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2. Medieval: Total War.
This section uses unit stats from Clan Berserks excellent unit comparison guide, you can get a copy here. All the units from the Viking Invasion add-on are covered in the third chapter; this chapter only covers plain Medieval. All unit sizes in this chapter are based on the one above default, medium. This gives sizes like 133 spearmen, 80 men at arms, 53 knights etc. Each unit has been placed in it’s appropriate section, it’s mostly common sense but the index at the beginning lists what’s where if you’re having difficulty.
All unit costs are taken from a list provided by Quokka. They are for the default unit size, to work out the costs for other unit sizes follow this formula:
1)Open "crusaders_unit_prod11.txt" in WordPad
2)Copy all content
3)Paste into Excel
4)Delete all columns except i)Unit Name, ii)Support cost and iii)Number of men
5)Multiply Support cost with 0.125, and multiply that with Number of men for each unit.
6)Example: peasants; 100 men(on default), support cost 3:
3 x 0.125 x 100 =37.5
7)If you want support costs for varying unit sizes just multiply "Number of men" with percentage increase.
This formula is thanks to Norseman. You can download a free excel viewer here.
Purchasing costs are listed for units you cannot build in the campaign; this is because you can use them in custom battles and multiplayer mode. Support costs are listed for all units as you have to pay upkeep for units gained by crusading etc.
2. 1 Spearmen.
The spear units are the backbone of most early armies and they continue to be useful when other, more advanced units come into play. All spear-armed units get a bonus when they are in tight, ordered ranks. The bonus is +1 defence and +1 charge for each supporting rank and +1 to attack for a second supporting rank. A supporting rank is simply the rank behind the one at the front, which is doing all the fighting. You can tell when a man in the rear ranks is giving support; he will play his fighting animation even though he is not engaged in combat. A spearman can only get support from the two ranks directly behind him so there is no reason to deploy spears in ranks thicker than four (one at the front, two to support and one to supply reinforcements so the unit can take losses without losing effectiveness). Spearmen are best left in hold formation as this forces them to maintain their supportive ranks and keeps their bonus intact, as well as bestowing another bonus to defence at the expense of a small (mostly unimportant) penalty to attack. Trees disrupt the formation causing the rank bonus to apply unevenly (some men will still get support while others will be isolated) so you should endeavour to keep spears out of trees. Moving for long distances or running will also disrupt the spears formation so you should try to move them slowly and in several stages to give them time to re-form. When spearmen are placed on hold position they keep their formation much better and can consequently survive combat much better. Therefore you shouldn’t worry about charging your enemy, instead halt slightly in front of them, go to hold position and wait for them to charge you. This is even easier on defence; just wait for the enemy to come to you. Spear units have little to gain by charging (there are some exceptions noted in the detailed unit analysis below) and much to gain by holding their position. Spears need to engage the enemy head on; if they are flanked or attacked from behind their formation quickly falls apart, making them extremely vulnerable. Sword armed units kill spearmen very quickly so try to keep them away from your spears, however if you cannot avoid it your spears will be able to hold out for a short time, giving you the chance to send aid. For the most part you will be using spears to pin an enemy unit while you use more effective ones to do the actual killing, although some spearmen can attack effectively (again these units are noted below). All spear-armed units get a bonus of +1 attack and +4 defence when they are facing cavalry; it is this unique bonus that makes them so effective when faced with mounted troops (both horses and camels).
Spear units are best at: Holding a front line from which your other units can operate (e.g. cavalry sheltering behind the spears before charging out to attack and then retreating behind the spears to rest and regroup.), protecting archers and other more vulnerable units, receiving charges – especially cavalry charges, killing cavalry, pinning an enemy in place ready for another attack, delaying the enemy while you fight elsewhere, holding an important location (e.g. a bridge or a breach in a castle wall), and adding cheap, capable bulk to an army.
For a more in-depth explanation of why I don’t think charging spears is worthwhile in most situations read appendix 5 at the bottom of this guide. You don’t need to read it to understand tactics, it is mostly for the benefit of number liking people and those who want to know the whys and wherefores of everything.
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M2
Images M1 and M2:This unit of spears is in excellent order and can fight with maximum efficiency.
M3
Image M3:This unit of spears is so disordered most men will not receive the rank bonus. This is a disaster in the making.
THE UNIT STATS IN THIS SECTION DO NOT CONTAIN THE RANK BONUS, YOU WILL HAVE TO ADD THAT YOURSELF
NONE OF THESE STATS INCLUDE THE SHIELD BONUS, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF SHIELD (IF ANY) A UNIT POSSESSES IN THE WRITE UP AND THEN CHECK APPENDIX 3 FOR THE BONUS YOU NEED TO ADD TO THESE BASE STATS.
Feudal sergeants.
Charge 5 Attack 0 Defence –1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 200 Support cost 62
Feudal sergeants are solid spearmen with pretty average statistics. They represent a noticeable improvement on the basic spearman and serve well in the early period (1088-1205). Because their defence and armour stats are fairly low they can die quite quickly. They have good morale which stops them fleeing in terror after a few losses and enables them to work in morale damaging circumstances (e.g. when they are under missile fire or outnumbered). Feudal sergeants have a large shield that protects them from missile fire and adds slightly to their defence. When more advanced sergeant types (Chivalric and Gothic) become available you can still get some use out of Feudal sergeants. Because they have higher morale than Chivalric sergeants and are faster than Gothic sergeants Feudal sergeants can make reasonable attack troops. They won’t do much damage compared to more specialist troops but they will be able to tie up enemy reinforcements (circle your feudal sergeants around the enemy line and attack the rearguard), keep a persistent attack on a flank (send them to the flank and have them hold position, forcing the enemy to fight them for a long time under morale harming conditions) and lead suicide mission that require something tougher than peasants. They have a large shield.
Chivalric sergeants.
Charge 5 Attack –1 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 300 Support cost 62
Chivalric sergeants are very tough spearmen; they have plenty of armour and defence as well as a big shield and the spear rank bonus. It takes a lot to kill Chivalric sergeants because they are only really vulnerable to swordsmen and armour piercing troops and even against these troops Chivalric sergeants can keep going for a long time. Arrows are not very effective against this unit - they have too much armour, only ranged units with armour piercing capabilities (e.g. longbow men, javelins and crossbows etc) can do much damage. Chivalric sergeants have low morale but this is not as big a problem as it may appear. As long as you are using the spearmen properly the only things to impact morale should be casualties, missile fire and routing friendly units. Because chivalric sergeants are so tough they die slowly, often meaning they are on equal footing with Feudal sergeants and their higher morale and greater casualties. Missile fire only causes a morale penalty when it kills a man in the unit; since most non-armour piercing missiles glance off the armour the penalty often only applies when armour-piercing units are firing, and chivalric sergeants still have good protection (the large shield) from armour piercing missiles. Finally if your army starts to rout your spearmen are probably right in the thick of the fighting so they would join the rout anyway. The only real problem with chivalric sergeants is the era in which they appear, after 1205 (the high era) spearmen are less useful because polearm troops become more common. Polearm troops don’t get rank bonuses or defence bonus when against cavalry but they do get an attack bonus vs cavalry and they all possess armour-piercing attacks. This means that polearm troops will rip through cavalry like there’s no tomorrow, taking one of the spearmen’s major jobs in the process. You will still need chivalric sergeants to make up part of your front line but you will be using them less than before. They have a large shield.
Gothic sergeants.
Charge 5 Attack 0 Defence 5 Armour 5 Speed 4, 8, 9 Morale 2 Cost 350 Support cost 62
Gothic sergeants are the best-protected spearmen in the game, they have the highest defence and armour and they still have the large shields. This massive quantity of armour weighs them down, making them the slowest spearmen around. This lack of speed makes it harder to use them on the offensive but doesn’t really matter if you are defending since the enemy must come to you. They are even more invulnerable to non-armour piercing arrows than chivalric sergeants, but once again armour piercing missiles will do some damage. Gothic sergeants are still vulnerable to swordsmen but since there is no new sword unit available in Late (1321) they will mostly be fighting outdated swordsmen like chivalric men at arms. This does improve their chances of survival, although they will still lose eventually (if everything is equal or they only have a small bonus). Armour piercing melee units like billmen are the bane of gothic sergeants because the high armour value of the gothic sergeants gives a larger boost to the armour piercing effect. Gothic sergeants also have more competition because Pikemen become available in the late era and they can perform similarly to spearmen. So in the end gothic sergeants may be the best of the spearmen but it is rather unlikely that you will ever need (or want) to use them in large numbers. They have a large shield but it only has a 0.5 modifer.
