This game covers the time period from 1080 to 1530, a time of great evolution in warfare in Europe and the Middle East. As a result, there are some changes that occur in the unit progressions which necessitates a change in tactics. The following guide attempts to shed light into the best way to utilise each unit type, as well as special abilities that exist.

The units will be divided by how they move, infantry and cavalry, and within each category it will cover each weapon configuration and their usage. Where there are some important specific units, or unit combinations these will be highlighted. Another dimension is in the cost as later units are not strictly more expensive than earlier ones; specialisation allows units to be cheaper than earlier multipurpose ones.

There is a strictly defined armour system in this game which means that 99% of the time you can tell the armour value of a unit by looking at the model. However, it should be noted that the stats cards do not represent upgrades correctly. This means that an unarmoured unit with one upgrade will show a '1' on the information panel when the real value is '4'. All units will conform to this system except a few later units:

• Those that wear Brigandine armour which have a value of '6' that upgrades one level to '8'
  
• Gothic Knights which have armour value of '10' with no upgrade.

Units move at different speeds in Medieval 2, which is important to understand as you manoeuvre your armies.

Infantry units do not all walk at the same speed. They definitely do not run at the same speed either. There is some correlation to the weapon and the base unit speed, where the weapon is one of Pike, Spearwall Polearm and 2-handed Sword - otherwise the weapon is considered equivalent and will be called Melee (Sword, Knife, Axe, 2-handed Axe, Mace, 2-handed Mace, Spear). A unit's starting armour governs the specific speed - up to and including Padded are Fast, Light and Heavy Mail units are Normal while armour from 8 up are Slow.

2-handed Swords run at one level slower than 1-handed Sword/Axe/Mace units. Spearwall Pikes walk faster than normal units while Spearwall Halberds walk slower than everything.

In decreasing order:

• Fast Melee Running
  
• Normal Melee Running / Normal Pike Running / Halberd Running
  
• Slow Melee Running / 2H Sword Running / Pike Walking / Slow Pike Running
  
• Slow 2H Sword Running
  
• Fast, Slow, Normal Melee Walking
  
• Spearwall Halberd Walking

Mounted unit speed is dictated by the mount, which can mostly determined by appearance of the model. They all walk at the same speed (except elephants), the only variation is in running.

In decreasing order:

• Fast Pony (units with "Fast Moving" attribute)
  
• Pony, Heavy Horse (other uncovered horses)
  
• Barded Horse / Mailed Horse (western covered horses), Armoured Horse / Eastern Armoured Horse (armour plated horses), Camel
  
• Elephant

Mounts also have different masses which affects their charge, and explains why infantry and cavalry can have the same Charge value yet have different effect on the battlefield. In practice, the eastern elite cavalry units are heavier than western ones except for the very late fully armoured knights. It also explains the poor charge impact of camels.

In increasing order:

• Camel (2.0)
  
• Fast Pony, Pony (2.75)
  
• Heavy Horse (3.25)
  
• Barded Horse, Mailed Horse (3.5)
  
• Armoured Horse, Eastern Armoured Horse (4.5)
  
• Elephant (40)

Discipline is a measure of how stable the unit's morale is in response to morale shocks like the general dying. Other than those which are Impetuous there is no way to see the discipline on the information card. The data files are the only source. It is difficult to seem a large difference in practice as the base morale of a unit plays a bigger part. However, if you see elite knights routing despite minimal losses, discipline will be the cause. Western elite cavalry is more often of Low or Impetuous discipline while Eastern is more often Disciplined.

• Low
  
• Normal
  
• Disciplined
  
• Impetuous

This level indicates a degree of instability. Many western mounted nobles and knights have this level so it is not aligned with quality. Only about a dozen infantry units have Low discipline, and some are high quality (Aventuros and Sabadar Militia).

The majority of units (>60%) have this status so for the most part this is what you will experience.

This level represents more professional troops who won't rout the moment the general is slain. They also recover from routing quicker too. A lot of eastern and Muslim units have this attribute.

This level indicates a high level of morale instability and difficulty in following orders. It is like Low discipline with an additional morale state of Impetuous that increases the chances of the unit not following orders, or even charging on their own. They may rout more randomly than Normal discipline troops though. Predominantly western knights are impetuous although a few infantry units are. Impetuous infantry rarely seems to charge without orders.

Training is an indication of the level of cohesion the unit maintains as it moves around. The higher the level, the tighter the formation remains. This appears to have some impact with respect to bracing and charging, but not a huge amount. In the case of charges, training level affects cavalry more as their higher pace puts their cohesion out more.

• Untrained
  
• Trained
  
• Highly Trained

These units have a very loose formation and never stand in nice blocks. This is largely irrelevant for most with this attribute as they are low grade missile troops, but for melee cavalry it can undermine their ability to land an impactful charge - Alan Light Cavalry being a good example. Cavalry with this level of training will be better suited to chasing routers than charging into prepared units.

The vast majority of units have this level of training and represents units that can stand in a nice square but loose cohesion whenever they move or charge. More noticeable for spears as they will have to reform when they stop moving which can increase the time window in which they are vulnerable to charges.

All pikes are Highly Trained and a lot of eastern cavalry is too. These units move in tight synchronicity and when they stop they rarely need to reform. Great for cavalry as you don't have to factor in preparation time. The only western cavalry with this trait are the Order Knights, but most elite level eastern cavalry have it: Kataphractoi, Mamluks, ♥♥♥♥♥♥ Heavy Lancers and upwards.

Stamina is the ability of the unit to resist fatigue. There are three ratings and all are visible on the unit cards. The normal level shows nothing on the information card. Next is "Good Stamina" and the best level is "Very Good Stamina".

Fatigue is generated in different ways and so the impact of Stamina ratings will depend on the role of the unit. Running obviously generates fatigue, but archery and crossbow fire does too which is important for dual role units.

Units with Very Good Stamina are generally either elite troops, either later knights or light forces. They will be noticeably less likely to get exhausted and therefore can be the key troops for moving around the enemy. For cavalry, it means you can do multiple cycle charges (which require running to and from the enemy) while for infantry it means running around the flanks of the enemy line.

For units with normal Stamina, you should plan for minimal manoeuvring when you deploy. Generally they either will be your static line or have a single charge direction.

This mode is used to hold a line. The unit does not spread out and attempt to engage the opposing unit as much as possible. Use this when you want to slow the combat down and buy time. For anti-cavalry weapons (spear, halberd and pike) this encourages the unit to brace continually and reduces the chance of being caught out by fast moving chargers. It also ensures units do not end up exposing a flank one the main line.

For missile troops, Guard mode stops the unit from moving when their target goes out of range. It therefore should be on most of the time as missiles are typically delicate and need protecting.

This is used to reduce casualties from missile fire as it thins the unit's density.

Skirmish mode only exists for missile-armed units and makes the unit run away when enemies get too close. Many time they will finish their task (e.g. reloading) before running which means that crossbowmen and gunpowder units are susceptible to being caught before they run. Note that when a unit has no ammunition left, they will not skirmish.

In this formation, the unit forms a circle, meaning it cannot be flanked at the expense of mobility (it cannot run). It is useful against shock cavalry as it reduces the frontage and therefore the number of lancers that can hit, however this won't kill the cavalry as quickly as a braced square. Against infantry it can buy time to allow help to arrive thanks to the lack of flanks.

A line of schiltroms can be useful for forcing the enemy to expose their rear as they will wrap around a unit, increasing their rear and flank areas. A second line of friendly melee troops can then charge in with a higher chance of breaking the morale.

The Spearwall ability makes the unit close up tightly allowing the front two rows fight simultaneously. Losses are replaced by the back ranks. If the opposing unit gets past the outstretched weapons, the individual soldiers will switch to their secondary weapon (which for pikes is universally a sword and for halberds is a 2-handed mode) and engage in 1-on-1 combat. Against cavalry, this formation blunts the charge and the opposing cavalry attempts to leap over the weaponry to land within the unit.

Against a strong melee opponent, the unit can be knocked out of formation and the men then fight 1-on-1 using a two-handed axe style. The unit can recover formation during a melee if they are winning.

Bow-armed infantry can shoot flaming arrows which may set alight siege equipment. The trade off is reduced accuracy and reloading time. However, this mode seems to make the arrows more effective against heavily armoured units as they burst into flame. Additionally, it also seems to kill multiple hit point units in one hit making it very effective against General's bodyguard. A group of peasant archers with flaming arrows enabled can be effective in this way late in the game.

Some missile units can place stakes in the deployment phase. These provide excellent cavalry protection and should be utilised as often as possible. Given that the AI will attack you even when it is the defender if it judges you to have better missiles, there should be plenty of opportunity to use them.

This formation only exists for missile cavalry. To use this, an enemy unit must be targeted with an attack order after which the unit closes and then forms the circle. It slows the rate of fire but reduces missiles casualties suffered by the unit. On the whole it seems better for tying up missile infantry than causing damage so would be a good usage for the lighter cavalry archers in the face of decent missile infantry. There is a higher risk of being caught in charges when trying to use Skirmish mode, however.

This is difficult to use well and for mid-tier and higher missile cavalry slows the impact they have on the battle compared to scooting up the flanks and shooting into the back of the enemy line.

