Rhodok Spearmen

[Seekster]

So I started another character, this time my intention is to gather an army of the finest (IMO) Calvary, Infantry, and Ranged units in all of Calradia and build an unbeatable army before becoming a warlord and seeing how long I can last. For me that means Swadian Knights, Nord Huscarls (or Warrior level or above if I need to save money) and Rhodok Sharpshooters (who someone once called the "Space Marines of Calradia").

I have played the Rhodoks before and found that their spearmen are not all that impressive until they get to Sergeant level but even then they are outclassed by Swadian Sergeants and Nord Veterans and Huscarls. I also questioned their effectiveness against calvary since it is close to impossible to get the AI to form a proper phalanx with spearmen and if you go into battle with other ally Lords they usually charge right away. I seemed to have overlooked something though; weapon reach. The advantage of calvary is their ability to come in fast, strike, and get out before the enemy can strike back. The advantage is that you spend only a moment of time (idealy) in the enemy's weapon range however Rhodok Spearmen use weapons with a large range meaning that it takes longer for calvary to get out of weapon range after striking.

I learned this the hard way when I ran into a band of about 12 Rhodok Spearman Deserters early on and thought I could take them on my own from horseback. I found that I had a somewhat difficult time getting close enough to strike and getting away without getting hit, I managed to take down a few of them (I still only had my rusty starter sword) before they knocked out my horse and I think I may have killed one of them on foot before they swarmed me.

I used to think that Rhodok Spearman were no more effective against Calvary than any other Infantry unit but recent experience has made me consider their usefulness when fighting enemies such as those pesky Khergits. Has anyone else found Rhodok Spearman (not necessarily the unit but the Rhodok Spearman unit line all the way up to Sergeants) to be more effective at bringing down calvary than other infantry units are?

 

[Timberwolf]

I found that huscarls are the best. Even Nord Veterans. They killed a whole company of calvalry on their own, I didnt' even help.

I put them in a small line, and about 8 huscarls killed roughly 20 calvalry and knights, with no casualties, in the span of a few seconds for each horse.

 

[pesja]

unbeatable armies consist of just huscarls or swadian knights Mixed armies are too weak

 

[Seekster]

So you are saying I should dump the Rhodok Sharpshooters and stick with Nord Huscarls and Swadian Knights for the best effect?

 

[pesja]

yes, but not both. You should choose one of them. This is what i have experienced is the best way to go. (i usually sticks with the swadian knights even though they are worse in sieges)

 

[The Mercenary]

Generally:

Knights for shock troopers, Huskarls for a solid infantry line, Marksmen for skirmishers. However, you could go with
Sergeants for a spear line, Horse Archers as skirmishers, and Lancers for shock troopers. That'd go...rather less well, though.

 

[Pii100]

I usually have 3-10 rhodoks added to my infantry.
Just in case.

 

[BadabombadaBang]

I only use Rhodoks and Swadians and I turn out just fine in battles.

 

[Gabeed]

Mixed armies are really, really lame.

 

[ScoobyDooby]

what's so bad about mixed armies?

 

[pesja]

theres nothing bad about them.. The most fun is from mixed armies.. But 50 swadian knights will get the job done quicker and better than 20 swadian knights, 10 sharpshooters, 10 huscarls and 10 spearmen..

 

[Tzsak]

Armies composed of units from multiple factions are lame~

 

[DaLagga]

Mixed armies are not nearly as effective as armies consisting of a single unit.  They're arguably more fun to use, but most of the time you don't even have time to set them up before the enemy is in your face.  Huscarls pale in comparison to Swadian Knights though.  The first disadvantage they have is map speed because they are an unmounted unit which means you can have far fewer of them in your party if you want to catch anything as opposed to knights.  Second, as infantry units they have no shock power whatsoever.  A swadian knight charge literally sends any enemy line flying and separated (yes, even lines of spearmen).  With huscarls, their line is intact when the fighting starts and several enemies can easily gang up on a lone huscarl, both because their formation wasn't broken and because they're nowhere near as fast as a mounted knight.  Third, they aren't as heavily armored, nor do they have a warhorse to soak most of the damage.  They do however tend to do a little more damage over time, but this is negated by the fact that the initial charge of the knights easily wipes 10-15 points of hp away in charge damage from most of the enemies, and the fact that as stated before you can have many more of them before you slow to a crawl on the world map.  The bottom line is, huscarls are good units and are better for sieges, but on the open field they are nothing compared to heavy knights. 

