Best Gunpowder UU?

[prince_caspian]

I'd like your opinions on this. As for me, I prefer teching to Steel then upgrading my swords so I rarely if ever use gunpowder units to fight, only as meat shields for my cannons. Having to hard build or purchase from scratch those muskets is not exactly a very encouraging thought as most of the time I'm already in a middle of war that starts in medieval. Well I guess I have to learn on using different units more.

If I have to pick one it would seem that minutemen get my award as I prefer units to move faster on those hills and jungles without having to play Inca all the time. The UA helps in scouting out for pesky cannon-backstabbing knights and if taking Honor -> Military Garrison for the bonus on puppets/annexed cities you don't need to make silly scouts who can't fight s**t, delaying scientific theory and whatnot. Just call them minutemen and be done with it like in AoE 3

I'm not sure if the mounted bonus on tercios is really a good tradeoff for the extra hammer costs. IMO if longswords can already kill knights on occasions it's quite overkill. Ok, if I'm seeing Siamese elephants that's a different thing...IF

Please share your experiences whether on SP or MP as both are basically different games and require different approaches. I'm sure plenty of people will appreciate the extra insight.

Similar thread on Chivalry

 

[comatosedragon]

Wow, I guess I'm in the minority here. I picked the French Musketeer as the best gunpowder UU, and would pick the American Minuteman as a close second.

Is the Janissary really that much better?

 

[FeiLing]

Janissary basically have a free instaheal promotion after every attack. Imbalanced as hell and if you happen to lose one highly promoted one you'll likely ragequit. That is how good they are. It's probably a overcompensation from the developers for the useless UA of the Ottomans.

Musketeers and Minutemen however are pretty good too... it's just that the core unit (Musketman) is so quickly obsolete, that people usually do not go to war with this unit/at this time.

 

[Jacques Lamerde]

Janissary basically have a free instaheal promotion after every attack. Imbalanced as hell and if you happen to lose one highly promoted one you'll likely ragequit. That is how good they are. It's probably a overcompensation from the developers for the useless UA of the Ottomans.

I voted Janissary. Agree with above statement. Spam 4 or 5 of these guys, and you can
decimate many opposing units, especially if you've chosen Honor S.P's and keep these guys beside each other.

 

[clint0601]

Voted for Janissary.

In my recent game as the Ottomans I built 5 Janissarys and took out a whole nation with them, upgraded them to rifles then infantry...having 5 of those infantry is amazing. I might play the Ottomans more often because both of their UUs are so close to each other. I used the Sipahi to take out cannons/artillery and the Janissary to mop up the rest, its a very effective combination.

 

[ense7en]

I really need to get around to actually playing through with the Ottomans.

I'd say they all have their perks really, likely giving the edge to the Janissary, though.

 

[janboruta]

Janissary and Tercio. Janissary because of instaheal (even in Thal's balance mods where it was toned down it was mighty) and the sheer coolness of a Janissary stampede once you research gunpowder. And it really give of the feeling of Ottoman conquests in they 16th century.

Tercio is great because of +100% against mounted units. The AI is likely to have some Knights around (or Cavalry if beelines the tech) when you build the Tercio and it really gives you some edge. Particularly strong against Siam, Songhai and Russia - those Cossacks never went down so quickly as when I was using Tercio and Tercio Rifles

Musketeers are great as well, both in defense and offense, but I think Spanish and Janissaries are superior, even with lower strength.

 

[The_Quasar]

The Janissary is a great unit... and gives a great advantage to the Ottomans at that time...

On a water map, their UA can also be incredibly powerful... protect and milk islands with barbarian camps, and you'll have a large and powerful navy for free, and with reduced maintenance!

It's only poor on a mostly land type map.

 

[apocalypse105]

To be honest currently the janissary is thebest gunpowder units.

But i'm pretty sure the janissary and the ottomans will be changed in gods and king.

The musketman in general will be changed in gods and king it will have a longer use .

As a result the musketeer and tercio's are going to be verry strong because they have a higher combat strenght

Vanilla : jannissary

GOds and king : musketeer

 

[Gucumatz]

Janissary. I wouldn't be surprised though like apocalpyse said if the Ottomans UA and Janissary will be changed to better balance.

 

[BobDole]

This isn't even a question: it's the Janissary. Yeah, I know, the Ottomans still mainly suck due to their awful UA and atrocious 2nd UU (I can't wait until G&K, where maybe they make Lancers and Sipahi useful), but Janissaries just mow everything down, and then heal to full afterward. Oh, and then you can promote them and watch your Riflemen and Mech. Infantry do the same thing.

 

[smallfish]

Is tough choice because the mythical Janissaries are that to me: mythical.

Meanwhile you can upgrade Musketeers into Foreign Legion, into Mech Inf, and boy those boys are city-killers doubly so with SoZ.

 

[strijder20]

Is tough choice because the mythical Janissaries are that to me: mythical.

Xcuse me?

Do you mean you have never seen their power in full effect, or that you think Janissaries did not exist in real life?

 

[smallfish]

Xcuse me?

Do you mean you have never seen their power in full effect, or that you think Janissaries did not exist in real life?

Well, until I try them out personally, its mythical to me.

 

[prince_caspian]

But how about in MP? If pretty much everyone knows janissaries are OP then would anyone expose their units to the GG kill-instaheal units? I'm sure most people would just range-hit those janissaries first before diving in for the kill in which case the heal wouldn't happen unless the seed generator goes berserk.

 

[strijder20]

Well, until I try them out personally, its mythical to me.

Ah ok. I was about to direct you to the wikipedia page for 'Janissary'

 

[smallfish]

But how about in MP? If pretty much everyone knows janissaries are OP then would anyone expose their units to the GG kill-instaheal units? I'm sure most people would just range-hit those janissaries first before diving in for the kill in which case the heal wouldn't happen unless the seed generator goes berserk.

I wonder how well would Janissaries work when you send them into a Great Wall city (this city also has some OCC-esque wide amount of tiles) and every time they uncover a piece of the fog, it shows two cannons and two archers...

 

[Thry]

Ah ok. I was about to direct you to the wikipedia page for 'Janissary'

You're missing the point. There is no reason to play the Ottomans, they're currently the 2nd most useless civilization right after England. If not for the Janissaries, they'd be #1. That's going to massively change with gods & kings though, since ships can now (OH MY GAWD) capture cities.

 

[Tabarnak]

You're missing the point. There is no reason to play the Ottomans, they're currently the 2nd most useless civilization right after England. If not for the Janissaries, they'd be #1.

No, you are missing the point. England's UA makes their UU pretty powerful(for exploration too). And longbowmen are pretty effective on land. Janissaries are the best melee units.

No civs can match England on continent and water maps for fast domination games.

 

[TravisATWA]

You're missing the point. There is no reason to play the Ottomans, they're currently the 2nd most useless civilization right after England. If not for the Janissaries, they'd be #1. That's going to massively change with gods & kings though, since ships can now (OH MY GAWD) capture cities.

I hate to gang up on you here, but i cant believe you just said England was the most worthless civ. Dude long bows are op. Especially if you build archers and get the promotions from an early war. My last deity game i randomed England and survived an Alex and Siam right next to me because i was able to hold them off long enough to bulb longbows. After that those longbows made short work of the entire continent. Most people dismiss the extra naval movement because most people play pangea maps. its huge imo. Are they the best? no ... but they're certainly not the worst


In regards to the actual Op's question. I went with jans as they upgrade to nice rifles. I allmost never actually use gunpowder units though. Longswords to Rifles usually.