Maybe there wasn't any Calvary at Ostargar or they was protecting the supply lines from bandits?
Any mounted Calvary charge against infantry is suicidal since the infantry can overwhelm the mounted trooper since he is at a disadvantage..
Oghren says something like, don't you surfacers have horses for this kind of thing (walking), and I think Zevran makes fun of Oghren's short legs.
But BioWare simply didn't want to model horses. They modeled brontos, I guess because we fight one, and have one fight for us. But no horses.
All is not lost.. We ride a horse in DA:I and like the Calvary of old we dismount to fight. There is a trade off when mounted.. No party banter. 
Any mounted Calvary charge against infantry is suicidal since the infantry can overwhelm the mounted trooper since he is at a disadvantage..
That is what cavalry have to do , perform the charge with a variations of attacks to infantry especially if such infantry is constituted by stupid goblins who don't use any strategy other than march forward 
The real answer is that bioware didn't want to animate horses. And with an engine that can't handle bow strings I don't really blame them. I think there's even a reference in game to the lack of them.
Then we can only blame bioware for Ostagar and not Loghain.....
Horses=no
check the tower of ishal before the battle=no
Don't waste mabari for a charge=no
i think they wanted to lost for drama sake...
The real answer is that bioware didn't want to animate horses. And with an engine that can't handle bow strings I don't really blame them. I think there's even a reference in game to the lack of them.
I think there's a codex in MotA that touched on it.
But yeah.. it's just really just engine/design issues. Same goes for Griffons, I bet.
Any mounted Calvary charge against infantry is suicidal since the infantry can overwhelm the mounted trooper since he is at a disadvantage..
Only if the infantry has a strong line of pikemen in the front or has a really clear numerical advantage. Otherwise, the average infantry line can be easily run down by a cavalry charge, just by the sheer momentum of the charge.
Only if the infantry has a strong line of pikemen in the front or has a really clear numerical advantage. Otherwise, the average infantry line can be easily run down by a cavalry charge, just by the sheer momentum of the charge.
and this isn't clearly the case of the darkspawns
I would not want to be in a Calvary charge against the Darkspawn. It would be madness.. Even the GW protected their Griffons from the 'Spawns taint.
And you want to ride boldly ride into a mass of Spawn?
I would not want to be in a Calvary charge against the Darkspawn. It would be madness.. Even the GW protected their Griffons from the 'Spawns taint.
And you want to ride boldly ride into a mass of Spawn?
The griffons died because the GW killed them with their mistake the all died after the blight
Ostagar wouldn't want horses. The terrain was not accommodating, so they wouldn't have been able to maneuver well. The Darkspawn army would have absorbed the cavalry like nothing. Loghain designed the battle of Ostagar to fail on every level, but it could have been won. The strategy required a phalanx formation with heavy shields in front with swords, working in shifts to block the horde, and spear-men behind them to stab from above. Archers constantly firing over the top into the horde. Loghain's men would flank the horde in spots thinned out by the archers to give the main line a chance to switch. Mages on the cliffs firing from a distance, and healers in the back to give medical treatment and replenish stamina.
In this game when we face the darkspawn especially at Ostagar we don't see any troops of cavalry despite cavalry would have been much better than dogs or foot steps soldiers for an attack since they can kill and surprise the darkspawns and escape just as quickly...The military departments of these games is so meh--..
While the game just didn't have horses worked out, Ferelden's cavalry would have been with the flanking force, not the bait force anyway. So they were offscreen during Loghain's scene and just never participated in the battle.
In universe, the lack of horses could be explained with two reasons (wild guesses to be certain):
1) The orlesians set up a monopoly on horses during the occupation with cavalry being heavily related to the chevaliers. Therefore, Fereldens gained a subconscious aversion to calvalry and horses in general. By the time of the 5th Blight, there was a low number of horse ranchers in the country because of the aforementioned aversion. The Blight caused Fereldens to realize that having mounted fighters, messengers and etc, would have been hugely helpful for coordination and communication and took steps to gradually amend their low horse population and low usage of said horses.
2) There were mounted soldiers and horses during the Blight, they were just mostly dedicated to delivering messages, scouting for the Royal army and later the beligerants of the 5th Blight. This could also explain the Fast Travel feature in the game with having the party burrow some horses to travel quickly from place to place once they know where they're going.
