Example of a typical Covenanter flag during the English Civil Wars/Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639-1653). The Covenanter half of the faction is based on the 17th century Presbyterian social and political movement of the same name.

Availability: Guardians of the Highlands DLC
Focus: Early/Balanced, Rush, Melee Infantry, Archers
Playstyle: Unique (Scottish)

Scotland is one of the most unique nations in Cossacks; an early and mid game-focused country that revolves almost entirely around its powerful melee infantry and archers. Lots of Scotland’s features are exclusive to it, from being the only faction in the game with a unique artillery piece to having the sole infantry unit that moves at a different speed than all the others.

This uniqueness makes Scotland a lot of fun to play, and they can be devastatingly effective if you know how to utilize their strengths. You need to leverage your Covenanters and Clansmen plus your rapidly-growing economy to hit the enemy hard and fast before they can raise a powerful 18th century army and shred your slow-training, lightly-armored troops with massed musket fire.

If you like attacking early, enjoy fielding some of the most unique and awesome infantry in the game, or just want to run at your foes with broadsword and targe in hand in a good old-fashioned Highland Charge, then Scotland is a great nation for you.


Flag of the Jacobite army during the famous 1745 revolt. The words “Tandem triumphans” mean “Triumphant at last” and represent the longstanding hopes of the Stuart dynasty to be restored to the throne of Britian. The Clansman half of the faction is derived mostly from this and other Jacobite rebellions going back to 1689 as well as the feudal Scottish clan system which allowed them to quickly raise armies out of seemingly nowhere.

+ Unique Castle building functions like an 18c. Barracks for Clansman units that can be quickly built in the 17th century
+ Peasants have +10 HP
+ 2nd harvesting upgrade at Mill available in the 17th century
+ Covenanter Pikeman–trains fast and good in melee but unarmored
+ Sword Clansmen–very powerful, swift-moving, slow-training melee infantry
+ Bow Clansman–slow-training archer with high HP, range, and attack values
+ Raider–weak, slow-training fast cavalry with cheap upgrades available in the 17th century
+ Frame Gun–longer ranged, more accurate version of the Multi-barrelled Cannon that doesn’t require an upgrade to build
+ Tech discounts:

• 2nd harvesting upgrade (Mill)
  
• Building construction speed (Academy)

~ Stables build faster and cost less wood but more gold
~ Covenanter Musketeer–strong but trains very slowly
~ Lancer–weak, slow-training cavalry with very expensive upgrades
~ More expensive balloon to reveal the map available in the 17th century
~ No armor techs (since Scotland has no armored units)
- Can’t advance to the 18th century
- No native Dragoons
- Most units train slowly
- Lacks armored troops or strong cavalry

Scotland is the only faction besides Ukraine with an entirely unique design and playstyle. Fortunately, they hew pretty closely to the standard European model, so they aren't as tricky to learn as Ukraine or the Islamics.

Scottish infantry are divided into two branches, Covenanters and Clansmen. Covenanters are Scotland’s equivalent of standard 17th century European infantry and they train at the same Barracks you know from other nations. By contrast, Clansmen are Scotland’s elite units and are trained from Castles, which are basically 18c. Barracks that can be built quickly in the 17th century. This lets Scotland access its strongest units far earlier than European-style nations, allowing them to quickly build a very dangerous army in the early-to-mid game.

Technology-wise, Scotland has a lot in common with Ukraine. Both have the same discounted 2nd harvesting upgrade at the Mill available a century earlier. This is huge, as getting to max farming efficiency early in the game gives Scotland a big economic leg up, esepcially over European nations who have to wait until the 18th century and pay more to snag the tech. They also share Ukraine’s extra expensive balloon tech which is available in the 17th century. Finally, Scotland receives a hefty discount on the construction speed upgrade, though this time not as much as Ukraine.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Build time: 762 max: 190 min.
Population cap increase: 150

+ Modified 18c. Barracks that produce Clansman units
+ Available in the 17th century
+ Initially cheaper than 18c. Barracks
+ Builds reasonably quickly
- Gives 150 pop. space instead of 250
- Becomes more expensive than 18c. Barracks from Castle #4 onward

Castles are Scotland’s answer to European 18c. Barracks, except they produce Clansmen instead of 18th century infantry. Their low initial cost, short build time, and not requiring you to advance to the 18th century (which Scotland can’t do anyway) allows you to start building them very early, with the first one going up ideally before the 10-minute mark. Getting your Castles up quickly is vital to unlocking Scotland’s early-game potential. Fortunately, it’s not very hard to do given Scotland’s excellent economy, allowing you to start amassing your strongest units long before European nations have reached the 18th century.

The downsides of Castles are that they provide 100 less population space and their gold cost will eventually exceed that of 18c. Barracks from the fourth building onward:

Gold Cost Comparison (per new building)

This means that in a very long game, a European player will eventually be able to surpass Scotland’s production capacity. Combine that with the faster training times of 18c. units, and late-game Scotland will struggle to match how quickly European countries can build and replenish their armies.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 35 food, 2 gold
Training time: 4 seconds

+ Only fast-training non-mercenary unit in the entire Scottish roster
+ Cheap
+ Good in early melee fights
~ Practically required in the late game to keep up with army losses
- No bullet armor

The most common soldiers in most Scottish armies, Covenanter Pikemen sacrifice the bullet armor on normal 17c. Pikemen for better melee stats and a slightly faster production time, making them better in early brawls but worse at tanking gunfire later on. They’re also the only non-mercenary Scottish unit that trains in under 6 seconds, making them almost mandatory if you need to quickly build up or replenish your army.

