What do I do with pikes?

[Gingivitis]

Started a game as Scotland after mostly playing the game as Islamic factions but not sure what I do with pikes. I hear they're great against cavalry or something and get shredded by archers but what's the strategy in using them in battles? What's a good amount to have in a full stack and where do I line them up?

[Foz]

Started a game as Scotland after mostly playing the game as Islamic factions but not sure what I do with pikes. I hear they're great against cavalry or something and get shredded by archers but what's the strategy in using them in battles? What's a good amount to have in a full stack and where do I line them up?

Depends if you've "fixed" them or not. If not, they tend to get hosed after the initial charge as the unit has a propensity for switching to swords all at once... and swinging a sword is something they're obviously not built to do. If you have fixed them, then they should do wonderfully as center-of-the-line troops. Their flanks and rear are vulnerable, so you want other units beside them for protection. Anything engaging them from the front, though, should be toast. They take cavalry charges well (their primary purpose, at least as the game represents them - I make no comment on historically, as it's been orated on extensively in various other threads already). I also seem to recall they have some kind of weird glitch when attacking that they sometimes walk straight through the enemy without attacking, and thus die horrible deaths... so I'd also suggest their use should be largely limited to defense. Plugging up breaches and gates with them in sieges seems to be among their best uses, though in a normal field battle their ability to force the enemy into using different tactics can be invaluable.