The Ultimate Napoleonic Wars Guide

Welcome to The Ultimate Napoleonic Wars Guide! I will cover everything in the game, from leading regiments to melee strategies.

Units

This is the first part of the guide which will go over all the units in the game.

-Infantry
There are many different types of infantry all with special abilities. First we will go over the most used infantry, line infantry. Line infantry is the best overall unit, with good shooting, and a melee advantage, the bayonet. Line infantry is best used by either taking time with their shooting or charging, depending on the unit they’re fighting. Next, there is the guard infantry. The guard infantry either sacrifices melee or shooting bonuses for a bonus in melee or shooting, depending on the nation. When using the guard infantry you should use the bonus as much as you can. Next, there is the skirmisher. The skirmisher uses a rifle, which has great accuracy but has a melee disadvantage because the rifle doesn’t have a bayonet. The skirmisher should stay back and fire as many shots into the enemy as they can, and should avoid cavalry at all costs. The skirmisher should only use melee as a last resort, when trapped or cornered. Another unit is light infantry. Light infantry are lesser shooters compared to the skirmisher, but have a melee advantage due to either having a bayonet, or a larger gun. Light infantry should stay back and shoot as many rounds possible, or could help the line infantry charge. Lastly there is: militia, partizani, ship crews and marines. Militia is a weak unit, and should be used when having fun with friends or messing around with its unique weapons. Partizani is incredibly fun to play, and since every time you respawn you get new weapons. Ship crews are like partizani, but have been added in the new update, they also get random weapons when they respawn, but are used more often on naval maps. Marines are line infantry with different hats.

-Cavalry
There are different types of cavalry all with their special abilities. First, there is the Hussar and light cavalry. The Hussar is only equipped with a sword, but has the fastest horse in the game. The horse has low amount of hit points compared to the heavy horse, but is powerful when used correctly. Another unit is the Heavy Cavalry. The heavy cavalry is equipped with a heavy sword, which is slower but deals more damage in return. The heavy cavalry also has a heavy horse, which goes slower, but has more hit points in return. Another unit is the dragoon. The dragoon is different than the light and heavy cavalry, since it’s equipped with a sword and a firearm. The dragoon has a medium horse which has medium speed and medium amount of hit points. The dragoon is best used as hit and run, but is also capable of fighting heavy and light cavalry. The last unit is the lancer. The lancer is equipped with a medium horse, a lance and a sword. The lance is great for ant-cavalry and anti-infantry since of its great size. To “Put down” your spear, press X and this will make your lance charge unblock able.(Note, you need a certain amount of speed to do this, and I’s also for a limited time)

-Artillery

Artillery is a powerful force in Napoleonic wars, consisting of the cannon, howitzer, mortar, and rocket artillery. First, we will go over how to reload and shoot artillery. Artillery uses five different types of shots, some available to some artillery pieces, and other not. To grab a shot, first find the ammo box, after that look over the shot you want to use, when you look at the shot you want to use, hold F to grab the shot. After you have grabbed the shot you have to put the shot down the barrel of the artillery piece, to do this walk up to the barrel and hold F. Once you have inserted the shot switch to your ramrod, and hold F to the barrel to push the shot downwards. The last step is to shoot the cannon, go to the back of the artillery piece and press F, and then when you have considered the drop of the shot considerably to the distance you’re firing, press the left mouse button. As I said before, there are three types of artillery, and I will start with the most common one, the cannon. The cannon is favored by most people because of its good range, and can fire at close distances, unlike the mortar and the howitzer. The cannon has two rounds, the round shot and the canister shot. The round shot is used to decimate close-packed infantry at medium to long ranges. The canister shot is best used at close range when a lot of infantry or cavalry are charging at you. Next, is the howitzer. The howitzer is an artillery piece that is mostly used at medium to long distances, since the howitzer fires the shot in an arc. The howitzer is almost impossible to use at close range. The howitzer has two different types of shots, the canister shot, and the explosive shell. We have already discussed canister, so no further instructions are to be told about that shot. The explosive shot is best used to destroy infantry and cavalry that are very much closed packed together. Although the explosive shot has a small kill radius, it will damage and knock people of the ground a few feet further from the explosion. Another artillery piece, the mortar is a hard artillery piece to learn, because of its great arc and difficulty to adjust shots. The mortar can only use their special, explosive shot. The mortar is best used for anti-artillery since the shot is nearly impossible to see coming, so every shot is a surprise. Another reason to use the mortar against artillery is that they are almost completely fixed, giving you a lot of time to adjust your shots. And now, the last artillery piece, the rocket artillery. The rocket artillery uses a rocket to kill infantry and cavalry at a close range. The rocket artillery should best be left to close range because of’ its great inaccuracy and inconsistency.

