After eighty years of governance, the Ming have firmly established themselves as the preeminent power in East Asia.Įven though Ming continues to prosper, its international presence has flagged since the end of Zheng He's voyages, and new realms have posed fresh challenges to the empire.
From this age of chaos, the Ming emerged as the greatest power in China, eliminating their Han rivals and pushing the descendants of Kublai Khan back to the Great Wall. Keeping an eye on your army width and taking some time to readjust the makeup of your armies is a small chore that can pay dividends.The Great Ming Empire owes its origins to the collapse of the Yuan dynasty from Mongolia and the period of rebellion and strife that struck China in the mid-14th century.
Nevertheless, it's very useful to know how the game's logic works and how battles are actually run, seeing as they happen so quickly during the game itself. You may wish to have a dedicated siege army for busting down forts in the early stages of the game, or you may favor horses for the entirety thanks to certain bonuses to their combat ability, for example. Of course, what you actually end up using for your army composition will depend on your nation, your ideas, and your personal preferences for each army. At this point, it can be quite effective to have around four and six units of cavalry in your armies respectively. Military Technology Levels 18 and 23 improve the flanking range of cavalry.While many players swear by the rule of having only two cavalry units per army once you have artillery unlocked, there are two stages where you might consider adding more: Before this, having cannons is no bad idea but it can be cheaper to make up the difference with large numbers of infantry. From here it is a good idea to fill your entire back row with cannons if you can afford it. As a result, from Military Technology Level Seven onwards it's very useful to have a few cannons in your ranks.Īrtillery Units will get significantly better once you hit Military Technology Level 16. The bonus depends on both how many units of artillery you have and the level of the fort you're sieging. Having artillery in your army will grant a bonus to sieges against enemy forts. There are certain technology milestones that will affect your army composition in an ideal world. Flanking is less useful as combat width increases. Since artillery takes double damage in the front row, make sure that the number of artillery units you have in an army does not exceed the total number of infantry and cavalry units combined.įor cheaper armies, it is absolutely possible to get by with only two units of cavalry in your entire army. Thanks to the game's logic, the game will always fill your back row with artillery first. This means that you can fill your front row with infantry and cavalry, while also filling your back row entirely with artillery. With a Military Technology level of nine, you will have a combat width of 25. Once cannons are unlocked, things change rather drastically. Notable examples include Steppe Hordes, Tribal Federations, and nations of the Sunni faith. The base ratio is 50 percent, so an army with 22 units of infantry shouldn't have more than 11 units of cavalry.Ĭertain nations and government types will have better cavalry to infantry ratios and will therefore be able to field more cavalry units effectively. If there are too many cavalry units in an army, they will suffer penalties in battle. This is good, as artillery units take more damage when in the frontline.Įvery nation will have a "cavalry to infantry" ratio. Infantry and cavalry take precedence in filling the front row of an army, with artillery taking the back row.It increases as you purchase more technology levels.Īn army width of 20 indicates that you can have 20 units in your frontline and 20 units in your backline. Your army's width is dictated by your current Military Technology level. Infantry and cavalry can attack from the frontline while artillery can fire from either the frontline or the backline. In Europa Universalis 4, armies work as two ranks of units - a frontline and a backline. There are quite a few things to consider when forming an army.