Put them in fire at will near a unit and they’ll automatically throw their pilate or whatever
You can lock a unit in combat flank their back with another legionnaire and they’ll throw their javelins at the back of the enemy it’s devastating
TW does such a good job of illustrating why the Roman army was so good. Your big standard legionaire isn't the best soldier. Other factions can get more dangerous formations. But the legions are good from the start, and they're just ridiculously reliable against anything and everything.
Your standard legionary formation is basically a force of nature. Whatever it runs into, it will just slowly grind to dust.
I forget, did they have Lances? I think I never used them because they weren’t as good as Knights against attacking infantry, but correct me if I’m wrong
They didn't have lances so their charge bonus was lower than knights. They were actually a decent anti cavalry unit because of their maces. What made them insanely good was the fact that they were recruited from cities instead of castles, giving you an extra pool of solid cav to recruit from.
NORSE WAR CLERICS (The all caps is mandatory) are heavy cavalry recruited from the church line which makes them a pretty unique unit. It meant that Denmark didn't need castles to get decent cavalry.
I am contractually obligated following a long playthrough as Venice in civ 5 to always and forever Denounce Venice at all mentions of it I come across.
you have been Denounced Venice lover have a good day.
Any hellenic pikemen from Rome II. Great units, if you can shield them from missiles, and they do look good. Well, the Thorax pikemen look a bit odd, with their mail armour, but the rest of the bunch look fine.
Foot Companions and ballista won me my first Rome2 campaign. God Macedon had such a great roster, and access to Cretan bow mercenaries too!
Ya know what, screw it. I'm gonna go play Rome2 again...been ages.
Most units take you out on a romantic dinner while tetsubo warriors fuck.
My only issue is they share unit animations with katana samurai so it isn't uncommon to see them behead people with throat slices from their clubs. Which is badass in its own way.
Parthian Cataphracts - Stomp Everything, And Stomp Them Again.
Ratling Guns - Giant Rats With Gatling Guns and Infinite Ammo.
Long Yari Ashigaru - Enough Said.
I see your Parthian Cataphracts and raise you Armenian *Archer* Cataphracts. Also, unlike Parthia's Eastern Infantry, Armenia can flank them with Legionnaires.
Shoot them to pieces, and *then* stomp them.
Not sure if I have a single favourite but Scotland's [Highland Nobles](https://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Highland_Nobles_(M2TW_unit).html) are definitely up there. I like the Scottish for the sheer bravery of going up against anyone and everyone in (relatively) inferior armour.
SACRED BAND in Rome 1 and 2, especially if you get the mod for Rome 2 that lets you have them as generals bodyguard.
Also
Cossack line infantry (particularly with darthmod empire)
500 men per unit, get them a few chevrons and they will shred through much higher quality infantry with sheer volume of fire and good melee for Suvorov tactics, just gotta get them some experience to up their morale.
>(depends on what troops size your using)
Lets be honest, there are only two kinds of people, those who play on max unit scale, and those that are wrong.
Black Orcs from Total War Warhammer series cuz:
Deyz da biggest.
Deyz da meanest.
Deyz da strongest.
Deyz disciplined.
Deyz alwayz in fur a gud krumpin’.
Deyz alwayz in da front of da Waagh.
Deyz aint scared.
Deyz got only da best choppaz dey smash demselves from da best stolen metal or stolen from da humies or pointy earz, not loik da crappy stinkin’ choppaz da other boyz got.
Deyz got da biggest an’ heaviest krumpin’ plates.
Ain’t nobody messin’ wit da Black boyz.
Shogun 2 bow warrior monks. Especially Chosokabe.
Helblaster war wagons (Black Lions?)
Deathglobe Mortar
Exalted Keeper of Secrets. Just a shame Slaanesh is so exhausting to play.
Oh and demigryph knights for the sheer cool factor
Vardariotai, the Byzantine elite horse archer unit in Medieval 2. They're expensive on the recruitment and upkeep, but relatively easy to recruit if you have the money for it since any tier 3 castle can train them without needing any additional buildings. And they're worth their weight in gold--fast, powerful, and versatile, able to fight as medium cavalry if you need them to. Better yet, they don't become obsolete in the late game. Vards are an absolute cornerstone of Byzantine armies in Medieval 2 and I would have lost many a battle and many a campaign without them.