Special Units

This part of the guide will go over special units.

-Musician
The musician is used mostly to buff friendly troops, helping with reload speed in infantry and cavalry. The musician is equipped with the instrument of choice, and a sword bayonet.

-Flag Bearer
The flag bearer is a special unit that buffs friendly troops with melee speed. The flag bearer is equipped with a flag of choice and a sword bayonet.

-Officer
The officer is a unit that goes beyond its buffing abilities. With the ability to buff accuracy, the officer also has a spyglass, which can be helped with spotting faraway or hidden troops. The officer is also the leader of a line in a line battle (which will be explained later).
-General
This person is historically accurate, and gives a hit point boost to friendly troops. The general is equipped with a heavy horse, heavy sword, and a spyglass. The general is basically an officer on a horse.

Advanced Melee

This section I will go over advanced melee.

-The Feint
The Feint is a commonly used advanced tactic. It used to trick people into blocking into a certain direction and then attack in a different place. To execute the attack, hold the left mouse button in the direction you wish to feint to, then when they block you quickly block, revoking you’re attack and stabbing the in a different direction.

-Distance Block
The distance block is a hard move to master. First, you have to know you are just in their range. Then you have to let them attack you, then you either step backwards or step to the side until they missed, then you attack them while they are still recovering.

-The Spin
This is a distance block but it makes sure you don’t get hit. If you’re charging at each other, wait until the right moment to step to the side, launch you’re attack in the same moment you are moving behind them, and most of the time you will be able to stab them with his back towards you.

-Last moment block
The last moment block is a risky move, but rewards you with the element of surprise if executed right. To do the last moment block, simply block the moment before you feel like you’re going to be hit. And then attack to whatever direction you like.

-Attack to feint direction

You should only use this against players who have a habit of recognizing feints. To execute the attack, feint to the direction you wish, then block like you were doing a feint, but then you attack to the direction you feigned.

-Chamber
This is the hardest melee move to learn, although if you do learn it, it can be a devastating. To do the chamber you wait until they start up their attack and then when you see them stab quickly stab in the same direction they are. If you do it right, there is a blocking sound, and you stopped their attack. They will be surprised that you did this, so you should attack as fast as you can. You might have to practice the timing with a friend until you can use it properly.

-Kick
You should be careful when using the kick, because it cannot only stop their movement, it can also stop yours. The kick should only be used when you are facing you’re enemy and you are backing up with him ready to stab any moment. When you feel you are close enough to kick, press E to kick, if done right he will stagger backwards, and open to an attack he can’t block.

-The Fake Shot
For this move you need to have a bullet in your barrel. The execute this you must be two or three steps away from his stabbing range. When you are in position simply aim at him, if he stops his attack press X to quickly go into melee and stab him. If he starts walks straight at you, shoot the gun. If he starts zigzagging initiate melee and fight him.

Regiment Organization and Creation

In this section we will discuss everything you will need to start up a regiment, from organization to line battle strategies.

-Regiment leader requirements.
As a leader of a regiment you have to be willing to use a lot of your spare time to planning and line battles. You will have to be kind but strict, and willing to make new friends along the way. Notice that recruiting is a hard business, and it might take a while until you have a large regiment. You will also need a second in command. Choose someone you can trust to be at your side, and can lead when you aren’t able to. This second in command should be a friend of yours that you have known for a while.

-Making your regiment official
To make your regiment official, you have to post on either the tale worlds or flying squirrel forum on the right discussion, and follow the instructions there. You will have to select a name and nation for your regiment and say where it’s based. You will also have to create a link under the forum to your regiment, so that people can see that you’re committed. You will also have to create a rank system, based on your language or the nation you are playing as.

-Signing up for line battles
To sign up for large battles, you have to go to one of the forums I mentioned and find an active group. Then you will have to sign up and add the organizer. Tell you’re second in command to also add the organizer in case you are gone. Once you are in the battle, always tell your men to stay in spectator until the admin assigns you a time, or gives organizational time.
-Regiment Requirements.
You need to have a team speak 3 server so you can talk and say commands, you need a NW server to train on. You need to have rules and consequences. You need to have a group so that you can keep track of your members and make announcements and events for trainings and line battles. You will need a updated roster to see the amount of troops and their ranks.
-Trainings
Trainings should include line commands, shooting and melee training. Commands should be the priority (are posted below). Melee is second important as it will decide most battles, teach them yourself, or ask a friend that knows most or almost all the moves above. Shooting is the last priority, since it’s hard to practice and master.

