Napoleon Total War - Guide to Unit Types

This guide aims to give an overview of all of the aspects which affect the usage and performance of land units in Napoleon Total War. The compressed campaign only covers a handful of years historically, so most of the progression that occurs is representative of militarisation efforts of the factions. The tools for combined arms warfare are available early on, such as light infantry and highly mobile artillery, with little change to their capabilities over the campaign. Compared to previous centuries, this period saw some enormous armies take the field due to social reforms and the coining of the phrase "Total War" by Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, and this is the focus of the mid-game where technologies improve recruitment and the viability of milita. The late game incorporates some technologies that were invented towards the mid-1800s as a stretch goal such as steam powered ironclad vessels.

Protective gear in this game is primarily effective against melee and non-gunpowder missiles. As such, it is mainly equipped by units whose primary role is to be in melee. In game, the armour values are aggregated into a single defence value, however it can be seen if there is a large difference between two otherwise comparable units or there is visual evidence. For example, Prussian Cuirassiers do not wear a Cuirass and so have 3 less defence. Armour cannot be upgraded.

An important factor in battles is the speed of the units as positioning is critical and artillery has a very long effective range. It is more relevant to cavalry who play more of a supporting role to infantry in this era, and are more melee oriented. Mass determines the impact of charges on the receiving unit.

There are two infantry weights: light and medium. Lighter troops run faster and heavier troops have an advantage when charging and in melee.

The Light category includes light infantry, skirmishers, irregulars and peasant mobs. The Medium category includes militia, line and elite infantry and grenadiers as well as dismounted cavalry of all kinds.

There are four mounted weights: light, medium, heavy and camel. Light typically includes hussars, light cavalry, and light dragoons. Medium includes lancers, chexauxlegers, generals and mounted infantry. Heavy includes cuirassiers, heavy and guard cavalry and dragoons.

Heavy cavalry have a significant mass which helps with charge impact compared to infantry. However they tire easily and should not run except when needed. They are not considerably slower than other cavalry.

Light cavalry is ideal for flanking and attacking artillery or light infantry, but generally does not have the mass to do much damage to regular infantry units. Light cavalry often has Good Stamina which means it can do a lot of running and not get exhausted.

Camels low speed means that they do not do as well on the charge as cavalry and are typically best used as anti-cavalry units rather than anti-infantry.

Discipline is a binary status, and its presence is represented by the phrase “Resistant to morale shocks”. This means that the unit is less affected by morale impacting events like the death of a general or routing friends. Most Light and line infantry, grenadiers and elite infantry are disciplined, and therefore are useful on the flanks of your line. Most elite cavalry are disciplined, however not British heavy cavalry which is Impetuous instead suggesting their morale will be more volatile. Training is an indication of how well the unit forms up and ranges from rabble, mob, poorly trained, trained, well trained to elite. The higher the level, the tighter the formation (which means more muskets per metre), and the quicker they reform which can be important for line infantry tactics. However tighter formations are easier to shoot at so skirmishers fight in loose formations.

• Rabble: populace
  
• Mob: irregulars and skirmishers
  
• Poorly Trained: militia
  
• Trained: artillery, mounted infantry, line
  
• Well Trained: light infantry, cavalry
  
• Elite: general, elite, grenadiers

Stamina and Fatigue Resistance are two separate but related attributes. A unit with Good Stamina takes longer to get tired, and recovers from fatigue quicker. Generally light cavalry, lancers and skirmishers have Good Stamina, as well as a few line and elite infantry units.

Resistance to Cold Fatigue means that a unit is less affected by the fatiguing effects of the cold climate battle maps. Primarily, only Russian units have resistance to cold fatigue.

Some units have the ability to operate in different formations, many of which are unlocked by technology research.

The advantage of the standard cavalry formation is that the troops move fastest while in it, and when spread wide it maximises the contact point with the enemy in a frontal charge. Disadvantages are the troopers tend to get caught more as they stop to fight anyone they contact. This can make disengagement hard. Also, the looseness can mean that in the course of battle you need to stop the unit to reform so that charges are effective.

Wedge and Diamond have two main effects: a) tightening up the formation so stragglers are less likely and the unit maintains cohesion and b) makes the unit push further into an enemy unit before stopping. The trade off is reduced speed and less contact on the charge.