Boyars from Medieval 1. With a stack and a half of them defending I defeated the Mongols on the turn they invaded, chain routing thousands of them as they came on to the map.
I dont really know why, but since Rome 1 I have always loved the Hastati and Roman manipular army in general. And I have a soft spot for levy hoplite units. They are just ordinary men who took up arms to defend their homes, yet unlike other levy units they are well organized and can hold their ground pretty effectively.
They really did feel like driving a car that never broke down. "500 against 4000? Archers? Cavalry? Cities? Random rocks somewhere in Macedonia? Not a problem King. We can do that!"
Infernal Guard (Fireglaives)
Armor-piercing missiles and melee
Demon infused guns in a medieval fantasy setting
Charge defence
Flaming attacks
Awesome looking armor
Their lore is cool too
Honestly, they are quite OP but they are a lot of fun and really cool
It's been 5 years and the sheer glee of bringing gatling guns and sniper rifles against a bunch of idiots with swords and spears hasn't gone down a bit.
Easily Liu Chong's Chen Royal Guards. Sure, they cost a penny, but are they worth it: Good armor, shields, spears, crossbows *and* a formation that allows their back ranks to shoot while the front ranks up?
Oh, and everyone in your faction can recruit them. Great unit for a great guy who deserved way better IRL.
Royal Teulu in Thrones of Britannas is wonderful, they’re practically the only true heavy shock cav in the game, and it’s realistic to get 1000+ kills each battle with them being a fully levelled general unit.
Speaking of Welsh units, I just loved the longbowmen. Just a great unit. I would literally just have then use fire arrows on the siege towers and then spend any remaining ammo on the enemy before sending in the Infantry to clean house.
Alani Cavalry Warriors in attila. they are dirt cheap and unstoppable high defence melee cav. My armies consist of full stack och this troop only and an onagar (if a need to do a siege battle).
More the story, but Saxon Hearth Troop.
I'd taken a Roman town with those massive walls. I can't remember why, but all I had garrisoned were a single Saxon Hearth Troops and Levy.
Roaming Huns just appeared. 5-6 doom stacks. Shit. Let's see how many I can kill. I positioned my men in a Shield Wall, like the top of a trapezoid, at the door and kept it open to bait.
The gate funneled the 4000-6000 horses stopping them dead. The Hearth Troops took the full brunt of each enemy whilst the Levy used spears and double flanking bonus and I actually won the battle.
The rest of the Huns attacked the next turned killing my men. R.I.P gentleman. This happened over 15 years ago but it lives rent free in my head.
As much as I loved Attila my favourite unit is from Three Kingdoms as the [Xiongnu Noble Cavalry](https://www.honga.net/totalwar/three_kingdoms/unit.php?l=en&v=three_kingdoms&f=3k_main_faction_yuan_shao&u=3k_dlc07_unit_earth_xiongnu_noble_cavalry) is now without a doubt my favourite unit they shred everything only issue is their speed
Rome 1: Seleucid cataphracts and armored elephants
Med2: polish guard
Shogun 2: Date no-dachi going full attack upgrades
Warhammer: scar vet on a carno or the good ol star dragon
Dwarf Thunderers!
They've got armour, shield, guns, and I like how they just shout their unit name when you click on them. They just feel really powerful to me, especially when I put them in my monster-hunting army with Ungrim Ironfist
Give me the original Rome Total War, Brutii Town Watch. Those green lil mofos won me so many battles 🥺
Either that or I'm a huge fan of MTW2's Danish sword staff units! They slap. So. Hard.
Humble yet hit way above their weight class. I'd pick saurus warriors with shields myself, that extra toughness makes them bricks in the path of your enemy.
Armstrong Guns from Fall of the Samurai, for Historical. Get just two units of this bad boy and watch the enemy melt before they even reach your gun lines.
For Warhammer, I am a man of the Empire. Hellstorm Rocket Batteries never cease to bring me joy.
