Pikes at DEI 1.05

[orutar]

I have not played DEI since December, the DEI 1.0 launch was brilliant but I didin't liked that the pikes, having a fair amount of kills, weren't behaving as usual (units just phasing the pikes and not staying where they should be).

So my question is, how are the pikes now? They will be better or worse in 1.1?

Thank you.

[FlashHeart07]

Better.

[Ygraine]

KAM has a certain opinion on how pikes should function and I believe it will continue in a similar way in 1.1 (you'd have to ask him to know for sure).

Rest assured there will be a submod that increases range of the pikes & adds 1 deadliness to them to make them more "proper", after 1.1 is released. Not as OP as that silly vanilla video, but also not as much a "placeholder" unit like it's been in 1.0.

[FlashHeart07]

I fear that some have some idea that the glory of Alexander should still be very much represented in DeI and that the pike phalanx should dominate the battle field as they did in Rome 1

[KAM 2150]

For the last time, here is how pikes work on this game engine:

Basics:
If you make pikes as defensive formation, they won't be able to kill much, but will hold anything in place. This is horrible idea gameplay wise as player can abuse it since he can pin everything in place with it, it also makes AI pikes the easiest units to beat since player can fix AI pikes in place and then flank them as AI will never counter it.

If you make pikes as offensive formation, they will be OP as their kill ratio multiples with each passing second. So if their kill ratio from the start of combat is on pair with other infantry units, it means that they will kill much faster until they will have the highest kill ratio of all melee units and will be able to rout anything. This is bad as player can abuse it since AI units will target his pikes front and simply die.


Now my idea of pikes is that I take half from both, so pikes are good but not immortal frontally and are descent with kills but not too strong. This makes AI phalanx units a threat to player, since they can deal him some damage, but on the other hand player with pikes won't be immortal as untis from higher tier will rout lower tier pikes. Of course when I did it people posted a lot of complains and demands so I reverted it to defenive formation and now nobody is happy


So in 1.1 I will once again make them the proper way, without deadliness and too long range that makes them OP simply because that turns them into terminators with each passing second of combat. I am still a bit stunned how people never notice that one. Pikes will defeat units of similar tier frontally, but will be beaten but other melee units of higher tier, of course after decent fight. This also means that elite tier pikes will be simply the best untis fronatlly (which they already are by the way). Range of pikes will not produce a unpenetrable wall as it breaks their balance since melee units are not able to deal them damage.

[Mark of Calth]

I'm happy I find pikes in 1.05 pretty solid troops, but not too OP. Almost all decent heavy infantry are good enough at pinning the enemy in position to flank them, so that isn't so much of a pike problem as it is a general Heavy Infantry problem.

[HateDread]

@ KAM 2150:

What do you mean by the following?

Of course when I did it people posted a lot of complains and demands so I reverted it to defenive formation and now nobody is happy

Does the phalanx not work offensively at the moment? I didn't know there was a difference! :O

[Tyso3]

I usually go opposite in tactics, I use the Hoplites with their superior armor and defense skills to hold the line, then flank with pikemen, Deploy into phalanx and march at the enemy, pushing them closer and closer to my hoplites, like cheese to the grater.