Stat-wise, Covenanter Pikemen are basically a faster-training version of Ottoman Pikemen as the two units have nearly identical stats. Their 100 HP and 21 max attack are both above average for an early pike unit as is their fast 4-second training time, but their lack of armor hurts their defenses (especially against bullets, but more on that later).

With that said, the question remains: How do Covenanter Pikemen perform in early-game pike fights, especially against other strong rushing units?


120 fully-upgraded Covenanter Pikemen vs 96 Swiss Pikemen, reflecting the difference in training time. This is a complete 180 of how the tests went with no upgrades, where the Swiss dominated.

It depends on their upgrade level. In tests with equal upgrades and training time, Covenanter Pikemen consistently beat only Austrian Roundshiers and Spanish Coseletes (and of course 17c. Pikemen) regardless of upgrade level. Swiss Pikemen were a tougher matchup; they usually beat the Covenanters in tests with no or few upgrades, but at higher levels the fights turned overwhelmingly in the Scots’ favor. This proved to be the extent of their prowess, however, as stronger units like Polish and Portuguese Pikemen proved more than a match for them.

So the Covenanter Pikeman on its own is a good rushing unit, but not top-tier. Fortunately for Scotland, they can combine their Covenanters with Clansmen to create very dangerous early-game armies, moreso than most of those nations with stronger Pikemen. (This also applies to the Covenanter Musketeer, but more on that later.)


Pike clash in the snow: A force of Covenanter Pikemen, Bow Clansmen, and mercenaries overwhelms a scouting party on their march to the enemy base. The addition of Clansmen to this army pushes it from merely good to great.

As with all Scottish units, Covenanter Pikemen do less well in the late game. This is because melee infantry in the 18th century are mostly used as blocking troops to soak up gunfire and keep enemies away from their own side’s ranged units. Covenanter Pikemen struggle in this role, as their complete lack of bullet armor means they die in only 4 hits to a standard Musketeer dealing 25 damage a pop:

Shots to kill (full upgrades)

This is the main reason why Scottish armies get shredded by massed musket fire; their unarmored units aren’t as good at tanking bullets as standard European units. When Mercenary Roundshiers are the best bullet sponge your army has, you know you have problems.

Even with that weakness to bullets, however, Covenanter Pikemen are practically mandatory in late-game Scottish armies. This is because they’re the only quick-training unit in Scotland’s native roster. Without Pikemen padding out the ranks, Scottish armies are too small and replenish too slowly to have any chance of competing in the large, mass-casualty battles that dominate the late game.


A typical Scottish “pike & arrow” army advances into battle against English Highlanders and rival Scots. Without Pikemen padding out its ranks, any Scottish army will be a lot smaller and less able to absorb or replenish losses.

That’s Covenanter Pikemen for you: Good rushing units in the early game, mandatory-but-weak bullet sponges in the late game. Know their limits, honor their sacrifices, and they’ll serve you well.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 55 food, 8 gold, 7 iron
Training time: 7 seconds
Range: 15.94
Reload speed: 4.69 seconds max: 2.3 seconds min.

+ Individually strong early Musketeer
+ Low cost
+ Above-average range for an early Musketeer
- Very slow training time
- Poor physical protection
- No melee attack
- Production can’t keep up with the heavy casualties of later battles

Compared to their pike-wielding brethren, Covenanter Musketeers are a bit of a letdown and are easily the most controversial Scottish unit as to their effectiveness. Their painfully slow production speed makes them hard to amass and limits their effectiveness compared to other unique early Musketeers. Nevertheless, they remain a decent 17th century shooter and, when paired with Clansmen, make Scotland a formidable force in games with peacetimes of 15 minutes or more.

Stat-wise, Covenanter Musketeers are a higher quality, slower-training version of 17c. Musketeers. Their extra 20 HP allows them to take one or two more hits before dying while their slightly longer range (15.94 vs 15) allows them to get the first strike on most other early Musketeers, though not on 18c. Musketeers (whose range is 16.88).

All this would make the Covenanter Musketeer one of the stronger ranged infantry in the early game if not for his slower training time; 7 seconds versus 6. For every 80 17c. Musketeers a generic European nation can make, Scotland only produces 69 Covenanters.


69 fully upgraded Covenanter Musketeers vs 107 Polish Musketeers, reflecting the difference in training time. This was actually one of the Covenanters’ more favorable matchups during testing due to the Poles’ low range and damage.

The result is that instead of being a powerhouse unit, Covenanter Musketeers are just barely above average and end up near the bottom of the early Musketeer totem pole. They consistently outperform Austrian and basic 17c. Musketeers in testing and can usually overcome Polish Musketeers, but that’s about it. Everything else, from Spanish Musketeers to Hungarian Hajduks, smashed the Covenanters.

Fortunately, as already mentioned, Scotland doesn’t depend solely on its Covenanters to win early battles. By adding Clansmen, you can greatly boost your army’s performance, allowing Scotland to do much better in 15+ minute peacetime games than their Musketeers would suggest.