This is a poorly explained formation in the interface. To understand how to use this, you have to look at how cavalry melee works. When two cavalry units engage, they do not maintain a clean line and become intertwined as they try to come alongside an opposing cavalryman to hit them. As a result, units can end up suffering flanking penalties due to the chaotic nature of the melee. This results in wild variability of outcome between even match ups, and powerful units can lose against the odds.

To counter this, units can form a wedge that ensures it stays more cohesive and the enemy unit cannot penetrate into the unit. In this formation it effectively has no flanks for morale purposes and therefore is desirable when fighting a melee against cavalry.

Additionally, this wedge reduces the frontage of the unit which decreases the number of opposing chargers that will make contact. This means that a unit is weak on the charge is against one that is, then this formation can reduce the damage taken on the charge. An useful example of this is when spear and mace armed eastern cavalry face lance and sword armed western cavalry: the eastern cavalry should be in wedge to negate the charge advantage so that they can dominate the melee.

In general, this formation should often be considered for cavalry versus cavalry combat and the AI will attempt to do this most of the time. The tightness of formation leads to more reliable results.

With regards to infantry, the wedge formation is useful for charges into the flank of a unit as it can result in the entire unit being split up the line which is devastating for morale. Additionally, cavalry in wedge move more tidily and seem to be less likely get caught on infantry they pass which makes it useful for manoeuvring.

Cavalry units can have a hidden attribute which gives them a more powerful charge than their stats suggest. For example, early Lance units have the same charge value as poleaxe wielding foot knights (Rating 6) but have a much more devastating impact. All Lance and Spear wielding cavalry have this attribute however only some missile cavalry have it. This makes a big difference to the utility of those units as dual role units.

There are two elements that dictate how a unit fights. One is the weapon listed in the unit definition, the other is the animation type. Combined they have an effect on the performance of a unit in combat, including parrying.

Combinations are used to vary effects slightly. For example, axes and maces share the same animation but are defined differently in the unit file. This means they will fight at the same pace but have slightly different impacts.

This is the base level weapon used by peasant missile units and artillery crew. Avoid melee with these as it is generally of Attack rating 2.

This weapon is a difficult one to use effectively. It has half the anti-cavalry bonus of a spear and does not seem to brace against charges well. The AI counter-charges cavalry with light spear rather than remaining stationary and this seems to be the best use. That said, their effectiveness is still mediocre against decent cavalry. The light spear is not supposed to suffer as greatly against infantry but the stats of these units are low compared most sword units that is hard to notice.

To distinguish whether a unit has a light spear or normal spear, the unit card with not have "Bonus fighting cavalry" as a listed attribute for light spear bearers.

• City militias and eastern troops who wield it with a shield
  
• Iberian Javelins who wield it as a secondary weapon

Most light spear units move at Normal speed. Almughavars and Catalans are Fast which adds to their versatility.

Schiltrom can be formed by Berber Spearman only (which may be an error).

These weapons do not appear to provide much of a bracing bonus so they will need to use their charge bonus against infantry and cavalry. The more competent units are around the 400 florins range and exist in cavalry oriented factions suggesting that they are intended to play a supporting role in cavalry fights. Keep them behind your cavalry and charge in once melee has started. They have a slight advantage against normal spear infantry so could be useful countering a spear line.

These units get mauled by cavalry charges and are at a disadvantage against any other non-spear infantry weapon.

• Poor light spears are most faction's town militias, with Attack rating 5 costing below 300 florins. Unarmoured and with poor stats these have negligible combat impact.
  
• Regular light spears cost around 400 florins with Attack rating 7. These units are expected to have a role against cavalry, but will struggle against capable units.
  
• At the high end, Almughavars and Catalans are quite unusual javelin units whose secondary weapon is a light spear. With an attack of 12, these can be effective against cavalry if you can avoid the charge by having them behind spear militia before they charge in. Not cheap at 640 florins.

The spear is one of the most common weapons in the early game and are effective anti-cavalry weapons when braced. The weapon is always used with a shield. For the most part using these units types are easy: keep them stationary around cavalry and away from melee infantry. Progression occurs steadily until polearms and pikes appear with improvements in statistics and armour.

• Units that wield it with a shield

All spear units move at Normal speed.

The primary special formation for spear units is the Schiltrom which adds some tactical nuance and is available to most western spear units but not all.

Spear units are best formed in a line to provide a defensive wall that protects your missile from cavalry charges. Should cavalry charge the line, prepare to double up with neighbouring spears to get flank attacks on the horsemen. Guard mode braces the spearmen and prevents them from losing cohesion which is important against multiple cavalry charges. With Guard mode off they may end up out of position when the next charge comes in.

An alternative usage, where the enemy army is horse-heavy, is an arc of schiltroms in near enough proximity that a charging unit can wrap around and be easily flanked by neighbouring schiltroms.

Finally a hybrid model is where there is a central line of spears in square formation and one or two units on each end are in schiltrom to prevent flanking.

They need to be stationary to resist cavalry charges so do not move them when there is the risk of this occurring. There is also very little reason for spears to have Guard Mode off, and they should just avoid non-spear melee infantry altogether as the melee penalty is significant.

• Poor militia and peasant spears are usable with armour upgrades and cost around 300 florins with Attack 5.
  
• Regular spearmen that make a solid battle line range from 310 to 540 florins for Armoured Sergeants with Attack values of 7.
  
• Good spears, with Attack value 9 cost between 410 and 670
  
• Elite spears with Attack value of 12 peak are Dismounted Heavy Lancers for 560 florin or 740 florins for Papal Guard

Halberds comprise the halberd, the voulge, and the swordstaff. These are dual purpose enhancements on the spear, being effective anti-cavalry and anti-infantry. They are armour penetrating which makes them effective against later units. However, their large size means that shields cannot be used so close formation fighting is employed. This makes them vulnerable to missiles.

That said, their slow speed is truly problematic to these units participating in the battle and one wonders at the wisdom of this game decision.

• Unshielded units that have the spearwall ability (western units)
  
• Unshielded units without the spearwall ability (eastern units)

When the units have the spearwall ability, they are painfully slow, which severely undermines the role they play in the battle. As such, they need to be kept stationary for best use.

(In the Gilded Vanilla mod, they are given the pike animation which enables them to walk at the pace of pikes and therefore they will at least take part in the battle.)

Non-spearwall halberds do not move in slow motion, but they do move at the speed of heavily armoured knights (e.g. Italian Men At Arms).

Generally if the unit has this ability it should be using if for all combat as their stats do not make them viable in the 1-to-1 combat that occurs when this is off.

Guard mode braces the unit and prevents them from losing cohesion which is important against multiple cavalry charges. With Guard mode off they will advance upon contact and end up out of position when the next charge comes in.

Against cavalry, spearwall halberds should be in guard mode with spearwall on. For non-spearwall halberds, it is best to counter-charge the cavalry as they have an anti-cavalry bonus.

Against infantry, spearwall halberds should be have guard mode off and spearwall on.
Non-spearwall halberds should counter-charge and be used offensively. In general, these weapons do poorly on the charge, but over time overpower other melee infantry.

They need to be stationary to resist cavalry charges so do not move them when there is the risk of this occurring. These units can stand up against melee infantry and as long as they maintain spearwall, they will cause casualities. However, elite melee infantry will disrupt the formation and knock the unit out of spearwall at which point the combat becomes 1-on-1 and halberd unit will suffer.

The lack of a shield means that these units are vulnerable to missiles, especially as a lot of these units have no armour. Additionally, non-spearwall halberds are vulnerable to cavalry charges.

• Militia halberds can hold a line better than militia spears while in spearwall formation, although they will have poor morale, at around 300 florins with Attack 5.
  
• Professional armoured halberds make a solid battle line and can reduce the need for foot knights, at around 500 florins and Attack 7.
  
• Elite halberds are among the best melee units in the game, including the Swiss Guard at 890 florins. These can fight well out of spearwall and are on par with Janissary Heavy Infantry in that mode. Attack values 9 to 12.

• Transylvania Peasants at 270 florins are good for breaking spear lines with Attack 5.
  
• Middle Eastern Halberd Militia are versatile melee infantry at 510 florins with Attack 7.
  
• The Janissary Heavy Infantry is the pinnacle eastern halberd unit at 840 florins with Attack 12.

Pikes are an over-sized, two handed spear. They are the pinnacle battle line weapon in the game's time frame. They cannot be used with a shield. Typically they are unarmoured but can have several upgrade levels which gives a lot of flexibility.

• Unshielded units who wield the pike with a sword as a secondary weapon

Pike units walk faster than any other infantry unit even in spearwall formation, at about the same speed as Slow Swordsmen running. Heavily armoured Pikes walk at the same speed as unarmoured, which means that there is no point running them. In general, the pace of walking pikes means that you should never need to deactivate spearwall and make them run.

All pike units have the Spearwall ability which makes the unit behave quite differently to those that don't have the ability. The unit closes up and the front two rows fight together. Against a strong melee opponent, the unit may be knocked out of formation in which case the men drop their pikes and fight 1-on-1 using a sword without shield. Generally these units should always fight in Spearwall as their walking pace makes them quite flexible.

Guard mode braces the unit and keeps it in place, which is important against charges. With Guard mode off, the unit will push aggressively into opponents and this can be quite effective however it risks losing formation.