They allow the cavalry unit to pierce through an infantry unit, splitting it in half and being able to continue through without getting caught due to fewer cavalrymen making contact with the enemy. Not as effective in terms of straight up damage as a line formation, it can weaken the morale of the enemy (who tend to suffer flank/rear attack penalties due to the split) and allows cavalry to get to rear units (generals and artillery) more quickly than flanking.

In terms of handling, these two formations seem to leave fewer stragglers behind after impact and therefore provide more reliable control during combat including follow on charges. Stuck horsemen tend to bring the whole unit back and this is less likely to occur when in these formations. However, the unit has a speed reduction to represent them staying tightly grouped, so these formations should only be engaged when near to the enemy.

Diamond narrows the formation more than Wedge and is therefore more effective at getting through without excessive contact, and seems to maintain tightness of formation better during manoeuvre as the wide tail of the wedge is quite unwieldy. Diamond also seems to allow for better charges at off angles to the current facing.

These formations are available to the vast majority of cavalry; missile cavalry do not have access to them as a rule.

This formation sees the unit spread out and crouch to reduce their profile. The trade off is that it increases the footprint and makes them more vulnerable to melee and generally more difficult to manoeuvre. In this mode, the units will take fewer casualties from missile fire but as they have a bigger footprint they can be more likely to be caught in melee. This is available to Light Infantry and Skirmishers. This formation gives infantry a melee bonus versus cavalry and allows for 360 degree fire. It is unilaterally beneficial against cavalry and detrimental versus infantry and artillery fire. It is ideal for the flanks of the battle line to force flanking cavalry to stay away. The formation is available to Grenadiers, Line and Elite Infantry.

This ability makes the unit retreat automatically when an enemy tries to engage it in melee. It is most effective on missile cavalry who are generally faster than most melee cavalry. However, it is also worthwhile to have enabled for infantry that have the ability, usually irregulars, light infantry and skirmishers, as they are not meant for melee and it gives them more time to get assistance from other infantry. This mode makes the unit remain in one spot regardless of whether its target moves of range. In melee it ensures the unit does not pursue a routed enemy. This is useful on the defensive and for generally maintaining a cohesive battle line. Typically only available to infantry. Some troops have the ability to place wooden stakes during the battle which will kill any cavalry unit the contacts them frontally. The width of the unit determines whether the stakes are placed in a long single line or a deeper formation. Since the stakes are broken when used you may opt for narrower and deeper rather than a single row. Friendly stakes can be passed through safely at any speed, enemy stakes cannot. A fougasse is an explosive that can be placed before the battle by light infantry. It is automatically triggered when enemy units enter the relevant zone (indicated in red) so it is used as a defensive measure. The Fougasse explodes with shrapnel over the target area. This tool is typically only available to Light Infantry when their army has remained stationary on the campaign map long enough to dig in (denoted by the stakes around the figure). When defending in a dug in position, units have the option to be placed behind defensive positions in the deployment phase. Infantry units have two options: Earthworks and Chevaus de Frise. The first is an above ground trench which provides protection against missile fire, while the latter are anti cavalry defences. Neither is movable once the battle starts. Artillery can deploy within Gabionades which provide significant protection against artillery fire, however they narrow the field of fire and remove the ability for the artillery to relimber and move. Some cavalry units can dismount and operate as a small infantry unit. This allows them to get to the flank or rear and cause morale hits or simply inflict casualties on a vulnerable unit. It is best to dismount some distance from the enemy so the unit has time to form up at the front of its horses before engaging. Dismounting allows mounted units like Dragoons and Mounted infantry to do useful things like man walls in siege defence, climb walls in siege assaults and occupy buildings. Note that horses killed while the unit is dismounted will mean that some men will walk when they remount! Barrage is available to cannons and increases the reloading speed of its users by a maximum of 60 for a short period of time three times per battle. It is unlocked by researching the Grand Battery technology. Best used when enemies are bunched or nearby. Available to most howitzers, this increases accuracy by 40 for a limited period of time three times per battle. It is unlocked by researching the Standardised Artillery technology. This ability allows generals to make a single unit's more unbreakable for a limited period of time. It can also be used to rally routing units. This ability can be used three times per battle. This ability allows generals to improve the combat abilities of a single unit, adding 10 accuracy and 2 melee attack for a limited period of time. It is unlocked by researching the Mass Mobilisation technology and can be used twice per battle. This drill makes the ranks of the unit leapfrog each other as they fire, allowing it to get closer to the enemy while still firing. The drill is quite slow and reduces the firing range of the unit, however it is a way to move closer to the enemy and by spreading out the unit it reduces casualties. If an enemy unit was selected for attack, after one full round of every rank shooting the unit will charge to melee.

