Nord Huscarls are the strongest Nord infantry and the only tier six troop in the game. Given their superior equipment, including the Huscarl's Round Shield, they are often regarded as the strongest melee unit available. A good number of Huscarls in a formation can even be superior to equal numbers of Swadian Knights.
A notable downside to this line of troops is that they take an extremely long time to train, so patience will be necessary. Their high level can help to some degree, as defeating four Huscarls at a Training Field during sparring will grant most other infantry a very large amount of experience, but will not be a simple task for newer characters.
Tactics[]
A formidable line of Huscarls in their infamous shield wall.
Huscarls excel at assaulting rather than simply standing ground. Their Heavy Throwing Axes and Javelins can take down unsuspecting targets in a single hit, sometimes even taking down a horseman or knight. Their main weapon, the One Handed Battle Axe or Nordic Sword, along with the Huscarl's Round Shield is a strong set for sieges. Even Swadian Sergeants and Rhodok Sergeants have a hard time fighting against them. For some reason, they are sometimes bested by Vaegir Guards. This may be because the Vaegir Guard has a heavy Bardiche, which more often than not can take out the shield in a few shots, leaving the Huscarl little time to stop another killer attack.
They will stop every so often to throw their ranged weapon if they have one, and their chance to be given ranged weapons is random upon upgrade from Nord Veterans. Huscarls reach their full potential in siege offense, often 30 or 40 of them are able to take castles or towns very easily. They also have heavy two-handed axes which can break shields, with the caveat that the Huscarl can no longer utilize his own. If a shield is absolutely necessary, such as when under fire from archers while out of the melee, they can be ordered to use blunt weapons to force anyone using a Great Axe to pull out his shield.
Stats and Equipment[]
Note: Troops have a set of default stats; at the beginning of a new game, these stats are randomly adjusted for each type of troop. The following is the default set for this troop as seen within the game code and may not reflect the specific stats you will see during actual gameplay. For more information, see Troop stats.
Huscarl or "Housecarl" originally comes from Old Norse, meaning "house man".
They were either free manservants (not to be confused with thralls, which were slaves or serfs) or combat retainers. Some of them were even administrators, serving as the king's representatives in peacetime.
Huscarls in game accurately represent the Huscarls which were depicted in the Bayeaux Tapestry and by Rus' officials who wrote about their bodyguards in the 10th and 11th centuries.
Wikipedia has an article on this subject at: Housecarl
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