Italian light infantry.
Charge 5 Attack 0 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 400 Support cost 62
Italian light infantry are available in early but they are just like an upgraded version of chivalric sergeants. Whenever you get the chance to use this unit (either by playing as the Italians or via mercenaries) in early you should take it because they are simply devastating in early – nothing can match them. When the clock hits 1205 and the high era units become available Italian infantry looses some of its shine because the competition is on a more even footing. This doesn’t mean that Italian infantry becomes obsolete; it means that they go from being outstanding to being very good. Italian infantry are capable of doing any of the tasks listed in the spears introduction and they can do them all well. In early it is quite reasonable to use them to attack by flanking and their charge should be used on occasion because the individual soldiers are strong enough to fight on their own if the formation breaks up. After early is finished you should start to use your Italian infantry more carefully, don’t charge with them and ensure they keep formation at all times, use them like chivalric sergeants after 1205. They have a large shield.
Muwahid foot soldiers.
Charge 7 Attack 1 Defence –1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 4 Cost 225 Support cost 37
Muwahid foot soldiers are very different to the other spear units. Firstly they have just 80 men instead of the usual 133. This makes it much harder to keep them in the optimal four ranks and ensures that the unit can only cover a small area. Muwahid’s have a very high charge and a good attack (for spears), when this is combined with their small number it is obvious that this spear unit is made to attack rather than defend. Set them up in for ranks and order them to hold formation, then use their high speed to get around the enemies flanks and charge them from behind. Try to let the unit reform before charging them; this will enable them to do more and take less damage. You shouldn’t charge sword units because swords will still slaughter your Muwahids even though they are more offence orientated. They have a large shield.
Nubian spearmen.
Charge 4 Attack 0 Defence –1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 175 Support cost 37
Nubian spearmen are slightly different from the usual spear units because they are disciplined. This means that they are easier to control and the death of your general or routing troops that are not disciplined or elite doesn’t bother them. Otherwise Nubian spearmen are the Muslim equivalent of feudal sergeants and should be used in a similar manner. They have a small shield.
Order foot soldiers.
Charge 5 Attack 0 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 400 Support cost 62
Order foot soldiers are only available through crusades: you can’t build them. They are slightly better chivalric sergeants, they have higher morale and if you get them in early they will be nearly as dangerous as Italian infantry. Take a look at the sections on chivalric sergeants and Italian infantry, and then apply that knowledge to this unit. They have a large shield.
Saracen infantry.
Charge 5 Attack –1 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 300 Support cost 50
Saracen infantry are something of a coup for the Muslims. Saracens are available to build from early and they are quite easy to reach, the advantage is that they are very similar to chivalric sergeants, so for one era the Muslims have a much better spear unit that any of the other factions, with the exception of the Italians. Use your Saracens aggressively throughout the early period and then use them defensively after 1205, take a look at the Italian infantry section for more. They have a large shield.
Spearmen.
Charge 5 Attack –1 Defence –1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 150 Support cost 50
Well, someone had to come bottom of the class and spearmen have this ‘honour’. They are the weakest of the bunch in every way and there is no reason to use them as main line troops when another variety of spearman is available (if you’re the Byzantines then you will have to make do or hire mercenaries). This is your pinning unit for the times when you want to use ranged attacks that will damage your own men (e.g. naptha, close range volleys of missiles, and javelins) because they will hold the unit in place for longer than peasants and they are less likely to run away before your can finish your attack. Spearmen are also useful for pinning dangerous units that will need swarming from several directions, using them frees up better troops to do the swarming and it doesn’t matter if they take a lot of casualties. Whenever I refer to a junk unit think spearmen So what can you do if you are forced to use spearmen, especially against more advanced units? Firstly you must always keep them on hold formation and keep them properly formed up, if they get scattered they will die fast. Secondly you should use them in combination with other units, the spearmen should take the attack while the other unit flanks and does the actual killing. Thirdly you should keep their flanks well protected as well as positioning them on high ground to guard their low morale and prevent them running. If you can you should try to keep your general nearby to get another morale bonus from him. Always endeavour to keep a single unit from routing when you are using spearmen, their morale is not up to watching their comrades fleeing and they will join the rout very quickly. They have a large shield.
2.2 Archers and ranged units.
To make life easier I will split this section into three, with one section each for normal bows, crossbows and gunpowder. This is because these missile weapons are significantly different in the way they are used and what they are capable of. There are some general points that apply to all ranged units, firstly the higher up the unit is the longer the range and the more deadly their missiles, so always put ranged units on high ground if you have the chance. Secondly rain affects the range and accuracy of most weapons (normal bows and crossbows and gunpowder, arbalests have metal strings so they escape this penalty), wind reduces accuracy by blowing missiles off course. Gunpowder has more specific weather problems, which are noted in its section.
A small note that applies to all missile units (including javelins, mounted missiles, naptha throwers – the whole lot) valour increases accuracy. The difference per level of valour is only slight but it is there. If you keep using valour 0 missile troops don’t be surprised by their relatively low kill counts. Firstly make sure you use them correctly (pick the correct targets etc), secondly make sure they have skill (get them valour, just a few points makes a difference) and you should be able to turn the enemy into a pin cushion every time.
Normal bows
This category includes the standard short bows used by most archers and the longbows used exclusively by the English longbowmen. None of the archers in this category, with the exception of the longbowmen, are armour piercing so they are much less effective against armoured targets. Longbows have a slight armour piercing effect, they are not as effective as crossbow types, but they will do respectable damage when faced with armoured targets. When they are used against unarmoured targets (for example peasants, militia or plain spearmen) archers are quite effective as long as the target is not moving. Archers have difficulty hitting moving targets, especially when the target is moving quickly so you should try to target stationary or slow units where possible. Using archers to shoot at galloping cavalry is a futile exercise that will only waste your arrows. Normal bows shoot in an arc, this is their strong point as it enables them to stand behind friendly units and fire over their heads with slightly reduced accuracy if they are not on a slope with a clear view above the unit’s heads. The firing arc also allows them to shoot over obstacles like uneven terrain that can block missiles travelling in a straight line.
Normal bows possess the highest rate of fire, an archer using a normal bow can release a couple of shots in the time it takes a crossbowman to shoot one, and they can release three or more shots in the time it takes to reload a gunpowder weapon. All archers have exactly 28 arrows in their quiver. When you are defending you can use multiple units of archers to lay down a hail of arrows that will kill the advancing enemy and reduce the morale of the survivors. This tactic works best in the early game when there are fewer armoured units, if you can place your archers on a hill or mountain they will be even more effective as height increases both their range and killing power. If you need to defend a bridge then you should pack several units of archers at the minimum, the enemy get all bunched up when they try to cross the bridge making them an excellent target for missiles. In a bridge battle missile units reign supreme. When you are attacking you can use several units of archers to skirmish and try to draw the enemy out of position, if the enemy have ranged units then you should place your archers in the loose formation and try to get them on the best high ground available to give them some protection against the defending archers who are often well dug in on a good hill.
To draw the enemy out of position you need to shoot at the unit you want to draw and start causing casualties, once men start dying the enemy will either decide to weather the storm or to move and attack you. If they choose to stay put then you should keep shooting, if they move to attack then you should pull your archers back and send in good melee units to cut the enemy unit to pieces as quickly as possible before it can withdraw or get support from other enemy units. Generally speaking most archers are rubbish in a melee, however there are several very worthy exceptions to this and they are noted in the unit descriptions. Because of their low combat ability you should try to keep your archers far away from hand to hand unless you are very desperate for more bodies to throw at the enemy. You should try to use up all a units arrows before sending them into a melee, this allows you to cause maximum damage and use up all your valuable ammo instead of losing it on the body of a dead archer. Foot archers have an inherent advantage against their mounted counterparts as they have both better accuracy and superior range when compared to the mounted missile units. The horse of a mounted archer also provides a bigger target making it even easier for an infantry archer to kill the mounted version. For maximum effect most archers should be left on fire at will, if you let them choose their own targets they will wait until they have a good chance of hitting the target as well as making sure there are no friendly units at risk of getting an arrow in the back. On some occasions you may need your archers to shoot at a specific target, for best results you should put them on hold position. This prevents them from running off after their target or altering their alignment and making themselves vulnerable to flank attacks as well as disrupting your army’s formation. For the most part you should take your archers off skirmish as they cannot pull back fast enough to stay safe, I generally put my archers on hold formation to stop them engaging in melee if the enemy get too close (i.e. if you have the archers behind a unit of spears the archers will stay back and keep firing if they are on hold formation. If the archers were on skirmish they would pull back and if they were on engage at will they would probably charge into the melee.).