In all circumstances, Spearwall should be on. Pikes of any quality create a space on the battlefield where cavalry cannot go, even when moving. The consideration is how to use that space. Generally, that will be missile units, either sheltering under the pike in front (gunpowder, crossbow) or within and behind the unit (bows and javelins). This is why even 150 florin Pike Militia units are effective as they provide a defensive wall for otherwise vulnerable units.

The antidote to pikes is strong melee units under which they will melt without support. They need to have supporting melee units on the flanks and inside the unit. Later pikes are able to fulfil this role themselves with Aventuros being excellent swordsmen.

Around cavalry, pikes should be in guard mode. In this mode, they provide an invincible barrier against cavalry regardless of the quality. Keep the stationary and facing the cavalry.

Against infantry, the quality of the opposition needs to be considered. If the opponent has spears or halberds, guard mode can be disabled as the longer reach of the pike will win the battle. If the opponent has other melee weapons (sword, axe, etc) then it will depend on the quality match up: in a favourable match up disable guard mode for maximum damage, otherwise engage guard mode to buy time for support.

See Also: How to Pike

High quality melee units will break down the Spearwall and cut these units to pieces.

The flanks are a weak spot so they need protection. These units are vulnerable to missiles due to the lack of a shield and often armour. The tight formation also makes them good targets for artillery.

• Militia pikes are excellent value at around 150 florins. They can defeat cavalry but are vulnerable to everything else and need a lot of support with an Attack rating of just 7.
  
• Professional pikes range from 240 - 350 florins and generally exist to give a few factions something to best other militia pikes (France, Spain). These can be used aggressively versus opposing lines with an Attack rating of 9 - 11
  
• Scotland has the only heavily armoured pikes in the Heavy Pike Militia (attack 9, cost 410) and Noble Pikemen (attack 11, cost 570). These units are tougher due to their Partial Plate (level 8) armour but otherwise are similar to professional pikes offensively.
  
• Aventuros and Swiss Pikemen are armoured and skilful enough to not need separate melee support having Attack rating 14. These units are expected to be used as a striking force at 470 and 610 florins.

The sword is a common melee weapon although units who wield it as a primary weapon are not the most numerous unit in the game. The sword is a general purpose tool, being the most flexible in combat. Many dual-role missile units operate as sword and shield units.

• Units who wield it with a shield as their primary weapon
  
• Pike units who wield it without a shield as a secondary weapon
  
• Missile units who wield it, sometimes with a shield, as a secondary weapon

The majority of competent wielders of this weapon have some form of armour and move at Normal speed. Later knights with heavy armour will move at Slow speed which ensures that Dismounted Feudal Knights still have a role later on.

Sudanese Tribesmen are Fast units due to their lack of armour and therefore are good flankers. In a pinch, some lower grade missile units are Fast swords and could be used to flank although their Attack rating is low.


These units exist to obtain infantry superiority on the battlefield. For the most part, sword and shield units are knights and are armoured and skillful - use these aggressively to destroy spear lines to create safety for your cavalry. In sieges these units will be valuable as spears are poor in hand to hand.

Dual-role missiles are a hidden gem. Afghan Javelinmen are very competent swordsmen with a full sized shield. Many late game archers and crossbows are armoured swordsmen, like Scots Guard, Janissary Archers, Byzantine Guard Archers, etc. In fact, for the Turks and Mongols, their best swordsmen are their archers. Against opposing infantry, it can be effective to disable Skirmish mode and let them shoot until the enemy charges - the last few volleys issued at point blank range will give the chargers a morale shock just as melee begins which can cause them to instantly rout. Against those that don't the numeric superiority of the swordsmen archers will ensure they win out. Coupled with pikemen, these units remove the need for dedicated melee support.


These units are countered by specialists: shock cavalry and two handed weapons. Don't leave them exposed and they will be fine. Axes and maces can cause problems for heavily armoured sword units as the armour-piercing attribute gives them a man to man edge.

• Poor swords are lower grade missile and pike units with an Attack rating of 8 or less and can almost be ignored except against the units in the same category. Costed according to other attributes.
  
• Competent swords have an Attack rating between 9 and 11 and these units are highly effective against spears and poorer missile units. This category includes some missile units, and generally cost around 400 to 500 florins depending on armour.
  
• Good swords include the middle game knights, late pikemen and very high end missiles, having Attack rating of 12 or 13. These units will dominate other swords and typically cost in anywhere from 500 to 800 florins depending on armour and other capabilities.
  
• Exceptional sword units have Attack rating 16 which make them some of the best melee infantry in the game. Simply point and click to delete enemy units. Costing 640 florins, this includes Conquistadors, Christian Guard and Crusader Knights.

Good quality sword units have extraordinarily high defence skill values which appears to imbalance melee combat disproportionately in their favour. This ends up undermining the value of melee counters to these units: two handed weapons and axemen, to the point that there is no reason to take those units in the vanilla game. The Gilded Vanilla mod corrects this imbalance and restores the nuances between the melee unit types.

The axe is not a common weapon, used by less than a dozen units. It is armour piercing and moderately fast - a very effective weapon against armoured and unarmoured units. Typically units with this weapon will have a lower defence skill than swords as it is harder to parry with.

• Units who wield it with a shield as their primary weapon
  
• Missile units who wield it, sometimes with a shield, as a secondary weapon

The majority of competent wielders of this weapon have some form of armour and move at Normal speed. Highlanders, Highland Archers and Ghazis are Fast unit, great for flanking.

These units are very effective against armoured swordsmen, and seem to have a good chance of routing them on the charge. For the most part, these units should target swordsmen first to gain battlefield dominance and then slaughter the rest. A good proportion of units in this category are top tier melee units so there is not a lot of nuances required to getting value out of them.

Axes have a lower comparative Attack rating to swords (roughly 2 points), so arguably these will be slightly less effective against unarmoured units however there are very few unarmoured units of sufficient quality to notice the difference.

Dismounted Dvor are arguably the best infantry unit in the game (and underpriced), being the highest rated archer, best axemen and having a full shield. Turn off Skirmish mode and as long as they don't get charged by cavalry, they will kill everything.


These units are countered by specialists: shock cavalry and two handed weapons. Don't leave them exposed and they will be fine.

• Highland Archers are the poorest axes with Attack rating 7 but this will be useful against armoured archers or spears. 320 florins.
  
• Competent axes have an Attack rating between 9 and 10 and these units are good value for money. This category includes some missile units, and generally cost around 400 to 500 florins depending on armour. Sabadar Militia cost 780 florins.
  
• Good axes have Attack 11, and with moderate armour can cost as much as 690 florins. However they will destroy most sword units so they are worth it.
  
• Venetian Heavy Infantry are axemen, but have a game-breakingly high Attack value of 16 for just 640 florins.

Venetian Heavy Infantry stats feel like a design error as the pattern for axes is to have Attack values a few points below equivalent category swords which would put the upper limit around 13 or 14. The attack value on this unit plus a charge value of 5 appears to suggest they wield the weapon two-handed, however the existence of a shield means they do not have the disadvantages of other two handed weapon units. If you play as Venice then utilise this anomaly as much as possible. This unit is corrected in the Gilded Vanilla mod.

The mace is quite similar to the axe however appears to be aimed more towards purely anti-armour slugging. Attack values are lower and maces don't seem to have as much impact on the charge. These units are good coming into existing melee or on walls where there is no charge. As with Axes, defence skill is lower than Swords to represent the lower parrying ability.

• Units who wield it with a shield as their primary weapon
  
• Missile units who wield it, sometimes with a shield, as a secondary weapon

Most wielders of this weapon are unarmoured Longbowmen so they are Fast movers. Otherwise, the better units are Slow moving as this weapon is a counter to late armour. That said, this weapon doesn't seem to have the shock value of Axes and therefore flanking is less valuable.

These units are very effective against armoured units, but do not do as much on the charge as Axes. They are largely an antidote to later knights, either historically as Imperial Knights or thematically as longbowmen with their mallets.

Maces have a significantly lower comparative Attack rating to swords (roughly 4 points), so these will be quite a bit less effective against unarmoured units. Unlike Axes, these units therefore should be sent only against armoured units. The Imperial Knights almost specifically exist to contrast with the heavily armoured later Italian units.

These units require more careful use than Axes and Swords and can often feel ineffective. They generally cannot operate solo, and you need to make sure they are fighting the right opponent.


These units are less versatile than Axes and Swords so be wary of higher tier units in those categories, in addition to cavalry and two handers. Additionally, unarmoured units can undermine the main advantage of these units.

• Professional Maces have an Attack rating of 7, and are both mid-tier missile units: Nubian Archers (470 fl) and Longbowmen (560 fl).
  
• Competent maces have an Attack rating of 9 and are either knights or high grade missile units. Cost between 540 and 710 florins
  
• The highest attack rating Mace unit is the crusade-only Flagellant unit with attack 10 and no armour. Given that most eastern units are unarmoured, these appear to be expected to be used on crusade in western lands.

The Axe is the most common two-handed weapon. This category also covers the Bill and knightly poleaxe which has a hammer head and spike because the weapons are used the same way. Armour piercing, these weapons are antidotes to armoured generalists. Somewhat effective against engaged cavalry, these units mainly exist to dismantle enemy infantry lines and defeat sword wielding knights. The tradeoff is higher vulnerability and generally these units are cheaper for comparative quality in sword and shield units.

• Units who wield it without a shield as their primary weapon

There are no Fast units in this category, and a few are Slow due to heavy armour. This is irrelevant as these are not flanking units.

