This article is a comprehensive guide focused on unit composition in the strategy game, Europa Universalis 4. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, learning more about the game’s mechanics is essential for strategic success. The Europa Universalis Guide offers practical advice and strategies that will help you hone your gameplay. It’s an all-encompassing guide intended to refine your understanding and tactical use of different units within the game. Let’s dive into the Unit Composition Guide for EU4 to elevate your gameplay strategy.
Military Technology
Combat Width
Num. Infantry
Num. Cavalry
Num. Cannons
Total Units
0
15
17
4
0
21
2
20
22
4
0
26
5
22
24
4
0
28
6
24
26
4
0
30
9
25
27
4
0
31
11
27
29
4
0
33
14
29
31
4
0
35
16
30
32
4
30
66
18
32
32
6
32
70
20
34
34
6
34
74
22
36
36
6
36
78
23
36
34
8
36
78
24
38
36
8
38
82
26
40
38
8
40
86
Combat Width
An important consideration in unit composition is the Combat Width, a feature visible on the military screen of your country’s interface. The Combat Width reflects the number of regiments that can simultaneously engage in combat. Advancement in-game allows for an increase in your Combat Width. This is made possible by unlocking Military Technology, a key upgrade that enhances your Combat Width. It’s also vital to remember that the effectual use of Combat Width becomes an important factor that shapes your battle strategies, due to its direct influence on the outcomes.
Artillery
Artillery units, uniquely capable of attacking from the back row, must be strategically positioned behind the infantry to maintain their efficacy in combat. While situated on the back row, they deliver decreased damage compared to their potential on the front line. However, placing them on the front row renders them vulnerable, incurring them an additional 50% damage. The fall of the infantry, leading to the advancement of artillery to the front row, precipitates a quick loss due to the escalation in damage artillery units receive.
Cavalry units, on the other hand, tend to fall short of expectations in the later stages of the game, a matter better discussed in later sections of this guide. The contentious issue comes into focus when considering the cost of cavalry, which is a staggering 2.5 times higher than that of infantry. Despite this prohibitive cost, an interesting trend of cavalry overuse has been observed within the game’s community. This paradox might be linked to particular bonuses, or perhaps certain exclusive abilities that these pricier units possess.
When starting out you should still use cavalry but it’s best to ditch them at around Tech 10. Put your artillery at the back and infantry on the front row. A full Combat Width cavalry is useful for a short time during the early stages of the game but once the units on the flanks are defeated that cavalry will be left out and won’t be used. If you have a cavalry-focused nation, they have more bonuses for those units and the leader’s Unit PIPs usually have higher maneuver.
When in combat your units are reinforced by the back row, so if your Combat Width is 16 and you have 20 thousand soldiers ready for battle 4 thousand will be in the back row. When a unit ahead of them dies the reserves move forward to replace them. When you get Tech 5 update your Military Template to the 24,4,0 template now that your Combat Width has increased. You can change to this and any others by going to Conform to Template.
The Shock Damage cavalry does is superior to infantry, and they deal good flanking damage. A decent composition at the start of the game is 12 infantry, 4 cavalries, and 0 artillery. All battles go through 3 phases alternating between Fire and Shock. Fire Phase is first which represents ranged attacks such as longbow, artillery, muskets going first. The shock Phase is next which is hand to hand combat, these battle phases will continue until one side has no more moral and discipline and they retreat.
An ideal Army Composition is to have all infantry at the start of the game since cavalry costs a lot. The first round of artillery you unlock they’re not very good but are useful and when sieging they’ve extremely useful. Keep up to date with your Military Templates and bring multiple of your armies together (stacking) to create a larger force but by doing so you will get more attrition. By splitting the army before and after a fight you will get less attrition; no one wants that to be high.
With that, we wrap up our comprehensive guide on EU4 Army Composition. This concluded look highlights the key aspects of unit effectiveness such as Combat Width, situational unit choice, and Military Tech level. Balancing infantry, cavalry, and artillery by considering costs and strategic application can greatly influence your military performance in Europa Universalis 4.
- Poland's Winged Hussar is by far the strongest unit in the game. If you can blob and/or culture convert enough to have a full front row of them, you'll have an unstoppable stack. Still, it's one stack , not the entire army. - With no shenanagans, Prussia with maxed militarization is always a safe bet.
From 1.34, each combat side will be limited to 2 back row reinforcements per day, plus 1 per 2 maneuver pips of the commanding general. This does not limit initial placement of artillery at battle start.
Artillery should always be as much as your combat width allows. If you want to be cost efficient 6 cavalry is enough (maybe even 4), the rest should be infantry to fill up the rest of the combat width (plus a few spares). More cavalry is usually stronger, especially earlier on, but is most efficient when flanking.
On narrow maps with lots of obstacles like cliffs or woods, cavalry units can fall prey to ranged units that can exploit their range. Camel Riders, Mamelukes, Flaming Camels, Kamayuks, and Genoese Crossbowmen also have bonus attack against cavalry units.
Often cited as a classic example of a challenging nation in Europa Universalis 4 gameplay, Karabakh begins as a vassal of Qara Qoyunlu. Should players want any hope of expanding into its neighboring regions, Karabakh should secure support for its independence or risk being diplomatically annexed.
They're a western nation, start in a decently powerful position, and have very strong military ideas. So yeah, doesn't take too much for them to snowball out of control, especially in player hands. But I definitely wouldn't call them the "most overpowered nation in the game", there are stronger nations in every regard.
You split the frontline to half the combat width. So if the combat width is 28, you put 14 frontline units (infantry and cav together) and rest with canons. Ideal you have 2 armies consisting of 14 frontline units and some canons (let's say 4 canons in each, so a stack of 18k at most).
It's the very same reason why games like WoW, GTA V, Diablo, Elite Dangerous are so addictive. Endless possibilities and replayability in a (more or less) open world. So many different mechanics to explore and do shenanigans with, so many different situations to find yourself in.
It is a strategy game where players can control a nation from the Late Middle Ages following the Battle of Varna (1444), the final crusade, to the Napoleonic era with the timeline finishing on 2 January 1821 to coincide with the death of Napoleon on 5 May 1821.
Infantry blocks cavalry charges; Infantry has an advantage over Cavalry, Archers shoot infantry; Archers have an advantage over Infantry, and Cavalry is so fast that they are so difficult to hit, that they are able to charge and reach archers. Cavalry have an advantage over Archers.
The base combat width is 15. As military technology advances, a country's combat width increases, allowing them to use more soldiers effectively at once. All countries other than Native Americans start with tech level 2 or 3, so their starting combat width will be 20.
In general terms, you should expect to have 8 to 15 men in a squad or section, in two or three teams of either mirrored or assymetric equipment. Why did the fire team replace the squad as the smallest infantry unit?
Introduction: My name is Frankie Dare, I am a funny, beautiful, proud, fair, pleasant, cheerful, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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