there would be an additional ladder in siege battles for every two points in player's engineer skill
That is a very, very good idea. It would make raising engineering worthwhile.
 
I think it's bad idea and maximum of ladders should be 2 as it is in Lord and Realms. With more ladders included you probably wouldn't be able to defend any town or castle.  So far this besieging is buggy and for that reason troops are getting stuck on ladder. I hope it all will be repairing and correcting for the fluent attacks of troops. :???: 
 
With the game difficulty all at max and a battle size of 400, the first thing I sieged was the city of Veluca after the swadians had taken it from the Rhodoks. Before I even thought of sieging anything I recruited 8 companions who were compatible with each other then proceeded to basically farm the sea raiders/tundra bandits for money and experience around Rivacheg until everyone was around level 20-25 and decked out in expensive gear and armed with a 2-handed weapon.

By the time I was done Alayen was level 25 with 10 iron flesh/power strike and lordly chest/boot/glove/helmet/masterwork greatsword. He was a damn beast  :eek:

Anyways, after all that I recruited 50 Vaegirs and trained them all to knights along with picking up an extra 4 companions to use as my first lords. So I go siege Veluca with a garrison of 300 strong with my 12 companions and 50 knights. First thing I see is the single ladder of death telling me that their are no siege improvements which is pretty disappointing. Everyone charges and attempts to climb the tiny stairway to heaven but proceeds to get stuck at the bottom and the crossbowmen at the walls pick off a good number of my knights before my guys begin to climb.

A few knights make it up the ladder but are massacred by bolts and the glob of infantry covering the tiny entrance on the walls. As soon as Alayen makes it to the top and he cuts a hole through the defenders allowing the rest of us entrance onto the walls. We managed to kill close to 200 defenders before I had to retreat.
I had a high surgery skill so most of my knights were only knocked out allowing me to rest a bit to recover my losses and then re-siege the city. Same thing happened but this time it was Mathled who cut an opening for us and we proceeded to slaughter the defenders and take the city. Only 15 knights survived.

I recruit the 50 prisoner mountain bandits and garrison them into the city along with my surviving knights. I make 3 of my companions into lords and tell them to defend the city just before the Swadians gather a strong force to retake Veluca. Its about 120 defenders vs 800 attackers.

Damn this battle was long and boring. The attackers basically clustered around the bottom of the ladder and many of them would get stuck or sit halfway up the ladder blocking the guys behind. Practically all of my losses were from swadian ranged troops who would make it partly up the ladder then stop and proceed to shoot at my defenders on the walls. All of my shooters were killed pretty early into the siege this way. Many times a soldier would climb to the top just outside melee range then back away clogging up the ladder even more. I just sat my guy in a corner and went to make dinner while I left the computer on. The battle took more than 2 hours to complete!  :evil:

The sieges definitely need improvements. Maybe add more ladders like the siege pack from Lords and Realms mod or make the ladder much wider so that attackers can climb up smoother. Currently the thought of having to sit through siege battles more often now as a ruler of a faction isn't a very fun thought.
 
cberry said:
Is it even possible to win siege assaults? Every time, my entire army bunches up on the ladder and gets slaughtered, and I am forced to use cheats to get inside of the castle and kill everyone on the walls from behind.

It's probably the most annoying thing.

So what do I do? Create a mass army of archers to kill them from outside the walls? Seems like the only logical strategy, as CQC has proven itself useless in this type of fight.

Maybe try having your archers line up near the wall first, while your infantry hangs back. Let them soften the defenders up for a while. then when everyones arrows are used up charge your infantry. Then charge your archers after your inflantry is already charged.


 
orangatang said:
Maybe try having your archers line up near the wall first, while your infantry hangs back. Let them soften the defenders up for a while. then when everyones arrows are used up charge your infantry. Then charge your archers after your inflantry is already charged.

