Advise on protecting a Stack from Assassins?

[Yoadm]

I've been playing the Kurioritas lately, and seem to be unable to invade enemy lands, because, no matter how big a stack I bring, all my catapults get themselves killed on the way to the first enemy city. Anyone know how to counter this?

 

[MiKa523]

Guardsmen promotion makes strong units defend against units targeting weak units.
Bannor get it free, all other civs need units with strength 3(?) to pick that promotion next.

 

[Micky Onimusha]

Building Scouts seems to work fine. Cheap cannon fodder and shouldn't slow down your stack's movement either.

 

[BugReportage]

agreed with micky, in fact using low level scouts is an excellent way to prevent enemy assassins from gaining levels quickly also while guardsmen, which requires a leveled unit will give assassins more experience. Another way to defend against assassins is to phalanx stacks but this is rather overdoing it in my opinion. It'd be useful if you have the summoner trait I guess. (By phalanx stacks I mean surround your mages on all sides by stacks of units so the assassins can't reach them.)

I would think horsemen with flanking promotions would be an excellent defense so long as your needed units have more attack then the horsemen. I say this because the horsemen have a chance to withdraw which means they won't even die and you can use them another turn to defend your stack (this time even weaker but you mainly use them to defend not attack).

 

[BeefontheBone]

Actually Guardsman doesn't work properly ATM, which is irritating. Best thing I've found is to get out there and assassinate the assassins yourself. Scounts are good for absorbing them but a bit of a pain in the backside. Oh, and if they're in an enemy stack you can hit them with collateral damage to make them more survivable. If you've a few summoners you can keep creating a screen of summons to cut them off in some circumstances - pillaging roads ahead of yourself with fast units and/or summons can also stop them running halfway across the map to hit you.

 

[Keeper_GFA]

Actually Guardsman doesn't work properly ATM

This is supposed to be fixed in patch H.

 

[onedreamer]

I've been playing the Kurioritas lately, and seem to be unable to invade enemy lands, because, no matter how big a stack I bring, all my catapults get themselves killed on the way to the first enemy city. Anyone know how to counter this?

switch to Industrious at the first choice and build Pact of the Nilhorn. (you can switch back to Philo later when you can actually make use of it). With the 3 giants, you won't need catapults.

 

[nealhunt]

I like FFH, but it's heavy on micromanagement. I dislike the assassin/marksman mechanism because countering assassins requires yet more micromanagement. If you want to counter them, it's a no-brainer. Just spend the time to pile up stacks of Scouts and pay the maintenance for your assassin-bait.

However, my choice on whether to bother to protect my stacks against assassins has nothing to do with in-game strategy and everything to do with whether I feel like going through all the motions required and the feeling of cheesiness that the scout-stack generates in the pit of my stomach.

Khazad have a quicker method of building disposable assassin-bait, by having a stack of melee units create battering rams. That cuts down on the fiddliness considerably but it still feels cheesy.

 

[Sarisin]

I'm not sure, but aren't Scouts obsoleted at some point?

As tedious as it is, I always create a few Workers to send out with a stack if I know the enemy tends to build a lot of Assassins - some do not.

I used to build birds the Hunters/Rangers could carry, but now I think they can only take on the birds if they are in a city - the birds cannot be re-based when the stack is out making war in enemy territory.

I suppose Adepts could be cheap cannon fodder if you cannot build Scouts.

 

[rocklikeafool]

The only use for the birds is knowin wat's there. But that doesn't help you see assassins. The best way to defend against assassins is more assassins. Ya dig?

 

[Sarisin]

The only use for the birds is knowin wat's there. But that doesn't help you see assassins. The best way to defend against assassins is more assassins. Ya dig?

Actually, rock, the birds weren't to SEE the Assassins, but to act as sacrifices to them. As the weakest unit in the stack, the Assassin(s) would kill the bird, you kill the Assassin, then, re-base another bird to the Hunter, Ranger, etc.

However, now the re-basing can only be done if the bird-carrying unit is in one of your cities - pretty useless really.

 

[onedreamer]

Sarisin, your knowledge on birds is a bit outdated.
Since a hell load of versions birds could only be rebased in cities, but this has been changed back to anywhere in the last version (0.34).
Since a hell load of versions (actually, from the beginning), assassins would target birds first, but not in the last version. They will ignore 0 Strength units.

 

[rocklikeafool]

Actually, rock, the birds weren't to SEE the Assassins, but to act as sacrifices to them. As the weakest unit in the stack, the Assassin(s) would kill the bird, you kill the Assassin, then, re-base another bird to the Hunter, Ranger, etc.

I figured that. Since the birds have such low health tho, I imagine it didn't really do much.
But sorry, I shoulda made it more clear that I was bein sarcastic. Sarcasm is like a drug to me.

 

[it-ogo]

They will ignore 0 Strength units.

So, Corlindale is safe from asses now? Great news!

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I'm not sure that Corindale was ever at any risk from donkeys or rear ends.


I know that Xienwold adapted the mechanism to make heroes like Corindale still vulnerable. In the main game though, I think that he is safe unless he gets strength boosting promotion, like Blessed from the Altar of the Luonnatar.

 

[Willgar]

death mana + skeletons - portable, replaceable bodyguards but only for mages and cannons - catapults still too weak. For Kurio's would suggest bringing in catapults via sea or maybe airship if assassins are a problem and that is a feasible route?

 

[Psycho_Ivan]

Make multiple stacks? It's how I prevented the whole fiasco from occurring.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

Use go on the offense with Aureales, as they target Assassins, Shadows, and Alazkan the Assassins in stacks of stronger units, have a combat bonus vs them, and can see invisible.

Oh wait, thats just in my version.

 

[Keeper_GFA]

Then post it in your own forum.

 

[rocklikeafool]

Oh wait, thats just in my version.

Strangely, the only 1 who seems to care bout your version, Magister, is...(wait for it, wait for it)...you! The rest of us could care less cuz you've been braggin bout it for...well, as long as I've been on this forum, prolly longer. So, as Keeper says, post it in your own forum and quit bein conceited nough to think we all care.