Bannerlord's Best Units, Commands & Formations! Final Update Tactics Guide

[@Strat-Guides]

Well it's finally done - over two weeks worth of work went into this and I was running low on time and energy. Sorry I couldn't add more memes or cool edits, 90% of the effort for this video went into the data and analysis. On the bright side, you'll know how to dominate every battle in 1.9 full release :D I've got a few shorter videos that I need to try to push out before the 25th so stay tuned, it's going to be a BUSY week!

[@twimisize]

Looking forward to them! As always thanks for running these tests, they're extremely helpful and I'm glad to see Shock Troops getting better in the latest patch. Also, I'd love to see more cav v cav analysis. Sucks that Skein is still bad. I want my Rohirrim moment haha

[@DestroyerOfOgis]

Appreciate the work Strat! This video is very Svanaboo as expected.

[@filipsuba9340]

Thank you for this content, its both entertaining, and helpful while playing the game. But please do not overwork yourself, it will only lead to despair and deprive you of motivation to fulfil your goals. Take care of youself Strat, and again, thank you for your content :).

[@monkc3812]

You are one of the most underrated youtubers i've ever seen but just know that you have a big and needed influence on people's days and it's by making their days by uploading ! Much love mate !

[@jeff669]

thank you and great work as always

[@marmotank]

Hey strat, i wanted to thank you for spending so much time gathering data for Bannerlord, you are so important for this game, keep at it!

[@Strat-Guides]

I'm, happy to hear that! Thanks for the support, it makes all the work worth it :)

[@StillBrokeOff]

@@Strat-Guides fr appreciate the effort

[@jasonjack7349]

This is a valuable video, great work

[@perplexedpuma5343]

Bannerlord owners should pay this channel. It is channels like this that keeps the serious player in the game.

[@MrRasta3600]

Man, seeing shock troops finally be good brings a tear to my eye. It's beautiful.

[@Strat-Guides]

Haha I was thinking the same thing!!

[@DestroyerOfOgis]

@@Strat-Guides Hey Strat, Falxman or Line Breaker?

[@Derzull2468]

@@DestroyerOfOgis How about you watch the video?

[@DestroyerOfOgis]

@@Derzull2468 good point

[@mikhailfilitov1479]

it's really cool seeing that logical actions (e.g. tight infantry shield walls holding against cav) work well and that shock troops seem to largely work as they should! Exciting stuff.

[@Strat-Guides]

Yeah they are almost there! Just a couple more tweaks I think :)

[@DeDyson]

Seriously though, you really have taken one for the team and I appreciate it. That was a lot of work.

[@Strat-Guides]

Hehe it's all good, I just hope they don't make any changes at full release that would negate this! Thanks for watching :)

[@LinardsZ]

@@Strat-Guides Just use batanian Fian Champions and you have top tier infantry and archer army

[@Acidic_Intentions]

Khuzaits do have shock troops. If you dismount and hold fire on Khans guard they are amazing shock troops. Heavy armor and glaives wreck.

[@mowvu]

you were months ahead of anyone else dude

[@Acidic_Intentions]

@@mowvu it be like that sometimes.

[@AurioDK]

A bit late to the party, the Khans are pretty much good at any situation given the right commands. The Fian Champs also make decent shock troops but not as good as the Khans.

[@tilicamihail]

we rly appreciate your work and testing.

[@Strat-Guides]

No problem, I'm glad it turned out okay :)

[@tilicamihail]

@@Strat-Guides love how u literally reply to every comment :)) why tho?

[@BIG30RDS]

@Strat Gaming is the nitty-gritty KZbinr this game needs, the bare bones guys that test everything that we generally all see but never confirmed ourselves with data. I have over 2,600 hours in this game and I still learn things every time I watch. Thanks, my dude.

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks K B! To be fair, I had about 2k hours before I started the channel, but I would say I've learned well over 50% of what I know only AFTER doing all the tests and collecting data, so I was still in the dark then too! TW Math is not something easily understood intuitively, because it doesn't follow the standard logic ;) I appreciate you saying that!

[@asarkharov]

Great job! One small note: a Sturgian warrior is not a "drUUUzhinnik", it is a "druzhIIInnik". The word comes from "Druzhba" (friendship), which meant friends of the knyaz(Sturgian or Russian king). And "druzhina" means something like squad/army. Love your vids, thank you!

[@Strat-Guides]

I think someone told me that on stream a few weeks ago and I forgot lol I'll try to remember that! I appreciate you letting me know, I do try to pronounce things correctly, but it's not easy for my simple American tongue :P

[@asarkharov]

@@Strat-Guides I believe in you :)

[@asarkharov]

@@Strat-Guidesand "druGinnik" or "druJinnik" will be more correct and easy for your tong than "druZHinnik", I think :) It's damn letter "Ж". It's like "Gym" or "Job" 😁

[@lemailscrusade]

@@asarkharov I think the best example is how Strat pronounces G in Voulgier, making it into something like Drougien-nick for all our non-slavic friends out there (with emphasis on "i" in drougien, just like in voulgier)

[@JB-xl2jc]

@@lemailscrusade Or like Djinn/Genie kinda first syllable.

