Dragoons?

I don't see the use of Dragoons apart from them being able to dismount and have good melee stats.
With the Guard Policing Bonus removed (sadly, the populace were more intimidated by the shabby militia than the shiny Old Guard) and manpower reduced to 60, the Dragoons reverted back to their historical role of regular cavalry. Though quite handy in the early period when you can only recruit light cavalry and lancers, by the time you can recruit cuirassiers make them almost useless. Slow in charging, easy to get tired, and doesn't have good stats like cuirassiers, they were vulnerable to both lancers and heavy cavalry. I only recruit them just to get some historical accuracy. (In SP everything is deadly to the AI).
What's the use of Dragoons, apart from GB, UP, Sweden, and Denmark (who only have Dragoons and no cuirassiers/lancers) in MP and custom battles for other nations? Lancers are more cheaper and deadly, while cuirassiers are takes more punch.

Well, Dragoons are cheaper than Cuirassiers, so depending on the money I have left, I often can fit in two Dragoons instead of 1 Cuirassier.
I usually group 1 Lancer (for charge impact) together with 1 Heavy Cav unit (for sustained melee).
What else would you want from heavy cavalry than "good melee stats" anyway?

Try taking some elite dragoon that GB has and you can ride them to occupy building when needed or use them to trable enemy since they are heavy cavalry and can still beat most unsquared infantry units in melee. Glacian ray has buildings at the center that you can storm when playing no art games.
Bottom line: Dragoons are multitask units that can storm building when they dismount, are a lot cheaper than heavier cavalry and can still beat most unsquared line troops. Just play medium funds and you'll see their worth.

I think of them as mounted infantry rather than cavalry that can dismount.


In a defensive role they can be used as a rapid reserve force to plug gaps anywhere in a long line when they form, or counter flanking infantry.
Once your attacking foe is routed, mount them up and cut down the swine!


Attacking they can be deployed ahead of your army to control the middle ground and have freedom of deployment for your main line, but this is better suited to light infantry.
This is unless there is a section of high ground closer to the enemy than your own forces. Dismount on the slope facing away from the enemy to protect your horses from shot and cannonade.

More commonly, I use them as a flanking force to jab them just in the right spot behind their lines.

These is my favorite type of cavalry because of this multi-role capability.

They can be essentially seen as the 'jack of all trades' cavalry unit. They can do abit of everything but aren't the best at any one task.

But I think its their relatively low cost that make them valuable - early game you can get a few of these with little problem and can be adapted to most tasks. But I agree, come mid to late stages they can become obselete very quickly.

I agree, once you have access to light cav/lancers and heavy cav, they are obsolete.

Again, I don't see how they become obsolete. Especially Light Dragoons with their high stamina. Don't blame the unit for your failure to come up with a new strategy.