v1.0 Battania Unit Guide: Troops Ranked Worst to Best (UPDATED)

[@LyonExodus]

Nicely done. Maybe a bit overvalued the Veteran Falxman but it's honestly better to overvalue than undervalue. Many don't realize that 1.9. (and 1.0.) AI is different than 1.8. and the Veterans are much better than they used to. As for the the throwing axes they are dreadful without perks, but even with a great throwing build they are still lackluster against the good shields. Takes about 9 axes to break a 500HP shield with no perks. Wildlings are some of the most fun units to use, especially with ragdolls ON, so that they can yeet enemy units into space. And the Horseman is still as awful as it always was, even after being improved in 1.9. they are by far one of the worst T5 cavalry option this game can offer.

[@scalenesquid5669]

Favorite series on KZbin. Faction/unit guides. Pure gold

[@foomaoseng8936]

For your info, u can recruit noble units, including Battanian Fians from any village that's bound to a castle in all factions.

[@andreascj73]

Last I had a few large battles, I actually led the Battanian Horsemen behind enemy lines and had them dismount and form a shield wall while I picked off enemy cavalry with my bow. They are good spear infantry, so some kind of dragoons.

[@keeshans5768]

The bannerknights and elite cataphracts would slaughter them in a melee though, their one handed and polearm stats are way better.

[@thatsagoodquestion5572]

​@Kees Hans those are noble lines though, you'd have to compare them to non noble line cav

[@sultanofswag8901]

​@@thatsagoodquestion5572tbh even standard vlandian cav would shred them in dismounted melee

[@eveei]

idk why people keep talking about these units being useless, them being on horseback already makes them useful as mobile inf/party speed buffs. its better for the faction to have something rather than nothing. so it makes sense to have sub par cav, same as it makes sense for sturgia to have mounted druzhinniks. u can always just dismount

[@renimusmaximus]

In my Battania run, I have found that I like taking the trained warriors over later units with their short sword into keep pushes and raids. Not only do I get a lot of lvls off the ones that survive but that short sword is solid for tight packed fights, especially in spiral stairs where long weapons seem to eat walls more than bad guys.

[@Carl007Jr]

Great video so far. Truly, can't wait for the Aserai review.

[@elenaeverett4481]

It would be pretty cool if you could make your own template of units using in game armor, weapons/crafted weapons. And have their cost and xp required to level up scale depending on how op they are.

[@brycekiller1]

Cant change how they level but my little warband allows you to do that

[@Elliott13]

Useful. Haven't played since first month of beta. Thanks man.

[@awilish1589]

Started for the Darktide comment, stayed for the Bannerlord content. Awesome lineup of content!

[@italianspartacus]

Thanks brother!!!

[@kefkabal9614]

Finally, we're getting an update! So excited for this

[@xkingkerrx613]

Did a bit of testing and I’d say that 50% infantry (any mix you like) in a V shape about 25m-50m from the other 50% in archers in a loose formation along with yourself at the rear of them looking for flankers is a solid tactic to beat a similar size/slightly larger group depending on they’re knights and making sure the infantry line is actually protecting the archers. I’ve red a million times if you keep the archers protected the fight will always be won and that’s 100% true with fian champions

[@xkingkerrx613]

Side note: if you had you with like 5-10 scouts at the flank of the archers this would be a bonus

[@keithabraham2625]

The exact video I needed, right as I needed it!

[@yanegorov6278]

Actually, have to mention, that battanian t1 unit is the strongest t1 unit among all the fractions, so is the nice candidate for the horde gameplay, if there are enthusiasts. I saw some testing where it was on par with emp t3 infantry or somewhere close.

[@josephyoung120]

I was trash at this game and uninstalled it one day. Stumbled on your videos, watched a bit, re-installed and I'm having a blast. Thanks man.

[@italianspartacus]

Welcome back! Fuck yeah that's the coolest thing ever. Glad to have you here brother

[@KakavashaForever]

Fians are SO STRONG lol. Look forward to the Khuzaits and Aserai rankings!

[@orangef3802]

Maybe after going through all the Factions, you could make a Best of the Best video, where you take the best Units of all factions and put them on the same team. Infantry, Shocktroop, Foot Archer, Cavalry, Mounted Archer, and Skirmisher (either foot or mounted). Then choose 1 Noble Line to replace the respective role.

[@lordbiscuitthetossable5352]

The irony is, the faction that is completely devoid of archery has the best archer. And melee unit, period. The only downside of the Noble line is that they are super scarce compared to most factions. There are no "quiet" patches in Brittiana, literally every inch of that land is well travelled by it and other armies. I recall two prior campaigns where I was only able to recruit about 20 of them as I incidentally passed through that territory, and even when campaigning there about 40 to 60 was the most I mustered at any time. Yet they would outperform every archer by at least 3-fold regularly. Not including the times when I've sent my archery line to turn the tide on a stagnant melee. I honestly believe that whoever owns 100 of these guys, has the key to ruling Calradia. Plus this tree is the weirdest in my opinion.

