Sweden Faction Guide

A guide to the nation of Sweden covering their bonuses, unique units, and overall playstyle with a bit of history on the side!

Introduction

Swedish state and naval ensign from the mid-17th century to 1815, covering both the country’s zenith and decline as a major European power. The earliest confirmed mentions of Swedish flags sporting a yellow cross on a blue field can be traced back to at least the mid-1500s.

Availability: Base game
Focus: Balanced, Cavalry, 18c. Pikemen
Playstyle: European

Sweden, moreso than perhaps any other faction, is a country whose playstyle and preferences aren’t very obvious at first glance. A pair of early cavalry units, some altered building and tech costs of varying relevance, and the only unique 18c. Pikeman in the game are what they offer, which initially don’t seem to gel together. That was certainly my view for a long time and judging from various forum questions, I wasn’t alone in my confusion.

As it turns out, Sweden is a balanced nation that can perform well in any era but does slightly better in the early and mid game. Their discounted 17c. Musketeer techs give them a leg up in games with longer peacetimes, their swift Hakkapeliitta are great for early raiding, and their buffed-up 18c. Pikemen and extra-armored Reiters make their mid-game armies a little more resistant to gunfire. While Sweden will never be dominant, they will always be solid and they offer some unique and interesting options for army building on top of their strong generic units.

If you like quirky units on top of a solid European core, enjoy spamming 18c. Pikemen, or just want a balanced and flexible country that performs solidly at every point in the game, Sweden is a great nation for you.

Features

+ Armored 17c. Pikeman
+ Hakkapeliitta–fast cavalry available in the 17th century
+ 18c. Musketeer
+ Balloon to reveal the map
+ Tech cost discounts:

• 17c. Musketeer attack upgrades (17c. Barracks)
  
• Early 18c. Musketeer melee upgrades (18c. Barracks)
  
• Grenadier defense upgrades (18c. Barracks)

~ Academies cost more wood but less stone
~ Swedish Reiter–slightly more resistant to bullets but worse in melee
~ Swedish Pikeman–slightly pricier, more efficient 18c. Pikeman
~ 18th century upgrade costs less iron and coal but more food and gold
~ Wall durability upgrade (Academy) costs slightly less gold but has an added wood requirement

Sweden has a surprising number of tech cost changes, moreso than most European nations. Their most notable bonus comes early in games with mid-length peacetimes (15-30 minutes or so), when they save 550 gold on their 17c. Musketeer attack techs. That’s a pretty nice little discount and you can put the extra coin to good use, whether it’s researching more upgrades before the fighting starts, constructing an extra Stable, or even advancing to the 18th century earlier than other factions.


Dawn of shock firepower: A Swedish 15 minute-peacetime army in action. Saving 550 gold gives you a small but notable advantage over other countries with standard 17c. Musketeers.

Their other bonuses are a bit of a mixed bag. Their Academy cost change is pretty whatever–just swap a few more Peasants over to wood from stone and you’ll be fine. The wall durability and 18th century upgrade cost changes feel more like tradeoffs than straight improvements, and their discounted melee upgrades for their 18th century infantry are nice when you need them but not usually all that important; lots of players don’t even upgrade their Musketeers’ melee stats.

Swedish Reiter (17th century)

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 130 food, 7 gold, 20 iron
Training time: 22.5 seconds max: 15 seconds min.

+ Low gold and iron cost for heavy cavalry
+ 1 more bullet armor and trains slightly faster than normal Reiter
+ Cheap Stable upgrades
+ Benefits from armor techs at the Blacksmith and Academy
+ Defense upgrades research quickly
- Performs worse in close combat than normal Reiter
- Slow training time
- Subpar attack for melee cavalry
- Weaker melee and arrow armor than other heavy cavalry
- Attack upgrades research slowly

The Swedish Reiter is a bit of an odd unit; a low-costing early heavy horseman that's pretty lazy about being a close-quarters shock trooper (though you might've been able to guess that based on how much less armor he's wearing). They're slightly better at tanking bullets than normal Reiters but at the cost of performing significantly worse in melee.