A typical 15 minute peacetime Scottish army of Covenanter Musketeers, Bow Clansmen, and mercs smashes a poorly-chosen force of Pikemen. (The AI seems to build its armies on the assumption of no peacetime, hence their lack of Musketeers.)

Both Clansmen units pair well with Covenanter Musketeers in the early and mid game: Bow Clansmen give a huge boost in firepower that helps against nations with strong early Musketeers, while Sword Clansmen are good if the enemy is relying on melee troops or archers. This gives you the ability to tailor your army in 15+ minute peacetime games.

The late game is where the real problems begin. Although Covenanter Musketeers can do decently when massed and properly screened (especially if that screen contains Sword Clansmen), their slow training time makes replenishing losses difficult. You’ll likely have to swap back and forth between Musketeers and Pikemen in the late game just to keep your army’s numbers up.


Pouring on the lead: A wall of Covenanter Musketeers blazes away as Roundshiers and Sword Clansmen move forward to pin the foe in place.

The key takeaway from all of this is that while Covenanter Musketeers can be useful, their 7-second training time really holds them back. There’s even an argument to be made that an all-melee army of Pikemen and Sword Clansmen is better for 15 minute peacetimes. (See video #4 for more on that.)

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 110 food, 5 wood, 10 gold
Training time: 7 seconds

+ Strongest melee infantry in the game
+ Runs faster than other infantry
+ Very high HP, attack, and melee/arrow protection
+ Benefits from the +5 cavalry attack tech at the Blacksmith
+ Can make formations without Officers or Bagpipers
+ Extremely effective against melee-heavy armies
~ Deals sword damage
- Very slow training time
- Low bullet armor
- Later upgrades are expensive
- Struggles against large numbers of upgraded 18c. Musketeers

Sword Clansmen (hereafter referred to as “Swordsmen”) are perhaps the most interesting part of playing as Scotland; a powerful, fast-moving infantry unit that when fully upgraded can annihilate most other melee troops in a head-on battle. They can do great work in the early and mid game, but struggle against the strong gunline armies that rule the late game.

Stat-wise, Swordsmen are unlike any other infantry unit. Their 180 HP is almost cavalry-like, as is their high protection against swords, pikes, and arrows. But perhaps their most impressive stat is their attack, which caps out at an awesome 45 damage. That’s enough to rival fully upgraded 18c. Musketeers, except Swordsmen can reach that level earlier and far more cheaply. They also move slightly faster than other infantry since they run instead of walk:


Speed test, 15 seconds after start. From top to bottom the units are: Hussar, Reiter, Sword Clansman, 17c. Pikeman.

This puts their movement speed about halfway between that of normal infantry and cavalry. This helps them close the gap with ranged units slightly faster, although it also makes them a bit harder to use in conjunction with your Covenanters. (Think of them as the Scottish equivalent of heavy cavalry and you’ll be fine.)

In melee combat, fully-upgraded Swordsmen are one of the strongest units in the game. They aren’t great for rushing since they train slowly and require upgrades to become good, but once they have everything they need (including, uniquely, the +5 cavalry attack tech at the Blacksmith), very few melee units can stand up to them.


A slaughter to dwarf Killiecrankie: 69 fully upgraded Swordsmen vs 720 Algerian Light Infantry, reflecting the difference in training time between the two units.

In tests with full upgrades and equal training time, Swordsmen tore up the field. From Light Infantry hordes to elite Cuirassiers, nearly every other melee unit got destroyed by Scotland’s finest. Even Ukrainian Register Cossacks, the usual kings of melee tests, struggled against them, with battles between the two being effectively a tossup. The only two units that could reliably beat them were 18c. Pikemen and Swedish Pikemen, and only if they matched the Swordsmen’s upgrades (something very unlikely in-game since 18c. Pikemen are mostly just used as spammable cannon fodder).


A sword & shotte army of Sword Clansmen and Covenanter Musketeers (plus mercs) storms the last enemy base. Against Islamic nations whose armies often rely on melee units, Sword Clansmen can be extremely effective.

This status as close-quarters powerhouses makes Swordsmen a deadly tool against melee-heavy opponents. They’re also very strong in the early to mid game, when melee combat dominates before shooting units become strong. They pair well with either Covenanter Pikemen or Musketeers and, once their upgrades are finished, can act as powerful shock troops whose headlong charges shatter enemy lines.

Once Musketeers become powerful, however, and especially when 18c. Musketeers arrive on the scene with their bayonets, Swordsmen become much less effective.


A second Culloden: 69 fully-upgraded Swordsmen vs. 108 18c. Musketeers. (This particular test was actually the most favorable one for the Swordsmen, which says a lot about how much they struggle against massed Musketeers.)

For all their might, Swordsmen can’t stand up to an equivalent group of 18c. Musketeers or Grenadiers without heavy support. With full upgrades, the Musketeers’ melee attack nearly matches the Swordsman's on top of being able to shoot. Once that happens, Swordsmen will struggle to beat any group of Musketeers that significantly outnumbers them, which is almost a certainty given how much faster 18c. Musketeers train (4.5 seconds vs 7).