These units are very effective against armoured units, and have a powerful charge. They are a counter to generalist melee units (axe/sword/mace and shield). To use them, send them straight at the nearest high value target. They should always charge and can often rout an opponent from the impact.

In essence, these units are like shock cavalry without the vulnerability to spears, and much less mobility. Counter charge any cavalry that attacks.

The compromise for being better than the generalists is the lack of shield which makes them very vulnerable to missiles and charges. The AI will prioritise these units with their missile troops.

They should never receive a charge from infantry or cavalry as they have no ability to brace.

Keep them central and minimise movement as once these units are tired they are sitting ducks for missiles.

• Poor: Bill Militia and Woodsmen with Attack rating 13 and cost 170 florins. Best use of these is armoured spear lines or worse.
  
• Regular units of this type have an Attack rating between 15 and 17 with varying amounts of armour. Costing between 230 and 380 they are still no match for knights but will cut up armoured spears. Can be used against militia grade swords.
  
• Good 2-handed axes have an Attack rating of 20 or 21 and charge of 6. At a cost range from 490 to 530 these will be a match for sword knights in the 500-600 florin range.

There are two anomalies in this category. Varangian Guard have a shield value of 3 despite wearing it on their back giving them an advantage at range outside of their price range. However, this is not game-breaking.

Norse Axemen have stats comparable to Berdiche Axemen yet cost almost twice as much at 700 florins, making them a complete waste of money for Danes. The model has large shield on its back so it is possible they were supposed to have a shield value of 6 which may justify the price.

The two handed sword is quite different to the two handed axe. It appears to have a decent charge and then take a while to come to full force in combats. This means that they can seem to be doing poorly then win out in the end. Comparatively, they have lower Attack ratings than two handed axes, a reverse of the situation with one handed weapons. They are also not armour-piercing. It is only wielded by a few units in the game and they seem to be very niche in purpose.

• Units who wield it without a shield as their primary weapon

Two handed swords are slower per category than other melee units, so they either move at Slow or Very Slow.

These units seem to be solely focused on being better than swordsmen, regardless of armour level. However, they don't have the stats of two handed axes and seem to be less cost effective. Difficult to use well in the vanilla game, they seem to be best used within pike units or coming into a melee second up, rather than charging opponents frontally.

They should never be in the open or receive a charge from infantry or cavalry as they have no ability to brace. The lack of shield makes them vulnerable to missiles.

Keep them central and minimise movement as these units are slow and will tire easily after which they are sitting ducks for missiles. Do not chase routing units with them.

• All normal units have Attack rating 14, and the range comes from their armour level, from 490 for Highland Nobles up to 810 for Dismounted Gothic Knights. These units never feel like value for money.
  
• Forlorn Hope are a half-sized unit with Attack 17 for 620 points. These work well within pike units but otherwise are hard to be cost effective due to their size.

This is a very small category with only two units wielding this weapon. Neither of these units have the armour-piercing attribute which is counter-intuitive for a two handed blunt force weapon although it is depicted as a club rather than a mace. Both are crusade/jihad units.

• Mutatawwi'a and Religious Fanatics who have no armour or shield and cost 160 florins

Mutatawwi'a are Fast while the Fanatics are Normal, inexplicably.

As these units are both peasant grade their best use is augmenting more proficient melee troops or pushing siege equipment. They are not going to contribute much to the battle. If they were armour piercing like the one handed mace, they might be interesting in some scenarios.

Pretty much everything as they have no armour and poor stats.

These units throw a lightweight spear at opponents which can be very effective against armoured units and cavalry.

The javelin is armour piercing and has a range of 55. All members of the unit can fire.

• Irish Kerns who have no shield
  
• Units who wield sword and shield as secondary weapons
  
• Iberian units who wield light spears as a secondary weapon

All javelin units are Fast.

These weapons are excellent at killing armoured units and due to the limited ammunition should be saved for those units. At times it is best to keep Fire at Will turned off or else they may waste their ammo on weaker units. Every faction that can recruit these has access to good archers so these should be used as specialists.

Keep them close behind the main line with Skirmish mode off to add strength, and don't be afraid to target units that are in melee - there is little friendly fire with these. In particular, these combine well with pike units, either inside or just behind. They will punish any unit who charges and gets delayed on the pikes, plus some of the better ones can then engage in melee to trigger a rout.

As these units are all Fast, they are also effective to run up the flanks and hit the enemy line from the back. A few of the stronger units can then follow up with a charge.

They make good anti-cavalry units thanks to the large size of the horses and the fact that most cavalry is armoured. This work well against engaged cavalry or over the backs of spearmen.

Finally, these are the most effective elephant killer. Fast units with Skirmish mode on will be able to evade elephants while lobbing volleys off. You can be aggressive against those units with javelins as they are effective and cheap.

In sieges, these are great on the walls as they can fire at units that are close to the walls. Also, they're often shielded which gives them some survivability against enemy archers.

The javelin throwing motion is slow, so skirmishing against any unit moving Normal or faster is likely to result in them being caught mid throw. It isn't worth it and the lower grade javelins will rout at the drop of a hat.

Like other missiles they're vulnerable to cavalry charges, and the short range missile means they may struggle to get a volley off. Keep they protected and only skirmish if there isn't a cavalry threat.

• Poor javelins are 250-400 florin units that have an Missile Attack of 6 and generally should be kept away from melee, although Kurdish Javelins with Melee Attack of 9 can be used against weak melee opponents like enemy missile troops
  
• Regular javelins have Missile Attack 8 and are the 330 florin Lusitanian Javelins
  
• Good javelins are the Afghan Javelinmen at 640 florins who have Missile Attack 10 combined with melee Attack of 13 making them good dual role units
  
• Exceptional Almughavars and Catalans at 640 and 720 florins have 13 Attack and combine this with a light spear with Attack 12 as an anti-cavalry specialist.

The bow is the most common and varied missile weapon. It includes the normal bow, the composite bow and the longbow. Some bow armed units can place Stakes. There is a lot of variety in melee weapons carried and high quality dual role units are more likely to be bow-armed than carry a different missile weapon.

Bows and Composite Bows are not armour piercing and have range 120 and 160 respectively. Longbows are armour piercing and have range 160. Bow units can use Fire Arrows. All members of the unit can fire.

• Units without shield
  
• Units with a melee weapon and shield

Bow units are either Fast or Normal speed as none have armour higher than level 7.

Bows are the simplest missile unit to use thanks to their arching trajectory. They can shoot anything anywhere so only put them in front if you need to lure the enemy, in which case use Loose Formation to minimise losses. Otherwise, put them behind spears, turn off Skirmish mode and leave Fire at Will on.

When exposed, Skirmish mode can be useful as their reload motion is fast enough that they are less likely to get caught; this can be a useful way to tire out heavy infantry or pull them from the enemy line. Approach from off centre so the opposing unit peels off to chase.

Longbows can be treated like crossbows and since England really only have longbows, there's no need to try to focus on armoured units - just use them for everything. Other factions may find that armoured enemies give them some trouble as their bows become less effective over the progression. Non-armour piercing bows should endeavour to get side or rear shots for full effect.

Bow infantry can utilise Fire Arrows, which is almost a cheat mode that gives them an anti-armour ability as it seems overly effective. Use this to assassinate generals with Peasant Archers.

Quite a few high tier bow-armed units have good melee statistics and shields which make them truly dual-role. Many of these are armed with axes and maces which means they can take on armoured units well, and are a match for later knights. For these units, turn Skirmish mode off and let them fire at point blank range before using their numbers to win the melee. Dismounted Dvor are the best in the business at this and dismounted knights should fear these units.

For the most part these units are poor in melee and their looser spacing means they will be swept away by cavalry or melee infantry. However, on walls their spacing is less of an issue so better quality units can hold the line here well. Skirmish mode can be useful but it can also result in a lot of running and not much shooting.

Units firing their bows incur fatigue, but not as much as crossbows so these units can still be moved actively into position. Note that they will tire over the course of the battle so expect them to be fatigued over time.

• Poor bows have Attack rating 5 and cost less than 320 florins. These are single purpose, cheap to replace troops. Use flaming arrows against tough targets.
  
• Regular bows have Attack 7, and cost between 390 and 490. Other than a few exceptions these are still to be kept away from melee and treated as prized archers.
  
• Good bows have Attack 9 and cost between 460 and 800. Generally these will be competent melee troops with either shields or good armour. These troops are very versatile on the battlefield and should not use Skirmish mode. Examples are Byzantine Guard Archers, Ottoman Infantry, Scots Guard and many of the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ and Timurid archers.
  
• Janissary Archers (Attack 10, cost 780) and Dismounted Dvor (Attack 11, cost 770) are exceptional units that can dominate a battlefield. Do not Skirmish with these.

Longbows have lower Attack ratings to compensate for being armour-piercing.

• Basic longbows have an Attack rating of 6 and cost between 490 and 590. Avoid melee with these units and deploy stakes always.
  
• Good longbows have an Attack rating of 8 and cost between 650 and 750. They are not strong in melee although often have armour-piercing weapons.

These units fire a slowly reloading, armour piercing bolt in a flattish trajectory. A primarily western weapon, it can be unwieldy, but deadly.

All crossbows are armour-piercing, normal bolts have range 120 while steel bolts have range 160. All members of the unit can fire.