[@tylerharper5568]

These and khan guards are the equivalent of turning on easy mode

[@Elliott13]

The correct units to recruit depends on your roleplay and theme ;)

[@CoeGr]

The tier 6 Fians are by far my favorite unit, I would probably put them over almost any other unit expect for maybe the Elite Cataphracts.

[@criscris428]

I call those must kills by cavalry no matter what. they would anihilate your army if you don't specially if there's a lot of them they just shoot.

[@fleivor5359]

In my run with only 250 fian champions those elite cataphracts are nothing but a nuisance imo, if i fight a 800 empire army with 200 cavalry then maybe 30 of them are elite and they get easily dealt with along with the rest of the cavalry

[@MrRegss]

A bit of a late comment ! Considering this video was a few months ago. Only recently started playing bannerlord and I think your vids are great Spartacus ! Has help me a lot to get to grips with the game. With the skirmisher units, I've seen them use the javelins in melee when they got into combat with cav units, so I'm guessing there polearm skill is to do with that, as it scales of the polearm tree, still useless though as there very short haha !

[@brettmiller3360]

I do cultural playthroughs, random rolling which kingdom to play and then only using those troops. Then I come here to watch the appropriate video and really get into it. Thank you so much for making these.

[@mrz3r012]

Always look forward to these, Thanks man!

[@mortache]

Charging into battle with a falx blade in Battanian drip is THE shit. I don't really like the skirmishing troops, because the AI doesn't maintain distance and they removed manually assigning groups for individual troop types so they end up in melee where the Oathsworn are much better. And any ranged needs can be better met with the Fians and Mounted Skirmisher.

[@Chapdadddy]

Battania needs a mounted falxman! I was shocked you missed the really bad variant of the oathsworn helmet.

[@deusvult7902]

I could just be imagining it, but I'm fairly positive I encounter AI units with their throwing weapons out switch to the melee mode to poker me if I get too close to them too quick for them to pull their 1-handed out. In those cases, that's when the polearm skill for a throwing units with javelins comes in.

[@yesterdaytodaytommorrow.]

Great Video! Kinda disappointing how the left tree seems just so meh. Think I'll redo my Army in to a 20% Wilding 20% Vet Falx and 60 Fian Champs. How do you make Oathsworn brace? They never seem to do it for me

[@rommelscat4795]

I have found that the scouts and mounted skirmishers are pretty good for delaying actions and messing with enemy cav, and even with a wall of infantry, cavalry still likes to flank around when possible. Having your own cav really helps

[@NMGSGaming]

As cool as it is to have a braceable polearm, the trouble with the A.I currently is that they don't use it with a shield equipped. I think taleworlds should allow troops to brace spears even with the shield equipped or make them switch out like they used to

[@oexarity287]

Thanks for the video! Just want to point out that the first few lines of your description still say this is an Empire guide.

[@italianspartacus]

Fixed :) thanks brother

[@simongloutnez589]

@LyonExodus has one of the best analysis system for bannerlord. His channel is pure gold.

[@LyonExodus]

Thanks man. I Do my best to be as unbiased as i can be. even if that mean saying the KG are OP. and my lovely Puppeteers suck.

[@B1ngusD1ngus]

Man ive been using battania units those wildlings are so much fun to use. They just delet shit with their throwing

[@Dumbbo2b]

5 hours ago? oof, thanks for the video mate! ❤

[@fankgaming7753]

Hey Spartacus, or anyone really. I have a question I can't really find the answer to: None of my infantry with polesrms seem to ever use them. Am I doing something wrong? Relatively new to the game, only have about 40 hours or so

[@RubberToeYT]

Really useful guide as ever

[@lmpeto94]

I think the reason for that akwardly long horseman lance is to fight other cav by outranging them, because Battania doesn't have any other cav countermeasures.

[@miketrice533]

They have lots of braceable spears on their infantry. Combined with all the throwing weapons, and they can be pretty good against cav, from my experience. Horse Archers, though...

[@Vanq17]

8:35 isnt the polearm skill because they can use javelins in melee? I distinctly remember getting polearm skill whenever I used my javelins as a melee weapon.

[@thomasdenkers5854]

ai only throws as far as i know

[@LyonExodus]

@@thomasdenkers5854 They can switch Javelins to melee use (thrusting) and use them as a very short polearm. Altough the main reason as to why units have a bunch of skills they don't need is for tournaments.

[@ZergleJerk]

Battanian cav need...something. When you need cavalry as a Battanian army, you have better options if you go to a Vlandian or Empire village AND you can save money and time on both options Maybe it would be too much for the AI. But it would be really neat if Battanian Scouts and Horsemen acted more like mobile infantry. They could charge into an enemy then dismount and fight on foot.