Archers are considered to have a clear view of their target (a clear view aids accuracy substantially) if they are deployed in ranks of two or less in close formation. If they are deployed in more than two ranks in close formation the ranks behind the second one will shoot with reduced accuracy. If the unit is in loose formation it can be deployed in three or less ranks before the men at the back start getting their view blocked. Having units stood in front of archers will reduce their view and consequentially their accuracy; therefore you should always try to deploy your men on a slope so the archers will be slightly higher up than the other men giving them a clear view.
Normal bow units are best at: killing unarmoured units, damaging enemy morale with both casualties and arrow fire, bulking up a defensive army and using the advantage of height to kill the attacking enemy, drawing out defending enemy units, killing enemy ranged units in a ranged duel, massacring enemy units trying to cross a bridge, killing the enemy before they reach you and thereby reducing friendly casualties from melee combat, dealing with mounted missile units.
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M5
Images M4 and M5:This unit of archers has been deployed so it can shoot over the heads of the spearmen without receiving an accuracy penalty because they are higher up than the spears and this gives them a clear view. The spears will protect the archers and the archers can provide ranged support without needing to move to a safer position.
M6
Image M6: This unit of archers is deployed in a four rank deep formation. The rear two ranks are hit by the accuracy penalty but there is an advantage to this deployment in very specific situations. Because the unit is on a very steep slope (a mountain) all four ranks are able to shoot – on flatter ground sometimes the rear ranks will not do anything. The compact formation allows them to focus their firepower on a specific target area, longer formations sometimes only have one half of the formation shooting because the other half is out of range. With this compact formation all the men will be shooting at once so you get more arrows in the air, albeit with less accuracy. Use this formation when you have a nice steep slope and really need more arrows in the air now.
Crossbows and Arbalesters.
The difference between crossbows and arbalests is quite small but very significant. Arbalests have a longer range, more killing power and better armour penetration making them much more deadly than plain crossbows. Although they are different they operate in an identical manner and will be referred to from here on as crossbows. Unlike normal bows crossbows cannot arc their fire, this leaves them unable to fire over obstacles or the heads of friendly troops. If crossbows are placed behind friendly troops on flat ground they will shoot individually with reduced accuracy through any gaps in the friendly unit, this is because they will not shoot through friendly men unless you order them to. In the unlikely event that you are mad enough to order them to open fire in a situation like this they will mow down the friendly unit by shooting them in the back. If you can place your crossbows on a slight slope they will be able to fire over the heads of the friendly units without many problems, it only takes a tiny height advantage to allow them both a clear view and a clear shot. You will be able to tell when your crossbows have enough of a height advantage if you look closely, there should be a small patch of empty ground between the units when viewed from the front. If there is no open ground then you are in danger of shooting the front unit in the back. See pictures F, G, H and I below for a demonstration of this principle.
Crossbow units should be deployed into two ranks if they are in close formation to ensure that all the men get a good view of their targets. If the unit is in loose formation you can deploy into ranks of three before the men at the back get an accuracy penalty. Like their normal bow using counterparts it is best to place crossbows on fire at will and take them off skirmish, since crossbows fire much slower than normal bows they are not exactly good skirmishers anyway as they will only get one, two shots at the most before they have to pull back. If crossbowmen have to move during the reloading process they will have to start from scratch next time they try to fire – they cannot reload on the move and if you don’t remember this you can spend a lot of time waiting for them to shoot, only to move them again before they shoot and slowly becoming frustrated because they won’t shoot at the enemy. Because they fire armour piercing missiles crossbows are devastating against heavily armoured units like knights, they can quite literally kill the entire front rank of a formation in just one volley (but this is a rare event so don’t expect results like this every time). Even when they don’t kill the entire front rank crossbows tend to do plenty of damage because they are more accurate then normal bows and the missiles are more lethal in the first place (they have a higher kill chance).
If you are attacking you can still use crossbows to draw the enemy out of position and if you are anticipating a ranged duel crossbow units have an advantage that normal bows and gunpowder do not – there is a pavise version of each unit. A pavise is a man-sized shield behind which a crossbowman can hide while he reloads his weapon. This makes them very hard to kill with missile weapons and can give them a significant advantage in a missile duel if their opponent does not possess a pavise. However the pavise does slow the crossbowmen’s movement down considerably, so you will want to avoid them in situations that require mobility. For more on the difference between pavise and non-pavise crossbowmen read the relevant sections below (crossbows, pavise crossbows, arbalesters and pavise arbalesters). Crossbow units have exactly the same amount of ammunition as normal bows (28 quarrels) but it will last much longer due to their slower rate of fire, this enables them to keep shooting long after normal bows have run out of arrows. Crossbow units have the same advantage against mounted missile units as normal bows; in fact they are even better due to their longer range and higher accuracy and killing power. Crossbow units are the unit of choice for disposing of troublesome mounted missiles.
Crossbow units are best at: Killing armoured units, inflicting high amounts of damage on enemy units, inflicting the morale penalty for missile fire on enemy units, defending a strategic location (e.g. bridge) for long periods of time, drawing enemy missile fire without taking much damage (as long as you are using the pavise version of the unit), luring the enemy down from a defensive location, reducing the number of enemy that reach hand to hand with your troops, dealing with mounted missile units, providing a relatively cheap way to kill powerful units like knights.
M7
M8
Images M7 and M8:These crossbows are deployed badly – the second unit will shoot the first in the back.
M9
M10
Images M9 and M10:With a tiny adjustment both units receive a clear view and the second unit is not going to shoot their comrades in the back. This is a small difference in deployment but it is vital to master if you want to use these units well.
Gunpowder units.
Gunpowder units are very different to the other missile units and not exactly in a good way. Firstly they have a very short range; they can improve their range by standing on high ground but generally speaking the enemy must be very close before the guns can open fire. Secondly, they have very low accuracy, it is not uncommon to watch a unit of 80 arquebusiers fire three volleys into a unit of 133 men and only kill two or three men. Thirdly, they have serious problems with the weather, heavy rain or falling snow will stop them from firing because the primitive gunpowder gets wet. In lighter rain or falling snow the units will fire at an even slower rate than usual. Fourthly the guns take a long time to reload so unless you arrange them carefully you will often only get one volley before the enemy are on you. Gunpowder units do have some advantages and proper usage can alleviate their problems a little but you should never consider gunpowder a replacement for more conventional bow and crossbow weapons. At best they are a useful novelty that should be used in small numbers and in specific circumstances, at worst they are a liability and a waste of space.
To improve the rate of fire you must deploy the gunners in ranks of three or more as this will force them to use a revolving reload system where the front rank will fire before retiring to the rear to reload leaving the man behind to fire his weapon before the process repeats. This speeds up the rate of fire considerably although it still takes a few seconds for a man to prime his weapon upon reaching the front rank. Three ranks is the most efficient balance between speed of fire and maximum number of shots per volley. If guns are deployed in one or two ranks they will fire one massive volley before taking a long time to reload, you should never use your guns in this way.
Accuracy is a more important, and harder to fix, problem. Valour helps slightly so try to use guns in an army commanded by a good general and build them in a master gunsmith, or in custom battles you should buy them several levels of valour. Valour is only a slight fix, you should also try firing at close range to maximise the chance of hitting something so use a junk unit to pin the enemy in place before flanking with a unit of guns and firing into their rear at close range. Pinning an enemy like this also counteracts the gun’s short range. Gunpowder does have some advantages, it causes fear in units so units that are under fire from a gun unit get two penalties one for being under fire and one for being shot at by gunpowder. Secondly gunpowder units take even longer to use all their ammo than crossbows, which enables them to last a long time even though they only have 10 rounds per man. Honestly I can’t really recommend the use of gunpowder troops apart from the Catholic hand gunners and I only recommend them because they are good melee swordsmen who benefit from firing a single volley into their enemy before charging.
M11
Image M11:These arquebusiers have been run around the enemies flanks so they can fire into the rear of the pinned unit.
