Swordsman

[surfersjk]

Hi everyone. Just thought I would ask a question.
I have been playing a game against the French, and had got fairly well in front of them in all respects. My military was larger than theirs, so I decided to attack and go for a military conquest. I sent literally hordes of Longbowmen and Pikemen against a relitively small French force, expecting an easy victory. But the French had a limited amount of Swordsmen, and they regularly beat my Longbowmen and Pikemen. The ratio was something in the region of five to one. I did achieve victory,but only just, and lost a considerable amount of men in the process.
My question is: Are Swordsmen stronger units then Longbowmen and Pikemen, and how do I get them? And would my men have fared better if they had been defending their own territory rather than attacking? Or does the ai tend to have favours on its side during certain parts of the game, allowing it unfair victories?
Thanks for reading this,
Kev.

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

Longbowmen ahould win against Swordsmen when attacking, but will be slaughtered on the defnce. Pikemen should win on the defence, but will not get anywhere offensively.

Check the three values behing verey unit when you right-click (like 3/2/0(1) ) on a Swordsman would mean attack 3 defence 2 moves 0 left of 1 possible.

 

[Dell19]

You need the strategic resource, Iron to build swordsmen, or the equivalent unique units. To find Iron in your territory you need to research iron working, which displays all the sources nearby. You then need to build a road to the source and link the road to each city that you want to build swordsmen in.

Swordsmen have an attack of 3 and a defence of 2. Persian swordsmen (Immortals) have an attack of 4.

Longbowman are good for attacking and have the same attack as normal swordsmen (I believe) but Pikemen are useless for actual attacks as they have an attack strength of 1 but great for defence. Basically they should be in your armies but not used for actuall attacks.

So swordsmen are likely to win against longbowmen and may win against pikemen. For more information you should use the civilopedia as it does get most of the values right for each unit and this will help you choose the best troops.

Finally defenders gain bonuses from certain terrain and also from being fortified in cities.

 

[Padma]

Like Killer said, swordsmen are 3 attack, 2 defense. A pikeman just isn't going to do it. And don't forget about terrain and other defensive bonuses. To attack even a few swordsmen fortified in a walled city on a hill across a river, you had better bring plenty of reinforcements! (All subject, of course, to the random number generator, which is known to be, ahh... streaky.)

As to how you can get swordsmen, they are just the upgrade to warriors, once you have iron. Of course, they are not themselves upgradeable, so unless you are planning ancient era war, they are not necessarily the best choice to build.

Edit: I see Dell19 got here with an even better/more complete answer than mine.

 

[surfersjk]

Thanks for the quick and helpful replies, lads. I have since tried new attacks and defences with this knowledge, and have fared a lot better! (No surprise there, then)!
Anyway, thanks again, really appeciated.
Kev.

 

[Zachriel]

Swordsmen (3/2) are easiest to handle and come sooner, but longbow and pikemen (4/3) marching together can be quite wicked until the advent of knights.

 

[dannyevilcat]

I didn't think anybody bothered with archers... When I attack all that's needed is some sort of horse unit. Everything else is too slow and plodding.

 

[Zachriel]

Originally posted by dannyevilcat
I didn't think anybody bothered with archers... When I attack all that's needed is some sort of horse unit. Everything else is too slow and plodding.

Before knights, fortified pikemen are much too strong for the typical horsemen attack (2v3). I have used longbow to great effect against pikemen (4v3).

Of course, everybody plays differently. You could avoid war until knights (but I for one never play as if I know the future), but then again, sometimes wars are unavoidable. In any case, one certainly wouldn't want to be toothless during any age of the game.

 

[damunzy]

My first war is usually when I get Swordsmen....I have modified them to be upgradable to Knights so they aren't as a bad choice (I have made every unit upgradable to something else...yes, even cavalry). I have never used Longbowman/Pikemen b/c I am normally bombarding with my catapults and don't need that extra 1 A, although I can see that it is a good idea.

 

[Zachriel]

Originally posted by PaleHorse76
I am normally bombarding with my catapults and don't need that extra 1 A,

Catapult are cool, as long as you have a few hundred years to hang out hurling things like stones and cows at town walls. Bring lunch!