Gen replacement YES or NO

So the question is, is General replacement a legitimate tactics or an exploitation of the engine.

When I say this, I mean "when people changes the type of unit which general would be included"
In default, it is "general's bodyguard" but some players change it to some other unit like "Foot Guard" or "Howitzer"

I've always thought of it as exploitation of the engine as it give player advantage by covering up the weakness called "mounted general".
This is especially essential in countries such as Portugal which expect general assassination by enemy cav to occur in any moment and map like flat land where cannons are expected to work as "General killer"

But I found out lately that some players think of this as a "legitimate tactics" and do so without hesitation.
Therefore, I thought it was a good idea to see if I'm the minority or they're the minority.

maybe im being stupid but do you mean when ppl put there gen in a line ? if so i dont see why it is a problem it would be a disadvantage as he cant quickly move to rally certain points of the field.

If you mean putting a gen in a line,I don't really see any problem with it.Yes,they are now invulnerable to cav,and art does less damage,but now they lose much of the inspiration a normal gen gets. Besides,most people probably only do it if they need that little extra money for that old guard unit...

oh, i always put my general in a militia unit....
i think its perfectly legit as a tactic, exploiting the engine is a different matter.however, i think its perfectly possible for a legit tactic to exploit the engine, they can go hand in hand on occasion....
Exploit
"1 make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource):500 companies sprang up to exploit this new technology

2 make use of (a situation) in a way considered unfair or underhand:the company was exploiting a legal loophole

• benefit unfairly from the work of (someone), typically by overworking or underpaying them:women are exploited in the workplace"

oxford dictionary ftw
exploitation is not always illegitimate

Legitimate
"1 conforming to the law or to rules:his claims to legitimate authority

2 able to be defended with logic or justification; valid:a legitimate excuse for being late"

I guess it's fine but I really dont see the point. Generals are a more important unit than any one unit is imo.

The main reason people do it isn't defense,it's just for extra money (e.g. "Aw,I wish that young guard could magically turn into an Old Guard")

exactemundo the extra money can be quite usefull to get some extra elites I do that alot since I forget to use the gens abilities anyhow and I always leave my gen far away from the army if i got him in a line i got him close by always and if thanks to the money I get an extra elite i got the extra inspiration so those are the reasons i dont ussualy take the gens staff the thing with art inst really a big thing when i do take gens staff it ussualy dies since im allways tempted to use that extra 18 cav and throw them at something in the mid/later game and doesnt ussualy die from art (on flats if u leave ur gen far behind enought even 12-pounders will need a super lucky shot to accualy hit him)
Anyways i do think its got its adavantages but I dont think its an exploit.

yea but its dumb because your young guard will act like an old guard with that boost of morale for a few seconds along with the line fighting till the end and your lights able to take a charge from light cav without routing. Those few seconds where it has a boosted morale could be a game changer for the enemy. That extra boost from elites cant be put on all sides of the field and I'm already usually able to get at least one Old Guard on the field with my armies and the morale boost doesnt stack with elites, it does stack with general's bodyguard though from what I can see.

True,but light inf shouldn't be vulnerable to cav in the first place,the boost only lasts a few seconds,and clever positioning can inspire your whole line.Yes,if I could,I would buy a 3-star gen for my army,but when i've only got enough for a gen's staff i'd much prefer a gen in an old guard than the former.

It's very debatable actually,so if we're gonna discuss that,let the flame war begin in another thread

If your enemy is even somewhat good, all your troops are at some risk of routing. Especially with artillery on the field. All he has to do is direct artillery at a spot, fire, then charge a light cavalry at it and hope to cause a rout in that sector of the battlefield.

i thought the "inspire" unit was the same no matter what unit. The rally ability and the Inspire are usefull especially on cavalry.

well i mean when you hit rally on a group of units with low morale they hold alot longer, it stacks with the boost from the elite unit in that vicinity and makes them like super powerful while if you have 3 guards right beside each other it doesnt really do anything major except the normal inspire.

ah i see what you mean.

Originally Posted by {GODS}Scipio_Africanus

well i mean when you hit rally on a group of units with low morale they hold alot longer, it stacks with the boost from the elite unit in that vicinity and makes them like super powerful while if you have 3 guards right beside each other it doesnt really do anything major except the normal inspire.

I think alot of people forget that if a units moral is at eager they perform alot better so having a bunch of inspire units bunched together puts units around them at eager and in turn makes them a much better fighting force.

On the replaced gen thing i never do it as i enjoy using my gen and his ability's but when i face it,it can be frustrating depending on where he is.When i face france players that use it they normally put him on the flank in one of his old guards which i like because you can just attack that flank with everything you got and wipe the gen and oldguard out in one shot but if he is placed in the center it can be a pain in the ass because you just no there gen will be around to the end of the game and there is nothing you can do about it.

I try to spread my elites throught the army to get to inspire to as much units as possible geting a more stable army overall through the entire battle.

generals are also extremely good at making morale take a nose dive for enemy units-probably the old guard can compete with their "scare" ability.also, its an exploit, but in only one sense of the word (re definitions at the beginning)

Originally Posted by Y@$!N

generals are also extremely good at making morale take a nose dive for enemy units

Yeah, I noticed that too... the "rally" ability seems to not only give a morale buff to friendlies, but also a debuff to enemies.