Army Mainstay

[MrJedi]

What unit do you use as the mainstay of your army later in the game? (post patch)

Spearmen are good all-around but need upgrades to be anything worthwhile later on. Pikes are great for anti-cav but not good for much else & Swiss pikes are expensive & you get them only in Switzerland. Halberds are too slow and their Swiss varients don't make good mainstays. Billmen are good but only when you play English. I tend to stay away from sergeants, some people say they're good, and others say their bad...

What do you use?

[Lehesu]

It depends on the civilization, but my mainstay is usually a good swordsman unit or upgraded sergeants. Byzy infantry, higher end Jannissary and men-at-arms are all candidates for end game fighting.

[ToranagaSama]

MAA/CHMAA, Early Period, Hard or below. Still working things out on Expert.

[MonkeyMan]

I have to concur - MAA & Billmen, and saracen infantry as muslims.

[LordKhaine]

I usually use spear armed infantry, and the best type available to me. They always form my stable front line, that I know wont break and run. On the other hand, when im Byzantium, I use byz infantry (since "spearmen" really arent up to much as a frontline unit).

[Cooperman]

Playing as the Danes at the moment and I've an all Viking army that has conquered the whole of europe and is pressing the turks and egyptians hard.

[pdoan8]

Depending on faction, here are a few: Feudal Sergeants, Italian Infantry, Nubian Spearmen, Sacaren, Byzantine Infantry and Pikemen.

I use 25% (4 out of 16) of these guy in my armies. They are also the mainstay of the garrison forces.

[Cazbol]

The vikings are the mainstay in my armies as I'm playing my first game and as the Danes. They tend to be the units that do the most killing, even though I try to have one unit of chivalric men at arms and 4 of cavalry in the same armies.

Cazbol

[hoom]

I use the spear wall mostly.

Militia Sergeants are a pretty good substitute to billmen/halberds. Faster than halberds, available early for catholic factions and with armour piercing like other halberd/bill type units.
Great early, tend to get outclassed later on but still well worth having in considerable numbers at least for unimportant borders/garrisoning.