barbarians phalanx???

[Mudshovel]

why germans spearmen have phalanx position , the barbarians never used phalanx formations!

[Marshal Murat]

Well, they sort of did at that Battle between the Helvetii and Ceaser.

[Mr Frost]

It is to represent a certain type of Germanic unit that used very long spears in tight and disciplined formations to good effect yet still fit into the game without C/A having to create yet another set of code to represent sheid walls and similar fighting styles .
The Phalanx is actually several styles of fighting represented/approximated by one style in the game .

Those Germanic Lancemen should really be second tier , not first . They are very powerful .

[Ziu]

Those Germanic Lancemen should really be second tier , not first . They are very powerful .

That's true in terms of comparative unit strengths. Although, in terms of gameplay, I think the horrid financial position of the Germans warrants them being first tier.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Yeah without them germany would be in deep trouble, many sieges on stockades were saved by my heroic spearmen!

[Arrowhead]

Yeah without them germany would be in deep trouble, many sieges on stockades were saved by my heroic spearmen!
Same here with some help from chosen archer warbands...

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I meant early game, when I attacked Dacia and rebels and then got stabbed in the kidney by Britons and Gauls, without spearmen I would have been dead and tortured too!

[Watchman]

Mentally replace "phalanx" with "shieldwall" and you're golden. That one was really popular about everywhere, and aside from not involving pikes is fundamentally similar enough to the phalanx to use the same rules in the game.