Stat-wise, Swedish Reiters have the same HP as normal Reiters, but they train a second faster and only cost half as much iron. The price reduction is especially nice as it makes Swedish Reiters much more attractive for an early economy with low iron income. The tradeoff is that Swedish Reiters have -1 attack and significantly worse defenses across the board save for +1 bullet armor, which makes them just a tad bit better at tanking gunfire than their generic counterparts:

Shots to kill (full upgrades)

Damage:	16	20	22	25	30	35	40	46	51	56
Merc. Roundshier	10	7	6	5	4	3	3	2	2	2
17c. Pikeman	12	8	7	6	5	4	3	3	3	2
Reiter	50	30	25	20	15	12	10	9	8	7
Swedish Reiter	60	34	28	22	16	13	11	9	8	7
Cuirassier	150	50	38	28	19	15	12	10	9	8

This chart doesn’t tell the whole story, as the Swedish Reiter’s slightly faster training time means you’ll have 48 of them for every 45 standard Reiters a normal country makes. To show how much extra bullet-tanking ability this provides, here’s some math:

45 normal Reiters * 20 25-damage shots per man = 900 shots to kill
48 Swedish Reiters * 22 25-damage shots per man = 1,056 shots to kill

So between the 1 extra bullet armor and 3 additional units, the Swedish Reiters will tank around 156 more shots from normal Musketeers than standard Reiters would. Note, however, that if the attacking Musketeer is dealing 46 damage or more, Swedish Reiters are just as tanky as normal Reiters (though you’ll still have a few more of them to absorb shots with). Combine that with their relatively low cost and ability to hack through the usual blocking troops like Mercenary Roundshiers, and there’s an argument that Swedish Reiters could be a good investment in the early and mid game if Musketeers are prevalent.


Leading the way, taking the lead: Swedish Reiters riding ahead of the Musketeers to absorb bullets. While they aren’t as tanky as Cuirassiers, you can build up a large force of them earlier and more cheaply.

Of course, the tradeoff for this additional resistance to gunfire is a weakness in melee. This is mostly due to their significantly lower armor against everything that’s not a musket, meaning they take more damage from arrows, cannons, and melee weapons than other armored horsemen.

In battle, Swedish Reiters can still usually chop up 17c. Pikemen and other early infantry like a heavy cavalry unit should (except Scottish Sword Clansmen, but that goes without saying) but they take much higher losses in doing so and perform very poorly against other heavy and swarm cavalry.


A shameful display: 48 fully-upgraded Swedish Reiters vs 72 Hussars, reflecting the difference in training time.

During testing, Swedish Reiters were only able to beat Scottish Lancers and unupgraded normal Reiters. The latter victory was short-lived, however, as the standard Reiters regained the advantage as soon as they received their first level of upgrades (tier II). Every other cavalry smashed the Swedes regardless of upgrade tier. Even Hussars were able to consistently take them down, which for a heavy cavalry unit is just sad.


The same test as before but with 45 normal Reiters instead of the Swedes. This is how a clash between heavy and fast cavalry should go.

So are Swedish Reiters worth it? That’s a tricky question. They don’t tank bullets as well as Cuirassiers and can’t dominate the frequent melee battles of the early game like a normal Reiter. They’re also not as cheap to train or upgrade as 17c. Dragoons, making them a questionable pick even in mid-length peacetime games (15-30 minutes) where 17c. Musketeers are prevalent. Finally, there’s Sweden’s other unique cavalry unit, which can provide a lot more early-game utility.

All this makes me view Swedish Reiters as a situational unit at best, and not one that I’d make in most circumstances. But if you like the idea of a cheaper, faster-training, bullet-resisting early heavy cavalry unit, give them a try and see if they work for you.

