Who has the most Western style knights.

[zacen299]

Which faction has the most Western style classic knights. So far of all the factions I checked the Crusader States, England and Denmark seem to have the most. So what I want is twofold 1. Are there other factions I missed? 2. And if there are no others which of those factions would you recommend.

[k/t]

France and HRE.

[MagicCuboid]

In the very early period, English and Sicilian Miles are some of the best western heavy cavalry you can find since they have +1 attack against the regular Mailed Knights.

Once you get fortresses, France gets French Feudal Knights, which are a costlier but superior version of the Feudal Knights most other kingdoms receive. Sicily, on the other hand, gets Sicilio-Norman Knights. I think they're superior to French Feudal Knights.

Once plate armor comes around, the French receive their French Chivalric Knights, which are again a costlier and superior version of the Chivalric Knights some other kingdoms receive. They also get Noble Knights around the same time, which are more expensive but add to the number of knights France can recruit.

This is when France begins to outnumber/outshine other western kingdoms in terms of their heavy cavalry.

The English and the Holy Roman Empire keep up with their King's Men and Imperial Knights, respectively. They rely more on brawling than charging due to their AP weapons. They can't field the same numbers as France, though.

Finally, in addition to the Gendarmes that other kingdoms receive with Advanced Plate, France also receives their Lancers. Many say they're the best chargers in the game. The other kingdoms don't receive any unique units comparable, though King's Men and Imperial Knights can still go toe to toe with Lancers if they deny the charge.

This is all from memory so I might have left some crucial bit out, but I think you see France shines in terms of their knights. They are very expensive compared to the competition, though, so you'll want to make sure you're willing to pay for them.

[Roma_Victrix]

Once plate armor comes around, the French receive their French Chivalric Knights, which are again a costlier and superior version of the Chivalric Knights some other kingdoms receive. They also get Noble Knights around the same time, which are more expensive but add to the number of knights France can recruit.

This is when France begins to outnumber/outshine other western kingdoms in terms of their heavy cavalry.

The English and the Holy Roman Empire keep up with their King's Men and Imperial Knights, respectively. They rely more on brawling than charging due to their AP weapons. They can't field the same numbers as France, though.

Finally, in addition to the Gendarmes that other kingdoms receive with Advanced Plate, France also receives their Lancers. Many say they're the best chargers in the game. The other kingdoms don't receive any unique units comparable, though King's Men and Imperial Knights can still go toe to toe with Lancers if they deny the charge.

You didn't mention the HRE's gothic knights (on foot or horse). I think they are the better comparison with France's lancers, although not as numerous (60 versus 80 men in each unit). They are at least more disciplined, though, not charging without orders.

Why doesn't somebody run some tests in a custom battle to see which one is superior, say, best out of 5? Depending on my mood, if I want to be a scary halloween type faction, I play HRE. But France is just so damn pretty when maxed out in plate. Lol.

[napoleonic]

don't forget poland & hungary too
IMO
early era : sicily = england > the rest
medium era : french >= german = england = portugal >= sicily = poland = hungary = leon = denmark > the rest
late era : french >= german >= poland = hungary = genoa >= leon = portugal >= england = denmark = sicily = norway = venice

[zacen299]

Wow I didn't know France had that many powerful knights I'll imagine I'll try them when I'm done with my Scotland Campaign, and this is completely unrelated but is it just me or is England quite balanced overall with their mix of heavy knights, heavy infantry and bowmen?

[Andytheplatypus]

Wow I didn't know France had that many powerful knights I'll imagine I'll try them when I'm done with my Scotland Campaign, and this is completely unrelated but is it just me or is England quite balanced overall with their mix of heavy knights, heavy infantry and bowmen?

I think none of the factions are balanced correctly, so no.

[k/t]

I think none of the factions are balanced correctly, so no.

Explain.

[Ichon]

CS has the most unit types of western knights available though France is capable of getting more with religious orders built in right paths. HRE is next with Teutons and England right behind. Then for the rest its kind of a tie though Portugal and Hungary deserve special mention for some unique units and Genoa has the Patricians. Scotland and Norway are definitely the weakest in cavalry of western factions.

[Vissewalde rex de Gerzika]

Poland with their Polish Knights also deserve a special mention i believe.

[Gogolometro]

I am positive that's France, but if is a general question, and chivalry is not restrain to catholics, than byzantines are second. Yes the dutchy and barons are different from tagmata, but essential is they got their counterparts, even earlier.

France have tons of knights, mailed, feudal, noble and chilvaric. England looks very "feudal", but their knighthood is less significant. HRE have their stuff too, and Poland I think is very focused on their knights too.

Genova is a republic, no mention here, patricians are richese of their burgs.
Iberia is saved by their religious orders, same applies to Jerusalim.
Scotland is a beggar faction and all the norse have anything but not knights.
Hungary is a mix of knights and nomadic horde. Sicilian normans is a very low faction on this, in my opinion they must be buffed to look like they was at the timeframe.

We don't have a Burgundy faction, that is a shame.

[minhnd6789]

If meaning knight is mainly cavalry here so I think France is No.1.

France is well-known for its cavalry for thousand years. The best in the West.

[Lazy]

It depends on what you want to do with your knights.
If you want to charge=>retreat=>charge=>retreat I found the polish to be best.

They have a lower attack value than f.e. the french ones but have the highest armour value.
There will be less casualities after every charge! You will have to send them back for retraining less often.
If you charge not elite units you will be able to reatreat without any dead knights mostly!
Of course... there will be less killed enemies with every charge but you will be able to charge more often.

So it is about you:
You want to kill more soldiers with a single charge... look out for high attack.

You want to use them for more then just one battle... look out for a high defense value.

Both posibilities have different pros and cons...

[Desperado Outlaw]

What about Byz?

[Orlorin]

Byz needs late period Demi-lancer like units and a modernized late period army in general to be effective against Gendarmes and the like. IMO

[Lord Blackfyre]

The fact that Gothic knights have full plate and a mace plays a major role when fighting other knights