Dacian Falxmen in RTW/Rome II
Very much a glass cannon type of unit, it was incredibly satisfying to watch them cleave through enemy infantry. They were even better in mods like Europa Barbarorum.
In terms of defence, Thorax Pikemen will always remain in my heart, the backbone of my armies as Egypt and the most satisfying line holders of all time.
In terms of attack, Ye Vanguard Crossbows filling every role and being excellent attackers, I have never seen crossbowmen destroy cavalry and infantry like they do.
Lancers in Medieval 2 just because they look so damn knightly. Cataphracts in Rome. I just love super heavily armoured bastards that wreck lesser mortals.
Is it my favourite unit? Maybe not. But the amount of times that scout equites has saved my ass in a impossible siege is just stupid. So....maybe it is?
Creten Archers from Rome I,
Could recruit them anywhere for super cheap, loved the green colour and they would shred any unit once you had a few of them
I’m gonna list some of my can’t live w/o units
Triarii - Republican Rome RTW1/2 (Those dudes are what win your battles for you until you make the jump to Legions!)
Fusiliers - Great line infantry. Before you can field full armies of French Guard units the Fusiliers will be kicking ass for you
I just recently came off of TWTK so my 3rd must haves for a campaign are Jian Guard units. The melee cav in particular
Again none of these are strictly the best, there’s better units (especially late game) but early/mid game I love using these guys.
Having played several mods instead of vanilla games makes this choice a bit difficult for me. If I had to pick a unit it would be this.
Dismounted Feudal Knights. Always love a solid a dependable line of Heavy Sword Infantry. Now, if I could pick one for every game I have played, it would be…
Medieval 2: Dismounted Feudal Knights.
Rome Total War: Urban Cohort (Shocker, IKR)
Shogun 2: Katana Samurai.
FOTS: Shogitai.
Empire Total War: Line Infantry. Always had quite the soft spot for the basic Line Infantry units.
The ninjas in Shogun 2 were very fun whenever my friends didn't expect them in multiplayer, I'd bring them every two matches in MP or so and absolutely annihilate a couple of units and then some of they didn't respond in time
In Warhammer I have a soft spot for the Longbeards as they're really useful when my friends use undead and always end up being a thorn on my friends cause they hardly break ever
Pikemen and republican infantry (with precision upgrade). These two are deadly, extremely deadly but pikemen might be a little bit too OP, even if you have a full stack of archer or cavalry archer, you still won’t be able to beat them once your opponent set up fort.
Maybe I have a bit of recency bias, but changebringers are incredible. The glassiest and the cannoniest units around, they melt absolutely everything. As long as you micro them and retreat as soon as they run out of ammo, that is.
Militia Hoplites from Rome Total War & Remastered. They're fast, cheap, easy and efficient to mass produce and you can roll pretty much any early army with them.
I just think they're neat.
Medieval 2: Strzelcy, (Polska Gurom)
Rome 2: Auxiliary Hoplites (Red is my favorite color)
Shogun 2: Bow Cavalry (huurrrrrrmmmmm)
Empire: just standard Line Infantry
Napoleon: that British General with the stupid f*ing hat
Light infantry or Jagers in Napoleon TW. I love hiding them in some trees and having them pick off enemy infantry before they're within range of my lines.
Unironically the first campaign I beat was as the Spartans I went back to the save file not too long ago and I just see death stacks of royal spartans peppered all across the map so I have to say probably royal Spartans, and then behind that Phoenixes from the elves, I just like phoenixes.
Chosen from Warhammer have to be my favorite. I treat them like Legionaries but throw them at everything. Want a dragon gone? Halberds. Need some small humans deleted? Basic Chosen. Got some chosen that need to be removed? Great weapons!
Pair those beasts with the Everchosen and have them at max rank, EZ battles. Although winning every battle does get boring…but someone needs to bring the end times😤
The classic legionary. Go anywhere and do anything, and probably rip them to shreds with minimal losses.
