Using Units to Maximum Effectiveness in the 17th Century

Pikemen: The Core Infantry of the 17th Century

Pikemen are absolutely indespensible to the early armies of the 17th Century. While a formidable, well trained force of musketeers is fine and dandy a little later, but for now, you need Pikemen.

When you get a barracks up you need to immediately begin producing pikemen. Make enough to guard all buildings and Every Single Peasent and mine. If you don't guard your structures and peasents they will be captured in early pikemen/mercenary raids by your opponent.

You'll also need to start making groups of 36 that are officered for organized defense against more powerful enemies and for future attacks of your own.

17th Century Musketeers(including Archers and Mercenaries): Peppering and Support

Let me start off with an important note for Cossack players, In the early game, it is impossible for Musketeers to be the core of your army so do not try to make them. They have very little to no role in the early part of the game as they cannot hold back pikeman by themselves.Their time to shine comes in between The early game and 18th Century, when technology is not enough to out class them and pikeman hae enough upgrades to effectively protect them.

During this period musketeers have four main uses: guerilla tactics, peppering, support and hill defense.

Guerilla Tactics-This is a tactic I rarely use my self and am really just getting acquainted with. You can position your musketeers near advancing formations and have a small group pick off the officer and drummer. This is supposed to break up the squad but all it really does is get rid of the officer, which is a powerful fighter so may be worth it.

Peppering-I think I invented this one. Your musketeers should be placed in the path of an oncoming formation. When they have advanced close enough fire until the enemy is too close and then get behind a protective line of pikeman. This can effectively break up formations to a point where they must retreat and be reinforced before an attack or hit the wall of pikeman and cannot to anything. It peppers the enemy with bullets...spicy.

Support-No trouble here. Musketeers get behind the pikeman and shoot at the enemy that the pikeman are fighting.

Hill defense-Since units can only move slowly up hills it can be used effectively by positioning musketeers on hills and firing on troops moving below or troops crawling slowly up a hill. Usually, musketeers can't hold the hill so it is fine if they need to get off of it afterwards, just make sure there is a way out and their backs aren't to a cliff.

Heavy Cavalry:Spearhead Attackers

Heavy Cavalry have one big purpose-ATTACK KILL PLUNDER CONQUER. Well maybe that's four, but they're all in the same category. The point is that heavy cavalry go in before any major attack clearing opposing units that might be outside the city giving infantry access to the flesh of a fragile city. You might be able to pull off an offensive without them but it will be high in casualties, slow, and expensive. While heavy Cavalry can carry out a quick blitz like attack clearing beacheads, mercenaries artillery and most anything else in its path, the attack has to be sustained. Don't expect a group of 10 riders to do anything. Its strength in numbers when it comes to heavy cavalry. They have a lot of upgrades too, like forging Cuirasses and the sabres and training and are nearly useless without these upgrades.

What's the point in expensive heavy cavalry if they are only as strong as pikeman? None. Once you can, start pouring (and I do mean pouring) your resources into upgrades. How can you tell if you're ready? I will soon have a guide to economy and resources up alled economy 101, check it out when it's up. But for now, just take my advice, heavy cavalry need all the upgrades you can afford to make them effective.

Light Cavalry: Neutral yet Effective.

Light cavalry includes any horseman that is not made for head on spearheading attacks like heavy cavalry but rather for countering mercenaries, scouting, skirmishing with other light cavalry and musketeers and most importantly, capturing artillery. While they have no major uses, they are handy for the above purposes.

As I said they are neutral, with no major job and can be used for almost anything. They are good if you need to sacrifice a unit (for whatever cause) and covering artillery or mercenaries. I actually use them to sustain my offense. Since I can't just keep the enemy alone and there is no use in killing and injuring my heavy cavalry, I have light cavalry attack in groups of 20-50 occasionally with a bit of artillery support.

Using Units to Their Maximum Effectiveness in The 18th Century.