 

[Goodguy3]

what's so bad about mixed armies?

So long as they're segregated .

 

[Gabeed]

Armies composed of units from multiple factions are lame~

This is what I meant by "mixed armies."  PC armies of Swadian knights, Vaegir marksmen, and Nord Huskarls deserve nothing but disdain.

 

[ScoobyDooby]

theres nothing bad about them.. The most fun is from mixed armies.. But 50 swadian knights will get the job done quicker and better than 20 swadian knights, 10 sharpshooters, 10 huscarls and 10 spearmen..

i never tried going with one type of unit so i'll have to take your word on it, but i have to say this doesn't seem very realistic if its true.
ok maybe in certain situations it could be like if your army is fighting vs only infantry on the field then perhaps knights alone will do better, BUT in a siege how is it possible (realistically speaking) that an army of say only infantry is better then an army of mixed infantry with ranged units? those poor infantry would get shred to pieces if they didnt have any ranged units sniping out the enemies ranged... and another thing is that with too many infantry some can't even attack since they are behind the first line but if there are spearmen  behind them and archers in the back then most units can attack simultaneously and win faster.

then again, i live in a time where you can commit genocide by pushing a button, so what the hell do i know...

 

[pesja]

on the field, as i mentioned before because when all your troops move at the same speed they dont get as spread out and works more "united" in a siege an archer can only do so much damage, once the walls are taken which is the small part of the job they are pretty much useless compared to a nord huscarl. a spearman only works as long as he can keep his distanse, so as fast as the swordman before him dies, he is pretty much useless too..
and the huscarls and swadian knights generaly kills more troops in a battle than any other troop. So even if your archers could have saved four or five men during the ladder attack, having 20 extra muscle units instead of 20 archers would be more effective

 

[Master OF Swords]

then again, i live in a time where you can commit genocide by pushing a button, so what the hell do i know...

Nothing.

 

[ScoobyDooby]

In M&B perhaps, but i don't think any empire in history (or today) ever succeeded with an army consisting of 1 type of military unit. (unless you count the guy pushing that red button...)
game mechanics FTL.

im not a big history fan so i could be totaly wrong here.

edit: master of swords, seeing as i served 3 years in the army i think i know more then nothing...maybe close to nothing would be more accurate 

 

[Seekster]

I have actually found a whole bunch of fun tactics using calvary and infantry (more specifically Nord Warrior/Veterans/Huscarls and Swadian Knights). Against most armies ill have the infantry charge directly while I lead the calvary around to the enemy's flank using hills for cover against arrows if possible. Then right before the Infantry reaches the enemy line I lead my calvary in and break it up. That way the calvary can be saved by the infantry if one or two of them gets surrounded and it also makes it easier for the Infantry. If the enemy has alot of missile units I like to lead my calvary around the back to draw their fire and kill as many as I can if possible.

I could do an all Swadian Knight army but I prefer not to for the following reasons:

1. Swadian Knights are extremely expensive.
2. Calvary are fine but Ive noticed if you have alot they tend to bump into each other, this is particularly troublesome when they do this in the middle of an enemy formation forcing the horses to stop and running the risk of being surrounded and cut down.
3. In some terrain such as mountains calvary are not very effective
4. Nord Huscarls are freaking monsters in sieges. Swadian Knights are good but Nord Huscarls are more suited for fighting on foot.