Pikemen

"The infantry have for their defence a breast plate of iron, and for offense a lance nine armlengths long, which they call a pike, and a sword at their side, rather round in the point than sharp. This is the ordinary armament of the infantry today, for few have their arms and shins (protected by) armour..."

— Niccoló Machiavelli, The Art of War, Bk II

In game

Pikemen — Vital statistics
	Ultimate heavy infantry, endowed with lots of armour and HP, yet still every bit just as slow as their predecessors. Strong versus siege weapons, massed melee infantry Weak versus heavy cavalry, buildings
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed	Upgrade of
[3];	12.5s (188t)	220	8	24	2.1s (32t)	28	l
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 80; : 80	: 2; : 2	1		6	Melee	Small defensive bonus versus missile infantry. +1 splash attack radius

Overall strategy

Unlike the filthy viliens of yesteryears who only know two things — that is, to keep moving forward and the point of a large sharpened stick away from your face — Pikemen are the ultimate heavy infantry unit. Being the strongest spear unit around, they are the hardest-hitting melee infantry, and also come endowed with lots of armour and HP. These are not mere peasants carrying big heavy sticks, but men worthy of the highest respect in war.

The long reach of their pikes means that Pikemen are fairly adept as they have a small ranged attack, making them ideal for destroying melee cavalry. Additionally, they can also be counted upon to take out isolated groups of ranged units — provided they do catch up to the latter. While they have plenty of hitpoints and nice shiny guardsmen's armour to fit their role, Pikemen are inevitably vulnerable to ranged attacks made by numerous and determined foes, hence they must be guarded themselves by units on whose worth can be counted on to take them out. Like all other heavy infantry, they are fairly costy — perhaps even more. Sword infantry such as Armoured Militia and Espadachines are often useful for complementing them in scraps against enemy infantry, especially archers, while cavalry are a must for chasing off ranged cavalry.

Unit summary

• First Strike — Pikemen have a small ranged attack, making them ideal for destroying melee cavalry.
• Weight Problems — Cavalry archers, siege machines and skirmishers, and polearm units are capable of causing serious damage, so screen your heavy units with cavalry or skirmishers of your own where possible.
• I Don't Like To Slay Alone — Armies of pike however are costly to equip and maintain, and so you may prefer to recruit light infantry, which performs well against all other units save heavy infantry and cavalry.

History

The transition into modernity for European warfare was heralded by the resurgence of heavy infantry tactics. Although the concept of pikemen or "long spears" that could be used to out-range and overrun other melee units was known since ancient days, the idea of using infantry armed with long spears was soon forgotten in Europe by the days of Imperial Rome and would not resurface until the Middle Ages.

Mediaeval towns and communities that did not have the resources to field large armies of heavy cavalry discovered that pikes were cheap and could be quite effective with proper training, as evidenced by the defeat of knightly cavalry at Kortrijk in 1302. Eventually, armies of pikes and crossbows (later supplanted by firearms) would dominate Europe from the early Renaissance onwards, leading later to the famed "pike and shot" formations of the next 2 centuries. Similar tactics were also used contemporaneously in Japan, with the usage of long spears or yari which were then supplemented by archery or guns.