normal vs elite

[vlad_demstra]

umm yeah here's a dumb qustion. I tried lookin for it in case it was already posted but I found nothing. But, today as I was fighting the germans, I noticed one of my fudral men at arms was elite.. what does this mean? how do they become elite.. thanks...

-vlad

[KyodaiSteeleye]

Hi Vlad,

If you keep your mouse over the unit, i think it explains stuff like that.

Elite basically means that the unit are either very well trained, or have a high social class (or both). On the battlefield it basically means that their morale is generally higher than plebs and they don't worry about militia/peasant units running past them screaming 'we're all going to die' - because they expect peasants to do that - that's why they're the elite, and the plebs are the plebs. Elite units are also more likely to be of 'impetuous'morale status - which in horseman/knight units means that they can't always be relied upon to follow orders... (and will charge the biggest, ugliest spear unit nearby that they can find ) http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif

[cutepuppy]

Your FMAA are already elite from the start. You can track all the elite units by opening the crusaders_unit_prod11 file in the totalwar folder on your harddisk. Units listed with samurai(yes), are elite, others aren't.
The elite status means that those units don't panic when non-elite units are routing from the battlefield. (Chivalric knights don't panic when seeing fleeing peasants)

[Cazbol]

I thought disciplined meant that units didn't suffer morale loss when the general died, while elite units ignored routers that aren't elite themselves.

[Tempiic]

normal units will face a morale disadvantage when fighting an elite unit...

Elite units are less effected by friendly non-elite units who are fleeing and less effected by death of general..

Disciplined units are less effected by friendly non-elite, non-disciplined units who are fleeing and less effected by death of general... They also cannot get impeteous and are best in following your orders exactly... Ie not rushing into combat (like impeteous units)unless you order them to..

I could be wrong though, better ask more stats-orientated online players.

[Ludens]

How does this work in STW?

I understand that samurai units are the equivalent of MTW elite units (they were part of warrior social-caste), while ashigaru and Korean units weren't (I don't know about the Mongol cavalry).
Units got disciplined if they were trained in a province with a drill dojo, but this isn't shown on the interface and I don't know what the effect of this was. Again, I also don't know how this works for the Mongols. I suppose the cavalry was, the Mongols were very disciplined, but how about the Mongol trained Koreans?