• Units who wield it with just a sword
  
• Units who wield it with a sword and large shield

Units without shields are Fast, those with shields move at Normal pace.

These units are effective killers of armoured and unarmoured units alike. Their low trajectory can still be fired over the heads of allies if there is enough room. If not, they'll use a parabolic arc which is much less effective. They combine well with pikes at the front line, especially if well protected.

The slower pace of reloading is offset by the shield in terms of archery duels, but units without shields should avoid going toe-to-toe with archers.

The range of the regular crossbows means that you can have them in from of the line until the enemy closes, and then retreat them. Skirmish mode foibles can mean that sometimes it is best to micromanage rather than rely on it due to the slow reload motion.

Otherwise find them a safe spot and let them shoot, especially against knights and generals.

The crossbow reloading motion is slow, so skirmishing against any unit moving Normal or faster is likely to result in them being caught. This is a constant risk and these units will be problematic in this way.

Other than Aventurier (Melee Attack 11), most crossbow units are mediocre in melee so do not use these as dual-role units. At a pinch, the pavise wielding units can hold a line to buy time and Genoese Crossbows could hold a wall with Melee Attack 8.

Units firing their crossbows incur fatigue, and crossbows require more energy to reload and fire than bows so with these units it is important to reduce the amount of running they do. Walk them and find a position where they can remain stationary and spend their energy firing.

• Poor western crossbows (Militia and Peasant) cost 220 florins, have an Attack of 9 and should be kept away from melee.
  
• Eastern militia and western regular crossbows cost 300 to 330 florins, have Attack 9 with slightly improved melee ability
  
• Good crossbows with Attack 12, range from 400 to 570 florins based on the level of protection and melee prowess.
  
• Exceptional Genoese Crossbows and Aventuriers, costing 610 and 690 florins have Attack 14 and are decent in melee.

Gunpowder units unlock late in the game and have a rapid technological progression, so there is some variation in this category. However all gunpowder weapons ignore shields and halve armour in addition to causing morale penalties.

All gunpowder weapons are shield-bypassing and armour-piercing. Hand guns have range 55, Arquebuses range 120 and Muskets range 180. All cause morale penalties in addition to damage done. They are slow to reload. Only the front ranks can fire, which encourage shallow wide formations. Handgunners duck allowing the second rank to fire, while the other units have a routine where the front rank cycles to the back of the formation after firing.

• All gunpowder units have no shield and wield swords as secondary weapons

Other than handgunners who are armoured and are Normal, all gunpowder units are Fast as they are unarmoured.

These units can be tricky. They are less robust than crossbows and while many have decent melee stats this should not influence their usage. As they impact morale, they need to be used in conjunction with melee units cohesively. Also, unlike other missile troops, only the front rank fires which encourages them to be placed in long lines. They also require straight firing lines and so cannot be sheltered behind other units.

The obvious partnership is with pikes, and sheltered underneath the front line, these units can cause infantry to rout the moment they make contact with the pikes. However, they will inevitably be caught in melee here where they will suffer due to low armour and no shield.

Otherwise, they are best used on flanks demoralising units while other units charge them. Muskets can do damage due to the range.

Due to the ideal formation (thin line) and complexity, these units do not entirely replace other missiles. The addition of two or three in an army can make a difference - an all gunpowder army is quite inflexible due to the requirement for clear firing lines.

Gunpowder weapons do not incur fatigue like bows and crossbows which means these units can be moved more actively on the battlefield.

Gunpowder is the slowest reloading unit in the game, and therefore they are at most risk at that point in time. They need to be protected by other units or else they will be easy picking for cavalry. The slow reload also means that they should avoid going head to head with other missile types.

While some of the later gunpowder units have decent melee ratings, the lack of shields mean they will take significant casualties and this is not good value for money. These units will also trade poorly against missile units due to the lack of armour, slower rate of fire and shorter range. They may win due to morale effects but will have lost on value for money.

Finally, you need to be aware that unlike every other unit in the game, arquebus and musket units will rotate position on their own to better face their targets which can result in a them being quite exposed. This is due to the Fire by Rank mechanism that governs their behaviour. You will notice that while Hand Gunners fire only from the first two ranks, the later gunners have a complicated drill whereby the first line runs to the back after firing, and every rank steps forward. This is quite historical and looks great - however it can glitch out and the unit just gets stuck not firing - in those cases click Stop and they should reset. The rotation can mean that in some cases it is better to keep them in a deep block, but keep in mind that the deeper the block the slower the overall rate of fire.

• Hand Gunners are the weakest and shortest range guns with Attack 13, but both units of this type are good in melee and so they cost 650 and 850 florins
  
• Arqubusiers and Musketeers are the regulars in this category, with Attack 14, costing between 460 and 610 florins.
  
• Exceptional gunpowder units have Attack 16 or 17 and cost between 570 and 950 florins depending on melee prowess. Portuguese Arquebusiers can fulfill the melee role in combination with Aventuros.

There is only one unit using Naphtha in the game, the eastern Naffatun. They are a short range grenade which can be deadly. The unit is a good swordsmen and wears light mail armour so will survive melee well.

The missile has a range of 40 and seems to be oblivious to armour.

The Naffatun are Fast despite wearing armour.

The range of these units is too low to try to skirmish, either put them behind your front line with Skirmish off to provide a warm greeting for charging enemies or put them on the flanks to use their speed for getting behind the enemy. Turn off Fire at Will to reduce friendly fire. The bombs will reliably rout enemies so be prepared to have fast horse or foot to chase while the Naffatun work up the line.

Height is a big help for these units, so do as with javelins, put them uphill of your front line and on the walls in sieges.

These units are lightly armoured without shields so very vulnerable to cavalry charges and missiles. They also are small units so won't stay long in a melee.

The spear is the lighter of the shock weapons that cavalry can wield (the other being the lance). It is used by early western cavalry and a lot of eastern cavalry. These units have a wider attack rating range than lances stretching both lower and higher. However, these units do not have as much charge value as lances. Other than the model itself (spears are thin), the stats will inform the weapon type.

All units have the Formed Charge attribute

• Units who wield it as their primary weapon with a shield. Look for Attack ratings of: 7, 9, 11 or 14 with charge ratings of 3, 4 or 5.
  
• Reiters who wield it as a secondary weapon

The units in this category ride unarmoured Ponies, Heavy Horse or Eastern Armoured Horse, so none have barding or mail. Of note, Border Horse, Stradiots, Alan Light Cavalry and Albanian cavalry ride Fast Ponies, which means they can chase many of the lighter horse archers, and can be useful for flanking. At the other end of the spectrum, Tsar's Guard, Royal Mamluks and Middle Eastern Bodyguard ride armoured mounts giving them more impact power. The one camel shock unit, Tuareg Camels wield spears.

Generally only the better units can form Wedge. This is of little consequence because the lighter ones do not have the stats for serious cavalry melee. Use the wedge against strong enemy cavalry.

Due to the size of cavalry, they are at a numerical disadvantage in melee against infantry, so shock cavalry should utilise a technique where after each charge has completed, the unit should be ordered away from the infantry to regroup for a new charge. Discipline and Training will dictate how cleanly the unit can disengage. However, be wary of leaving the disengagement too long as it can result in a rear attack morale penalty causing the unit to rout.

The utility of these units depends heavily on where they sit on the quality spectrum. There is some what of a dividing line between the lesser units who are either unarmoured or wear padded armour and the better ones that wear mail or better.

The less capable ones are only suited to chasing missile units and routers. Occasionally they can used to cause a rout by charging the back of an engaged line, however expect them to take casualties whenever they are in combat. Treat them as fast disposable troops and do not expect them to turn a battle. The faster ones are great for chasing the light eastern missile cavalry.

At the higher end these units are more generalist than Lance wielding cavalry. The spear does not have quite the same impact, however the trade off is a slight advantage in melee due to higher Defence Skill values (representing that the spear is less cumbersome).

Against infantry, these should be used to charge, preferably into non-spear melee troops. Do not leave them in prolonged melee as it is not cost effective. Utilise the Cycle Charge technique as much as possible. Charging missile units can be difficult as the skirmish behaviour can disrupt the timing and alignment of the charge resulting in a simple melee.

Since these units have higher defence skill than Lance wielding cavalry, they should be used to defeat them where other factors are taken into account (i.e. stats and AP secondary weapons). Always engage Wedge formation to negate the charge advantage of the Lance unit so as to get into melee safely. Tuareg Camel Spearmen are especially designed for this role, the low mass of the camels reducing their effectiveness against infantry, and camels have a anti-horse bonus.


As with all cavalry, avoid spears and other anti-cavalry weapons, but for the most part these units are pretty straightforward to use.

Do not charge into Lance cavalry out of Wedge formation.

• Poor grade spear cavalry cost between 280 and 410, having Attack rating of 7 (Charge 3). These are for chasing peasants and routers but not much else.
  
• Regular spear cavalry, which includes the ubiquitous Mounted Sergeants and Arab Cavalry, cost from 390 to 510 and have Attack rating 9 (Charge 3 or 4). These can used to defeat lightly armoured melee infantry, disordered spears. Keep them away from other melee cavalry and they are generally not fast enough to catch missile cavalry.
  
