Max Level Stats

• Unit Tier & Era: 5-Star (Golden Era) Special Unit
• Unit Size (Headcount): 24 soldiers
• Leadership Cost: 310 leadership points (deployment cost)

Recommended Doctrines

Veterancy Paths & Upgrades

Zweihanders have two veterancy paths – a top (offensive) route and a bottom (defensive) route. You gain veterancy points by leveling the unit, and you can allocate these points to unlock bonuses. Here’s what each path offers and which to choose:

• Top (Offensive) Path: Emphasizes raw damage and skill uptime. This path boosts Knight’s Gambit skill damage by up to +60% (through Unwavering upgrades) and reduces its cooldown by 10 seconds in total It also provides +15% slashing armor penetration and +15% damage versus infantry), plus a bit of extra health. The top line is all about maximizing burst – your Zweihanders will hit much harder and use their 5-hit combo more frequently. This is ideal for a shock troop playstyle that can wipe out enemy units quickly.
• Bottom (Defensive) Path: Focuses on survivability and sustained fighting. This route gives several damage reduction bonuses: up to –15% damage taken while in Prepared Stance (healing mode) and –30% damage taken during Knight’s Defence (blocking stance) It also increases max health by +9% and even grants a buff (Heart of a Hero/Piety) that after fully healing in Prepared Stance, the next skill use boosts all defenses by 15%). The bottom line won’t hit as hard, but your Zweihanders become tougher and harder to kill while they perform their skills.
• Recommended Path: In the current meta, most players favor the top veterancy path (for superior damage output). Zweihanders are intended as shock troops – their value comes from cutting down enemies quickly. The offensive path fully leverages that strength. However, a hybrid approach can work: some commanders take a couple of early points in the bottom line (for extra health or damage reduction) and then switch to the top line to get the damage boosts. If you find your Zweihanders dying too easily, you can invest a bit into the defensive nodes, but generally maximizing their damage (top line) yields the best results in siege battles.

How to Play & Tactics

Using Zweihanders effectively on the battlefield requires good timing and positioning. They excel at breaking enemy formations and cutting down units in a burst, but you must play to their strengths:

• Preparation & Buffs: Always use Prepared Stance before engaging to top off their health and trigger the buff. In Prepared Stance, they heal 2% HP per second, and once they reach full health their max HP and slashing damage increase by 30% for 7 seconds on the next skill). This means you should ideally heal them to full, then immediately launch an attack skill to fight with a huge temporary buff. Engaging with this buff can be the difference between annihilating an enemy unit or falling short.
• Engage with Knight’s Gambit: Knight’s Gambit is their 5-hit attack combo (default key 2) – use this as the primary initiation to deal massive burst damage. When you activate Knight’s Gambit, your Zweihanders will strike 5 times in rapid succession and are immune to crowd control while doing so Aim this into the bulk of the enemy formation (it’s especially devastating against clustered infantry). The flurry of blows not only cuts down enemies but also triggers their Repulse trait: each hit reduces the target’s slashing defense by 100 and increases damage taken by 10%, stacking up to 5 times). In short, a full combo will heavily debuff enemies, making them extremely vulnerable to follow-up damage.
• Use Knight’s Defence when needed: Knight’s Defence (default key 1) causes the Zweihanders to brace and block while slashing defensively. During this stance they block incoming melee attacks and still deal damage with their swords, and they also gain immunity to crowd control during the continuous blocks/slashes. This ability is fantastic for absorbing a charge or holding ground: for example, if enemy cavalry or melee units are about to crash into you, pop Knight’s Defence – your Zweihanders can negate the knockdown, tank a lot of the damage, and retaliate. With veterancy upgrades (bottom path), they take significantly reduced damage in this stance, making them surprisingly resilient while blocking. Use Knight’s Defence as a counter-measure or to buy time until you can go back on the offensive.
• Timing and Positioning: Coordinate your Zweihanders with the flow of battle. They are not a unit you want to send in alone ahead of everyone – they perform best supporting a push or reinforcing a fight at the right moment. For instance, let shielded units or cavalry initiate, then order your Zweihanders in to capitalize on the chaos. Their presence can quickly turn the tide if they hit an enemy blob that’s already engaged. Be mindful of spacing: trigger their charge (use Column formation for a tighter, quicker advance) to close distance under fire, then swap to Dispersed formation or normal spread once in melee to avoid clumping against enemy attacks.
• Exploiting Their Strengths: Zweihanders are line-breakers. Use them to crack tough formations like shield walls or pike blocks from the flanks or rear if possible. Once they start their assault, they cannot be easily staggered thanks to Perseverance (they ignore most crowd-control), so they will often plow through defenses that would stop other units. Their high damage and debuffing swings will quickly overwhelm most infantry in front of them. Focus their attacks on high-value targets – elite infantry or even heroes caught in the fray – to eliminate threats fast. Their burst can even delete units like imperial pikes or berserkers before those units get to retaliate effectively.
• Cover Their Weaknesses: Despite heavy armor, Zweihanders can be vulnerable to ranged focus-fire or getting swarmed by too many enemies at once. They have no shields and only moderate resistance to ranged attacks (though they are Fire-Resistant to flame weapons), so be careful about musket volleys or arrow fire. Use terrain, cover, or other units to screen them until they are ready to charge. Also, avoid protracted fights after their buffs expire – if Knight’s Gambit and Defence are on cooldown and they’ve lost their Prepared Stance buff, they can be overwhelmed by fresh enemies. It’s often wise to pull them back for a few seconds to reset (heal with Prepared Stance again) before the next engagement, rather than leaving them in a grind.
• Matchups: In head-to-head matchups, Zweihanders will wreck most infantry units if used correctly. Their toughest competition are units that also have strong anti-infantry capability or high burst (for example, Wuwei Mansion Guards) but even those can fall to Zweihanders if you time your abilities well. With the combination of their block and burst, skilled players have used Zweihanders to counter cavalry charges and beat other top-tier units by timing Knight’s Defence to absorb the charge, then immediately following with Knight’s Gambit to slaughter the stunned cavalry. Their performance against units like the Wuwei (palace guard) relies on player timing – a well-timed Zweihander combo can destroy Wuweis or cavalry before they can deal fatal damage. Just remember that timing is everything: use the right skill at the right moment. If you charge them in carelessly or leave them idle in a kill zone, they will melt like any other unit. But under a capable commander, Zweihanders can punch far above their weight and turn hopeless melees into victories with a single, well-placed onslaught.

Conclusion

Zweihanders are a high-risk, high-reward unit that, when mastered, can cleave through enemy ranks and change the course of battle. Maximize their potential by buffing them before combat, choosing the offensive veterancy to enhance their lethal combos, and employing smart tactics to keep them alive between engagements. In the latest season’s balance, they remain a formidable choice – a unit that truly embodies “shock infantry” with their blend of resilience and explosive power. Lead them well, and watch as enemy lines crumble before your greatswords!