Favorite Unique Unit?

[Roghar]

Samurai for me, combination of:
• A useful special which carries over with upgrade
• Upgrade of a good unit (longswordsman) that are key units for a substantial period of
time
• Good synergy with their nation’s special

When Samurai appear Japan should dominate battles at least until Rifles appear. You just have to get them early enough to have a decent window and find enough iron to build good numbers

 

[svett89]

The Danish Berserkers are insanely powerful! They move at the speed of a knight yet function like Longswordmen in all other regards. The Amphibious promotion is just a nice bonus.

 

[glaivemaster]

I voted Janissary, because I love just how unstoppable they are, as long as you keep pressing the attack. I generally beeline to Gunpowder with the Ottomans, then fill in the rest of the tech tree, and pump out Janissarys, so I don't find them obsoleting too fast. When I've balanced out a little, I head for rifling and upgrade all my promoted Janissarys into amazingly powerful units. On my current Ottoman game I have maybe 3 Rifle-ssarys with Shock 3 and Blitz - the latter being very nice on a unit that fully heals after every successful attack.

Others I find worth mentioning are the Musketeers, because, Musketeers; and the Tercio, because I like the idea of a unit that combines all three of the common units of the time in to a Long-musket-pikeman. Also, I love their animation for combat

 

[Randall Turner]

I noticed the Songhai Mandekalu Cav isn't on your list.

Don't underestimate the benefit of having upgraded horsemen able to blitz opposing cities. Plus, the bonus does carry over to cavalry/tanks/modern armor.

I think that's new, I remember back when the city attack special ability went away on upgrading. <shrug>

 

[Tabarnak]

I noticed the Songhai Mandekalu Cav isn't on your list.

Don't underestimate the benefit of having upgraded horsemen able to blitz opposing cities. Plus, the bonus does carry over to cavalry/tanks/modern armor.

THere is why.

In the poll, I didn't have room for dlc or for Songhai.

 

[Save_Ferris]

THere is why.

Well, as there was no reason to include war chariots...

 

[Tavelon]

Well, as there was no reason to include war chariots...

I thought about cutting units I assumed people wouldn't vote for (like the Chariot), but I decided just to do it alphabetically so it'll be 'fair' and not discriminatory to any unit. Not that these units would be offended if I even was discriminatory or that they would even find out about it but...

 

[KevinMiles90000]

Keshik all the way.

 

[devilsadvocate]

I like the Companion Cavalry. Faster, stronger, more GG's...what's not to like?
Both of Rome's UU's are a close second, and if you play the Longbowman right, you can reduce cities to no health without losing a soldier.

 

[Polycrates]

After trying the Danes, I must say the berserker is insanely good. They're like knights without the weaknesses, that you can beeline even earlier, that upgrade from well-promoted warriors/swordsmen, and that can just dogpile the hell out of a city from the safety of the sea (and attack across rivers nicely!). And they upgrade right till the endgame via another very solid UU, while still keeping their amphibious bonus. Brutal.

 

[Jon the Bastard]

Samurai = one of the most badass things ever.

 

[Morningcalm]

Samurai, especially for their deadliness, but also their look. Those banners flutter in the wind! Here's to hoping Korea's UUs look just as good. Smoke from the Turtle Ship's mouth, please.

 

[Snerk]

I'll go with the English longbowmen of death. Ruddy lethal them chaps.

 

[Lyoncet]

After trying the Danes, I must say the berserker is insanely good. They're like knights without the weaknesses, that you can beeline even earlier, that upgrade from well-promoted warriors/swordsmen, and that can just dogpile the hell out of a city from the safety of the sea (and attack across rivers nicely!). And they upgrade right till the endgame via another very solid UU, while still keeping their amphibious bonus. Brutal.

Yeah, pretty much that. I'm almost finished with my first game as the Danes (just wiped the floor with a bunch of Samurai actually; sorry Oda, but you shouldn't have tried settling on my continent!). I thought that the best part would be the embarkation bonus and the accompanying bug for the massive boost to wartime maneuverability, but I really found that the extra maneuverability on Berserkers was the biggest asset. When you put it the way you did, calling them knights without the weakness to pikes/tercios and without a city attack penalty but with terrain defense bonuses and free amphibious that you can beeline even quicker due to being on the ironworking path and taking fewer beakers (but without move-after-attack, admittedly, until blitz anyways), it's hard not to acknowledge them as a pretty top-rate UU.

Better than Samurai? Possibly, but I'm not ready to rule on that one yet. Of course a samurai will beat a berserker all things being equal, but the GG bonus is pretty pointless with how easy they are to get in the first place, and the berserker's extra mobility combined with the absolutely brutal amphibious promotion (combined with the extra embarkation movement, even if you don't take advantage of the bug) makes them a true terror. Especially once you get blitz; if you keep up on the tech curve, an embarked blitz siege berserker (or ski infantry, or infantry, etc.) can completely wreck coastal cities and units without support.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Longbows FTW!

 

[Zyxpsilon]

Panzer - promotes barely fast enough to match any other weaker tanks.
More like a challenge in post-industrial eras.

 

[RD-BH]

Janissary

 

[Save_Ferris]

It seems like America and Germany both have 2 bad UUs to go along with their bad UA. I wish that the Minuteman was replaced with a UB (Red Cross for Hospital?) and the Panzer was given a boost or replaced with a Factory UB.

 

[teks]

seriously suprised that companion cavalry arent in the top 3 at least.

I'm not up to date with the patches, but last I checked ancient cavalry were very powerful, and fast. Ours are even more powerful, and we get a general bonus, AND they are faster.
Considering that the turns a unit spends in transit is essentially wasted resources a fast cavalry unit is very efficient since it can make it to the target faster then any other unit, and it can threaten a larger territory. this unit can put the enemy on the defensive very quickly.
CC even has several powerful advantages over it's replacement giving it serious lasting power. Its own counter, the spearman, will lose against the cavalry 1 on 1 unless somehow outmaneuvered, and on top of that the greeks have their own spearman which plays the role of dynamite in the paper rock scissors mechanic.

Ancient times are the most important period in the game. The borders are not defined, defenses are not prepared. There is nothing stopping a superior ancient army from steamrolling entire civilizations. Medieval UU's are nice but by that point it is just an advantage. By now you got your defensive points, and borders defended already anyway. To me units that come later then this period are just flavor.

 

[Nyanko]

I thought about cutting units I assumed people wouldn't vote for (like the Chariot), but I decided just to do it alphabetically so it'll be 'fair' and not discriminatory to any unit. Not that these units would be offended if I even was discriminatory or that they would even find out about it but...

But songhai have the best of the cavalry units in the game... Its who my vote would have gone for.