has anyone ever successfully used militia?

[Slaists]

I was wondering if anyone has ever successfully used town militia or town watch etc... or evan peasants and if so what did you do?

Militia is alright if you apply Foz's shield fix (half of shield value into armor, half into defense skill). Especially in the early game, militia are well fit to hold city walls, etc.

Without the shield fix, the shield bug apparently took away the shield value from militial defense so the shielded militia units were worthless against cavalry and non-shield bearing units (peasants for example).

Sorry, I blundered into the wrong forum. The above applies to MTW 2.

[professorspatula]

We have ways of dealing with people like you who post in the wrong forums........ fetch the executioner!



Anyway, regarding peasants, I never recruit these. Sometimes I remove them from the game entirely, or at least change their formation so they're not in that hopeless horde formation. Without peasants to use as very cheap garrison units, it means I have to spend more money on less effective town watch/militia, but I find it adds to the challenge. Plus I can't imagine Romans sending out a bunch of weakling dagger wielding plebians to tackle the enemy phalanxes whilst the legionaries chuckle in the background and wait, so that's another reason I don't bother. I don't so much mind the barbarian peasants though - they at least have some armour.

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

I use militia, such as town militia and eastern spearmen, as cheap and efficient garrison troops in safe regions which I know will never be under siege. An example would be Carthage if it were locked by my lands. In other regions I attempt to avoid using them at all due to their terrible morale in battle. However when a city has rebelled I sometimes use them to take back the area, although they often need the aid of a decent sized legion to help them.

I never use peasants. They are really an inefficient unit which has the nasty habit of running for their lives at the moment they see the enemy charging them. I only use them as emergency troops when their are no other recruitment options in a rebellious town or when I am short of all important cash.

[Mithras]

Limitaines are very useful in BA where their spear throwing gives them a little edge in combat.

[Barbarossa82]

I exclusively use peasants for garrison duty. Their tiny upkeep cost means you can afford loads of them, but more importantly militia units usually have smaller sizes (Eastern Infantry excepted). Since unit size, rather than unit quality, is the determining factor in public order, peasants are the perfect garrison troops.

Even in BI where some peasants are only half as effective as regular troops for maintaining order (thanks to the is_peasant attribute), their upkeep per man is less than 50% of that for a militia-class unit, so it sill makes economic sense to use them as garrisons.

I have never had a city rebel on me after more than 3 turns under my rule (on all difficulties up to and including VH). When it does happen, it's because I've just captured a city with a large pop and massive culture penalty, and just occupied it rather than exterminating or enslaving. In this case the combat forces will still be in the city and will be able to re-take it, so peasants' poor combat abilities don't matter.

[César Victor]

I once used an army of peasants and millitia to kill off some rebels, some of whom were hastati and equites. I think it was purely strength in numbers that won the battle for me; that's the best thing about peasants, you can swarm the more disciplined units and lower their morale.

[mightilyoats]

I have had some success playing with peasants and militia. Engage the enemy unit with the militia while the peasants run around the back... then flank them. This is useful when all your proper soldiers and cavalry are busy dieing somewhere else. It might just buy you time to send over the general.

This mostly only happens while defending a settlement assault or when sallying forth as they say. I wouldnt put those beggars in a real army :)