Hakkapeliitta (17th century)

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 80 food, 7 gold, 2 iron
Training time: 18 seconds max: 12 seconds min.

+ Fast cavalry
+ Available in the 17th century
+ Low cost
+ Deals pike damage
+ Great raider and flanker
- Can’t make formations
- Becomes less effective in the 18th century

Hailing from Finland and with a name derived from their warcry, “Hakkaa päälle!” (meaning “Strike upon them!”, though often mistranslated as “Hack them down!”), Hakkapeliitta are a new addition to Sweden’s roster, having not been present in the original Cossacks: European Wars. Their inclusion elevates Sweden to the rarified ranks of nations with native fast cavalry in the 17th century, allowing them to raid, flank, and rapidly reinforce widespread parts of the map in ways that most countries can only dream of in the early game.

Stat-wise, Hakkapeliitta are fairly unremarkable 17th century fast cavalry with generally average stats save for one little detail: They deal pike damage. This is a rarity among fast cavalry, who all deal sword damage (except for Winged Hussars, who are more like quick heavy cavalry than normal fast cavalry). This means Hakkapeliitta can’t chop through Palisades if the opponent walls off their flanks, but it also improves their performance in combat since many units have weaker protection against pikes than swords.


Better, but only relatively: 60 fully upgraded Hakkapeliitta vs 45 Reiters.

Granted, most units with lower pike armor are also heavy cavalry, which tend to stomp fast cavalry in an even fight. Hakkapeliitta do better against such units than other fast cavalry, but still lose to the heavy horsemen’s higher HP and potent armor.

Their performance against other fast cavalry is more middling: They’ll beat Hungarian Hussars and Scottish Raiders, plus they trade evenly with Austrian Croats at low upgrade tiers, but they generally lose to all the others (save for one who we’ll get to in a moment). They also don’t scale well into the 18th century: Once your enemies start making normal Hussars, your Hakkapeliitta will be outmatched, so really think about how much you want to invest in their upgrades in case you want to switch off to another cavalry unit later.

There is one exception—one instance where the Hakkapeliitta’s pike damage gives them a unique advantage that can have a major impact on a game, and that’s against Polish Winged Hussars.


How to conquer Livonia: 60 Hakkapeliitta vs 42 Winged Hussars. Both units have full Stable upgrades but the Poles are missing their two armor techs.

With equal Stable upgrades, Hakkapeliitta will always crush an equivalent force of Winged Hussars due to the latter’s low pike armor. This changes once Poland snags the two armor techs, but those are expensive and as such won’t be researched until later in the game, after the period when Winged Hussars usually dominate has passed. Even then, fully-upgraded Winged Hussars will take crippling losses to defeat Hakkapeliitta which, considering how much more the Polish unit costs, is still arguably a win for Sweden.

The downside to this is that you’ll have to fully commit to Hakkapeliitta and sink a lot of gold into their Stable upgrades. That’s not ideal in a longer game as their performance drops off, especially once other nations begin churning out Hussars in the 18th century. Still, if it keeps Winged Hussars from running roughshod over your team, it’s definitely worth it.

So that’s the Hakkapeliitta; a fairly unexciting early fast cavalry that also happens to effectively counter one of the most feared units in the game. Being fast cavalry in the 17th century is always awesome, and these Finnish riders are a welcome addition to Sweden’s roster. Turn them loose on exposed troops and Peasants, flank enemy gunlines, be a lethal nuisance and most of all, make Polish players regret picking their star unit. Hakkaa päälle!


For Gustavus! Hakkapeliitta crash into the Venetian left flank. Engaging Pikemen isn’t the optimal use for fast cavalry: Had the AI made 17c. Musketeers, sweeping around the flank would’ve been a lot more meaningful as charging them would’ve stopped them from firing. (Sadly, the AI always makes Pikemen in the early game.)