[@cynicalpsycho5574]

They really need to hire you as tester/consultant, the dedication is awesome! Appreciate the hard work!

[@Strat-Guides]

Hehe I dunno if i've crossed the line with all the TW maths references for that :) Thanks for watching!

[@cynicalpsycho5574]

@@Strat-Guides Hahaha I also have left many not so kind comments on the feedback for each update on the lack of vlandian armour in each one haha

[@DomsRoundtable]

You do such an insane amount of testing/data gathering/research, holy crap dude thank you so much, and keep up the amazing work!

[@Strat-Guides]

Hey It's Dom!! Thanks man, it's good to see you keeping up with Bannerlord :) Hopefully we see you making a video or two after release!

[@SilanTheTactician]

A shame TW still has not fixed cavalry charges. It's no surprise that once they get stuck in the infantry death ball, more often than not they get wiped. They need to be programmed to push through the infantry line and cycle charge every time. RBM does this and it makes fighting cavalry heavy armies with infantry a nightmare. I'm sure you have loads of ideas in the works, but it would be cool to see an army tactics guide with RBM and see just how much the mod changes in tactics from vanilla. Some of the factions adopt unique formations in battle, such as Sturgia splitting their infantry into three formations- one large center body and two flanking shock units, or the Empire leading with cavalry Skein formation in front of their infantry.

[@Strat-Guides]

Yeah it was interesting to see how effective 3 groups of cav did compared to 1 group, which to me doesn't make as much sense - I imagine you want one massive group of cav to push through, but no matter how many cav you have, they get stuck lol

[@serialthrilliayahoo]

@@Strat-Guides I think the realistic battle mod solved this issue in alot of ways. The a.i. cycle charges constantly when u give them command and dont use f1+f4 and will avoid engaging infantry until they are committed in a fight. the armor rebalance makes them the most survivable units on the field and due to this burst damage is king making them and shock troops top of the pile. Unless u specifically try to take out the cav first they will much sooner route than wipe.

[@chrisjensen9855]

@@Strat-Guides I actually think the current balance is spot-on and quite reflective of the historical role of cavalry. Generally speaking, even extremely heavy shock cavalry like the Sasanian Grivpanvar does not do well against disciplined infantry that stands its ground in the face of the charge. You basically have to use cavalry in a fairly realistic manner now to get the most out of it - together with e.g. an infantry fixing force in classic Alexandrian "hammer and anvil" style, as a decisive blow after horse archers have softened the enemy already, or targeting disorganised, isolated formations of lighter infantry. Cavalry still plays an extremely important role due to its unparalleled mobility, but now it can't just bowl over organised infantry in ahistorical, unrealistic fashion. Great change IMO.

[@DIEGhostfish]

@@chrisjensen9855 But there isn't a command to target enemies near a specific area to hit dosorganized groups

[@aswadianknight4766]

@@chrisjensen9855 Heavy Cav schould be able to smoke unprotected archers on flat ground in melee. They only have small weapeons against heavy armed and armored Cav, with better melee training.

[@omnitheman9254]

Look at all those graphs, there beautiful. Nothing gets a gamer more excited than graphs filled with all the information you need to mid Max!

[@Strat-Guides]

Haha I was so nervous to put spreadsheets and databases in videos when I first started, but now I see people actually WANT to see them :) It's a wonderful thing.

[@ivanmorozov828]

I respect your grind and approach to the subject. That's some great work ethic you've got!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thank you Ivan! A lot of work went into this one but I hope some of the info is useful at least :)

[@INFJ-ThaneTr]

I've noticed that the AI infantry moves in a way to side step or dodge rather than just press forward (at least on Bannerlord difficulty) which makes me assume why so much has changed. Idk, I've had some crazy fights in area that have surprised me due to the ai not being 100% predictable like I'm used to since literally the beginning of Bannerlord until 1.9

[@Strat-Guides]

There was one thing that they changed that they didn't really state in the patch notes - I only found it out because it ruined my WC speedrun... In 1.8.0 I was able to attack villages by myself with a 2H axe and clear out 100 - 150 no problem. But after they changed the cav AI, it seems the change worked for ALL melee troops such that they attack at MUCH greater distances now. Before, they would raise their arm and get the attack ready, but only release it when they were close enough to guarantee the hit. Now they swing like $%^$ing mad-men beyond their max effective range, so when fighting against multiple opponents it's almost impossible to get a hit in without getting hit by the other 5 behind. This also changes melee battles because they are more likely to throw attacks before they should, which can screw things up.

[@Larknok1]

The Shock Troop vs. Shock Troop match-up is a bit odd, given that it's effectively testing anti-infantry specialist units *against* each other rather than their intended counter: shield infantry.

