Lancelot - Stronghold Legends AI Lords

Lancelot du Lac is a skirmish opponent in Stronghold Legends.

Overview

Lancelot is a noble Good faction player, loyal to King Arthur and to his beloved Guinevere. He is a persistent attacker and tends to have one of the highest siege frequencies among all lords, however he makes a lot of compromises in doing so, including not using special units.

Castles & Defenses

Lancelot builds a simple rectangular castle with towers on all four corners and a single gate. He includes the Barracks and the Armoury as part of the surrounding walls, allowing access only through a single Gatehouse on the western side, which is guarded by a small band of Men-at-arms. Lancelot adds Lookout Towers filled with Archers and an Engine Tower with a Dragon Harpoon, as well as a number of Rolling Logs on exposed, protruding wall sections. Two Staircases and the Barracks provide access to the elevated positions. More often than not, Lancelot ends up adding his Pantry and a few weapons workshops inside the castle.

Given Lancelot's castle design is geared towards simplicity, it offers a multitude of ways to lay siege to. It has a comparably light garrison of maximum 35 Archers and a meager 10 Men-at-arms, who do not present much resistance to a small group of medium armor, nor to aerial attackers, as a single Harpoon is easily dealt with. Lancelot's walls are also approachable due to the lack of traps, and the fact that Rolling Logs can be circumvented and/or triggered by ladder attacks. A Mangonel not present also allows for a relatively safe march in for an organized army.

Economy

Lancelot has a modest but easy to develop economy largely based on the Church. He builds an impressive number of weapons workshops to fuel his war effort, which does not need much Honor to produce. Lancelot's other production branches are less sophisticated, producing only Apples and Meat, as well as gathering Stone and Iron from two quarries and mines each. Most of his income comes from selling surplus iron, and the Church itself. Lancelot's Pantry is rather barren, using a single Vegetable Garden to acquire some Honor.

Lancelot's good stocks are generally kept relatively low, except for food. His armoury is prepared for keeping a large number of Bows and Spears, as well as a few extra equipment, but otherwise he sells most resources he does not use.

Raids & Sieges

As stated in the briefing, Lancelot feels in his element rather on the battlefield. To facilitate this, he sticks to the most basic units and throwing them in small batches at his adversaries. 4-20 Archers in swift groups are a cornerstone to Lancelot's attempts to wearing down the opposition, as well as Lancelot likes to roll out Catapults to level buildings. If doing particularly well in terms of gold, Lancelot also sends a large group of about fifty Archers to pick off enemy units rather ineffectively.

Lancelot's siege attempts are reminiscent of his strategy, except for the addition of a few Swordsmen and a higher number of Men-at-arms. More often than not, the slow Swordsmen tend to lag behind the faster troops, offering an opportunity to smash the Siege Camp and the bulk of Lancelot's army until they catch up. When the siege starts, he recruits at most 10 Laddermen and two Catapults with a measly two Mantlets, bringing little firepower to the fight. Even though he can quickly replace these armies, his siege effort is blunted with relative ease, unless the Laddermen get a head start and Lancelot's fast troops can scale an exposed wall segment.

Thwarting Lancelot right from the outset can be done by fielding higher quality troops. While his Men-at-arms have a potential to cause damage, they need to get up close and personal to do so, therefore it may prove useful to get a sizable ranged garrison, put in towers and on higher ground. Lancelot has no means of disposing of your units from range, consequently he relies on the element of surprise and once you repel his siege attempt, you have made sure that he causes no more trouble from then on.