Pikeman: A Diminishing Role

In this century pikeman can be almost completely ignored. While they can be upgraded to have a powerful enough attack to destroy mercenary, hold small groups of cavalry and other oddjobs, they have almost on defense.

Try having them charge musketeers. They will break in seconds and if they ever hit the line of musketeers, will be destroyed by bayonets. Bayonets are actually the main things that obsoletes pikeman. What's the point of having pikeman if your musketeers can fight from afar and hand to hand? If you ever make Pikeman in this century, which there should be a very small chance of, you might as well just make the 17th century Pikeman.

Musketeers: The Core of The 18th Century Army

Now musketeers can be used!!! Since they have bayonets and a powerful shot, they are no longer the weak musketeers of the 17th Century. They can do anything now, I do not even need to list their roles. I admit, they cannot hold a line as well as pikeman might in hand to hand combat, but they are still the best units in the game.

Besides 18th Century Musketeers, you may also have a unique musketeer, depending on which civilization you chose (examples are highlanders, chasseurs and pandurs). These are incredible units indeed! Although they have no bayonet, they are pretty cheap and usually very quick to make and have an extremely powerful shot. They are especially good at supporting regular musketeers that have bayonets, holding hills, cutting down cavalry and pikeman that are charging, and guerilla warfare.

Training Units effectively...

Can be rather tricky, especially against the computer. The second the game starts, they seem to have armies and armies of well trained pikeman. So how can you match them? Quite simply put, your building order must be effective. It needs to be made so you can start putting out well trained troops. An effective buildorder is in Managing your economy section but I need to edit it as there is more to be added and it needs changes in general.

So the basic thing to grasp here is to expand. It might sound easy, but I am even having trouble grasping it. It seems that at some point I just say that's enough even when I could go further. Getting a little off the subject, but this is good stuff to know, especially for rookies. So any way have as many barracks as possible up. If you're playing an eastern European nation, than you can make three or even four barracks towards the start. If not, then the maximum you can make is two. So make your max amount of barracks and immediately start making pikeman. Then get one barracks off pikeman producing and on to upgrades. It is really that easy. Once again for more, I will soon have a more effective economy page complete.

Artillery Units and Ships

Cannons: The Most Effective Artillery, and the Artillery Core.

Cannons can be used in several ways, each very devestating. You can use it for grapeshots (lovingly called by my squad "The Grapes of Wrath), long range bombardment, short range bombardment and defense.

Grapeshots- The short range attacks that spread and flatten entire groups of men, also called buckshots. These need to be timed carefully so as not to kill your own units while fighting and also because if you know you may not have time to reload again in the thick of battle, then this may be your only chance to use grapeshots.

Long Range Bombardment-Most effective with massed artillery (anywhere from 10-100 cannons). Since it will hit a group, a massed artillery bombardment my flatten entire formations before they can even fight.

Short Range Bombardments-Like long range shots except they're 10x more likel to wipe out formation with one hail of lead. Fired from a range in between long range and grapeshot range.

Defense-Cannons can be used quite effeciently in the defense of a key point. They can use, long range and then short range and then grape shot and wipe out oncoming troops before they get a chance to do anything.

Howitzers: Death from Above

To be completely honest, howitzers don't have a very large role in a game. Due to a long build time, slow reload time and fragility, many players would choose a cannon over a howitzer in a second. But in some situations, that would not be the best thing to do.

If their shot is timed correctly, then they can be the dealiest artillery on the battlefield. There are just a few things to remember when firing your artillery.

1-Don't fire at cavalry, they are quick enough to move away by the time the shell lands.

2-Howitzers kill units wherever it lands meaning your troops are susceptible to its attack as well. Have your troops either stand ground so you can't get them killed walking in front of it or just move your howtzers up.

Now, to time your shot. Look for a group that is bunched together tight, tighter than even a formation. Sometimes, this can be troops that may have stopped a bit too close to your lines or troops that are attacking your lines but are still too far away to get your own troops hit by a howitzer. Howitzers also have an incredible effectiveness when used at walls. You can fire over the walls to kill units on the other side and then bring the wall down and attack.