Aside from that they are identical to normal Spearmen. The only difference is that this variant has shields which are used to block a portion of missile damage (provided that they are facing the side the missiles are coming from). Spearmen (Shields) - basically the same unit as the one described above.The problem is their lack of shields (which causes them to be vulnerable to missiles), low armor and weak weapon damage - they aren't suited for direct combat against melee-oriented units.
Soldiers equipped with swords and shields (the latter allows them to block a portion of missile damage) are used mainly as the starting infantry - their offensive and defensive capabilities won't allow them to keep up with more advanced units that will appear later on. The Empire has access to the following melee infantry units:
