Unusual Combat Results Notes

[Xiggy]

I think we might want to go over some of the route rules. I have seen some people complain about a unit going from steady, then routed and take 2 or 3 units with it. I saw this happen when a CnC Knight General went from steady to routed on one round of Melee with one unit. I later figured out why he routed. He was average moral, and had gotten to 50 percent casualties. Average moral units route due to casualties at 52 percent more or less. Superior moral units can last as low at 46 percent unit strength. I have no idea on elite units. (There are not many of them)

Some of the combat results that seem very random, may not be. Any other results that the veterans can enlighten us with may help the new players. There are still some odd things where people charge from your flank or front and run around and get a rear charge. (Due to evades and the vagaries of the hex grid.) Sometimes you drop a cohesion level, and sometimes you don't. (Not sure why that is.)

[CheerfullyInsane]

I think we might want to go over some of the route rules. I have seen some people complain about a unit going from steady, then routed and take 2 or 3 units with it. I saw this happen when a CnC Knight General went from steady to routed on one round of Melee with one unit. I later figured out why he routed. He was average moral, and had gotten to 50 percent casualties. Average moral units route due to casualties at 52 percent more or less. Superior moral units can last as low at 46 percent unit strength. I have no idea on elite units. (There are not many of them)

Some of the combat results that seem very random, may not be. Any other results that the veterans can enlighten us with may help the new players. There are still some odd things where people charge from your flank or front and run around and get a rear charge. (Due to evades and the vagaries of the hex grid.) Sometimes you drop a cohesion level, and sometimes you don't. (Not sure why that is.)

Well, here's what I know:
Auto-rout levels due to losses:
Poor: 65%
Average: 55%
Superior: 45%
Elite: 35%
Meaning that when a unit reaches that level of losses, the unit will rout despite whatever else may be happening.
It's quite possible to e.g. win a melee-combat and still auto-rout due to losses suffered. Also, auto-routed units have no rally-ability, so let the buggers run.

When it comes to cohesion-loss due to rear-attacks, it's a little muddy due to the nefarious manual.
It states that unit check cohesion whenever there's an adjacent enemy in the rear arc.
This isn't true, after what I've experienced. I think it's like when testing for when adjacent friendly units rout namely:
LF/LH takes a cohesion-test whenever *any* enemy unit moves next to it in its rear arc.
Everyone else tests *except* if the enemy unit is LF/LH.
Or in other words, you check cohesion if there's an enemy unit in your rear, but light troops only trigger tests on other light troops.

Now, dropping more than one cohesion-level in a turn is possible to a number of reasons.
First, and this is a biggie, combat is divided into 3 distinct types, ranged, impact, and melee.
A unit can lose cohesion in all 3 types of combats. Usually loss of cohesion is just one level per combat type, unless the unit quote "loses badly".
Exactly what that means is a little unclear, but from what I've seen a unit appears to drop 2 levels if its modified cohesion-test roll is 3 or less.
This is a guesstimate though.
Another quirk is that a unit testing cohesion will keep that dice-roll for every subsequent combat of that type in that turn.
The only thing that can change the outcome is if the modifiers are different
So a unit rolling a "10" in impact-combat will most likely turn back other chargers as well, unless e.g. someone comes up on the flank.

All of which makes concentration of force vital. Multiple melee-attacks on their own will obviously cause losses, but won't break a unit outright barring bad luck. However, if you can weaken the unit in melee first, and then send in a fresh charge, that's when things get fun......Well, not for the opponent, but.....

Also, there's the chain-rout.
Units test cohesion whenever an adjacent friendly unit routs (Exc: light troops only trigger other light troops), OR a friendly adjacent commander is killed.
What usually happens with spear/pike armies is that the entire line gets weakened through the battle, and when one unit finally routs, it has a tendency to take a lot of friends with it, simply due to the negative modifiers.

Finally, there's the rout-path........
I have no idea.
I think it tries to avoid enemy ZOCs, but I also think that units held in melee aren't exerting ZOCs for rout purposes.
I've honestly given up trying to figure out *where* a unit goes when it routs. I usually just let it run, and then figure out what I'm going to do about it when I see where it ends up.

Hope at least some of this is useful,

Lars

[batesmotel]

A BG will automatically drop a cohesion level when it is contacted in a rear hex side in impact when:

1) The impacting BG started it's move in a hex that is behind the hex row that the defending BG is in and parallel to the front of the defending BG. See the bottom diagram at http://www.hexwar.com/field-of-glory/he ... -rear.aspx for a picture of this.

2) If the target BG is not a skirmisher, the impacting BG must also be a non-skirmisher.

Chris

[deeter]

I just noticed for the first time a combat result that cost me a game and seems very wrong. A unit of mine routed and a fresh unit next to it went disrupted. Then a unit on the other side of the formerly fresh unit routed and the formerly fresh unit became fragmented making it dead meat next turn.
In the TT rules, this wouldn't happen because all morale tests happen at the same time. The formerly fresh unit wouldn't have tested twice, only once with a -1.

Deeter

[Xiggy]

Weirdest 1 I have seen is a unit routed and ran around not thru a unit. Then that unit it passed around went down a
Cohesion level.