Which to choose... Royal Bodyguards or Mounted Nobles?

[Simovek]

Which is better to choose? Mounted Nobles come 40 per unit and are only slightly more expensive than Royal Bodyguards. Bodyguards come in 20 men per unit and are slightly cheaper. I would guess that Royal Bodyguards are better fighters than Mounted Nobles. Does anyone have the stats? Which do you choose?

[katank]

mounted nobles.

BG units like in MTW are just lower build reqs and provide high powered cav but is prohibitively expensive not only production but also upkeepwise.

[Despot of the English]

My armies on Viking Invasion are dominated by Mounted Nobles they're that good. They are basically Royal Bodyguard but twice the size and twice as good.

[IrishMike]

I would have to side with the mounted nobels but alas they and RB are not avaliable during the same time period. Alas they can not be tested in battle against each other, alas.

Sorry I just like that alas word, kinda sound like shakespear.

[Simovek]

I mean Viking Era Royal Bodyguards. Sorry should have clarified.

[Lonewarrior]

Mounted Nobles, nothing else.

[Oaty]

Well that can all be opinion. I had a valour 1 royal bodyguard unit in multiplayer and they wreaked the most havoc mainly due to the fact it tied up his cavalry for a long time. Plus they were out on a flank wich I think his intentions were to take them out quick with 2 units of cavalry and come down on my flanks. Unfortanately they secured the flank while I gutted the enemy army. By the time he won the flank there was no army left to support his flanking action. I say 1 unit maybe 2 of them can be good but do'nt go all out and have them as your main source. On rare occasions I do use them and I have to say the best you can use them for is holding a position while the rest of your army does the work. Not so much that they'll win against most 40 units of cavalry but they make the enemy take a long time killing them

[Simovek]

Well I did a couple of tests yesterday in a custom battle. V0 RB vs v0 MN.

1st test - The two units charged each other. Half my Royal Bodyguard unit was killed instantly when the two units met. Rb only killed 4 MN before being routed.

2nd - RB killed 30 Mounted Nobles before being routed.

3rd - Royal Body guards killed 5 Mounted Nobles instantly when the two units charged each other. Only killed a few more before being routed.


So I'd have to say that Mounted Nobles are the better deal. However Royal Bodyguards are not bad themselves and cost less too.

[Kagetora]

I have personally found that Horsemen can be just as good as Mounted Nobles, they just need a little better Valour and they are alot easier to come by, bear in mind that Mounted Nobles are not armored, so they are just as vulnerable to missle troops as anything else.

[Simovek]

Didn't know that. Are Royal Bodyguards armored?

[Kagetora]

If you read the description under the training key, it does "not" say armored, in fact Mamluk Cav have better armor than royal bodygaurds as do Ottoman Siphi, the average armor level in most heavy cav's is 6, Royal bodyguards have 3

[Maeda Toshiie]

From FBE's unit guide:

Mounted nobles
Charge 6 Attack 4 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 9, 20, 22 Morale 8 Cost 350 Support cost 105

Available: Viking campaign.

Dismount: In a siege for dismounted nobles (infantry version)

Mounted nobles are elite, have a large shield and are impetuous. This unit is the Viking prototype of the later knight. Because they are only a prototype they are a bit weak so make sure to keep them far away from any of the anti cavalry units, otherwise go ahead and use them as you would knights.


Royal bodyguards
Charge 6 Attack 4 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 9, 20, 22 Morale 8 Cost 250 Support cost 62

Available: Viking campaign.

Dismount: In a siege for Royal bodyguards (infantry version)

Royal bodyguards are elite, have a large shield and are impetuous. There are just 20 men per unit, 21 if the unit has a member of the royal family in it. If mounted nobles are prototype knights then royal bodyguards are prototype royal knights. Once again because they are prototypes they are weaker than the medieval version so you need to be a bit more careful with them. Otherwise use them as you would royal knights.



... The stats are the same!

[HicRic]

I'd go with mounted nobles all the way. As the stats are the same, they are cheaper per man, and come in bigger units.

[Kagetora]

Yes but they don't fair much better than Horseman. If you have a level 2 or 3 building for the horsemen than they have better valor and they will do just as good in battle, its a waste of money for me, but the end choice is your own, so happy playing.

[hotingzilla]

I'd go with Mouted Nobles. But I am not sure if the leader stats are any different from the more expensive Royal Bodyguards.

[katank]

between those two, if you have the tech, go for mounted nobles as they are more cost effective in being cheaper per man and equal stat.

if you need to get quality cav in a hurry without the tech or specialized tasks like charge into the gaps between the enemy units to get into the rear, royal BGs are the answer.

it's the dark age case for E/H/L royal knights and feudal knights/CK/lancers etc.