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.
6 24 26 4 0 30 Also, if you have insane cavalry combat ability (eg. Poland) you can consider adding more cavalry. 9 25 27 4 0 31 If you have any sense of army aesthetics, add one inf to odd numbers for when you split the army up to avoid attrition.
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).
The basic unit of land forces is the regiment, each consisting of 1000 soldiers at full strength. Each regiment is classed as Infantry, Cavalry or Artillery. Regiments are grouped into armies. Each army can be led by a general or conquistador.
The scale ranges from +100% (a complete victory for the side currently being viewed) to −100% (complete defeat for the side currently being viewed). Warscore is measured using a number of different parameters: Occupied provinces. Battles won or lost, to a maximum of 40% in either direction.
However, there is a big difference in the learning curve, as the overall pacing differs, so in a way EU4 is more friendly to beginners. In a nutshell, I'd say it's easier to learn but harder to master, you just have to play it with a different mindset.
EU4 is a very typical grand strategy game that takes place from the Renaissance to the early 1800's. It has way more mechanics than CK3 so will have a much higher learning curve, and a LOT more content and flavor since it has a decade of DLC.
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.
Honestly, a good idea is to use marines to supply your manpower pool if you have marines available. Especially for Great Britain, where you often develop coastal provinces, it's worth it to use marines to pump up manpower numbers.
Marines can be recruited from the macrobuilder (once unlocked via idea/tradition etc.) and they use 1,000 sailors per regiment. Their recruitment time and cost, as well as maintenance cost is identical to regular infantry regiments. Available only with the Rule Britannia DLC or the Golden Century DLC enabled.
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.
A personal union is a form of diplomatic relationship where one monarch rules over two nations. It can be formed by having a royal marriage with a country whose monarch dies without an heir (usually of the same dynasty).
Cores give several strategically important benefits: Provinces without a core add to overextension (except colonies), proportional to their development value. A country will always have a casus belli if one of their core provinces is owned by another country.
A company in the U.S. Army is normally made up of three platoons, which means 60 to 200 soldiers, but it can have more. An artillery unit is called a battery and an armored air cavalry is called a troop. Leading a company, battery or troop is a Captain, 1st Lieutenant, or Major.
SQUAD. Two teams make up a squad, which has four to 10 soldiers. In an infantry squad, the teams divide duties: one serves as a base-of-fire element, while the other serves as the maneuver element. A staff sergeant is often in charge.
The great power ranking is based on the total development of a country + half of its non-tributary subjects' total development, reduced by a −33%/−55%/−70%/−80%/−86%/−91%/−94%/−95% penalty for 1/2/3/4/5/6/8 unembraced institutions.
For example, most APCs mount a section of seven or eight infantrymen but have a crew of two. Most IFVs carry only six or seven infantry but require a crew of three. To be effective in the field, mechanized units also require many mechanics, with specialized maintenance and recovery vehicles and equipment.
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