After heavy exploration and playtesting into the subject, I’ve come to the conclusion that the vast majority of Medieval 2 generals are guilty of overlooking one of the most dominant weapons of Renaissance Europe. I’m referring, of course, to the humble pike, originally developed and employed by the Macedonians (notably Alexander the Great), and which ultimately fell out of favor during the era of the Roman Imperium. Because of the manner in which pikemen were implemented in Medieval 2, many generals have pushed the pike formation into a defensive corner, preferring to reserve the offensive role of their militaries for tried-and-true heavy infantry, swordsmen, and spearmen. What these generals fail to realize is that pikemen be deployed in an offensive manner with the potential to dominate the late period battlefield.

with a little help from a friendly Veteran General and an examination into historical tactics, I’m going to show you how to build and exploit a pike-centric army with vanilla soldiers.

Pikemen and the Pike Square
Historical Significance: Developed by the Swiss Confederacy during the 15th century, the Pike Square breathed new life into an ancient method of combat unseen since the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. As a derivative of the Macedonian Phalanx that conquered half the known world, the Pike Square was “rediscovered” by Swiss mercenaries in an attempt to counter the feudal status quo of cavalry-centric armies. It can be inferred, therefore, that deployment of the Swiss Pike at the Battle of Nancy in 1477 marked the transition between Feudal to Renaissance forms of armed combat, establishing pike-equipped infantry (instead of heavy cavalry) as the primary fighting arm of the European Theatre. This battlefield dominance of the resurgent pike phalanx was to last throughout much of the Renaissance, until its eventual replacement by the bayonet in the late17th century.

Battlefield Deployment: Pikemen are the most synergistically-dependent of all available unit classes, and should never be employed alone on the battlefield. Pikes achieve synergy with other, overlapping units of pikemen in double-stacked square formations (refer to my discussion of the Pike Square) or Heavy Infantry (as examined in the Tercio). The classic pike square formation is the indirect descendant to the Macedonian Phalanx, and involves two units of pikemen, each of them three to four rows deep, operating in a combined, staggered formation.
These two units of pikemen are mutually complementary, and must be employed in conjunction for the greatest benefits. It is recommended that one of these two pikemen units must consist of professional soldiers (such as the Tercio), deployed slightly in front of a unit of pike militia acting in support of the professional pikemen. The Pike Square is most easily employed defensively in various choke points such as city streets and bridges (where it cannot be outflanked), but Generals experienced enough to micromanage their pikemen will find flat, open terrain favors the offensive killing power of the double-stacked pike phalanx. Marching Pike Squares downhill will permit enemy units to slip under the rows of pikes, and uphill battles usually favor heavy infantry. Thus, Pike Square Generals should avoid elevated terrain whenever possible.

Tactical Usage: Professional pikemen are expected to engage the enemy first, no matter what the situation. If initially deployed to intercept charging enemies (particularly cavalry) with guard mode on, guard mode must immediately be disabled the moment the enemy make contact with the front rank of pikes. Pike militia should then be marched forward through the rear ranks to support the professional pikemen, either by issuing attack or move orders to an area directly behind the engaged enemy unit (which guarantees that the militia march through the professional pikemen into range of the enemy). Pikes, after all, have the longest close combat weapon reach in the game, and screening militia pikemen with professional pike soldiers allows the weaker militia to exploit the reach of their weapons while simultaneously avoiding enemy contact.
Generals using the Pike Square should favor light infantry, static heavy infantry, and cavalry as offensive targets for his pikemen. Pikes have a tendency to scissor their way through lightly-armored units, and heavy infantry holding a fixed position are likewise vulnerable to the awesome killing power of the double-stacked pike formation. If the enemy allows your slow-moving pikemen to come into range of his cavalry, punish him accordingly: Pikemen make logical cavalry-killers because of the combat bonuses they receive, and the pike square is flexible enough to deter cavalry charges from any direction.

