two-handers - pikes/spears

[Killahspunge]

Hi, i ordered this game on thursday, hoping it will come on monday and as i become obsessed with games when im about to get them i get demo's and watch youtube video's, the usual.

but anyway, i played the demo and i wanted to know, i know pikes and spears are good at stopping cavalry in their tracks, but what to two-handers do? are they just better at fighting other infantry units? or do they have something else.

thanks in advance

[Sokar Rostau]

Two handers have a bonus extra slow attack animation so that fast units, like Peasants, can turn them into pwnsauce.

[Killahspunge]

so, its better just to take spearmen/halberd people instead, i know pikemen are only good vs. cavalry

[Tankfriend]

2-handed units are bugged in the Vanilla version of the game, but if you play mods or install the community fixes (I think there are some) then they turn into quite powerful units.
You have to remember though, that they are mainly useful for attacking units that are already engaged, not for defending a certain position.
Most of the 2-handeds have a very high attack value (and heavy armor) and armor piercing is quite common, so they can be a very potent force to work with.

[Theseus1234]

the two handers are VERY good shock troops, and can deliver the coup de grace to already engaged enemy rears when no other cavalry will do

its VERY important to keep them out of prolonged melee, for they will suffer because of their slow animations and low defence

if you didnt know already, two handers have a slow animation, so that when a unit with a faster attack animation, like peasants, attacks, the 2 handers will be forced on the defensive, and start the attack sequence ALL over again

[xxxMoRaVexxx]

where exactly are the bug fixes, i hate it when i buy those expensive two handers that dont work.

[Theseus1234]

the patches should be at the total war site, i dont know for sure though
the update is here: CLICK

[Surgeon]

Why in the world do people keep saying that the slow animations are a bug? Two-handers with axes = shock troops. Keep them out of long melees and use them to chargepwn the enemy. Two-handers with halberds and swords = super melee troops, anti-everything but very vulnerable to missiles. You want to keep them engaged in melee for as long as possible.

The only major two-hander bug was them not being able to attack cavalry. The slow attack anims are intentional.

[Tankfriend]

I do remember for example the English billmen and they were total **** against anything because their animation was too slow. With mod/fixes the attack speed is still quite low but fast enough that the 2-handers can get more than a single attack that gets blocked anyway. So I would say that they definitely are/were bugged.