[@LCInfantry]

All shock troops slaughter shield

[@bullydungeon9631]

I watched every video before this just to hear it was entirely out of date LOL love and appreciate the work youve put in

[@dustinchauvin1979]

All of these videos are so well made and put together! I really love this channel. Keep up the amazing work!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thank you Dustin! I appreciate you saying that.

[@cosmictsunami]

Thanks!

[@Strat-Guides]

Wow again, thank you so much! You're on a roll lol I appreciate the support

[@msj1117]

I'd been noticing my shock troops (Sturgian Heavy Axemen) being much more viable in 1.9; this guide confirms it. Thank you for your hard work, Strat! Nice to see the skein formation make a comeback. Have a good weekend!

[@Strat-Guides]

I'm so happy they buffed them finally! I loved using them in the past, but they always felt so underwhelming.

[@hanneswurstbrot6902]

the persistence alone to make all these guides for a beta version of a game that scrambles all the units with each patch is worth 10 likes dude. thanks a lot my friend

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks!! I'm really hoping these tests hold for at least a few months lol it's pretty rough doing this amount of testing.

[@awuza7045]

Quality at its finest, appreciate it man

[@Strat-Guides]

Thank you for the support!!

[@dyonesios]

This is awesome man. Thank you. Have to say though, this is part of what I love about Realistic Battle Mod. With the increased armor values it provides much more niche roles for different troops based on damage types.

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks for watching! Yeah I agree, I still much prefer RBM over vanilla.

[@Flesson19]

I use my cav way off to the side. The enemy cav will engage them and once my cav have dealt with them, my infantry is already dealing with theirs so theirs is spread out allowing my cav to easily take out their archers and help with infantry. For me the key is to wait till their army is spread out so they can be picked off. The one thing I wish could have been tested but know its difficult is to see the menavliaton vs. the khans guard on hold fire. Now that would be cool to see

[@Strat-Guides]

That's a good idea! I'm curious to know who would win that too. I still think any shock troop will have the advantage. Although if they are dismounted maybe it would be different. That and Fian champs...

[@LyonExodus]

No shock trooper can Hold the Khans @flesson19 They struggle with the T3 Horse Archer already

[@Flesson19]

@@LyonExodus just would e nice to see how well they can compared to others. they can't, but by how much 1:1,2:1 KDR that's the question

[@LyonExodus]

@@Flesson19 Give me 30m and i'll drop you the data on your discord

[@Flesson19]

@@LyonExodus not on discord till sunday

[@miruk6295]

you are my favourite bannerlord youtuber so far, i've been playing for a week now and your videos are helpful and very enjoyable to watch

[@Strat-Guides]

Nice, I'm really happy to hear that! How are you liking the game so far?

[@miruk6295]

@@Strat-Guides its been very tough man not gonna lie im broke as hell rn hahaha

[@agroplode9680]

So nice to see buffed Cavalry and Shock troops. I liked to use 2h troops to kill enemy Cav after using my Cav to lure them into a forest or inside a village. I have not played since 1.5.9 or so and I wonder about changes to the morale, I got these 4 soldiers that run away in every battle. It seems to be the same 4 guys. An Aserai Caravan, Highwayman, Battanian Hero and an Imperial veteran soldier.

[@joeabplanalp]

That actually appears to be a scoreboard bug that has to do with standard bearers. They haven't actually ran away, but taking up a banner seems to count them as having retreated on the tally board. Purely visual, so don't fret about it, should be fixed before long.

[@philliporr2478]

Just started playing and am mostly caught up on old videos. Glad to see the updates and that you get to make a bunch more content. Thank you! (Loving the robyn hod playthrough)

[@edgein94]

Thank you for your data driven clauswitzien analysis of Bannerlord battle tactics. Doing the lords work.

[@mathiasolsen1]

Hey man, thank you so much for taking the time to make these videos and being so passionate about both the game and the community. You rarely see content creators interact with the comment section this much and it is greatly appreciated! Keep at it you defiantly earned a big sub!

[@Strat-Guides]

Hey Mathias! Yeah I know what you mean, it's a ton of work to respond to comments to be honest lol but I'll keep doing it as long as I have time to still make videos :) I appreciate the support!!

[@thelukedankwalker]

I played a bunch of bannerlord on launch and remember how poor the menavliatons were. Came back with the new update and noticed they seemed a bit stronger, now I see they're actually much stronger than my legionaries and will be adjusting my army comp accordingly. Thank you for all the testing!

[@MercAgentVinny]

Just from seeing your effort alone from all the data and analyzing you’ve done deserves way more views and subs!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thank you so much!