Notable Vulnerabilities: Pike Squares are ultimately vulnerable to powerful heavy infantry charges. Shock infantry such as the Varangian Guard and Venetian Heavy Infantry are capable of smashing into the front ranks of Pike Squares, especially when flanking from the side or rear of the formation. Heavy infantry are also capable of an anti-pike tactic known as “weapon heckling”: if heavy infantry manage to run the gauntlet of pikes and arrive within striking distance of the front ranks, pikemen closest to the threat can no longer exploit the reach of their pikes and are forced to engage with their swords (which forces pikemen to fight on the enemy’s terms). This undesirable situation can be remedied through several methods, including toggling guard mode and spear wall, or issuing halt orders to the engaged pike units:


Pikemen Unit Review
On Pike Militia: These form the primary foundation for every pike square and are absolutely indispensible for their utility-per-florin. Pike militia are available to nine factions, including France, the Holy Roman Empire, Milan, the Papal States, Portugal, Sicily, Scotland, Spain, and Venice. Two units of pike militia can be used to form a slightly weaker variant of the pike square vulnerable to morale effects, but when supported by units like the Carroccio Standard of the Italian States, can hold their own.

On Cost-Effective Unique Pikemen: Consisting of professional soldiers, these are traditionally deployed directly in front of pike militia to take advantage of their superior morale and survivability.

On Elite Pikemen: While extremely powerful, elite pikemen such as the Aventuros carry a hefty price tag and are substitutable for the cheaper professional variants identified above. In campaign games where cost is not a factor, elite pikemen can be used to great effect, but should be considered “soldiers of luxury”.


Spear Wall and Guard Eall review
On Spear Wall: Generally, spear wall should be switched on at all times. The exception to this rule occurs when battlefield conditions demand immediate battlefield redeployment:

On Guard Mode: Unlike other units, toggling guard mode on and off severely changes the behavior of pikemen formations. When switched on, guard mode forces pikemen to brace in a defensive manner, primarily to intercept cavalry charges and fix enemy units in place. While pikemen in guard mode will cause little or no casualties to the enemies they pin in place, they will likewise take fewer casualties and can be used in conjunction with cavalry to perform hammer-and-anvil maneuvers, or to hold enemy units in place for a pointblank volley of gunpowder (which is discussed in the Pike-and-Shot segment of the guide).

However, be warned that pikemen in guard mode tend to draw their swords when engaged in melee combat:

Guard mode, therefore, should be switched off when using pikemen to engage enemy units offensively, and switched on when defense is the name of the game.

Pike-and-Shot
Historical Significance: Advances in gunpowder technology, when coupled with the resurgence of the pike, defined an entire Era of European warfare between the Italian Wars and the late seventeenth century. This warfare during this era was aptly-named “Pike-and-Shot”, and consisted primarily on the mutual support of tight ranks of pikemen in complement to primitive gunpowder firearms. Pike-and-Shot emerged in answer to the enormous problem of period firearms being cumbersome to use (and ultimately vulnerable to cavalry charges). Pike-and-shot formations, therefore, allowed the widespread use of matchlock (and later flintlock) firearms, with pikemen becoming absolutely essential to the survivability of gunpowder infantry.

Battlefield Deployment: Pike-and-Shot is the ranged late period alternative to the meat grinder of the pike square’s close combat phalanx discussed earlier. While not the most difficult of late period armies to deploy or utilize, the beauty of Pike-and-Shot rests in its simplicity (merely a step up from the pike square). Central to the pike-and-shot army is a unit (or several units) of pikemen deployed three ranks deep, overlapped by a three-rank deep formation of arquebusiers or musketeers. The first rank of gunpowder infantry should be directly in front of the first line of pikemen, which, as mentioned earlier, actually allows the arquebusiers or musketeers to fire point-blank into enemy units fixed in place by a pike formation in guard mode. If close combat pressure begins to take its toll, lighter-armored gunpowder units can always retreat through the ranks of pikemen to safety behind the lines.

