Interception Options

[Marquee]

I'm sorry if this is covered in the manual somewhere (I haven't seen it; if so just refer me to it and I'll look it up), but what am I to make of the various interception options in the options window?

It lists "minimal", "half" and "full" (IIRC). What should be the default? Minimal would seem to be very risky since if you intercept an full army with a single corps you will likely get killed. It seems Full would be the standard setting because at least you'll have enough force for any eventuality.

But I'm not clear on the thinking here, and would like to know why there are different settings. In the board game I guess you could choose which level to intercept with, while the PC game has to do this automatically.

[PhilThib]

I think I missed this in the manual, sorry

IIRC, the defaut is "half" forces

[calvinus]

The Options window allows you to set the default mode: the mode that will be proposed to you as default every time you are asked to confirm an interception.

Min. = 1 corps only
Med. = half of first-line corps
Full = all stack

[Marquee]

You know, playing army-by-army mode I've never been "asked to confirm" an interception. I don't even recall many interceptions occurring, if any, in my last game. I know I book them sometimes; but I've never seen a confirmation window... I will have to look for this more carefully.

Thanks for the replies.

[gwgardner]

It lists "minimal", "half" and "full" (IIRC). What should be the default? Minimal would seem to be very risky since if you intercept an full army with a single corps you will likely get killed. It seems Full would be the standard setting because at least you'll have enough force for any eventuality.

But I'm not clear on the thinking here, and would like to know why there are different settings. In the board game I guess you could choose which level to intercept with, while the PC game has to do this automatically.

I'm bumping this question because as a new player I've had the same question. Basically, why would one ever use minimal or half? The only explanations I can think of would be to sacrifice some of my units to disrupt the enemy movement, or to make sure that my current position is held after any intercept.

[Russkly]

Me three!

I find that using minimum forces pulls individual corps out of their 'home' regions into those of other armies, leaving me to have to rearrange everything the next turn.

I like my armies and their detachments to be clearly identifiable without having to scroll through separate stacks in a given region (OCD perhaps?), i.e. I army is in region x with its detachment in the (preferably adjacent) region y, etc. with no mixing of armies in any given region.

What do more experienced players use?

BTW I don't play the individual army activation mode, so I move all forces before the AI (depending on initiative).

R

[DooberGuy]

I usually go with full interception or no interception at all. With the interception option my goal is to try and catch part of my enemies force with my full force while still receiving defensive bonuses. This is extremely valuable to me and I use it all the time. Sending part of your force to intercept fritters away your advantages. The only reason you should EVER send only part of your army away is because you need to keep some of your army behind to protect a valuable point. Otherwise keep your army together. That's just my 2 cents.

[06 Maestro]

The "minimal" choice is useful if your main force is sitting on an important objective/likely breakthrough target. By holding your main force back you can thwart the enemies plans. Your total army may be too small to stand against the main enemy force, but more than strong enough to deal with any breakthrough force. By sacrificing one corp, you can delay an important enemy advance. The delay may be all you need to be able to have sufficient forces the next turn to stop the enemy action or launch your own attacks.

It is rare for me to use the minimal force choice, but sometimes it is a good move.