Hi guys, thanks for the replies, especially Glouch. I don't have time to respond to your entire post mate but I understand your point about cavalry not doing well toe to toe but I don't see that as the big picture.

I have finished a 1.1 campaign now and it is my opinion that the way cavalry behave is deeply flawed. In EB, cavalry cause almost no damage to any kind of unit without suffering major losses. Their only role then is to repeatedly charge flanks and retreat with minimal casualties to cause arbitrary morale loss and routing, not to actually injure units in any significant way. I have seen heavy cavalry fight skirmishers and route -- the lack of balance of cavalry as an actual combat piece is quite ridiculous.

Whenever I fight now, I bring two units of cavalry. I micro the cavalry to repeatedly charge flanks without ever connecting with infantry, and then chase down routers with it. Let's talk historical accuracy. One for one, mounted warriors should have an edge against infantry, i imagine, even "toe to toe". The reason is not equipment but the synergy of the confusion caused by a charge, and their continued mobility; cavalry units do not sit around while infantry whack on them but remain moving targets even as they enter a melee.

RTW has a mechanic that reflects this. Cavalry mass. In RTW cavalry penetrate enemy ranks, remain mobile, and cause much more damage to enemy units. In EB, they run up to the enemy with lances out, kill a few guys, and just stand there.

My proposal is that the "CHARGE BONUS" has a negligible affect on cavalry behavior -- it causes one or two casualties, while the "MASS", which has been nerfed, is what causes cavalry to behave like real cavalry -- disrupting enemy ranks, using their mobility to their advantage after a charge, and so on.