This has two battle purposes. Firstly, it gives line infantry a way to counter the longer ranged and more accurate light infantry where otherwise they would either lose a shootout or be shot down while attempting to close to melee. This works because the reload times for light infantry muskets and rifles is considerably longer than flintlocks so by closing while firing, the long reload time can be used to charge from a closer distance.

The second purpose is that by each line moving forward to fire, albeit at shorter range, a unit can close with another line infantry unit with greater fire output and then charge into melee without being at the a numerical disadvantage due to losses which would occur if it had simply fired in normal mode and then charged.

This attribute provides a passive morale boost to nearby friendly units. Generally elite infantry, elite cavalry and general units inspire allies. These units should be placed to maximise their inspiration effect as much as their direct combat abilities.

French Old Guard scare all enemy units and this provides a passive morale penalty to all nearby. Camels scare all cavalry units in the same way. These units therefore can provide more than their combat stats, and if applied at the right time can cause a large enemy rout.

Visibility is a key element of the battlefield. There are two sides to this aspect: hiding and spotting.

By default, units are visible at any range so for example, most heavy cavalry cannot hide even in woodland. Units with a hide attribute will disappear from view when stationary in the relevant terrain. Hierarchically, woods is the easiest outdoor terrain to hide in, while long grass are the most difficult, so the further along the spectrum the more stealthy the units. Buildings are able to be hidden in by a subset of those who can hide in long grass.

Most battlefields are covered by long grass, so stealthy units can play a factor in most battles. The ability to hide in long grass is limited to skirmishers plus a handful of irregular units. A handful of cavalry and most light, elite infantry, grenadiers and militia can hide in light scrub, while only the heavy cavalry and generals cannot hide in woodland. Only a few irregular units can hide in buildings.

This attribute allows the unit to remain hidden while walking in whatever terrain they can hide within. Running units are never hidden. A rare attribute only available to Windbuchse Jaegers. This attribute is not made visible on the unit information screens. Windbuchse Jaegers can remain hidden even while shooting. Another hidden attribute, each unit has a range at which it will spot hidden units in woodland, light scrub and long grass. There are two schemes with distances for each of those three terrain respectively either 50/75/100 or 50/100/150. For infantry, irregulars, light infantry and skirmishers have the longer spotting range. Most light cavalry, mounted infantry and missile cavalry also have the longer spotting range which gives them additional benefits over simple movement speed compared to heavier cavalry.

It is worth noting that light units with long range muskets or rifles will out range the sight range of most normal units when hidden. Of course, firing reveals the hidden unit so it only has an impact to the first volley. Also, spotting units hidden in woodland is hard (50) for all units so even Line Infantry can hide there to tactical effect.

While these abilities do not help on the battle, they drive the recruitment of some units and so will be covered for completeness.

Units with this ability can remain hidden on the map, allowing for stealth raids of enemy towns as well as ambush battles. This is generally available to light cavalry and skirmishers as well a few other specific units. Infantry units with this ability are often good at hiding on the battlefield too. Small armies of these units can be useful in large provinces that have many valuable resources to sabotage. This a) reduces the owning faction's income and b) can draw out small detachments of unit that can be ambushed. Some units provide double the usual policing bonus when garrisoned in cities. This means that a smaller number of units can maintain order, and as a result these units may find themselves in battles more often. Generally militia and mounted infantry units have this ability.

Each unit has a set of attributes that determine its performance in combat. Some of these are self-explanatory but some are poorly explained.

