Spearmen vs Swordsmen as Main Line

[seabo_76]

What's actually better?

Is it better to sit back with Spears and receive the charge or should I be waiting til the last few seconds and charging a wall of swordsmen in?
Obviously still very new at this game but talk about a steep learing curve!

Pretty much SFA for in game tutorials as well. But the game is awesome and I'm enjoying it even though I'm getting completely trashed

[PirateGal8]

I think waiting with a spear wall to get full charge defense bonus, then when the line hits immediately move your swords up to flank if appropriate to counter the enemy line.

[Wyvern]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg3BiSs8eBE9hA9EWYTgtAg
Party elite has a good tutorial lineup for new players.

Swords are usually better because theyll dish out some hurt and have ok melee defense. Spears have more defense but arent that good vs anything that isnt large(and their charge defense only applies to large iirc), and large isnt something AI runs in large numbers, especially not melee large(except chaos/norsca, but you want halberds for that). In MP it might be different, people do tend to run spearmen minus sheilds in a lot of comps from what I see. Flagellants, especially if you are Volkmar, can provide you with another frontline option worth considering, since they fight better when losing, never break(especially important on high difficulty where you get massive morale penalties against your opponent) and have otherwise ok stats.

[Desmond]

I prefer to have spearmen and then flank with anti inf cav to even it out. as spearmen are much beter against monsters cause if your swordsmen faces trolls they are gonna die.

but I only play singleplayer so I dont really know against other peoples.

[StarofTanuki]

Swordman because you can kill large unit by range unit , but you can't use range unit kill enemy infantry when they reach our line ... unless you don't have range unit in your army .

[Harukage]

Swordsmen are not even a line infantry... Spearmen and halberdiers are.
Swordsmen have loцer meleу defense and lack charge devense VS large making a battle line made of them a paper tissue wall.

[branimir.maksimovic]

so swordsmen are for attacking spearmen, and spearmans are for holding the line against everything else?

[Gray Riders]

Originally posted by branimir.maksimovic:

so swordsmen are for attacking spearmen, and spearmans are for holding the line against everything else?

More or less, I suppose.

Unlike some of the earlier games I don't think swordsmen have a bonus against spears, but they generally hit a bit harder and have a much better Charge rating, so they're generally better against infantry (since spearmen don't have charge defense against infantry).

Spearmen do have higher defense, so if you want your infantry to just buy time for your other units to win the battle they might be a better choice for that.

[Harukage]

Swordsmen are purely offensive unit. Any cavalry or monster pack will just tear through them in seconds though, meaning they are pretty useless when you you need to hold the line and defend your ranged troops and artillery.
Halberds are awesome against heavy armor, but in most cases spears with shields make the best line infantry and cheap too.

[seabo_76]

So best bet is focus on mainly spears with a couple backup Halberds in case of Armor/Heavies and maybe a couple swords for flanks?

[Wyvern]

Originally posted by seabo_76:

So best bet is focus on mainly spears with a couple backup Halberds in case of Armor/Heavies and maybe a couple swords for flanks?

If you don't expect your infantry to hit back, then yes. But spears do not fight well vs enemy infantry and the thing you face most in campaign is enemy infantry, mostly squishy enemy infantry, with the exceptions of chaos and dwarves. In my experience a sword frontline and flanks of Halberds are much stronger vs the majority of comers. Or just ditch the foot halberds and bring demis with halberds for the anti-large.

People are acting as if large units are a common choice when they arent at all. AI simply barely uses large units and the handful they do use you either want halberds for, or your shooting is adequate.

[Commancho]

Deploy spearmen in two lines in the middle (second line can be thin to have more units in the front), swordsmen on the flanks, archers/crossbowmen/musketeers between two lines of spearmen (they can shoot above the heads). Spearmen shall take the full power of the enemy's attack on themself, then you move your swordsmen from the flanks and try to surround the enemy. Spearmen also have bonus against cavalry and beasts so its better to have more of them and use them as your main units. They are also better armored, got better defense and higher discipline while swordsmen are faster and they have better attacking skills so they are better for flanking.

[Commancho]

This is one of the my end-game battle formation variations for the Empire.
(Steam tanks have taken over a swordsmen job in this case):
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=971756604
(Ofcourse formation & units depend on who you fight with & your preference).

[Commancho]

Plus one more tip if you want to charge with any infantry units (assumpting that you have sufficent artillery fierpower which will annoy the enemy enaugh to make him strike first) - wait for him to get closer. He will get more tired from running, he will lose the formation, he will take damage from your long range units & spells while you will not lose your formation and you will still get your charge bonus with a little of practice and good timing ;>

[CavityCommunion]

I like swordsmen on the line with spearmen on the sides to counter cavalry flanking. Swordsmen last a while with the proper techs. The two handed guys, forget their name, die too easily. I also like to push forward with my spearmen on the flanks so my range units, non-artillary, can get behind the enemy lines and actually shoot something without being blocked.

[Darkaiser]

Originally posted by Commancho:

Plus one more tip if you want to charge with any infantry units (assumpting that you have sufficent artillery fierpower which will annoy the enemy enaugh to make him strike first) - wait for him to get closer. He will get more tired from running, he will lose the formation, he will take damage from your long range units & spells while you will not lose your formation and you will still get your charge bonus with a little of practice and good timing ;>

Basically this. I set up Spears and Swords alternating with the Spears about half a unit's depth (so about 4 rows) ahead of the actual line. Leave slight gaps between the sides of each unit so they can move forward or back without colliding. Crossbows or Archers behind the line.

When the enemy units first make contact with your lines (the Spearmen if they're set forward as I described), their Charge bonus is nullified by the Spearmen and they slow down or stop. Charge the Swordsmen in at this point since the enemy charge is done. Missile fire should be hitting all this time. Place the armor piercing guys (2-handed weapons, heavy can etc) to flank the enemy that is now pinned to your front. Fliers (if you have them) should take out enemy missile cav. Handguns should flank too since they cannot shoot through your front line (but they can shoot over if they have elevation).