In tech 32, the pipe of inf and cav are similar, however, their combat modifier differs a lot.
fire shock
3.1 2.15 inf
1 5 cav
8.4 0.55 art
in fire phase, inf gets 3.1 + 4.2(half of art) = 7.3 damage modifier. In shock, it is 2.15 + 0.27 = 2.42
on the other hand, cav has 5.2 in fire and 5.27 in shock.
combined, inf has 9.72 modifier while cav has 10.47 modifier.
However, napoleonic infantry has 2 more pipes(3 more in fire def, 2 less in shock, 1 more in morale), and since cav has 29 pipes, 2 missing pipe is a lost combat capabilty of approximately 2/29 = 7%. 10.47 * 0.93 = 9.73. (inf is 9.72)
You can see that at level 32, inf has almost no difference in combat ability compared to cav. However, every battle start with firephase, which gives inf a significant edge over cavalries.
Cavalries have higher maneuver(5 at 32 tech), but it's moot because infantry are better at front battle and their maneuver of 3 is more than enough to chase destroyed enemies. In addition, Cavs are 2.5 times more expensive to build.
Conclusion: at tech 32(Napoleonic era), cav are completely useless unless you have nation ideas that strengthens cav combat ability. You should go for 50% inf and 50% art all the time. Since this doesn't fit the historic accuracy(cavalry was still vital in napoleonic era), I think Paradox needs to buff cav slightly so that they fare slightly better than infs(since they are more expensive units) in combats at tech 32.
fire shock
3.1 2.15 inf
1 5 cav
8.4 0.55 art
in fire phase, inf gets 3.1 + 4.2(half of art) = 7.3 damage modifier. In shock, it is 2.15 + 0.27 = 2.42
on the other hand, cav has 5.2 in fire and 5.27 in shock.
combined, inf has 9.72 modifier while cav has 10.47 modifier.
However, napoleonic infantry has 2 more pipes(3 more in fire def, 2 less in shock, 1 more in morale), and since cav has 29 pipes, 2 missing pipe is a lost combat capabilty of approximately 2/29 = 7%. 10.47 * 0.93 = 9.73. (inf is 9.72)
You can see that at level 32, inf has almost no difference in combat ability compared to cav. However, every battle start with firephase, which gives inf a significant edge over cavalries.
Cavalries have higher maneuver(5 at 32 tech), but it's moot because infantry are better at front battle and their maneuver of 3 is more than enough to chase destroyed enemies. In addition, Cavs are 2.5 times more expensive to build.
Conclusion: at tech 32(Napoleonic era), cav are completely useless unless you have nation ideas that strengthens cav combat ability. You should go for 50% inf and 50% art all the time. Since this doesn't fit the historic accuracy(cavalry was still vital in napoleonic era), I think Paradox needs to buff cav slightly so that they fare slightly better than infs(since they are more expensive units) in combats at tech 32.