NONE OF THESE STATS INCLUDE THE SHIELD BONUS, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF SHIELD (IF ANY) A UNIT POSSESSES IN THE WRITE UP AND THEN CHECK APPENDIX 3 FOR THE BONUS YOU NEED TO ADD TO THESE BASE STATS.
Archers.
Charge 1 Attack –1 Defence –2 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale –1 Cost 225 Support cost 37
Archers are the simplest ranged unit in the game. They are the most basic and have no advantages like shields so you should use a more specialist type of archer (i.e. one with a longer name) whenever there is one available. The basic archer is still very useful as a ranged unit although you should never send it into a melee as they really cannot hold their own. Archers have low morale so you need to keep a close eye on them if your units start routing or if the archers start to get into a disadvantageous position.
Bulgarian brigands.
Charge 1 Attack 2 Defence 0 Armour 2 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 0 Cost 300 Support cost 30
Bulgarian brigands are slightly better at hand-to-hand combat than the standard archer as well as being faster and having slightly better morale. The fact that they are fast for infantry allows this unit to skirmish more effectively than many foot based ranged units, as there are only a handful of melee infantry units capable of catching the speedy brigands. Because brigands still have low morale you must be careful to stop them getting surrounded or skirmishing themselves into a morale damaging position as it is likely they will loose their nerve and run away if this happens. Bulgarian brigands are not very good in a fight but they can cause some damage if they charge from a flank or the rear and they should be able to hold their own against most infantry units for a short time, allowing you to send aid. They have a small shield.
Desert archers.
Charge 1 Attack –1 Defence -2 Armour 1 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 0 Cost 250 Support cost 37
Desert archers are faster than standard archers which allows them to skirmish effectively, just like Bulgarian brigands. Desert archers also have slightly better morale but they are still likely to flee the field if things get hairy, and just like Bulgarian brigands you must watch them while they skirmish to prevent any unfortunate morale problems. They have a small shield.
Genoese sailors.
Charge 1 Attack 0 Defence –2 Armour 1 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 2 Cost 275 Support cost 30
Genoese sailors are slightly better in a melee than plain vanilla archers because they have one point more in attack. They are also faster than ordinary archers and this allows them to skirmish effectively with other infantry units. They have a small shield.
Golden horde warriors.
Charge 2 Attack 3 Defence 0 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 300 Support cost 22
Golden horde warriors are disciplined, which makes them very valuable in a fight where things are going badly. Routing units, unless they are also disciplined or elite, will not affect their morale. The death of your general will have less of an impact on this unit’s morale. Golden Horde archers also have a large shield to protect them from missiles; this makes them very handy in a ranged duel if you have no pavise units. If this unit is not already appealing enough they are very good light infantry and capable in a melee. This is one unit of archers that can kill effectively at both long range and close up.
Hashishin.
Charge 2 Attack 6 Defence 5 Armour 2 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 12 Cost 500 Support cost 15
Hashishin have 12 men per unit. They come with a small shield to protect them from missiles and they are very deadly in melee combat. The major problem is that there are only 12 men total – this means they often get pulverised by weight of numbers before they can do much damage. To get maximum benefit from this unit you need to remember their other, special talent – they can hide anywhere on the battlefield, not just in trees like everyone else. This enables you to set ambushes and run this unit behind enemy lines to snipe at the general. Since they are good in melee combat you can charge your Hashishin into the rear of an enemy unit that is already engaged to cause significant damage without risking them being outnumbered and slaughtered. You should try to train Hashishin up a few valour levels by killing peasants and other easy targets; because there are only 12 men they will level up quickly. After gaining several valour levels they become much more deadly and can take on larger, tougher units like the enemy general without too many problems. You should remember that they will become visible the moment they move so you should take them off skirmish when using them to ambush.
Janissary archers.
Charge 1 Attack 1 Defence 0 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 4 Cost 275 Support cost 52
Janissary archers are both disciplined and elite. This makes them very reliable when things get hairy, as only other elite units will affect their morale by routing. Janissary infantry can act as a capable set of flankers after you run out of arrows because they have high morale and tolerable melee stats, however this is not their best use and they should only be used like this in emergencies. They have a small shield.
Janissary infantry.
Charge 1 Attack 4 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 4 Cost 350 Support cost 52
Janissary infantry are elite, disciplined and generally a very scary set of men. Like the Golden Horde warriors they can kill effectively at both long and short range, they make brilliant flankers and can be used as a reserve to plug gaps in your line or intercept new threats to your flanks. They have small shields to improve their survival rating. Because they have high morale in addition to elite and disciplined status they will take a heck of a lot of misfortune before they rout. When you can use Janissary infantry you have no real reason to use any other infantry based archers unless you are very short of cash.
Ottoman infantry.
Charge 2 Attack 1 Defence 0 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 275 Support cost 37
Ottoman infantry have a small shield that makes them valuable in ranged duels if there are no pavise units. They have similar melee stats to the Janissary archers so they can do some melee fighting but they won’t be outstanding at it, although they will do better if they face armoured opponents – this unit has an armour piercing attack. Even so they are just pepped up standard archers and should be used as such, with an emphasis on fighting armoured opponents rather than unarmoured ones.
Trebizond archers.
Charge 1 Attack 3 Defence –2 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 275 Support cost 52
Trebizond archers are disciplined and have a small shield; they also have a high (for an archer) attack so they can kill other units surprisingly quickly in a melee. At the same time they will die quickly due to their low defence, however the shield does alleviate this problem slightly.
Turcoman foot soldiers.
Charge 1 Attack –1 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale –1 Cost 300 Support cost 30
Turcoman foot have a small shield alongside reasonable defence and armour. This makes them quite tough for simple archers. They are also fast and these two facts combine to make an effective skirmisher who excels in a ranged duel. Turcoman have low attack values so they should stay away from melees as much as possible. If you send your Turcoman to skirmish you must remember to watch them more carefully than usual as they have a very low morale and it won’t take much for them to rout while skirmishing. Turcoman foot also possess a ‘rabble’ formation – no matter what you tell them to do they look like a rabble. This makes them harder to hit with missiles because the men are strung out and disorganised but at the same time it can make them harder to include in tight formations with other units. This unit is one of the best pure archers.
Crossbow.
Charge 1 Attack –1 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 200 Support cost 22
Crossbows are the first unit available to use the armour penetrating crossbow type weapon. This is both their advantage and their disadvantage. It is their advantage because there is no one else who can do their job until the appearance of arbalesters. It is a disadvantage because arbalesters are available only a few short turns after the crossbowmen appear. In multiplayer and custom battles the two units are always available together. The thing is arbalesters are everything crossbows are and then some – they can do everything crossbows can and they do it far better. There is only a small price difference between the units and arbalesters really do provide enough extra bang for that buck. This means that you should always take arbalesters over crossbows when offered the opportunity. Crossbowmen are poor in melee combat, have low morale and are not very speedy so you should keep them safe and well protected and let them snipe away at the foe.
Pavise crossbows.
Charge 1 Attack –1 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 4, 8, 9 Morale 0 Cost 225 Support cost 22
Pavise crossbows are the anti-missile version of normal crossbowmen. The giant pavise shield makes them almost immune to missiles so they are the unit of choice when it comes to ranged duels. The pavise is so heavy it slows the bearer down making this unit ineffective at skirmishing and manoeuvring quickly. Otherwise this unit is exactly the same as a normal crossbowman.
Arbalesters.
Charge 1 Attack –1 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 275 Support cost 22
Arbalesters are crossbows +1. Statistically speaking they are identical – arbalesters are just as bad in a melee as their lesser counterparts. The real difference is in the ranged weapon. Arbalesters use a larger, stronger crossbow with a steel string. This means that the wet weather doesn’t reduce their accuracy, as well as making each shot more powerful. Arbalests also have a longer range, more killing power, and more armour piercing power – this makes them deadly.
Pavise arbalesters.
Charge 1 Attack –1 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 4, 8, 9 Morale 0 Cost 300 Support cost 22
Pavise arbalesters are arbalesters with pavise shields. In function they are exactly the same as pavise crossbowmen but they have the advantage of the more powerful arbalest crossbow.
Longbowmen.
