What changes have occured to atillery in the 1.4 patch

[Element UK]

It seems from reading posts that most of you prefer shrapnel to shell. Not having played ealier versions I was wondering if this has changed any in patch 1.4, as I seem to be having alot of success using mainly shell against Inf.

Also I was wondering if a particular ammo is best used against certain terrains. Ie: if shell/shrapnel is supposed to be less effective on open ground due to the fuse timer problem, does that make shell more effective if firing at units that are using rocky terrain for defence?

As shells/shrapnel wouldn't get buried in the soft ground and therefore explosions would be just as effective if the fuse was to long?

[KG_Soldier]

Without question, solid shot is the most effective ammo.

[Saddletank]

Soldier is right, the game does not model artillery ammunition types at all well. While its a great game it does have several weaknesses and this is one. I TC my batteries and always tell them to use solid shot, unless the enemy is very close when I tell them to fire canister. Shell and shrapnel are both pretty much useless.

Planting your guns on a good position is vital too. If you see your gun crews wheeling the guns about to get shots off, you've placed them wrong as they cannot get a good sighting to their target.

[Element UK]

Thanks for the info guys.

I have trouble telling which is high ground and which is not to be honest. I'm always suprised when a unit gets the green icon for 'high ground', as it's not exactly visible.

[Saddletank]

I'd recommend getting the camera right down to ground level and look at the terrain from the head-height of one of your little digital officers

When your officer rides forwards at the head of your advance, go to head height and look around as though you are him, spying out the best position. You will be amazed at how the ground rises and falls in subtle small mounds everywhere, even in places that seem relatively flat like large areas around Sharpsburg on the Antietam map, around the township of Burketsville on the Crampton's Gap map and in the fields north of Gettysburg on the Mac map. These areas all look basically flat if you only view them from a camera height of 200yds. They aren't.

Creeks are a good indication of low lying ground, so if the enemy attacks you across a creek, you can be fairly sure of good artillery positions facing across it from the far side. These sound like obvious things to say but siting your guns well on a good commanding rise can make the difference between a battery causing 50 casualties in an hour, and 250.

[Garnier]

High ground is relative to what they are shooting at. You can have a high ground bonus if you're halfway down a mountain and being fired on from above, as long as you are shooting at guys below you. The high ground bonus just makes your fire more effective. The high ground bonus varies depending on how much higher you are, so it doesn't always mean exactly the same thing.

[Element UK]

Its very different now cheers.