Spears....Love'm or leave'm

[Mega Tortas de Bodemloze]

I use spears as my Main Battle-line and can't function without them...



I know how to support them with maces & swords. So do you'all use spears as the main unit in your battle-line?? If not teach me please. My name is
"Mega the Clueless"...

These are what I love & know how to use....

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Caesar Clivus]

I usually use a lot of spears. If the enemy has cavalry then you're pretty much screwed without them. Plus they are good for pinning down enemy infantry while you flank them with your cavalry and/or other infantry.

[cang087]

I don't really use spears, mostly for combined arms so that I don't have that side spot in my army vulnerable to their cav. I mostly use my own cavalry to intercept theirs, if I can't afford that, then I'll use spears...

[pwf224]

Spears rock, they are essential to my battle line. I use mostly spears in front and on the flanks, and elite units in support. I used my archers to fire as normal, and then flank with my cav. Since spears have high defense, they last longer until your elites and cavalry can finish them.

[Mega Tortas de Bodemloze]

Spears rock, they are essential to my battle line. I use mostly spears in front and on the flanks, and elite units in support. I used my archers to fire as normal, and then flank with my cav. Since spears have high defense, they last longer until your elites and cavalry can finish them.

Simplicity is best. You have said it ALL... I really luv the K-Shah cuz they have Two types of Heavy Spear and all the ponies anybody could ever want.

Just started a game as The Crown of Arragon {30 turns in} and they don't have anything past basic spear militia.....

[Musthavename]

Pretty much always use Spear units.

Unless ofcourse i've got Pikes , in which case, i'll pretty much kill everything.

[Viscule]

I


love


pikes.

I usually put three/six rows of spearmen/pikemen(depending on stack) space between each and put heavy infantry in the space. Cavalry on one of the sides to counter about anything i want to. Siege engine that needs to be on the side would be on the opposite side of the cavalry protected by elite/professional units along with my general. Move my archers if they have no cavalry to flank them so i can shoot them in their back. I might hit my own units at times but its worth it.

Random: One thing i hate about enemy generals is that no matter which faction they are from. If they charge into spearmen the spearmen will either die or the general goes right through them and kills anything behind them. (Unless i am capable of stopping him)

[Legal Tender]

I like them but I've been having a lot of problems using Templar's noble spears. They seem to drop like flies and I dont know why. I brace for impact, manouvre so as to receive frontal charges (with plenty of time for them to brace again). Nada. Down they go every time. I even tried increasing their unit size (in EDU) and nope, they just won't last. They won't break until the last 20 or so mind, but they just seem to dissolve if the enemy so much as asks them for the time of the day.

I don't remember having this issue with England's armored seargants. Maybe it was because of the awesome support role of longbows?

Micromanaging cavalry drives me crazy so I usually limit myself to my bodyguards and a couple of the heaviest I have that I hold in reserve until those doGdamned Fatamid generals are engaged elsewhere. Otherwise it's byebye knights.

Viscule, I have noticed this too. My spears will be in perfect order, waiting for the damned enemy BG's charge and when it hits it's DOMINOES!!one!eleventy! I'd laugh if it wasn't so sad to see my (expensive) units melt down like that.

When I first noticed I thought I'd gear up everything for the production of the Swiss Guard. Those guys look deadly but then I started reading that halberds will not take a charge and I expect the carnage will be even worse =(

Re pikes: The problem I have with them is that my AI is clever enough to engage the edge of my line. Now, I know that pikes must have their flanks covered so I've tried using a unit of spears at the edge, slighlty angled so as to receive the flanking cavalry gead-on but then the opposing knights/BG/armored chihuahuas will keep circling until they are damned sure they'll get that spear from behind.

At this point, if I turn the spears to keep the cavalry in check, the AI will send whatever it's got to hit the newly created space in between the pikes and the spears. Result: carnage. The AI usually does this with their general so here is where I decide how many knights I'm going to send to their deaths to buy enough time to bring a by now half-depleted unit of pikes or spears to bear on the enemy general.

Note that my battles usually go this way because I almost always fight outnumbered. I limit my stacks to 3/4 at most because otherwise the campaing AI will not engage me in the field and I'm mortally tired of siege battles.

[Mattzo12]

I love em.

