Vland troops are extremely good.

[Puerkl8r]

^ Yep.

Another fix that might help Vlad xbows is making it so shields always block attacks whether they're equipped or not. The huge shields their Crossbow users have would be pretty effective at protecting them if even when they had them on their back it protected them. (Currently it only protects them while they have it equipped, can shoot/hack right through it when it's on their back)

Instead of that, there should be a mechanic for Pavise shields that lets them work like they historically did. That is to say that they can deploy them as mobile piece of cover to stand behind. This is how crossbowmen reloaded their crossbows in safety.

 

[Puerkl8r]

It's a lucky day if I see the AI bring more than 8 Fians in a 70 stack

We'll see, 1.3 aims to change that.

 

[Marlax]

Have you even fought Battania? The Empire?

Battanian archers are just as good in melee as range, and the empire units have more armor than any other units with spears and large shields, and better heavy cav than Vlandia to boot.

There are factions that are a lot more powerful than Vlandia.

archers run on of ammo on your shield wall send in cav crushes them. heaviest armor in game with pike and swords. the ai doesnt use the spears automaticly so recruits with only spears hold infantry back way better then swords. even then multile pikes can hit the same unit in close quarters with the vland recruits and then you have shieldes infantry behind them as they are softened up plus the cav still running around.

the short spear as a primary weapon on the front lines is just very good . i ahve been watching them shread everyone but are weak vs arrows which is why you have the shield wall .

 

[Marlax]

^ Yep.

Another fix that might help Vlad xbows is making it so shields always block attacks whether they're equipped or not. The huge shields their Crossbow users have would be pretty effective at protecting them if even when they had them on their back it protected them. (Currently it only protects them while they have it equipped, can shoot/hack right through it when it's on their back)

Far as army balance, Vlad isn't terrible, but it's not as OP as Fians and it lacks OP horse archers. Think Sturgia even with it's stats fixed is still the worst army. They're supposed to be "The Good Infantry" army I believe, but Infantry AI is pretty bad ATM and Archers are way more powerful than most infantry units. Their archers aren't any better than any other faction and Fian's are just plain way better, while Sturgia also lacks horse archers.

the infantry ai is why i think vlad recruits are very good. they only have spears. short spears. you see 4 or 5 hitting the same target in close quarters and they hit them before then are even close . if heavy infantry like the legionary used their spears as primaries until someones in their face they could win but man those recruits tear people up.

 

[Marlax]

I find Vlandian xbows really good against shielded infantry. In fight with empire my 20 crossbowman kill legionaries like flies. Crossbow destroys shields much faster than bow (I checked both options against shielded troops). They are harder to lvl cause of weak T1 and T2 but are quite decent from T3 up. Cavalry is strong as long as You don't use it in frontal charges and keep ordering them instead of letting them attack on their own. Their only weakness are horse archers. I watched Khuzait horse archers taking banner knight after banner knight on plain terrain without the latter ever catching them. T3+ inf is decent against ranged fire but they die fast in melee (not sure what's causing this maybe gear is worse?) against most other factions. They also die fast against throwing weapons so Battania skirmisher can wreck Vlandian inf.

what makes inf die in this game is their weapons. they have longer swords in close quarters that they cant swing when moshed up. in a shield wall they dont attack much and room again. in a spaced out formation they can actually swing and fight but eventually get moshed up again.

i have had more success with sword infantry in a loose formation than a close one.

spear infantry use their swords instead of spears which makes them worse.
spears are primary weapons.
this is why vland recruits just destroy on the front lines short spears with no other weapons.
by the time any heavy inf get near they are already shreaded by crossbows then hit a spear wall. then by the time they get through even a small amount of spears the medium shielded infantry can handle most units or hold the line long enough for calv to finish up.

 

[Dabos37]

I actually thought they were one of the weaker factions after 100 hours playtime. Possibly the weakest, although Battania may be worse.

Mind you I am <not> talking about knights or fians here. Those are obviously both amazing. But their T2/T3 troops perform way worse than most other factions, except maybe Aserai mameluke infantry, which seem to be the worst infantry unit in the game (made up for somewhat by the fact that they eventually can become the absurdly strong heavy mameluke cavalry, though).

Part of this is because crossbows just seem to be straight up worse than bows overall right now.

Do not upgrade to clan Warriors, skirmishers are the way to go playing Battania IMO.

 

[GrasSclammPferd]

We'll see, 1.3 aims to change that.

What are they changing? I don't see anything about a roster shakeup or more noble line recruitment

 

[Puerkl8r]

What are they changing? I don't see anything about a roster shakeup or more noble line recruitment

Lord parties have more experienced troops and fewer recruits. They also use their party size limit as much as possible.

I can't say how big the effect is as I was only on 1.3 for a day before reverting due to some issues I've read about.

 

[Ananda_The_Destroyer]

I've been playing on hardest settings and struggling to build up a strong vlandian army. They just keep dying. :/ I'll have to figure out how to use these guys better

Make crossbow guys. Just crossbow guys.

 

[Lovec1990]

True atm spamming ranged units is recipe for win not too mention HA that you simply F6 and AI actually use proper tactics