Quote Originally Posted by [b
Quote[/b] (Hal9k @ Jan. 08 2004,19:15)]Simply question: What is it good for?

I also heard there's a limit for combat stats (which is 9). Does bonus versus cav count towards this limit?
I "think" the base strength is a modifier that is applied to one or more of the base unit stats, which I assume would be attack, defense and perhaps morale.

The standard value is 80, but you'll notice that units with poor defensive stats are given lower values. For example, regional attack units like Clansmen have very low values, as do artillery units and others that should not engage in melee. A few units of the Huscarle-type have values over 80, like Varangian Guardsmen and Viking Huscarles.
Looking through the text, though, there are some crazy values, and others that don't make sense, so there's a chance that this value is no longer used by the game.

I think they were included to account for cases in which the master formula used to set all the unit values didn't work properly. I had this problem with the formula I constructed to set unit costs, so I know a little about why this setting was necessary.

What I have done is to set all the units to 80, then reduce peasant-type units like Billmen, Militia Sgts. and missile units back to 60. I left the artillery alone, except for setting the Trebuchet to 10. This way, if it is used, it will be applied properly imo, and if it doesn't, that fine too, since I didn't factor in its effect when I made out the unit stats.


As to the combat stats, I think the rule is that there can be no difference between units greater than nine when they meet in battle. The way the game works, it takes the difference in attack and defense values between opposing units, and each point translates to a 10% increase or decrease in the chances of hitting the opponent.

Say, if, after all factors have been included, a unit with 7 attack and 4 defense engages with a unit with 3 attack and 3 defense.
Well, the first unit would have a (7-3)x10%= 40% bonus chance of hitting the opponent. Then the opponent would get his turn to attack, where he would have a (3-4)x10%= -10% bonus chance of hitting the first unit.

I'm probably not exactly right with my explanation here, but this is a good approximation of how it works. You can probably find a clear definition somewhere in the Repository, since this is a frequently-asked question, and I remember CA's ECS making a long, detailed post explaining it back last Spring.