What is the best troop type in Field of Glory II?

There is no single best troop type, because the game is built on matchups — every type beats some and loses to others. That said, the most reliable, army-defining troops are heavy foot (such as armoured legionaries and spearmen), massed pikemen, and cataphracts, because they win head-on fights in the open and form the dependable core of strong armies. Their power comes with weaknesses, like pikemen's fragile flanks, that a good opponent will target.

Are pikemen overpowered in Field of Glory II?

Pikemen are devastating in a frontal clash — a massed pike phalanx will grind down almost any infantry it faces head-on — but they are far from unbeatable. They become disordered and vulnerable in rough terrain, and they are very weak on the flanks and rear, so light troops, cavalry and clever maneuver can unravel them. They are top-tier for their frontal power, but they demand careful handling and flank protection.

How important are skirmishers in Field of Glory II?

Very important, even though they rank as specialists rather than army cores. Skirmishers — slingers, archers and javelinmen — screen your line, blunt enemy missiles, and chip away at enemy cohesion before the main clash, then evade to safety. They cannot win battles alone and are fragile in melee or against open-ground cavalry, but a good army uses them to soften the enemy and protect its heavy troops.

Are elephants and chariots worth using in Field of Glory II?

They can be powerful but are unreliable, which is why they rank as situational specialists. Elephants are terrifying and can smash through lines, but they can panic and rampage back through their own troops, and light troops can shoot and evade them. Chariots hit hard on the charge but are fragile afterwards. Used carefully and supported, both can win fights; relied on as a backbone, they will let you down.

What beats heavy foot in Field of Glory II?

Heavy foot are tough head-on in the open, so you beat them by changing the terms of the fight. Hit them in the flank or rear with cavalry or light troops to crack their cohesion, draw them into rough terrain where they become disordered, or wear them down with missiles first. Matching like-for-like in the open is a slow grind; the answer is maneuver, terrain and combined arms, not a straight slugging match.

Field of Glory II Troops Tier List

How to read this tier list

Before any ranking, one warning that matters more here than in most games: Field of Glory II is a game of matchups, and no troop type is simply "the best." The whole system is rock-paper-scissors — pikemen crush spearmen head-on, light troops harass and unravel pikemen, cavalry rides down light troops in the open, and steady foot weather cavalry charges. So this tier list does not claim some units always beat others. Instead, it ranks the major troop types by their overall reliability and value as the core of a strong army: how dependably they win the fights you put them in, how central they are to a winning plan, and how forgiving they are to use. A troop type lower down is not weak; it is more specialised, and it shines in the right role.

Read the tiers, then, as a guide to what to build your army around and what to use as support, not as a promise that an S-tier unit beats a B-tier one. In a good matchup with good handling, almost anything can win — and that is exactly what makes the game so deep.

Every troop type in Field of Glory II has a counter. The skill is not fielding "the best" units but matching your troops to the enemy and the terrain — and forcing fights where your strengths meet their weaknesses.

The troop types tier list

This ranking weighs reliability, frontline value and how central each type is to a strong, balanced army, assuming you protect its weaknesses and use combined arms.

Heavy Foot (legionaries, armoured spearmen) The dependable backbone of most strong armies. Tough and resilient in the open, they hold the line, lose cohesion slowly, and anchor your whole battle plan. Slower and disordered in rough terrain. Pikemen (pike phalanx) Devastating in a frontal clash, grinding down almost any infantry head-on. The catch is fragility on the flanks and in rough ground, so they demand careful handling and flank protection. Cataphracts Heavily armoured shock cavalry that crush most things on the charge and shrug off missiles. Expensive and less nimble than light horse, but a frontal sledgehammer that anchors cavalry armies.

Shock Cavalry / Lancers The decisive flanking weapon. Win the wings, then charge exposed flanks and rear or run down routers. Strong but wasted — and vulnerable — if thrown frontally into steady infantry. Offensive Spearmen (hoplites) Steady, hard-hitting line infantry that hold and push in the open. A reliable core, just outmatched head-on by pikes and disordered in rough terrain. Impact Foot (warbands, pilum legionaries) Brutal in the first round on the charge, so-so afterwards. Win quickly with the shock of impact, or risk losing the grind if the enemy holds.

Medium Foot The flexible all-rounder that fights at full strength in rough terrain where heavy foot falter. Less dominant in the open, but invaluable for taking and holding difficult ground. Light Horse / Horse Archers Mobile harassers that shoot, evade and threaten flanks, wearing down cohesion without committing. Cannot hold ground or win a straight fight, but priceless for control and disruption. Light Foot Fast, nimble troops that flank, counter skirmishers and fight in rough terrain, but melt against cavalry in the open or heavy foot face-to-face.

