Having trouble getting a diverse Unit pull.

[Lionheart11]

I'm playing as Cao Cao but I'm limited to Malita spear men and Basic archers(how do I get fire archers?), for some reason I cannot recruit swords men, axe men or spear units with spear wall. What buildings and tech trees do I need to unlock them?. Also how do you get more formations?, are there pike type units in the game?. This game makes me feel like a noob.

[BreadBuax]

You have to get strategists type(blue) characters for fancy archers, green characters for fancy polearms etc.
Imo the commander type is rubbish as of now due to lack of good unit availability , melee cavalry(commander exclusive) is a botched concept anyway, it could gain lower tier exclusive unit of other types as compensation.

[Lionheart11]

You have to to get strategists type(blue) characters for fancy archers, green characters for fancy polearms etc.
Imo the commander type is rubbish as of now due to lack of good unit availability , melee cavalry is a botched concept anyway, it could gain lower tier exclusive unit of other types as compensation.

So the generals skills unlock better soldiers?, does that work for the entire Army or only his units?.

[BreadBuax]

Just him

[Liu Kang]

Everyone has access to the basic militia units, so Vanguards for example (red generals) can recruit Sabre Militia, etc.

Any unit beyond that requires you to either have your general reach a certain level (usually 3 and 6), have the relevant general type, or research certain techs. For Cao Cao I'm pretty sure anyone can recruit his Tiger & Leopard Cavalry as long as they are level 3, and the heavy variant at level 6 for example. Strategists can recruit Heavy Crossbowmen at level 6, and Champions can recruit Heavy Spear Guards at level 6 (not sure about the other commander types).

Its a weird concept since techs that give you some of the most advanced unit types only require the tech, not a general type (so anyone can recruit Onyx Dragons, an advanced archer type, if you have the tech/reform). The only other condition I can think off is declaring yourself emperor in which you can recruit two emperor specific units.

Certain formations (not sure about spear wall) require that you have certain advisors equipped to your generals, or that you have a strategist at a certain level present. Some items give set bonuses when combod with other items and these can give you formations as well (only one I can think off that does this requires a spear and some green armour which I can't remember off the top of my head).

If you want to see the requirements, when you click on the recruit button there should be a check box you can click and it'll show you the unavailable unit types. Hover over the 'Lock' icon and a tooltip will show up giving you the requirements of the unit. I don't think you can see the requirements for formations anywhere weirdly enough.

EDIT: Worth mentioning that you should generally stick to giving certain generals units from their colour to gain the benefits of that colour since those generals have bonuses for those unit types.

Also, for fire arrows, you need a certain skill (top left) on the strategist skill set to gain access to fire arrows on your archers, crossbows cannot use fire arrows. I know Sentinels can also unlock a skill to give them fire arrows, its near the right side for them, not sure about other commander types.

[Lionheart11]

Everyone has access to the basic militia units, so Vanguards for example (red generals) can recruit Sabre Militia, etc.

Any unit beyond that requires you to either have your general reach a certain level (usually 3 and 6), have the relevant general type, or research certain techs. For Cao Cao I'm pretty sure anyone can recruit his Tiger & Leopard Cavalry as long as they are level 3, and the heavy variant at level 6 for example. Strategists can recruit Heavy Crossbowmen at level 6, and Champions can recruit Heavy Spear Guards at level 6 (not sure about the other commander types).

Its a weird concept since techs that give you some of the most advanced unit types only require the tech, not a general type (so anyone can recruit Onyx Dragons, an advanced archer type, if you have the tech/reform). The only other condition I can think off is declaring yourself emperor in which you can recruit two emperor specific units.

Certain formations (not sure about spear wall) require that you have certain advisors equipped to your generals, or that you have a strategist at a certain level present. Some items give set bonuses when combod with other items and these can give you formations as well (only one I can think off that does this requires a spear and some green armour which I can't remember off the top of my head).

If you want to see the requirements, when you click on the recruit button there should be a check box you can click and it'll show you the unavailable unit types. Hover over the 'Lock' icon and a tooltip will show up giving you the requirements of the unit. I don't think you can see the requirements for formations anywhere weirdly enough.

EDIT: Worth mentioning that you should generally stick to giving certain generals units from their colour to gain the benefits of that colour since those generals have bonuses for those unit types.

Also, for fire arrows, you need a certain skill (top left) on the strategist skill set to gain access to fire arrows on your archers, crossbows cannot use fire arrows. I know Sentinels can also unlock a skill to give them fire arrows, its near the right side for them, not sure about other commander types.

thanks it does sound confusing, no encyclopedia in game to look this stuff up.