[Silverstag 0.26] Unit Roster guide: Swadians

I've decided to just put this information here in case anyone needs or wants it.

This is based upon my own gameplay experience and information gathering.

Basics

In v0.26, troops are recruited directly from towns and castles, and to a much lesser extent from villages. Units come in tiers, from 1 to 9 (though generally T3-T4 is the lowest kind of battle-worthy troop type you will see). The types of troops available from villages is influenced directly by the kingdom slavery policy. Villages are much less important as recruitment centers than in vanilla.

There are 3 kinds of recruits: peasant, veteran and mercenary. Generally, T5 and/or Level 20 and above are considered veteran, but this is only a rule of thumb and the current troop trees contravene this frequently. Horses are separately counted and limit the availability of mounted troops, but in practice there are usually way more horses than you could ever want. I might change my mind on this when I get around to playing Khergits.

Some units are available to any player, but some can be recruited only if you have joined that faction, or have started your own kingdom and adopted that faction's culture. Currently, though, culture-switching can be done at will with no penalty.

Almost all units are promoted this way: base > Veteran > Elite. This nomenclature in no way clearly indicates whether the unit is Peasant or Veteran quality!

To obtain troops that require Veteran recruits, either wait and fulfill conditions for Veteran recruits to spawn in the town/castle, or train up certain troop types until they become Veteran-recruit quality, then dismiss them in your town/castle to release Veteran recruits into the pool. Do not use the Disband function on your party screen for this - that will cause the unit to simply cease existing.

Swadian units (available to all)

Militia: T2-T4 light infantry, lightly armed and armoured. Spawn with either falchions or pitchforks, but have some kind of Teutonic kite shields with big coverage and low resistance. No special abilities.

Crossbowman: T3-T5, and at Elite, they become Veteran recruits when dismissed. Very lightly armoured in gambesons (who is garrison) but can cause surprising casualties if left unattended. No special abilities.

Footman: T4-T6 heavy infantry. Become Veteran recruits at T5 (Veteran Swadian Footman), so this unit could turn out to be the main Swadian method of getting Veteran recruits easily. All armoured in mail, including Mail Coif, so this means their heads are vulnerable targets. No special abilities.

Billman: Wears better armour than Footman (again some kind of custom Teutonic padded coat), and armed with one of two kinds of polearms - no sidearms. Same shield as Footman. Also T4-T6, and also become Veteran quality at T5. Pricing and upkeep similar to Footman. No special abilities.

Swadian Mercenary: T4-T6 medium ranged unit with longbows, no shields. Competent ranged attacks at Elite level (T6). Decent mercenary option for early game, maybe. No special abilities.

Swadian Man-at-Arms: T4-T6 heavy cavalry. These are the widely available mailed cavalry you'll use for charges unless you can aim straight for the hideously overpowered Praven Knights. Turn into Veteran recruits at T5, so with enough money, and if you have unlocked Praven Knights (see below), T5 Men-at-Arms can be converted immediately. No special abilities. Competent in battles - do not underestimate.

Swadian Faction-only Units

Hunter: T1-T3 low-level lightly-armoured archers... but with special abilities "Hunter" and "Steady Aim". The "Hunter" ability has some minor impact on how long your supplies can stretch out in the field. I am hazy on the exact figures for this, but keeping a dozen or so Hunters in your army should have the optimal effect before diminishing returns. "Steady Aim" is not that useful, because it requires the shooter to hold the shot for a damage boost. The AI typically does not hold shots for long enough to make this relevant.

Supplyman: Another T1-T3 unit clearly not meant to see direct combat. An unfortunate feature of the party recruitment templates is that often, these troops will turn up in rather large numbers in AI armies, which means easy pickings for you. They have Daggers and War Darts... and the fairly useful "Supply Runner" ability, like Katrin. Keep a small contingent of them on the battlefield, and your ranged units' ammo should last quite a bit longer. At Elite level, they also acquire the "Sprinter" ability, which enables short bursts of very high speed at the cost of max Endurance. See Sprinting.

Lancer: T3-T5 Medium cavalry, astride fast but fragile Grey Coursers, wearing mail and kettle hat. Expendable cavalry for conducting charges and running down light troops. They are "Graceful Riders", however, which means they have a chance of avoiding extra spear/pike damage, which is an option that you may toggle in Game Settings for Silverstag. At Veteran and Elite, they also are "Devoted", reducing their upkeep cost by 50%. They only turn into Veteran recruits at Elite (T5).

