MP: How to combat the barrage cat defence?

[Bjorn190]

Usually in multiplayer, if your opponent isnt a noob, he has around 8 barrage catapults waiting for your invasion stack of doom. When your invasion stack gets close, he uses his roads to weaken it severely with the catapults, then finish all the units off with the rest of his troops.

One way to coutner this that I have found is the cho-ko-nu, promoted to drill 3, as they take 40% less collateral dmg they actually stand up quite nicely, as the rest of his troops are usually macemen and pikes/spears. One player actually shouted "WTH!!" when he attacked my 6 level 4 chokos in aforest with 6 catapults and they were basically at 90% hp after that and level 5 lol

Elephants can work kinda too.,. as they are str 4.. but really, the cat barrage does so much damage that the stack usually dies. Any strategies against this?

 

[Hitti-Litti]

Maybe if you split your stack to several smaller stacks.

 

[Naismith]

Well, I don't do MP, but I think your options are:
1) Split your stack into smaller stacks (as suggested above).
2) Build a bigger stack so the collateral damage is spread out more.
3) Try and use your movement 2 units to attack the cats before they attack you. This won't work if your opponent is smart enough to have a spearman guarding the cats, or just keeps them out of range.

 

[theimmortal1]

Its a different type of game obviously.


Don't go for the cities..pillage. Spread out. Don't allow them to expand. Slow their research, don't allow their workers to get out.

As you keep teching and expanding you'll eventually be able to take him out no problem

 

[wioneo]

You could have a three tile wide wave of doom so that he has to split his counterattack. If the AI weren't so stupid as to let my SODs destroy them, I would use many more WODs.

 

[Roland Johansen]

Surprise your enemy. Make him think that you will attack from position A so that his main defence (catapults + finishing units) are at that position and then let your main attack come from position B. This of course only works if his empire is big enough that he can't just move his stacks quickly to position B. It could work nicely with a naval invasion. However, the amount of naval units needed in the early stages of the game will probably make that impractical. So you'll need to attack from a different land position.

In a war where you have less mobility (his territory), you'll have to make use of the surprise element. You're the attacker, so you can determine where to fight and you have the element of surprise. If you throw away the element of surprise and your enemy is roughly equal in strength, then the mobility advantage will make his victory easy.

By the way. There is no sure way to win against a human player. Whether your surprise attack will succeed is based on how smart you go about it and some luck.