How many squads do I need?

[MaximB]

How many squads do I need?
And what is the maximum squads I can have in a mission? (it may differ per mission, but what is the maximum number?)

Also what types of squads do you recommend?

[grognardgary]

As a gneral rul of thumb something of everything by type of squad

[Latency]

Towards the end of the game the max squad size is 20 squads.

[Douchebag Extraordinaire]

Yeah, it's twenty max at endgame.

What kind is dependent on your playstyle and if you're force surrender focused but in some missions flying types can be very important to get S grades and sneaking into trade tents for special items/units or treasures.

Would say a squad of 3 sentinels, 3 pyro wizards, and a couple of healers are a good sweepers, both offensive and defensive. Defense phase has much more damage potential, so figuring out a squad would be a good idea. Once your "bait" group starts killing stuff in defensive mode, healing stuff like Bloodlust can make the squad go a long way.

A team of raiders is good for hit and run, a full group of knights is also a good idea. There are other groups like a team of champions and a healer or two that do well, too.

[MaximB]

Thanks, how many levels\missions are their?
And what is the max level of a unit?

[phenir]

Originally posted by MaximB:

Thanks, how many levels\missions are their?
And what is the max level of a unit?

30 main missions, + 5 side missions in vanilla game, + some more from dlc.
Max level is probably 99 or 100 but you'll never get beyond like 50 because of exp soft cap and lack of actual sources of exp. You'll probably be around level 40-45 at the final mission.
Rather than number of squad cap, you are limited to 200 units total. Given a squad's size maxes out at 9 units, you could have up to 22 max size squads. But, the final mission limits you to 20 squads deployed at once (earlier missions have lower limits). You can deploy more though to replace a squad that retreats or is destroyed.

[MaximB]

Should I do 20 squads? or stronger 12 squads is better?
I'm at mission 10, got about 12 squads but they are mid-level (tire 2 mostly)
The ranger squads don't levelup fast for me, because they almost never actually kill anyone.

[Latency]

In general try to keep the maximum number of squads you are currently allowed to deploy. For this reason I usually keep some extra units in reserve (generally good mercs I find in Bazaars during chapters or Marketplaces between chapters). If you can deploy more squads in a new chapter, make more squads using these extra units. Each unique story character should usually have their own squad, then you will typically have a few led by generic units. If you need to build leadership put units in Barnabas' squad and do some bronze arenas using his unit to capture all the enemies and base. Unfortunately some story characters can't be removed from a unit though, so they'll level leadership much slower.

For unit composition/strength it really depends on what artifacts and units you have available. Dragons are obscenely strong when leveled up and a few dragon squads can basically clear any map by themselves. Cavalry is usually strong as well for the movement range and ability to move away after attacking. Light infantry, mages and ranged attackers are nice to have but you have to be careful they don't get left in range of enemy attacks as their threat level tends to be low which will get them targeted.

If you can field a low threat/high survivability unit to tank enemy attacks that's really all you need to succeed in this game...otherwise you'll have to be careful about unit placement if you can't wipe out all the nearby enemies on your turn.

[Iguana-on-a-stick]

Originally posted by MaximB:

Should I do 20 squads? or stronger 12 squads is better?

Note that there are a good few missions where you have to pursue multiple objectives at once. (i.e. defend on one flank, attack on another. Or seize two (sets of) objectives in different map areas. Or deal with enemy reinforcements appearing in a different direction.)

This means that even if you can win many missions with 12 squads, you may struggle with the time limits in missions where you have to spread them out more.

So all in all, I'd recommend always fielding the maximum number of squads allowed.

But since missions also have plenty of chokepoints and boss fights, it doesn't make sense to dilute your strong squads either. Just because you want to field, say, 15 squads in a mission doesn't mean they all have to be GOOD squads. Keep your best units in your best squads.

Some basic infantry with a couple of healers can still guard a flank against a couple of attacks. A squad of only healers (one priestess and a bunch of medics, even) can help out your stronger squads by getting them healed up in between fights.

Also, don't immediately make 20 squads. That isn't useful. Especially as you'll find more mercenaries and get more story characters to join you as you go. Just make enough squads to fill the current squad limit.

[grognardgary]

Originally posted by Latency:

In general try to keep the maximum number of squads you are currently allowed to deploy. For this reason I usually keep some extra units in reserve (generally good mercs I find in Bazaars during chapters or Marketplaces between chapters). If you can deploy more squads in a new chapter, make more squads using these extra units. Each unique story character should usually have their own squad, then you will typically have a few led by generic units. If you need to build leadership put units in Barnabas' squad and do some bronze arenas using his unit to capture all the enemies and base. Unfortunately some story characters can't be removed from a unit though, so they'll level leadership much slower.

For unit composition/strength it really depends on what artifacts and units you have available. Dragons are obscenely strong when leveled up and a few dragon squads can basically clear any map by themselves. Cavalry is usually strong as well for the movement range and ability to move away after attacking. Light infantry, mages and ranged attackers are nice to have but you have to be careful they don't get left in range of enemy attacks as their threat level tends to be low which will get them targeted.

If you can field a low threat/high survivability unit to tank enemy attacks that's really all you need to succeed in this game...otherwise you'll have to be careful about unit placement if you can't wipe out all the nearby enemies on your turn.

What this guy said its also a nice idea when you can to stack choke points with tough units supported by archers.

[Reformed Automatan]

12 to 15 squads is more than enough unless your playing on ludicrous. Feel free to experiment if you want more squads

[MaximB]

Thanks,
To what dragons should I upgrade (lvl3) ? which are the most useful\strong?

[Reformed Automatan]

Red dragons do the most damage, silver are the toughest and inflict chill, while blue are in between and have high skill (they have a higher chance of hitting, getting crits, and deflecting damage). I prefer red dragons, and while they have the least health, there still a dragon, and dragons are tough as nails. Don't forget you can undo promotions so feel free to play with the three types.

[Latency]

Red dragons are the best simply because they have the strongest attack, and dead enemies are better than status effects. It is recommended to use a Dark affinity scroll on dragons as soon as possible since their attack is a combination of STR and MAG, and the bonus stats will help them promote faster as well. Once you have unlocked their tier 4 class you can also get flying squads by using 3 dragons and 3 non-cavalry units for the squad members. A nice side bonus to this is that the LDR requirement for a full dragon squad isn't that high since you won't get the increased cost penalties you would for units 7,8 and 9 (though dragons do cost 15 instead of 10).