Light Infantry... what the ****

[Spacepain]

Light infantry serve the core and bulk of a persons army.

Their primary purpose is to die so that other more expensive units don't die. And in turn can focus on hitting while not being hit back.

Also, secondary, they serve to finish games where encumberane would force most other units to stop fighting.

And yes for the hoarde mentality of some players (R'lyeh and Ermor) they may be almost the only thing in your army.

[Thilock_Dominus]

I would not say light Infantry sux. Ex. C'tis light Infantry armed with spear, javalin and shield can be quiet useful. An unit with 30 or more with light infantry can block off a heavy cavalry when its charging.
The light infantry can take out the heavy infantry if it gets its chance to hurling the javalins, the same goes against archers.
That's my experience with C'tis light infantry plus they are cheap


Thilock

[Kel]

The only reason I never use light infantry (other than nations that only have light infantry for missiles, like C'tis) is that while you can produce them en masse in emergencies or for specific applications, maintaining them seems like a really bad idea.

Maintaining a single LI is usually almost as bad as maintaining real HI, per unit and, for the effectiveness, it's not even close (speaking mostly for the non javelin equipped types).

A unit that is rarely useful but occasionally it is a little better than the alternatives isn't useless...but it's not really terribly useful either

- Kel

[HotNifeThruButr]

When I don't have missile units, I just buy woodsmen or do without. The only place where archers excel (in my opinion) is against Barbarian/tribal provinces.

For everyone that suggested using Light Infantry as fodder, well, a Heavy Infantryman can Last about 4 times as long as a Light Infantryman (and don't get me started on Satyr LI) for less than twice the price... haven't I mentioned that before?

[Jasper]

I'm curious, do any of you know what the words "Peltast" or "Psiloi" mean?

[Jasper]

Originally posted by Nephelim:
]No, light infantry is supposed to suck. It's the peasants that you hand a pitchfork to.

No, it's not. Light and skirmish infantry are not the same as peasent levy. Not even close.

[Jasper]

Originally posted by Taqwus:
They might live a bit longer with something like Marble Warriors, Fog Warriors or Antimagic. With those spells and anything else that boosts all friendlies on the battlefield, the more the merrier.

This is true. Those things however work better on heavier infantry, and still don't give one a reason to use LI.

[Jasper]

Originally posted by Firebreath:
As Taqwus mentioned, the moment that you can make the fight drag on, and on, and on (using spells or simply 20-1 numbers - light infantry (low encumberance) becomes an advantage rather than a waste of space...I would hate to think what a large group of flaggelants blessed with fire 9, and an air shield, and an ironskin could do to any heavy infantry or cavalry...especialy if you combine that with the surround bonus, enemy encumberance, and any defence lowering spells like web or tangle vines, etc.

It's difficult to make a fight drag on for so long, especially since by the these higher end spells are available HI tends to be outclassed, and LI even more so.

Plus, Relief is also available.

[Jasper]

Originally posted by Peter Ebbesen:
Two words, two awesome words that really show the potential of a mass surround strategy:

MASS FLIGHT

That high-level spell was designed for the horde-mentality player, I swear Every single enemy unit that can be surrounded will be surrounded each round, so long as you have enough troops.

By the time you have Mass Flight you can expect to see Storm. Plus, when this tactic works it works better on heavier units, not lighter or missile units.

[Jasper]

Originally posted by Spacepain:
Light infantry serve the core and bulk of a persons army.

Their primary purpose is to die so that other more expensive units don't die. And in turn can focus on hitting while not being hit back.

Also, secondary, they serve to finish games where encumberane would force most other units to stop fighting.

The core of someone's army? Curious, is this your multiplayer experience?

The crux of the LI problem is that they cost almost as much as good HI, and die much faster, which makes using them as a shield pointless.

The effect of encumberance in a LI vs HI fight is minor, as typically by the time a give HI is tired, it's already killed several LI.