Halberdiers, billmen, etc.

[Metellus]

Is there any point to these types of units? I have compared them to similar infantry (spear militia, etc) and they just seem too expensive and have crappy attack and defence. On top of that they cost more! I'm playing Sicily and while halberdiers look really cool I haven't built many because Spear Militia seem way more economical. Halberdiers and the like also break formation too easily and don't seem very effective even against cavalry. Any useful tips would be appreciated, as well as any tweaks I can make so make them more reasonable (note, not "uber", I like play balance).

[Exidus Maximus]

in real life the halberd and the the billhook where the ultimate weapon. they could hack, stab, pull a man off his horse, kill a horse from a distance, or hold a line like a row of spears.

in the game... they SUCK.. their only real use is as assault troops imho. cannon fodder as it where. pack them deep, not wide, and have them charge a weakened enemy position.... they are heavy enough to get through, and strong enough to stay there and make the enemy move on your terms... when the enemy swarms them, use the rest of your army to flank the enemy like crazy.

wish they would make the units as good as they really where tho... they WERE NOT that expensive, and they where EASY to use... but also VERY deadly... they would be uber units tho. beat swords, cav, and spears... but who cares? it just makes it that much better when u kick their asses!!!

[Nevins]

And the fact that the better ones are in plate + are militia for England. Free upkeeps troops that can hold their own are always good

[Point Blank]

Try RealCombat mod, polearms have been re-worked and balanced, and also use a different animation.

[Kalos]

Moved to Battle Planning.

[Renco]

Eh... England gets armoured swordsmen pretty early, so that is wnough infantry wise, and a few well positioned stakes provide a fine defence against the cav of France. Two units to attack a cav unit brought stationary due to stakes is a fairly useful thing to have.
As the main offensive or defensive unit, they suck, but with help, they are one of the best anti cav I have ever some across.

[Metellus]

Ah, okay thanks this confirms what I thought: they basically suck without a mod. Another thing to look forward to when I d/l Stainless Steel 5.0!

[Sher Khan]

Try playing the Turks or Egypt and use their Middle Eastern Halberd Militia (or even Janissary Heavy Infantry). They lose the pikewall ability, but gain a decent armor rating, making them a bit more versatile as cheap heavy infantry killers rather than cavalry killers (you have Saracen Militia or Dismounted Sipahis for that purpose).


I personally use halberds as support troops when facing heavier infantry or cavalry. Use a well-armored, well-shielded melee unit to pin the enemy unit, then send in your halberds on a flanking maneuver to the enemy side or rear. They'll tear through armored enemies like a can-opener. Their anti-cav and anti-armor trait makes them that much deadlier when taking down heavy cavalry (that's pinned down of course).



Anyway, if you really want to see the glory of the halberd in action, try out a unit of Janissary Heavy Infantry in Custom Battle.

[TWoxy]

European halberdiers seem abysmal to me. Incredibly slow and vunerable to arrow fire, and they can be raped by billmen in combat anyway. It is kinda cool watching them advance with polearms held in front of them, though.

[Sher Khan]

It's why I love Middle Eastern Halberdiers. They can actually play the role of cheap heavy infantry with their decent armor rating.

European halberds, for me, are never really useful outside of their pikewall formation.

[Metellus]

And their pikewall ain't that good either!