[@fabf77]

excellent video. I have a suspicion because the sturgia axeman is so powerful against cavalry, they are tall! they even manage to hit the head with their axes. In a recent battle I saw one of them shoot down mounted kusait like it was nothing and what I noticed was how tall the soldier was. Too bad the veteran falxman doesn't use the falx. It would be a brutal unit. The falxman just lacks armor and a little more skill, the funny thing is that as it is, if you have a captain dedicated to increasing the speed of your infantry, the falxman runs like a marathon runner in battle. all of his equipment does not exceed 15 weight.

[@Strat-Guides]

Interesting, I didn't consider their height, but that makes perfect sense! Yeah I was thinking about that - some nice perks and those shock troops could be even more deadly.

[@DIEGhostfish]

Switching to exclusively use the Falx's polearm cousin is odd.

[@HopemanGG]

I just love watching these videos. Thank you for that. Also, your dry and logical way of presenting the data sets up those memes so well as they hit you when you least expect it, so much that I find myself sometimes laughing out loud while closely avoiding spilling coffee everywhere. :D I hope TaleWorlds can achieve some more logical balancing, where formations meant to be great actually deliver in this game. I feel like they need baseline units (average for a unit type) and then make sure the different cultures units relatively perform as the lore suggests, while still maintaining a classic rock-paper-scissors system between the unit types (with outlier or more specialized troops here and there). Basically they need to start asking: 1. Which unit for each type should be the average one that we balance all others around? 2. Which one should be the strongest (and weakest) of each unit type (based on culture lore, although this gets complicated with all the different tiers where in some cases they even switch weapons)? 3. Which formations should be the best for each unit type on average and which ones should be more specialized towards fighting each unit type based on historical data, but while striking a balance with what is needed for the game to be fun. (Formations that are very strong against one unit type relative to the default formation, should be weak against another unit type). 4. Once all the previous points are loosely achieved - what should be each unit's value aka recruit and maintenance costs?

[@Strat-Guides]

Haha I'm happy to hear that :) And yes I agree with your assessment for how improve further - I'm sure it's tough to balance this many units and moving parts so I don't envy their position!

[@EnzoVinZ]

I was surprise to see the Kuzait Lancers doing well. Good job man.

[@Strat-Guides]

Me too! That and the Voulgier, I thought both of those guys were trash.

[@DestroyerOfOgis]

@@Strat-Guides Hey Strat, the Heroic Line Breaker defeats every infantry, but when I'm on the Voulgier's side, they win. They beat every infantry, but on match with the Voulgier.

[@mojoegaming_]

Super interesting results here mate! thanks for putting in the time and effort to make these!

[@mr2ti41]

Just wanted to say, I really appreciate your work man. Keep it up.

[@Strat-Guides]

No problem, I'm happy to hear the guides are helping :D

[@calvin9h407]

Thank you and mad respect of all of this test result. Also, it's a very interesting test result. The most interesting one is the fact that battanian falxman level 4 is one of the best shock trooper to use against the entire infantry unit! And you even testing the crossbowman too. Corect me if i'm wrong, but based on this test here is my new strategy: Step one, In the front line, i will use 1 or 2 line(s) of Empire Legionary in shield wall formation to block enemy range unit and protect unit behind them. Behind Legionary i put all of my Menavliaton in skein formation. Then, range unit behind Menavliaton, and cavalry on each side of my range unit Step two, once enemy infantry is close enought to melee, i will command all of my infantry to charge. Step three, i use my cavalry to focus on attacking enemy range unit from both side so they don't get stuck at the middle. Step four, profit. I think i will be using this strategy on average or harder enemies, the rest is F1+F3. Ofcouse i open up for any help or suggestion cause haven't try this new strategy though

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks for watching! I still need to run full army vs army testing, but I think you can adjust your test slightly for better results - I would strictly use the shield wall to block projectiles and take the brunt of cavalry charges. As the enemy infantry approach, I would charge the shock troops and pull the shield wall back. I'm sure using the legionary would still be good, but they take up space that the menavliaton could occupy. With infantry, it's important to destroy their morale as fast as possible since routing them quickly means less losses on our side - just something to consider :) Otherwise, I think you have a solid plan there!

[@calvin9h407]

@@Strat-Guides Thanks for the tip! By the way, a full army vs army test? Just to think the amount of variation and variable to consider is mind blowing not to mention the amount of testing needed. I hope when you do that, TaleWorlds wont makes your future videos obsolete because of new patches that bring some too "radical" changing, well improvement is welcome ofcourse. Oh yeah, 3 days to full release of Bannerlord. That is a exiting news for us but alot of work for you! Keep up the good work!

[@anubisftn]

Thanks so much for all this extensive and all your previous hard work. Love the videos.

[@Strat-Guides]

No problem, glad the info can be of use :)

[@GhostManPRO]

You are absolutely the most legendary KZbinr in the bannerlord community, I stopped playing the game for two years, I come back and your still slapping us with the most well made videos giving me exactly the information I so desperately wanted, mad props to you man you should be proud 💖

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@Vladimir_Ches]

The amount of work, details and testing in those guides is AMAZING! (lover of spreadsheets here) Will there be a guide for "best" army composition by any chance? I mean a real battle will almost never be 1 troop type against same or other 1 troop type.

