Gendarmes, invicinble?

[Paladin94610]

What the hell is this?
Gendarmes eating chunks of pikemen. The pikemen in 6.3 seems to be much less effective, they thrust their pikes deep into the gendarmes still they don't die and instead of dying they ate up the pikemen. They will easily scatter the non-gendarmes cavalry wings then attack the heavy infantry from behind and take out the pikemen from front? I can bet a solely gendarmes army will break the 3 pike and shot squares. I used normal pikemen not late guys. But they should still be effective against gendarmes.
Their mass effect seems to be very high although they just wear chain mail for their mount. They pushed the pikemen into a U and if the pike line is thin, they will break in and divide the pike line into two. All those happen even they don't charge. They are quite overpowered. A Byzantine player will not have a chance to stand against them in the late era coz they will easily kill the scholarii even on initial charge because of their long massive lances.

[Ichon]

What the hell is this?
Gendarmes eating chunks of pikemen. The pikemen in 6.3 seems to be much less effective, they thrust their pikes deep into the gendarmes still they don't die and instead of dying they ate up the pikemen. They will easily scatter the non-gendarmes cavalry wings then attack the heavy infantry from behind and take out the pikemen from front? I can bet a solely gendarmes army will break the 3 pike and shot squares. I used normal pikemen not late guys. But they should still be effective against gendarmes.
Their mass effect seems to be very high although they just wear chain mail for their mount. They pushed the pikemen into a U and if the pike line is thin, they will break in and divide the pike line into two. All those happen even they don't charge. They are quite overpowered. A Byzantine player will not have a chance to stand against them in the late era coz they will easily kill the scholarii even on initial charge because of their long massive lances.

Yeah... Gendarmes are one of the 2 or 3 strongest cavalry in SS. Luckily armies rarely have more than 2 or 3 of them at a time. Why the hell would you charge Scholarii right into their lances anyway?

[Spartan90]

Bet those Gendarmes can't eat chunks of my FLAMING MANGONEL BARRELS!!! KA-BLAU!!

[RabidSheepLegion]

Bet those Gendarmes can't eat chunks of my FLAMING MANGONEL BARRELS!!! KA-BLAU!!

or planted stakes

[Paladin94610]

What about lancers!! They will be horrible to the gendarmes and nightmare the pikemen.
I tested gendarmes with Late Pikemen, the pikes now seems to work well.

[Spartan90]

What about lancers!! They will be horrible to the gendarmes and nightmare the pikemen.
I tested gendarmes with Late Pikemen, the pikes now seems to work well.

To compliment your Pikemen, spam some cheap Spearmen to chuck into the meat grinder. Even though Pikemen work wonders against Cavalry, there's nothing in the game to stop the effects of a full blown charge. Using cheap Spearmen to absorb any charges and letting your expensive, shiny Pikemen stand right behind them is the most cost-effective way to take down late-era Cavalry.

Or like the previous post said, strategically lay down some stakes

[Gogolometro]

Pikes never work alone. Except an exceptional one versus a crappy cavalry.
To win versus super late/armored cavalry like gendarmes, who are lancers cousins, use behind pikes any halebards. Pikes will absorb the charge and halebards kill the cavalry. GG!

[Alavaria]

Or like the previous post said, strategically lay down some stakes

Pikes don't work because they rely on living people. But spikes are magical and massacre entire armies >.> Being on a horse means spikes can instakill you. Even gendarmes.

I kind of like watching poor spearmen get blown away by generals cavalry or so on >.> (even if they're my own) of course I also like just watching 50 horsemen try to fight 400+ spearmen.