How likely the unit is to score a hit in melee combat. A bonus that is given to the melee attack while the unit is charging, leading to more hits on the charge. How likely to the unit is to defend a hit from melee or missiles. This is actually a composite of two values: Melee Defence and Armour and Shield Bonus. The main difference between them is that the first only applies to melee while the latter applies to melee and missiles. In practice, heavier armour comes with no cost to Melee Defence. This value represents the normal morale level. When morale drops too low, the unit routs. Factors that affect morale are fixed in value so the higher the value the greater the amount of morale penalties they can take before routing. Higher morale units should therefore be in key positions. This represents the hit chance for missiles fired by the unit, and the higher the value the better. Accuracy seems higher the closer the target so what range this value applies at is not clear but it seems to be a percentage. This value represents the skill of the unit at reloading. It is a % reduction of the base weapon reloading time - which is not visible in the game. As a result, it is only directly useful across units with identical weapons. This has the most importance for units that will form the line of battle.

As an example, if a unit's weapon has a base reload time of 20 seconds, and that unit has a reloading skill of 25, the actual reloading time for that unit will be 15 seconds: 20 x (1 - 0.25).

As it increases linearly, the impact on rate of fire is exponential (see table below):

• Skill 0 = 20 seconds (3 shots per minute)
  
• Skill 25 = 15 seconds (4 shots per minute)
  
• Skill 50 = 10 seconds (6 shots per minute)
  
• Skill 75 = 5 seconds (12 shots per minute)

As a unit gains experience, it receives bonuses to its statistics. The table below shows the specifics of the bonuses

Only the Flintlock used by militia, line, grenadier, elite and mounted infantry is in this category, which is a weapon where only the first rank of a unit will fire, regardless of the shape of the line. The Flintlock has a base reload time of 20s and range of 80. Units with these weapons will form the core of a battle line, and they require reasonably stationary tactics. The unit generally requires all members to be in the right position before anyone fires and so it is best to be in position and awaiting the enemy arrival into their firing arc as opposed to directing it to fire on a given enemy. As they only fire from the first rank, the wider the formation, the greater the fire output.

Typically these units have bayonets, and line, grenadier and elite units can form square for cavalry defence. Fire and Advance is useful for closing the range to charge.

Avoid moving the units while engaged as they take a long time to line up and start shooting. Also, rather than ordering units to engage enemy units, it is better to place the unit in a location where the firing arc covers the enemy. When directed to attack a unit, they waste time orienting themselves and if under fire the whole time can end up routing without having fired much. It is also best to wait for them to finish reloading before moving.

Light troops are the bane of these units with longer range, faster foot speed and more spread out formations. Fire and Advance can be used to counter this somewhat, but cavalry support is the best counter.

Cavalry hitting the flank and rear of engaged lines is also to be expected. Against cavalry only the first rank shoots regardless of the drill level. These weapons are the only ones that can form Square, so they will be important defence against cavalry.

Dense formations and medium to slow foot speed make these units good targets for artillery, especially expensive guards. Use cover to advance where possible.

• Militia (Poor): 30 Accuracy / 15 Reload (17s)
  
• Line/Grenadiers (Good): 40/45 Accuracy / 45 Reload (11s)
  
• Guards (Excellent): 50 Accuracy / 75 Reload (5s)

These weapons are those where every man in the unit can fire regardless of position. These tend to used by sharpshooter units and the later units represent a transition from lines of battle to more modern battle tactics. They can start to form large proportions of late game armies. The category includes: Carbines, Light Infantry Flintlocks, Rifles and the Airgun.

• Carbine: used by dismounted dragoons - base reload time of 15s, range of 80
  
• Light Infantry Flintlock: used by light infantry, skirmishers and irregulars - base reload time of 20s, range of 100
  
• Rifle: used by skirmishers - base reload time of 45s, range of 125
  
• Airgun: used by Windbüchse Jägers - base reload time of 8s, range of 125

These units have multiple uses: standing in the line of battle, skirmishing ahead of the line of battle or operating on the flanks and taking out rear units like artillery or generals. The rate of fire for these units will be slower than elite line infantry but the increase in accuracy and mass firing means they can out shoot many militia or line infantry units. If the enemy has no cavalry left, then these units can inflict a lot of casualties on an enemy army, especially line infantry, if positioned well to let them fire as much as possible.

