Armor Upgrades

[Bobablooie]

Hello fellow forum-ers!
A question about when I build armores and armorer's guilds, esp as a Muslim faction.
When I upgrade a unit's armor, does that negatively impact its performance in the desert? For instance, JHI have armor stats IIRC that allow them to fight in the desert without cooking, but it is possible to "over-armor" them to the point that they suffer in the heat? If so, which other Turkish/ Muslim units should I be wary of up-armoring if I plan to fight in desert climes?

[English assassin]

I believe armour stats gained through armourers have exactly the same effect as being armoured in the unit description (if you see what I mean). So up-armouring a unit does affact its performance in the desert just as it would if it was armoured to start with. Up armouring an already armoured unit gets a double effect. I thought JHI were heavily armoured though.

Personally, if I can I leave a province or two without armour upgrades to create troops for the desert, and obviously I try not to take troops who start off with heavy armour anyway. Its nice to have a "proper" desert army but its not especially worth worrying about to the Nth degree, there just aren't enough desert battles to be worth a major bother.

[el_slapper]

I tend to have a light army dedicated for those duties, but no more than that. Just highlanders in great cuantity plus archers plus light cav. Those are well in the desert even with armor upgrades. And if I'm really annoyed, then I autosim

[ichi]

My experience is that units start to feel the heat at armor level 5; at 4 and below they seem to do OK. At 5 I have to be very careful with them and while they last a while they end up exhausted. Above 5 and they really suffer.

EA plays the way I do - keep a couple provinces armor free or armor light and use them for desert duty. I also use a lot of unarmored troops that I bribed or bought as mercs in the sandy lands.

ichi

[CherryDanish]

Armour upgrades do count against you in desert combat, it's good to keep most of your desert warfare units lightly armoured, but always include units that you plan on using quickly and then withdrawing that have a significant punch. I like to keep some heavy cav on hand to overrun light infantry and challenge enemy horse. My general tactics involve trying to generate as many enemy casualties as possible to weaken morale, then withdraw the troops who did most of the killing. This tactic is easily countered by armies that employ camels in vast numbers, but the AI isn't bright enough to adapt to my tactics. Some northern units like Huscarles seem to fade even faster than similarly armoured units. One tip, always remember that valour and weapon upgrades have no negative impact in the desert. Fatuwa units are lethal desert warfare units. Hashashin are similarly lethal when employed effectively.

[Bobablooie]

OK, so if I understand you all correctly:

JHI start out with a basic armor level of 3. If I build an armorer in their province, then they have a starting armor of 4, and so forth. Therfore, I guess I need to keep track of where I have my armories/guilds, etc., so that I don't over-armor my desert fighters?

Of course, Ghazis, with a starting armor level of 1, can go up to gold armor (+4) and still be unaffected adversely?
Thanks.