I thought Cossacks were also light cav? *confused*
Anyways, the thing with heavy cav is that they ARE rather OP in a game which ignores just how situational heavy cavalry are in real military usage. So they are used sparingly. In reality, most European nations used heavy cav but not as a main assault force because of the expense, and increased efficiency of ranged weaponry. Enter the dragoon. (I've always wanted to say that.)
Even then, cavalry were always an adjunct, not a mainstay to post-Medieval warfare. Even the Sioux rode to battle, then often dismounted to better form up and protect their horses from taking the brunt of an assault.
The problem with mercs is that you don't always get a heavy cav unit at the saloon, and not every civ gets to ship mamelukes.
I think it's just a reflection of the times, the days of massive charges of armored, caparisoned knights are over as far as Age games go.
Crunkatog on ESO
Bart331 balance suggestion: aztec: remove civ
Voltiguer: Ender, Sioux in 1.04 will be a top civ, no matter how many layers of Sioux goggles you put on
schildpad on Elephants: ...their mansabdar unit sucks so hard it looks like a black hole
Crunkatog on Steam.