Hannibal - the overlooked powerhouse?

[johnny_rico]

I'm also with Naz on this one. The NC are great for everything except taking cities. They are:

great fogbusters (sentry is readily available)
great stack support unit
great pillagers (a couple of shock NC can cripple a civ)
great defenders (on the open field or protecting resources)
great units to upgrade
great scouts
great barbarian hunters (8 xp, 3 promotions, built in flanking 1, cap at 10xp against barbs - 4th promotion close at hand)

They're just not good at taking cities. That said, you can fight pillaging wars on two fronts (up to monarch), and keep your neighbors down until you can move in with the heavy stuff. On the flip side, you could skip the NC, and mass axes and later cats/elephants and move straight to crushing a neighbor.

However, I have much more fun using a UU. So, build the NC, use them and keep your neighbors down, build up your core empire (financial) so when you do expand, the economic impact isn't too great.

The keys here are to keep your neighbors resource deprived and definitely slowed enough so they can't tech feudalism. Adding to this is the fact you can use spies now to 'foment the early unhappiness' to suppress your neighbors (again, possible without the NC).

Just some ideas, the goal is to have fun, right?

It's interesting how some UUs are on the main path (praets, war chariots) and others you need to build a strategy around them to make them work.

 

[Colee]

Obviously, Numidian Cavalry is best suited for warfare in the open battlefield, which is historically-realistically correct for any kind of cavalry. But they also can be quite helpful in capturing cities: because it's easy to get a high withdrawal chance for them, you can use them to soften up the city's defenders without losing too many of them; then your swordsmen can move in for the kill.

 

[gettingfat]

maybe the RNG was against me. I threw 10 flanking 2 combat 1 horses against 4 archers and while I took the city it exhausted the stack. taking down the capitol proved impossible with them reinforced to 12.

they seem strong.. just not against archers. would be better actually if the opponent shifted to axes like they have been lately in my bts games.

NaZ

I think you just had bad luck. I once took a city defended by 3 longbows and 1 spear (not on hill, that's too difficult) with a stack of 15 num cav, with approximately half survived after the battle.

I consider withdrawal a positive event. So the 50% withdrawal chance of flank II num cav means every battle you see over 50% good thing.

 

[Unconquered Sun]

Withdraw is very powerful with new flank attack.

Overall, Hannibal is one of the most powerful AIs on the highest levels. He is fast to tech, fast to expand, while always keeping his guard. Very few leaders run by the AI are so consistent.