Farming XP Post Battle

[Hitorishizuka]

Does anyone sometimes opt to not end a battle immediately when the game offers you the choice and instead continues fighting to try and earn as much XP, captives, and rescued/captured goods as possible against an obviously defeated foe?

I try not to because frankly it's pretty cheesy given the enemy is actually trapped on the map with you and the AI won't force retreat its brigades once the map is lost but it's pretty effective, as you can see below. One change I would suggest would be that if the player has achieved victory and the battle timer is over, the battle should either automatically end or the AI should begin force-retreating off the map to concede the field. There's no reason for them to stay at that point given the timer should signify some kind of end of day anyway.

Probably 2/3 to 1/2 of the casualties I inflicted were 'after the bell', so to speak, when I finally took the opportunity to roll up their right flank and effectively pocketed them against the edge of the map in semi-perma rout, then charged for captures when they were whittled down suitably.

[KaleRaven]

The AI really needs to learn when to withdraw. It just feels stupid when they keep flinging depleted brigades at you.

Edited December 5, 2016 by KaleRaven
Typo

[Hitorishizuka]

1 hour ago, KaleRaven said:

The AI really needs to learn when to withdraw. It just feels stupid when they keep flinging depleted brigades at you.

Flinging depleted brigades would be fine if it waited for their morale and condition to recharge. As it is, once you rout a brigade for the first time, if the AI didn't have sufficient reserves to be able to send someone else in, they'll only wait for maybe 1/3 to 1/2 morale before vectoring back in. At that point, they take two cannon barrages on the way in and two volleys and they rout again.

[Alavaria]

Well you need all the guns you can get, and at least it doesn't weaken the AI facing you in future battles.

[Grognard_JC]

Good point guys.

Indeed, chasing the AI down because it's not withdrawing is gamey.

The AI should know when to withdraw, and, in this case, we could start chasing it without guilt !

 

The stay alert scenario is a real problem in this regard. Seems the AI does not scale with the army in this scenario.

Edited December 5, 2016 by Grognard_JC

[Koro]

Maybe a timer should just start once the AI has less than 20-30 % of it's troops left and then you would automatically win the battle if you hold the victory points?

[clench]

I don't think there is really anything that  wrong with this.

You are risking your own troops to casualties as well. 

Sometimes I've taken some unnecessary casualties because of this. 

[GeneralPITA]

New players don't understand there's diminishing returns for completely routing every last soldier on the field (weaponwise), but the XP boost makes it worthwhile to do even with weapons capturing nerfed. Make the enemy retreat when it's brigades drop below 50%. 

I see that the solution so far is to simply cut off the timer if you're dominating. I won Fredericksburg with 45 minutes left and only 20% of the union army remained. They should retreat after something closer to 50% losses. Historically, more than 20% losses was very rare. I capture way too many C.S. Richmonds and Enfields by maximizing kills. The timer isn't enough to stop me, even with an early cutoff. Make the enemy smart enough to withdraw, or at least smart enough to charge en masse with other brigades if it's been whittled to pieces, that way I take a few losses instead of a turkey shoot as the battle ends. 

[Jake4228]

On 12/4/2016 at 10:56 PM, KaleRaven said:

The AI really needs to learn when to withdraw. It just feels stupid when they keep flinging depleted brigades at you.

Battle of Fredericksburg: "General Burnside, sir! We've lost 40,000 men in the last half-hour. Half of our brigades have broken and fled. Our biggest remaining brigade has 312 effectives. Rebel casualties are light, their ammunition plentiful, their artillery wholly unscathed. What should we do, sir?"

"Rally our 816 remaining men and hit them again, damnit!"

[jimcarrel]

I don't think I've reached too many places in a battle where I almost dominated the board. I can remember one time and I was so revved up I couldn't help but clear out the total field. Yes I lost some more men, but I just had to wipe them buggers out, since I had a rare chance.