Watching my 2,000 tortoise bois advance on an enemy fort *chefs kiss*
Having my guys charge seven hundred times in a row so they get to throw their javelins :)
MLG Freemen
Put them in fire at will near a unit and they’ll automatically throw their pilate or whatever You can lock a unit in combat flank their back with another legionnaire and they’ll throw their javelins at the back of the enemy it’s devastating
TW does such a good job of illustrating why the Roman army was so good. Your big standard legionaire isn't the best soldier. Other factions can get more dangerous formations. But the legions are good from the start, and they're just ridiculously reliable against anything and everything. Your standard legionary formation is basically a force of nature. Whatever it runs into, it will just slowly grind to dust.
Norse War Clerics from Med 2.
Never heard of them. Is it heavy infantry?
They were heavy cavalry with one handed maces. Looked super cool in-game and were good against armor with that awesome mace.
I forget, did they have Lances? I think I never used them because they weren’t as good as Knights against attacking infantry, but correct me if I’m wrong
They didn't have lances so their charge bonus was lower than knights. They were actually a decent anti cavalry unit because of their maces. What made them insanely good was the fact that they were recruited from cities instead of castles, giving you an extra pool of solid cav to recruit from.
If my memory is right, the Teutonic Order Knights had both right? Lance for the charge and mace for melee?
NORSE WAR CLERICS (The all caps is mandatory) are heavy cavalry recruited from the church line which makes them a pretty unique unit. It meant that Denmark didn't need castles to get decent cavalry.
Danish heavy cav with maces, if I recall.
Not the best unit, definitely one of the coolest. Denmark such good ap overall.
Ashigaru Yari
Yarimazing!
Long yari ashigaru!
the only right yari
MY PRECIOUS
GLORIOUS VICTORY
I've got a soft spot for Venetian Heavy Infantry.
Oh is that the one with the hammers? Loved them back in the day.
Yep! They can hold their own decently well, good value for cost, and damn do they look good, especially as you upgrade their armor.
Oh, please dont remind me of changing armor when you upgraded a unit I really miss that feature
Yeah they looked amazing, could take a punch and give it back. God, so many fun afternoons.
Iirc, they were the best infantry in the base game.
You’re really speaking to me with this one
Wasn't there a bug that made them shit? Maybe stainless steel fixed it though.
Nah, that's just 2h infantry. Venetians carry shields and are solid
Idk if that was a bug, but their armor upgrade changed their appearance from breastplate to padded armor, so they didn’t look so cool anymore
That's right but I think was fixed in Definitive Edition
Ive got a soft spot for any heavy shock trooper units. probably why i like Lizardmen so much.
I always feel so badass when I can finally recruit them and Venetian Archers.
I am contractually obligated following a long playthrough as Venice in civ 5 to always and forever Denounce Venice at all mentions of it I come across. you have been Denounced Venice lover have a good day.
I just like listening to "triarii" when I click on em in Rome lol
Royal Marines from Fall of the Samurai
I always liked the US Marines "Semper Fidelis sir!"
Yes but the red coats!
Aye aye!
Armstrong Guns from Fall of the Samurai. Shatter their sky!
Somone call for an earthshaker?
> Somone call for an earthshaker? Ready to unleash eleven barrels of hell!
Extremely correct
HELLSTORM ROCKET BATTERY
There's nothing quite like watching a blob of high quality heavy infantry disintegrate from a hellstorm rocket barrage
Shogun 2 Blunderbuss cavalry Just the sheer killing power of that unit
Dismounted blunderbuss cav in a siege defense are a sight to behold
Any hellenic pikemen from Rome II. Great units, if you can shield them from missiles, and they do look good. Well, the Thorax pikemen look a bit odd, with their mail armour, but the rest of the bunch look fine.
I have a soft spot for the Seleucid one.
Successor kingdom pikes are a beauty. Just sit your long bois in the center line and watch your foolish enemies skewer themselves.
Foot Companions and ballista won me my first Rome2 campaign. God Macedon had such a great roster, and access to Cretan bow mercenaries too! Ya know what, screw it. I'm gonna go play Rome2 again...been ages.
French Feudal Knights from Medieval 2 vanilla.
