Infantry Experience.

[Sir Walter]

No matter how many battles I fight with the same unit of infantry, no matter how many people they kill, no matter how many they lose, they gain not one chevron of experience. I have armies that consist entirely of silver-experience cavalry and totally green infantry... why is this?! Should I let them chase fleeing enemies like I do the cavalry?

[StyggeKrumpen]

Yes Cavalry do gain experience a lot faster then other units especially when chasing down enemies. A way to gain experience faster with infantry is to fight battles without retraining your men.

[Sir Walter]

Yes Cavalry do gain experience a lot faster then other units especially when chasing down enemies. A way to gain experience faster with infantry is to fight battles without retraining your men.

I never did... I had an Crusading army go from Bari all the way along North Africa, then up to Palma then to Granada and no stops for more than a turn... but no infantry experience gains.

[Souka]

Believe you need a certain kill/death ratio for units to gain experience, why cavalry and archers gain experience faster is because they have more kills with lower numbers. Infantry are usally high in numbers thus needing even more kills then cavalry and archers.

[Sir Walter]

Believe you need a certain kill/death ratio for units to gain experience, why cavalry and archers gain experience faster is because they have more kills with lower numbers. Infantry are usally high in numbers thus needing even more kills then cavalry and archers.

That explains it, I suppose. But wouldn't having lots of your soldiers killed make the others more battle-hardened and experienced?

[Ichon]

It is kill ratio unfortunately...

I often have 151 size infantry unit get 150 kills +30 captures but takes 80 losses vs a 45 size cavalry get 40 kills + 80 captures... the infantry actually did 180 total vs the 120 of cavalry but that is 3 to 1 ratio for the cavalry and only 1.2 to 1 for the infantry.

It is rather annoying especially those occasional battles where some infantry does extraordinary with few losses and over 200 kill+capture and get 0 experience vs a cavalry that is almost demolished but the last 7 guy capture 2x the starting unit size in prisoners.

Archers can gain experience really fast if they suffer few losses though I think there is a modifier that increases kill ratio required even more for archers because some battles they will do over 100 kill and only suffer 1 less losses but 0 XP. HA armies are beasts due to really rapid XP gain in addition to their other characteristics in campaign. I think generals might also have a bonus modifier because even in battles they don't do much they still gain XP.

The ratio is calculated each battle though so if you enter a battle with a 151 size infantry unit which has been reduced in size to 80 men and even if they take 70 losses but kill 140 they will most likely gain XP. So the way to power game it is reduce half your infantry units to the right size and make them the flankers... merge them with leftover anchor units and retrain. In a few battles rotating you can get quite powerful infantry. It is quite a bit of micro though and really only worth it on early campaigns because in late campaigns your roster will be changing so often and firearms units, siege, cavalry become the most important with melee infantry mostly fodder rather than a decisive unit.

I've been able to get some basic spear militia up to silver chevrons but only some high defense valued infantry can I manage to get to gold chevron status most campaigns.

[Sir Walter]

It is kill ratio unfortunately...

I often have 151 size infantry unit get 150 kills +30 captures but takes 80 losses vs a 45 size cavalry get 40 kills + 80 captures... the infantry actually did 180 total vs the 120 of cavalry but that is 3 to 1 ratio for the cavalry and only 1.2 to 1 for the infantry.

It is rather annoying especially those occasional battles where some infantry does extraordinary with few losses and over 200 kill+capture and get 0 experience vs a cavalry that is almost demolished but the last 7 guy capture 2x the starting unit size in prisoners.

Archers can gain experience really fast if they suffer few losses though I think there is a modifier that increases kill ratio required even more for archers because some battles they will do over 100 kill and only suffer 1 less losses but 0 XP. HA armies are beasts due to really rapid XP gain in addition to their other characteristics in campaign. I think generals might also have a bonus modifier because even in battles they don't do much they still gain XP.

The ratio is calculated each battle though so if you enter a battle with a 151 size infantry unit which has been reduced in size to 80 men and even if they take 70 losses but kill 140 they will most likely gain XP. So the way to power game it is reduce half your infantry units to the right size and make them the flankers... merge them with leftover anchor units and retrain. In a few battles rotating you can get quite powerful infantry. It is quite a bit of micro though and really only worth it on early campaigns because in late campaigns your roster will be changing so often and firearms units, siege, cavalry become the most important with melee infantry mostly fodder rather than a decisive unit.

Any way to change the system? I think the general bonus would be because the AI is scared of letting its general get hurt and keeps him behind the lines.

[Gogolometro]

Some infantry get experience fast, like javelins elite, gunners, pikes and shock troops.

[Syiedthebard]

I have the feeling experience is on an individual-soldier basis. Maybe it's just REALLY complicated math, but that's what I've gathered so far. So, when you merge units and appear to lose chevrons, they're actually hidden amongst those veteran individuals.

[cezarip]

I have the feeling experience is on an individual-soldier basis. Maybe it's just REALLY complicated math, but that's what I've gathered so far. So, when you merge units and appear to lose chevrons, they're actually hidden amongst those veteran individuals.

It is. The unit chevrons show the average(d) experience per unit. In battle mode, usually the experienced veterans are in the first row because they get to do more killings. But this mean that they also could be killed.
When autoresolving the gained experience is spread to all soldiers of the unit.

[Ichon]

It is. The unit chevrons show the average(d) experience per unit. In battle mode, usually the experienced veterans are in the first row because they get to do more killings. But this mean that they also could be killed.
When autoresolving the gained experience is spread to all soldiers of the unit.

I knew XP was mixed among soldiers in a unit but I didn't know it reflected this in the most XP soldiers are the frontline of a unit. So concievably you could face a unit away from enemy and wait for contact and then the resulting 1 XP unit might become 2 XP with all the veterans in first ranks surviving? Then retrain that units and repeat for 3 XP?

XP is really only important in the early stages of a campaign anyway at least for me. By the time I have more than 2-3 stack it is too much management to worry about XP of individual units not to mention it does not really matter in most cases.

[Sir Walter]

My infantry's job is standing there holding up the enemy until the cavalry get in and win the battle with a thundercharge