Pontic Chalkaspidai Morale

[Sygrod]

I just fought a battle where I had only 2 phalanxes (among many other units). One levy and one elite, both with one chevron, both recruited in Amaseia.

The levy phalanx faced a medium phalanx and the elite attacked an enemy general head on. The elite broke almost immediately and was massacred. The levy phalanx held for a long time until it was overwhelmed from all sides.

The text for Chalkaspidai says explicitly excellent morale, but my unit broke immediately. Why?

[Admetos]

It would they seem they have no "hardy" or "very_hardy" attribute in the EDU, probably an oversight by the EB team, but with the huge mod they've created, you'd expect a few little things to get through.

[Sygrod]

Yup. That was exactly the problem

[Watchman]

They tend to be kind of skimpy about giving heavily armoured troops good stamina you know.

Anyway, I don't really see what the stamina has to do with the break point ('cept that high-stamina units don't get exhausted and suffer the due penalties as fast). Sounds to me like something along the lines of the Chalkaspidai having been hit with something nasty, like having suffered heavily from preliminary missile fire and/or having been in the vicinity of something fear-causing.

[Sakkura]

They tend to be kind of skimpy about giving heavily armoured troops good stamina you know.

Many of the other phalangite units have good stamina:
Pezhetairoi
Klerouchoi phalangitai
Machimoi phalangitai
Pantodapoi phalangitai

But not:
Hysteroi pezhetairoi
Argyraspides
Phalangitai deuteroi
Chaonion agema

So I dunno, depends what Chalkaspides are supposed to be more like, pezzies/natives or elites/levy maks. It says they are supposed to be like the argyraspides, so it seems reasonable for them to lack good stamina. But perhaps they could be bumped up like one or two morale point to make sure they are usually the most reliable phalanx for Pontos? They only have one more than mere klerouchoi, who can very well end up better off due to their stamina. This would still leave them with inferior morale compared to pezhetairoi and argyraspides.

[Watchman]

Look at that list, and you notice the exact only unit in the "lacks good stamina" that isn't decked out in heavy body armour (mail, lamellar, scale) is the Phalangitai Deuteroi, which would presumably be a case of the reservists plain not having been sufficiently trained for endurance.

All the units in the "have good stamina" group wear scale-reinforced linothorax, tops, which is rather considerably lighter.

I fail to see what being phalangites is supposed to have to do with the matter either way, though.

[Sakkura]

Well looking at phalangites only just levels the field a bit. They all have to lug that big spear around and whatnot.

I think it's quite realistic that chalkaspidai don't have good stamina (seeing as they wear heavy armor and are described as a sort of imitation of the argyraspides who also lack good stamina).

But it might be an idea to compensate them at least a little bit in morale, since lesser stamina tends to equate lower morale due to the RTW game engine; and chalkaspidai still ought to be the Pontic phalangite unit with the best morale AFAIK. Giving them one or two more points of morale would help in that respect, but still keep them below the Macedonian semi-elite and elite phalangites.

:2cents:

[Watchman]

Aren't the Chalkaspidai more of a Pontic "imitation Pezhetairoi" in heavier armour, though ? IIRC their stats other than armour were also around that level...