• Good quality units have Attack rating 11 (Charge 5) and cost between 550 and 820 florins. Some ride Fast Ponies and make excellent flankers, while the others are solid medium cavalry that can play an anti-cavalry role late into the game thanks to AP secondary weapons.
  
• Tsar's Guard and Royal Mamluks have an Attack rating of 14 (Charge 5) which is higher than Lance wielding units. These units are strong generalists and should do well against other cavalry. Russian and Eastern Bodyguard units sit in this category also.

The lance is a heavy shock weapon that cavalry can wield. It is used by mid to late western cavalry and a few very late eastern cavalry. There are two visual appearances, a wooden undecorated early lance and a colourful longer lance that largely corresponds to the stats of the units.

All units have the Formed Charge attribute

• Units who wield it as a primary weapon (some without shield). Look for Attack ratings of: 8, 10 and 13 with Charge ratings of between 5 and 8.

Units in this category ride Heavy, Barded, Mailed and Armoured Horses so are medium paced or slower. Those that ride Heavy Horse will seem fast compared to the others, but will be slow compared to most missile horse units. Armoured mounts will have more impact on the charge due to the added weight.

All units in this category can form Wedge. This is useful for fighting up levels within this category as the increase in charge impact can be meaningful.

Due to the size of cavalry, they are at a numerical disadvantage in melee against infantry, so shock cavalry should utilise a technique where after each charge has completed, the unit should be ordered away from the infantry to regroup for a new charge. Discipline and Training will dictate how cleanly the unit can disengage. However, be wary of leaving the disengagement too long as it can result in a rear attack morale penalty causing the unit to rout.

The spectrum is not as wide as for spear cavalry, and for the most part these unit have one purpose on the battlefield: defeat infantry. Units at the top end of the scale can destroy entire units of foot knights in a single charge. Even some lighter spear units are no match for heavy lance charges.

Generally these units should be formed into frontages that match or are slightly wider than the target infantry unit. This way, the maximum charge potential is utilised but the unit stays tight and does not wrap too far around - this makes disengaging for Cycle Charges easier.

Remember that these units need quite a bit of space to charge, and need to be well formed for most effect. Running will disorder them, so as much as possible, let them walk into charge range.

Try to disrupt enemy formations as much as possible so that these units can charge into unprepared infantry. Archers firing over the heads of the charging cavalry can work quite well.
Spear and pike lines provide safety barriers for cavalry to run behind for protection to regroup or rest.

While these units can be effective against cavalry given the room to charge or armour-piercing secondary weapons, it is can result in casualties and there are better options. When facing other lancers that are a level above, utilise Wedge to reduce their charge advantage. Even when even or favourably matched, Wedge can still be worth while to maintain morale.

Lance units without shields need to be kept out of melee as much as possible. The lack of a shield means they will take more casualties in melee, which is why they will be noticeably cheaper than units with a shield.

Melee with infantry is not cost effective for these units. While they may win, the cost in florins per head will rarely be favourable. Your entire battle strategy needs to focus on charges carrying the day.

Be careful of wrapping too far around a unit you do not expect to destroy on the charge. If the cavalry end up wrapping the unit, then subsequent move orders will see individual cavalrymen trying to push through the enemy and suffering casualties.

• Poor grade lance cavalry cost between 500 and 680, having Attack rating of 8 (Charge 5 or 7). Depending on armour level, these can be useful general purpose lancers but should avoid other cavalry.
  
• Regular lance cavalry is a large grouping cost from 590 to 860 and have Attack rating 10 (Charge 6 or 8). These are straight up shock cavalry. Some of the more expensive in this group have armour-piercing melee weapons and are designed to counter the later lancers.
  
• The best lance units have Attack rating 13 (Charge 8) and cost between 700 and 1100 florins. These are pure chargers who can damage all but the best spear/pike units with frontal charges. Later units are either heavy and expensive (Lancers, Quapukulu) or light and cheap (Demi Lancers, Hussars).

Melee weapons are rarely a primary weapon for cavalry. They are too vulnerable to infantry to brawl with them and so it will primarily be used against cavalry and routers or light troops. As with infantry, the sword is a generalist weapon, and is wielded by about 80% of cavalry units. The most common scenario where Swords come into play is cavalry melee and when missile units run out of ammunition.

• Units who wield a spear/lance as their primary and wield the sword as a secondary weapon. These units will never use the sword on the charge. Attack ratings are closely related to the primary weapon Attack rating.
  
• Units who wield a missile weapon as their primary and wield the sword as a secondary weapon. The sword is used on the charge and in melee. Attack ratings most are close to the missile weapon Attack rating.
  
• Merchant Cavalry Militia who wield the sword as their primary with a shield.

As the most widely used weapon, units on every type of mount wield the sword.

For the most part, this weapon should not factor into tactical thinking. Cavalry units are general chargers or shooters and should be used in that capacity. However, some better quality missile cavalry have the Formed Charge attribute (e.g. Sipahis) and can land a decent charge on lighter infantry. Combined with the shooting they will do on the way in, this can be situationally effective.

Almost all missile cavalry have poorer Attack ratings with this weapon than do the Spear or Lance cavalry so they do not make dual-role troops that can combat across category. As such, superior missile cavalry should only use melee against poorer quality missile cavalry.

Merchant Cavalry Militia are useful for cleaning up light missile units and routers, but not much more.

Melee with infantry is not cost effective for these units. While they may win if their stats are favourable enough, the cost in florins per head will rarely be favourable.

When matching up against other cavalry, Sword cavalry should avoid Axe or Mace armed cavalry who do not have the Attack rating disadvantage of similarly armed infantry and therefore will beat them.

As the Sword is a ubiquitous secondary weapon and the Attack ratings seem paired to the primary weapon (even with missiles), the range here covers the entire cavalry range. Attack ratings are between 5 and 14, and Charge is between 2 and 4.

As with Swords, Axes are generally found as secondary weapons for cavalry. However, there are only a handful of units armed with this weapon. As with its use on foot, it is a shock anti-armour weapon. Given the prevalence of armour found on cavalry units, this therefore is primarily an anti-cavalry weapon.

• Units who wield a spear/lance as their primary and wield the Axe as a secondary weapon. These units will never use the Axe on the charge. Attack ratings are closely related to the primary weapon Attack rating.
  
• Units who wield a missile weapon as their primary and wield the Axe as a secondary weapon. The Axe is used on the charge and in melee. Attack ratings most are close to the missile weapon Attack rating.
  
• Huscarls who wield the Axe as their primary with a shield.

Axes are only used by units riding a Heavy Horse or heavier so these are not fast units.

If a unit has an Axe, it has one use for it: killing other heavy cavalry. Axes dominate against swords and will best Maces. The melee cavalry that wield it are not top-tier and this makes them cost effective trades against higher level cavalry. For example, English Knights are poorer than Chivalric Knights on the charge, but they will beat them in melee thanks to the Axe.

If the unit has the the Wedge formation ability, it should be engaged when facing cavalry unless there is a clear charge advantage. Given that most cavalry are either specialist chargers or missile, wielding an Axe makes them dual-role but only within their specialty. Missile cavalry with Axes exist to give a nasty surprise to any pursuer who catches them because there won't be a charge in effect.

Don't use them on infantry or light forces except in rare cases, like charging strong missile cavalry into light archers.

Avoid the temptation to unleash the axes on melee infantry. Although these units are not the most expensive cavalry, its still not a good trade. They will perform better than Sword wielding cavalry, but still should expect to lose more often than not.

Cavalry are generally costed against their primary purpose - charging or shooting - so the range is not so clearly defined.

• The weakest Axe cavalry have Attack rating 7 and are the spear armed Scouts (410 florins) and the crossbow Strzelcy (510 florins). The weapon allows them to dominate peer units and not much else.
  
• Mid level Axe units are the Attack rating 9 Boyar Sons, costing 670 florins. Combined with javelins these are cost effective anti-cavalry units.
  
• The highest Axe Attack rating is 11, which is held by four units: English Knights, Druzhina, Huscarls and Dvor Cavalry covering price range from 690 to 860. Within each category, these units are primarily anti-cavalry.

The Mace is more prevalent in cavalry than in infantry. It has a long history in eastern cultures dating back to Persian times. In the game it is a favoured secondary weapon for ♥♥♥♥♥♥, German and Middle Eastern elite units. Less powerful than the Axe, it nonetheless dominates against Sword armed cavalry to give top-tier units an edge over peers. It is armour-piercing which is critical given its most likely opponents.

• Units who wield a spear/lance as their primary and wield the Mace as a secondary weapon. These units will never use the Mace on the charge. Attack ratings are closely related to the primary weapon Attack rating.
  
• Units who wield a missile weapon as their primary and wield the Mace as a secondary weapon. The Mace is used on the charge and in melee. Attack ratings most are close to the missile weapon Attack rating.
  
• Norse War Clerics who wield the Mace as their primary with a shield.

Maces are used by heavily mounted units except for Stradiots and Albanian Cavalry who ride Fast Ponies. This shapes the primary role for those units as nippy anti cavalry units.

The Mace provides a clear advantage over Swords, but unlike Axes, tends to be wielded by top tier units. These are high value units that shouldn't be risked in needless melee so for the most part this weapon gives these units a survivability in cavalry engagements. If cavalry combat is required, then utilise Wedge formation to reduce losses on the charge to leverage the melee advantage of the Mace. Generally the units can reliably brawl out a win once the units are entwined.

