LordH
Regarding your second string of three posts:
First one is a CD (range 1700). All opposing missile therefore starts in range of one another on round one, and immediately start to exchange fire. This report is a good lesson in two things: 1) sequence of fire; and 2) targeting priority which can shift during combat resolution. Fire sequence is by speed, so archers, ballistas, then catapults. Targeting is opposing missile with largest overall attack. That initially is defensive archers, and the attacking archers and then ballista hit them. But when it is the catapults turn, the archers now depleted and defensive ballista largest defender by attack strength, so they hit ballista. The defenders meanwhile fire the archers at catapults and kill them, ballista at ballista and kill them, then catapults at archers and kill them. At end of round one, all attacking missile dead. rest is mop up.
The best defense would have been add a range setter to increase to 5200, remove all layers and archers, and just use siege. You wipe whole attack without losses. 5200 start range allows your much longer range siege to exploit its range advantage and wipe the attack. Hero difference there basically irrelevant. Attacking hero determines amount killed overall in these one swing attacks. Defending hero trivial given size of defending forces - they are all one shot wipes even if hero 1/3 that size.
Second report: Now we have range 5200, but defender left in massive layers on which the attacking siege feasted. Also the defensive archer losses a consequence of the timing being horrible as to when they arrived to fight siege - the combined movement caused them to jump forward into range of both attacking ballista and catapults at the same time they first can shoot at them, meaning they got hit once by attacking catapults (which they kill in one shot) and twice by attacking ballista (which they kill in second round of exchanging fire with mechs). There are techniques to prevent this - the ideal is the defending archers kill the attacking ballista without return fire, and then exchange fire with catapults for one round. Note that defending ballista never fire in that battle. Their longer range not relevant cause the defending archers move forward so much more quickly that the combined movement/range of defending archers mean they end up outranging ballista and do all the fighting.
Third report: CD again so start range in 1700, and all missile start in range and exchange fire in round one (all attacking siege dead in round one). The defending scouts are killed by attacking melee (cav, phract and pike only ones to reach them), which targets them rather than ballista/catapult. The melee targeting rule there is largest defending troop by attack, and that is the 10 million scouts. Fight goes 4 rounds simply because there are 10 different defensive groups to kill. Exact sequence of defensive fire/melee and kills are I think as follows (havent studied too closely to be sure): Round 1, ballista kill ballista (fastest def missile fires at biggest att missile), catapults kill catapults; Round 2, scouts kill phracts, transports kill cavs (I think); ballista kill archers, catapults kill scouts; Round 3, scouts kill pikes, transports, no target, ballista kill swords, catapults kill warriors; round 4, ballista kill workers