Some of these units can stand in close order and placed between line infantry adding a decent effectiveness but bear in mind that their reload rate is lower than elites and grenadiers. In deep formations, the rear ranks will not all be able to fire due to the men in front obstructing. Dragoons are small units, but can be useful for occupying buildings. Light Infantry typically have bayonets, while Skirmishers do not and have fewer numbers.

Light Infantry Tactics, when available, can be used to place these units in front of line infantry adding an extra layer of firepower against enemy units. The crouching reduces the instances of friendly fire. Otherwise LIT should be used when fighting other light forces to reduce casualties. It also ensures that all members of the unit will fire compared to close formation.

Many units in this category have good spotting range and hiding ability as well as decent stamina. They're suited to scouting roles, moving through cover to find enemy units, and quickly moving to new positions. Skirmishers can typically place stakes, but not Light Infantry.

The Airgun is silent when shooting so the unit may remain hidden while engaging enemies. It has a very fast reload rate so the unit may run out of ammunition rapidly.

These units have long reload times, and typically poor melee and morale stats so cavalry and melee infantry can hurt them heavily. Stakes if available are great for cavalry protection and skirmish mode is useful against infantry.

Rifles have the longest reload times in the game, and therefore become very vulnerable once they have fired a volley. Make sure that they use their volleys on valuable targets.

• Regular (Light Infantry): 40 Accuracy / 45 Reload (11s)
  
• Good (Light Infantry): 55 Accuracy / 60 Reload (8s)
  
• Excellent (Rifles): 80 Accuracy / 55 Reload (20s)

Grenades are hand thrown by grenadiers to a range of 35.

Hand thrown grenades are an anti-morale measure useful for weakening troops in preparation for melee. Your troops have to be close to the enemy to use them meaning they’ll take more casualties from fire, but they have the potential to instantly rout them. This creates a gap in the enemy line which can then be exploited. Best used on stationary units. Attacking moving units, especially melee and cavalry units. It is highly likely that an advancing or fast moving unit will pass under the grenades and suffering no casualties.

It also seems that grenade tossing causes the unit to have to reload their musket so it is best to follow up the grenade with a charge into combat if the target did not rout.

Generally speaking the melee performance of units is governed by the stats rather than the specific weapon. However, there is some correlation between weapon type and stats which can be used to give some rules of thumb.

When a unit has no melee weapon or bayonet they use their musket or rifle directly. Used by skirmishers, eastern militia and irregulars who generally have poor melee stats. If the unit fights with its rifle butt then it isn't meant to be in melee at all!

• Melee Attack: 1-5
  
• Charge Bonus: 1-4
  
• Melee Defence: 1-5

Used by most militia, light, line, elite infantry and grenadiers, the bayonet is the key melee weapon for infantry. Generally, units fighting with bayonets have a moderate Melee Attack attribute, moderate Melee Defence and high Charge Bonus (very high for Russians). This makes them effective at fending off cavalry attacks, and reasonable as assault troops but not effective killers in sustained melee. These units should be used defensively when up against better melee infantry. When fighting cavalry, use square when available as it gives melee boosts.

As the bayonet is one of the most widely used infantry weapons the statistics vary greatly. Generally speaking, Militia are poor and are best limited to self defence, Line Infantry are decent at defence but generally not strong in attack. Grenadiers and Guards have comparable stats with the former being slightly better in charge bonus and the latter having some of the highest infantry defence values. As guard units can typically only be recruited in home regions, Grenadiers will play a key assault role in armies.

• Melee Attack: 3-12
  
• Charge Bonus: 8-18 (Russians: 19-27)
  
• Melee Defence: 2-12

These weapons are used by mounted infantry and dragoons; artillery crew use this weapon but there stats are so low they do not bear much discussion. Sword unit statistics tend to feature high Melee Attack, Charge Bonus and moderate Melee Defence. These units are not great on the defensive and should be used to assault. This gives a possible use for dismounted dragoons who otherwise should be used mounted.

• Melee Attack: 7-15
  
• Charge Bonus: 10-20
  
• Melee Defence: 1-12

Some mounted units can fire while on horseback, and while moving. These are the French Chasseurs a Cheval, Camel troops and mounted infantry in general who use either the Carbine or the Flintlock musket. All members of the unit can fire, and they will reload while moving allowing them to advance, fire and then retreat rapidly.