Stradiots are a special case of the only light, fast unit wielding this weapon. They are too weak to go head to head with strong melee cavalry but can be effective against armoured missile cavalry or to engaged melee cavalry, although the spear charge will do most of their work.

For the most part, you can ignore the presence of the Mace and simply wonder why your forces did so well in melee with the enemy cavalry.

Cavalry are generally costed against their primary purpose - charging or shooting - so the range is not so clearly defined.

• The weakest Mace cavalry have Attack rating 8, costing between 670 and 800 florins.
  
• Mid level Mace units have Attack rating 10 and range between 610 and 820 florins.
  
• The highest Mace Attack rating is 13, which covers cavalry in the price range of 850 to 1100. These comprise the highest tier spear, lance and bow units

The bow is the most common mounted missile weapon, including the composite bow and (somewhat impossibly) the longbow. Mounted archers are a very significant component of some factions and are the counterpoint to charging knights. Unlike foot missiles, cavalry archers can fire in all directions.

Composite Bows are not armour piercing and have range 120 when mounted. Longbows are armour piercing and have range 120. One anomaly is Lithuanian Cavalry which uses a standard bow having range 100. Mounted bows cannot use Fire Arrows.

• Units without a shield
  
• Units with a melee weapon and shield

The majority of Bow units ride Fast Ponies, especially the cheaper ones. The rest ride Heavy Horses and one unit, Dvor Cavalry ride Eastern Armoured Horses.

All units in this category have this ability and they are probably the prime users of it.

Bow Cavalry is one of the easiest unit types to use, especially the Fast ones. Primarily you should attempt to put these on the enemy’s flank and utilise Skirmish mode to evade melee cavalry. Use speed to get behind to hit the unshielded part of the opposing line.

For the most part a square formation is better than a line as all members of the unit fire in all directions. It makes manoeuvres easier also, especially moving up a flank.

The prevalence of these units means that they will counter each other. Mid and top tier Bow cavalry generally have melee improvements rather than archery, meaning that they are designed to obtain mounted missile dominance rather than fighting melee cavalry or infantry. If facing lots of missile infantry, the better mounted Bows can be used to see them off.

Only a handful of Bow cavalry have the Formed Charge attribute, generally those that are not Fast Moving. Those without it should never charge infantry, but those with it can do some damage if they have reasonable melee stats and some armour. One benefit in this scenario is that they can fire their bows right up until the charge starts, which means that the enemy ranks get disordered and make gaps for the cavalry to enter.

Circle and Shoot severely reduces the effectiveness of shooting and really should only be used for pinning superior missile cavalry until something else can deal with them. It is less effective against infantry as their greater numbers and higher Attack ratings negate the benefit. Otherwise, it is best to leave them in normal formation for maximum killing power.

The high speed of the lighter units in this category make them ideal for chasing routers, especially as they will often be close to the flanks already. This is fantastic for gaining experience and getting better at shooting.

The few Fast spear-armed cavalry exist almost specifically to counter these units as their melee stats are better than most in this category. Skirmish mode is not reliable against these units as it can leave the formation spread out and if straggler get caught it tends to stop them escaping.

The Attack ratings of units in this category compare poorly to most foot missiles, so do not get into archery duels with infantry missiles.

• Regular bows have Attack rating 6 and cost from 380 to 530. These are fragile but can be fielded in great numbers, are typically Fast but should be kept away from melee and other missiles. Use Circle and Shoot with these to stall better missiles.
  
• Good bows have Attack 8 and cost between 590 to 900. They generally all have shields, which gives them an added survivability against other missiles. These can either be used to target high value targets or to dominate against weaker mounted archers by engaging in melee.
  
• Exceptional bows have attack 9 or 10 costing 800 florins for Vardariotai and Dvor Cavalry respectively. These should primarily be used to take out high value targets. The Dvor are deadly in melee (but not enough to take on knights) and the Vardariotai are Fast so can destroy the lighter Bows.

Longbows have lower Attack ratings to compensate for being armour-piercing.

• Mounted Longbowmen and French Mounted Archers both have Attack 7, and cost 770 and 1030 respectively, based on melee attributes. The first one is a better medium level and the latter is a better top level unit, but keep them out of melee due to their cost.

The crossbow is not a common mounted weapon no doubt due to the complexity of reloading it. Mounted crossbows are much smaller and weaker than infantry crossbows although they are still armour-piercing.

Mounted crossbows are armour piercing and have range 120

• Units without a shield
  
• Units with a melee weapon and shield

Mounted Crossbowmen ride Fast Ponies, the other two units ride Heavy Horse.

All units in this category have this ability.

Crossbow cavalry is somewhat more straightforward than bows, the lower Attack ratings and armour-piercing attribute means they should be primarily used against armoured targets. Slower to fire than bows, they won’t do well against large numbers.

For the most part a square formation is better than a line as all members of the unit fire in all directions. It makes manoeuvres easier also, especially moving up a flank.

All three units are mid-tier and due to their armour, should trade well against cheaper bow cavalry. Otherwise, these units are often the only mounted missiles a faction gets so they are general purpose missiles. The Strzelcy have Axes so can be used to melee other similar grade missile cavalry.

Circle and Shoot severely reduces the effectiveness of shooting and really should only be used for pinning superior missile cavalry until something else can deal with them. It is less effective against infantry as their greater numbers and higher Attack ratings negate the benefit. Otherwise, it is best to leave them in normal formation for maximum killing power.

The high speed of the lighter units in this category make them ideal for chasing routers, especially as they will often be close to the flanks already. This is fantastic for gaining experience and getting better at shooting.

None of these units have the Formed Charge attribute so do not bother charging infantry.

• Mounted Crossbows and Strzelcy have Attack rating 5 and cost 470 and 510 florins respectably
  
• Granadine Crossbow Cavalry have Attack rating 7 at a cost of 580. Use these on armoured targets primarily.

The Javelin is a very effective mounted weapon. Armour piercing and with high Attack ratings these are high-value target killers.

Mounted javelins have a range of 55.

• All Javelin units have a shield

Jinetes, Desert Cavalry and Granadine Jinetes ride Fast Ponies while Polish Nobles and Boyar Sons ride Heavy Horses.

All units in this category have this ability.

Javelin cavalry require more thinking than Bow cavalry but are much more effective in the right circumstances. Primarily these units should be utilised to take out high value, armoured targets mounted or on foot. They are often fast enough to evade but the hit rate of the javelins means they can do a lot of damage in a short time.

Using Skirmish mode against melee cavalry is a good way to deplete and demoralise before charging in. The melee stats of all these units is either mid-tier or better, however not a match for elite spear/lance cavalry so wait until the enemy is Shaken or Wavering before tuning back.

Boyar Sons and Polish Nobles have the Formed Charge attribute which means they can be used to take out infantry. They will throw javelins until charge range which works very well to disorder the enemy unit before the charge hits.

These units are painfully effective General killers, especially those on Fast Ponies as bodyguard units ride slow mounts.

Circle and Shoot is riskier with these weapons due to the proximity with which they must close to their targets. It leaves them vulnerable to counter charging. Besides, the javelin is more effective than the bow so will kill quicker in duels so this should be less necessary.

These units only have 8 javelins, so sometimes it is best to keep Fire at Will disabled and only select targets manually.

• Good Javelins have Attack rating 8, and cost from 520 to 670 depending on melee abilities and armour. Good general purpose units that have utility right through the campaign.
  
• Polish Nobles have Attack rating 10 and cost 800, and are strong anti-cavalry units, especially bodyguards.

There are only three mounted gunpowder units and their usage is completely different.

Reiters wield pistols of range 45, Elephants have arquebuses with range 120 and Camel Gunners wield a musket with range 180. Gunpowder weapons halve armour and ignore shields.

Elephants are very slow, Camels are slow, and Reiters ride Heavy Horse.

Reiters can use this, but Camel Gunners and Elephants cannot.

Camel Gunners are mounted snipers with 20 ammo that needs to count. Turn off Fire at Will and choose high value targets. The range of these mean that you can place them anywhere safe (remember that camels are slow) and pick targets at will. Its as simple as that.

Elephants are similar to Camel Gunners but have double the ammo. Treat these as mobile gun platforms.

Reiters have two uses. Firstly, their pistols are very powerful with Attack 20, and a volley from one unit can route an opponent alone. They are not fast so they do need to be wary of charges. Good General killers in this mode of fighting.

The other mode is a hidden gem and is related to them having the Formed Charge attribute. Reiters wield a spear as a secondary weapon with a charge rating of 5 for Attack rating 11 - equivalent to Good spear cavalry. Left on Fire at Will, they will fire a pistol volley before charging in with spears, and this will rout almost any unit in the game, even elite Lancers. This is their primary use and how pistoliers fought in the Renaissance.

• Reiters cost 920 for Attack rating 20. Use as a heavy cavalry unit.
  
• Camel Gunners cost 1180 for Attack rating 16. Soft and squishy but expensive so protect them.
  
• Elephants cost 2090.

There are three camel units in the game: Tuareg Camel Spearmen, Bedouin Camel Riders and Camel Gunners. They are relatively rare units and typically are found in the desert regions. This section will cover specific information about the mount itself as the weapon types are covered in the Cavalry sections.