Skirmishers (slingers, archers, javelinmen) Essential support, not a core. Screen the line, blunt enemy missiles and chip away at cohesion, then evade. Fragile in melee and easy prey for open-ground cavalry. War Elephants Terrifying and able to smash a line, but unreliable — they can panic and rampage through their own troops, and light troops shoot and evade them. Powerful when supported, dangerous when relied upon. Chariots Hard-hitting on the charge but fragile once stopped, and easily disrupted. A situational shock weapon that needs the right ground and careful support to pay off.

S tier — the army-defining cores

These are the troops you build a strong army around. Heavy foot — armoured legionaries, well-equipped spearmen and the like — are the dependable backbone: resilient in the open, slow to lose cohesion, and able to anchor a line while the rest of your army maneuvers. Their one real weakness is rough terrain, where they become disordered, so keep them in the open where they are strongest. Pikemen are the head-on kings, a massed pike phalanx grinding down almost any infantry that meets it frontally; the price is severe fragility on the flanks and in broken ground, which means they must be protected and never caught out of position. Cataphracts round out the tier as the heavy shock-cavalry sledgehammer, crushing most things on the charge and largely ignoring missile fire — expensive and less nimble than lighter horse, but a battle-winner when their charge lands. Build around these, cover their weaknesses, and you have a solid plan.

A and B tiers — strong cores and vital roles

The A tier holds powerful, central troops with clear weaknesses to manage. Shock cavalry and lancers are your decisive flanking arm: win the wings and then smash exposed flanks or chase down broken units, but never waste them charging steady infantry head-on. Offensive spearmen such as hoplites are reliable line infantry, strong and steady in the open though beaten frontally by pikes. Impact foot — Gallic warbands, pilum-armed legionaries — hit ferociously in the first round of impact and rely on that shock, so they want to win fast rather than grind. The B tier covers the units that fill essential roles without anchoring the army: medium foot, the flexible all-rounders that own rough terrain; light horse and horse archers, the mobile harassers that wear down cohesion and threaten flanks but cannot hold; and light foot, the nimble flankers and anti-skirmishers that thrive in the rough but melt against cavalry in the open. None of these win battles alone, but a good army cannot do without them.

Troop type	Strength	Weakness	Best role
Heavy Foot	Resilient line in the open	Disordered in rough terrain	Anchor the battle line
Pikemen	Crushing head-on	Fragile flanks and rough ground	Frontal hammer, protected
Cataphracts	Devastating armoured charge	Costly, less nimble	Shock and breakthrough
Light Horse	Mobility, missiles, evasion	Cannot hold ground	Harass, flank, disrupt
Skirmishers	Screen and soften the enemy	Fragile in melee	Support and screening

C tier — powerful but situational specialists

The bottom tier is not for weak troops but for situational ones that support rather than anchor. Skirmishers — slingers, archers and javelinmen — are genuinely essential despite their ranking: they screen your line, blunt enemy missile fire, and erode enemy cohesion before the clash, then evade to safety. They simply cannot win fights on their own and die fast in melee or to open-ground cavalry, so they enable your army rather than carry it. War elephants are the high-risk, high-reward pick: terrifying and able to shatter a line, but liable to panic and rampage back through your own ranks, and light troops can shoot and evade them all day. Chariots, similarly, hit hard on the charge but are fragile and easily disrupted once stopped. Used carefully and supported, all three can swing a battle; leaned on as a backbone, they will betray you.

Building a balanced army

The lesson of the tiers is combined arms. Build your core from S- and A-tier troops suited to your army — a heavy foot or pike line, with cavalry or cataphracts to strike the flanks — then fill the vital roles with B-tier medium foot and light horse, and add C-tier skirmishers to screen and soften. Cover each unit's weakness with another's strength: protect pike flanks with cavalry and light foot, hold rough ground with medium foot, and use skirmishers to wear down anything you cannot beat head-on. Because every troop type has a counter, the winning army is not the one with the "best" units but the one that combines its troops and matches them to the enemy and the ground. To put these troops to work, see our combat guide and tactics guide; if you are just starting out, the beginner guide covers the fundamentals.

When you pick an army, note what it lacks. A pike army needs light troops and cavalry to guard its flanks; a cavalry army needs a way to deal with steady spearmen; a foot army needs an answer to being outflanked. Covering your gaps matters more than maximising your strengths.