• Carbine: used by Chasseurs and camel troops - base reload time of 15s, range of 80
  
• Flintlock: used by mounted infantry - base reload time of 20s and range of 80

These units only fire forward, and can reload on the move. Can be used at a pinch in a melee capacity but not their strong suit with weak charge bonuses. Best use is against melee cavalry who are typically slower and fewer in number than infantry. Also good to run up the flanks of infantry lines and shoot the side or rear of units to trigger morale hits, or take out artillery.

None of these units have access to wedge or diamond formation. Chasseurs and camels can skirmish while mounted infantry cannot.

Shooting matches with infantry should be avoided due to the number disadvantage. Typically mounted gun units are poor in melee so avoid this with other cavalry or infantry. Their reload skill is never be high enough for them to face off against gunpowder infantry. There isn't a wide range of quality of these units.

• 30-55 accuracy, 30-50 reload skill (9-14s)

This category covers Swords and Sabres the largest category of cavalry units. The units are general purpose fighters when compared to Lancers.

• Sword: used by medium and heavy cavalry. Tend to have good armour and strong melee stats, geared towards powerful charges and combat.
  
• Sabre: used by light cavalry. Tend to have poor protection and lesser melee stats, unsuited to prolonged melee.

Against infantry the best use requires a good charge as that is where most of the damage will be done thanks to the very high Mass that cavalry has. These units can be vulnerable in sustained melee even at the high end due to limited numbers and a slow pace of combat. When charging, wide shallow formations allow the most impact. Wedge or diamond can be used to break through and get to the enemy rear. On the whole the aim should be to rout the enemy unit through charge shock rather than kill a lot of men - if a rout isn't achieved, either withdraw or push through the unit if it is safe.

Use from the rear against engaged lines to get extra morale penalties and create a rout, but watch for friendly fire. Charging from an oblique angle in wedge or diamond can reduce friendly fire and bring more horsemen into contact. Light units are good for chasing skirmishers, routers or hunting artillery.

Against cavalry, the charge has less impact due to compactness of the units, and melee statistics dictate the situation. Heavy cavalry (Dragoons, Cuirassiers, Guards, etc) should dominate lighter cavalry.

On the whole these units are best held in reserve until the infantry lines are depleted and they can achieve a rout. Heavy units can be used to achieve a breakthrough.

Many of the lighter units in this category have good spotting range and good stamina and therefore serve well as fast scouts.

Extended melee with infantry rarely ends up with a win for the cavalry unit. Their low numbers means they have low resilience to losses and take morale penalties easily. Avoid charging head on into missile infantry as they are not fast enough to close the distance without being shot. Do not charge infantry in square formation in any circumstance.

Heavy cavalry tires quickly and may not have more than one good charge before being tired, so minimise pre-contact running.

Artillery can make a big impact on cavalry formations due to the large size of the horses, beware for sniping.

• Light Cavalry (Good): Melee Attack 9-14, Charge 11-19, Melee Defence 1-9
  
• Heavy Cavalry (Excellent): Melee Attack 9-17, Charge 16-21, Melee Defence 6-14

Many cavalry units are armed with a lance and with this weapon they specialise in delivering impact on the charge, typically being weak in prolonged melee due to low Melee Defence values. Charge bonuses are quite high meaning these units are capable of landing devastating blows. These units are all about the charge, and generally are not suited to melee as their melee defence skills do not give them great survivability. Their charge value doesn't vary much across the quality range. Spread into a wide formation and charge into the rear if possible; use wedge or diamond for off-angle charges and to break apart units. Try to hit units without full morale to rout them before the charge bonus ends. Other than two Ottoman units, these units uniformly ride medium horses which gives more weight to the charge and many have Good Stamina allowing them to be used actively without tiring.

The Ottomans have two heavy cavalry units which use lancers and wear armour which makes them better suited to melee with other cavalry.

Melee cavalry will dominate these units so they should avoid prolonged engagements with those units. These units need to be primarily used to land strong charges and retreat whether against infantry or cavalry. Avoid prolonged melee with infantry.

• Average: Melee Attack 4, Charge 35, Melee Defence 0
  
• Good: Melee Attack 8, Charge 36, Melee Defence 2-4
  
• Excellent: Melee Attack 12, Charge 44, , Melee Defence 6-8

Cannons are operated by Artillery units, and come in various sizes.