Tactical Usage: Pike-and-shot will give any general complete superiority in whatever direction it is pointed, so it should typically be deployed at the center of your army, directed towards the strongest side of the enemy battle deployment. The ranged quality of the formation is extremely potent at putting the onus of movement on the enemy, which counteracts the slow movement quality of the pike spear wall (after all, shot forcing the enemy to come towards your pikes is a much more favorable situation than the micromanagement necessary to ponderously march pike formations across the length and breadth of a battlefield). Favor open flat terrain whenever possible: level playing fields with little or no vegetation give your gunpowder infantry unhampered fields of fire and allow your pikemen bring the awesome power of their pikes to bear.

Notable Vulnerabilities: Note that pike-and-shot is vulnerable to flanking (even more than the classic pike square). It is absolutely essential that you do not allow the central pike-and-shot formation to be flanked (either by cavalry or heavy infantry). When flanked, expect the pike-and-shot formation to collapse considerably quickly, so make sure to deploy heavy infantry or cavalry on the wings of the pike-and-shot formations (these must be used to intercept flanking threats).


Ranged Fireearm Review
On Arquebuses: Whilst the “Shot” aspect of this formation can be fulfilled by either Arquebusiers or Musketeers, the latter are considered the ideal choice for gunpowder firepower. Arquebuses have the distinct honor of exploding when fired, causing self-inflicted casualties within the ranks of their own wielders, so unless you’re the sadistic type of general, they’re not recommended. Additionally, consider that the musket outclasses the arquebus in terms of maximum range and accuracy.

That being said, pike-and-arquebus formations can be employed with some effectiveness in pike factions without access to muskets (France, the Holy Roman Empire, the Papal States, and Sicily) or in pike factions waiting for their cities to grow large enough to tech up the gunpowder tree (Milan, Portugal, Spain, and Venice). The Portuguese are exceptionally fond of this transitional formation, given their special Portuguese Arquebusier unit (which is an ‘elite’ core of Arquebusiers that do even more damage per shot than late period musketeers). But even these special Arquebuses suffer from the maximum range of their firearm, so they should be replaced (or complemented) with Muskets as soon as possible.

On Muskets: Nations without access to muskets will quickly find their pike-and-arquebus formations solidly outclassed by the pike-and-musket formations of Milan, Portugal, Spain, and Venice. These four nations are the ideal employers of pike-and-shot, because the range and accuracy of the late period musket serves as the perfect complement to the defensive close combat superiority of the pike. In addition to the standard pike militia of the four nations, the Spanish and Portuguese are blessed with the additional benefit of a professional pike unit with decent morale, killing power, and survivability (the Milanese and Venetians must support the weaker morale of their pike militia with the ponderous Carroccio Standard or risk their armies crumbling in fear). This also makes them ideal for the Tercio, which is discussed in some detail below.


Final Notes: In parting, it should be noted that the Scots are the only pike-equipped faction incapable of employing pike-and-shot formations: Scotland has no gunpowder infantry capable of complementing their ranks of pikemen.

Tercio
Historical Significance: Developed during the Italian Wars in answer to threat of the Swiss Pike Square, El Tercio Español (or the Spanish Square) was the subset of the pike-and-shot formation that marked the transition of medieval militaries towards early modern combined-arms. Produced during the reorganization of the Spanish army into a tactical combination of modern and medieval weapons centered around armored infantry, the Tercio received a reputation of near-invincibility during the Italian Wars and the Battle of Pavia. The Tercio saw extended deployment across Europe under the control of the Habsburg Emperors of the Spanish Empire, until the ultimate obsolescence of the pike and its replacement by the bayonet.

Battlefield Deployment: Derived from the Pike-and-Shot formations discussed previously, the Spanish Square is characterized by overlapping, tightly-packed formations of professional pikemen, heavy infantry, and musketeers. This formation is staggered so the first line of musketeers is directly in front of the first line of heavy infantry, which sits directly in front of the first rank of pikemen. Given the unique tertiary composition of the Tercio, the Spanish Square is actually more flexible than the Pike-and-Shot formation at responding to immediate threats, and more balanced than the pike square from which it is originally derived.

