Gaining experience

[SCGavin]

I wonder how units gain experience that ranks higher than three chevrons. Every time I reinforce units the experience lessens - witch makes sense but effectively means that I have no troops for land-warfare with more than two or three chevrons. Does anyone know how to gain e.g. six chevrons and keep them?

[coman]

You need to maximize your units killing power and minimize their losses. Merge units of similar experience level instead of replacing with recruits.

A good way to gain experience:

Place a line unit in front of a Ranger/Skirmish unit and have them move two units deep. The skirmish group adds a layer of firepower. Once the enemy you're fighting is matched and wavering, rush them with the line.

Experience is based on the number of killed men the units have recorded. The more they kill with the fewer new replacements, the higher the experience level. I regularly maintain units over 3 chevrons. Units in auto-fights seem to get a lot of morale and generals get good traits as well. Much more so than when I do so manually. Consider this.

[snuggans]

just before anyone asks, experience only increases morale. the advisor told me so!

edit: nvm, see here!

[Knight Errant]

just before anyone asks, experience only increases morale. the advisor told me so!

Then the adviser is lying

Prussian Line Infantry with zero Experience:



Prussian Line Infantry with maxed Experience:




Prussian Mortar Battery with zero Experience:




Prussian Mortar Battery with maxed Experience:




As you can see there's quite a large difference, however despite the rather large increase in reload skill, the mortar battery only fires about three seconds faster than the green one.

[Nobbs]

You need to maximize your units killing power and minimize their losses. Merge units of similar experience level instead of replacing with recruits.

Experience is based on the number of killed men the units have recorded. The more they kill with the fewer new replacements, the higher the experience level. I regularly maintain units over 3 chevrons. Units in auto-fights seem to get a lot of morale and generals get good traits as well. Much more so than when I do so manually. Consider this.

This was true for all the previous TW titles, but I fear this doesn't apply for ETW. I think the in-game advisor once stated that experience is gained both by inflicting and sustaining casualties in combat. I've noticed that my most depleted units often are the ones with the most experience, even if they served mostly as artillery-bait, so I hope this is correct.


Plus, replenishing troops no longer seems to affect their experience level. I have re-trained rank 2-3 regiments with less than 20 people left and noticed no drop in experience at all.

[Legionary Titus Pullo]

This was true for all the previous TW titles, but I fear this doesn't apply for ETW. I think the in-game advisor once stated that experience is gained both by inflicting and sustaining casualties in combat. I've noticed that my most depleted units often are the ones with the most experience, even if they served mostly as artillery-bait, so I hope this is correct.


Plus, replenishing troops no longer seems to affect their experience level. I have re-trained rank 2-3 regiments with less than 20 people left and noticed no drop in experience at all.

your units with the most casualties will level up faster because the experience is shared between fewer units thus levelling them up, you will find that this bonus will be lost when you reinforce them. :hmmm:

[♔GrinningManiac♔]

How do you actually gain experience? I have my 1st Ukranian Line "the Early Birds", and my 2nd Don Voisko Infantry.

Both have served from Georgia, all aorund the Black sea up to Rumelia, then took Moldavia TWICE (Austria's a backstabber, be warned), retook Serbia, took Greece and have just taken the bottom of Poland today.

only a chevron.

What gives? Killed plenty in that long trip

[Ondaderthad]

Instead of reinforcing the units with chevrons you can merge 2 units with equal experience. (drag and drop the smaller unit onto the larger one) Then call reinforcements with only the regular units selected.

[J. Fishman]

I wonder how units gain experience that ranks higher than three chevrons. Every time I reinforce units the experience lessens - witch makes sense but effectively means that I have no troops for land-warfare with more than two or three chevrons.

Do you NEED troops with more than that?

Does anyone know how to gain e.g. six chevrons and keep them?

Kill lots of people with them. Don't die. This is easy to do with artillery, for instance. Other units tend to take natural attrition because they don't have the luxury of flattening enemies that can't shoot back at them.

