Slitherine

Are elements to vulnerable to medium infantry

I think you meant Elephants not elements. Elephants seem to be poor against almost everyone. Even cavalry. I never purchase them unless they are required.

Elephants are best when used as a reserve to break disrupted units or to push in against already committed cavalry. This, I think, mimics quite well the rather few successful uses of elephants in the western ancient world. When Hannibal and Pyrrhus used them successfully it was as a reserve (though Hannibal's were actually redeployed), the Successors tended to use them against other pachyderms or as a blocking force against cavalry (Ipsus). Indeed the Romans used elephants successfully at Cynocephalae, but against a very disordered phalanx.

Elephants usually did badly against steady troops.

I always thought cavalry would be reluctant to charge elephants...

I have found them to be pretty good vs impact foot as well as cavalry

In a way, elephants have been nerfed compared to the table top rules. In those, elephants disorder cavalry within a certain radius, but the way that works is that enemy cav lose a die, but friendlies don't. On the PC, both sides lose dice which makes elephants less useful to the owner. TT gives them double dice per base but can only fight one rank deep. I'm not sure but doubt if any of this matters on the PC. Finally, elephants auto distruct quicker on the TT than on the PC.

I've always felt elephants were much too toned down on the TT and are even more so on the PC. Still, I take them every chance I get. I would like to see superior grades introduced for Indian vs. African, armor defence vs. missles, integrated elephant screens, greater problems for enemy cavalry, and chances to run amok, etc.

Deeter

About the best thing I can say for elephants is they work for peanuts...heh heh...seriously, though I think they seem to be very specialized in where they work...I think their best use is versus heavy infantry or cavalry in rough terrain...by the way I see I have been promoted to "Scout", which I like a lot better than "Levy"

I have a couple of questions about elephants:

1) The help file says that they disorder adjacent cavalry. how does this work? if the elephants/cave move past each other? if they end the turn next to each other? what about during combat? i don't use elephants very often, but have never seen this occur....

2) it seems like elephants degrade very quickly, even faster than a phalanxe. Once they disrupt, they are often only a couple percentage hits from route...is this my imagination, is there something to this? There is nothing in the help file.

76mm wrote:I have a couple of questions about elephants:

1) The help file says that they disorder adjacent cavalry. how does this work? if the elephants/cave move past each other? if they end the turn next to each other? what about during combat? i don't use elephants very often, but have never seen this occur....

If a cavalry unit is in any hex that touches the elephant's hex it will be disordered.

I can only comment on question 2 rather than answer it. I've just played a game where my one elephant BG routed 5-6 macedonian pike BG's - all down to terrible dierolls by the average pike & good rolls for me.

Admitedly this is the best I've ever seen an elephant do (other than fly in that Disney film) but it does show that that are sometimes very useful - won the game for me

Generally I use them alongside my cavalry in the hope of disordering my opponents.

RyanDG wrote:

76mm wrote:I have a couple of questions about elephants:

1) The help file says that they disorder adjacent cavalry. how does this work? if the elephants/cave move past each other? if they end the turn next to each other? what about during combat? i don't use elephants very often, but have never seen this occur....

If a cavalry unit is in any hex that touches the elephant's hex it will be disordered.

You really can only see the effects if you attack an enemy cavalry unit , they dont evade and combat results, you need to hover over the enemy unit to see if that they are disorded (if they became dirupted in combat then it really makes no differnce as I dont belive the results are cumulative)

It is real important once your elephant is locked in combat to not feed in your own cavalry units to support as they will be disordered as well.... I like to brigade my Elephants with medium infantry and some lights...

Appears players have some wide views on elephant usage..

I have found they are real good vs impact foot, not so much vs pike....
I like the idea of the disorder effect extending more than one hex in front of an elephant, I also feel cavalry should suffer a big anrchy penalty when attempting to charge an elephant unit

My own personal views on elephant usage -

I like to see one stood next to each of the large doors at the front of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus* on the Capitoline Hill in Rome.
That way, on windy days the doors don't keep blowing shut.




* No relation