Sentinel: I love these T5-T7 heavy infantry units, armed with one-handed axes and shields, and wearing some very aesthetically pleasing mail and plate, with a nice chapel-de-fer to top off the ensemble. I like them so much, in fact, that I've gone into Morgh's editor to turn them female, because that is what I do to units I like. Swadian Sentinels require Veteran recruits to hire. At T5 and T6, they are "Hardy" (gain more health than normal from defeating enemies) and have "Fortitude" (if you turned on the Combat Hampering setting, they suffer less from it; if not, it only protects them from poisoned attacks, and is otherwise useless). At T7, Elite Swadian Sentinels gain "Blademaster", for a decent +14% to melee cutting damage, which their axes have. I usually will go with Sentinels as my core heavy infantry.

Sergeant: Also T5-T7, and also requiring Veteran recruits. Dressed in drab but practical mail and chapel-de-fer, and armed with military cleaver or poleaxe, and shields. Highly competent in melee, and possessed of the special abilities "Hardy", "Disciplined" (decent HP buff with their INT stat) and "Tactician", providing a significant 15-18-21% damage boost to nearby troops based on their Tactics skill. Command units like these reduce the need for you yourself to take "Tactician" or similar abilities.

Swadian Unique Units

NOTE: These units are specific to certain locations, not to the Swadian faction. Whoever is in control of those locations may hire these unique units, as long as other prerequisites (usually relationship with the location) are fulfilled.

Uxkhal Bandit: Only for Dishonorable characters. T3-T5 light crossbow cavalry, with the "Scavenger" ability (increased battlefield loot) like Klethi, and the "Stealthy" ability (increases your party's chances of evading detection on the world map... not sure about the impact on your chances of sneaking into a place). I find this a novelty unit that may not see much practical use in most people's armies. T5 Uxkhal Bandits are Veteran quality.

Tilbaut Castle Archer: T5-T7 archer unit, requires Veteran recruits. They have "Fortitude" (almost useless, as previously remarked), "Master Archer" (decent buff to bow damage) and at T7, Elite Tilbaut Castle Archers also get "Steady Aim"... fairly underwhelming. These are decent archers but they pale in comparison to...

Suno Master Archers: If I had a choice I would nerf the heck out of these T6-T8 ranged units. Despite their appearance they are not lightly-armoured - their Teutonic padded coat is the same as the one the Billmen wear, and it affords as much protection as chainmail...! Their shooting far overshadows the shooting of their counterparts from Tilbaut Castle. With "Volley Commander" (technically an aura command skill, but every unit having this effectively means that every Suno Master Archer benefits all the time) increasing shooting speed, "Master Archer" providing a larger damage buff than the Tilbaut Castle buff, and "Sharpshooter" vastly increasing accuracy... these are inhuman killing machines. Their marksmanship makes a mockery of the Geneva convention, and to top it off they are very easy to obtain, ridiculously so. I would beat them so hard with a nerfstick. They do require Veteran recruits, but so do the Tilbaut boys.

Dhirim Captain: T5-T7 heavy cavalry, looking similar to the men-at-arms, but with some plain surcoats instead of plain chainmail to signify status. Dhirim Captains have a minor "Hardy" effect, but the main reason you would want them is their "Commanding Presence" (which increases the "healing" of surrounding allies from killing enemies, just as "Hardy" does), and their "Tactician" ability, providing a modest but decent damage buff. These are not your mainstay cavalry - they are a force multiplier command unit. Require, of course, Veteran recruits.

Praven Knights: And with that, these T7-T9 monster tanks are your mainstay cavalry, in the late game. Once you have +25 relationship with Praven, these dreadnoughts of the land, these titanic earth-shattering human equivalents of guided missiles, are yours to hire with Veteran recruits. They are "Inspiring" (adds to party morale), are "Disciplined" (minor HP buff based on INT), and have "Rallying Strike", which may be somewhat useless because whenever they attack, surrounding allies gain courage... which for most battles isn't really a factor for player troops? Your mileage may vary. But, well, if you like Swadian Knights in vanilla... you will want to date a big, strong Praven Knight, and have him hold you in his firm gauntlets while you sing of butter. Or whatever it is you do with your favourite units, I don't know, I don't judge. They require, of course, Veteran recruits.

That's it for the Swadian roster, including their starting Unique Units.

Submitted October 19, 2017 at 12:35PM by jtlannister http://ift.tt/2xSZkGE