best fighting horse units?

[applebreath]

What are the best horse units in the game that Rome can get? Off the top of your head, do you know their stats? Ones that are meant for fighting/charging not shooting. Where are they located? Do they mainly need a level 4 allied state government?

Thanks,
Apple.

[athanaric]

Most of those would be factional. Basically, they are recruitable from "cultural" pools, i.e. depending on your faction's culture.

If you play a Successor kingdom (AS, Ptolies, Makedonia, Baktria):

Lance&Kopis (AP)
Hetairoi (morale 18 (!), armour 18, good stamina) are the best you can get (and one of the outstanding cavalry units in the game; probably the best all round).
Hellenikoi Kataphraktoi (morale 13, armour 22) are even heavier (better armour and charge), but suffer from lower morale and stamina.


Iranian and Hai kingdoms (Saka, Pahlava, Sauromatae, Hayasdan):

Lance&Longsword (high lethality)
Grivpanvar (Pahlava only; morale 16, armour 26 (!)) are the heaviest recruitable unit. Eats everything from HAs to legionaries.
Asavaran-î Âzâdân (Pahlava only; m 14, a 20) are decent enough.

Lance&Mace (AP)
Pahlavân-î Zrêhbârân (Pahlava only; m 16, a 20) are very useful, especially against other armoured units.
Ysaninu Aysiramjä (Saka; m 16, a 18) are my favourites.
Armenian Nobles (Hai only; m 18, a 18, good stamina) are one of teh best!


Others:

Lance&Falcata (AP)
Iberi Lanceari (m 15, a 16+2) are Southern Iberian regionals for Qart Hadast and Lusotannan. Very nifty.

[The General]

Most of those would be factional. Basically, they are recruitable from "cultural" pools, i.e. depending on your faction's culture.

If you play a Successor kingdom (AS, Ptolies, Makedonia, Baktria):

Lance&Kopis (AP)
Hetairoi (morale 18 (!), armour 18, good stamina) are the best you can get (and one of the outstanding cavalry units in the game; probably the best all round).
Hellenikoi Kataphraktoi (morale 13, armour 22) are even heavier (better armour and charge), but suffer from lower morale and stamina.

Howzabouta Hetairoi Kataphraktoi:
Lance: 5 attack, 47 charge bonus - AP sword: 11 attack, 28 charge bonus
Combined defence: 39 - Armour: 29 - Defence skill: 10 - No shield
Morale: 18

https://www.europabarbarorum.com/i/units/baktria/baktria_hetairoi_kataphraktoi.gif

Of course, they aren't recruitable, unless you make them to be (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=112644). Recruitable or not, just had to mention these beauties.

[antisocialmunky]

Baktrian Late FMs and Parthian Cataphracts are the heaviest cavalry in the game. The best cavalry to use against other cavalry is the Molossian Agema which trades armor for defense so the AP weapons most cavalry use is less effective.

The best cavalry with a shield are either the IndoHellenic Agema of the Saka. Why do you want ot use these guys? They can run through missiles without costing an arm and a leg.

The best low end HA in the game are Scythian Riders which have a very high charge.

[Apázlinemjó]

Howzabouta Hetairoi Kataphraktoi:
Lance: 5 attack, 47 charge bonus - AP sword: 11 attack, 28 charge bonus
Combined defence: 39 - Armour: 29 - Defence skill: 10 - No shield
Morale: 18

https://www.europabarbarorum.com/i/units/baktria/baktria_hetairoi_kataphraktoi.gif

Of course, they aren't recruitable, unless you make them to be (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=112644). Recruitable or not, just had to mention these beauties.

Wow, I didn't know they aren't in, nice.

Back to the Romans, Eqvites Praetoriani is one of the best skirmisher/medium cavalry in the game in my opinion, but sadly they have a very thin AOR. The other post-Marians are the Hispanic and Gallic auxilias, however they are skirmisher cavalries too. Sadly, I don't think you can get ultra-heavies as Romani, even if you build lvl 5 regional MICs everywhere

[Fluvius Camillus]

He asked about Rome,

I see Equites Extraordinarii as best, just for the lance charge. Praetorian, Gallic, BG can be useful too.

About all cav:

Grivpanvar is best right? And who is the best of the Late Saka/Baktria/Pahlava/Hai/Sauro BGs?? They are all near indestructable.

~Fluvius

[Andronikos]

You can get Brihentin (Gallic heavy cavalry) in regional barracks as Rome in some cities in Gaul. Despite they are not so heavy as Iberians or eastern cavalry, they have nice lance attack and celtic longsword with 0.225 lethality as secondary weapon so they can survive and win in melee. They are the best melee cavalry aviable in the west (or maybe not it is difficult to say if double lethality is better than armour piercing).

[seienchin]

You can get Brihentin (Gallic heavy cavalry) in regional barracks as Rome in some cities in Gaul. Despite they are not so heavy as Iberians or eastern cavalry, they have nice lance attack and celtic longsword with 0.225 lethality as secondary weapon so they can survive and win in melee. They are the best melee cavalry aviable in the west (or maybe not it is difficult to say if double lethality is better than armour piercing).

LISTEN TO THIS GUY. In the marian time the brihentin and the auxillary gaul cavallery has the highest charge bonus.
Earlier you have the equites extraordinarii.
Dont listen to anything else, because romans do not have anything else. But thats because they never used massive cavallery charges.

For pure melee skills:
Use the germanic auxillary cavallery or the imperial cavallery wing (Augustan time). The thrakian auxillary are also quite good, but you cant recruit them in too many places.

[athanaric]

LISTEN TO THIS GUY. In the marian time the brihentin and the auxillary gaul cavallery has the highest charge bonus.
Earlier you have the equites extraordinarii.
Dont listen to anything else, because romans do not have anything else. But thats because they never used massive cavallery charges.

Listen to your Rechtschreibung first.

Brihentin are NOT the best mêlée cavalry in the West - they are just the best cavalry auxiliaries available to ROME in the West. Celts and Germans get better versions of Brihentin, namely the Remi cavalry and its Germanic counterpart.




For pure melee skills:
Use the germanic auxillary cavallery or the imperial cavallery wing (Augustan time). The thrakian auxillary are also quite good, but you cant recruit them in too many places.
Don't forget Illyrians - they die easily from missiles (armour 4+2) but are fast chargers and have a nice AP axe to boot. An interesting option for catching enemy FMs, as well as a great general purpose unit.

[Olaf The Great]

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=110027&highlight=SUPERCATS

[antisocialmunky]

I should dig up that replay of my Baktrian FMs holding off 300 horses and 10 elephants lol.

[WinsingtonIII]

Brihentin are NOT the best mêlée cavalry in the West - they are just the best cavalry auxiliaries available to ROME in the West. Celts and Germans get better versions of Brihentin, namely the Remi cavalry and its Germanic counterpart.

That's true, but if read the original post again, the OP was asking about Rome, so all of the information everyone gave about cataphracts and other cavalry not recruitable by Rome was absolutely useless to him.

[athanaric]

Yeah, I missed that, because it wasn't mentioned in the title.