[@Strat-Guides]

Hey Vladimir! Yeah this one was a lot heavier on the data and less on the editing (I ran out of time after 2 weeks of work lol) For sure, I was planning on starting the cultural army testing, but once they released 1.9 I knew I had to do this one first or I wouldn't know how to handle the units. I'll be starting that series back up soon :)

[@virgilioreneau1862]

Thanks a bunch, this was a great video! Even without the memes, and just the date, we appreciate all the time you put into this.

[@Sanzeh]

Amazing video bro! Thanks for your hard work! I usually use the troops that I find cool/like but it's good to know for my future games. The formation data will be so helpful I used to stick to the square formation + archers/crossbow but I'll definitely add more variety to my formations!

[@Strat-Guides]

I know what you mean - I like to pick them based on how they look in a lineup too :) That's why I love the palace guards, even though they aren't that great vs infantry. Yeah for sure, hopefully the formation data can be of use. Thanks for watching!

[@Jonnyblacknell]

You absolute mad lad!! Can't wait to finish this one man!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks for watching! Hopefully there are a few useful bits here :)

[@blazezz1101]

Thanks for all the grueling work testing out the units. Also Vlandian Pikeman deserves better treatment from Taleworlds to not be forgotten from the realms of Calradia.

[@Strat-Guides]

Hey blaze! Thanks for watching :) Yeah I ran a couple tests with pikeman and they actually did pretty well for the initial charge, but once they pull the sword out they are basically equivalent to T1 recruits lol

[@billwilliamson1506]

@@Strat-Guides Which really is a shame they should be able to brace their pikes and resist multiple horses until the pike breaks. That way they’d actually be a decent unit against cavalry, or maybe just a good sword/mace secondary

[@kasper135]

Superbly elaborate, absolutely love it! I’m finally getting consistent wins due to your formation and troop guides. Cheers!!!

[@Strat-Guides]

I'm happy to hear that!!

[@arcangel608]

Looks like I'm replacing my cav with shock troops now. Thanks for the great video, im sure everyone appreciates the work you put into these

[@Strat-Guides]

Now just imagine putting a captain in their formation with movement speed perks AND the +10% movement speed banner? They might as well be cavalry hahaha :) Thanks for saying that, I appreciate it!

[@lovesosa3837]

You’re a G Strat. Just started watching you and I couldn’t be more impressed

[@Strat-Guides]

Thank you, I appreciate the support!

[@Jasta85]

I think one way to balance the difference between units of the same tier is different costs. You could have a tier 5 infantry that is considered bad but half the cost of the best tier 5 infantry that kicks ass. Let's you go for a quantity vs quality decision. I have to force myself to not use OP units like Fian Champians and Khan's guard because it becomes boring, but I'm purposely nerfing myself by doing so. Hopefully some mod will do a proper rebalance in the future.

[@Strat-Guides]

Yeah I like that idea. They could do some sort of calculation based on the units stats and equipment, then base it as a percentage of that maybe?

[@TheReason2Breathe]

Spirit of the Strat Gaming has done it again. Thanks for all the time you put into this research!!

[@Strat-Guides]

Haha a true compliment :) I still watch his videos!

[@AnotherDuck]

I've always used cavalry to break up formations from the side. The main army is usually archers behind infantry, and the enemy usually forms up against that. Then I use either cavalry from the side, horse archers from behind, or both, to attack them from multiple angles, and usually I attack their archers first. If the enemy redirects towards my horses, my archers will get much better shots instead. On the current playthrough with 90% Imperial troops of various types.

[@mikeumm]

That's what I have been doing. Set my horse archers to commander. Then lead my cav myself. On flat ground I'll slow walk a shield wall with archers behinds. And then direct my H. Archers up the left flank while I take the cav up the right. Use the arrows to keep them bunched up defending with shields. Once both my cav units get to their flanks I loose the H. Archers. And then lead a charge right down the flank. I make sure I go well past their formation so none of my cav get stuck and hang around meleeing. Turn, regroup, and charge again. After 2 or 3 charges my infantry is right up on them and I charge the shield wall to mop up the survivors If I have the hill I'll do the same shield wall in the front, archers elevated. If the enemy has weaker numbers and holds ground trying to get me to engage. I'll harass them with cav and kite their cav away leading them into arrow range . If they have a lot of cav I'll leave my horse archers right behind my archers that way if they charge at my archers they get engaged and cut down. After the cav is dead the infantry often has no choice but to engage or retreat or risk being enveloped.

[@Scapestoat]

I tend to prefer to draw troops to my horse archers. Divide & Conquer.

[@Numbie.]