Swedish Pikeman (18th century)

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 40 food, 3 gold
Training time: 1.5 seconds

+ More population-efficient than 18c. Pikeman
+ Slightly better at tanking bullets
+ Very strong in melee when fully upgraded
+ Good for quickly and cheaply bolstering your army’s numbers
- Costs 1 more gold than 18c. Pikeman
- Unarmored
- Expensive upgrades

The Swedish Pikeman is the only unique variant of the ubiquitous 18c. Pikeman that every other European nation gets. He’s also the game’s representation of the Caroleans, those famed soldiers from the twilight of the Swedish Empire. That’s a bit surprising—the common image of a Carolean is of a musketeer—but it does make sense as the Caroleans were one of the last European armies to make heavy use of pikes in an aggressive manner (to the point that a third of their infantry were dedicated pikemen).

Based on all this, you might assume that Swedish Pikemen are a powerful offensive tool, but truthfully they function the same as 18c. Pikemen; low-cost, fast-training bodies to quickly bolster your army’s numbers and tank bullets. They just do the job a bit better in exchange for costing slightly more.


Through hostile fire they will march: Swedish Pikemen join the Roundshiers out in front to tank bullets and block enemy melee troops from reaching their Musketeers and Dragoons.

Stat-wise, Swedish Pikemen have slightly more attack and (most notably) +25 HP. That pushes them up to 110 HP, meaning it takes an average Musketeer 5 shots to kill them instead of 4:

Shots to kill (full upgrades)

Damage:	16	20	22	25	30	35	40	46	51	56
18c. Pikeman	6	5	4	4	3	3	3	2	2	2
Merc. Roundshier	10	7	6	5	4	3	3	2	2	2
Swedish Pikeman	7	6	5	5	4	4	3	3	3	2
17c. Pikeman	12	8	7	6	5	4	3	3	3	2
Reiter	50	30	25	20	15	12	10	9	8	7
Cuirassier	150	50	38	28	19	15	12	10	9	8

Of course, Swedish Pikemen also train 0.25 seconds slower than 18c. Pikemen. That might not seem like much, but it does add up, allowing other countries to make 384 18c. Pikemen in the time it takes Sweden to make 320 Pikemen.

So which unit is better for tanking bullets? To test that, here’s some math:

384 18c. Pikemen * 4 25-damage shots per man = 1,536 shots
320 Swedish Pikemen * 5 25-damage shots per man = 1,600 shots

As you can see, the numbers are fairly similar, with the Swedes tanking slightly more fire than their normal counterparts. Perhaps the more important thing, however, is that the Swedes do this while taking up 64 less population than the 18c. Pikemen, giving you more room for Musketeers and other more critical units. (It also means they don't strain your housing as quickly as their normal counterparts, making them a little easier on your wood and stone reserves.)


A second Narva: Swedish Pikemen lead the way during the storming of a Russian base. Being able to tank a little bit more gunfire helps keep their Musketeers safe from retaliation.

The downside to Swedish Pikemen is that they cost 3 gold apiece instead of 2. Here’s some more math to show the impact:

384 18c. Pikemen * 2 gold = 768 gold
320 Swedish Pikemen * 3 gold = 960 gold

So Sweden pays a quarter more gold than other countries (that 5 gold for every 4 the other nation spends in the same timeframe) in exchange for slightly more efficient Pikemen. That doesn't sound like much but it can add up if you make a lot of Pikemen, plus it goes against the usual benefit of 18c. Pikemen being super cheap.


Gå–På: Swedish Pikemen charge the Prussian foe in defense of the empire. Behind them, Musketeers and Dragoons blaze away safely.

How meaningful this increased cost is likely depends on your skill level. In a high-level game where every tiny advantage counts, it could be a big deal. For most players who aren’t as strict with their resource management (including me), the increased cost probably doesn’t mean as much, in which case Swedish Pikemen will feel more like a straight upgrade.