• Foot (4 guns): 6lber, 8lber, 9lber, 12lber, 18lber
  
• Horse (4 guns): 6lber

• 6lb: range 450 (Shot) / 120 (Canister), reload 15s
  
• 8lb/9lb: range 520 (Shot) / 135 (Canister), reload 20s
  
• 12lb/18lb: range 600 (Shot) / 150 (Canister), reload 25s

All artillery inflict morale penalties upon units struck by projectiles, and they can be used either by right-clicking on an enemy unit or at a spot on the ground. Cannons fire on a low trajectory and have no minimum range. Artillery have unlimited ammunition and gun crews can operate abandoned enemy artillery pieces of the same specific type (i.e. Foot Artillery or Horse Artillery).

Round shot bounces and therefore can hit multiple units in a line so look for groups of units to target, especially at oblique angles. Round shot is more accurate than the other shot types, so it is better for sniping generals or cavalry units. It also is the only shot type suitable for damaging buildings or walls and does equivalent damage to a howitzer of the same poundage. The larger the cannon, the greater the damage inflicted and the higher the accuracy typically.

Canister is the second shot type. It is a short range anti-personnel weapon that is like a shotgun blast. When you aim the cannons at a unit, they will target the ends of the enemy unit rather than the centre so manually targeting a location can be more effective at close ranges.

Foot artillery move at the speed of walking infantry, while horse artillery can run and move faster than infantry. When engaged in melee, the horses that pull the artillery will flee meaning that the pieces can not be moved for the rest of the battle.

Cannons units typically have the Barrage ability when the technology is unlocked. This is best used when enemies are well within range so more hits are scored, and it can be devastating with canister shot.

All artillery units have small crews and fare badly under fire or melee. Watch out for enemy cavalry and guard the units with some infantry. The geography is important as the low trajectory of cannons can mean they can be easily blocked.

Be wary of leaving units on fire at will with canister shot as friendly fire can be dangerous. At this range you probably want to have full control over their firing.

There are two main variants of Howitzer, standard and experimental. Standard howitzers come in 5lb, 6lb, 7lb, 10lb and 20lb versions while there is only one Experimental Howitzer. The former has Explosive Shells and Canister Shots, while the latter has Canister, Carcass and Quicklime Shots. Standard howitzers will receive the Targetted Fire ability while Experimental ones do not.

• Canister Shot: range 100, reload 25s
  
• Explosive Shell: range 400, reload 25s, -50 accuracy skill
  
• Carcass: range 400, reload 35s, -50 accuracy skill
  
• Quicklime: range 400, reload 35s, -50 accuracy skill
  
• Canister has a minimum range of 25, the others have a minimum range of 100

Note that the 10lb Unicorn has a shell range of 450 and the 20lb has a shell range of 550. All artillery inflict morale penalties upon units struck by projectiles, and they can be used either by right-clicking on an enemy unit or at a spot on the ground. Howitzers fire on a higher trajectory to cannons and can be placed behind friendly units.

Explosive Shells are anti-personnel weapons that do more damage in impact and therefore are better against moving targets and less effective against emplaced enemies. They cannot be used against structures effectively due to the airburst effect. They are a good all round shot type to utilise against troops.

Canister is a short range anti-personnel weapon that is like a shotgun blast. When you aim the howitzers at a unit, they will target the ends of the enemy unit rather than the centre so manually targeting a location can be more effective at close ranges. Note that unlike cannons, howitzers have a minimum range for canister so they will not be as effective as cannons in this role. Treat this shot type as a self-defence measure.

Carcass Shot and Quicklime Shot (which is added with technology research) are anti-personnel weapons that are more effective against stationary and emplaced enemies (behind trenches, in buildings or on walls). This is due to the fact that they do not inflict much damage on impact, but unleash an after effect that does all the work. Moving targets will often have moved past the point of impact and not be affected. It can be used by manually targeting the ground in front of advancing enemies if time permits.

Howitzers are a bit of an all-round artillery piece, combining the high arc of a mortar with the directness and mobility of a cannon at the cost of a slightly higher price. They won’t be as effective in close as the cannons so it may be worth having both of them in an army. The shorter maximum range of the howitzer means it needs to be used more aggressively than cannons or mortars.