I love everything about your channel and your videos. Your videos are probably the most important thing that keeps me attached to this game. I'm a little upset that all I can to do support is watching and liking the videos but know that I appreciate your effort and works that goes into these videos. Cheers !

[@Strat-Guides]

I appreciate that support Numbie! All I ask is for people to watch and hopefully apply the info to their own game :) Don't feel bad, I've never asked for anyone to directly support and I have those up in case people want to but it's such a small part of the channel's revenue so just keep watching the videos and giving feedback on how I can keep making them better. That's all I want in return :D

[@Ealdorman_of_Mercia]

Must have taken lots of effort to prepare this showcase with numbers and all. Well done !

[@Strat-Guides]

Yeah it took a bit of work, but I think it turned out okay :)

[@TheToastieCakes]

12:20 ahaha is that Ludi? Strat you're a madman for doing all this by the way. The hero we needed.

[@Strat-Guides]

Hahaha yeah Ludi mr 69-head move himself ;) He's my favorite EU4 KZbinr for sure! Thanks for watching!

[@jonrussell739]

Absolutely love your content. Shouldn't we look at these matchups from a Denar's perspective? 300 elite cav vs 300 foot archers wouldn't be apples to apples for instance. It takes a LOT of denars to upgrade cav and they usually have a high upkeep. If you analyzed matchups based on upkeep/upgrade costs, I would like and watch the you know what out of it. Thanks again for all of your content, mate.

[@sanche215]

This is spectacular. I've never seen and rewinded so much.

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks for watching! I'll be working on army vs army culture tactics soon :D

[@plaidpvcpipe3792]

I’d really love to see some mid and low tier unit comparisons. I suspect that those troops will be the deciding factor in campaign battles.

[@Strat-Guides]

I was planning on including a mix of all unit types when I do the army vs army battles.

[@WildWombats]

Bro you pulling out the "Best Cry Ever" clip is HILARIOUS BEcause literally yesterday I was looking at the cleveland show version of the Best Cry clip and wondering if anybody remembered this clip, and you sir, answered my question today🤣

[@Strat-Guides]

Hahaha yeah that's one of my favorites :) I tend to lean towards the older memes - I guess I'm just getting old now!

[@ГлавныйСитовик]

Excellent guide with such needed statistics, but i have to point out one issue. Sturgian cavalry unit is not Drúznik, it's Druzhín-nik with zh like you pronounce g in Voulgier and double n(really double n, check it), because this word is russian word. Excited to see your next guides!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks for watching! Oh interesting, that's helpful to know! zh is like g, I'll try to remember that. I figured I was butchering that one haha but I tried :)

[@BrokenOlive]

That world conquest could be super interesting! You'd probably need a mod for unlimited companions, so you could literally only have the horsemen, assuming you also use Party ai and command overhaul.

[@Strat-Guides]

I almost would rather to a WC using looters haha :) Having the reoguery perk 150 for quick recruitment, might be better than trying to use those awful units that would be tough to replace.

[@BrokenOlive]

@@Strat-Guides I'd unfortunately have to agree, looters can be captured, or recruited anywhere on the map, making it easy to bolster your numbers, they also have e a variety of weapons, so they will do okay against armour variety. I can't say the same about the horsemen... The only barely redeemable thing is that they're a common troop, so no need for grinding noble troops. You'll still hemorrhage gold for horses though. And a lot of movement speed, so you can pick your battles.

[@PersonalCoach]

Congratulations on yet another excellent strategy video! Could I suggest that you might want to adapt the video thumbnail is presented in the KZbin feed? The style of this one was very over the top and maybe catered to a very young audience. While your narration style is quite calm and mature and may appeal to a different audience than is attracted this type of presentation in the feed.

[@Strat-Guides]

Thank you! My previous best video was actually a tactics video and I was trying to do a similar format for the TN since it did so well. I went through a phase of doing the meme TN but I don't do them much anymore haha I appreciate the feedback :)

[@andrewstich4614]

Kuzait shock troops are dismounted khans guard, and the glave is very effective.

[@danielfiller2770]

When i saw this video i audibly said "holy shit...". This is exactly what I wanted! keep up the S+ tier content, Strat!

[@Strat-Guides]

Nice, glad it's relevant! I wanted to continue to army vs army guide by culture, but when I started running the tests all of the previous formations weren't working lol so I had to change real quick to this guide first. Now we have best practices covered, I can get back to the army tactics series!

[@jameshanor4345]

Happy to see shock troopers getting the buff they needed.

[@davidward3091]

This is incredible! Its like what spirit of the law does in AoE2!!! Thank you! This is fascinating for a new player! I feel like cav should be beasts. But it just looks like they suck against everything. I've been using cav archers and opening with them to create disorganization and my cav to defend against other cav rushes. Once the lines are scattered a bit I start the manual charges and it seems to do well.