This is the exact tactic I was going to recommend, it's the only tactic that works consistently for me. I try to bring as many archers as the enemy has to the siege, and have them line up in such a way as to be able to cover the walls in arrows; where that is you'll have to figure out through trial and error. Then let the archers do their job, until the enemy is whittled down to a manageable number. Be willing to attack the walls multiple times if you're not happy with the situation after your archers run out of arrows the first time. It's annoying if you have to use a siege tower, but it's worth it. It's a great way to keep your little band from taking too many losses, and like I said, works consistently.

Also, has anyone noticed that siege towers are faster in Warband? The one outside Malayurg flew compared to what I remember from MnB. And speaking of Malayurg, when are they going to fix the idiotic AI behavior that has defenders leaping from certain walls? Great when attacking, annoying when defending.
 
1. leave everything except your archers out of the siege
2. order everyone to hold their ground and shoot
3. kill off all enemy archers
4. shoot enemy infantry until you and your archers run out of arrows
5. retreat
6. siege again until you have captured the whole castle

kinda abusing, but i'd rather abuse like this instead of watching my whole army get slaughtered because of AI that can't attack castles...
 
Buy one of the Nords' shields. They are the largest (I think). Always take up your shield to avoid coming arrows.
 
sotamursu123 said:
1. leave everything except your archers out of the siege
2. order everyone to hold their ground and shoot
3. kill off all enemy archers
4. shoot enemy infantry until you and your archers run out of arrows
5. retreat
6. siege again until you have captured the whole castle

kinda abusing, but i'd rather abuse like this instead of watching my whole army get slaughtered because of AI that can't attack castles...

That's pretty much how sieges worked in real life. Archers/crossbowmen and later gunmen would sit around behind cover taking occasional potshots at defenders, who sat behind walls at took potshots at attackers.
 
Used to love bows because I'm impatient and want a high rate of firepower.  Now I realize its better to save skill points for surgery and also to wade into a siege with 100 bolts.  I don't need a shield when I can use a human shield.  I think in my next play through I'll get all my companions to bring 100 steel bolts.  I realize with the higher power I can wear down shields.

As for shields, I realize its better to have one with a high resistance rather than those sea bandit nord shields with no resistance.

I think one time it took me 3 attempts to take rivacheg.  Should be easier with siege crossbows.
 
Have insane surgery, best skill in the game.

Train a lot of Sharpshooters - Rhodoks or Swadian, Rhodoks better. No archers. Sharpshooters are better foot soldiers when they are left with no arrows.
Put them on the top of the queue in your party.
Train Huscarls and put them after the sharpshooters.

Start the siege! Ladders are the best, because they take the least time, and you'll need several attempts.

When the siege starts, tell the sharpshooters not to shoot - they raise their shields. Position them so that they have the best view towards the enemy archers/crossbowmen. Give the sharpshooters green light to fire. Sharpshooters are the best weapon against castles, they will kill any enemy archers very quickly. Enemy castles that have crossbowmen/sharpshooters will have worse ratio of trained sharpshooters compared to you, so you should be able to win against them as well. If they have 100 sharpshooters - then you are f**ked. You'll need several battles/retreats/retrains of your troops until you soften the castle.

So when the enemy archers are dispatched, you'll want to tell your archers to stop shooting (they will only run out of arrows shooting on shields). you can order an assault. Your sharpshooters are no match for huscarls, or really good infantry, but they ARE very good sword&shield infantry, and they'll do damage and then drop unconscious. If the next enemy army batch arrives, you'll want to tell your sharpshooters to get back in front of the walls and fire arrows against the new enemy archers (and if they have arrows). If not, let them attack until your next batch of sharpshooters arrives and THEN tell them to hold position in front of the walls and fire arrows.

When the castle is left only with infantry, you'll want to retrieve and put the huscarls in front mixed with archers/sharpshooters. When the huscarls attack, the enemy will drop the shields and raise the weapons - leaving them vulnerable for the archers, which should ALWAYS stay in front of the wall.