[@TresTrefusis]

If you take command of them you could order them to do this.

[@SamRocher]

Great video! Even though I love using them, I think the fians may be a bit too good. My suggestion is to turn the Sturgia noble line into beastly foot soldier, then move the whole Battanian horse line to nobles, then move the fian line into the basic troop tier. Still have them longbow archers. That would make you still want to use cavalry, knowing they are strong, but still let you focus entirely on infantry through the whole basic troop line.

[@heinrich4208]

Seems like there's an opposite Sturgia situation going on with the infantry. Best combination might be a bunch of Wildlings sprinkled with a few Oathsworn.

[@shirtlessviking9225]

so do you just mix oath and wild? with archers in the back? or just oath to tank and take cav, and then fians to destroy everything?

[@JiNNeZZ]

Why is the Fians two handed sword in the one handed class? Does it have the new switchable grip? Not that it matters they still kick ass :)

[@LyonExodus]

It's what we call an "hybrid sword" it can be used both 1H and 2H. The encyclopedia always lists them as 1H weapons and with 1H stats. But Fians use the 2H skill and the stats of the weapon are far better than the one you will see in the encyclopedia.

[@adamoneil5317]

Damn, and I am doing a Battanian Calvary playthrough haha

[@bear3384]

So kind of off-topic, but I have been looking high and low to find the banner mod you use ( I think lol ) where you can make borders around it

[@ESFAndy011]

Has anyone else noticed how the cooler their names are, the more low tier they turn out to be? Why did they do this? Having never played this culture or recruited much of these units, before I got the troop sorter mod, sorting them to try and pick the best prisoners was like pulling teeth...

[@pennywise1682]

Family guide would be great too, after this series...

[@TheComicalTragedy]

With the raider I think a 2 handed axe or maybe give them what no unit has which is a 2 hand mace.

[@GoldRider4265]

Having never used battanians, I not once realized fians don't use the noble longbow... that is a *very* worrying thought on just how much better they'd be with the noble longbow... why don't I use this nice little add-on for my little warband to give them exactly that...

[@TheMasterblah]

Fians had noble longbows when earl access first came out, that's where the legendary OP fian idea comes from. They would kill literally everything before they got in melee range

[@GoldRider4265]

@@TheMasterblah Completely forgot about this comment. And after messing around with troop equipment, they do indeed genocide rather than mere murder. I'm okay with this as in this case, making everything OP so nothing is is an appropriate design philosophy if you ask me.

[@DaddyReaper1991]

I know you're probably working on it but can we get one of these for the khuzait next. Absolutely love your channel man you do great content but most of the stuff I can find out there for these guys is pretty dated.

[@italianspartacus]

I'll do khuzait this week and get it out before Dadktide's launch brother :) thanks so much for watching

[@DaddyReaper1991]

@@italianspartacus Cool thank man.

[@yatiyeets4180]

Perfect. The Battanians and I have been liberating Calradia together...I must know how to crush them afterwards..

[@Paulunatr]

the key to beating Battania is to hit their archers before you deal with the infantry. best practice I've found is to form up heavy shock cavalry on me, put them in shield wall formation, and charge down the Fians' flank. even if you don't kill many of them, keeping the Fians occupied while your own archers go to town on the Battanian infantry is so important. no ranged unit can compete with Fians in large numbers

[@yatiyeets4180]

@@Paulunatr thanks bro!

[@Paulunatr]

@@yatiyeets4180 forgot to mention- you usually want to do this while your infantry line engages with theirs, or else your cavalry will get trapped. try to bait them into separating archers and their infantry. for success in the infantry fight, you want a mix of big shields to protect them from projectiles and shock troops to do the killing. Sturgian Heavy Spear/Axemen are my favorites for the shield wall, but any high-tier infantry will do. I like to use Menavliatons for the shock troop role because they're easy to get your hands on, but Sturgian Line Breakers, Vlandian Voulgiers, and Battania's own Falxmen are all good options you will probably have access to. no guarantees on success, but best of luck!

[@TannerWilliam07]

This video needs to show up at the number 1 search result, not second. The other video is 2 years old

[@saltesc]

Your imgur link in the description goes to Empire units.

[@teambellavsteamalice]

Could you just skip on the entire left side, and go for wildlings as frontline with falx shock troops? That might miss out on braceable polearms all that throwing! If you'd mix other troops, would legionares and Vlandian crossbows be nicest? Which Sturgian troop fits nicely and really adds something?

[@fendelphi]

Losing out on the spears is a potential problem, but on the other hand, the Veteran Falxman is a decent substitute(they cut down horses and riders with ease). The biggest issue is sieges, where Oathsworn are better than Wildlings in my opinion(in large part due to the helmet).