[Spartan90]

Spikes + gates =

[napoleonic]

or beat them with gothic knights

[Gogolometro]

In melee. In charge, almost anything is obliterated. I suggest to anyone who need to face uber cavalry to play like this, crossbows/gunners in front in thin line. Behind them pikes, spears covering the xbows/gunners with 1-2 meters. Behind pikes halebards or/and two handers shock troops. When gendarmes atack, xbows/gunners will have time to fire 2 volleys. After that I recommend retreat behind pikes. Pikes will absorb initial charge and lose 30-60% of their mans. Right away atack from behind pikes with halebards, thowhanders.
More particulary, genovese armys facing french troops. Any french troop is a problem when is mounted, but you are unlucky you will face gendarmes, lancers and so on. Pikes, probably will be some mnercenaries, swiss if you are lucky, militia most of time. You can have xbows, both militia and castle pro's. Plus the handgunners. You can have vulgiers, very effective halebards who can sometime to be used like pikes.
Imagining you have 1 swiss pike, 2 militia, 6 voulgiers, 2 xbows militia pavise and 2 handgunners and must face 2-3 gendarmes and 1-2 lancers, things look very, very bad. Put in front the pikes, in front of pikes gunners/xbows, behind voulgiers. Is a must to retreat your xbows/gunners, because charge will route them. But after you lose many guys initial, will see even gunners and xbows are very good sword users.
Normal AI will retreat to charge again. Is a place for new volleys, redeployment and never countercharge with infantry.
Back to basic, never allow cavalry to charge you from uphill, this will make you in a worse case scenario. Find good hills, woods, to make you deployment effective and posibility to put your units like a ladder, this allow xbows/gunners to fire behind pikes/halebards with no danger.
If you are venetian, recruit your fast light mace armored cavalry. If you are danes, get the cleric. Like HRE you have rittenbrunders and gothic/imperial knights.
In any sityatuation you will find in all europe pools to recruit catalans. They are armor killers. To stay sit to be hit by lancer/gendarmes hammer. Even moving 3-4 meters your units, the cavalry will lose the intial charge force.
Never imagine is any uber unit (except JHI probably). Any unit have their counterpart. Even best units can fail miserably used wrong, excesive recruitment, stacks with only HA for example. A battle in hills is not like on field, mountains or siege. So choose unit wisely, best unit in that game is your tactic and wise decision.
And remember a lancer/gendarme cost like 4-5 units of crappy militia!

[ecclesian_knight]

Gendarmes are French only right?

how about the Lancers by the same faction? they are like totally awesome

[Gogolometro]

Gendarmes are not french only. Some european factions have them too.

[myself]

Lancers are even better indeed ;-)

[ecclesian_knight]

Yes! LANCERS are better indeed

[RabidSheepLegion]

i love stakes because when enemy cav hits them, if I have some guys just a bit behind them, enemy corpses are behind my guys

[Paladin94610]

Gendarmes are not french only. Some european factions have them too.

Yeah. France, Spain, the HRE, Genoa, Venice and Papal States get access to Gendarmes.
But France and Spain (Leon-Castile and Aragon) have higher rate of replenishment in the recruitment pool, (0.5). The HRE had easy access to Burgundian Gendarmes so they get 0.34 rate of replenishment. The Genoa and Vinice have 0.25 rate. So France and Spain can recruit a gendarmes every 2 turns, while the HRE is able every 3 turns. The Italian States will have only 1 gendarmes in pool every 4 turns.

[Gogolometro]

But HRE get gothic knights not only gendarmes, plus imperial knights. Italians have their own broken lances, venice stradiots, who are light cavalry with mace, one of the best looking cavalry in all game, plus genova get their genovese patricians, who are lancers type cavalry.

[Paladin94610]

BTW, stratiots no longer get AP maces, what do they get instead?

[crsutton]

Well, actually the biggest surprise for me is how much more effective javlin units are vs in my old version. I find that they are quite useful now. Flank HC or bodyguard with javilins. They just seem to mow them down.

In MTW and SS 6.0, I just did not bother with javlins much. Now they are in every army that I have. Put them right in front of your pikes and set them to skirmish. They will deliver a devistating volley of javlins into the charge and then pull back.

My only campaign so far is as the Romans. The greek fire shooters are also have been upgrated into the "whupass" catagory. They were good before but are even deadlier now. Armor does not matter. One salvo of hot flame into any unit and it just disintergrates. I save them for the bodyguard.