Most battlefields are covered by long grass, so stealthy units can play a factor in most battles. Buildings are able to be hidden in by a subset of those who can hide in long grass. Hierarchically, woods is the easiest outdoor terrain to hide in, while long grass are the most difficult, so the further along the spectrum the more stealthy the units. Units with a hide attribute will disappear from view when stationary in the relevant terrain. These formations are available to the vast majority of cavalry missile cavalry do not have access to them as a rule.Ĭan hide in woodland/light scrub/long grass/buildingsBy default, units are visible at any range so for example, Cuirassiers cannot hide even in woodland. Diamond also seems to allow for better charges at off angles to the current facing. Due to the speed reduction, these formations should only be engaged when near to the enemy.ĭiamond narrows the formation more than Wedge and is therefore more effective at getting through without excessive contact, and seems to maintain tightness of formation better during maneuvre as the wide tail of the wedge is quite unwieldy. Stuck horsemen tend to bring the whole unit back and this is less likely to occur when in these formations. In terms of handling, these two formations seem to leave fewer stragglers behind after impact and therefore provide more reliable control during combat including follow on charges. Not as effective in terms of straight up damage as a line formation, it can weaken the morale of the enemy (who tend to suffer flank/rear attack penalties due to the split) and allows cavalry to get to rear units (generals and artillery) more quickly than flanking. They allow the cavalry unit to pierce through an infantry unit, splitting it in half and being able to continue through without getting caught due to fewer cavalrymen making contact with the enemy. The trade off is reduced speed and less contact on the charge. Wedge and Diamond have two main effects: a) tightening up the formation so stragglers are less likely and the unit maintains cohesion and b) makes the unit push further into an enemy unit before stopping. Also, the looseness can mean that in the course of battle you need to stop the unit to reform so that charges are effective.

Disadvantages are the troopers tend to get caught more as they stop to fight anyone in contact. Wedge/DiamondThe advantage of the standard cavalry formation is that it is fast to move around in, and maximises the contact point with the enemy in a frontal charge.

Empire total war british units