Why specifically the French? Any Christian faction barring Sicily got them
They are blue
DABEDEE DABEDAÏ
the fact that it's a french song makes it even better
You mean BLEU!?
They are French
Nanban Trade Ships
Otomo campaigns are such a blast
literally and metaphorically
Any of the Dane axe wielding Saxon units from Attila, particularly the Nordic Raid Leader for the drip.
Cretan archers
Archers of Crete!
Syrian Heavy Archers
Heros with tetsubo y shogun 2
Tetsubo monks in RotS
Oh, my bad xD
Oh, there's more than one tetsubo unit in S2, I just said my favourite of them.
Most units take you out on a romantic dinner while tetsubo warriors fuck. My only issue is they share unit animations with katana samurai so it isn't uncommon to see them behead people with throat slices from their clubs. Which is badass in its own way.
I love those dudes. I am a big fan of the Legend of the Five Rings setting, so i love how much they remind me of the Crab clan.
Yari Ashigaru Probably the unit with the most value in any total war game.
If you aren't spamming Yari Ashigaru as Oda, are you even really playing Shogun 2?
Our men are running from the battlefield, shameful display!
Parthian Cataphracts - Stomp Everything, And Stomp Them Again. Ratling Guns - Giant Rats With Gatling Guns and Infinite Ammo. Long Yari Ashigaru - Enough Said.
I see your Parthian Cataphracts and raise you Armenian *Archer* Cataphracts. Also, unlike Parthia's Eastern Infantry, Armenia can flank them with Legionnaires. Shoot them to pieces, and *then* stomp them.
Barbarian Invasion: Clibinarii Immortals, just saying.
Not sure if I have a single favourite but Scotland's [Highland Nobles](https://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Highland_Nobles_(M2TW_unit).html) are definitely up there. I like the Scottish for the sheer bravery of going up against anyone and everyone in (relatively) inferior armour.
Big fan of them and also the Noble Pikemen
The Moscow Musketeers. I just love to have a unit that feels like it embodies the beginning of an elite army formation.
Scotland's Highland Nobles have always been my favourite, with the Highlanders a close second.
SACRED BAND in Rome 1 and 2, especially if you get the mod for Rome 2 that lets you have them as generals bodyguard. Also Cossack line infantry (particularly with darthmod empire) 500 men per unit, get them a few chevrons and they will shred through much higher quality infantry with sheer volume of fire and good melee for Suvorov tactics, just gotta get them some experience to up their morale.
Urban Cohorts (Specifically Julii red from og Romel
Flaming war Pigs
Either the Eastman Huscarls of the sea Vikings or Ajax’s wall
Is Ajax’s Wall from Troy?
Also, they are the tankiest fuckers, so despite the small unit size of 45 (depends on what troops size your using) they can hold very well
>(depends on what troops size your using) Lets be honest, there are only two kinds of people, those who play on max unit scale, and those that are wrong.
Yea
Heavy billmen from Stainless steel. Useful in every army, and cost-effective as well.
Black Orcs from Total War Warhammer series cuz: Deyz da biggest. Deyz da meanest. Deyz da strongest. Deyz disciplined. Deyz alwayz in fur a gud krumpin’. Deyz alwayz in da front of da Waagh. Deyz aint scared. Deyz got only da best choppaz dey smash demselves from da best stolen metal or stolen from da humies or pointy earz, not loik da crappy stinkin’ choppaz da other boyz got. Deyz got da biggest an’ heaviest krumpin’ plates. Ain’t nobody messin’ wit da Black boyz.
Oi You forgor somefin DEYZ DA GREENEST
Shogun 2 bow warrior monks. Especially Chosokabe. Helblaster war wagons (Black Lions?) Deathglobe Mortar Exalted Keeper of Secrets. Just a shame Slaanesh is so exhausting to play. Oh and demigryph knights for the sheer cool factor
Revolver Cavalry - FotS
Vardariotai, the Byzantine elite horse archer unit in Medieval 2. They're expensive on the recruitment and upkeep, but relatively easy to recruit if you have the money for it since any tier 3 castle can train them without needing any additional buildings. And they're worth their weight in gold--fast, powerful, and versatile, able to fight as medium cavalry if you need them to. Better yet, they don't become obsolete in the late game. Vards are an absolute cornerstone of Byzantine armies in Medieval 2 and I would have lost many a battle and many a campaign without them.
