How to XP up units?

[MadKow]

This is sort of an exploit of the AI but that's how i got 3 prussian Line Infantry Units with 4 chevrons, and one with 5, (well, one chevron and a star). Just used a couple of them on a fort to hold the Coureland (sp?) border. The AI will send several small stacks, some single units even, across your border and you just intercept and defend the fort. Your units will grow fast enough in experience that way.

I did this while handling Poland and Austria, and finally picked those units and had them join the main army and serve as it's hardened core.

As mentioned, shoot outs will deplete your veteran units almost as much and you green ones, so either use them in the flanks, or charge them ASAP into melee. They wont disappoint.

[Warhammer3025]

Yea, its rather funny how your units suffer ALOT less casualties in melee rather than a shootout. I'm so desperate to get the feel for the age of muskets that i'm about to use the darthmod, cuz i'm basically playing M2:Lite with all the bullrushing.

I swear i think the AI fights smarter with smaller units, cuz on huge, i'm racking up kill ratios that i couldnt on beforee. Right now they're milling about in place, not forming up for a proper infantry charge, constantly facing change letting me get free shots, etc etc. Also it feels that huge size units ROUT faster than normal size units, most of the time a normal size unit fights to the death (on H), but on huge they're routing pretty (sometimes only losing 25%) early netting me ALOT of easy kills for free xp. I'm using the EXACT same tactics so it has to be the AI sucking.

[magnum]

Think crpcarrot and others nailed it. In past TWs the higher exp units were tougher to kill so you were able to keep advancing their exp. It was all simply a matter of fighting in enough battles. But in ETW, with no defensive value in shootouts, you get to a point were your tactics set the max exp your troops are going to get. Basically the number of enemy killed equals the amount of exp lost by your guys who died. You can improve it by meleeing more as that still uses a defensive value, but over time everyone will come to a point where they just can't seem to get more exp. That point is their tactics level. Unfortunately for me it seems to be 3 chevrons on Hard. =(

I have started to use the cavalry trick to draw off part of the enemy armies but feel kinda cheesy doing it. I'm also trying different army configurations in both makeup and deployment. Of course always trying to find a better defense/attack strategy. Hopefully I'll find something.

[Warhammer3025]

Alright folks, after some more play i found the best way to xp my units with a little effort. Dont blitz and let a nearby 1 city minor spam units to his hearts content. Then when the little blighter declares war on you and sends small raiding stacks, eat them alive and xp to your hearts content. This only works on ultra size units since it gives you the best bang per fight. Ideally let em camp out behind some cover, march the troops you want to xp behind him (DO NOT use arty to pound them or else they'll shift) and keep a sacrificial unit to their front to keep them pinned (i prefer militia since i dont give a rats ass if they die) and let them be shot at too if you want ot be sure the AI wont shoot the xping units.

Using this cheesy strategy as France on Bavaria i was able to build up 4 line infantry units to 4 chevrons, 3 Cheveux Legers to 3 chevrons, and a Cour de Blois to 4. Sadly the AI is starting to become more clever and will prioritize shooting my elite troopers instead of green line or my throwaway militia (they WILL pivot their line to go after my elites even whiling eating raking fire from my lesser units). Sometimes i'm forced to charge my suicide militia and go Longshanks Braveheart style shooting at the melee mass with my militia stuck in the middle (use up the Irish! heh).

I coulda blitzed Bavaria early and take the place (i usually do) but i realized that Austria sometimes gets sidetracked by wars in the east so i dont get as many gimme fights as i would if i let the Bavarians spam line inf.

Pity the Genoans werent so agreeable with my strategy. Once they're done spamming their capital full they dont build extras for me to pick off. I guess they're ieither spamming Corsica, or they're building up a fleet.

[Marquis of Roland]

Using this cheesy strategy as France on Bavaria i was able to build up 4 line infantry units to 4 chevrons, 3 Cheveux Legers to 3 chevrons, and a Cour de Blois to 4. Sadly the AI is starting to become more clever and will prioritize shooting my elite troopers instead of green line or my throwaway militia (they WILL pivot their line to go after my elites even whiling eating raking fire from my lesser units). Sometimes i'm forced to charge my suicide militia and go Longshanks Braveheart style shooting at the melee mass with my militia stuck in the middle (use up the Irish! heh).

AI going for your elite guys is probably the best thing that can happen, because then you'll know where to make a kill zone that the AI is always going to walk into

[loony]

In my older stacks I have most units with 3 chevrons and 3-4 with 4 chevrons.
I don't do anything specific to xp my units, if I have numerical inferiority, i make them shoot against 3-4 enemy units and then kill the enemy with explosive shells, and a charge from flanks.

where I have superiority I do the volley - charge trick.

and most of the dying is done by my militia, least - light infantry. I place militia in front to begin the shootout, line infantry and cannons behind them to form a battle line and light infantry on elevated slopes so hey shoot from behind at the same guys my line is shooting at.
oh yes, and i do use cavalry as primarily a "router" force, i.e. only after the enemy ranks are somewhat thinned.

all of the above on H (VH is crap; e.g. 10 regiment horses kill 160 people line infantry... don't lose one bugger.... crap)

[Prussian to the Iron]

playing anything above medium gives the A.I. enormous stat bonuses, to the point where a unit of line infantry won't be able to beat an enemy dismounted dragoons.

my advice is ot play with medium for battle dificulty, and campaign VH. that way you have all the same challenges, but battles make some sense.

as for upping xp, heres how i did it with marathas:

i my army was attacked by an anemy army, so i fought. i won, and the enemy was destroyed so i now only had to capture the militia-only guarded city. i for some reason only sent 3 units to fight. these 3 units were bargir musketeers that bore the brunt of the last battle, and now had a chevron each. the enemy sallied forth and attacked them, and i surprisingly own the battle. because the number of militia defending any city is for some strange reason 880 every time, and i had only around 3-400 men, they immediately went straight up to 3 chevrons each. basically, just take enough men that it adds up to about 500, and besiege a city. when the militia sally forth defeat them and you should have a bunch of xp. if you want you can make the city revolt and rinse and repeat until you are as high as you want. note though that you will probably have to merge units and revolve some units in and out of the combat zone to keep the XP.