[@andersalkjaer4745]

Thanks for making this video, while I'm sad that cavalry is now pointless seeing even regular archers can defeat them. On the other hand my next playthrough I am thinking of using overwhelming shocktroop and see how far I can get as a sparta style army

[@DestroyerOfOgis]

Yeah. The Druz used to destroy the Fian, but TW nerfed cavs terribly.

[@Strat-Guides]

Cavalry are still useful against the AI since they don't usually change their tactics lol they leave their archers nice and wide :) But these tests were mostly to help the player counter enemy cav. Also one trend I noticed - cav do much better now against low tier troops while they seem to be less effective against similar or higher tier troops.

[@thechubbyshiba1073]

Thanks for the data recovery. After this I split my vlandian infantry up with 3 lines of sergeants in the middle and 2 lines of Volgiers on either flank and started using advance. Massive improvement in my KD/R

[@pHixiq]

Man you are a literal god send for me and this game. Only 1 week in. I appreciate the work 💯

[@Strat-Guides]

I'm glad my videos are helping :D I appreciate you watching!

[@SapSapirot]

Amazing the dedication put into this!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks for watching!

[@40cal24]

I love your Bannerlord guides! I would love to know which mercenary units would perform the best in these sorts of tests, since they have been overhauled/changed a lot for 1.9.

[@Strat-Guides]

I really wanted to test them too! I need a mod though since they don't show up in custom battles. I can run them in a regular campaign battle, but much less control there since the AI has all sorts of random units lol I'll work on it. Thanks for watching!

[@Cosmictear]

Been watching a couple of your videos man. Good stuff

[@VossMarionette]

I am not surprised by the voulgier being so good. They are basically feudal poleaxe users. Poleaxes are one of the if not the best melee weapon of the high middle ages. If the voulgiers had full late middle ages plate they would be almost unstoppable.

[@TDynasty001]

Saying this is art is an understatement. Simply beautiful

[@ShummaAwilum]

Would love to see how mixtures of shield and shock infantry behave, preferably with archers in the opposing army.

[@Strat-Guides]

I wanted to save that for the army vs army testing :) I'm not sure who I'll start with first - I already did Sturgia but have to redo them now, although I would like to do a couple others first. Maybe Battania or Aserai?

[@LCInfantry]

@@Strat-Guides I think I’m still waiting idk

[@OldieWan]

Great thumbnail BTW! I just recently got this game. Perfect timing for a new channel to start digging into.

[@Strat-Guides]

Nice, hopefully you're enjoying it so far!

[@turinnturambar]

I have some problems about formations. When I order my units to get in square formation, they turn their faces to only one side instead of covering all sides with shields. And for circle formation, they don't fill the inside of circle but instead they just make a large ring. I can't do anything against large Khuzait Horse Archer hordes. Any help?

[@Strat-Guides]

They broke square formation in this patch for some reason :(

[@niigauniiconroy914]

First time ever leaving a comment purely for algorithm support! Strong video with evident patience. Amazing job

[@Strat-Guides]

I really appreciate that :D Thanks for your help!

[@pr0faker]

The falxmen do better mostly due to much faster weapons, thats the biggest difference, axes are slow and much more prone to get interrupted. Never mind the romphalia, its so slow almost 2 sword hits can be done in one swing of those.

[@sketty1386]

This channel and flession are my go too for butter lord videos!

[@enthusiasticarsonsist2366]

I'd love to see a new speedrun in the current patch, especially with all the strategy development

[@TopSoulMan]

100% agree.

[@Strat-Guides]

I was working on one for 1.8.0 but then 1.8.1 and 1.9.0 ruined my run lol I was 150vs1 villages for tons of renown, got clan tier 3 in about 14 days, but then the new patch makes it almost impossible to do that now since enemy units attack from a MUCH farther distance :( I'll reboot it again with an archer build instead of 2H axe on foot.

[@MountainJew69]

So hyped for this to come out on Xbox in a couple days. Thanks for all the tips and guides man, I’m sure I’ll be back soon

[@Strat-Guides]

Almost there!! I'm working on a beginner's guide that covers a ton of topics so that should be helpful. I'll have it ready before the game launches :)

[@pivotmaster351]

Like, this is cool and all, but how the hell am I supposed to make a balanced army with pikes and shock troops consistently? Spending an hour going from village to village to find them? And how would I make different armies with specific units inside?

[@Strat-Guides]

Just upgrade your army slowly over time - transition into a more balanced one by recruiting tier 1 and making them into what you need!

[@90kalos1]

I absolutely love these videos and will watch the entirety of everyone you make

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks Adam! I've got a few beginner's videos to make this week since there will be a lot of new playing coming with release, but the next series to take on is the culture army testing. I'll be running full battles and using different tactics for each culture. It should be a bit more practical than this type of testing :)

[@MartyYwow]

This is probably a bad take. But is there anyway you could put an easy to see, best unit for each culture/class on your discord or something?

