Some random thoughts, observations about EB

Well, since I got EB working again, I'm now close to completing my current Makedon campaign... It's been a lot of fun and despite the occasional frustration Selukia's endless hordes were capable of providing, ultimately I've honestly enjoying found myself enjoying fighting them off. I've just now declared war on the Ptolemaioi and successfully fought off three 'tolly armies at once, who collectively outnumbered me and outgunned me to the point where the little balance bar did not like my veteran army's chances, stating that "defeat is a distinct possibility"... Yeah well, sprightly old King Alkyoneus (he's sixty-odd years old now, but he and his triple-gold chevron bodyguard are still kicking ass and he also has the "in rude health" trait) sure threw that one back in the 'tolly's faces...

Anyway, now that I've gotten back into the proverbial swing of things, I'd like to share with you a few thoughts, observations and questions that have arisen as I've been playing:

1: Firstly, let me just say that Hippes Thessalikoi are SuperColourFreakingAwesome! Seriously! These guys are able to cause simply unbelievable amounts of damage on the charge! In a big battle it's not uncommon for my main army's two units of the Thessos to get two-three hundred kills between them, a mixture of high-speed lance enemas and, of course, cutting down routers. They are also surprisingly effective general killers, well able to tear apart an enemy bodyguard with only light casualties to themselves. My two best units in Alkyoneus' army both have one silver chevron, with one sitting on about 36 men (this is large unit size BTW) and the other 40-45 (not sure, I'll have to check), not too bad considering the heavy fighting they've been in lately...

2: This is related to the above. Whilst wielding my Thessos like the mighty hammer that they are, I seem to have discovered what makes cavalry charge without having lowered their lances (and thus not dealing the level of damage that they should). It seems to be that if they facing away from the unit they are ordered to attack when already inside of charging range, they wheel around and run into the enemy unit without leveling their lances. In contrast, I've found that if they were either initially outside of charging range when told to attack (and thus given sufficient time to get turned around before entering charging range), or else within charging range but facing the enemy, they seem to almost invariably lower their lances successfully. This may not be all there is to cavalry failing to lower their lances, but taking it into account has made my already powerful Thessos (not to mention my general's bodyguard, which is quite large as he's the faction leader and has a good influence score) even more deadly...

3: I've seen the constant complaints about heavy cavalry tiring too quickly, but honestly it doesn't appear to be as big of a problem as many make it out to be. Sure tired Thessos are slower, but not only have I found that my Thessos often stubbornly refuse to drop below "winded" (wherein they are still relatively fast), but that even being exhausted doesn't appear to affect the power of their charge all that much. Case in point, the recent battle I mentioned earlier against three 'tolly armies coming at me from three different directions. My Thessos and general were charging around the battle field hammering infantry units and chewing up skirmishers for ages and were soon exhausted, but during the process of mopping up what was left of the enemy force after things swung to my favour, I charged one of these exhausted Thesso units onto the back of a unit of engaged and undamaged unit of Klerouchoi, the unit suffering 10 casualties on impact and another 15 within the next second or two, the Thessos suffering only one or two casualties (and that's not a hyperbolic statement, it was literally either one loss or two, but I cannot remember which) in return. The Klerouchoi then proceeded to route and my Thessos cut them down pretty much before they could even start running. 30-odd casualties is what I would, from my experience during the campaign, expect fresh Thessos to deal upon charging into the rear of a well-ordered medium phalanx, so if exhausted ones are only losing a little over 15% of their charge effectiveness, I personally consider that to be pretty good... And as I said, they're hard-pressed to drop below "winded" most of the time, from what I've seen...

4: And now for something completely different: OK, just how does a Ptolemaioi general get the "passed under the yoke" trait, pray tell? You see, there were two FMs involved in the big battle I've been talking about and both initially got away. Alkyoneus then chased down the remnants of their forces, killed the "lieutenant" FM and slaughtered all the other remnants to the last man, but again the general himself (and one bodyguard) got away, now in an army consisting of, well, a one-man general's bodyguard unit and nothing else... Unfortunately for me, my 10 subterfuge assassin still can't really risk trying to kill him (as Kastor the Killer only has a 27% chance of pulling it off), but when my assassin spotted him (he retreated into the FOW initially), I double left-clicked on him and noted that he now had a trait I'd never seen before called "passed under the yoke", giving him massive influence and unrest penalties and also a small command penalty. But then I read the description of the trait and thought to myself, "Waaaaait a minute... This is a Roman trait, what on Earth is it doing down here in the Middle East!?" I thought perhaps that the trait, when acquired by someone other than a Roman, is simply representative of a similarly negative and humiliating experience to what being passed under the yoke is for a Roman, but I figured I'd ask whether it's normal for non-Romans to get this trait or not, because if not, I figure it has to be a glitch, and glitches, naturally, exist to be reported and rectified. So I ask, is a Ptolemaioi FM getting the "passed under the yoke" trait a normal occurance?

5: Peltastai, Sphendonetai and Toxotai Kretikoi rock.

6: I still love Rorarii... I've been recruiting them using regional MICs in Italy (as well as Hastati in Roma) and have even managed to set up a mock (but surprisingly effective against the endless Celtic regionals the Romani keeping throwing at me) legion in Roma using Akontistai in place of Leves, Rorarii in place of Hastati, Hastati in place of Principes and mercenary Thureophoroi in place of Triarii. I have to say, there's really nothing sweeter than out-Romaning the Romans... :laugh4:

Well, those are my thoughts and observations from my Makedon campaign... I hope that they weren't a complete waste of your time... :sweatdrop: