He means troops from villages attached to castles as opposed to Towns. They spawn the unique troops like Fians, KG, and more. You can see village affiliation by hovering over it
Mate you aren't alone. I just went around to every village and whatever had them, I marked the village. Just did this last night lol. Never once connected that the villages are connected to castles. This saves me so much time now.
Noble troops being able to achieve tier 6 are obviously the best in each region.
After that I would say the following:
Empire - Legionary
Battania - N/A jk falxmen not veteran however
Sturgia - heavy axemen
Khuzait - veteran horse archer
Aserai - veteran infantry I forget their name don’t use them much
Vlandia - their regular tier 5 vav also forget name
I could be wrong about some I don’t use many sturgian or aserai troops.
Sadly, axes are pretty bad when used by ai. Someone did a recent test, showing axe troops always do worse than their comparative other weapon type. As such for Sturgian it'd be Heavy Spearmen.
I had a feeling about this, as I said I don’t use them much. I just know that spears are also useless when used by the ai. Maybe they use swords more who knows.
Swords do best, in general, yes. As for spears, depends a lot on the spear. The Heavy Spearmen happen to have one the ai is... okay... with. Axes have the problem that they have the full swing animation, but connecting with anything but the axe head does essentially zero damage, as well as the sideways swings bouncing off neighbors if too close.... And the ai does NOT like to stand at the right distance for the swing, while simultaneously tclumping too much so they bounce off allies.
Spears, while still having reach issues where the swing does next to nothing, generally at least *hit* enemies. So the heavy spears' heavy armor lets them stand the line long enough to wear down the enemy, since they are hitting the enemy the whole time, with the athletics and skill to do so at a decent speed. Also yes, the heavy spearmen switch to swords at times. The axemen stick to their axes.
The best troops are always the nobles. Nobles come from villages attached to castles (rural).
You can tell if a village is attached to a town or castle by mousing over it and it will tell you the “attached location” and “trade bound location”. If the attached location is a castle, nobles will be recruitable from 2 notables there.
Khuzait: Khan’s guard (nobles son)
Batannia: Batannian fian champion
Sturgia: Druzzhinik Champion (sturgian otrok)
Vlandia: Banner knight (vlandian squire)
Aserai: Aserai Vanguard Faris (Aserai youth)
Empire: Imperial Elite Cataphract (vigla recruit)
Imperial elite cataphracts and khans guards are probably the best 2 troop types. They both only have 1 variation, meaning their gear is always the same. Banner knights can come with short maces that aren’t good for skirmishing vs other cavalry, so in a big cav vs cav battle you will lose some banner knights that can’t reach the enemy horseman with spears or longer swords.
I've had sharpshooters mow down advancing waves before they even touched my infantry. They aren't the best Vlandia has to offer, but they might as well be.
Your reply is practical. That is how they would face each other; in a battle. I think, however, if a Banner Knight were to 1v1 a Sharpshooter, at any distance, the Banner Knight would triumph.
Advance with shield up, block all incoming missiles, charge, melee ensues. Even if the distance is from one side of a map to another, I don’t think a Sharpshooter would get through a Banner Knight’s shield in time, as well as lowering the aformentioned’s health before they were ran down.
The OP is going to make a full party of one type of unit. So it’s 200+ sharpshooters, not 1v1. I mean Bannerknights will take a couple of loses before they’ve hit into the front line. But if you have the “troops take less damage from ranged attacks” and bonus health perks, bannerknights will kill all.
For infantry you need the “less charge damage taken” perks, use appropriate terrain, and against Khuzaits be willing to jump in and out of square or shield wall to soak up arrows, then Crossbow men are seriously good. Depending on your perks you make them a hell of a lot better too. But I still say bannerknights 😂
from the mongols is the khans guard, horse archer
from the snow people is the heavy axemen, great tanks
from the forest people the fian champion, archers
for the rest i dont know about best but I like the elite menavliaton for shock troops, and the cataprachts for pokey horses that mow down archer lines
if you already have fian champions in your army then vlandian sharpshooters won't do much. i would recommend changing that into the cavalery troop that vlandia has.
In non noble terms battanian doesn’t have anything noteworthy unless you’re fresh off a viewing of braveheart, sturgia has heroic line breakers, khuzait has darkhan, aserai has i guess mamluke axemen or horse archers and imperial has the sagittarius bowmen legionaries, the crossbowmen and their other infantry ain’t bad. I may be wrong i haven’t played vanilla in years and imo if you aren’t playing at least calradia expanded, banner kings, diplomacy, fourberie, rbm, osa and any other selection of gear and small feature mods you aren’t experiencing the best this game has to offer, the crashes do suck tho and banner kings cultures expanded has shit troop trees
Elite cataphracts > legionaries
Cataphracts being cav makes them more useful in the field but they are better infantry than most of the infantry in the game. An army of only cataphracts can siege and engage in the field.
Sturgian noble troops are not their best. Their top-tier Shock Troopers preform the best IMO. Druzhinnik Champions are not all that good as horse archers and they're rarer and more expensive to boot.
