Veteran halberdier

Defensive Melee Veteran

Specialized defense infantry for the late game. Defense of 139 against melee ranks it among the best you can research and recruit, and 15 attack makes it pure defense. Excellent against infantry, helpless against ranged. It belongs in every solid defense but only mixed with defense ranged and with a working tower behind it - on its own it's half a solution, not the whole thing.

15Attack

139Melee defense

60Ranged defense

32Speed

3Food upkeep

Veteran Halberdier is pure defense infantry for the late game. Defense against melee of 139 is its main stat and attack 15 tells you right away it doesn't belong in any attack wave. You won't just find it in the barracks - you have to research it first in the Research Tower. The research replaces the regular halberdier with this stronger veteran version and further research levels will boost it further, so it's worth not stopping at the first tier in the tower.

How to use it

The whole unit revolves around the difference between 139 against melee and just 60 against ranged. That 60 is a hole the enemy will find the moment they scout your garrison. How the fight goes doesn't depend on any fixed number of kills - it depends on the attacker's attack versus your defense, plus bonuses from your tower, defense tools on the ramparts and commander bonuses. That's why the same number of halberdiers sometimes holds five waves and sometimes falls to the first, depending on what hits you and with what support. In castle defense where you expect swords and axes, this is your foundation. Food consumption of 3 per unit shows in a big garrison, so keep your supply in the plus or your soldiers will start starving right when you need them most.

What to combine it with

On its own it's full of holes, so never put it on the ramparts alone. Put defense ranged units in the back row - archers or crossbowmen have good defense against ranged and will patch his weakness, adjust the ratio based on what the enemy sends. Add defense tools like boiling oil or mantlets and give your tower maximum, because its bonus applies to all these soldiers at once. The price of 180 coins per unit is reasonable for a unit with that defense, so get yourself a decent pile of them, just never leave them guarding the walls without ranged support.

Weaknesses and what to avoid

Never take it on attack - with 15 attack it would just die in an attack wave and waste capacity. There's no point rushing his research either before you're really in the late game. In early and mid game the regular halberdier without the veteran tag will feed you fine and other cheaper defense infantry, without that food consumption and without the research blocking tower time you need for other things. Save the veteran for when you're building a really big and quality defense, otherwise you're just overpaying for his stats.

Related units

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