Field Artillery

[runyan99]

What's the deal with the field artillery? I like to watch the battle screen, and the artillery never hits anything. They always start the battle, but their odds to hit are generally 1%, or maybe 10% at best, sometimes. The artillery never or almost never fires at infantry, does not hit when it does, but is often attacked and hit by enemy cavalry. A check on the detailed report shows the artillery only rolls 5 dice, as opposed to infantry's 7, which probably accounts for the artillery never hitting anything.

So, why bother? I know civil war artillery generally was not a big killer, but in this game it is impotent. How about giving the guns 6 dice?

[Joel Billings]

IIRC, artillery shooting at a unit gives other units shooting at the unit a modifier that makes it easier to be hit. So artillery is the prep fire that is important at ultimately hitting the target.

[runyan99]

Mmm, okay looking at the combat reports again I can see that artillery unmatched by enemy artillery does engage infantry, and causes a bonus for other units. I'm still not totally sure that zero artillery hits in every battle is the best way to go.