Camel are different to horses and therefore need to be used with this in mind. The attributes of camels are:

• Camels have low mass (lower than the lightest horses)
  
• Camels scare horses
  
• Camels have a combat bonus against horses

Camels are anti-horse mounts. Tuareg Camel Spearmen are specifically designed to hurt mounted western units. They should defeat units that cost more than them generally by routing them, although they will do meaningful damage. Being unarmoured they wont' stand up to late knights, but at 600 florins they are good value for money.

Bedouin Camels are the equivalent in the missile field. They are competent archers, but their melee statistics combined with the camel bonuses should allow them to trade favourably against mid-tier horse archers or lighter spear horsemen. As such these are excellent flank guards and good value at 630 florins.

Camel Gunners are a truly elite unit even without effect of the mount. Long range mounted guns that can fire on the move are an excellent tactical weapon. They are expensive - 1180 florins - as a result, so they should not be used in melee. However, being camels, they are slower than horses and therefore the anti-horse attributes of the camel give them some extra protection. If they can demoralise their pursuers with the guns then they could turn and finish the rout with a camel charge.

Camels should not be used in melee against infantry due to the low mass. Tuareg Camel Spearmen do not have the Formed Charge attribute and so will perform far worse than say Arab Cavalry (lower mass and weaker charge).

They also make good target for missiles, so keep them well away from enemy missiles troops.

There are three elephant units in the game, Elephants, Elephant Artillery and Elephant Rocketeer. They use very different weapons, but there are aspects of the mount that will be covered in this section.

The attributes of Elephants are:

• They scare infantry
  
• They scare cavalry
  
• They have combat bonuses against horses and camels
  
• The mount itself has a melee attack which in armour piercing and has area effect
  
• They are slow
  
• They have very high mass

Elephants can go out of control if they take casualties or otherwise get scared. The player loses control of the unit for the rest of the battle until they are dead or rout off the battlefield. If need be, you can choose to kill the beasts rather than risk them running into your line, but they enire unit will be lost for good.

Elephants are very expensive and relatively fragile. There is a reason that all three variants have missile weapons. For the most part these should be used as mobile missile platforms and the melee attack reserved for self defence or a coup de grace. The height of the mount means that the riders can shoot over the heads of friendly troops.

Elephants have arquebus armed troops on board which fire regardless of whether the elephants are moving. These can make useful flanking troops as the morale effect of gunpowder and the elephant will get the ends of a line routing in no time. The riders will continue firing as the elephants charge.

Elephant Artillery and Rocketeers do not fire while moving so should be treated as very mobile artillery. Either put them behind the main line and have them shoot over the top, or move them to good enfilading positions to fire along the line.

Elephants are not cost effective in melee, although they will kill the enemy, remember that they cost the same as four units of Chivalric Knights. They are also hard to acquire so every elephant lost is a big loss. Additionally, the more they suffer hits, the more likely they are to run amok, which is a double blow if they are mixed in with your infantry line - so it makes sense to operate them in some isolation.

The best counter to elephants are artillery and javelins. Infantry armed with javelin are all fast moving which makes it hard for the elephants to catch them. If these are a threat then use another unit like foot or horse archers to provide support for the elephants and to catch routers.

They are slow, so even if they defeat an opposing unit in melee, make sure you have other units on hand to chase the routers. Best to turn the elephants to the next target.

This section covers the early artillery, which all factions get: Ballista, Catapult and Trebuchet. While there is some difference in how they behave, there is commonality to how they are used.

• The Ballista has range 180, and does 10 damage to buildings. It can fire flaming shots.
  
• The Catapult has range 200, and does 30 damage to buildings. It can fire flaming shots.
  
• The Trebuchet has range 285, and does 90 damage to buildings. It can fire flaming shots and has 3 "cow carcasses" that penalise enemy units.

The Ballista can be used against wooden walls but primarily should be used to break down gates. The Catapult is similar although it can break through weak walls. The Trebuchet is the primary pre-gunpowder weapon for breaking down stone walls.

In open battle, Ballista should switched to flaming shot and it is more effective than either of the other two if the enemy is in range. Catapults and Trebuchets seem to perform worse with Flaming Shot so only use it against high value targets.

The crews can be surprisingly resilient to missile attack from the front due to the fact that the equipment blocks arrows and bolts.

The crews are weak in melee, although better than peasants.

There are a wide range of gunpowder artillery types, and this section will cover there uses. There are two "eras" of weapons in this category, earlier medieval ones and later renaissance ones. There is also a split between anti-infantry and anti-building types.

• Bombards which every faction except the Mongols get
  
• Grand Bombard, a heavier Bombard with Flaming Shot
  
• Mortar, a weapon with a high trajectory and affects a small radius around where it lands
  
• Ribault, a short range anti-personnel weapon
  
• Rocket Launcher, a mid-range anti-personnel weapon

• Cannon, Culverin and Basilisk, large cannons with Explosive Shot
  
• Monster Bombard, an enormous bombard that breaks down walls with ease
  
• Serpentine, a very accurate anti-infantry cannon that is not very effective against walls
  
• Monster Ribault, an over-sized Ribault, a short range anti-personnel weapon

• Elephant Artillery
  
• Elephant Rocketeer

Bombards are primitive cannons that sit quite low to the ground. The normal shot bounces meaning it can hit multiple units. The normal and Grand versions have the option for Flaming Shot which is less effective against infantry than normal shot due to the accuracy penalty it has. However, against high value targets, especially Generals it can be worthwhile trying Flaming Shot. Due to the low placement of the barrel, these are best placed in the front line as they may hit friendly units if placed behind. Bombard has range 325, Grand Bombard 375 and the Monster Bombard 450. Bombards will perform about on par with Ballista in the anti-personnel role.

The Monster Bombard has extraordinary damage against walls (1000 points) which will take down most walls in one shot. It does not have Flaming Shot and is generally not very useful against infantry. Use only in sieges.

Ribaults are multi-barrelled organ guns that fire a small shot similar to a musket shot. They are dedicated anti-infantry weapons with relatively short range (150), and are almost useless against buildings (only use them against gates). These units need to sit in the front line as they cannot fire over the heads of other troops. They will do a lot of morale damage to units. The Monster Ribault has a barrage mode which puts out a lot of damage in one volley, however normal mode will rout single units faster and be more efficient with ammo.

The Rocket Launcher and Elephant Rocketeer fires a volley of explosive rockets. They are less accurate than Ribault volleys and so should be used to target groups of units. They are quite effective against bridge crossings. They are not effective against buildings due to the inaccuracy but they might be able to break gates.

The mortar should only be placed behind a defensive line as it does not need direct line to the target. It is available to factions that form good defensive positions so this works well with their battle tactics. The high trajectory almost rules out the use of this as a siege weapon as it is very hard to hit the walls, but not impossible. However, it is useful as an anti-infantry weapon in open battles, siege attack and defence as it will go over walls comfortably. When the shot lands, although it doesn't explode the shock way will affect a group of troops. It has a range of 300.

Culverin, Cannon and Basilisks are more advanced versions of the Bombards. They are on large wheels and fire from over head height which means that they can fire from behind friendly troops much more safely. Their range and power is much greater than the Bombard also. The Cannons trade range for wall breaking power versus Culverins, and the Basilisk outclasses both at some cost. All have an Explosive Shot for anti-infantry use which makes them effective in either role, although they will rack up more kills in normal mode. Culverin has range 425, Cannon 375 and Basilisk 450.

The Serpentine and Elephant Artillery are primarily for field battles. The Serpentine has a long range at 450 and is the most accurate cannon, while Elephant Artillery has range of 250 however it has the largest battery size. They are useless against walls, so do not take them to sieges (except versus gates). They both fire high so can be deployed behind the front line, although the Serpentine can sit in front to allow it to shoot as long as possible. Neither have Explosive Shot, so target deep formations for maximum effect.

Use the following for defeating settlement walls of any kind:

• Bombard, Grand Bombard and Monster Bombard
  
• Culverin
  
• Cannon
  
• Bailisk

For defeating the defenders, use Mortars

Mortars are effective against enemy units and siege equipment.

Use the following units:

• Serpentine
  
• Rocket Launcher and Elephant Rocketeer
  
• Ribault and Monster Ribault

The following are also useful in the field:

• Culverin, Cannon and Basilisk

The crew have poor melee capabilities so do not leave them unprotected. Gunpowder units scare other units so this gives them some chance against lighter horse units.

During the research that went into the creation of this guide, it was apparent that some results of the vanilla game were questionable to the point that many units were not worth using. Key examples are 2-handed axes and halberds - which has led many to conclude that there's a two handed bug in the core code of the game - but there are many more cases where the performance doesn't justify their use. The counter argument would advocate that the correct way to use those units should only be used for flanking engaged units.

The historical basis is that as armour got better, swords were no longer effective for knightly combat, and percussion weapons like the mace, halberd and poleaxe (which the Dismounted English/Portuguese/Noble Knights wield) became the weapons of choice. The poleaxe was the proverbial can-opener and most certainly would not have been used on the flanks, instead it was a head on assault weapon by heavily armoured warriors.

In trying to understand why two-handed weapons performed so poorly in the game, it was noticed that sword-wielding units as a whole had very high Defence Skill statistics compared to axes, maces and all 2-handed weapons. After some experimentation, the Gilded Vanilla mod was created, a set of pretty small changes that drastically improved the utility of some otherwise useless units. The full explanation of the changes and their impact is explained in the linked document.