It's also possible that the inherent corrupting and malignant nature of the Blight simply caused a kill-off of horses by poisoning the land and having the darkspawn corrupt or kill any horses that they found. Considering that the Blight overran more than half of Ferelden by the time the Archdemon was killed, it's not implausible to infer that most of Ferelden's native animals and livestock would die from blight poisoning, fighting in the multiple conflicts at play, exposure to the elements after being abandoned or having their owners die/get captured or simply starved to death.
While the game just didn't have horses worked out, Ferelden's cavalry would have been with the flanking force, not the bait force anyway. So they were offscreen during Loghain's scene and just never participated in the battle.
Aren,For years the Calvary was use for scouting and protecting supply lines. In major battles the Calvary would go in after the infantry broke the enemy's line and would chase down the disorganized enemy soldiers has they fled. A bloody business to say the least.
In the plains Indian wars the Calvary did not fight from horse back like you see in Hollywood movies they dismounted and form lines to fight. Only a fool hardy officer would chase after a band of Indians because more then likely there was a larger group waiting for the troopers to ride boldly ride to their death. Captain Fetterman made that fatal mistake in the Red Cloud war and his command of 80 men was wiped out.
I could see the conventional use of cavalry not being very successful against Darkspawn. It would be exceptionally dangerous, at least.
I could see the conventional use of cavalry not being very successful against Darkspawn. It would be exceptionally dangerous, at least.
DF,One doesn't need tactics when a mass can overwhelm the best armies no pikemen needed. There was no pikemen in the Civil War yet the Union Infantry broke up several of J.E.B Stuart Calvary charges. ' Spawn archers could easily to the same just by firing arrows at the riders.
Cavalry is much better for a charge than the infantry.If they did not charged the darkspawn as they should have been from the start than it means that they were not there.Also Loghain troops are shown along with him and Cauthrien and there is no cavalry.
Cavalry is better for a charge than the infantry but it's inferior when it comes to standing your ground and holding the line. If you are going to do a flanking or rear attack, it's better to use your cavalry for that purpose...particularly if you're going to charge with dogs from the front. You can't charge with dogs and horses at the same time. The dogs will get in the way of the horses and although they are smarter than a real dog, they still aren't smart enough to carry coordinated battlefield flanking maneuvers on their own. As for Loghain's troops, we only see a tiny part of the entire force, maybe a hundred or so out of thousands. Loghain is an infantry general. Has been since the rebellion when Orlais had almost all the horses. The cavalry command would not be grouped with his infantry. They'd be a separate formation. under another officer with a rank equivalent to Cauthrien.
Why?
If i'm not mistaken Drakon did a pretty good job with the chevalier against Zazikale(and Zazikale was a better archdemon than Urthemiel).Darkspawn have no pikemen,they are just stupid goblins with no sense of tactics other than what the Archdemon is whispering to the generals
Chevaliers didn't even exist at that time.
But heavy cavalry works optimally against infantry formations that cannot stand their ground with an organized response (either due to faltering before the charge's "shock value", or having been already broken apart in some previous engagement). Darkspawn don't really move in formations, as far as we know, but when part of a horde marching at the behest of an Archdemon, they do not waver or retreat. There's also the extra risk of contracting the Blight for both rider and horse. I would expect the Darkspawn to attack the mount relentlessly whenever they have the opportunity.
Calvary is never a good idea for a frontal assault on a infantry line the charge would falter and break before running through the infantry's line.
Standard attack was infantry broke the enemy's line and the Calvary would mop up the disorganized enemy as they retreated like I mention. If you note no Calvary was used in Pickett's charge at Gettysburg.
Any mounted attack against the Darkspawn would have failed.
Why?If i'm not mistaken Drakon did a pretty good job with the chevalier against Zazikale(and Zazikale was a better archdemon than Urthemiel).Darkspawn have no pikemen,they are just stupid goblins with no sense of tactics other than what the Archdemon is whispering to the generals
1) The darkspawn have ogres, who function as both shock troopers and heavy tanks at the same time. No horse in its right mind would dare to get close to one of those things. If a rider was capable of commanding his horse to get close enough to try and sweep attack an ogre, that rider would fair worst than a rohirrim vs a mumakil.
2) The battles of Crecy and Agincourt handily demonstrate that archers are highly effective against cavalry. The darkspawn have no shortage of archers or crossbowmen, not to mention mages who for all intents and purposes are glass cannons. But when's the last time that a cannon has lost to a horseman?
