[Viking Conquest] Best troops?

[Kommandir]

Im going full viking mode and my Northmenn are as tough as Nordic nails. The question is are there any more units worth getting? It seems that even tho the Merc/Bandit Vikings are not the best troops stat-wise, they are very recruitable and readily available, making them my go-to unit. What do u guys think?

P/S: Where can i find Svear Elite Vikings?

[psychotron666]

The merc/bandits are good for early to mid game. Like you said, they are good for filling in right now and being decent fighters. Problem is in late game everybody got max tier units, and the generic merc guys only advance up to one or two tiers less than specialized units (like nord veteran/nobles).

Im just learning most of whats good or not in viking conquest right now too. I found that nords give the best foot soldiers (not archers, id ignore them with the norse guys), it seems that the english give the best calvary units, and i have spent barely time on ireland and dont know too much about the scots, but id assume that theyd both have superior skirmisher units, though i could be wrong.

I'm mostly sticking with the viking armies myself , just focusing on badass infantry units. I got like 35 norse bodyguards right now, who cost like 1400 dollars just for their final upgrade alone (not including all the upgrades til then), and they are just absolutely savage in my armies (expensive as ♥♥♥♥ though, so i keep them in my castles and only grab them for when im going to conquer). I just took a castle of 800 with an army of 450, but i have lots of really high tier units, and the castle had lots of peasants and low tier units.

[Tuidjy]

Viking Coquest is ruled by infantry. Saxon nobles for holding shield walls and Norse huscarls for flanking them. As for specific troop types, here is something I wrote years ago, but i think it still stands:

The best troops are, in my opinion:
- spears infantry, perfect for holding the enemy at bay in a shield wall: Saxon noble
- sword and shield infantry, perfect for hitting the enemy in the rear or flank: Norse bodyguard
- crossbowmen, good for sieges where the defenders are exposed - Pictish elite skirmisher
- bowmen, good for shooting a shield wall from the right flank - Norse warrior archers
- heavish cavalry, good for charging skirmishers and running down routers - Irish bodyguard
. obsolete, they were nerfed and made higher tier, yes, at once. Now it's Pict nobles.

But honestly, the most effective way to fight is to have your spearmen in one shield wall (anvil) and your sword and shield infantry in another (hammer) and sandwich the enemy in between.

Your warrior companions can act as javelin cavalry, and you can give your specialists crossbows and classify them as archers.

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As for berserkers, I do not use them. They would be great for charging the enemy in the back, but by the time you've maneuvered the enemy into a trap, your berserkers have gone mad with rage, attacked each other, and are either dead or exhausted.

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Javelin cavalry is useful, but needs to be micromanaged at times when you are probably better off micromanaging some more useful cohort. Thus, they often get killed off in droves, so if you want to use them, you probably want the cheapest, i.e. the lowest level ones. Note that Irish and Pictish cavalry can do anything javelin cavalry cam do, and survive melee much better.

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Mercenaries are a good source of troops and some are outstanding, and they are not all that expensive, when you consider the considerable costs of upgrading a faction peasant all the way to bodyguard. But in general, the top Tier faction troops are better, if you can get them.

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Outlaws are easy to recruit, but inferior to high tier faction troops. Great early on, but against lords with elite armies, I prefer faction troops who die significantly less frequently.

[the smoking mค็็็็็n]

best calvary:pict nobles,irish bodyguard
best spearman:saxon nobles(by far) angle/any other noble spearmen
best infantry:nord huscarls,angle bodyguard
best skirmish:irish elite javelin men
best archer:pict crossbowmen,nord warrior archer

spearmen should be the core of an army
svear vikings are hired at inns

edit:well feck

[psychotron666]

Originally posted by Tuidjy:

But honestly, the most effective way to fight is to have your spearmen in one shield wall (anvil) and your sword and shield infantry in another (hammer) and sandwich the enemy in between.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOGMQ-ySqOY

[White Knight]

I've been having a lot of fun with a simple, double shieldwall and cavalry wedge. Any skirmishers or archers go behind my horse.

I put the spearmen and infantry on the same spot with the infantry at the forward edge.

The cavalry goes around to hit the skirmishers, etc. from behind.

As the enemy approaches, my guys fire javelins at close range. Spearmen keep the enemy off balance while the infantry hacks into them.

For foot soldiers, I like just about any Nobles and Bodyguards but prefer Norse and Saxon. When I see a wall of dudes in chainmail, I'm happy. I like mercs (Veterans and Svear Warriors, etc.) for the early game mostly but I'll always keep a few around. Some of the better Norse troops also count as Sailors for determining speed at sea.

For cavalry, I have my companions, as many Old Captains as I can get, Irish Bodyguards and the Frankish Horsemen when I can afford them.

If I don't like the way the battle is going, moving my shieldwall forward ten paces, into the enemy lines tends to get things back on track quickly. It's as if the infantry gets free hits while all the spearmen are blocked or something?

[Tuidjy]

Originally posted by psychotron666:

Originally posted by Tuidjy:

But honestly, the most effective way to fight is to have your spearmen in one shield wall (anvil) and your sword and shield infantry in another (hammer) and sandwich the enemy in between.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOGMQ-ySqOY

Now, if only ranking Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest were as easy as ranking troops.

By the way, do not kill me, I listed them in alphabetical order above.

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Although, for playing Viking Conquest, I would recommend Manowar.

[psychotron666]

Originally posted by Tuidjy:

Now, if only ranking Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest were as easy as ranking troops.

By the way, do not kill me, I listed them in alphabetical order above.

