Lancelot
 | Stronghold Legends: Skirmish Opponent 2By Lord Tanthos |
Sir Lancelot’s in-game description declares him to be “noble, chivalrous, and without equal in Camelot.” In addition, he is supposedly against the use of magical beasts, and will not use them. His economy is fairly weak, but he will not waste any time in bringing you to the “field of honor.”
Lancelot’s castle is fronted by three rolling log defenses mounted on a protruding wall. If given a large amount of time and stone he will build the engine tower and front lookout tower. Also visible are two more rolling logs, a gatehouse, his armory and barracks, and two lookout towers in the back near the keep. These two towers are always brimming with archers and truly the most formidable part of his defenses.
His economy is highly hinged upon his church. His food supply appears to be only enough to give him either extra rations or a small trade income. However, he does produce a large amount of candles. In addition to that, he also receives honor from feasting and from two food types. The two food types are seen here: apples and meat. Weapon production is also important to him, and he is usually seen with multiple blacksmiths, armorers, fletchers, and poleturners.
Lancelot’s army is little to look upon. He has by far the most limited troop types used by any other AI opponent. His footmen consist merely of swordsmen, men-at-arms, archers, and pikemen. No fantasy units at all. Pikemen will often stand on his gatehouse, swordsmen and men-at-arms will patrol his castle with a few archers, and the rest of his archers will be stacked in his keep and towers.
His army, due to the logistics trouble with his swordsmen-heavy army, can be waylaid with ease. An excellent defense tactic against Lancelot is to not defend yourself, but attack his siege forces. They tend to be split into two groups, archers and men-at-arms in one group while the swordsmen plod along behind, often a distance away. Using a group your own cheap men-at-arms, perhaps reinforced by archers or crossbowmen, you should easily be able to defeat his armies in the field.
Lancelot’s siege engines are even more limited than his army. You will see a few mantlets with a few catapults, and a single ladder crew. When his siege camp is set up you won’t have to worry about much, as not much is coming!
The only real threat of his are the laddermen, which can be a nuisance if he has a decent number of infantry left to climb the ladders. This can be easily circumvented by a group of men-at-arms or macemen set to defensive set to patrol the walls. Naturally, a wide moat automatically eliminates the problem; therefore, if you are on flat ground, just build a moat.
Sieging Lancelot’s stronghold is typically viewed as child’s play. However, without select units and strong tactics, a small to medium force will not often be enough to defeat him. I recommend the following tactics for a cheaper and quicker assault:
Good (Arthurian): Arthurian sieges are the hardest to undertake. Start with two siege towers filled with crossbowmen. Take these towers and latch them both onto separate points along the walls between the point shown below in the screenshot. Send in a group of 30-50 armored units (pikemen and swordsmen) to guard the crossbowmen as they take control of the lookout tower. Move the swordsmen down the stairs to the keep and let your pikemen guard the archers. To make losses less, use Sir Gawain to shield the area, it’s worth it.
Ice: The blue dragon takes some names for you in this siege. Your army should consist of a group of melee units, preferably tough ones, and a handful of laddermen. Build an ice dragon and station it in the center of the castle. Let him freeze everything he wants to, and if he misses anything be sure to take it out yourself. When he dies, your units should already be nearly there, as shown in the picture below. The dragon is preferably followed up by an additional white witch raid to ensure its success.
Evil: Using vampiric creepers and bats together can make this siege the easiest of the three. Have your bats knock pikemen and swordsmen off the walls while the vampires convert the many archers in his towers. If bats are too expensive use stake hurlers. Naturally, you will need an army of troops to assault the keep. A group of saxon warriors or macemen will do nicely once the gatehouse is taken. Be absolutely sure to watch out for Lancelot’s “knight summons” spell. An effective tactic is to send a few troops into the keep and make him waste the spell, then if time is not pressing, you may attack the keep more safely once the knights disappear.
Hopefully, this tricky opponent will pose less of a challenge for you now.
Happy sieging,
~ Lord Tanthos
*) denotes a former staff member.