Modifying Pikemen to Use Pikes Only?

[Machiavelli]

Note - there are "pike fix" mods that remove the sword, forcing the pikemen to use pikes all the time. However, these arguably make the pikemen too strong.

After considerable struggle with the pikemen of M2TW switching to swords when they least need them, I've come to the conclusion that my campaign game isn't worth the trouble of keeping vanilla pikes.

Granted, the Citadel FAQ says they're "arguably too strong" but I could care less.

So my question is this: What file do I need to modify to alter medieval 2 pikemen, and what variables should I change so that pikemen use pikes at all times? I'd like to remove their secondary weapon entirely.

[PBI]

Well first you need to set up your game for modding. If you haven't done this, you need to go here.

If you've done this, all you need to do is go into the "data" folder in your M2TW directory, and open up "export_descr_units" (back it up first). Scroll down until you find the entry for the pike unit you want to change. You should see three lines starting with something along the lines of "stat_pri", followed by three lines starting with something like "stat_sec". These are the lines which determine the various properties of the units primary and secondary weapons. All you need to do is to completely delete the three lines defining the secondary weapon; if the pikemen have no secondary weapon they will be forced to use their pikes all the time. Of course you will need to do this separately for each individual pike unit type (I think it's the three Scots pike units, pike militia, Tercios, Portuguese Aventuros, Landsknechts and the two mercenary types).

It does make pikes extremely powerful (although not invincible), so you may want to tone down the primary weapon stats a little, but that's up to you. After all, by the end of the period pikemen did come to be the dominant melee infantry so perhaps it makes sense for them to be a bit more powerful than they are in vanilla.

[Gray_Lensman]

I've found that they are powerful enough with just the modded "formation" change that there is no real need to remove the secondary weapon. It just takes getting used to how to use them with the formation change modification. Judicious use of the "BackSpace" key gets them to set up against a charge and then a single click on the "leftover" knights tends to get them to attack using their pikes.