-------

Although, for playing Viking Conquest, I would recommend Manowar.

Im sure scholars are going to spend the next few centuries having academic debate on how/where to rank those.

And yes, Manowar is good for going to war. I also like sabaton for that. Was defending a city once against an army of likw 1800 and it was like an hour and a half long battle , but at one point a song by Sabaton called 1648 came on. It has these lyrics "Stand, and fight! The City is burning!.. Stained by blood, their brothers die side by side, did what they could, died where they stood!"
Point was, it just fit really well with the situation and i still always recall that moment, haha.

[White Knight]

I'm partial to Zeppelin. Just about any moment in the game is perfect for "Gallows Pole" or "Immigrant Song".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC-T0rC6m7I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tza0zaJUW9w

[Kommandir]

Originally posted by Tuidjy:

Viking Coquest is ruled by infantry. Saxon nobles for holding shield walls and Norse huscarls for flanking them. As for specific troop types, here is something I wrote years ago, but i think it still stands:

The best troops are, in my opinion:
- spears infantry, perfect for holding the enemy at bay in a shield wall: Saxon noble
- sword and shield infantry, perfect for hitting the enemy in the rear or flank: Norse bodyguard
- crossbowmen, good for sieges where the defenders are exposed - Pictish elite skirmisher
- bowmen, good for shooting a shield wall from the right flank - Norse warrior archers
- heavish cavalry, good for charging skirmishers and running down routers - Irish bodyguard
. obsolete, they were nerfed and made higher tier, yes, at once. Now it's Pict nobles.

But honestly, the most effective way to fight is to have your spearmen in one shield wall (anvil) and your sword and shield infantry in another (hammer) and sandwich the enemy in between.

Your warrior companions can act as javelin cavalry, and you can give your specialists crossbows and classify them as archers.

----------

As for berserkers, I do not use them. They would be great for charging the enemy in the back, but by the time you've maneuvered the enemy into a trap, your berserkers have gone mad with rage, attacked each other, and are either dead or exhausted.

---------

Javelin cavalry is useful, but needs to be micromanaged at times when you are probably better off micromanaging some more useful cohort. Thus, they often get killed off in droves, so if you want to use them, you probably want the cheapest, i.e. the lowest level ones. Note that Irish and Pictish cavalry can do anything javelin cavalry cam do, and survive melee much better.

--------

Mercenaries are a good source of troops and some are outstanding, and they are not all that expensive, when you consider the considerable costs of upgrading a faction peasant all the way to bodyguard. But in general, the top Tier faction troops are better, if you can get them.

---------

Outlaws are easy to recruit, but inferior to high tier faction troops. Great early on, but against lords with elite armies, I prefer faction troops who die significantly less frequently.

How do i get an elite Norse army? Im 110% pagan so its very unlikely that i will get my hands on any Saxon Nobles :(

[Tuidjy]

Well, the Norse have their own line of spearmen. culminating in Norse nobles, who are perfectly fine. There is also a type of viking that uses primarily spears.. I am not sure which one, but it is found around present day Scotland. I have not used them enough to remember the exact name, but it had 'North' in the name. Possibly 'Elite Northmen' or something?

[Kommandir]

Originally posted by Tuidjy:

Well, the Norse have their own line of spearmen. culminating in Norse nobles, who are perfectly fine. There is also a type of viking that uses primarily spears.. I am not sure which one, but it is found around present day Scotland. I have not used them enough to remember the exact name, but it had 'North' in the name. Possibly 'Elite Northmen' or something?

I think they are called "Northmathr Vikingr". These guys are currently the main bulk of my army. Stat-wise they are better than Norse Nobles but their crappy armors make them inferior to most top-tier faction troops.

[Tuidjy]

Originally posted by Kommando HORRORZ:

Originally posted by Tuidjy:

Well, the Norse have their own line of spearmen. culminating in Norse nobles, who are perfectly fine. There is also a type of viking that uses primarily spears.. I am not sure which one, but it is found around present day Scotland. I have not used them enough to remember the exact name, but it had 'North' in the name. Possibly 'Elite Northmen' or something?

I think they are called "Northmathr Vikingr". These guys are currently the main bulk of my army. Stat-wise they are better than Norse Nobles but their crappy armors make them inferior to most top-tier faction troops.

That's why I like Saxon nobles. High polearm proficiency, the longest spears, and mail hauberks. Put them in a shield wall, and nothing gets past their spears, at least, not from the front.

[psychotron666]

Originally posted by White Knight:

I'm partial to Zeppelin. Just about any moment in the game is perfect for "Gallows Pole" or "Immigrant Song".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC-T0rC6m7I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tza0zaJUW9w

Immigrant song fits the viking conquest DLC for sure. Battle of Evermore will fit the lord of the rings mod (and all of their lord of the rings songs).

Thin Lizzy Emerald would fit viking conquest if you started in Ireland.

[Ghost Waffles]

The beauty of VC, imo, is that you can use pretty much any faction troops you want with (mostly) only with minor equipment quality + weapon proficiencies; you can use whatever troops you think look good.

[Kommandir]

Originally posted by Tuidjy:

Originally posted by Kommando HORRORZ:

I think they are called "Northmathr Vikingr". These guys are currently the main bulk of my army. Stat-wise they are better than Norse Nobles but their crappy armors make them inferior to most top-tier faction troops.

That's why I like Saxon nobles. High polearm proficiency, the longest spears, and mail hauberks. Put them in a shield wall, and nothing gets past their spears, at least, not from the front.

Best spearmen no doubt but personally i prefer Norse Nobles (Hersir)