======GRAPHICS======
Before you start battles, it's better to set your graphic settings. There is huge variety of unit parts and clothes for every unit, units themselves are high-detailed, so it's highly recommended to install optimization mod. If you don't have powerful PC or laptop, it's better to disable or lower some graphic settings, such as SSAO/HDR, vignette, distortion effect, depth of field, water quality, vertical synchronization, lower Anti-Analising. Texture quality, shaders model, unit details and texture filtering is better to set on ultra.
If your game crahes when you click on multiplayer, delete all mod files, run vanilla and change your avatar to shogun instead of FoTS. Then install mod again.
======RULES=======
Units in mod are mostly divided on 3 decades of Thirty Years' War: 1620s, 1630s and 1640s, with their own features. Year next to unit name means which period is it from (ex.: Maradas Kürassier-Regiment, 1640 means that unit is from late (1640s) period. Units from different periods usually have different armour, size and other things, so it's recommended to agree on one period before starting a match. Units without years in names may fit for every period.
It's important to remember, that this is PIKE and SHOT mod, so you need to combine different types of units and use them together in a way, how it was in 17th century. Charges are pretty dangerous for attackers, so you need to first exhaust enemy by your musketeers, and then use melee units if needed. Same is about cavalry, their main weapon is carbine/pistol, not sword.
DO NOT STRETCH UNITS! It's not only unhistorical and adds too many firepower to ranged units, but your units will become extremely vulnerable to charges in comparison to tight 6-10 ranks formation. Cavalry may even destroy pikemen, if they are stretched in 2-3 lines.
Use charges very carefully and ONLY with "charge" button! Firearms is your main weapon, charges are very costly and risky - once you charge, try to fall back and regroup as quickly as possible, otherwise your units will start to lose morale and may rout.
Don't use your infantry (pikemen and/or musketeers) without officers as independent units - they will rout quickly!
======FORMATIONS======
The best formation to build is one pikemen unit, officer staff and 2 musketeers units.
There are custom formations, but they are for small brigades, don't use them to build whole army!
Select several units (1 pikemen, 2 musketeers, 1 officer staff), click on group formation and on the left you will see different variations of formations.
Only "Spear Point" is currently implemented. Click on the "Spear Point" icon, which will form the selected units as a tercio-like brigade.
You can repeat the process to create multiple brigades.
======FACTIONS======
Many factions have own unique features and required tactics. So far there are four factions.
1. Habsburg Monarchy. Austria has big size of units and rely on heavy pikemen, which are one of the best in mod, especially on early stage. It also has and will have different light infantry units, while ranged infantry is nothing special.
2. United Provinces. Netherlands have smaller size of units, but they are in better quality to compete with Austrians. Dutch ranged infantry is better, while pikemen are pretty weak, so playing as Netherlands you need use different tactics than for Austria.
3. Kingdom of Spain. It has a lot of very good early units in big sizes, the best pikemen in mod, strong arquebusiers and heavy cavalry, but it lacks of musketeers and light infantry. Spanish units are also pretty weak on later period in comparison to other factions.
4. Duchy of Bavaria. Bavaria has access to some of Austrian units, own units are also decent. However, this faction os minor and have less units than major factions.
5. Electorate of Saxony. Sizes of Saxonian units are big in size, but relatively weak. Same as Bavaria, this faction is minor and has limited access to units.
6. Kingdom of Sweden. It has one of the best ranged units, good elite units and very strong middle-era cavalry. However, it lacks of heavy cavalry and infantry, early units are rather weak and late-era units have lack of experience.
======UNITS=======
There is obvious division on pike and shot units, swordsmen, light infantry, carbine cavalry, pistol cavalry and lancers. Most of them are understandable, so we will stop on few.
1. Officer staff. This is very important unit, it inspires units nearby and gives small bonuses to them. choose one officer staff unit on one pikemen and 2 musketeers units, and attach officers to them (see above in FORMATIONS). Always keep units in brigade close to officers.
2. Dragoons. They are mounted musketeers, main purpose - to quickly ride, dismount, use firepower where needed and ride back. In melee dragoons will lose both to cavalry and infantry, use dragoons only as skirmishers!
3. Cuirassers. They are pistol cavalry, but also heavily armoured, so you can use them both to harass enemy and charge detached units. However, remember, that charge is not the main tactic of the mod!
4. Reiters. They are similar to cuirassier, but without armour and with worse melee quality.
5. Harquebusiers/Carabiniers. This cavalry uses carbines and also good for harassing enemy. Melee quality is worse than cuirassier and reiters, but in some circumstances may work.
6. Calivermen. This is light infantry, use it as skirmishers. Same is with jaegers and Vuuroer (for Dutch).
7. Sappers. Special unit, main purpose is build fortifications and throw grenades. Use them as support on difficult places, to storm positions or to defend fortifications, not as infantry.
8. Dragoon Pikemen. They are mounted pikemen, main purpose - to support dragoons or quickly ride, dismount and strike in the weak place. On horses dragoon pikemen are very weak, use them only as infantry!
To better distinguish between units, we made different background colours for their unit cards: yellow is for light infantry, light brown is ranged infantry, dark brown is melee infantry, red is missile cavalry, dark red is melee cavalry, orange is dragoons.
======ABILITIES======
Unit abilities are important part of mod, some of them are experimental.
1. Caracole. This is vanilla cantabrian circle, it's mostly useful against enemy melee units.
2. Fire and advance. Self explanatory for infantry, but it's also available for carbine cavalry. Use it to harass enemy and return back without going into melee, but disable fire at will before enabling ability. It has huge reloading bonus and usually more effective for infantry than without it. To prevent infantry from going into melee after last rank fires, don't click target.
3. Pike wall. This is very useful ability, use it before engaging in melee.
4. Loose formation. For infantry (ranged and melee) it's useful to reduce casualties from cannon fire. Use it carefully.
5. Range effect. It allows musketeers to fire on longer ranges, but in cost of less accuracy and damage.
6. Charge. It adds huge bonus to charge and bonus to speed for a short period of time. Use this button EVERY TIME when you're going to charge the enemy by cavalry and DON'T charge without this button, otherwise your charge will fail. After you charged, try to leave battle and wait until button is active again.
7. Encourage. Available for officer staff, ENABLE IT AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF BATTLE and it will be active all the time.
Pike&Shot 2 Total War
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Originally Posted by alhoon