-Basic Commands For Line
Left Face: Make your troops turn 90 degrees to the left.
Right Face: Make your troops turn 90 degrees to the right.
About Face: Make your troops turn around 180 degrees.
Present: Make your troops aim.
Fire: Make your troops shoot.
Charge: Make your troops charge
Fire at will: make your troops fire when they want to.
Hold fire: Disable fire at will.
Moving out: Makes you troops follow you.
Prepare to halt: Tells your troops to be ready to halt.
Halt: Makes your troops stop.
-Advanced Commands for Line
Double Column: Create a double line. (Note, you need to have a lot of people for this.)
First/Second Column Crouch: Makes the certain column crouch.
First/Second Column fire: Makes the certain column fire.
First/Second Column Move (So many) Steps: Makes certain column advance a certain amount of steps.
Ripple Fire Left to Right, or Right to left: Makes your troops fire one at a time from left to right or right to left.
Form Square: Makes your troops create a square.
Line behind Me: Make your troops move behind you.
Brace: Makes your troops crouch in a line. ( Stops cavalry charges)

-Special Commands for Skirmishers and Light Infantry
-Spread out: Makes your troops move out a certain amount of man spacing you tell them to.
-Fire and Retreat: Shoot and reload then fall back to a safe distance.
-Form Line: Make your troops come back from spread out of fire and retreat mode.

-Special Commands for Cavalry
-Move out one at a time: If your troops are on your left or right make them follow you one by one.
-Increase Speed: Makes your troops increase speed.
-Decrease Speed: Make your troops decrease speed.
-Hit and Run(Dragoons only): Fire a shot and then line up again.
-Lance Charge(Lances only): Makes your troops charge the enemy with their lances down.

-Special Artillery Commands
-Fire (certain) Shot: Fire that kind of shot.
-Wait for my command to fire: Tells the gunner to wait on your command to fire.
-Limber artillery: Put the artillery piece on the artillery horse so that it can move out.
-Unlimber artillery: Deploys the artillery.

-Special Sapper commands
-Fortify: Create many advantageous barriers for your team.
-Find (Certain) Weapon: Makes your sapper scavenge for that weapon.
-Destroy: Destroy enemy barricades.

This section will go over line battle, conquest, and siege strategies.
-Line Infantry tips and strategies.
During the line battle strategy is important, it provides less casualties on your side, and more on theirs. The first tip is head-glitching, do this by moving your men to a hill and placing your troops in the perfect spot, so they can shoot at the enemy, but they only have a shot at your head. The second tip is: be as fast as you can when the round starts with lining up and moving out, this will let you and your team grab the advantageous points, like hills, before the enemy. If you have a big line, try to be the leader of your team by being aggressive and trying to hunt down smaller lines and help your friendly lines battle their larger lines. As a small line, try to distract the enemy and help the larger lines fight. As a medium line help the smaller lines if they are in trouble, and help move the smaller lines into a good position.
-Small Line strategies (7-12 men)
Small lines have a hard time during line battles, because of their small number they can easily be overrun. At the start of each round gather your men as fast as possible and claim strategic points as fast as you can. As a small line follow the larger lines for safety, and you can help them out by working with them. Try not to charge as small lines since you will quickly become un-useful.

-Medium Line Strategies(13-19)

As a medium line, try to assist all the friendly line in battles. Help the big lines fight the big lines, and help the small lines help the medium and large lines. The job is like a savior, and it will help lower the casualties on your team.

-Large Line Strategies(20+)
As a large line try to take out the larger lines and be decisive. Claim strategic points for your team and be aggressive towards enemy lines. Try to help out your friendly lines if they are in trouble. As a large line it’s ideal to charge medium or smaller lines as they will easily be overwhelmed. Try to move the enemy into a disadvantage.

-Skirmisher and Light Infantry tips and strategies

-Small Skirmisher/Light Infantry (6-10)
As a small skirmisher regiment you should help take out lines, while not getting hit, use natural cover, like rocks, trees and bushes. Try to keep as many people alive as you can. Try to be sneaky and hit from the flanks, you have a lesser chance of being noticed if you have a small group, making it easier to surprise the enemy.

-Medium Skirmisher/Light Infantry (11-15)
As a medium skirmisher group you can be more independent that a small skirmisher group, you can take higher risks and might be able to fend off a few lines by yourself. A medium group is best used to take out smaller lines.
-Large Skirmisher/Light Infantry (16+)
As a medium skirmisher group you can try to take out medium lines, and help the large lines fight their way through. You might be even to able to win a melee fight with a medium line. If cavalry is charging into you, fire a shot and run to the top of the hill and try to grab a musket with a bayonet if you don’t have one already.

