Got some guide how to defeat Phalanx?

[HeirOfGreece]

Well i am doing roman brutii campaign :wall: (which is very hard for me) and i make it harder with taking on both greece and carthage (just to stop scipii from expanding) and i have a big trouble when fighting phalanxses :dizzy2: . Yo guys have some advice? And yeah i don't have many cavalary because i lose equites very quickly (they die very very fast and you know it) and i don't wanna risk my general to die on charge on phalanxses... Any Advice?

[LordK9]

They are slow; keep infantry away from the front and get their attention to separate them from the rest then hit them on both sides or the rear. Cavalry does work - from the rear them immediately running.

[Vincent Butler]

Any Advice?

Mercenary Slingers hitting them from behind. Of course, you need to protect them, but if they don't have cav, you should be good, and they could even wipe out enemy Militia Cav. Merc Slingers own light infantry, and from behind, will decimate even Armoured Hoplites. Engage them with swordsmen, because spearmen get a -4 attack vs infantry (if they are light spear then it is -4 defense, such as Warband or Town Watch). Hoplites and such are regular spear. And if you can get them to go to their swords...stat difference are listed for Greek and Carthaginians, if I did not mention the unit (such as Libyan Spearmen) it is because all they have is their primary weapon. Also if they go their secondary they lose their bonus vs cav, but probably lose the penalty vs infantry.

Poeni Infantry: 9 primary, 5 secondary
Sacred Band: 12 primary, 8 secondary
Militia Hoplite: 5 primary, 3 secondary
Hoplite: 7 primary, 5 secondary
Armoured Hoplite: 9 primary, 5 secondary
Spartan Hoplite: 16 primary, 12 secondary

So especially with the Armoured Hoplites, it behooves you to force them to go secondary. If you can break up a phalanx, that is best. Unfortunately Rome gets no units that are armour-piercing outside of artillery, which is also not a bad way to go, especially if you get to Onagers.

Looking at the export_descr_unit file in the data folder of your Rome folder, combined with this webpage

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?111344-The-Complete-EDU-Guide

will be a great help. All I could say was, "Wow".~:eek:

[HeirOfGreece]

Vincent Butler can archers and skirmishers do the work? Or should i get mercenary Slingers?

[ReluctantSamurai]

i don't have many cavalary because i lose equites very quickly

Equites are light cavalry, not a shock unit like Cataphracts, and as such should never be used in frontal assaults unless it's a dire emergency. They should not engage spear units at all, even from the rear, unless you have already forced the phalanx unit to its' secondary weapon (usually a sword). Equites should be out covering your flanks, or circling behind enemy lines to get at missile units.

In a Brutii campaign, the biggest threat to Equite, outside of spears, are Macedonian Light Lancers. Lancers are mounted spear that get a hefty charge bonus that often will crush your Equite. The secret is to engage them before they can bring home a charge, thereby negating any bonus. Without that charge bonus, Equite will eat them up because they have better melee stats.

Greek Cavalry and Equite are about evenly matched, so you need superior tactics (or a better general) to win. When you get Cavalry Auxillia, you can bait them into chasing the Auxillia (which are faster), and flank with Equite.

[Ludens]

Vincent Butler can archers and skirmishers do the work? Or should i get mercenary Slingers?

Archers can work, though slingers are more effective against armoured units. Skirmishers usually don't have enough ammo to really wreck a phalanx unit, and you need to get them very close for it to work.

Also, shooting into their right flank (that is: the unshielded side) is just as effective as shooting from the back. Shielded units get a big defence bonus against projectile weapons from the front or left (shielded side), but not from the rear or right.

[Vincent Butler]

Vincent Butler can archers and skirmishers do the work? Or should i get mercenary Slingers?
Sorry about the delayed reply, I just now saw this on the thread. Merc slingers are nice because they have more ammo. Archers would work, though I think Balearic/Rhodian slingers have same range. Skirmishers have neither the range nor ammo capacity, so unless you are desperate, don't use skirmishers. From behind, it would have the same effect, but again, range and ammo capacity are the problems there.

You are up to Roman Archers, right? They are better from the front than slingers. Merc slingers have more range than standard slingers, so against somebody who trains slingers (Britain, Carthage, Spain, Egypt, Parthia, I think that is it), they will destroy them and any unarmoured unit. Now Cretan Archers, or once you get Archer Auxilia (after Marius changes, if you are new to the game), would do great, having more range and attack than either Roman Archers or Merc Slingers.

Ludens, are slingers more effective against Armour? I know in EB they are, but I have not had that same experience in Vanilla RTW. I once had a Briton Slinger unit on the walls use all their ammo against I think LC, and may have killed one.

[Ludens]

Sorry about the delayed reply, I just now saw this on the thread.

That's my fault, actually: his post was held back by our spamfilter for some reason, and I didn't notice it until a few hours ago. No idea why this happened, but I've asked the tech admin to look into it.


Ludens, are slingers more effective against Armour? I know in EB they are, but I have not had that same experience in Vanilla RTW. I once had a Briton Slinger unit on the walls use all their ammo against I think LC, and may have killed one.

You may be right about that. It's been many years since I played vanilla R:TW, so I was thinking about EB. And IIRC the EB team was convinced that slingers should be effective against armour, so it could well have been one of their changes.