Charge 1 Attack 3 Defence –2 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 4 Cost 350 Support cost 45
Longbows have a small shield and they use a unique bow – the long bow. This is the only standard bow with anti-armour capabilities; while it may not be as good against armour as an arbalest, or even a crossbow, it will prove effective against most targets. In the original release of MTW these guys fired faster than ordinary archers but in 1.1 and onwards they fire at the same rate. Against unarmoured units like peasant longbows will perform at the same standard as ordinary shortbow equipped archers, therefore you should always try to target armoured units to get maximum usage from them. Longbowmen also have the ‘rabble’ natural formation making them harder to hit with missiles and generally look untidy
Handgunners.
Charge 1 Attack 1 Defence 3 Armour 4 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 4 Cost 200 Support cost 30
Handgunners are one of the better gunpowder units because they are also very handy swordsmen. If there is a melee you can rely on your handgunners standing their ground unless they are facing cavalry. The guns they use have incredibly short range and are very inaccurate, the unit will often only get one shot before the enemy reaches and engages them. Because of their short range the enemy are often very close when the unit fires – this does compensate for the poor accuracy to some extent. The best way to use handgunners is as swordsmen with the benefit of firing a single volley before charging. Therefore you should put them in two ranks and on hold formation (skirmish will let them pull back before doing any good, engage at will risks them charging prematurely), have them fire one volley at the enemy before switching them to engage at will and ordering them to charge. Alternatively you can put them in three ranks and hold formation before using them to run around the enemies flanks and firing a few volleys before charging (once again switch to engage at will before the charge for maximum efficiency) into the stunned enemies rear. Remember that gunpowder will apply a –6 penalty to morale if a single casualty is caused in a unit, therefore all your handgunners need to do is kill one man before charging to stand a good chance of breaking a unit shortly after impact.
Mamluk handgunners.
Charge 1 Attack 0 Defence –2 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 100 Support cost 30
Mamluk gunners are no where near as good as their western counterparts. They are rather rubbish in combat and they have the same dodgy handgun complete with short range, slow rate of fire and long reload times. Put them in three ranks on hold formation, run them around the enemies flanks and let them fire into the rear, there is little else you can do with them.
Arquebusiers.
Charge 1 Attack –1 Defence 3 Armour 4 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 175 Support cost 22
Arquebusiers are a slight upgrade from handgunners in one sense but at the same time they are a significant downgrade when compared to the western handgunners’ melee capabilities. Like the Mamluk handgunners arquebusiers are no good in a melee and should stay well out of it. To get the best usage out of your arquebusiers you should put them in hold formation and three ranks before sending them around the enemy’s flanks and shooting the foe in the back.
2.3 Swordsmen.
Swordsmen are the bread and butter unit of most medieval armies. They are inexpensive and not very exciting; they are also very reliable and acquit themselves well against most other units with the sole exception of cavalry. Cavalry is the bane of swordsmen, just as swordsmen are the bane of spear and pike units. Swordsmen can take down cavalry under certain circumstances but generally it is inefficient and a last resort in desperate circumstances. If you have to take on cavalry with swords you should try to find a wood to place them in as the cavalry receive a significant penalty for fighting in trees, this gives the swords a fighting chance. You should also try to attack the horsemen with several units to gain the advantage of numbers and inflict the morale penalties for being flanked on the cavalry. If at all possible you should have a more capable unit, like spearmen, stand and receive the charge before sending your swords to attack the cavalry in the rear. When you have no choice but to receive a cavalry charge with swordsmen you should put them in four or more ranks and on hold formation, this gives them a larger chance of surviving the charge and fighting back. If a thin line of swordsmen is hit by a cavalry charge they will be swept away with massive casualties, often the unit will break and run almost immediately.
When you use swordsmen against anything other than cavalry you should deploy them in two ranks, this allows the formation to wrap around the enemies flanks when combat is engaged and this in turn allows the swordsmen to do much more damage. It also adds a morale penalty to the enemy. If you do not deploy your swords so they can wrap around at least one flank they can struggle to fight as effectively as you might wish. This two rank deployment is especially important when you charge a unit of spears as they will hold their formation together for much longer if the swordsmen cannot attack from the sides, the longer the spears hold formation the more damage they can do to your swords.
Swordsmen have no spectacular bonuses against other units – even when facing spears they gain a simple +1 to attack and most of the swordsmen are not armour piercing, neither do they have a significant charge bonus. This can lead to them looking rather unimpressive in combat unless you watch closely – it may take them a while to kill but they do it steadily and reliably, in fact reliable is the key word with swordsmen – they are nothing if not reliable. Most swords units have very good morale and elite or disciplined status, this combines with their ability to hold their own in almost any situation to create a unit you can rely on to hold the line and do damage in a hard fight. Spearmen can hold your line reliably but it is often the swordsmen who plug the gaps, lead the charges and generally do most of the killing. Together these two unit types can chew through more foes than you want to count, all that is really missing from this combo is the ranged support and a unit or two of cavalry to mop up routers. Because of their reliability and versatility swordsmen make excellent units for your reserve as they can go into a fight you are loosing and keep fighting until you either win or they are decimated.
Sword units are best at: killing spears and pikes, combating other sword and axe armed units, providing a unit that can fill any gaps in your line, being a reliable set of men to send into difficult situations, being a strategic reserve.
M12
Image M12: This picture was taken one second after the swordsmen’s charge hit. As you can see they have wrapped around the spears right flank completely, the left flank is only partially wrapped. The spears are losing their formation because of this pressure and their situation will only get worse as the last few swordsmen reach the battle. This is why you want your swordsmen in long, two rank deep formations.
NONE OF THESE STATS INCLUDE THE SHIELD BONUS, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF SHIELD (IF ANY) A UNIT POSSESSES IN THE WRITE UP AND THEN CHECK APPENDIX 3 FOR THE BONUS YOU NEED TO ADD TO THESE BASE STATS.
Byzantine infantry.
Charge 3 Attack 2 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 200 Support cost 62
Byzantine infantry are disciplined and deadly. They have a large shield that protects them from missiles and adds to their defence in combat. The real reason why Byzantine infantry is so deadly is not apparent from the stats listed above – their strength is in their numbers. Unlike most swordsmen there are 133 men in each unit, a significant increase over the usual 80 men. This means that Byzantine infantry are able to do more damage even though statistically speaking they are one of the weaker sword units. They are also able to take on cavalry far more effectively than most other swords; this is because they can outnumber the cavalry by more than two to one. Byzantine infantry will make up the front line of most Byzantine armies regardless of the period.
Feudal men at arms.
Charge 3 Attack 3 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 175 Support cost 45
Feudal men at arms are elite and have large shields to protect them. They are very solid swordsmen and they will serve well until they eventually become outdated with the advent of the chivalric men at arms. Even after their successors appear feudal men at arms can be useful for budget armies and a unit of feudals with high valour will continue to strike terror in the foes hearts.
Chivalric men at arms.
Charge 3 Attack 4 Defence 3 Armour 4 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 4 Cost 250 Support cost 52
Chivalric men at arms are elite and have large shields. They replace feudal men at arms as the deadly Catholic infantry and they do a solid job on the battlefield. The shield only has a 0.5 modifier.
Feudal foot knights.
Charge 3 Attack 5 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 8 Cost 275 Support cost N/A
Feudal foot knights are elite and have a large shield, they are much more capable then their plain feudal men at arms counterparts. Knights also possess sky high morale – they will not break until most of them are dead. There are drawbacks however, firstly there are only 53 men per unit and this does reduce their potential significantly as they cannot deploy in a long enough line to wrap around their foes flanks without stretching perilously thin. Secondly, and perhaps most troublesome, is the fact that you can only get feudal foot knight by dismounting a unit of feudal knights at the deployment phase of a battle. Feudal knights can only dismount in siege situations so it is very rare for you to control a unit of feudal foot knights, but when you do let the carnage begin Because this unit has heavy armour keep them out of the desert or they will become exhausted in a matter of minutes. (Note: If you have the VI add-on you can get large units of feudal foot knights whenever you wish by dismounting Druzhina cavalry)
Gothic foot knights.