Especially Order Spearmen of the Teutonic Order. something like 20 defence and 11 attack!

They rock!

[Viscule]

Might be because he has alot of command, etc. But King Alaxandair annihilated over 9 spearmen units. Which is INSANE. <.<;

Flanked him and basically surrounded him with spearmen. He just walked through them chopping them one by one, got out and charged right back in. The first thing that popped into my head was: This is supposed to be realistic? Good fighter, sure. Superman, no!

It was the armored sergeants or w/e the name is again. The spearmen england can recruit. Mind you that they had armor upgraded.

[Mattzo12]

Whoa ... english in the campaign only get spear militia/levy spears. Armoured sergeants custom only.

[TeutonicKnight]

Whoa ... english in the campaign only get spear militia/levy spears. Armoured sergeants custom only.

You are in the Stainless Steel folder. England gets Armoured Spears from castles. Spear militia no longer exist, they are replaced with levy spears (for England).

One unit I'm pretty damned upset with are the Scottish pikemen you can recruit from cities as Scotland. Here I am thinking, "Woohoo, first pikemen on the battle line!". Wrong! They can do the schiltron, but that's it. No spear wall. They don't even think about lowering their pikes until the enemy is already hitting them. Bad design there.

In answer to the OP, I can't imagine going into a battle without half my units being spearmen.

[iron88]

I like them but I've been having a lot of problems using Templar's noble spears. They seem to drop like flies and I dont know why. I brace for impact, manouvre so as to receive frontal charges (with plenty of time for them to brace again). Nada. Down they go every time. I even tried increasing their unit size (in EDU) and nope, they just won't last. They won't break until the last 20 or so mind, but they just seem to dissolve if the enemy so much as asks them for the time of the day.

Try 6.2, the basic city Templar Spearman are a top tier unit in that mod. They are balanced by their lack of militia status, but they make up for it in being the readily available backbone of that faction. Twice in my campaign a stack of them ground down 4 stacks of sieging mongols. And also almost ground down my computer.

[LionQ]

"Schilltrom!"

[Viscule]

"Schilltrom!"

Only find use for it to stop the massive rush at my gates whenever someone attack my castle/city. In a field battle i just cant make myself using it for any reason.

[Mega Tortas de Bodemloze]

Only find use for it to stop the massive rush at my gates whenever someone attack my castle/city. In a field battle i just cant make myself using it for any reason.

No No No my friend... It has many uses in the open field. When you bait the rush, pull your range behind a line of them. Then reach out with your flankers and give them a Big Ole Russian Bear hug from behind. If you have the high ground and bait the rush it's purely lambs to the slaughter...Mint Jelly anyone..??..

@ TeutonicKnight...Yes I can see how if playing England or the Teuton Order one would be VERY fond of heavy spears...

[LionQ]

No No No my friend... It has many uses in the open field. When you bait the rush, pull your range behind a line of them. Then reach out with your flankers and give them a Big Ole Russian Bear hug from behind. If you have the high ground and bait the rush it's purely lambs to the slaughter...Mint Jelly anyone..??..

...

Hahaha, perfect reply.

[mikil100]

While spears are great, I don't like using them because in my opinion it makes the game FAAAR to bland. I try to use 3-5 spears in my armies. Then I try my hardest to have 3-4 Archer units with deployable stakes. I use my spears for nothing but holding the line and cavalry killers; mostly the latter.

However, when Pikemen become available, if I'm a country that would seem to use them as a main force, it constitutes my main line with about 7 units.... I wish M2TW supported hammer and anvil tactics, my cavalry gets owned when it charges the pinned enemy from the read cause my own pikes end up killing them! *headdesk*

Oh and

"Schilltrom!"

"LONGBOW"

Yes, I'm referring to the battle of Falkirk =P

[Caesar Clivus]

"LONGBOW"

Yes, I'm referring to the battle of Falkirk =P

Closely followed by:

"OH CRAP!!!!!"

[Mega Tortas de Bodemloze]

Quote:
Originally Posted by mikil100
"LONGBOW"

Yes, I'm referring to the battle of Falkirk =P

Closely followed by:

"OH CRAP!!!!!"

Tis True Tis True....Thats why we employ...Flankers to protect the noble spear....