The Absolutely Best Heavy Cavalry in EB...

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Is the Sarmatian Bodyguard Cavalry. LOL, forget about Kataphraktoi and the likes: against a silver chevroned HA-Super Heavy Lancer Bodyguard you better run for the hills as quickly as you can before they take you and pray that you can dodge their super arrows right . I'm beginning to love Sarmatia, even though they can be damn hard at some instants.

Here's what a silver chevroned fellow can do:





I bet these guys can charge head on a full strenght Phalanx and rout them . For what I've read, it seems the Sarmatian bodyguards are the absolute kings of all Panzers bodyguard cavalry, even better than the Saka guys. I'm staying with them for now.

[gamegeek2]

Yes, the Sauromatae bodyguards are the best in the game. However, their factional units are worse than Saka's (no straight-up cataphracts). Maybe that's because I enable the recruitment of Spatahaura Hadabara in my Saka AAR, because it seemed historical to me.

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Yes, the Sauromatae bodyguards are the best in the game. However, their factional units are worse than Saka's (no straight-up cataphracts). Maybe that's because I enable the recruitment of Spatahaura Hadabara in my Saka AAR, because it seemed historical to me.

Who needs Cataphracts, LOL. I think the Sarmatians are the best when they are really needed: early on, during the expansion phase. I cut down on most heavy cavalry I had and relied most on them to fight my battles, with stunning results like this. I'll check my plans, but for now a couple of "lives on the move" generals are the manstay of all my armies.

[Ignopotens]

yeah they are tanks, I love them

[Olaf Blackeyes]

A simple fact of EB
Saka and Saurtomaete bodyguards can destroy whole armies. ive played custom battles to prove this. i dont have any pics but these guys are MONSTERS on horseback

[LordCurlyton]

Don't forget the Pahlava FMs. The early ones are just as good as the Sauromatae, and the late FMs can withstand any non-AP missile fire you through at it (uber-experienced slingers notwothstanding).

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

A simple fact of EB
Saka and Saurtomaete bodyguards can destroy whole armies. ive played custom battles to prove this. i dont have any pics but these guys are MONSTERS on horseback

So true . In this particular battle they killed like 70% of the enemy losing less than 10 men. I've never ever seen that before in the whole time I played RTW. I'm hoping to get gold chevrons soon, and maybe a weapon upgrade once I conquer the local greek settlements.

[IrishHitman]

A simple fact of EB
Saka and Saurtomaete bodyguards can destroy whole armies. ive played custom battles to prove this. i dont have any pics but these guys are MONSTERS on horseback

One must ask is it realistic or historically correct for them to be so powerful.
I mean, Steppe tactics were brilliant, and I suspect that might have more to do with Steppe civilisation cavalry prowess than their units.

Perhaps I'm just too Celto-Greco-Roman biased.

[artavazd]

Is the Sarmatian Bodyguard Cavalry. LOL, forget about Kataphraktoi and the likes: against a silver chevroned HA-Super Heavy Lancer Bodyguard you better run for the hills as quickly as you can before they take you and pray that you can dodge their super arrows right . I'm beginning to love Sarmatia, even though they can be damn hard at some instants.

Here's what a silver chevroned fellow can do:





I bet these guys can charge head on a full strenght Phalanx and rout them . For what I've read, it seems the Sarmatian bodyguards are the absolute kings of all Panzers bodyguard cavalry, even better than the Saka guys. I'm staying with them for now.

The Late Armenian Bodyguard Cavalry is better. The charge value is 47 compared to the Sarmatian Bodyguard, it has a Mace for a secondary weapon (which means death to armored units), and I think it is better armored.

In fact, Ill say that the Late Armenian Bodyguard even has a little bit of an edge over the Late Parthian Bodyguard, because of the AP secondary weapon.

[Olaf The Great]

The Late Armenian Bodyguard Cavalry is better. The charge value is 47 compared to the Sarmatian Bodyguard, it has a Mace for a secondary weapon (which means death to armored units), and I think it is better armored.

In fact, Ill say that the Late Armenian Bodyguard even has a little bit of an edge over the Late Parthian Bodyguard, because of the AP secondary weapon.

Well, when it comes to secondary weapon...


Saka Supercat has an AP Pick-axe for a secondary. I think same lethality as the Armenian Mace.
Parthian Supercat has a high lethality longsword for a secondary.
Armenian supercat has an AP Mace.
I think Baktrian Supercat has an AP Kopis, but the Kopis has a lower lethality than a mace right? Well the Baktrian one has the highest armor of all 4 Super-Cats, so I guess it's fair.

An AP weapon is about the same tier as a longsword, but against other catas the AP effect can really turn the tide.

But really, Supercats>EVERYTHING, even Phalanxes(not headon though...)
Horse-Archer Katas>Entire armies.

Now if only we could have three weapons on a unit, a single Baktrian unit could destroy the entire nation of Madagascar

Also, heres a Super-Katraphraktoi

[The Persian Cataphract]

The Late Armenian Bodyguard Cavalry is better. The charge value is 47 compared to the Sarmatian Bodyguard, it has a Mace for a secondary weapon (which means death to armored units), and I think it is better armored.

In fact, Ill say that the Late Armenian Bodyguard even has a little bit of an edge over the Late Parthian Bodyguard, because of the AP secondary weapon.

?!

I thought the Late Parthian Bodyguard did have the AP-attribute. I mean, they... Should...? Shouldn't they?

What the fuck, this means that even the slightly inferior mace-armed Parthian cataphracts will kick the living shit out of them

This means that in melee between other heavily-armed and armoured cavalry the Grivpanvar and the late Parthian bodyguard will be better off poking with a kontos than switching to swords. It's laughable. They should have the AP-attribute, especially in regards to four excavated swords from Rashi and Norouz Mahalleh currently stored in the National Museum of Iran (A photograph from such a sword is also prevalent in the illustrated publication of "Arms and Armor from Iran: The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period." by Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani (A brochure with a photograph: Here).

A sword like that will no doubt fuck up a man just as much as a Khukri/Kopis, especially in the hands of shock cavalry. If the Hetairoi Kataphraktoi has the AP-attribute, so should the Grivpanvar and Late Parthian Bodyguards.

Thanks for the heads-up. I had no idea of this.

[Tristuskhan]

Parthian Late bodyguard of course have the AP attribute.... Wait, I have doubts now.. according to the RV, they don't have it for their longswords. Pure scandal!

[artavazd]

?!

I thought the Late Parthian Bodyguard did have the AP-attribute. I mean, they... Should...? Shouldn't they?

What the fuck, this means that even the slightly inferior mace-armed Parthian cataphracts will kick the living shit out of them

This means that in melee between other heavily-armed and armoured cavalry the Grivpanvar and the late Parthian bodyguard will be better off poking with a kontos than switching to swords. It's laughable. They should have the AP-attribute, especially in regards to four excavated swords from Rashi and Norouz Mahalleh currently stored in the National Museum of Iran (A photograph from such a sword is also prevalent in the illustrated publication of "Arms and Armor from Iran: The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period." by Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani (A brochure with a photograph: Here).

A sword like that will no doubt fuck up a man just as much as a Khukri/Kopis, especially in the hands of shock cavalry. If the Hetairoi Kataphraktoi has the AP-attribute, so should the Grivpanvar and Late Parthian Bodyguards.

Thanks for the heads-up. I had no idea of this.

Yes I agree they should have an AP secondary weapon. The high leathality longsword is fine, but we have to remember, that these heavily armored Cataphracts are battling the best of other factions (which means highly armored foes) therefore they should be armed with an AP secondary weapon. (Also it is historical )