Charge 4 Attack 5 Defence 6 Armour 6 Speed 4, 8, 9 Morale 8 Cost 475 Support cost N/A
Gothic foot knights are elite and have armour piercing two-handed swords that chop most units into tiny pieces. Once again you can only get these foot knights by dismounting gothic knights, fortunately gothic knights can dismount during the deployment phase of any battle, not just sieges. There are only 53 men per unit and they are very slow because of all the heavy armour they wear, once combat is joined they will begin hacking away and do plenty of damage. Let these armoured behemoths march straight at the enemy and attack from the front, let other, faster units worry about flanking. The sky-high morale of this unit means that they will march onto the field and continue fighting until victory is yours or your army is so badly crushed that there is no dishonour in fleeing. The gothic knights armour is so effective they can walk into a hail of missiles and take very little damage unless those missiles are armour piercing. Once again keep this unit out of the desert
Hospitaller foot knights.
Charge 3 Attack 5 Defence 5 Armour 6 Speed 4, 8, 9 Morale 8 Cost 400 Support cost N/A
Hospitaller foot knights are elite and have a large shield. They are also very slow. As with all knights these men will win the battle or die trying. This is the second best unit of swordsmen as far as plain stats go; once again there are catches. In addition to the small unit size (53 men) and the need to dismount a unit of Hospitaller knights in battle there is the problem of getting the unit of Hospitallers in the first place. You can only get Hospitallers from a crusade, this also means you cannot retrain to improve equipment or replace losses. If you can get this unit they are great but the chances are you will not be able to get many of them and when you do get them you will probably hoard them as a treasured reserve. Despite being crusaders they still have too much armour to handle the desert comfortably. The shield has a 0.0 modifier which means it provides no bonus at all – it is just for show.
2.4 Axemen
Axemen are somewhat specialist troops. They are all armour piercing and are thus deadly against units with heavy armour. However they are not so good against unarmoured targets as they do not get any bonuses if the target is unarmoured. Because most axemen have a good attack stat they can still do a fair amount of damage in a straight fight but somehow they are seldom as effective as swordsmen, especially when faced with spears as they always seem to take more casualties. With the cheaper axemen, like Ghazi infantry, this is not such a problem but it can be troublesome if you are outnumbered badly and every man counts or if you cannot afford to replace the unit after the battle.
Like swordsmen axemen are vulnerable to cavalry, however because they have armour-piercing weapons they can often do damage at the same rate as they take it when faced with heavy cavalry. Against lighter cavalry with little or no armour Axemen are just as bad as swordsmen. Axemen should observe the same protocols when facing horsemen, namely stay in a tight, deep formation and try to fight in the trees. Whenever you can you should use Axemen as flankers as this offsets their often low defence, use a unit like spears to pin your target and send your Axemen running around the flanks to hit from behind. This also has the advantage of inflicting a morale penalty on the foe.
Getting the most out of axemen is quite simple – use them when faced with armour, try to flank with them and keep them away from targets lacking armour and you will find them a worthwhile part of your army. Using them against unarmoured targets is possible but it wastes their potential more than a bit, as many of the factions using axe units will be up against the heavily armoured Catholic armies at some point and need every possible advantage when facing a collection of tin cans
Axe units are best at: killing armoured units, general fighting in your battle line.
For more on the armour piercing bonuses look at appendix 4.
NONE OF THESE STATS INCLUDE THE SHIELD BONUS, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF SHIELD (IF ANY) A UNIT POSSESSES IN THE WRITE UP AND THEN CHECK APPENDIX 3 FOR THE BONUS YOU NEED TO ADD TO THESE BASE STATS.
Abyssinian guards.
Charge 4 Attack 4 Defence 0 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 6 Cost 175 Support cost 75
Abyssinian guards are elite, disciplined and have poor defence. The substantial morale does help keep this unit on the field while it takes large numbers of casualties and the unit is capable of doing good damage when it ploughs into an armoured unit or weak unarmoured unit, however in the end the unit is not that impressive.
Ghazi infantry
Charge 5 Attack 5 Defence -4 Armour 1 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 8 Cost 175 Support cost 30
Ghazi infantry are armour piercing and impetuous which means they tend to charge without orders, pick their own targets, ignore orders to retreat and generally give your general premature grey hair Ghazi infantry have horrible defence matched with very good attack and charge stats. This means that will kill and die quickly. Fortunately they have sky-high morale that means they will keep going even when half the unit is dead, these men are fanatics and it takes a lot to get them off the field. Ghazis are fast which aids in the rush to send them around the flanks to attack from the rear, as long as the Ghazis charge into the enemies rear most of the unit should survive the battle. This is a very nice unit when you learn its nuances.
Varangian guard.
Charge 4 Attack 4 Defence 5 Armour 4 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 6 Cost 500 Support cost 75
Varangian guard are elite, disciplined killing machines. They have excellent stats – they are the only Axemen who do not need to flank in order to survive. Varangians are what you would expect from the Byzantines elite Axemen corps – just wind them up, point them at some armour and let them go. The only real problem is that this unit is not available in the late period. Varangian guards can also do a good job of killing unarmoured targets as their attack stat is very high and their defence and armour stats give them good protection against most attacks. If you have a choice of targets you should still send them after the armoured ones for best effect. They have a large shield but it does not give a bonus in a melee as they sling it on their back to wield the axe two handed, against missiles the shield has a 0.5 modifer.
Vikings.
Charge 3 Attack 3 Defence 0 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 4 Cost 175 Support cost 38
Vikings have a shield and are generally quite balanced stat wise. This means they don’t excel at anything but they are not particularly bad at anything either. They are solid Axemen and are at home in any army, once again they are best used to flank armour units and you will get results as long as you do this.
Woodsmen.
Charge 8 Attack 1 Defence -1 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale –2 Cost 75 Support cost 22
Woodsmen are peasants with huge axes, this means they suffer from very low morale, poor defence and low attack values. As a nice off set to these problems the woodsmen have an abnormally high charge value for infantry so you should use this to your advantage. Woodsmen make good disposable troops, just charge them into the enemies armoured units rear and let them kill until they break and run. They are dirt-cheap and easy to replace so use them as disposable units to take out the expensive and valuable armoured units and you will have more than your moneys worth. They are less effective against unarmoured targets so it is up to you to decide whether the smaller amount of kills they will achieve is a good exchange for your money. I would say ‘not’.
2.5 Pikemen.
Pikemen are the successors to spearmen, they serve the same function and receive the same rank bonus as the spears ( +1 defence, +1 charge per supporting rank and +1 attack for each second supporting rank) but they can claim up to four supporting ranks. Therefore you should deploy them in ranks of six, one to fight, four to support and the sixth providing men to fill the gaps left by the dead. The supporting ranks mean that pikemen need to hold their formation in order to fight effectively, therefore keep them on hold formation at all times. You should also be careful when moving them, let them stop frequently to recover their formation. You can charge pikes somewhat more effectively than spears, just walk them up in front of the enemy, pause for a second to allow them to redress the ranks and then order the charge from close range. This arrangement allows the unit to take losses without losing the rank bonus too quickly. The need for a deeper deployment means that pikemen can cover less ground per unit as they have the same number of men as the spear units (133), this makes them less efficient for holding a front line. They are also more vulnerable to being flanked as the shorter frontage makes it very easy for enemy units to wrap around the pikes and attack from three sides simultaneously. Pikemen have one major problem – everything they can do another unit can do much better. Spears still provide a better front line troop for protecting missile units and providing a base for mobile units to work from. Polearms are much, much better at killing cavalry and they also have a bonus against armoured units, swords, spears and polearm units are also better for leading the charge into battle and engaging the enemy’s front line while others flank. These units are also less vulnerable to being wrapped in a combat situation.
There is one bonus to their small frontage – they are ideal for holding small spaces like the mouth of a bridge or a castle gate (not breach though, they are usually much larger than the gates) for a long time. They are often able to beat off many determined attacks when given a little missile support.
Pikes are best at: Charging the enemy, holding a position, holding a small space, guarding missile units.
M13
Image M13: This picture shows a unit of pikemen against a unit of spearmen. Both are in their optimal formations (pikes = 6 ranks, spears = 4). This shows just how easy it is for pike formations to get wrapped in combat, it also illustrates why spears are better for building a front line.
M14
Image M14: Here is an illustration of the pikes supporting rank bonus in action. Look at the row at the bottom of the screenshot. The first man is doing the actual fighting. The four behind him are in their fighting animations even though they are not near the enemy; this is because they are supporting the first man. The final man at the back is doing nothing, this is because he is the reinforcement rank – he will move in to replace a dead man. Because you can see the supporting ranks working in most of the formation you know that this unit is fighting at its best.