This is all compounded by Scotland’s training time woes. Since Swordsmen train slowly, you want to pair them with a unit that’s produced quickly to keep your army size up. Unfortunately, the only unit like that in the Scottish roster is Covenanter Pikemen, which lock you into an all-melee army that’s great early on but of very limited usefulness later. Covenanter Musketeers are the ideal pairing to give your Swordsmen some ranged support, but they likewise train at a snail’s pace meaning your army will be small and unable to quickly replenish its losses.

Even with these issues, Sword Clansmen are a powerful unit and are easily a highlight of the faction. They're also the more historical of the Clansmen units, so if accuracy tickles your fancy, put on your kilt and charge some gunlines.


Border reiving in Berlin: Storming a Prussian base, Scotland-style.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 80 food, 5 wood, 7 gold
Training time: 6 seconds
Range: 18.75
Reload speed: 3.13 seconds

+ Very long range
+ High damage, HP, and melee/arrow defense
+ Can make formations without Officers or Bagpipers
+ Can torch buildings
+ Good at mowing down stationary or closely-packed enemies
+ Doesn’t require expensive Academy upgrades or consume coal and iron to fire
- Inaccurate
- Can inflict friendly fire
- Slow training time
- Very slow reload speed
- Deals arrow damage
- No melee attack
- Very weak to cavalry

The Bow Clansman (referred to from here on as the “Bowman”) is almost certainly the best archer in the game and is your only hope for challenging strong musketeer armies in the mid-to-late game. They’re also the first bow-wielding unit I’ve ever talked about in these nation guides, so it’s important we go over how they differ from Musketeers.


Raising hell in Italy: Bow Clansmen slowly whittle down a Venetian Town Center.

The biggest benefits of archer units are that they can destroy buildings with fire arrows (a very useful trait in the early game before any building armor upgrades have been researched) and they can reach their full potential much more quickly and cheaply than Musketeers as they don’t require any expensive Academy upgrades. Archers also tend to have decent range and relatively high attack–more than a generic Musketeer’s 25 damage.

Such benefits don’t come without cost, however, and the biggest one for archers is that they’re inaccurate.


Both sad and hilarious: 400 Bow Clansmen trying desperately to kill a lone Peasant going for a leisurely stroll. Note the trail of arrows left in the Peasant’s wake.

In fact, against targets that aren’t A) slow, B) stationary, or C) clumped together in a tight mass, archers’ damage output drops to nearly nil. This ironically makes archers better against other ranged units than melee ones, as the former have to stand still to shoot. It also makes them very weak to close quarters units marching towards them, especially since archers have a minimum range and no melee attack to defend themselves with.

This is why if you’re using archers of any kind, it’s absolutely mandatory to screen them with a strong force of melee troops (like Covenanter Pikemen or cavalry). Not only can they intercept incoming enemies, but they can also pin them in place so your archers can take proper aim. The downside is that, unlike Musketeers, archers can inflict friendly fire if their arrows hit an allied soldier, meaning they can shred through your own melee troops just like your enemy’s.

Still, watch out for cavalry, especially 17th century heavy cavalry like Reiters that can chew through your blocking troops and are nearly impervious to arrows.


80 Bow Clansmen and 120 Covenanter Pikemen vs 42 Reiters, reflecting the difference in training time. All units are fully upgraded. Shrugging off storms of arrows, the Reiters scythe through the Pikemen…

…and effortlessly mop up the Bowmen. This is the big weakness of a Scottish pike & arrow army. (Also, I technically screwed up and there should’ve been 45 Reiters in the tests, but I don’t think they needed the extra help.)

Fast cavalry can also be a big danger as they can outflank your army and are nearly impossible for archers to hit while moving. It doesn’t help that arrow protection is very common, especially in the late game, which makes the high attack values of archers rather misleading.

All these issues are endemic to archer units, and it’s why they’re rarely used outside of the early game. So what makes Bow Clansmen different?


Arrows over the water: Bow Clansmen showing off their range during a Scottish civil war.

Well, for starters, they’re the strongest archers in the game. With 150 HP, 12 melee/arrow resistance, and a max attack of 40, these guys can take some real punishment and hit hard even with arrow armor being common. They also have a very long range, tied with Hungarian Szekely, allowing them to get the first shots off in an engagement and put more distance between themselves and their enemies.

These factors combined with their 6-second training time (the second fastest in the native Scottish roster) make Bowmen arguably the best Scottish unit for fighting large forces of musketeers. They can also be useful early on, adding firepower to your initial force and razing towns in record time. The catch is their extreme weakness to melee cavalry; be very careful with your blocking troops lest you leave your Bowmen exposed. (This is also why Sword Clansmen are the more well-rounded choice since their weaknesses aren't as glaring.)

Still, their potential effectiveness in shootouts and early-game town razing make Bow Clansmen the only archers really suited to be used en masse in the mid and late game. At the very least, they’re easier to make work than Turkish or Algerian Archers, who compete with their nations’ other standard infantry. If you've always wanted to try using archers or prefer a force focused on firepower rather than melee combat, give these archaic archers in kilts a try.