-Sapper regiment strategies and tips
As a sapper regiment, no matter what your main goal is to assist your team. Build fortifications for artillery and skirmishers, make it so that if the enemy capture your barricades it’s less useful for them to use.

Regiment Organization and Creation (Cont.)

-Cavalry regiment strategies and tips

-Small Cavalry Regiment (6-9)
Unless you have a dedicated unit, go hussars, you have to hit and run a lot. You don’t want casualties since you might have to join a line if your number gets low, always try to attack from behind. Claim strategic positions for your team, and NEVER charge a square.

-Medium Cavalry Regiment (10-15)
Unless you have a dedicated unit, the best unit is to go dragoons. Use the dragoons to come close, fire, and retreat immediately. NEVER engage in a direct firefight with anyone. Always come from the sides or the behind to fire your follies. If they form a square take turns firing and then hide, and then start shooting again, and always have a small group circling around them at all times. You should melee skirmishers if you can, but be careful of forests, where they can hide.

-Large Cavalry Regiment (16+)
Unless you have a dedicated unit, the best unit to go is either heavy cavalry or lancers. You can try to take out medium lines, or assist your friendly line in charges. Lance charges are devastating, if you can come behind a large line and charge them with lances down, it will be a devastating effect. Let light cavalry engage you; you will not be able to catch them. When fighting in a valley or a hill DON’T use your lance when playing as a lancer since it will be hard to hit, and you can barely put your lance down in an attack.

Weapons

-Weapons
There are two types of weapons, melee and range.

-Melee

Melee weapons are used in hand to hand combat. There are all kinds of melee weapons ranging from miniature swords to huge lances. The most common melee weapon is the bayonet. The bayonet is attached to the infantry musket and can be activated pressing x. The bayonet has medium range and speed is medium to fast. Next are swords. Swords can be either very small with fast speed to large and slow. The sword bayonet is a small but fast sword issued to most infantry units. The officer sword has medium range and speed and is issued to all the officers. Last, there is the cavalry sword, which is given to almost every cavalry unit. There are also lances, which are issued to lancers which have extraordinary amounts of range, but can’t block an attack.


-Ranged

Ranged weapons are used to pick of enemies from a distance. There are only six ranged weapons in total. These ranged weapons are the: Infantry musket, the musketoon, cavalry carbine, cavalry musket, and the pistol. The infantry musket has a medium range and accuracy and is most effective at close range. Next is the musketoon. The musketoon is a shotgun that fires many small shots at once. The musketoon has a low accuracy and range, and is best used to take out a few enemies at close range. Next is the cavalry carbine/musket. The cavalry carbine and musket have a little faster reload speed than the infantry musket, but don’t have a bayonet the compliment their melee side. The pistol has very low accuracy, range and damage. The pistol is best used at very close range when trying to pick off a damaged enemy. And at last, the rifle. The rifle has a lot of range and very good accuracy. The rifle is best used when hit and running.

Fist Fighting and Ending Word

-How to fist fight
When engaging in a fist fight it’s important to have good timing and momentum. A punch is most effective when moving, instead of just standing still. Time blocks right to the opponents attack, and always add momentum in an attack. If he blocks while kicking a lot, make him kick and then kick him from the sides or behind. Use kicks when it is least expected, like doing a fist feint and then when he is blocking kick him in the place it hurts. If you want, you can use jumps to disorient an opponent.

Well, this concludes the guide, if you have any suggestion, or comments please post them below.

[Barney, from Black Mesa.]

Useful stuff, thanks OP.

[Buy Goodbar]

Loved the section on the bonuses from the different classes. Little known fact that adds a monumentous effect on who may win or lose. Napoleanic could really do for a tutorial on the inner mechanics of the game.

[Alexander C]

Your description on foot guard is false. All foot guards regardless of nations have fewer number than regular foots (your line infantry) and higher capacity in melee. Perhaps the Old Guards also have additional head protection due to their bear leather hats. But that is all the difference between foot guards and regulars.

[Dubai]

gud

[dellhound]

Lancer uses a light horse ;)

[Croaker]

Sapper regiments?

[The Canadian Raven]

I think you forgot to mention Grenadiers.

[The Meddling Monke]

Great guide!

[JBat]

This is awesome

[Garmo]

Join the 2ndCH! A regiment on Napoleonic Wars! Add me on Steam for any questions!