Hold Fire

[rageshrub]

My main use for a hold fire command would be to force nord troops to use melee in sieges, instead of having them hang around the bottom of the ladder getting shot

 

[Dredly]

What about setting an option where your archers will only fire when difficulty is less then a certain number? is that possible? The benefit would be they would be able to open fire reliably at fore runners without you needing to stand there and watch them or tell them to hold / fire... etc

 

[Antoxi]

There is no need to discuss this. A fire command is heavily needed. It could be a toggle "Hold Fire" and "Fire".

 

[rageshrub]

There is no need to discuss this. A fire command is heavily needed. It could be a toggle "Hold Fire" and "Fire".

I'd prefer a "Ranged" and "Melee" so it can be used for Nords as well as dedicated ranged troops

 

[Havoc134]

There is no need to discuss this. A fire command is heavily needed. It could be a toggle "Hold Fire" and "Fire".

I'd prefer a "Ranged" and "Melee" so it can be used for Nords as well as dedicated ranged troops

true this would be useful, but i think that both would work well because if you only have the range or melee option and you need your archers to fire off a quick volley they have to switch weapons, wasting precious seconds.

 

[Gargret]

hi
I am not sure if someone brought this up or not but
shouldn't archers and crossbowmen have reduced range and accuracy under foggy weathers? I always think its unfair that the AI can shower you with arrows way before you can even see them through the fog.

 

[spectre:]

You're right, it is something I've found annoying as well.

Now be a sport and make a new thread about it in the Privy Council forum, since it is a new issue, and unrelated to the 'hold fire' discussion.

 

[tenichi]

In LOTR the first battle - Elrond uses his archers to fire when the enemy is charging towards them and they fire directly ahead - not up also they fire in lines, shredding the first wave of enemies in seconds
similarly in The Last Samurai, Algren waits until the charging samurai are within distance before he orders the 'let her rip' command (which actually never happened because the soldiers were impatient)
it seems an effective order for when small skirmishes and the hold postion and stand closer orders are combined
i would love to be able to test it out on larger groups of river pirates - waiting till they start raising their weapons and shower them in arrows - which happens to me quite a lot in sieges - you start to swing only to be met with a bodkin arrow to the face

 

[thgonace]

technichly you could tell your archers to use only blunt weapons (which a bow is ofcourse not) and then tell them to switch back when you want them to fire.

 

[Swadius 2.0]

In LOTR the first battle - Elrond uses his archers to fire when the enemy is charging towards them and they fire directly ahead - not up also they fire in lines, shredding the first wave of enemies in seconds
similarly in The Last Samurai, Algren waits until the charging samurai are within distance before he orders the 'let her rip' command (which actually never happened because the soldiers were impatient)
it seems an effective order for when small skirmishes and the hold postion and stand closer orders are combined
i would love to be able to test it out on larger groups of river pirates - waiting till they start raising their weapons and shower them in arrows - which happens to me quite a lot in sieges - you start to swing only to be met with a bodkin arrow to the face

The opposing troops only swing when they're about a body and a half away from you, plus if they don't come in a uniform line, then most of the troops behind them would still be blocking with their shields. A good fast huscarl is enough to reach the lines before the archers can re-knock at that distance.

Volley shots are really more morale breakers then the most effective way of killing. A shock of a good number of arrows impacting is much more frightening then the arrows coming in few at a time and in a steady stream.

 

[Abu_Antar]

In LOTR the first battle - Elrond uses his archers to fire when the enemy is charging towards them and they fire directly ahead - not up also they fire in lines, shredding the first wave of enemies in seconds
similarly in The Last Samurai, Algren waits until the charging samurai are within distance before he orders the 'let her rip' command (which actually never happened because the soldiers were impatient)
it seems an effective order for when small skirmishes and the hold postion and stand closer orders are combined
i would love to be able to test it out on larger groups of river pirates - waiting till they start raising their weapons and shower them in arrows - which happens to me quite a lot in sieges - you start to swing only to be met with a bodkin arrow to the face

The opposing troops only swing when they're about a body and a half away from you, plus if they don't come in a uniform line, then most of the troops behind them would still be blocking with their shields. A good fast huscarl is enough to reach the lines before the archers can re-knock at that distance.

Volley shots are really more morale breakers then the most effective way of killing. A shock of a good number of arrows impacting is much more frightening then the arrows coming in few at a time and in a steady stream.

true... but that sort of 'morale breaking' doesn't even exist in the Total War Series. Volley or no volley morale in most games is based on the number of deaths suffered by a unit, direction of attack (e.g if the soldier/unit is being flanked) or in our case (if there was an official morale system)by the health of each soldier and not by the type or 'way' in which damage is being dealt.

Not to stray off topic; a hold fire command would be invaluable to archers especially since the AI cannot estimate whether or not a successful hit is likely.

 

[Arelos Dhrahin]

technichly you could tell your archers to use only blunt weapons (which a bow is ofcourse not) and then tell them to switch back when you want them to fire.

Archers usually won't switch until they've run out of arrows. Basically immobile when using the crossbow or bow; don't charge up the ladder once told in a siege for example. They'll near it but stop and keep firing.

 

[Oskatat]

so, a button basicallly saying 1st weapon, 2nd weapon, fists?

in favor!

 

[eliteman123]

In LOTR the first battle - Elrond uses his archers to fire when the enemy is charging towards them and they fire directly ahead - not up also they fire in lines, shredding the first wave of enemies in seconds
similarly in The Last Samurai, Algren waits until the charging samurai are within distance before he orders the 'let her rip' command (which actually never happened because the soldiers were impatient)
it seems an effective order for when small skirmishes and the hold postion and stand closer orders are combined
i would love to be able to test it out on larger groups of river pirates - waiting till they start raising their weapons and shower them in arrows - which happens to me quite a lot in sieges - you start to swing only to be met with a bodkin arrow to the face

This Game is based more on realistic aspects of the age it was placed in, but yeah, someone did add a mini-MOD that adds this command. Look for it at the MBRepository

 

[Adorno]

As far as I know ... hm ... this feature has now been implemented.
But I used to make my archers stand close behind a hill and when the enemy was close enough
I ordered them to advance 20-30 paces and spread out at the top of the hill. That worked 

 

[Shik]

As far as I know ... hm ... this feature has now been implemented.

Confession! You've been playing the 1.0 from Paradox! Gack, why can't you people patiently wait like the rest of us? 

 

[Dain Ironfoot]

Hrmm.. I certainly hope this is true! I was worried when the tidbit we got in 0.903 disappeared in 0.960

 

[Havoc134]

As far as I know ... hm ... this feature has now been implemented.

Confession! You've been playing the 1.0 from Paradox! Gack, why can't you people patiently wait like the rest of us? 

Lol Hypocrite!!! jk

 

[Aljola]

I totally agree with a "hold fire" option that works whether or not my troops are moving.

I hope that it will also keep my other units in formation rather than heading out to attack nearby enemies when I have my troops holding this position.  They get in the way of my archers when the enemy is finally at a range that my archers can finally hit more often.

 

[Dain Ironfoot]

Judging by the noises of those who have played, it's in. Which makes sense given that we saw references to it in the code a few versions ago.