Give them a volley: Bowmen mowing down a group of Musketeers who foolishly decided to clump together.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 120 food, 6 gold
Training time: 21 seconds max: 14 seconds min

+ Very high HP
+ Low cost for cavalry
+ Decent for quickly adding extra bulk to your early-game army
- Almost certainly the worst heavy cavalry in the game
- Very slow training time
- No bullet armor
- Upgrades are very expensive for little payoff
- Performs poorly in combat compared to other heavy or spammer cavalry

The Scottish Lancer is a strong contender for the worst melee cavalry in the game. Aside from cheaply adding some additional HP to your army, these slow-training, unarmored riders have very little combat value and get outperformed by just about every other horseman out there. Their badly overpriced upgrades don’t help things either.

Despite their impressive 320 HP (equal to Ukrainian Hetmen and Saxon Cavalry Guard), the rest of the Lancer’s stats are mediocre for such a slow-training unit, and they get badly outperformed by virtually every other heavy and/or swarm cavalry in the game.


51 unupgraded Lancers vs 45 Reiters. This is sadly the Lancer’s best matchup versus other heavy cavalry. Adding upgrades to both units only makes the Reiters dominate harder.

In tests against other cavalry units ranging from Vityaz to Register Cossacks, the Lancers got utterly stomped every single time. It was never even close. The only other melee cavalry they can beat in a head-on fight with equal upgrades and training time are certain fast cavalry, and those units more than make up for their weaker stats with their speed (plus pretty much every heavy/swarm cavalry can beat fast cavalry, so that’s not exactly something to boast about).

As bad as all of that is, it might be forgivable if Lancers were cheap to upgrade. That would give them a role as an early-game power unit that beats opponents by being ahead in upgrades. Such is not the case, however. To show what I mean, here’s the total cost to upgrade for various cavalry units:

Total cost of Stable upgrades:

Yes, Scottish Lancers’ upgrades cost more gold than even those of Hussars, a famously pricey but far better unit. Not only that, but the Lancers’ costs are spread across both its attack and defense upgrades rather than just concentrated on one. You can’t, for example, just grab their cheaper offense techs and ignore their expensive defense upgrades like you can with Hussars. Considering how poorly they perform even when fully upgraded, such a massive price tag is almost insulting.

So is that it? Is the Lancer just a weak piece of garbage with overpriced upgrades that has no place in your army? Not at all. Lancers have one use, and that’s adding an extra bit of HP to your early-game army.


A 15-minute peacetime Scottish army in battle. Squint and you’ll see a few Lancers in the mix.

In a low-tech environment where you’re tight on cash, Lancers offer a dirt cheap way to add a few thousand more hit points to your force. They don’t bring much killing power to the table, but every enemy attack directed at them is one not aimed at your troops with actual value. Just don’t spend anything on their upgrades and they’ll do their job well.

That’s it for the Lancer: A weak heavy cavalry unit that trains slowly, has overpriced upgrades, and performs poorly even after all that investment. (Trust me, I’ve tried it.) Unless you just want some extra HP for your army, I say give them a pass and focus on the other Scottish cavalry unit, which you probably noticed in that upgrade chart.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 130 food, 8 gold, 2 iron
Training time: 22.5 seconds max: 15 seconds min.

+ Fast cavalry
+ Available in the 17th century
+ High HP
+ Relatively cheap upgrades
- Arguably the overall weakest fast cavalry in the game
- Very slow training time
- Can be overwhelmed by other fast cavalry with equal upgrades and training time

Like the Lancer, the Scottish Raider is likely the worst unit of his type (that being fast cavalry) in the game. Unlike the Lancer, his cheap upgrades combined with the utility offered by his speed make him a far more appealing unit for generals who want their horsemen to actually be a semi-major factor in battle. (Not major, though; Scottish cavalry is too weak to ever be that.)

Stat-wise, Raiders don’t look that bad. In fact, their 280 HP is the highest of any fast cavalry unit in the game, and their attack and protection are on point. The problem, as with the Lancer, is their long training time: Aside from Winged Hussars, every other fast cavalry is produced more quickly, and often much more.

This flaw is what cripples the Raider’s combat potential, making them probably the worst fast cavalry in the game in head-on fights against balanced opponents.


48 fully upgraded Scottish Raiders vs 72 English Hussars (which are weaker than normal Hussars). Tests against other fast cavalry went about as well for the Raider.

In tests against other fast cavalry with equal upgrades and training time, Raiders came in dead last. They did consistently beat Hungarian Hussars with low upgrades (which is better than the Lancer who scored zero wins against foes of their respective type), but that was their only victory, and the Hungarians turned it around once the upgrades reached higher levels. Against every other unit from Austrian Croats to Swedish Hakkapeliitta, the Raiders got stomped.

So far Raiders sound a lot like slightly weaker, slower-training Lancers, but there are some key differences that make them the better long-term pick. For starters, they’re fast: In a game filled with slow-moving units, being able to send a body of fast cavalry dashing across the map, even a relatively weak one, offers so much utility, whether it’s quickly reinforcing an ally, flanking the enemy’s artillery and Musketeers, intercepting enemy raiders, easily fleeing from enemies they can’t deal with, and so on.

Secondly, if you remember the table from the Lancer section, you'll realize that the Raiders’ Stable upgrades are actually quite inexpensive, especially compared to other fast cavalry like Hussars and Croats. (The lone exception is Winged Hussars, which use cheap Reiter prices for their upgrades.) This can lead to Raiders having a vital upgrade advantage over other fast cavalry in the early game, giving them a brief window of strength before the other side’s horsemen catch up to them in tech.