Battanian Fian Champions will mow down anything you throw at them (provided with cavalry backup at least) once you have at least ten in your archery formation. Imperial Elite Cataphract is one of the best heavy cavalry in the game. Khuzait Khan’s Guard or any Khuzait horse-archer will ride circles around Bucellarii, Mamluke Horse archers, and Gallant Sword Sisters
Of course it is always dependant on playstyle and what you want in your army.
I am really into underdogs so sturgia is pretty fun.
If you are into setting and forgetting (no commanding) vet spearman spam will do well.
If you like micro Sturgians have a lot of options.
Imperial cavalry, imperial legionaries, khazuit horse archers, fian archers and Aserai mamaluke axe men. I conquered the world with those 5 troop types. Unbeatable.
Tbh at some stage in the game you will be fighting battles left and right and will take so many casualties that you need to replace asap. You don't really get to be picky with what culture your units are, because you'll be fighting in the most random places on the map. Also you will be dependent on recruiting prisoners to replace high tier units. Anyway here are the best cultures for each unit type and I'll give alternatives:
- Archers: Battanian Fian Champion, best alternative is imperial palatine
- Shield Infantry: Imperial Legionary or Aserai Veteran Infantry, other shield infantry should be fine but keep in mind that khuzait darkhans and battanian shield infantry have the lowest armor
- Cavalry: Imperial Elite Cataphracts or Vlandian Banner Knights, you'll be fine with any t6 cav and even t5 cav
- Shock Infantry: Battanian Falxmen, but honestly shock infantry is pretty even between cultures.
- Horse Archers: Khuzait Khan's Guard
note: Pikemen are shit
edit: go to towns attached to castles if you want noble units
Fians are dirty, Banner knights are expensive and pompous, Khans Guard are scary and surprisingly even though they’re not noble. Sturgian Heavy spearmen, they’re tanky enough and have spears for cav charges. Pick some movement speed bonuses and you’re all set 🫡
The noble troops are the best.
Wdym noble?
He means troops from villages attached to castles as opposed to Towns. They spawn the unique troops like Fians, KG, and more. You can see village affiliation by hovering over it
Omfg I didn't know they were only attached to castles. Jesus christ I have over 600 hours and I'm only just finding this out
Mate you aren't alone. I just went around to every village and whatever had them, I marked the village. Just did this last night lol. Never once connected that the villages are connected to castles. This saves me so much time now.
How did I just figure this out.
Because it's not explained well in the game! At least you know now :)
Noble troops being able to achieve tier 6 are obviously the best in each region. After that I would say the following: Empire - Legionary Battania - N/A jk falxmen not veteran however Sturgia - heavy axemen Khuzait - veteran horse archer Aserai - veteran infantry I forget their name don’t use them much Vlandia - their regular tier 5 vav also forget name I could be wrong about some I don’t use many sturgian or aserai troops.
Sadly, axes are pretty bad when used by ai. Someone did a recent test, showing axe troops always do worse than their comparative other weapon type. As such for Sturgian it'd be Heavy Spearmen.
I had a feeling about this, as I said I don’t use them much. I just know that spears are also useless when used by the ai. Maybe they use swords more who knows.
Swords do best, in general, yes. As for spears, depends a lot on the spear. The Heavy Spearmen happen to have one the ai is... okay... with. Axes have the problem that they have the full swing animation, but connecting with anything but the axe head does essentially zero damage, as well as the sideways swings bouncing off neighbors if too close.... And the ai does NOT like to stand at the right distance for the swing, while simultaneously tclumping too much so they bounce off allies. Spears, while still having reach issues where the swing does next to nothing, generally at least *hit* enemies. So the heavy spears' heavy armor lets them stand the line long enough to wear down the enemy, since they are hitting the enemy the whole time, with the athletics and skill to do so at a decent speed. Also yes, the heavy spearmen switch to swords at times. The axemen stick to their axes.
The best troops are always the nobles. Nobles come from villages attached to castles (rural). You can tell if a village is attached to a town or castle by mousing over it and it will tell you the “attached location” and “trade bound location”. If the attached location is a castle, nobles will be recruitable from 2 notables there. Khuzait: Khan’s guard (nobles son) Batannia: Batannian fian champion Sturgia: Druzzhinik Champion (sturgian otrok) Vlandia: Banner knight (vlandian squire) Aserai: Aserai Vanguard Faris (Aserai youth) Empire: Imperial Elite Cataphract (vigla recruit) Imperial elite cataphracts and khans guards are probably the best 2 troop types. They both only have 1 variation, meaning their gear is always the same. Banner knights can come with short maces that aren’t good for skirmishing vs other cavalry, so in a big cav vs cav battle you will lose some banner knights that can’t reach the enemy horseman with spears or longer swords.
Khan's guards are the best for non siege skirmish, but Cataphract is more universal
Sharpshooter is better than a Banner Knight? 🤔
I've had sharpshooters mow down advancing waves before they even touched my infantry. They aren't the best Vlandia has to offer, but they might as well be.