Standard Howitzers have access to the Targeted Fire ability which increases accuracy by 40 for a short period. This is useful against moving targets or highly concentrated stationary formations.

All artillery units have small crews and fare badly under fire or melee. Watch out for enemy cavalry and guard the units with some infantry.

Given that howitzers can be placed behind your infantry line, care needs to be taken to avoid friendly fire when the enemy closes, especially with the anti-personnel weapons.

Only the Ottomans have access to the Bombardment Mortar, a fixed artillery piece that fires on very high trajectory. They have a maximum range of 750, a minimum range of 250 and a base reload time of 30s. They have access to Round Shot, Explosive Shells and Quicklime.

All artillery inflict morale penalties upon units struck by projectiles, and they can be used either by right-clicking on an enemy unit or at a spot on the ground. Mortars fire on a very high trajectory to great ranges so can be placed behind friendly units. They will also be more useful in uneven battlefields where cannons will struggle for line of sight.

Round shot in mortars do not bounce so are not as effective against massed units. Round shot is more accurate than the other shot types, so it is better for sniping generals, artillery or cavalry units. It also is the only shot type suitable for damaging buildings or walls and does equivalent damage to a cannon of the same poundage. Mortars are less accurate but do more damage, overall more damaging than cannons.

Quicklime Shot are anti-personnel weapons that are more effective against stationary and emplaced enemies (behind trenches, in buildings or on walls). This is due to the fact that they do not inflict much damage on impact, but unleash an after effect that does all the work. Moving targets will often have moved past the point of impact and not be affected. It can be used by manually targeting the ground in front of advancing enemies but this is more labour intensive. There will be less momentum in the spread due to the higher arc travelled. Note that kills due to the effect do not count towards the unit's experience.

Explosive Shell are anti-personnel weapons that do more damage in impact and therefore are better against moving targets and less effective against emplaced enemies. These shells can also be used against structures as effectively as Round Shot. They are a good all round shot type to utilise.

Mortars are effective in defensive sieges due to their high range and trajectory. Placed within the walls they are safe from non-mortar fire, and can be used to counter-attack artillery. In general mortars are good against enemy artillery as they will destroy the guns. They are more expensive than cannons and howitzers.

All artillery units have small crews and fare badly under fire or melee. Watch out for enemy cavalry and guard the units with some infantry.

Given that mortars can be placed behind your infantry line, care needs to be taken to avoid friendly fire when the enemy closes, especially with the anti-personnel weapons.

The Rocket Troop is a specialist weapon unlocked at the end of the artillery chain. It is an immovable artillery piece with a maximum range of 75, minimum of 150 and base reload time of 15s while having a accuracy bonus of +50.

Rockets are fixed anti-personnel artillery, spreading over a large arc up to a long range that inflict a lot of morale damage. They are particularly effective against cavalry and infantry lines, more so as the range closes and the spread narrows. Comparable to a mortar but without the anti-artillery capability. They can be useful in a defensive siege to rout attackers, and may be useful offensively in sieges if the enemy clusters in the centre. They do not damage structures so do not use to break fortifications. They are fixed so bear this in mind during deployment.

While there are many similarities to the preceding game in the series, there are some key differences that mean battles and army compositions differ.

In Empire, the advent of firing drills made some units significantly more powerful than earlier units without a change to the cost. This made militia units cost ineffective once the drills had been researched. The lack of these drills means that in the Napoleon campaign, militia remain a viable option long into the campaign.

Cavalry in Empire were more fragile and situational due to their statistics, rarely able to survive one melee let alone multiple. Napoleon has dialled up their stats (and reduced infantry's) to make cavalry a more heroic element, able to do significant impact on the charge and be able to participate in multiple engagements throughout the battle. There are also far fewer missile cavalry units, meaning that melee is primarily where they will have impact.

Infantry melee has a more gentle performance curve. In Empire, Grenadier units with MA/MD/CB stats of 10/16/14 clearly outclassed Line Infantry with 6/16/9 even at half the number of men. This time round the comparison is 9/10/16 vs 6/8/10 so Grenadiers need to charge to get the most out of their stats. Additionally, grenades are not as effective at killing soldiers primarily doing morale damage.

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