Raiders surging through their own side’s infantry to attack enemy Lancers. The ability to quickly dip in and out of combat to pick off vulnerable enemies is yet another advantage fast cavalry have over their slower peers.

These reasons–their utility born of speed and their inexpensive upgrades that open up tactical options–are why I consider Raiders the superior pick over Lancers. Heck, they aren’t even that much worse at tanking bullets (they only have 40 less HP and train a second slower) and their attack is higher, so I really can’t see a reason to ever not use Raiders as my main cavalry in longer games. Besides, both units stink compared to other nations’ cavalry, so might as well just pick the one that’s the cheapest and easiest to use.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 200 wood, 300 gold, 150 iron
Training time: 50 seconds
Range: ~35*
Reload speed: ~2.3 seconds*

*Approximate estimates. Actual numbers may differ slightly.

+ Long-range, rapid-firing anti-personnel artillery
+ Very good against large groups of enemies
+ Good against low-HP buildings like Town Centers and Towers
+ Available in the 17th century
+ Doesn’t require a technology to build
+ Easier to micromanage & less prone to causing friendly fire than Multi-barrelled Cannon
- Unit cap (3 per Artillery Depot)
- Can be captured by nearby enemies
- Inaccurate without Academy upgrades
- Lacks the extreme close-range aoe damage of the Multi-barrelled Cannon

The Frame Gun is the only unique artillery piece in the game and is Scotland’s replacement for the Multi-barrelled Cannon that European nations get. In some ways, the two weapons are similar: Both are anti-personnel weapons that excel at rapidly tearing through large, bunched-up blobs of enemies. But whereas the Multi-barrelled Cannon is an in-your-face grapeshot dispenser, the Frame Gun is all about rapidly putting roundshot into enemies from far away. This means they lack the ability to simply delete enemies who get up close, but they can reach out and smash enemies and weak buildings at a distance.

Stat-wise, the Frame Gun has half-again as much HP as the Multi-barrelled Cannon (4,500 vs 3,000), allowing it to take a bit more punishment (albeit not from grapeshot due to the lower armor). It still has the same limiting unit cap of 3 guns per Artillery Depot owned, so try not to throw them away since you won’t have too many at any time.

As mentioned, the Frame Gun fires round shot as opposed to grapeshot. This gives it more range at the cost of each shot having a much smaller area of effect (aoe). Unlike the Multi-barrelled Cannon, they can’t just delete a huge pack of enemies at close range. However, their far greater range allows them to reach out and pump fire into enemies like rapid-firing, inaccurate cannons.


Frame Gun range test, featuring a variety of other Scottish and European units. I couldn’t find the actual stats for the Frame Gun, so I had to try and figure them out myself with experiments like this.

This adds a lot of long-range firepower to Scottish armies, which helps out against the musket-heavy armies that rule the mid-to-late game. And since the Frame Gun is slightly cheaper and doesn’t require any techs or aging up to build, Scotland can start using them far before other factions get their Multi-barrelled Cannons.


Popping Town Centers from afar: Frame Guns going to work on enemy buildings after the infantry have mopped up the base’s defenders. While their shots don’t do much damage, their fast rate of fire can quickly whittle down a building’s HP to the point where they’re arguably better than Cannons at clearing out low-health structures.

The downside of the Frame Gun is that it lacks the Multi-barrelled Cannon’s ability to simply delete large clusters of enemies. Compared to the big cone of death that is the Multi-barrelled Cannon’s grapeshot attack, the Frame Gun’s little iron balls are downright puny and only hurt the units they almost directly land on. By playing it safe and not getting right up in the enemy’s face, the Frame Gun sacrifices its burst damage, instead opting to whittle down the enemy from afar. (This does reduce the Frame Guns’ tendency to inflict friendly fire, however, which makes them much easier to use without killing loads of your own men if your micro isn’t good.)

One last note: Since it fires long-range roundshot, the Frame Gun is affected by the artillery accuracy techs at the Academy. Getting them turns the Frame Gun into a much more precise weapon for picking off the targets you want.


Accuracy demonstration: Two Frame Guns fire on different targets within a large group of Covenanter Pikemen. The upper, fully upgraded Gun made the single small hole in the middle and hit its quarry within a few tries. The lower, unupgraded Gun has hit everything but its target after over a minute of firing.

NOTE: This section assumes you’re only playing with Scottish units and buildings. That means it largely ignores capturing, although the advice given can easily be applied to games that allow it.



For Covenant and King: An early Scottish base in a 0-peacetime game. Note the Castle already up at the 6-minute mark.

Scotland is one of the kings of the early game, especially if you can get a Castle up quickly and start making Clansmen. Both types can do well, with Swordsmen giving you more melee power and HP and bowmen providing strong, faster-training ranged support that can also quickly raze early towns.

Between your Covenanters and Clansmen, plus the obligatory mercenaries, you can easily put together a formidable early army to crush your foes. I think Scotland’s slightly better in 0 to 10-minute peacetime games since your Pikemen are usually a better long-term investment than their Musketeer brethren, but they still do well in 15-minute peacetime games.


Some Scotsmen in Anatolia: An all-melee army of Sword Clansmen, Covenanter Pikemen, and mercs smashes into a force of Turkish Archers.