3) Darkspawn appear to typically move in large groups and rough battalions, which leaves little room for a cavalry attack to break the enemy's formation or trample troops. This was a lesson committed to history's memory by the battle of Waterloo when Napoleon's lancers were beaten back by the close box formations of Wellington's center.
4) Darkspawn almost always have a high numerical density if not an outright numerical advantage. This means that any cavalry attack would have a high risk of getting routed or cut-off amidst the darkspawn horde.
Also contrary to some viewpoints, darkspawn are not stupid beasts. They are certainly savage and feral, but they are not stupid or mindless. They are shown to be capable of forging weaponry, tools and advanced equipment like siege equipment, forges and even architecture for their own use. They also have a good understanding of their own capabilities, hence the ambush tactics of darkspawn rogues and shrieks which are followed by heavy attacks by ogres and more heavily armored darkspawn.
There's also how they almost instinctively know how to use acquired ghouls as best fitting their skills and abilities: blacksmiths will be enslaved to further equip and armor the horde; women will be raped corrupted into broodmothers to create more darkspawn; wolves and owls are used as scouts; and bears and dragons are used as shock support for their armies.
Also, the emissaries and alphas of the darkspawn are all the strongest darkspawn who have survived years if not generations of constant darkspawn tribal warfare. Which means that they are all veterans by nature of living long enough to become alphas and emissaries. They lead their lesser brethren in combat and also lend their own considerable abilities to any potential fray.
While the Archdemon does clearly call the shots during the Blight, this is merely because the darkspawn understand the pecking order.
1) The darkspawn have ogres, who function as both shock troopers and heavy tanks at the same time. No horse in its right mind would dare to get close to one of those things. If a rider was capable of commanding his horse to get close enough to try and sweep attack an ogre, that rider would fair worst than a rohirrim vs a mumakil.
Ogres don't form any cohesive battle unit, they're scattered across the mass of darkspawn. A spear to the chest (at high speed) will kill them, they don't even have chest armor, Duncan killed one with daggers. Now with fully armored ogres commanded by awakened darkspawn we'd have a problem, but those were not around in any of the 5 blights, only after the 5th.
2) The battles of Crecy and Agincourt handily demonstrate that archers are highly effective against cavalry. The darkspawn have no shortage of archers or crossbowmen, not to mention mages who for all intents and purposes are glass cannons. But when's the last time that a cannon has lost to a horseman?
Archers in proper formation, shooting from behind a line of infantry or pikemen for protection. The spawn don't have that, like the ogres, their archers and emissaries are scattered all over. A human army would keep its mages and archers in the back ranks opening with voleys and bait the spawn to engage, infantry would hold the line, while cavalry units would pull a flanking maneuver at the right time.
3) Darkspawn appear to typically move in large groups and rough battalions, which leaves little room for a cavalry attack to break the enemy's formation or trample troops. This was a lesson committed to history's memory by the battle of Waterloo when Napoleon's lancers were beaten back by the close box formations of Wellington's center.
331 BC Battle of Gaugamela - Alexander the Great and 2000 cavalry units supported by infantry, charge and break the line of a 50.000 strong persian army commanded by King Darius of Persia.
1683, Battle of Vienna - the polish-austrian-german alliance form a 20.000 strong heavy cavalry unit spearheaded by full armored polish lancers (hussars), in sync with infantry attacks they break the line of the Ottoman army in one of history's largest cavalry charges, and lift the siege of Vienna. The Ottomans had superior numbers.
Cavalry is effective against large groups if used properly and coordinated with other battle units, it's all about strategy.
4) Darkspawn almost always have a high numerical density if not an outright numerical advantage. This means that any cavalry attack would have a high risk of getting routed or cut-off amidst the darkspawn horde.
See my point above.
Also contrary to some viewpoints, darkspawn are not stupid beasts. They are certainly savage and feral, but they are not stupid or mindless. They are shown to be capable of forging weaponry, tools and advanced equipment like siege equipment, forges and even architecture for their own use.
According to the lore they are, and the weapons and equipment they make are crude, hardly worth being called arms and armor. Even human barbarians can do better. They do have the Archdemon, who can direct them to some extent, and if he appears on the battlefield that's a problem to any devised tactic, cavalry charges included. But that's what they had wardens for. And griffons up to and including the 4th Blight.
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