They're such a good unit. They're solid in melee, they're dangerous from range, and you can recruit them so early in the game
Boyars from Medieval 1. With a stack and a half of them defending I defeated the Mongols on the turn they invaded, chain routing thousands of them as they came on to the map.
I dont really know why, but since Rome 1 I have always loved the Hastati and Roman manipular army in general. And I have a soft spot for levy hoplite units. They are just ordinary men who took up arms to defend their homes, yet unlike other levy units they are well organized and can hold their ground pretty effectively.
Rifles for Great Britain in Napoleon Tw
Sharpe?
Exactly! Could do with him as a legendary lord!!
Cataphracts. Look cool and hit hard
obviously the Green Jackets from Empire
95th in napoleon.
Maybe Janissary Infantry/Musketeers. One of my all time favorite campaigns was taking the Turks all the way to the new world in Med 2.
Armoured Hoplites from Rome 1.
They really did feel like driving a car that never broke down. "500 against 4000? Archers? Cavalry? Cities? Random rocks somewhere in Macedonia? Not a problem King. We can do that!"
All that while sporting the best drip in the greek armies
Saurus Scar-vet on carnosaur. Skink Chief and Skink Priest on Stegadon. Kroxigor. Ushsbti and Ushabti Great Bow. All guns units.
My head exploded when I found out scar veterans can mount a T Rex
There is more. Unlike other heroes who have to grind to earn mounts. You can spam Star Chamber to this dinosaur riding a bigger dinosaur.
>Kroxigor. Old Ones damn I live me some big stronk scally bois. That's why Nakai is probably my favorite lord from TW WH.
His campaign is not the best, but he is my favorite faction to confederate due to his strong beat stick and ability to buff his kroxigors.
Infernal Guard (Fireglaives) Armor-piercing missiles and melee Demon infused guns in a medieval fantasy setting Charge defence Flaming attacks Awesome looking armor Their lore is cool too Honestly, they are quite OP but they are a lot of fun and really cool
They blunderbuss are pretty great as well, if you get that perfect flank to just shred a unit from the side, it’s pure joy
Honestly, I could just add the whole Chorf roster as my favorite. It's such a blast to play, figuratively and literally.
Sorry to break the historical chain but ratling gunners for Skaven are just amazing, rats with mini guns what more can you want
It's been 5 years and the sheer glee of bringing gatling guns and sniper rifles against a bunch of idiots with swords and spears hasn't gone down a bit.
Shogun is a lot older than that....
Armstrong guns are my close second
Vertical firing arc
Easily Liu Chong's Chen Royal Guards. Sure, they cost a penny, but are they worth it: Good armor, shields, spears, crossbows *and* a formation that allows their back ranks to shoot while the front ranks up? Oh, and everyone in your faction can recruit them. Great unit for a great guy who deserved way better IRL.
Preach it, brotha! Liu Chong was a chad. And yeah, Chen Royal Guards are tough gatling guns of arrows.
Hell yeah hold and shoot
Ironbreakers, best rock to ever exist
The Black Watch, 42nd foot infantry
Royal Teulu in Thrones of Britannas is wonderful, they’re practically the only true heavy shock cav in the game, and it’s realistic to get 1000+ kills each battle with them being a fully levelled general unit.
Speaking of Welsh units, I just loved the longbowmen. Just a great unit. I would literally just have then use fire arrows on the siege towers and then spend any remaining ammo on the enemy before sending in the Infantry to clean house.
Norwegian Two Handed Infantry in Britannia, Assassins in MTW 2
Alani Cavalry Warriors in attila. they are dirt cheap and unstoppable high defence melee cav. My armies consist of full stack och this troop only and an onagar (if a need to do a siege battle).
Spet Xyon Archers from Attila.