[@Strat-Guides]

Hey Martin! I'm planning on doing that once I get through a few more videos. I'm planning on doing culture army builds and testing and I'll have a ton of accurate data from legit battles to back up the tier list :)

[@MartyYwow]

@@Strat-Guides Wow, did not expect a reply to be honest. Thank you for that, very much looking forward to that video. ( this one was a masterpiece as well). Wishing you a great weekend. /Martin

[@9051team]

Bruh it must suck to have your previous work become obsolete. If it was me I would have lost motivation, but I'm glad you didn't. I appreciate the work you put into the game even with your busy life (and the unproftiability of YT for a channel like yours) Truly you serve at least a mention in the credits.

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks Choong! It's a little annoying to have to redo work, but I knew this would happen covering an early access game so it's my own doing :) The info is badly needed though, not too many channels covering Bannerlord testing and guides so I'm happy to plug that gap. Oddly enough things are starting to turn towards profitable this month finally! It's still not enough to support a family, but it's a huge step in the right direction. I had a time horizon of 3+ years before I figured I would get there and I'm about 15 months into it so I can't complain :)

[@youwase]

I dont know if im the only one but my eyes bleed when i see troops that was supposed to charge standing behind doing nothing. At this state of the game i prefer a thousand times the AI from the previous versions that was pushing like madman.

[@Strat-Guides]

Yeah it's pretty frustrating to watch sometimes.

[@ethanbrown7198]

You have the highest quality bannerlord videos. Congrats and keep them coming. I love your detail

[@Strat-Guides]

Thank you! I've got a few fun videos planned for next month :D

[@vamp3340]

Shame about cav under performing

[@norXmal]

17:10 - Is that the DLSS glitch? Great analysis, very informative regarding formations, albeit a bit redundant with shield breakers against shield breakers, would probably been better to test them against normal melee units. I was also wondering if you were ever planning on testing auto-resolving again, if anything has changed over time since v1.0.1, what factors it the most? What skills, which troops, with our without companions, with low or high morale and locations performs the best, as you mentioned in another video, siege defence is often a safe auto-resolve. *Also wanted to thank you for your dedication in all the rigorous testing, compiling of data, editing of the videos and your articulative way of describing it, it has been immensely helpful, especially the perk guides. I hope the constant updates and changes haven't been too gruelling.

[@jaysonp9426]

So my life is a lie

[@joaotreml3481]

I just started playing and I had only seen the old videos, now I don't know if this one is old too lmao

[@thecheesen]

@@joaotreml3481 The very same, lol.

[@slash_em]

​@@thecheesenMe too, now

[@heirofcarnage1782]

The long anticipated video!!

[@Strat-Guides]

Tell me about it LOL this thing's been haunting me in my sleep for 2 weeks now :P

[@heirofcarnage1782]

@@Strat-Guides ouch! The saddest part is that unfortunately they'll probably release a new update in a couple months and change everything 😪

[@Arm21836]

We appreciate the effort, mate!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks Arman!

[@Flacto-vs6np]

yo guys, i finally done it, i completed a world conquest with only battanian horsemen(and the lower tier troops in the line, but only a few of them[except earlygame when i 9nly have low tier]). tbh it wasnt so bad, only had to lose my sanity a few times and was better off using the follow me command

[@matthewpohlmann6623]

You're a saint you know? Like an honest to god martyr. Thankyou for all of this

[@vikingsrus4]

Hey Strat, you are quite amazing for your dedication to data collection and thorough analysis of this game. And I truly believe that people like you are the reason this game still has a strong community! Please keep up the amazing work, we all appreciate it 🙂

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks Antonio! It's really nice to see all the support :) And I'm looking forward to next week, talk to you soon!!!

[@teambellavsteamalice]

Wow nice video. I was so surprised at how well ranged units performed in melee. You'd think for cavalry to find archers without infantry protecting them would have a field day!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks!! Yeah it's a bit disappointing to see how they get shredded. I think if the cav were quicker to get out of the formation, they would do much better but instead they sit inside it lol

[@comicstripgamer1591]

Thanks for doing this. Really appreciate the crunching of numbers and bones lol.

[@Strat-Guides]

Lol numbers and bones, I like that :) Databases and compound fractures! Thanks for watching!

[@joea5183]

I’m just about to start playing this game and there is soooo much info!

[@roffels11-gamingandhistory69]

Another informative and fun video about one of the best games made in the last decade.

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks! And I agree, it's such a unique experience :)

[@TheOriganalPoppit]

Hope you do more of these, quite insightful into how the combat AI actually works. After watching this, I really appreciate how far taleworlds has come along on it since EA launch. If you do more tests like this, can you please do mixed unit tests, particularly shock and shield infantry? I'm very curious if veteran falx will do better in that scenario as the length of the weapon is their problem; perhaps if the shields give them enough space to swing they'll do better.

[@Strat-Guides]

Yeah I'm going to be doing army vs army battles by the culture! It should be interesting to see how each one is different from one another.