Scotland mostly follows the standard European build orders, with the exception of prioritizing Castles before over Stables (since your cavalry stinks). You can also try to grab the last farming upgrade early thanks to your discount and bonuses. That will put your economy far ahead of other, non-Scottish or Ukrainian players unless they drop everything and rush to the 18th century (which will leave their defenses weaker for you to smash).

In terms of other strong early nations to watch out for, it depends on the peacetime. Poland, the Islamic nations, arguably Russia, and a Hetman-rushing Ukraine are your only real competition in melee-focused 0 to 10-minute peacetime games IF you get a Castle up early; otherwise you drop down to somewhere between Portugal and Switzerland (which is still good, but significantly less so).

Likewise, in 15+ minute peacetime games, Scotland is very strong if you get that early Castle up. I’m not sure if they’re quite on the same level as Turkey with its Janissaries and Sipahis or Ukraine with its Serdiuks and Cossacks, but they’re still quite good and can reasonably compete with most if not all factions.


After crushing the first nation in their path, an early pike & arrow army turns around and storms a neighboring Prussian base.




For Bonnie Prince Charlie! A mid-game Scottish base. Note the presence of Castles and extra Barracks as opposed to Stables.

Scotland remains strong heading into the mid game, though by now other nations are closing the gap. As the Europeans reach the 18th century and snag their last farming upgrade, they’ll start to match your economic output and begin producing their strong end-game units. Given enough time, they’ll turn the tables on you, so keep leveraging your early lead and hit them before they outclass you.

At this point you should have a good number of Clansmen as well as Covenanters, plus artillery and cavalry (probably Raiders). Just about any combination of Scottish units can do well here, though the classic pike & arrow mentioned previously (and elaborated on below) army will set you up the best for the late game unless the enemy is making lots of heavy cavalry.


Slaughter in the steppe: A mid-game Scottish army storms a Ukrainian town. The Bow Clansmen are also useful for torching unupgraded or low-HP buildings.




Highlands and lowlands, marching together: A late-game Scottish base.

This is when things get truly rough as your units’ slow training times come back to bite you. Simply put, Scotland can’t train troops fast enough to keep up with a fully-boomed 18th century European nation. This is made all the worse by how quickly your unarmored troops get shredded by massed musket fire that dominates this stage of the game. Your cavalry will also be badly outmatched in both numbers and quality, and you’ll be hard-pressed to protect your army’s flanks from Hussars or stop a massed charge of Reiters or Cuirassiers. You do have a long-range artillery advantage thanks to your Frame Guns, but unless you get some great shots with them they probably won’t be enough to turn things around.


Why bullet armor matters: A small group of 18c. Dragoons mow down dozens of unarmored Covenanters (plus mercs) in seconds. This is just a glimpse of how quickly Scottish armies can melt against massed musket fire.

At this point, if your enemy isn’t crippled and you don’t have strong allies (and don’t outskill your opponent), you’re almost certainly screwed (maybe not quite as badly as the Islamic nations, but still worse than Ukraine or Poland). But if you do have allies still in the fight, then you’ll need to figure out how to best support them with your paper-thin troops.

Part of the fun of playing Scotland is that there’s a lot of ways to combine your Covenanters and Clansmen to create unique armies, especially in the mid-to-late game when you need to exploit your strengths while working around your weaknesses. This section discusses each of those combinations with my thoughts on how they play. None of these armies can compete one-on-one with a late-game European force, but in team games they can determine how your Scots will work alongside allied forces.

Pike & Arrow Army: Pikemen + Bowmen, AKA the European-esque Army. Emphasizing ranged combat over melee, this build trains and replenishes the quickest of all Scottish builds and it puts out a lot of ranged damage while providing decent blocking troops. Think of it as the Scottish answer to the typical European pike-musket army combo. That said, this build is weak to cavalry, especially Reiters which counter the pikes and laugh at your arrows.


A typical pike & arrow army composed of Bow Clansmen, Covenanter Pikemen, Mercenary Roundshiers, Raiders, and artillery. A balanced and reasonably effective force so long as you don’t run into massed heavy cavalry.

Sword & Shotte Army: Musketeers + Swordsmen, AKA the True Historical Jacobite Army. Another balanced army build, albeit much slower-training. The Musketeers can’t put out the same level of raw firepower as the previous build’s Bowmen, but their shots always hit and the Swordsmen will butcher any cavalry that gets too close, handily removing that weakness. If you’re very worried about enemy melee troops or have a lot of time to replenish your army between battles, this build can be quite powerful and fun to use. That said, you’ll likely need to occasionally switch your Barracks to Pikemen to quickly replenish your army after a big battle.


Highland Charge! A sword & shotte army of Sword Clansmen and Covenanter Musketeers surges forward in support of their (admittedly English) allies.

All-Melee Army: Pikemen + Swordsmen, AKA the Meta Army. Popular in online matches, this force combines the Swordsman's lethality with the Pikemen's numbers to create the strongest melee blender possible. It's great in the early game and some top-tier players even prefer it as Scotland’s go-to build for 15 minute peacetime games. That said, it’s utterly incapable of fighting large armies of upgraded Musketeers and is only useful in the late game for tanking bullets on behalf of your allies.