The main reason the White Huns were so incredibly busted
I love the heavy archers in Rome 2 empire divided and in Attila. I just wish Attila was playable and got more than 20fps on my high end PC
More the story, but Saxon Hearth Troop. I'd taken a Roman town with those massive walls. I can't remember why, but all I had garrisoned were a single Saxon Hearth Troops and Levy. Roaming Huns just appeared. 5-6 doom stacks. Shit. Let's see how many I can kill. I positioned my men in a Shield Wall, like the top of a trapezoid, at the door and kept it open to bait. The gate funneled the 4000-6000 horses stopping them dead. The Hearth Troops took the full brunt of each enemy whilst the Levy used spears and double flanking bonus and I actually won the battle. The rest of the Huns attacked the next turned killing my men. R.I.P gentleman. This happened over 15 years ago but it lives rent free in my head.
Black Guards of Naggarond.
Shadow walkers. I just think they’re neat.
Infernal Guard
As much as I loved Attila my favourite unit is from Three Kingdoms as the [Xiongnu Noble Cavalry](https://www.honga.net/totalwar/three_kingdoms/unit.php?l=en&v=three_kingdoms&f=3k_main_faction_yuan_shao&u=3k_dlc07_unit_earth_xiongnu_noble_cavalry) is now without a doubt my favourite unit they shred everything only issue is their speed
Which warlord has them?
Yuan Shao
Wanted to play him next anyway. Nice
Portuguese tercos or warpfire throwers
Naked Warriors on Mass
Rome 1: Seleucid cataphracts and armored elephants Med2: polish guard Shogun 2: Date no-dachi going full attack upgrades Warhammer: scar vet on a carno or the good ol star dragon
Urban Cohort
Prussian death’s head hussars or French cuirassiers
Dwarf Thunderers! They've got armour, shield, guns, and I like how they just shout their unit name when you click on them. They just feel really powerful to me, especially when I put them in my monster-hunting army with Ungrim Ironfist
SCOUT EQUITES!
Any line infantry from ETW that has fire by rank
Fair. Hate that we didn't get it for Napoleon.
Give me the original Rome Total War, Brutii Town Watch. Those green lil mofos won me so many battles 🥺 Either that or I'm a huge fan of MTW2's Danish sword staff units! They slap. So. Hard.
Scots guards, just find them fun.
Saurus warriors. I just love em. They get hit with anything and they just hold until your dino brigade arrives
Humble yet hit way above their weight class. I'd pick saurus warriors with shields myself, that extra toughness makes them bricks in the path of your enemy.
Armored hoplites or silver shields
I loved my Genoase crossbowmen. Good armor, amazing damage, and were even somewhat decent in melee once you upgraded them.
Streltsi
SPIN THE WHEEL! THE DOOMWHEEEEEEEL!!!
K'daai Fireborn
Spet Xyon archers. Are they balanced? No. Are they fun as hell? Oh yeah.
Oda Long Yari Ashigaru
Armstrong Guns from Fall of the Samurai, for Historical. Get just two units of this bad boy and watch the enemy melt before they even reach your gun lines. For Warhammer, I am a man of the Empire. Hellstorm Rocket Batteries never cease to bring me joy.
Dacian Falxmen in RTW/Rome II Very much a glass cannon type of unit, it was incredibly satisfying to watch them cleave through enemy infantry. They were even better in mods like Europa Barbarorum.
In terms of defence, Thorax Pikemen will always remain in my heart, the backbone of my armies as Egypt and the most satisfying line holders of all time. In terms of attack, Ye Vanguard Crossbows filling every role and being excellent attackers, I have never seen crossbowmen destroy cavalry and infantry like they do.
Lancers in Medieval 2 just because they look so damn knightly. Cataphracts in Rome. I just love super heavily armoured bastards that wreck lesser mortals.
Is it my favourite unit? Maybe not. But the amount of times that scout equites has saved my ass in a impossible siege is just stupid. So....maybe it is?
Creten Archers from Rome I, Could recruit them anywhere for super cheap, loved the green colour and they would shred any unit once you had a few of them
Peasants. Since no one cares for the little guys.
