Cavalry before 1.9:
Cavalry after 1.9:
Seriously no joke, ran a few custom battles just to see how things are in 1.9.
With 100 Cataphracts (not even Elites) I was able to crush 800 Recruits (most of my player character kills were from running over Recruits):
Now before anyone grabs their baby rattle and starts crying how "overpowered" Cavalry are now, no Cavalry are not OP, they just work the way they should. Basically very powerful on the Charge, but not so great when they get stuck in melee. With just 250 Vlandian Footman (initially formed in shieldwall, then ordered to standard formation and charge - after cavalry were stopped) I was able to defeat 100 Cataphracts, though it was definitely bloody.
Wow what a game changer this patch is. Units maintain much formation cohesion much more intelligently,
actually maintain some space between individuals, and gone are the Heroin Beehive Rave Party battles. Like you can make use of some actual freaking tactics now. Can you believe it? Now it's definitely not perfect (saw some cavalry idling a bit too much - recruits could have formed up a bit better in some situations), but this is undeniably an improvement. Dare I say battles are no longer F1+F3 chores anymore? And building up an elite force of troops, particularly of cavalry, actually provides a real benefit?
Would have been nice if these issues had been addressed sooner, but late is definitely better than never. So I don't say this particularly often, but thank you TaleWorlds.