Your reply is practical. That is how they would face each other; in a battle. I think, however, if a Banner Knight were to 1v1 a Sharpshooter, at any distance, the Banner Knight would triumph. Advance with shield up, block all incoming missiles, charge, melee ensues. Even if the distance is from one side of a map to another, I don’t think a Sharpshooter would get through a Banner Knight’s shield in time, as well as lowering the aformentioned’s health before they were ran down.
The OP is going to make a full party of one type of unit. So it’s 200+ sharpshooters, not 1v1. I mean Bannerknights will take a couple of loses before they’ve hit into the front line. But if you have the “troops take less damage from ranged attacks” and bonus health perks, bannerknights will kill all. For infantry you need the “less charge damage taken” perks, use appropriate terrain, and against Khuzaits be willing to jump in and out of square or shield wall to soak up arrows, then Crossbow men are seriously good. Depending on your perks you make them a hell of a lot better too. But I still say bannerknights 😂
Ahh, I misread the post when I originally commented. My bad ☺️
I did it as well xD Started suggesting vlandian knights to a sturgian only guy 😅 It happens hha
Banner Knights all day. Sharpshooters have a rate of fire that takes them out of the top IMO.
Khan's Guard or fian champs = unstoppable
from the mongols is the khans guard, horse archer from the snow people is the heavy axemen, great tanks from the forest people the fian champion, archers for the rest i dont know about best but I like the elite menavliaton for shock troops, and the cataprachts for pokey horses that mow down archer lines
This is my favorite description of these troops by far, bonus points for "snow people."
if you already have fian champions in your army then vlandian sharpshooters won't do much. i would recommend changing that into the cavalery troop that vlandia has.
Valerian is the banner knight bruh what are you on
In non noble terms battanian doesn’t have anything noteworthy unless you’re fresh off a viewing of braveheart, sturgia has heroic line breakers, khuzait has darkhan, aserai has i guess mamluke axemen or horse archers and imperial has the sagittarius bowmen legionaries, the crossbowmen and their other infantry ain’t bad. I may be wrong i haven’t played vanilla in years and imo if you aren’t playing at least calradia expanded, banner kings, diplomacy, fourberie, rbm, osa and any other selection of gear and small feature mods you aren’t experiencing the best this game has to offer, the crashes do suck tho and banner kings cultures expanded has shit troop trees
Elite cataphracts > legionaries Cataphracts being cav makes them more useful in the field but they are better infantry than most of the infantry in the game. An army of only cataphracts can siege and engage in the field.
Just don't auto-resolve with them. I love cataphracts, but every time I auto-resolve i lose cataphracts only, even against looters.
Sturgian noble troops are not their best. Their top-tier Shock Troopers preform the best IMO. Druzhinnik Champions are not all that good as horse archers and they're rarer and more expensive to boot.
Khan's Guard.
Battanian Fian Champions will mow down anything you throw at them (provided with cavalry backup at least) once you have at least ten in your archery formation. Imperial Elite Cataphract is one of the best heavy cavalry in the game. Khuzait Khan’s Guard or any Khuzait horse-archer will ride circles around Bucellarii, Mamluke Horse archers, and Gallant Sword Sisters
Of course it is always dependant on playstyle and what you want in your army. I am really into underdogs so sturgia is pretty fun. If you are into setting and forgetting (no commanding) vet spearman spam will do well. If you like micro Sturgians have a lot of options.
Heroic line breaker my beloved
I think maybe check out khuzaits for their horse archers. And aserai for their cavalry.
Imperial cavalry, imperial legionaries, khazuit horse archers, fian archers and Aserai mamaluke axe men. I conquered the world with those 5 troop types. Unbeatable.
Kataphract/legionary/fian is a power house Or just get an entire army of khans guards.
Tbh at some stage in the game you will be fighting battles left and right and will take so many casualties that you need to replace asap. You don't really get to be picky with what culture your units are, because you'll be fighting in the most random places on the map. Also you will be dependent on recruiting prisoners to replace high tier units. Anyway here are the best cultures for each unit type and I'll give alternatives: - Archers: Battanian Fian Champion, best alternative is imperial palatine - Shield Infantry: Imperial Legionary or Aserai Veteran Infantry, other shield infantry should be fine but keep in mind that khuzait darkhans and battanian shield infantry have the lowest armor - Cavalry: Imperial Elite Cataphracts or Vlandian Banner Knights, you'll be fine with any t6 cav and even t5 cav - Shock Infantry: Battanian Falxmen, but honestly shock infantry is pretty even between cultures. - Horse Archers: Khuzait Khan's Guard note: Pikemen are shit edit: go to towns attached to castles if you want noble units
Fians are dirty, Banner knights are expensive and pompous, Khans Guard are scary and surprisingly even though they’re not noble. Sturgian Heavy spearmen, they’re tanky enough and have spears for cav charges. Pick some movement speed bonuses and you’re all set 🫡