Ground combat

[Nightmyre]

what in the world are those bajillion different tactics you can use for your troops there for? do they actually have any noticable effect, or do you just like, randomly select one and see what happens?

[Proteus_MST]

Yes, they raly have an Effect.
Every Tactic of the Attackr has its Strengths and Weaknesses against the different Tactics the Defender uses.
And, even with numerical and technological Superiority you can loose a Battle if you choose the wrong Tactic (or can win against enemy Superority by using te right tactic).
The Problem is, that you never know, wich tactic the Defender will use.
Maybe there are Race specific Differences in the Tactics the enemy uses, but I never bothered to statistically analyse all of my Ground Battles, so I don´t know.
Aside from the Rock-Scissor-Paper-Game of Tactics and Countertactics there are AFAIK also Effects of the Tactics you use, which aren´t dependend on te enemy Tactics.
On the one Hand, some Tactics are probably more difficult to perform and are better used by Veterans and not by Greenhorn-Troops,
on the other Hand I assume, that some Tactics (like Massed Assault) produce more losses in your Troops than others, even without taking the enemy Tactics into acount.

My Psilon Troops most of the Times use "Pronged Attack" or "Vertical Envelopment" and very rarely have Invasions which turn into a Desaster.