Usually a like to use a mix of motorized infantry and light tanks for ground units. Mech. infantry is too slow. Same for 1.5 and 1.0.

• I only use light tanks early game. When I get medium tanks I will phase them out. Mediums gives more powerful punch for its mobility.
  

mechanized infantry is the best unit in the game. It Can fight every area and its fast also armored and it has Good air defence. Best option for long invasions.

True...but it isn't that fast.

Ok let's keep out the opinions and preferences and look at this objectivly shall we?


First let's compare their stats:


Every doctrine has it's own stats but in general they are the same. Let's have a look with the Allies doctrine as case study.

At day 4 Mechanized infantry becomes available and LT can be upgraded to level 2







- Offense: mechanized infantry is twice as good offensively against unarmoured units, almost the same value against light armor and is better in attack against heavy armour then light tanks.
- Defense: mechanized infantry is almost four times better then LT against unarmoured units defense. 20% better against light armour, double as good against heavy armour and it deals four times more damage to planes.

Statisticaly I'd say that mechanized infantry is the better unit by far.


Production and upkeep costs:









When i compare the cost of both units in regard taking in consideration the cost of uprading the existing LT to level 2 the costs are cuit similar. There's a substantial food cost for Mechanized infantry but it equals out by the fact that Light Tanks cost more manpower and the double amount of steel and oil.


Conclusion:



In a first glance one could say that Mechanized infantry is the better unit and it's true. However it isn't quite so simple.

Both units have a different use:
- The light tank is the perfect early game offensive shock troop that is both good against both unarmoured and armoured units. Perfect to stack with infantry and break trough enemy lines or to havoc trough the enemies core provinces. It is weak against bombers but planes are absent in the first days of the game anyway.
- The mechanized infantry is the perfect all round unit both in offense and defense against unarmoured, light armoured and heavy armoured units with a great anti air value against planes. Due to their bonus they perform very well both on plains and in cities but are effective in all types of terrain.

With more bombers and medium tanks on the map the Light Tank becomes a rather weak unit. However when they are stacked together with mechanized infantry the become the perfect couple. Add a few motorized infantry into the mix and you have a stack that is unstoppable.

Is this data from 1.0 or 1.5?

Mechanized infantry is technically tier 3, while LT lvl2 is tier 2 unit. Why? Because for lvl 1 mech. inf. you need research lvl 1 moto. Inf. lvl 1 first and it is tier 2, wich is infantry alternate to LT lvl 2.

Lvl 1 mech. inf. should be compared with lvl 3 LT. Look on Hp's Pool and antiair damage and most important recruiting time. Compared lvl 3 armoured car. You will See, mech. inf. lvl 1 is on same Tier like lvl4 common infantry, lvl3 LT or armoured cars.

I compared the units available at day 4 with allies doctrine.
So I compared Light tank level 2 which ist tier 3 because you need to research Armoured Car and Light tank lvl 1 first.
Mechanized infantry is also tier 3 as you need to research infantry and motorized infantry first.
The comparation between Light tank level 2 and the Mechanized infantry level 1 is hereby the most accurate.

LT lvl2 Tier 2. You must compare Research time and cost, recruiting time, HP Pool and airdefence.

No you must not. The question is clear: "what is better LT or mechanized infantry?" So the sole thing we are talking about is speed and battle stats. As mechanized infantry is available on day 4, I compared mech. infantry with a day 4 LT level 2. When you are in battle it doesn't matter what the researh time or cost is. The question at that moment is which unit is better. The unit of the opponent doesn't care weather it's fighting tier 1, 2, 3 or 4 the only thing that matters are the battle stats. On day 4 it's objectively clear that mechanized infantry is better. In fact mechanized infantry is better against tanks and infantry then light tanks.

Hereby the following quote is completely wrong.

About air defense, mechanized infantry has a 4 times higer value then LT. An LT is a sitting duck for planes and the later in the game the more planes there will be.

Case closed

You shot your own...

On day 4 every one can have several full stacks of LT 2, but only golder full stack of mech. inf. already on day 4. Im thinking you compare common playstyle. Also even weak level 2 LT is a way better for "blitzkrieg", because you dont need build expencive level 3 barracks, or even not really cheap (for day 4) lvl2 barracks and recruiting mech. inf. only on day 5.
And if some one go economical, so with level 1 barracks you get mech. inf. on day 6, and compare it (face enemy) with LT lvl3. POINT. game over for you.

P.S. Yes. mech. inf., is superior unit, and a way better than LT, but lvl 1 mech. inf, still is to compare with lvl 3 LT. Be fair.

armoured car is any way better... paired with motoinf. unbeatable for closecombat and lowlevel not full stack of airforces.

You can not say compare unit a with unit b, but only on day x and nothing more. LT's are cheaper then mech.inf. also for rush attacker better choice. longtime is otherwise.

And one more time: mech. inf. level 1 is compared to LT lvl3.

There's no LT level 3 on day 4 so don't even mention it. Level 2 is available on day 4 like mechanized infantry is. So you compare with level 2. Level 3 LT is only available at day 8 which is the same day as the level 2 upgrade for mechanized infantry. Let's compare apples with apples shalle we?

LT is an eary game shock unit perfect to run havoc in provinces and to attack both light armour and infantry. It's too weak for a mid game unit. If you want to continue to use units like that be my guest. I'll easily beat you with my medium tanks, attack bombers or mechanized infantry.

Your barracks level 3 are no argument. You should always upgrade all your producing buildings so that you can train your units faster. With every knowlede level upgrade the production doubles and with every building level it halfs the production time. Pretty basic right.

LT's cost both more manpower, more steel and more oil then mechanized infantry, they also cost goods which is a very valuable resource as you need it for almost anything in the game. But you don't need goods neither to build mechanized infantry. Their food cost balances things out nicely and makes it easier to manage your resources. They might be a little bit more expensive then LT but in return you get a unit thats double as strong in melee and four times more resistant against planes


The two units have the same stats between day 4 and day 8, 4 days is plenty of time to build mechanized infantry.
Again the question was "What is better LT or mechanized infantry?" when i match up both their stats then mechanized infantry comes out as the better. Same counts for the comparison on day 8. Mechanized is one of the best units in the game. It's one of the only units that can best a heavy tank in one on one combat.

Thanks for all the arguments!

We already slightly nerfed the costs of Mechanized Infantry with Wednesday's release.

With the next release we will again nerf mechanized Infantry slightly and buff Light Tanks slightly, hopefully making the situation better balanced.

As someone from the future I can say it’s true. Light tanks are now better than mech infantry.