Vojnici
Their lances are like trunks of forest trees;
Their banners are like endless sailing clouds
And all their tents are like the drifting snows. — Traditional Serbian
In game
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| Prereq: | Build time | HP | LOS | Attack | Attack speed | Movement speed |
Upgrade of | |
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12.5s (188t) |
170 | 8 | 17 | 2.1s (32t) |
25 |
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| Cost | Created from | Armour | Weapon range | Specialty | ||||
| Base | Ramp | Pop | ||||||
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1 | 
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3 | Melee |
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Overall strategy
The backbone of late-game Serbian armies, the Vojnici continue to provide Serbia with a powerful infantry component capable of killing most unique units and mercenaries without so much as breaking in a sweat. Vojnici can be highly effective if used against factions which are reliant on the use of a melee unique unit, which covers most European nations, although against others such as Spain, Venice or Burgundy, there may be problems.
Note that as they count as heavy infantry, they can still be easily butchered by their supposed prey if they are caught by archers or masses of non-unique mercenaries, so you should always be careful to keep them escorted with cavalry or archers of your own where possible. Moreover, as their special ability is only wiping out enemy unique units of the Castle Age, they are vulnerable against "normal" units such as masses of Spear Sergeants and/or Mounted Rangers, especially since they have much weaker armour than these units. Against units such as Spathatoi, Foot Asakir or Jarl Cavalry, Vojnici will clearly have the upper hand, but if pitted against units such as Fauchard Infantry or Billmen, they will only do normal damage.
For this reason, Vojnici are not meant to be a "game-winner" but should be accompanied by other units where possible. Serbia's missile units, including Javelin Cavalry and Crossbow Infantry are a must to ensure that the Vojnici are not attacked by cavalry archers, while knights should be used to wipe out enemy foot archers before they can cause serious damage. Vojnici also can't be upgraded to more "modern" units, either, leaving them at a technological disadvantage but Serbian Pavise Arbalests and Halberdiers can be used to screen them, maintaining them as a strictly counter-cavalry force even in the late game when they face the potential of being outclassed by other nations, particularly the Holy Roman Empire and Turkey.
Unit summary
- Specialised Specialty — The biggest advantage which Voyniky have over others is their ability to destroy the enemy's unique units. This makes them ideal against factions which are reliant on them, such as the Byzantines.
- Weight Problems — Cavalry archers, siege machines and skirmishers, and polearm units are capable of causing serious damage, so screen your Vojnici with cavalry or Crossbow Infantry of your own where possible.
- I Don't Like To Slay Alone — Armies of Vojnici 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
During the long periods of Byzantine suzerainty over the Serbian lands, it was unsurprising that the Serbs would be targets of Byzantine cultural influence. One of the areas where this was most extensive was in military organisation and culture. While some innovations such as cataphract cavalry would feature in Serbian armies, some were Byzantine followups on an older military tradition, such as infantry which had long been the mainstay of most "south Slavic" tribes which hand long been settled in the forested mountains of the Balkans. Infantry continued to be the mainstay of the Serbian principalities until the imperial era when Serbia as a unified and prosperous imperium could afford the arms, armour and mounts for cavalrymen.
