Pikeman and Halberdier

Castle Creatures

Level

1

 Pikeman

 Halberdier

Level

2

 Archer

 Marksman

Level

3

 Griffin

 Royal Griffin

Level

4

 Swordsman

 Crusader

Level

5

 Monk

 Zealot

Level

6

 Cavalier

 Champion

Level

7

 Angel

 Archangel

Pikeman

Attack Skill

4

Defense Skill

5

Damage

1–3

Health

10

Speed

4

Move

Ground

Size

1

Growth

14

AI Value

80

Fight Value

100

Cost

60

Immune to jousting bonus.

Halberdier

Attack Skill

6

Defense Skill

5

Damage

2–3

Health

10

Speed

5

Move

Ground

Size

1

Growth

14

AI Value

115

Fight Value

115

Cost

75

Immune to jousting bonus.

Pikemen and Halberdiers are the level 1 creatures of Castle. They can be recruited from the Guardhouse.

"Pikemen and halberdiers are among the strongest basic foot soldiers available to any army. While somewhat slow, they have respectable combat ratings." ^{RoE manual}

Dwellings & Portraits

Heroes with a specialty

• (none)

Special Ability: Jousting Immunity

Although not mentioned in the game or manual, both Pikemen and Halberdiers are immune to Cavaliers' and Champions' jousting ability. This means they suffer damage from Cavaliers or Champions normally, but do not receive the additional damage from jousting bonus (thus, the distance of Cavaliers and Champions attack doesn't matter).

In Horn of the Abyss, the ability is present in the unit's description.

User Commentary

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The Halberdier is considered to be the 2nd best level 1 creature in raw stats, surpassed only by the Centaur Captain.

4-6 Attack is top-tier, and 5 Defense is high. 10 Health is the highest of all level 1 creatures. 1-3 Damage of Pikemen is above average, 2-3 of Halberdiers is again the best of their level. With 4 Speed Pikemen are better suited to defending ranged troops than to offense. Halberdiers are faster by 1 point, but they are still slow. All-around powerful if rather slow creatures, they are the Castle basic melee unit that at once is tough and packs a nasty punch. They also compensate to a degree for Archers' rather low damage and fragility.

The drawback is that their 60-75 gold cost is also very high for lvl 1 unit. Their dwelling is also expensive in terms of ore.

The most obvious spells to use on Pikemen and Halberdiers are Haste or Bloodlust for offensive purposes and Shield or Stone Skin for defense, with Prayer as all-rounder. Bless and Curse work better on Pikemen due to larger damage spread. Counterstrike may be useful, as they have good damage and enough health to engage most melee units and keep them busy for a while. Slow combined with ranged troops is a death sentence. Direct damage spells are a threat, but as level 1 troops they are not exactly a high priority target, and with 10 health per unit they are reasonably resilient to magic damage.

Their unmentioned special ability significantly reduces Cavaliers and Champions' damage done against them when charging from distance. While very specific, it does contribute to their relative toughness.

In Castle army they can shield Archers or Monks while they whittle down the enemy stacks, mop up the remains after more powerful units do the most of work, or take enemy retaliations - if they can keep up with the likes of Royal Griffins. Be wary of Dragons and AoE attacks/spells if playing defensively.

The best secondary skills by pure numbers are Offense and Armorer. Tactics is also very useful, as their low speed requires some support to get them into enemy lines or to shield friendly ranged units. Leadership and high morale can help with their speed problems. Air Magic and Earth Magic seem most useful of magic skills because of Haste, Shield and Stone Skin.

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See Also:

• List of creatures

• Comparison of Level 1 Creatures