what's different of a winning elite unit?

[vmxa1]

BTW you can get those 24 HP without using elites that have made a leader. I sometimes stick in vets (5hp) units, since they cannot be upgraded anyway. Then they can become elite during a series of battles.

This is harder, but does happen.

I do love those Calv armies though. I just avoid metros or infantry units. Rifles in a city is my limit without a bombarment before hand.

The AI will not attack them in the open even with a huge stack. Very useful at Sid, you can pillage or do hit and run.

I really like to have maybe 5 or 6 calv armies and have all, but one kill as many units as they can and retreat to the unused army. The AI leaves them alone.

[Last Conformist]

Yes, whar is it with the AI not daring to attack armies? It won't attack an Inf army with anything less than MA, which makes for a pretty much immortal Arty stack.

[Krill]

The AI attacks based on a calculated risk/gain. Since the likelyhood of killing an army is low for a single unit, a whole stack and arty could nail an army quickly, but the AI does not see it because it calculates on a unit to unit basis

[vmxa1]

Note that if you want them to attack, move them into a city. They will come for a recently captured city, no matter how many armies it has in it.

[Last Conformist]

Well, in the situation I was talking about, you wouldn't want it, since Inf armies aren't that tough on defense objectively. A handful of Tanks does the trick, typically.

[vmxa1]

What situation are you talking about? I doubt a few tanks are going to take down an infantry army forted in a metro.

[Last Conformist]

I'm talking about assigning a single Inf Army to guard an Arty stack on the offense.

[vmxa1]

At that point in the game, you should have 4xinfantry, so if they have a bunch of arties in the stack, I do not see 4 tanks or even 5 taking them down.

I have not had that situation, that that I can recall, but I would be surprised if the AI will attack it at all.

Test it out will a quick scenario map. I have seen stack of an excess of 100 units and several other in range, that would not atack a single calv army.

[Last Conformist]

As said, the AI won't attack a such Army with Tanks. And that was so already in PTW, when 4-5 Tanks should easily take it out on open terrain.

[vmxa1]

I am confused, sorry. It won't attack in the open, but you say it should take it? Is that the point?

BTW I tested it will a regular infantry army of 3 and the tanks when around it and would not attack it.

They attacked in the town and lost to a forted regular infantry.

So what I was saying is the army covering the arties is safe, no matter what units are available to attack it in the field.

If the AI would attack it with tanks, the tanks would lose IMO. Stated another way, I would not attack a large stack of arties covered with a 4 unit infantry army with just 4 or 5 tanks.
I mean if that was all I had. I would, because I would have more units available and could stand the loss of the tanks, more than I could stand the arties roaming around.

I hope I was clear.

Of course the AI will not have a roaming stack of arties anyway.

[Antrine]

The AI will attack a 'winged' army in the field, just not one at full strength, I see this all the time. So if you do not use it you will not lose it, however then what would be the point of such an army, unless it was used to rear-guard the artillery or hold some bottleneck patch of ground.

[vmxa1]

Many uses, say pillage or barriers or funnels. Winged or damage armies can be attacked, depending on many factors, such as how damage, what type of army and what units are available to attack it.

[jamesyao]

Actually my first Calv Army was killed by AI in open field. That was when I use the Army attacking them heavily, and the Army strength reduced to 'red' status. Then AI took the chance to kill the Army in its turn. Quite a shock, but some satisfactory nevertheless --- the AI is still competent to post some threat to me

[Tripledoc]

The chance that an army will retreat when down to one hitpoint is that based on the presence of the units in it, or on an intrinsic army value?

For instance if there is an elite unit in the army I gather that this unit will be the first to attack, so when you are down to one hitpoint it might only be a veteran attacking.

So if it is the unit attacking that decides the retreat percentage then it would be good to have all units in the army as elites as they have a 66% chance of retreating, as compared to veterans who have only 50% chance of retreating.

Or is that how it works?