THE FOLLOWING STATS DO NOT CONTAIN THE RANK BONUS – YOU WILL HAVE TO ADD THAT YOURSELF
NONE OF THESE STATS INCLUDE THE SHIELD BONUS, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF SHIELD (IF ANY) A UNIT POSSESSES IN THE WRITE UP AND THEN CHECK APPENDIX 3 FOR THE BONUS YOU NEED TO ADD TO THESE BASE STATS.
Pikemen.
Charge 4 Attack 1 Defence -1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 250 Support cost 62
Pikemen are a solid foundation for the class, however like any foundation they are dull in comparison to their more advanced brethren. They do the job but their morale isn’t the greatest and they don’t do much damage.
Swiss Pikemen.
Charge 4 Attack 2 Defence 2 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 6 Cost 525 Support cost 48
Swiss Pikemen are much better in every way than the standard pikes, they are better in every way. These pikemen can carry the battle to the enemy and do some real damage while taking reasonable losses. They have excellent morale too.
Swiss armoured Pikemen.
Charge 4 Attack 2 Defence 5 Armour 4 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 6 Cost 750 Support cost 60
Swiss armoured Pikemen are elite and generally the best pikemen in the game. They will pack a punch in battle as long as you keep their flanks protected, the formation intact and kill any armour piercing units before they reach this unit. You should also be extra wary of armour piercing missile units – Swiss armoured pikemen are very expensive so you don’t want them to get shot up
2.6 Polearms.
Polearms are another set of specialists; they are made to combat armour and cavalry. This is a very handy combination as most of the more dangerous cavalry has heavy armour allowing polearms to receive some very impressive bonuses when fighting heavy cavalry. Polearms are so effective when facing cavalry they make spears almost obsolete; the only thing that makes spears better at facing cavalry is that fact spears are not likely to be pushed back by the cavalry’s initial charge because of their dense formation and spear class bonuses. Polearms are as vulnerable to cavalry charges as any other non-spear unit, to counter this you need to use them in the opposite way to every other non-spear unit when facing cavalry. Draw them up in two to three ranks and charge Because they are charging they will kill more cavalry in the initial impact and the thinner formation allows them to get more men into the fray and increases the likelihood of men getting around the cavalries flanks. If you do this with a thicker formation the end result is less effective as fewer men get into the initial killing phase meaning more cavalrymen survive to cause damage in the ensuing melee. This approach is effective against light and medium cavalry, heavy cavalry and knights will do a lot more damage on their charge.
When facing heavy cavalry or knights you should consider letting another unit receive the charge and use your polearms to smash into the cavalry’s flanks and rear, the carnage this can cause is incredible. This tactic allows spearmen to continue to be useful after the advent of polearms as they remain the best unit for receiving charges. Polearms should always be left on engage at will as they receive no rank bonuses and they need to get in amongst the enemy to really reach their full potential. Against infantry units you should use your polearms in two ranks and let them engage at will, in many ways they should be used like swordsmen when facing infantry. Draw them up into formation, march them close to the enemy and then charge into battle. Generally speaking the polearm units are capable of putting up a good fight if they cannot flank, unlike many of the Axemen for example. Therefore you should flank when you can but it is not vital to their proper usage. Polearms not only semi replace spears they also semi replace swords as most infantry units in the high and late eras have armour, enabling polearms to take them on very effectively. Against the unarmoured units swordsmen are still much better. This means you can reduce the number of sword and spear armed infantry in your army and replace them with the multipurpose polearm troops, this is more effective for some factions than others as the basic halberdier is not nearly as good at multitasking as the billman or Janissary heavy infantry.
Polearms are best at: killing armoured units, killing cavalry, acting as multipurpose infantry.
For more on the armour piercing bonuses look in appendix 4.
M15
Image M15: This unit of Billmen has been forced to receive an enemy cavalry charge. They formed up into two ranks and charged the knights. On impact 14 billmen and 4 knights died, the billmen wavered for a second before steadily dispersing amongst the knights and slaughtering them. The final statistics were: billmen 20 lost, knights 43 lost.
M16
Image M16: Here the same battle is repeated with the billmen in four ranks to resist the shocking effects of the knights charge. On the initial impact 7 billmen and 2 knights died. In the subsequent battle the billmen were slow to get in amongst the knights and fight them off. The billmen won in the end with 27 dead against the knights 36. This demonstrates how much more effective the two ranks are when receiving a cavalry charge.
NONE OF THESE STATS INCLUDE THE SHIELD BONUS, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF SHIELD (IF ANY) A UNIT POSSESSES IN THE WRITE UP AND THEN CHECK APPENDIX 3 FOR THE BONUS YOU NEED TO ADD TO THESE BASE STATS.
Billmen
Charge 2 Attack 2 Defence 4 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 300 Support cost 37
Billmen are the first unit of proper (i.e. not a peasant militia – see the peasant section below) polearms you can get - that is as long as you are English Billmen are very good, solid polearms and they have balanced stats. This means they can kill effectively and survive the battle in reasonable numbers as long as nothing disastrous happens. While billmen can handle a front-on charge by heavy cavalry you should try to avoid this, as they are not strong enough to resist the charge without taking substantial losses in the process. Send billmen charging into the rear of a group of heavy cavalry and they will slice them up into horsemeat.
Chivalric foot knights.
Charge 2 Attack 4 Defence 6 Armour 5 Speed 4, 8, 9 Morale 8 Cost 550 Support cost N/A
Chivalric foot knights are elite and are almost tied with Janissary infantry for the honour of being the best polearms, maybe even the best infantry full stop. Chivalric foot knights can charge headfirst into heavy cavalry or knights without too many problems, they have very high armour and formidable defences so you can be certain they will survive the battle unless they run into armour piercing units or get shot up by armour piercing missiles. Chivalric foot knights also have a decent attack value; it is deceptively low, as the armour piercing effect will enable them to rip through targets with a hint of armour. Unarmoured targets generally find it difficult to damage the knights meaning the battle becomes one of endurance that the knights can slowly win. Chivalric foot knights are not perfect. Firstly they are very slow, it is a good thing they can handle a head on charge because they are too slow to do anything else effectively The small size of the unit (53 men) makes them vulnerable to being overwhelmed – they may be able to fight like heroes but even a hero dies when outnumbered four to one. The final disadvantage is not actually much of a disadvantage; chivalric foot knights must be dismounted from chivalric knights during the deployment phase of the battle. However since chivalric knights are some of the best cavalry in the game this is not too much of a hardship Some people even make armies out of nothing but 16 units of chivalric knights, they keep half mounted and the other 8 units fight on foot. Apparently this is very effective even though there is no missile support.
Halberdiers
Charge 2 Attack 1 Defence 6 Armour 5 Speed 4, 8, 9 Morale 0 Cost 300 Support cost 45
Halberdiers are the final unit in the peasant food chain. Unlike militia they are not classed as peasants because they have enough training and stats to squeak into the professional soldier class. Halberdiers are slow but unlike the chivalric foot knights they do not really have the stats to march straight at the enemy and damn the consequences. Their morale is too low and their attack is also low so they will not do much damage, even against armoured targets. The best use for halberdiers is hinted at by their extraordinary armour and defence ratings – most missiles will bounce off their armour. This allows them to stand in the middle of a missile storm and only take a couple of casualties – if they do not take casualties they receive no morale penalties. It is also hard for other units to kill the individual men, unless they have armour-piercing weapons and even then it will take some time before the casualties start to add up. Therefore halberdiers are very effective when you need a unit to send into an arrow shower to deplete enemy ammunition and set up a bridgehead while your other, better units move in to attack. Send halberdiers across a bridge first, they will take few casualties from the missiles and they will be able to hold their own on the other side of the bridge just long enough for your more valuable troops to cross in safety. Yes they will eventually break and run, yes they will do little damage but all that matters is that they will have absorbed the missiles and given others a chance to cross in safety.
Janissary heavy infantry.
