Academy

The Academy is where all your elite military units are trained. These are units which are known for their high train time and cost, but which are highly effective at what they do. While pikemen, light infantry and some cavalry units are recruited from your drill square and barracks, it is at the Academy (and its Ultima Ratio counterpart, the Cantonment) where units such as grenadiers, halberdiers, elite cavalry, along with siege infantry and machine gunners are trained.

Unlike the Barracks, however, Academy buildings are fully capable of garrisoning units, and also serve as a fortified structure and MUST be built within the confines of a city.

Units available

• Halberdiers [1] => Grenadiers [2] => Grenadier Guards [3] => Naval Infantry [4] => Assault Infantry [5] (with Mechanisation)
• Demi-Lancers [1] => cuirassiers [2-3] => Regimental Lancers [4] (some factions only)
• Riders [1] => Dragoons [2] Carbineers [3] => Repeating Rifle Horse [4] (with Rifle Infantry)
• Ribaud rocketmen [2-3] => Gatling gunners [4] (with Riflemen) => Machine gunners (with Propulsion Systems) [5]
• Sappers?

As of Forge of Storms, the 4th slot is occupied by Carabineers. Dunno if we can keep them there. Possibly not.

Technologies hosted

• Drill - Infantry made to march faster, and shoot better. Requires Telegraphy, Rifling fr Fort
• Military tradition - improves general HP and armour. Req Drill fr Barracks, State Religion fr Temple.

Unique units trainable

Halberdiers and assault infantry

• Kapýkulu guard => Janissaries => Nizamy Guard [3 & 4] => Askeri [5]
• Ahmudan pike [1-2] => Konbaung palace guard regiment [3-4] spearmen with an anti-elephant attack, garbed in black cloth.
• bugis warriors [1] & [2] (Adept at surviving marine crossings, but has less armour and hitpoints) => Rejimen Melayu [3] => Royal Malay Regiment [4]
• Geuzen raiders [1] => Blue Guard Grenadiers [2-3] => Mariniers [4] heavy infantry with amphibious qualities and greater resistance to cavalry units.
• Tercio pikeman => [1] => Zaragoza grenadiers [2-3] high resistance to attrition and plenty of hitpoints
• Samurai [1] => Daimyo [2&3] Immensely powerful hand-to-hand infantry unit.
• Eagle warrior [1 & 2] => Libertador Chosen Men [3]
• Jaguar [1 & 2]
• Foot Guards [2] => Grenadier Guards [3] => Royal Marines [4]
• Potsdamer Grenadiers [2] => Grenadier Guards [3-4] => Stosstruppen [5]
• Pavlovski Grenadiers [2] => Imperial Guard Grenadiers [3] Costlier but stronger grenadier brigade. Is as strong as the French line.
• US Legion [3] => Black hat brigade [4] => US Marine [5] (replaces the heavy infantry line)
• Glaive warrior [3]
• Arditi assault infantry [5]
• Maison du roi grenadiers [2] => Old guard grenadiers [3]

Anti-personal artillery

• Ribaud rocketeers
• Gatling gunners [4]
• Machine gunners [5]
• Nordenfelt multibarrel gun [4]

Heavy cavalry and lancers

• Lobsters [1] => Scots Greys [2] => Royal Scots Greys [3] - Lobsters based off the German Ritter from RoK
• Guard Cavalry - based off the Reivers from RoK
• Condottieri - based off the Black Banders in RoK
• Ghulam cavalry[1] a powerful armoured cavalryman, capable of upgrading to:
  • Kapýkulu sipahi [2 & 3] Turkey's best heavy cavalry
  • Mughal sipahi [2 & 3], or
  • Shasevan cavalry, which may be upgraded further to Sarbaz lancers
• Imperial Guard cavalry [3]
• Hidalgo lancer => [1] a knight unit with high resistance to attrition, and plenty of hitpoints
• Glaive cavalryman [1-3] Has an attack equal to a cuirassier guard. However, he has two problems: he has a high ramp cost: 2 wealth, 2 metal and 1 food.
• Dadao cavalry - basically a heavy cavalryman armed with a large sword. He wears a Stahlhelm.
• King's Gendarme [1] => Garde du Corps [2] => Horse Grenadier [3] heavy cavalry with better armour and attack - Stratiatoi used for model
• Pulaski's regulars [2] => Texan riders [3] => Federal cavalry [4]
• Akazonae cavalryman [1-3] Has an attack equal to a cuirassier guard. However, he has two problems: he has a high ramp cost: 2 wealth, 2 metal and 1 food.
• Iturbide's cuirassiers [3 & 4]

Ranged cavalry

• Musketoon mahout [1] => Gajnal mahout => Culverin mahout [3]
• White elephants => Royal elephants => chang phueak brigade [3]
• carabinieri [4] => autoblinda [5]
• Yellow Guard dragoons [2]
• horse archer [2] => Palace Gamekeeper => horse rifle [4] weaker than a dragoon, but has a combat bonus against buildings
• Lafayette's dragoons [2] => Washington's dragoons [3] => Federal horse rifles [4]

Regimental cavalry/Sappers (optional)

• Bajau horse [1] => Bajau cavalier [2] => Rejimen Bajau [3]
• Magyar rider [1] => Hungarian Hussar [2] => Imperial hussar [3]
• Goryeo cavalry [2] => Jeoson guard [3] Light cavalry units
• Sapper

Hints and tips

Only elite units are trained from the officers' quarters/mansion/nobles' court/military academy, and thus you should be prepared to pay dearly for what units are available to you.

Cuirassiers are heavy cavalry, and as such command a heavy pricetag. Worse still, they are rather slow, but still faster than the fastest infantry unit around, and given their heavy armaments they will tear through almost anything, including pikemen if they can swarm them piecemeal. As with other units, however, one should not rely greatly on them: well-aimed ribauds or machine guns such as a Nordenfelt multigun can take them apart, and so they should be used only judiciously. Cuirassiers are the favourite unit of Japan and several European nations, and also form the cavalry traditions of Mexico - the other Americans, Asians, Portuguese and rebels have a preference for medium cavalry, as characterised by the trooper line.

Heavy infantry are just that - heavy infantry. Consisting of halberdiers and then grenadiers, these troops are costly but better than line infantry, and also come with several benefits: the first is that grenadiers have no minimum range, and they are also better at storming buildings than normal line infantry. However, all power comes at a price, and because of their physique - grenadiers often had to be tall and strong men - they are also excellent targets for light infantry like voltigeurs and sharpshooters. Nevertheless, heavy infantry are the only infantry unit capable of countering cavalry, because of their lack of minimum range. In the Industrial Era, they will upgrade to different types of units: Life Guards and Presidential Guards. The difference between the two is in the upgrade cost: Life Guards cost more to upgrade, but this is only so because of the ability for Absolutist governments to obtain enhanced cavalry auxiliaries. Further, the Life Guard also does an excellent job at repression - upgrading simple grenadiers to Life Guards results in a one-time happiness boost that can often ensure the difference between life and death for a despotic government.

At the onset of the Mechanisation Era, your Life Guards and Presidential guard units can now be upgraded to assault infantry, so long as you have access to the Military-Industrial Complex building. This building hosts one important technology: Mechanisation Doctrine. This is a vital technology that unlocks the ability to upgrade a variety of units, as well as create advanced units like tanks and airplanes, but more importantly, allows the creation of assault infantry, which are tougher, stronger and faster, and also can resist mechanised units well - albeit they do not do as well as the recoilless riflemen who are specialised at taking apart armour.