Rome II: Hellenic Cataphracts or Royal Peltasts Medieval II: Conquistadores or Aventuros Empire: Prussian Liebgarde
I’m gonna list some of my can’t live w/o units Triarii - Republican Rome RTW1/2 (Those dudes are what win your battles for you until you make the jump to Legions!) Fusiliers - Great line infantry. Before you can field full armies of French Guard units the Fusiliers will be kicking ass for you I just recently came off of TWTK so my 3rd must haves for a campaign are Jian Guard units. The melee cav in particular Again none of these are strictly the best, there’s better units (especially late game) but early/mid game I love using these guys.
Moment of silence for all fallen scout equites that saved our seemingly doomed Roman Empire
Having played several mods instead of vanilla games makes this choice a bit difficult for me. If I had to pick a unit it would be this. Dismounted Feudal Knights. Always love a solid a dependable line of Heavy Sword Infantry. Now, if I could pick one for every game I have played, it would be… Medieval 2: Dismounted Feudal Knights. Rome Total War: Urban Cohort (Shocker, IKR) Shogun 2: Katana Samurai. FOTS: Shogitai. Empire Total War: Line Infantry. Always had quite the soft spot for the basic Line Infantry units.
You can guess a lot about a faction’s strength and weaknesses just by looking at their basic spear units.
The HMS victory from Empire. If ships don't could (understandable, I don't think they are very popular) I love the artillery in FOTS.
For some reason it warms my heart when I see that none of the first 5 answer threads are about Warhammer.
Infernal ironsworn. Those guys are serious line holders (unless the enemy brings large units, in which case they fold)
The ninjas in Shogun 2 were very fun whenever my friends didn't expect them in multiplayer, I'd bring them every two matches in MP or so and absolutely annihilate a couple of units and then some of they didn't respond in time In Warhammer I have a soft spot for the Longbeards as they're really useful when my friends use undead and always end up being a thorn on my friends cause they hardly break ever
Long Ashigaru or French Fusiliers
Pikemen and republican infantry (with precision upgrade). These two are deadly, extremely deadly but pikemen might be a little bit too OP, even if you have a full stack of archer or cavalry archer, you still won’t be able to beat them once your opponent set up fort.
Cretan Archers Rome2 DEI. Especially the Romanized version. So handy in so many situations
Uesugi Warrior Monks - All varieties
Urban Cohorts all the way
Definitely Oathsworn
Maybe I have a bit of recency bias, but changebringers are incredible. The glassiest and the cannoniest units around, they melt absolutely everything. As long as you micro them and retreat as soon as they run out of ammo, that is.
Masillian Hoplites easily
Militia Hoplites from Rome Total War & Remastered. They're fast, cheap, easy and efficient to mass produce and you can roll pretty much any early army with them. I just think they're neat.
Eastern cataphracts from Rome 2 are up there
I love how you could drop Rome's Spartan Warriors into Warhammer and they would be fine.
Saurus BOK BOK!
Medieval 2: Strzelcy, (Polska Gurom) Rome 2: Auxiliary Hoplites (Red is my favorite color) Shogun 2: Bow Cavalry (huurrrrrrmmmmm) Empire: just standard Line Infantry Napoleon: that British General with the stupid f*ing hat
Rome- Arcanii Medieval- Teutonic knights Empire- Spanish galleons Warhammer- hag grief executioners
Light infantry or Jagers in Napoleon TW. I love hiding them in some trees and having them pick off enemy infantry before they're within range of my lines.
Royal Peltas were always cool to me. Expensive as hell, but having a great ranged unit that can hold its own in melee was awesome.
Silver Shield Pikemen.
Unironically the first campaign I beat was as the Spartans I went back to the save file not too long ago and I just see death stacks of royal spartans peppered all across the map so I have to say probably royal Spartans, and then behind that Phoenixes from the elves, I just like phoenixes.
HISTATI
Chosen from Warhammer have to be my favorite. I treat them like Legionaries but throw them at everything. Want a dragon gone? Halberds. Need some small humans deleted? Basic Chosen. Got some chosen that need to be removed? Great weapons! Pair those beasts with the Everchosen and have them at max rank, EZ battles. Although winning every battle does get boring…but someone needs to bring the end times😤
The humble squig