Is there a way to get weapons and armour to gold level?

[Quillan]

Each unit has a starting armor level, a minimum smithy level to give upgrades, and a maximum number of armor upgrades it can get. Most units can't get 3 armor upgrades. Some can't even get 2.

[Lorenzo_H]

Well then what is the point of "Advanced Plate," "Heavy Mail" and all those descriptions?

[Quillan]

That's part of the minimum smithy thing. Italian Spear Militia, to use them as an example, come already armored with padded armor. You have to put them in a city with a smithy capable of producing light mail before you can upgrade their armor. To use another unit as an example, Byzantine Lancers come with light mail standard. You have to get to heavy mail for the first upgrade, partial plate for the second and full plate for the third. Advanced plate is only usable by a very few units; I think Famiglia Ducale and Broken Lances can get it, and possibly Gothic Knights.

[Carl]

They determine the level for you, if you go into each units description card it will tell you it's current armour level and the next armour level for upgrade, expressed in name rather than number terms.

In general if they don't start with partial plate, the best armour they can get is Heavy Mail, and if they start with partial plate the best they can get is advanaced plate.

however, most units start with eithier Light Mail or Partial Plate, so they only get 1 upgrade level, to Heavy Mail/Full Plate generally.

p.s. what Quillian said.

[IrishArmenian]

I do think they should reinstate that function from RTW, even if it is modified so certain units can only become so armoured.

[gardibolt]

Is there a reference somewhere of the maximum armor each unit can get? That would be darned handy. I'm trying to upgrade a force to go to the New World and it's feeling way too trial-and-error.

[Foz]

Is there a reference somewhere of the maximum armor each unit can get? That would be darned handy. I'm trying to upgrade a force to go to the New World and it's feeling way too trial-and-error.

Sure - have a look at your export_descr_unit.txt file. Every unit in the game is in it, you should find any given one easily with a find for the unit's game name. Then you're looking for the armour_ug_levels line, which is followed by a list of the level smith building(s) that grants each armour upgrade the unit can get. For example, dismounted feudal knights list the following:

armour_ug_levels 3, 4

while gothic knights list armour_ug_levels 6.

IIRC, Gothic Knights are one of the few units in the game able to upgrade to advanced plate... so we can safely assume level 6 corresponds to that. 5 is full plate, 4 is partial plate. Down from there I can never remember, except that somewhere in there is chainmail probably, and level 1 is leather. Obviously units that list multiple numbers will have multiple upgrade levels, up to a maximum of 3 I believe.