Rodeleros were introduced in the very beginning of the game, before the concept of “light/shock Infantry”, so they are classified as heavy infantry just like most regular melee infantry. However, in reality they seem to function more like “melee skirmishers” rather than front-line infantry with pikes/bayonets. As a result:
They use short swords but counter cavalry.
They have shields but no ranged resistance.
They are very fast but still vulnerable to skirmishers.
…while almost every other infantry with shields and short swords are classified as light/shock infantry.
Edit: I’m not really implying the devs should re-make this unit however. No nation has both melee cavalry and light/shock infantry in their regular roster, so balancing would be a little difficult if Spain gets both.
Rodeleros are one of the few hand infantry units that have a niche they are really good at:
They are used to combat the cavalry and shock infantry units that are slow, such as warwagon, coyote, eagle runner knight among others … because they have very similar speed, and once they connect, these cavalry cannot more to run away without taking too much damage.
Other hand infantry units serve to make the hand cavalry move away, but are unable to effectively kill the cavalry.
Rodeleros can also be used for raid, or to force the opponent to fight instead of flee, but this is a secondary use and is not really strong, just as Rodeleros are good against low speed cavalry.
Rodeleros has inferior performance against other units like Samurai, Dopps, Halabardir precisely because its use is not directed to that. If they beat Samurai then they would simply be Urumi.
They are completely fine gameplay wise.
Spain already has two melee cavalry units they definitely don’t need a Coyote Runner.
They have a melee infantry too that maybe needs some more love.
But it feels wrong and inconsistent. It’s one of those things that are hard to learn for a new player.
Especially since they are trainable in the first campaign.
Maybe the should be changed up a bit but Coyote Runners and Melee infantry are basically the opposite. One is good against Skirmishers and Artillery but week against Heavy Infantry and Light Cavalry.
While the other is good againts Heavy Cavalry (and maybe light when they can catch them) but bad against Skirmisher and Artillery.
So there is also no in-between as an option.