As an aside, fully-upgraded Swedish Pikemen are one of the best melee units in the game in terms of head-on fighting prowess, matching normal 18c. Pikemen and beating everything else. This isn’t very useful info, however, as their upgrades are expensive and they’ll still be mowed down by any competent musket army, making them not worth investing in.


An army of Swedes performing God’s deeds: 320 fully-upgraded Swedish Pikemen vs 48 Cuirassiers. This is something you'll never see in an actual game.

That’s Swedish Pikemen for you; slightly stronger, more population-efficient 18c. Pikemen who cost a bit more. Make them in the early 18th century or whenever you need a quick infusion of blocking troops, just like you would with their normal counterparts.

Gameplay

NOTE: This section assumes you’re only playing with Swedish units and buildings. That means it largely ignores capturing, although the advice given can easily be applied to games that allow it.

Early Game (early 17th century)

The lion of the north: An early Swedish base during a 15-minute peacetime game.

Sweden is mostly average in low-peacetime games (0-10 minutes) which revolve around 17c. Pikemen; no real penalties to hold them back, no real bonuses to raise them up. They’re better in 15+ minute peacetime matches thanks to their discounted 17c. Musketeer attack techs, as 550 extra gold is very helpful in this era. (I like to build an extra Stable with it, but that’s just me.)

The other thing that elevates Sweden above other countries early on is the Hakkapeliitta. Having native fast cavalry available in the 17th century is awesome as it opens up a range of tactical options that only grow with the player's skill (plus they're way better than those Mercenary Cossacks that all the countries without early fast cavalry have to rely on). Whether it's raiding enemy towns in games that allow capturing, dancing in front of your Musketeers to tank bullets for them, or charging clean through the opposing melee troops to reach their shooters and force them into melee; fast cavalry can do all that and more, and the fact that Hakkapeliitta perform well against the normally powerful Winged Hussar is just icing on the cake.

Sweden uses the standard European build orders. They should probably watch out for stronger early nations like Poland and Russia, but they can still hold their own against most factions.


Advancing the art of infantry combat: An early Swedish army in action. While Hakkapeliitta can be very effective and Swedish Reiters are fun to use, the standard Musketeer-Dragoon combo is always a good, cheap option for 15-minute peacetime games.

Mid Game (late 17th/early 18th century)

Great Northern War: A mid-game Swedish base.

This is arguably when Sweden is strongest as it’s when their unique units are most relevant. Both Swedish Pikemen and Reiters can make your force more resistant to gunfire than most other armies can manage in the mid game while a large mass of Hakkapeliitta can be a deadly nuisance to nations that don’t yet have fast cavalry of their own (or a Polish player relying on Winged Hussars). With expanding infantry and cavalry production plus artillery coming into play, you'll have a decently strong force at your disposal.

All the same, Sweden still isn’t a top-tier mid-game faction and should watch out for the era's true powerhouses like Ukraine and Portugal. If you can, try to kill or cripple strong late-game countries like Prussia and Denmark before they become too powerful.


Finnish valor: A force of Hakkapeliitta crashes into a Russian army’s rear during a battle.

Late Game (late 18th century)

Dominium maris baltici: A late-game Swedish base.

Here Sweden levels out a bit as their bonuses and unique units stop being as relevant or helpful. By now large armies of 18th century units are emerging while late-game juggernauts like France and Saxony are reaching the height of their power. Against such forces, your unique Reiters and Hakkapeliitta will struggle to compete and it's recommended that you swap to an 18th century cavalry unit (unless you've invested fully into their upgrades, in which case changing will waste too much money. This is why you need to carefully consider how many resources you put into your earlier units).

Still, Sweden is a European nation with the same strong generic 18th century units as other countries, allowing them to put up a credible fight against most factions. They also get a bit more out of their population than most thanks to the extra-efficient Swedish Pikeman, although this comes at a higher gold cost.


Caroleans at the ready! Swedish infantry await the order to advance.

Map Preferences

For Carolus Rex: Swedish troops advance behind a screen of Mercenary Roundshiers out front to tank bullets.

