what experience do your troops have in the end-game?

[Slaists]

I'm just wondering what experience your vets have in the end-game? I am always struggling to have more than 2 chevrons still in 1799. Most of my initial troops have that, but not more. Rarely would somebody be with 3 chevrons.

For ships it's even worse. Playing as Britain, in 1799, my highest veterancy ship was a 4th rate that had 4 chevrons. But that 4th rate I captured from the French AI at the start of the game and it already had 4 chevrons then.

So, is anyone else able to achieve higher troop experience? How do you do that?
Would campaign difficulty have anything to do with how fast experience is gained?

[Prussian to the Iron]

really? in my curernt Prussian campaign (its 1748 right now) i have 10 infantry units, all of which have at least 5 chevrons or more.

ships however, i have only 2 chevrons max i think.

[Durallan]

I could get ships points up quite high before they stopped AI ships following you like lambs to the abbatior, I have never had 5 chevron troops in a game, mainly because when I get to around the 1750's I start building an elite army and therefore that has no experience and sometimes its just not possible to get one army to another place in the time it would take me to cheaply build another, although getting some 3-4 chevrons on infantry in my current GB campaign, not from artillery though, levelling artillery is the very devil itself of a job

[AnunZi]

levelling artillery is the very devil itself of a job

Really? I must say I've found the opposite to be true. My guns are nominally the most experienced units in my feild armies.
That is just down to the way I fight my battles I think. My infantry and cav are just there to protect the arty. Normally take 4 units of 12 pounders at least per stack and they do most of the heavy work. Its not unusual for my batteries to account for 50% of my kills at the end of a battle. Obviously once they are upto 3-4 cheverons that can get alot higher, its fun watching 2 batteries utterly destroy a unit of cav 500 yards away in one volley

[Prussian to the Iron]

i usually use 3 8-inch mortars and 3 improved rocket troops (both AUM mod), and infantry being there just to defend them....sucks. at least on VH

[Slaists]

i usually use 3 8-inch mortars and 3 improved rocket troops (both AUM mod), and infantry being there just to defend them....sucks. at least on VH

Well, do your mortars and rocket troops get any kills? In my experience, they are the least efficient killers in the game until percussion shells appear but by that time, the game is won anyway.

[Slaists]

really? in my curernt Prussian campaign (its 1748 right now) i have 10 infantry units, all of which have at least 5 chevrons or more.

ships however, i have only 2 chevrons max i think.

So, any tips how to get those 5 chevrons? LOL, maybe I live too peaceful of a life (as the Brits or the Dutch).

[Prussian to the Iron]

So, any tips how to get those 5 chevrons? LOL, maybe I live too peaceful of a life (as the Brits or the Dutch).

well, my best tip is that you should only maintain a couple armies, but fill them with elite or professional soldiers.

this means that they will likely defeat all your opponents, losing very few men, and that a couple armies can fight all your battles (mostly)


of course, I'm using the AUM mod at TWC, so I'm using Swiss Guards for my infantry in 2 armies, and for another 1 I'm using Fusiliers. So I lose few men, and then I just merge them, and retrain the last guys.

also remember: it is far better to have 2 or 3 depleted units(who have transferred to other units) whom oyu can retrain and lose only a chevron, than it is to lose the unit altogether and have to start a new one.

[resonantblue]

A few tips to farm experience:

1) After the battle is over, don't just select all the units in the stack and replenish. Merge units together. If you have 3 line infantry and one has 3 exp, one has 2 exp and one has 1 exp, merge the 2exp into the 3exp first to top it off, then use the 1 exp to top up whatever is left in the other two. Always trying to move the most experienced men to top out the ranks of your most experienced units.

If you get a bonus starting exp for some units (eg you can build 2 exp line infantry in Berlin, 1 exp elsewhere), then you can instead build a fresh 2 exp unit and move it to your field army rather than replenishing the line infantry - odds are if you just hit replenish they will replenish from the nearest city which may not be berlin.

2) I don't really bother too much trying to get a high exp for my light infantry or line infantry. _Something_ has to take casualties (especially since I am almost always fighting at a disadvantage) so anything that's going to take a lot of punishment every battle is hard to get a high exp for.

So elite infantry should be hoarded in safety until a decisive moment, then committed to carry the day so they're not in constant combat.

However, if you wanted your regular infantry to get a high exp level, I'd suggest you take some extra light infantry... only because light infantry in their light infantry behaviour formation are rather good bullet sponges... you can keep them in front of your line infantry and they take very few friendly fire casualties while most of the enemy line's fire will be towards your light infantry - which again is getting hit at a much lower rate. This is also why I almost never build elite skirmishers for a main field army. However I do use elite skirmishers in battle against non European powers a lot, but I don't use them as bullet sponges there.

3) continue all battles and take out all fleeing enemies. you get exp for klling a fleeing enemy just the same as for a non-fleeing enemy.

[Liberator]

What do chevrons change, anyway?!

At the early stages of the game, I observed the reloading skill of line inf improve with chevrons.

But I observed no effect in later stages. So if I recruit a unit which has a chevron (or two) right from the start due to building improvements, the unit seems to have exactly the same stats as a new-recruited unit without a chevron ( recruited in another city without improved buildungs)

[A Very Super Market]

Experience doesn't register on the campaign map. Right-clicking a unit on the battle map gives accurate readings for their stats, but the campaign map shows nothing, really.

[Hooahguy]

cheverons means experience. the more experience, the better your troops fight.

for me, my units tend to get more chevrons pretty quickly. the key is to have all your units fighting. if a unit gets exhausted, switch it out for a fresh one. this way all of my units get combat experience, and not just a few.

Experience doesn't register on the campaign map. Right-clicking a unit on the battle map gives accurate readings for their stats, but the campaign map shows nothing, really.

thats because the campaign shows the default stats. add one to everything for every chevron to get the accurate stats.

[Slaists]

thats because the campaign shows the default stats. add one to everything for every chevron to get the accurate stats.

It's more for accuracy improvement. I forgot what exactly was the added accuracy factor. The accuracy bit is especially pronounced for naval battles. My 4 chevron 4 rater that I captured early in the game is a horror of the seas...

[resonantblue]

You can see the stat changes in battle only (right click unit card). From the campaign screen you only see the base stats, no change due to experience.

[FactionHeir]

Ship experience goes up very quickly if you autoresolve. Playing naval battles manually, I never managed to get even 1 chevron added to my fleet.

Land battle experience goes higher faster if you play manually as you take fewer losses. I would recommend autresolve siges though so that all enemy units are accounted as kills to your units rather than lost somewhere.

Note that ships cannot lose men (and thus experience) unless the ship sinks, in which case its gone. That's why they can gain experience very quickly and don't lose any from replenishment.

Replenishment in the field and in settlements always takes base xp0 units, even if your city can produce xp2/3

The very highest land xp I had was 4, and that unit had about 30 men (out of 80).
The very highest naval xp I had was 7.

[resonantblue]

Replenishment in the field and in settlements always takes base xp0 units, even if your city can produce xp2/3

That's actually really useful to know, thanks.

Guess I will be doing things like I have in every other TW game to date - building units and bringing some replenishment units with me for anything I get base exp bonuses for.

[Daveybaby]

What do chevrons change, anyway?!

From Le Fusil, each level gives:

Accuracy +2
Reload +2
Melee +1
Defence +1
Morale +1/2

Naval units:
Accuracy +2
Reload +5 (each 2nd level?)