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Just curious of what people prefer; I like to go for semi-historic approach
1x General
1x Hetairoi
1x Thessalians
2x Light Cav (perhaps 1 med 1 light)
1x Argyraspidai
5x Pezhetairoi
1x Hypaspistai
1x Pheraspidai
1x Hoplitai
1x Peltastai
1x Slinger Unit (whatever is available)
1x Cretan archers
And then the last 3 units would be a mob of regionals usually including Thracians
My conquest of asia has employed mainly Levy Phalanx, heavy peltasts, javelin throwing skirmishers (both mounted and on foot), Cretan archers when I can get them, one unit of slingers (I limited myself to 4 because of their potency - but have abandoned this and have about 10 around the empire now), Thracian mercs are a must - really like these. Anatolian axes are cool. And I like the oblong yellow shield foot mercs (name?) Scythian horse archers are useful and have some falx basternae guarding the North.
More recently I have added the medium phalanx and Thessy cav/heavy skirmish cav. Went overboard on the Agrarian assault infantry but they don't seem to last long. Impressed by the staying power of the elite phalanx - one unit went through 2 grinding battles, including one disaster in wooded hills and I still have 4 men left!
About to eradicate the Ptolies from the Levant area - they have expended themselves on Antioch and I'm poised......
Makedonia has a very pleasing colour theme, so I go for the prettiest units while at the same time trying to be somewhat historically accurate.
My (mid to late game) compositions usually include:
one elite unit of each type (Hetairoi, Hypaspistai, Peltastai Makedonikoi, Agrianikoi Pelekuphoroi),
several units of Hysteroi Pezhetairoi (IMO the prettiest phalanx unit in the game, as well as one of the best),
some regular Hoplitai and Peltastai,
Hetairoi Aspidophoroi and Prodromoi,
some Thrakian Peltasts (usually instead of the normal ones) as well as a unit of Rhompharaphoroi,
one unit each of Rhodian Slingers and Kretan Archers.
And of course some regional flavour, usually light auxiliaries. Early game armies feature more normal Pezhetairoi, Levy Phalanx and regular Sphendonetai.
I dislike having to use psiloi units (except perhaps Sphendonetai, because of their powerful attack and excellent range), as they are unarmored and unfit for melee. Also, it doesn't feel fair sending your peasants to battle unless you are in a really dire situation. Of course, things are different if you play factions like Sab'yn or Swêboz, but then again their unarmoured basic units are far better than psiloi.
Cost please. How much will that cost a player?Quote:
Originally Posted by Moosemanmoo
P.S. Just counted. That'll cost you just over 32.000 not counting the 2x light cav, 1x pheraspidai, and 1x slinger. This is because 1) which light cav?, 2) pheraspidai? o.0, and 3) which slinger?
P.P.S. Counting cause I'm wondering how much variety an online Mak player can have within confines of 36k budget.
Pheraspidai = Peltastai Makedonikai. It was their original name from versions 1.0 backwards. Only bad aspect of Makedonia IS their unit costs. No cheap units in their roster.
That's fine. They are much like the Protoss. If you can micro them well, they are the best. They are so strong. And yeah, I like a peltast or two in my Makedonian army. I like killing them better, though. See you on the battlefield. (P.S. Your build is just about wondrous for our 36k budgets.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave Brave Sir Robin
I've never played EB online and oh I have no idea how much it costs, I deliberately avoid looking at my army upkeep
army upkeep in EB is about quarter of their upkeep....
El, they have English 101 @ my local comm. college in the summer. Take it with me brother.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cute Wolf
As far as I can tell, virtually every unit in EB has an upkeep exactly one quarter value of its recruitment cost. That is, every 4 seasons/turns you end up paying a whole recruitment cost. So in one year's time you have paid twice the recruitment cost (1 for training the unit and 1 for maintaining it all year long). Over time these costs can be really huge.