[SCGavin]

A good way to gain experience:

Place a line unit in front of a Ranger/Skirmish unit and have them move two units deep. The skirmish group adds a layer of firepower. Once the enemy you're fighting is matched and wavering, rush them with the line.

Experience is based on the number of killed men the units have recorded. The more they kill with the fewer new replacements, the higher the experience level. I regularly maintain units over 3 chevrons. Units in auto-fights seem to get a lot of morale and generals get good traits as well. Much more so than when I do so manually. Consider this.

Thank you. I'll try that!

You need to maximize your units killing power and minimize their losses. Merge units of similar experience level instead of replacing with recruits.

Instead of reinforcing the units with chevrons you can merge 2 units with equal experience. (drag and drop the smaller unit onto the larger one) Then call reinforcements with only the regular units selected.

Thanks! I wondered who to merge the units. But what happens if the normal unit strength is 120 and I merge a 80 and a 70 men strong unit? Do I get 120 nonetheless or a 150 men strong regiment?

[mir24]

Thanks! I wondered who to merge the units. But what happens if the normal unit strength is 120 and I merge a 80 and a 70 men strong unit? Do I get 120 nonetheless or a 150 men strong regiment?

You probably know this by now, but just in case... When you merge them, you end up with 120-man unit and a 30-man unit... The 120-man unit will have its total experience averaged...

[Billmonaghan]

Thank you. I'll try that!




Thanks! I wondered who to merge the units. But what happens if the normal unit strength is 120 and I merge a 80 and a 70 men strong unit? Do I get 120 nonetheless or a 150 men strong regiment?

You'll get a 120 man unit and a 30 man unit. You can leave the 30-man unit in a reserve area and use them to add replacements to your full unit after it takes casualties.

[Legionary Titus Pullo]

nice find, i thought there must be more to gaining experience than just morale. makes what im doing so much more worthwhile.

[mandalore9]

I think the accuracy/ reloading doesnt really improve until you get the STARS. Simply having 1 or 2 chevrons only improves the melee + defense and i think morale.

Sort of Off-Topic: Has anyone ever seen British Guards with Full experience with platoon firing? They are like a machine gun!!! Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom, repeat. xD

[priam11]

I think the accuracy/ reloading doesnt really improve until you get the STARS. Simply having 1 or 2 chevrons only improves the melee + defense and i think morale.

Sort of Off-Topic: Has anyone ever seen British Guards with Full experience with platoon firing? They are like a damn machine gun!!! Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom, repeat. xD

Sweet....I have to test this.

Ok.

I did some one on one battles with a single line infantry on each side, same number of men, same basic stats but my controlled unit had experience to the max and none for the other side.

Basically I lost half the battles and the ones I did win, my casualty rates were not much different than the enemy.

I tried this on Hard only. Maybe on Normal it would be different.

So I not sure that experience makes that much of a difference. I know the unit cards indicate otherwise

If someone wants to test this further, by all means, do so.

[Legionary Titus Pullo]

its not just kills that effect experience

[♔GrinningManiac♔]

its not just kills that effect experience

....

....

...go on...?

[Monglor]

I think there is more to it than just kills, but damned if I could tell you what. It's just a hunch I have really

As for getting units up to high experience I find the best ways are to auto-resolve your easier battles and generally just treat them carefully. Don't leave them in a fight too long, don't stand them in deep formations when there are cannons firing at them, don't run if you can walk to save stamina and so on. It's very easy to just replace regiments in ETW, it's more of a challenge if you can hold on to your best troops right to the finish.

[Miganto]

I've tried stacking, it doesn't seem to work....is there a special way, unlike RTW, or is it slightly bugged, or did i just get amnesia?

[SCGavin]

I've tried both auto-managing battles and fighting myself by now. Although I can see that they gain more experience when I auto-manage they don't gain that much more. I also tried merging units with similar or same experience, whereafter those troops had the experience they had before and full manpower again. Therefore that worked as well. By using those tips I managed to keep units for around 70 years (wow... don't those experienced guys never die?) on the best experience level they had gained previously. It never surpassed four chevrons though. Only ships-of-the-line seem to manage stars.