Several attempts of those can bring any castle to its knees, mostly because of the surgery exploit - you'll get back your troops on their feet, but they won't. So even if the first attempts fail and you lose some troops, they'd have lost more. Most importantly - eliminate their sharpshooters. When order the assault, remember - you can always order them to go back to their positions in front of the walls (where is your place). You can also shoot yourself, I've made lots of killings with a crossbow, but it is a risk, and not a necessary one. If you die, you lose a lot usually.

Make some of the companions additional surgeons, as a backup if you die.

That makes taking a castle a slow, but easy venture.


 
:?: the
cberry said:
Is it even possible to win siege assaults? Every time, my entire army bunches up on the ladder and gets slaughtered, and I am forced to use cheats to get inside of the castle and kill everyone on the walls from behind.

It's probably the most annoying thing.

So what do I do? Create a mass army of archers to kill them from outside the walls? Seems like the only logical strategy, as CQC has proven itself useless in this type of fight
Horsemen for everything but sieges and nord or Vaegris or Nord mid rank is good enough for a castle about 50-100 if the castle is under 170-180 and you just gotta play it slow through the battle and stay behind your **** men
 
sotamursu123 said:
1. leave everything except your archers out of the siege
2. order everyone to hold their ground and shoot
3. kill off all enemy archers
4. shoot enemy infantry until you and your archers run out of arrows
5. retreat
6. siege again until you have captured the whole castle

kinda abusing, but i'd rather abuse like this instead of watching my whole army get slaughtered because of AI that can't attack castles...

Brilliant advice from a master tactician
 
I agree with sniping off everyone you can, then retreating and re-sieginga doing it again and again. On normal damage settings at least. On reduced damage just marching top tier guy in there is fine, but on full damage it just feels wrong.

I have non-surgery or engineer companions carry arrows and good shields and have them hold fire. When you're down to 1 arrow go up to good old Alayen and tell him to fire at will, then pop him in the head and take his arrows and repeat with everyone else. Pick arrows up off the ground. Cross bows still work with low skill. Have guys stand ground by the ladder when the ranged units are all gone and see if you can get enemies to follow you down the ladder. I started with the background that gave me +1 power trow and thought what a waste.... well I pick up those javelins and throw em back too. It's so much fun seeing what you can get away with. In one game I took the whole map and only did 2 or 3 conventional sieges.

I really like sniping them and it justifies having 10 power draw instead of doing a int build for higher surgery.
 
wordjay said:
:?: the
cberry said:
Is it even possible to win siege assaults? Every time, my entire army bunches up on the ladder and gets slaughtered, and I am forced to use cheats to get inside of the castle and kill everyone on the walls from behind.

It's probably the most annoying thing.

So what do I do? Create a mass army of archers to kill them from outside the walls? Seems like the only logical strategy, as CQC has proven itself useless in this type of fight
Horsemen for everything but sieges and nord or Vaegris or Nord mid rank is good enough for a castle about 50-100 if the castle is under 170-180 and you just gotta play it slow through the battle and stay behind your **** men
It's best NOT to respond to a post over eight years old which was based upon a very different version of the game than the current version.
 
Hi guys, so every time if i hit the siege i finish with no more than 50-100 soldiers losses. That means 2/3 archers 1/3 boots on the ground so these 1/3 stays AFK and the archers are doing the rest aaaand if the archers reinforcements of the defenders stuck behind the walls on their spawn point - they do it every time and u cant touch them with your archers, then these 1/3 infantry (be sure they are tanky). Push with them charge and let them charge. Now with the archers u can circle the wall inside and ambush from behind the defender archers which are killing your mele soldier like insects :grin: so yesterday i attacked the Khul-vara dunno if the name is correct but i went with 500 soldiers 2/3 archers 1/3 heavy tanks against 1000 and gg i won with my archers going behind their archers. Its arrows that rules the sieges in this game, not lances :grin: sry for my poor English :sad:
 
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