The Landsknecht is best described as a 'glass cannon' unit, having low armor and hit points, but a high attack. Although they are decent in small-scale melee battles, they work best when engaging large armies. Their Area of Effect damage will shred almost any units they can engage in melee combat when fighting in tightly packed formations; even Knights are vulnerable. For this reason, when engaging Landsknechts, it is wise to keep armies in staggered formation. They can also easily be picked off by ranged units, especially archers and Mangonels, as they try to close the distance.
For this reason, Landsknechts are best used with mixed armies. When combined with Men-at-Arms, for example, they are difficult to target individually, and an opponent can end up wasting Archer arrows on the Men-at-Arms, or Crossbow bolts on the Landsknechts. The Horseman-Landsknecht combo is also one of the most effective late-game compositions. Horseman cover Landsknechts' weaknesses to siege and archers, while Landsknechts will cut down spears in a matter of seconds. They are also effective as ambush troops, hiding in stealth forests, then charging the enemy to cause havoc.
The Byzantines can purchase Landsknechts with Olive Oil from a Mercenary House after researching Western Mercenary and Veteran Contracts. Once unlocked, they can train automatically from the Golden Horn Tower. In addition to generic upgrades, they benefit from the following Byzantine unique bonuses:
Note: Building the Foreign Engineering Company still grants +10% speed from the former Marching Drills technology, despite it not being available to the Holy Roman Empire as of update 10.0.576.
Originally, all infantry had a minimum charge attack trigger distance of 2 tiles, and a duration of 5 seconds. With update 24916, this was changed to a 1 tile minimum distance and a 7 second duration.
With patch 8.2.218, Landsknecht hit points increased from 80/95 to 85/100.
Originally, Elite Landsknecht melee attack dealt 20 damage. With update 12.0.1974, it deals 21 damage.
Hit points
Elite Army Tactics (+15%)
Bloomery (+1)
Decarbonization (+1)
Damascus Steel (+1)
Fitted Leatherwork (+1 melee)
Insulated Helm (+1 melee)
Master Smiths (+1 melee)
Iron Undermesh (+1 ranged)
Wedge Rivets (+1 ranged)
Angled Surfaces (+1 ranged)
Military Academy (+33%)
Siege Engineering (Can build Battering Rams and Siege Towers)
Inspiration Bonus (+15%)
Wall Defense (-25% ranged, -50% siege)
Burgrave Palace (+50% charge damage)
Movement speed
Holy Roman Empire (+10%)
Regeneration
Pilgrim Flask (25 hp/s for 6 seconds, requires Cistern of the First Hill)
Improved Torch (+25% torch attack, requires Trapezites)
Camel Support (+2 melee/ranged, requires Foreign Engineering Company)
Naval Deployment (+50% speed for 12 seconds after unloading from a Transport Ship)
Foreign Engineering Company (+10%)
Conscriptio Influence (+20% per Cistern water level)
Trade Post (+50%)