Charge 4 Attack 5 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 8 Cost 725 Support cost 67
Janissary heavy infantry are elite, disciplined, have a shield and are probably the best infantry in the game. Question - what can Janissary heavy infantry kill effectively? Answer – anything that is alive. Fast speed allows this unit to nip around flanks, get out of dangerous situations and chase down most infantry missile units reasonably. The high morale allows them to take massive losses or fight when heavily outnumbered and keep going like some kind of inevitable machine of doom rolling over the foe. The high attack allows them to cleave through any unit, it is high enough to do plenty of damage against unarmoured units and against armoured units the Janissary heavy infantry can be compared to a can opener The defence and armour is adequate, in fact the low armour is something of a bonus as it allows them to fight in any climate and weather without getting hit by the penalties for heavy armour. Janissary heavy infantry have no problems in the desert. The lower armour stat also protects them from armour piercing units. Janissary infantry can handle frontal assaults on just about anything and they are fast enough to flank, they can do what ever the situation requires and you should take advantage of this flexibility. Basically if you are the Turks then you want to use this unit, if you aren’t the Turks then you wish you had this unit. This unit cannot use its shield in a melee as the polearm is a two handed weapon. The shield only protects from ranged attacks.
Swiss halberdiers
Charge 2 Attack 3 Defence 3 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 6 Cost 375 Support cost 52
Swiss halberdiers are the polearms you want to use if you are neither the Turkish nor the English; they are significantly better than halberdiers for most jobs. Swiss halberdiers are not as heavily armoured and have lower defence so you should not use them to absorb ranged fire, leave that to the halberdiers. Instead you should use their higher attack values and reasonable speed to strike from the flanks or rear and quickly damage the enemy. Because they have high morale they can take losses and fight in unfavourable situations with few problems, always remember this.
2.7 Barbarians and fanatics.
Fanatics and barbarians are an odd bunch. Generally they have a good charge and reasonable attack coupled with hideous defence and next to no armour. They either have very high morale or very low morale, the high morale units tend to be impetuous and the low morale units tend to charge, kill a few and then rout quickly. That is about as far as the generalisations can be taken, each unit will have its uses etc explained in its section.
NONE OF THESE STATS INCLUDE THE SHIELD BONUS, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF SHIELD (IF ANY) A UNIT POSSESSES IN THE WRITE UP AND THEN CHECK APPENDIX 3 FOR THE BONUS YOU NEED TO ADD TO THESE BASE STATS.
Fanatics.
Charge 6 Attack 3 Defence -4 Armour 1 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 8 Cost 125 Support cost 50
Fanatics are impetuous so you will need to keep a close eye on them at all times if you don’t want to find them chasing after a unit they cannot hope to beat in a premature attack, ruining your whole battle plan. Fanatics are the perfect example of a unit made to flank and little else. They are speedy, have a great charge, good attack and horrible defence. Therefore you should always manoeuvre them so they can smash into the enemies rear and really put that charge to work. Attacking in this way also helps offset their non-existent defence. Fanatics kill fast and die fast but remember they are cheap so they are no great loss. You can only get fanatics from crusades - you cannot build them.
Futuwwas.
Charge 3 Attack 4 Defence -2 Armour1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 4 Cost 300 Support cost 37
Futuwwas are impetuous so once again you will need to keep a close eye on them. They are equipped with a large shield, simple bow and sword. This makes them one of the most versatile units in this category as they function well as archers and can fight well in a melee as long as you do something to guard against their terrible defence. Use Futuwwas as archers until they run out of missiles and then use them as flankers.
Gallowglasses.
Charge 8 Attack 5 Defence 0 Armour 2 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 200 Support cost 22
Gallowglasses are impetuous and elite. Their large two-handed sword is armour piercing so you should primarily target armoured units. Once again this unit is built to attack from the flanks because of their low defence, try charging them into the rear of the enemy and leaving them to kill until their morale breaks. Because of their low armour this is a good unit to take into the desert.
Highland clansmen.
Charge 6 Attack 5 Defence -3 Armour 1 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 0 Cost 100 Support cost 22
Highland clansmen are also impetuous. They have a small shield in addition to their sword and this helps to offset their awful defence. They are fast and once again they serve best as flankers, so use them as such. Once again this unit is good for desert warfare because of the low armour stat – those kilts must be good for airflow
Nizaris
Charge 7 Attack 6 Defence -4 Armour 1 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 8 Cost 400 Support cost 30
Nizaris are impetuous and they have a bow, large shield and sword. They function in the same way as Futuwwas – use them as archers until they run out of ammo and then use them to deliver flanking attacks on engaged enemies.
2.8 Peasants and militia.
Peasants are, generally speaking, pretty damn crap The Almohad urban militia is a honourable exception to this rule. All the other units in this category range from utterly crap to slightly crap.
NONE OF THESE STATS INCLUDE THE SHIELD BONUS, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF SHIELD (IF ANY) A UNIT POSSESSES IN THE WRITE UP AND THEN CHECK APPENDIX 3 FOR THE BONUS YOU NEED TO ADD TO THESE BASE STATS.
Almohad urban militia.
Charge 3 Attack 3 Defence 3 Armour 4 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 200 Support cost 37
Almohad urban militia are very similar to the Catholic feudal men at arms. They have a shield and a sword, just like the men at arms and they have the same number of men in each unit (80). As far as use goes they should be used like men at arms; put them in two ranks and on engage at will before marching them at some spears or other infantry and letting them charge into battle. Almohad urban militia don’t really need to flank so you can use them to hold a good front line against infantry attacks. You should always endeavour to keep them far away from cavalry or they will die very quickly. If you have no choice but to fight cavalry with this unit put them in three or four ranks, try to find some trees to put the cavalry at a disadvantage and mob the cavalry with as many units as possible. This is an extremely solid unit and is a steal for its price. The militia’s shield only has a 0.5 modifer.
Militia sergeants.
Charge 4 Attack 2 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 150 Support cost 30
Militia sergeants are an upgrade of urban militia. They are peasant level polearm troops so they have an armour piercing attack. Before the arrival of the better polearms this is the best you can do, the sergeants are available in early. Militia sergeants fair reasonably well against other early era units however they become more and more disadvantaged as the eras go by. Statistically they are the second best peasant unit but you must adjust your polearm tactics in order to make this unit shine. Rather than charging into battle against armoured units you should try to pin the armoured unit with another unit before sending the militia in to attack from behind. You need to do this because most of the early era armoured units are knights, men at arms and other elite level badasses. Never try to take on a unit of knights or other elite heavy cavalry head on with militia They may have an advantage against cavalry and armour but they will still be swept away, instead pin the cavalry with some spears and let the militia attack from behind. Against particularly tough cavalry you may need to pin the unit and attack with more than one unit of militia. Don’t use militia sergeants against unarmoured targets if you can avoid it, as they don’t seem to do very well in that kind of situation. This unit’s main advantage is that it is the cheapest decent polearm unit and therefore quite disposable. They are also quite easy to reach in the campaign game, making them cheap to reach, cheap to build, cheap to keep and cheap to replace. They are also quite handy in the desert because of their low armour – unlike many other units the Catholics get they don’t come foil wrapped to speed cooking times
Muslim peasants.
Charge 4 Attack -2 Defence -4 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale –2 Cost 50 Support cost 37
Muslim peasants are the single most useless unit in the game. They are utterly crap; they should be at home tending the fields rather than trying (and failing) to fight. Their morale is horrible, their attack awful, their defence non-existent. The only use for peasants is acting as a junk unit to absorb missiles that might damage more expensive units. Peasants are also used for pinning a unit while you carry out a flank attack or use destructive missiles (for example naptha) on the pinned unit. However they are not very good at this, as they tend to break and run away before you can finish your attack. If you want a junk unit to use while pinning a target use the plain, simple spearmen. For a more constructive, and suitable, use for your peasants you should use them as garrison units in your campaign map provinces. Peasants are cheap to maintain and fill the 100 man minimum quote well. They are just as effective at maintaining a provinces loyalty as the more expensive units.
Peasants.
Charge 4 Attack -2 Defence -4 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale –2 Cost 3 Support cost 37
Peasants are the non-Muslim version of Muslim peasants. They are identical except in name and unit graphic. Don’t use them except as garrisons.
Urban militia.
Charge 4 Attack 2 Defence -1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 100 Support cost 30
Urban militia are the predecessor to the handy urban sergeants. They have armour-piercing polearms coupled with not very good stats. They should be used like their more advanced brothers – pin an armoured target and use the militia to attack from the rear. Keep them away from unarmoured targets. Once you have access to the militia sergeant you have no reason to use this unit.
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#nice to see you have finished your guide 
. Bunch of lazy bums, anyhow its bets to keep them mounted otherwise your heavy advantage may go to waste. should only be dismounted in seiges.
The rest = 
, Again great job on the Guide. It's taught me a thing or two that i never knew before.
Originally Posted by [b
Balloon Bomber Champion!
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