Kapikulu are militia archers of the Crimean Khanate.
Tactics[]
The only militia archers carrying a shield for melee combat as well as having the highest total proficiencies than other five alternatives', their ease of recruitment and low wages makes them ideal for bulking up town/fortress garrisons. In contrast, their limited party speed and slower tactical speed makes them less desirable than Bajrak for field battles and the mobile style of warfare the Khanate excels at - it is for sieges, where mounted troops are deprived of their horses, that Kapikulu's slightly better armor makes them a better choice than Bajrak.
For ranged combat, Kapikulu operate best when holding ground with unobstructed lines of fire and whittling down advancing enemies - they however have trouble inflicting casualties on moving cavalry troops, so the player is advised to focus on unhorsing them. As with any bowmen, their high rate of fire with low damage and low penetration arrows will quickly empty their quivers and thus care must be taken to economize their fire and only permit them to shoot when they have a reasonable chance of inflicting damage. This can be accomplished by masking their line of sight to only ranges they can reasonably hit at or using formation commands, although managing Kapikulu's formation fire can be hard when they are out the player's sight. Teaming them up with firearm-equipped troops can help crush stronger armor, allowing their weaker damage to prove effective.
For close combat, Kapikulu's poor melee skill, low hit points, and relatively weak armor makes them very vulnerable. As such and since they fall quickly to melee attacks, significant effort should be made to keep them shooting and not swinging - optimal ratios for bow fire should be approximately 30 to 1 to down heavily armored troops and 10 to 1 against lightly armored troops - but their arrows will sometimes never penetrate enemy armor, forcing them to depend on lucky headshots.
Kapikulu, like all fielded infantry, need to be kept in formation to avoid marauding cavalry isolating and destroying them - tight formations will however get them mown down by enemy marksmen, therefore the player should have them neutralized by tying them up in melee combat or masking a Kapikulu formation with terrain features to avoid taking unanswered casualties. Alternatively, Kapikulu can be used to protect more expensive troops by absorbing bullets, arrows, and cavalry charges, sacrificing themselves to protect their comrades and shift combat inertia in the player's favor.
Stats and Equipment[]
Kapikulu - Default Stats and Equipment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Trivia[]
- "Kapikulu" references an Ottoman Empire military organization which included the Janissaries.
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Wikipedia has an article on this subject at: Kapikulu |
Troops of the Crimeans | ||
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Village Recruits | ![]() | |
Garrison Militia | ![]() |
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Regular Troops | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Guard Infantry | ![]() | |
Heavy Cavalry | ![]() ![]() | |
Personal Guard Cavalry | ![]() | |
Camp Mercenaries (northwest of Ak-Mechet) |
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Regional Mercenaries (Kezlev Fortress • Izum Fortress) |
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Regional Mercenaries (Azaq-kale • Kilburun Fortress) |
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Ottoman Mercenaries | ![]() ![]() ![]() |