Why should 2H/Polearms be different in M2:TW ?

[HoreTore]

Seriously, try the Janissary Heavy Infantry against a cavalry unit. I can bet you've never seen cavalry go down so quickly. They can't take the charge though, you'll need a front line of spears, and then charge the JHI through when the cavalry has charged.

[Miracle]

Spearwall polearms can defeat cavalry in very much the way you described.

They can do so while moving and will not get completely destroyed if charged from the front. The key is their long_pike attribute and superior animations, which allow them to stop cavalry dead in their tracks, poke them to death, and hack away at the survivors.

The big downsides to spearwall polearms post-1.2 are their abysmally low stats and speed. Halberd militia start with just 5 attack and 1 defense. French Voulgiers have just 7 attack. The high-end Obudshaers get only 9 attack. Their marching speed is about as slow as artillery's.

That means you must maneuver them very carefully in order to best utilize their abilities, and engage them against only medium-strength cavalry.

Hopefully in 1.3 spearwall polearms will get stat and speed boosts which will make them a much more useful offensive anti-cavalry unit.

[Gith]

Isn't it more accurate that polearm infantry usually beat S&S units anyway? I thought that as the armor in Europe advanced to provide adequate protection without a shield, knights went to fighting with polearms on foot because of the extra versatility and better armor penetration? If anyone knows for sure let me know, this is just what I had heard at one point

[Husar]

Seriously, try the Janissary Heavy Infantry against a cavalry unit. I can bet you've never seen cavalry go down so quickly. They can't take the charge though, you'll need a front line of spears, and then charge the JHI through when the cavalry has charged.

When the Forlorn Hope had 2 hitpoints, I sent a unit of them against a general and he didn't even survive for two seconds, closely followed by the rest of his bodyguards.
Was in a city though, where charges hardly matter.

[Whacker]

When the Forlorn Hope had 2 hitpoints, I sent a unit of them against a general and he didn't even survive for two seconds, closely followed by the rest of his bodyguards.
Was in a city though, where charges hardly matter.

Indeed, pretty much any type of cav, generals included, get butched handily inside cities, even by absolute bottom of the barrel infantry units. This is one of the reasons that the lack of dismounting thoroughly annoys me so much.

[Yesugey]

They didn't lower any features of Polearms and Two handeds, they are just fine the way they are.

Problem is, they improved "Cavalry Charge" ability so high. They probably thought that cavalry charge was ruling the medieval ages. That's true. But now, even the lightest cavalry with jousting ability crushes the bestest polearm infantry or swordsmen, only by charging. Hell, they crush most of the spearmen too. Since no one have pikemen in early and mid game, there is no solution against mass cavalry charge.

(That was not the case in Rome TW. Most of the factions have pikemen, and even they dont, high quality infantry resists the light cavalry charge perfectly.)

But in the normal engagement, two handeds and polearms thorn the cavalry to pieces just like in the old days. Problem is, if more than half of the unit is dead after the first charge, they most likely can't do anything, or rout.