Arab Infantry and Fanatics

[repone]

I've been playing MTW for a few months now, but I'm still getting around the battles .. a lot of things to learn, even with the excellent guides and advice that can be found in the Guild

2 questions:

1- How do you consider the arab infantry? Is it even worth it to build these guys? Or do they need a lot of armor/valor upgrade to be useful? If so, do you still use them in high/late period?

2- Each time you launch a crusade, you get some nice elite troops, peasants (garrison at best) but also fanatics. I just took Venice from the rebels who took it from HRE who invade the excom'ed Italians in the first place (I'm playing the Sicilians btw) and I have 500 fanatics now ... do I keep them to "buff" my armies until I can get better troops in the province, disband them, send them in a rampage somewhere to weaken a faction/province, or keep them around for the next crusade (a couple of years away)?

I could really use some on that. Thankx

[Zarax]

Arab Infantry is good only for desert fight, anywhere else the awful defence will make them drop like flies... Consider them as muslim highlanders.

Fanatics are quite similar in performance, they are some good garrison and flankers.
The only good advantage is their morale, so i'd use them as junk troops for your missiles while in the meantime they can dish out some damage on their own.

[repone]

Thank you for the clear answer

[King Clas]

Fanatics are just like peasants except these guys dont run at the site of the enemy, they start consider to fall back when there is only like 15 men left in the group and it requires about additional 5 casaulties to make them flee. In other words a great troop for "Operation Humanshield" and things like that.

[sir_schwick]

I always thought as Fanatics as the bastard brothers of Ghazi infantry. You do about the same thing, but Ghazi have much better attack and armour piercing.

Remember the first time I tried to use Ghazi infantry like FMAA. Used to hate them, now I miss them even when playing as the tin cans(Catholics).

[desdichado]

fanatics have their uses although limited.

once for the hell of it i took 15 units + general into battle with my real army as reinforcements.

I just charged the fanatics in a big mob at the enemy (which is realistic) and kept my general clear.

AI routed my fanatics but they ended up chasing them all over the place (although AI did a good job of regrouping) and had worn themselves out when my good units arrived and cleaned up. My casualties were very low except for the fanatics which had been sort of free anyway.

[repone]

Fanatics great troop for "Operation Humanshield"

Now, I like that ... could be the title of a game

Thankx for the info guys ... as I'll launch crusade on a regular basis, I'll have to try both tactics: Operation Humanshield when needed, or Charge of the Enlightened Ones when I'm bored

[CherryDanish]

Fanatics are excellent desert troops. In small desert fights they can run over a couple dunes while your enemy attacks your main formation and end up in the enemy's rear. Either charge them into the exposed formation or use them like you would cavalry and disrupt re-inforcements or retreating units. I once got stuck hammering the Elmos as the Turks, and all I had was 8 units of fanatics and one Futawa against 5 units of Elmos including 2 units of Ghulam bodyguards and 2 sacaren infantry (last unit was peasants). I split my forces and forced marched, spliting their forces and engaging them in 2 phases. First I caught their cav in a 3 way pincer and masacred them with the help of missle fire (my loses were VERY high). A unit of sacaren infantry engaged and nearly turned the battle, but another forced march put another unit of fanatics in their rear and I won, isolating the last two enemy units. They flanked me once with their peasants, but the moral of the fanatics is very strong.