Tactical Usage: The lightly-armored musketeers are expected to retreat into the defensive posture of the Tercio as the enemy closes, and should see as little close combat as possible to minimize unnecessary casualties. As the musketeers retreat behind the protective spear wall of the pikemen, heavy infantry must march forward to take their place in the front ranks. This specific infantry arrangement ensures that heavy infantry employed in the Spanish Square engage the enemy with pikes in support, relying on their heavy armor to prolong their survivability while the effects of the supporting pikemen’s reach are maximized. In essence, the Spanish Square is the embodiment of the ideal late-period pike-centric army: all additional tactical details that apply to the Pike-and-Shot formation likewise apply to the Tercio.

Notable Vulnerabilities: While more flexible than both of the previous pike formations discussed earlier, the Tercio’s extremely compact arrangement of infantry makes it extremely vulnerable to ranged and artillery effects (specifically gunpowder) and super-heavy cavalry (Timurids Elphants). Care should be taken when employing the Tercio against copious amounts of gunpowder artillery or elephants (or gunpowder artillery ON elephants).


Tercio Unit Review
On Tercio Pikemen and Aventuros: Tercio Pikemen carry the name of the Spanish Square, and serve as the posterboys for the ideal pikemen of the Tercio formation. While the damage they deal is considerable, their greatest attribute is ultimately the fact they are composed of professional soldiers: unlike pike militia, the professional nature of the Tercio’s unit composition provides it with decent morale, giving the Tercio Pikemen the ability to operate unsupported by morale-influencing banners (like the Carroccio Standard or the General). The Portuguese Aventuros are simply a slightly more expensive variant of the Tercio Pikemen and can be employed in the same manner as their Spanish counterparts. It should be noted that from a cost-benefit ratio perspective, the Tercio provides more utility per florin than the Aventuro:

On Dismounted Conquistadores: While only available in the New World, these are unquestionably the ultimate sword-bearing Heavy Infantry in the game. Capable of carving a bloody swathe through anything they come into contact with, dismounted conquistadores are a must-have for the Spanish and Portuguese Tercio formations. Extremely resilient and reliable, expect them to bear the brunt of the casualties and perform the majority of kills in any Spanish Square, because when advancing under the shadow of well-placed pikes, dismounted conquistadores transform the pike phalanx’s meat grinder into a virtual buzzsaw. Spanish and Portuguese Tercio formations will ultimately prove most effective operating against the Aztecs due to the exclusive availability of these Conquistadores overseas (sword and buckler men or chivalraic knights will prove a lesser alternative in the European theatre). That being said, a patient Spanish or Portuguese general can export boatloads of Dismounted Conquistadores across the Atlantic for use in the European Tercios once the New World is completely subjugated.

On Milan and Venice: A “false Tercio” utilizing the same tactical deployment as Spain and Portugal are available to these Italian States. Slightly less mobile and resilient than the Iberian variant, the pseudo-Tercio employs pike militia instead of professional pikemen, so a Carroccio Standard should be used near the front lines to bolster the morale in the Italian Square. Venice, specifically, can employ a devastating pseudo-Tercio that relies heavily on their armor-piercing warhammer Heavy Infantry to offset the weaker combat contributions of the Venetian pike militia. (The Milanese pseudo-Tercio is slightly more traditional with its heavy infantry being a weaker variant of the dismounted conquistadores, and is overall the weakest variant of the El Tercio Español.)

Final Notes: Due to the effectiveness of Genoese Crossbowmen and the relatively uninspired Dismounted Broken Lances, Milanese generals may want to consider alternatives to their battlefield deployment than Tercio-centric armies. Venice, in turn, employs a Tercio much more dependent on their fantastic Heavy Infantry than their pikemen, so the true Tercio factions remain the Portuguese and Spanish, both of which will find the Tercio operating with surprising effectiveness during the colonization of the New World.

Which this quick and easy introduction to the art of pike warfare coming to a close i'm hoping it will reflect in your gameplay and not have just been a way for you to procrastinate for the last twenty or so minutes it took you to read this guide. if not...my bad...

but that shouldn't be the case! now go forth and spread pike warefare <3