[@0292-q3l]

Only solid unit here is the Fian Champions... the rest get ruined by most other units from different factions. Their shock troops aren't that good either unfortunately. Khans Guard and Fian Champions are literally the best units in the game and an army of these units will secure Calradia for you pretty easily.

[@sirhenry9313]

Like the video simply for "gigachadly goodness" 🤣

[@Th3CanMan]

Can I decide which set my troops carry?

[@evildaddyz]

I was wonder why cant they have basic archer i know they have a strongest archer but a basic archer would be good

[@tuetensuppe6399]

i like the effort, but some ratings i would hard disagree. the veteran falxman really suffers from the too long polearm. he becomes almost useless in an infantry line cause he has no room to swing. even when not in a shieldwall

[@fendelphi]

I have done some testing and it is not that big of a problem. In field battles, there is usually enough space for them to swing. And they generally 1-shot anyone hit. Their biggest problem is siege battles, where the walls, doors and extreme compact formations makes the length of the weapon a liability. Generally speaking, they deal with enemy cavalry charges better than Oathsworn, while being more vulnerable to enemy archers.

[@yubeeeep]

Bitanian fians rank Op

[@SoulRuninFree]

Imagine if you could brace sheilds.

[@redhongkong]

battanian shield are too small early game, they seems like bad shield wall tanker, i usually just hire empire shield wall unit early game,

[@robpiccola9564]

Newb to bannerlord here....what exactly is a shock troop?

[@italianspartacus]

A troop without a shield that focuses on polearm/two handed :)

[@robpiccola9564]

@@italianspartacus 🤙🤙

[@joshuaperry7199]

I hope this is relevant to console dude. My Battanian army was just all over the place with infantry. Thanks to this video hopefully i can give it allot better structure. Thats if console runs the same way as PC. Cheers buddy, this was very useful.

[@jcstrong602]

As a console player, I can 100% confirm it is relevant. Utilizing a core infantry of wildilings and veteran falxman (I like a 65%/35% ratio) being supported by Fian Champions is strong enough to take you to Clan Tier 4 without any cavalry. With the right positioning and tactics, Battania can take down even the toughest Cavalry charges in the game, such as the Vlandian Banner Knights. Suffice to say, any map with trees and hills to utilize with your Fians always ends the same way: "If you go in the woods today, you're in for a big surprise! If you go in the woods today, you're sure to die of a fright!"

[@savagejt2546iuih]

Battania has the best first troop class as infantry with sledgehammer always get caught by the best volunteer ever to get knocked out by the lowest tier troop 😂

[@feelingnether158]

Would be interesting to BUFF this faction and nerf Vlandians and the mongols.

[@perrymeril]

The hidden blade can compete with the skirmis.... wait... not really. Kappa

[@mahmoudmerhi5875]

Fian champions aren't even good their godly man I remember I had a. 250 battalion fian champions army against a army of sturgians of 1005 strong man I used small amount of them as bait and put most the fian champions on the sides and when the sturgians went and attacked the small bait my archers from the side unleashed hell on them.

[@bluewizzard8843]

Only because you don't want to play with battanian cavalry doesn't mean you can't do it. That's just personal preference.

[@kristopherrice1465]

Battanian Fian Champs go brrrrrrr

[@latchedcrab2259]

👍

[@421less1]

I have a such a love/hate with fians. On one hand i love the flavour choice to make the barbarians be the best archery faction. But they're just too overpowered to the point i kind of just ignore battanian troops for my army. Taking other battanian units feel like a waste and fians make the game easy mode. They need less armor, less athletics and less 2 handed. Nothing counters them. They can go toe to toe with any cav, even kuzhait nobles. Two handed troops wont get within 50 feet of them and they'll beat most shield infantry in straight fight with not enough casualties to bother avoiding it. Obviously being the only tier 6 archer means they're the best at that but they still outdamage crossbows and shoot almost as fast as all the shortbow archers. Its ridiculous. I get theyre a noble line but they should still be getting punished in close quarters. I think one solution could be to give sturgia an infantry noble line that has the giant roundshield in his hand and one on his back with some javs or axes and a mainhand weapon with the best possible armour. Could be way less prone to archery flanks and able to punish the 2 handed swords in close combat with a high handling axe/mace if they had the highest one hand stat in the game. Another solution would be to make the fians taller and wider (kind of fits the roman description of barbarians being giant anyway) so that they're more prone to being shot and getting headshot by cav. Its hard, but you can counter/ mitigate khuzait nobles if you take the right kind of cav and really micro them. Fians just dont have a weakness, theres no efficient way to engage them, you just lose a ton of men doing it no matter what. Lastly, they should update battanian horseman to at least be comparible and usable against other factions. I know their lore is ignoring cavalry but it makes it really hard to have a unique battanian army. You're sabotaging yourself by taking anything besides fians and maybe 15% infantry to screen them.