Any useful peasant tactics?

[Dulce_et_Decorum_Est]

I haven't been playing R:TW that long, I will admit as much.

In my two and a half months with the game, however, I am completely baffled by the mysterious properties of one unit:

The enigmatic peasant.

Are these guys totally useless or what? Light cavalry can charge them head on, nay, they can saunter into them head-on, and rout them with minimal casualties! Then the peasants go screaming over the hills as the gleeful horsement slaughter them, and soon all the rest of the enemy army is doing the same.

As far as I can tell, peasants are much more of a liability than they are an asset.

Does anyone know how to make them useful, if not necessarily effective?

[Kaidonni]

Garrisons, simple as (unless you're playing BI...then they're less effective themselves). It's usually numbers and not quality that determines effectiveness as garrisons, and Peasants are cheapo garrisons. Not much good for battle whatsoever. Unless for cannon fodder.

[Dulce_et_Decorum_Est]

That's good to know. I will no longer be wasting Spartans as garrison units!

In my experience however, peasants make really bad cannon fodder. They suck that hard.

[Halie Satanus]

Peasants as a military unit are pretty much usless, Although i have held the odd town as Carthage with them, however they do have another use, if your city has problems with squalor recruiting peasants and sending them to a neighbouring faction and disbanding them is a tactic you can use, this can cause a population boom in that region and sometimes revolt.

[Erwin Rommel]

i use them as bait for ranged units and stupid idiots stupid enough to fell for it..............................................................

[Stalins Ghost]

An interesting tactic I use them for is screening my main forces. Simply put them into a loose formation infront of your units, then let the enemy charge in. The peasants will rout, but the enemy units will be broken up, and will likely follow the peasants, right into your prepared battle line. Works with spearmen nicely too, for extra anti-cavarly fun!

[Il Duce]

An interesting tactic I use them for is screening my main forces. Simply put them into a loose formation infront of your units, then let the enemy charge in. The peasants will rout, but the enemy units will be broken up, and will likely follow the peasants, right into your prepared battle line. Works with spearmen nicely too, for extra anti-cavarly fun!

That actually sounds like a good idea...

[13ig_VV]

yea it does altho ur other units might take a morale hit due to so many units routing. Their biggest problem is their low morale so usually they're only somewhat decent if they have a few chevrons or a general and some druids or something like that behind them. When i played as rome one of my cities revolted and some of the units were peasants with 4 and 5 chevrons and they really were quite a challenge.
I primarily use peasants to tire the enemy out and, as said earlier, to draw the enemy toward your lines. I always enjoy usin that tactic with germany and drawing the enemy into my hidden berserkers then hitting them with heavy cavalry in the flanks.

[the_mango55]

Tip #1: Don't ever use peasants in battle.

Tip #2: If you use peasants in battle, don't expect them to kill anyone

Tip #3: If your army consists of a large number of peasants, you have probably already lost.

Tip #4: Don't ever use peasants in battle.

[Freddie]

I haven't been playing R:TW that long, I will admit as much.

In my two and a half months with the game, however, I am completely baffled by the mysterious properties of one unit:

The enigmatic peasant.

Are these guys totally useless or what? Light cavalry can charge them head on, nay, they can saunter into them head-on, and rout them with minimal casualties! Then the peasants go screaming over the hills as the gleeful horsement slaughter them, and soon all the rest of the enemy army is doing the same.

As far as I can tell, peasants are much more of a liability than they are an asset.

Does anyone know how to make them useful, if not necessarily effective?

Given that the Romans never used peasents in battle you should stear well clear of them. For referance your army should be

1x General
10x Cohorts
2x Skirmishers
2x Archers/Slingers
2x Cavalry
2x Aux
1x Spare slot for either mercs or seige weapons.

BTW play the game with a mod such as SPQR, you won't regret it.

[Severous]

Peasants have another thing useful in battle....numbers.

Have you noticed that morale can become 'distraught at the number of enemies' ?

As Germany I stuck my peasants behind the spear warband phalanx. And when the battle was joined kept the peasants close behind for their morale 'numbers' impact on the enemy.

But mostly I use them as garrisons and population movers.

[Erwin Rommel]

I've notice that but hell numbers won't work when 200 peasants battle 17 greek gen cavalry and then routed surely the peasants didn't saw that some body at there backs are supporting them

[spirit_of_rob]

i just tended to use them as a means of moving population around to be honest but i mostly play EB these days so no poopie peasants in sight

[General Scipio]

I usually send them out first, let them kill 5 people let thesm rout then send my real army is.

[Mithradates]

I use them in full stacks for population booster and I give them some guards when they are moving (house rule rpg stuff)

Sometimes they run into rebel ambushes, now THAT are interesting battles, a general, two heavy cavalry and 17 units of peasants against the rebels

[Guy]

Well peasents are useless. Never use them for battle, all they are, are just men with daggers. Don't recruit them even if the advisor tells you to!

[Dulce_et_Decorum_Est]

Thank you all, this has been quite useful and informative.


I've just had the unusual and likely unique experience of running into a quarter stack of silver weaponed, gold experience British peasants. Being supported by chariots they were, in fact, somewhat dangerous.

That is to say, I lost.

[13ig_VV]

i've had the same experience against rebels when I let one of julii's starting cities (arretrium i think?) revolt. next thing i knew there was 8 stacks of peasants with 8 chevrons and a weapon upgrade. they're actually quite dangerous when upgraded. if you can upgrade them enough (like if u have gaul use the temples) and upgrade their weapons and have a general they could be a very useful and cheap unit.

[teh_executioner]

i usually just use peasants to kill other peasants when a rebellious army pops up consisting of well, obviously peasants.

[Mrtickles]

If you're desperate, you can use them as a flanking force. have your main line engage, and send peasants wide around the battle and into their missle units or back on top of their battle line. It doesn't work often but sometimes you're forced to use peasants and I don't always have cavalry lying around.