Being a balanced nation, Sweden does well on most map types, making them a good pick for highly random games. If they have a preference, it’s for mid-length peacetime games which favor 17c. Musketeers, allowing them to utilize their best bonus. There’s also an argument that they do best on mid-sized maps, which put enough space between players to make rushing more difficult but not so much that it prevents Sweden from capitalizing on their above-average mid-game strength.


Hold the line: Swedish Pikemen and mercenaries advance to pin the attacking Cuirassiers in place, protecting their artillery and allowing their Musketeers time to gun the horsemen down.

This balanced nature carries over to their performance in team games where Sweden can fulfill pretty much any role, making them a good fit for players who want to be good in both the early and late game without overcommitting to either. Their Hakkapeliitta make them especially useful against Polish players who go for Winged Hussars, which will be greatly appreciated by nations that lack a good counter of their own (which is most of them). Otherwise, Sweden will most likely be a competent and valuable if unremarkable addition to the team.


Crossing of the Düna all over again: Swedish troops skirmish with Saxons as their Mortars shell the enemy town.

Tutorials & Example Games

A collection of great Sweden games and tutorials showing how to skillfully play the nation. If you have any video recommendations, send me a link through Steam or YouTube (username 1Korlash) or Reddit (Effective_Can72)!

1. The first of two classic guides from top player colorfit. A must-watch for people looking to dive into multiplayer or just get better at the game.
https://youtu.be/XP19ocvOIg0

2. The second colorfit guide, this time covering how to micro your armies in battle. Again, a must-watch.
https://youtu.be/t6JE59Gnesk?list=PL9MM6y8GRIFcfOaVMvUGSZ7s3HANGpEPd

3. An epic late-game comeback in a low-to-mid-tier game by Hyperion using Sweden to fend off two enemy players at once (with some very minor help from his clearly-new-to-the-game Bavarian ally). Serves as a nice reminder that you don't always need optimal play to have a great time.
https://youtu.be/0_BPmqfFTC0?list=PL9MM6y8GRIFcfOaVMvUGSZ7s3HANGpEPd

4. A 4v4, 0-peacetime game from colorfit where he uses Swedish Reiters against enemy Dragoons (which is definitely where they excel compared to normal Reiters). Also includes some generally great early-game action.
https://youtu.be/pBWC7_-Gfnc

Closing Remarks

Modern flag of Sweden, first adopted in 1906 after the Union Mark (the flag for the union of Sweden and Norway that lasted from 1814 to 1905) was retired following the Norwegians’ peaceful secession. The old triple-tail design is still used as a war flag and naval ensign.

Thanks for reading! This is one guide I’ve been eager to do since Sweden has always been an enigma to me, what with their odd mix of units and bonuses. Even now, after knowing what they do, I’m still not entirely sure what to think about them. The faction feels like it's full of creative ideas like stronger 18c. Pikemen or an early heavy cavalry unit that prefers tanking bullets to melee, but it doesn’t quite go far enough with most of them.

On the one hand, this borderline experimental nature makes Sweden unique and more interesting to play than some other European countries. On the other hand, I can’t help but feel like most of its gimmicks–apart from Hakkapeliitta and the 17c. Musketeer bonus–are either not very meaningful or crippled by unnecessary flaws like the Swedish Pikeman’s extra gold cost or the Swedish Reiter’s excessive melee penalties. (I still can’t get over how they lost to Hussars.) I genuinely think there’s potential here for a strong, flavorful mid-game nation which would also fit well with Sweden's history during the game's time period but as is, they're at least a competent jack-of-all-trades country with some fun traits to set them apart.

But what do you think about Sweden? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Other nation guides:

Algeria
Austria
Bavaria
Denmark
England
France
Netherlands
Piedmont
Poland
Portugal
Prussia
Russia
Saxony
Scotland
Spain
Switzerland
Turkey
Venice