VI - Fyrdmen vs Spearmen

[SauveQuiPeut]

Here's a question out of curiosity - in my VI campaigns as an 'English' faction I find that I end up totally ignoring 'ordinary' spearmen and even armoured spearmen in favour of Fyrdmen. I just find that fyrd deliver, even while their dead are piling up, while spearmen tend to be shaky . Of course, that may be just down to my playing style. Anyone find one or the other working better for them?

[ah_dut]

I cannot remember the stats (getting old eh?) but Fyrdmen are better iirc

[m52nickerson]

Fyrdmen
Charge 5 Attack 0 Defence -1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 200 Support cost 62

Spearmen
Charge 5 Attack –1 Defence –1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 150 Support cost 50

Armoured spearmen
Charge 5 Attack -1 Defence 2 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 250 Support cost 50

Fyrdmen, better morale and one more attack point then spearmen. There defence sucks compared to Armored spears.

[Zarax]

Fyrdmen are feudal sergeants under disguise, while armored spears are just toned down chivs, one is better for quick attack support while the other is best used for arrow bait.

[CountMRVHS]

Are you sure about that support cost figure? I thought Fyrdmen were cheaper in upkeep than Spears. Maybe you're using the numbers for the European campaign (where Fyrds are available in Early), or I'm just remembering it wrong.

Yes, in VI spears are very shaky. On Expert, they sometimes seem weaker even than peasants. But when you're playing the Saxons, it sometimes is good to build up some spearmen in the early game to ward off would-be attackers. I'm not sure how much they'd improve if you train them in East Seaxe where they get the valor bonus; I don't think I've noticed much of a difference. If you're playing the Irish or Scots, it's almost a necessity to train at least some regular spearmen, as those factions lack Fyrdmen or Celtic Warriors as a decent-sized medium infantry; gallowglasses and clansmen aren't exactly "hold the line" soldiers.

No matter what faction you play, though, Armoured Spearmen are a good bet. They can easily tie up any VI cav unit and wear them down on their own or hold them until you can get a rear attack in place. Once you get AS online, you're in a good position.

[SauveQuiPeut]

I find that I don't even bother with the AS - by the time they are available my fyrd are veteran and I tend to keep building them instead. Feels more 'Saxon' as well, I think...

[Ludens]

I'm not sure how much they'd improve if you train them in East Seaxe where they get the valor bonus; I don't think I've noticed much of a difference.

The valour bonus gives +1 attack, +1 defense, +2 morale, which makes them equal to Fyrdmen, but with +1 defense, so it is well worth the effort.

[professorspatula]

In my Saxon campaign, I used a lot of Fyrdmen. There's very little point bothering with the normal spearmen as their upkeep is far higher if I remember. When armoured spearmen can be trained, it makes sense to use a few of those thanks to their better defensive values, but still Fyrdmen make for good cheap fodder whilst the Huscarles and Horsemen do the real work. Fyrdmen's low costs make them suitable garrison and reserve troops too. Spearmen are a bit expensive for that.