Pushing the line up: An all-melee Scottish army moves into position for the final assault. While a force like this is of limited usefulness in the late game, its early-game power can put your team so far ahead before then that it doesn’t matter.

All-Ranged Army: Musketeers + Bowmen, AKA the Screw It, Shoot 'Em All Army. This slow-training build puts out more ranged damage than all other Scottish force, but the lack of bayonets or strong melee troops makes massed melee cavalry extremely dangerous to you, even moreso than pike & arrow, and you still won't outshoot an 18th century European musket army.

Highland Charge 2–Electric Boogaloo! Hurling your troops headlong at enemy Musketeers may not be the smartest move, but man does it feel good (especially if you softened the target up with Frame Gun and musket fire before unleashing your Clansmen. Also, try to send your Roundshiers in first to absorb bullets before unleashing your Clansmen. It doesn't look as cool, but it preserves your more valuable units).

Like other rushing factions, Scotland does best on small, open maps that start you off near your opponents with little to no peacetime. The closer they are to you, the sooner you can smack them with your powerful early armies. Conversely, Scotland is a very poor choice for game settings which negate or inhibit early aggression; large maps with loads of chokepoints, long peacetimes, lots of starting resources, etc. Settings like those allow players to effectively skip the early game and head straight to the 18th century, which is not something you want to happen while playing as Scotland.


With slashing blades and thrusting spears, an early Scottish army meets the enemy in battle.

In team games, Scotland’s job is to push the enemy hard in the early game before their strength declines. Ideally, you want to put your allies far enough ahead that your dropping effectiveness won’t majorly hurt their chances (or, better yet, win the game before it even has a chance to go late). If late-game combat is unavoidable, try to keep your army close to your allies and play a supporting role, whether that’s throwing your melee troops out in front to soak up damage for their Musketeers, screening their flanks with Sword Clansmen, or adding to their firepower with Bow Clansmen and artillery.

Speaking of artillery, this is the one area where you remain just as strong as the Europeans, and your Frame Guns even give additional long-range firepower. This makes maxing out on artillery a very good tactic for supporting your team in a late-game scenario.


Allied firestorm: A big battle in progress. As allied and enemy Musketeers trade lead, my Clansmen move forward to tank incoming fire and protect our side’s shooters. Meanwhile, my Frame Guns are busy hammering enemy troop concentrations; you can see the explosions from that in the bottom left.

A collection of great Scotland games and tutorials showing how to skillfully play the nation. If you have any video recommendations, send me a link through Steam or YouTube (username 1Korlash) or Reddit (Effective_Can72)!

1. The first of two classic guides from top player colorfit. A must-watch for people looking to dive into multiplayer or just get better at the game.
https://youtu.be/XP19ocvOIg0

2. The second colorfit guide, this time covering how to micro your armies in battle. Again, a must-watch.
https://youtu.be/t6JE59Gnesk?list=PL9MM6y8GRIFcfOaVMvUGSZ7s3HANGpEPd

3. A 4v4 from colorfit showing a strong Scottish build for the early game as well as the power of Covenanter Pikemen.
https://youtu.be/PbykgBYq5nk?list=PL9MM6y8GRIFcfOaVMvUGSZ7s3HANGpEPd

4. Another colorfit 4v4, this time 15-minute peacetime. Notably, he opts for Covenanter Pikemen and plays a melee rush-focused build as he feels the Musketeer is too slow-training to be useful in high-level games. Considering he’s one of the top players, his opinion can’t be dismissed easily.
https://youtu.be/Pj0hOdZAlHg

5. Yet another colorfit 4v4. This 30-minute peacetime sees the use of Clan Bowmen, Covenanter Musketeers, and Lancers.
https://youtu.be/KwiOIxYEEqI

6. A long series of Scotland free-for-all games with high-level players.
https://youtu.be/2K7Ryp5bC2Y

National flag of Scotland, currently part of the United Kingdom. First recorded in the mid-16th century, the blue and white St. Andrew’s cross has become one of the most recognizable flags of the English-speaking world and was used throughout this entire era (albeit often in the form of the Union Jack).

That’s Scotland! This was easily the hardest guide I’ve done so far and I owe a lot to the community members who answered my questions and kept inspiring me to look deeper at various units and strategies.

You might have noticed that this guide was less certain about unit selection and build orders than some of the others I’ve put out. That’s because Scotland is such a unique and interesting nation that there’s a bevy of opinions floating around the community about what works best. I struggled to pinpoint the best Scottish build, so I decided to showcase them all and empower you to make your own decisions on the battlefield.

Scotland is also interesting from a historical and faction-building perspective in that the nation's history is split between two in-game countries. England/Britain seems to represent the broader history of the United Kingdom. That includes the Scottish people, which is why England has their Highlander unit. By contrast, the actual Scotland faction corresponds to several wildly different yet equally fascinating Scottish political and social movements spread over the 17th and 18th centuries–moments when various Scottish groups acted independently of, and often in defiance of, the central British government. It's a unique and cool way to build a Cossacks faction and I'm very happy that they're in the game.

Let me know your thoughts on this very special nation and its units!

Algeria
Austria
Bavaria
Denmark
England
France
Netherlands
Piedmont
Poland
Portugal
Prussia
Russia
Saxony
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Venice