Tactical Question: How can you best fight on the defensive as Maratha?

They won't pick up a shovel! Hindu muskets seem a fine counter to Euro militia, but the Euros will dig in. Baggies will, according to the states, shoot and stab even with sepoys and come close to company line, but they won't dig in. Do Sikh's dig in? If so, they'd be as good as Prussian Line or Swede superiors -- but so far I've been attacked to fast to see if they dig in.

In short, setting up garrisons where you need two infantry instead of one -- a peasant to dig and a musketeer to fight is gloriously inefficient. I know the peasants are really cheap, but 4-6 of them just for digging is more than the upkeep of a good cavalry unit!

Anybody got any advice on how best to counter this or adapt to it?

So far it seems to boil down to fire once and go for the scrum with knives. If I'd wanted that I'd play MTW2.

I'd like to add the Ottomans to the OP's question. I've almost finished a short campaign with them and noticed the same thing about their units.

I am afraid that with those guys your best defense is a strong offence.

There are a couple of units that build entrenchments but they are not much good.

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Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh

In short, setting up garrisons where you need two infantry instead of one -- a peasant to dig and a musketeer to fight is gloriously inefficient. I know the peasants are really cheap, but 4-6 of them just for digging is more than the upkeep of a good cavalry unit!

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An honorable warrior does not dig trenches. Thats what the peasants are for. I suggest you spend your time training with your scimitar for glorious melee combat, friend, and leave the ditch digging to those whose caste dictates that they do so.

On a more constructive note, bring multiple cannons, to force the enemy to you, and to break them with grapeshot. Your infantry standing in the open is no big disadvantage in this case. Plus, as indicated, many Marathi (and Ottoman, and Mughul) infantry are better in melee than at shooting, so you fire off a few rounds, then close to swords. Combination of being hit by grapeshot and charging swordsman is enough to break nearly any unit.

If you don't like melee, choosing an Eastern faction isn't the best idea. They rely on skirmishers, swords, and superior cavalry to win the day, not drilled professionals. If you like big guns, big mounts, and really sharp swords, India is for you. Drilled infantry is, after all, historically inaccurate for the most part. Ottomans and the Marathi do get access to some drilled infantry, though they aren't top tier. Persia and the Mughuls get none. As an example: the Jannisaries. They were fierce warriors both good shots with their muskets and in melee with their swords. They despised European drill, however, as did many Eastern peoples, who found lining up and acting in unison to be ridiculous. Refusal to adopt western drill did hurt them in the long run, though, which is fairly accurately portrayed in game. Though....its an easy game and you could probably win with an army of nothing but stationary cannons and those terrible Mughul pikemen.

Love the big guns -- and your advice seems to echo what I've been doing with Maratha soldiers. The percentage of sworders just keeps going up for me and I've more or less bagged the Hindu Muskets entirely. I like the DLC cavalry -- Poligars are a VERY nice addition to the lineup with a fair shock value.