Favourite Unit

I've done one of these polls before but it got abandoned after about 12 replies. Hopefully this one will be more successful as i believe it is a very interesting topic to discuss. So.

Out of the whole RTW game, what is your favourite faction?

Also tell me the tactics and strategies you like to use with them and why you even like them.

I love Lybian spearmen because they're one of the only spear units on the game that isnt a hoplite, and is still civilised. I use them sometimes as flank-guards for my Hoplites or as cannon fodder to through at the enemy and weaken them up.

what about you?:duel:

For me, my favorite unit is the Longshield Cavalry of Carthage. Seriously one of the best cavalry in the game. I think they are technically light, but they are more like medium and when upgraded they are as good as heavy. Using them I absolutely spanked the Romans.

My favorite trick is nothing special, but I would make armies of a general and maybe 6-9 more units of Longshields. Then I would split them into teams of two and then do the bait and chase with the Roman legions. Get the unit to chase the unit in front and hit it with another unit from behind. Withdraw before they start to fight back and they will chase the unit that attacked. Repeat with other side, alternating until golden brown.

I got a lot of well experienced cavalry and some phenominal cavalry commanders.:toff:

The classic Greek Hoplite, for its wall-of-spears battle line use and because it sums up ancient warfare, for me.

Otherwise I'd have to go for the slightly ahistorical German Berserkers and Wailing Women, or Briton Head Hurlers, all for my favourite - terror tactics :skull:

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Originally Posted by Shieldmaiden

The classic Greek Hoplite, for its wall-of-spears battle line use and because it sums up ancient warfare, for me.:

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It sure does, but without regular infantry (who can actually run with their weapons out) your flanks would be destroyed by flanking.

The Greek City-States.

While I just love those vanilla Spartan hoplites for their stats, I've always thought they looked like priests in bronze caps. So my favorite vanilla unit would be Armored (or Armoured, for all you U-loving Brits out there) Hoplites.

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Originally Posted by Emperor Mithdrates

It sure does, but without regular infantry (who can actually run with their weapons out) your flanks would be destroyed by flanking.

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Yes, and isn't it exactly why the Phalanx gave way to more flexible formations and tactics historically?

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Originally Posted by Shieldmaiden

Yes, and isn't it exactly why the Phalanx gave way to more flexible formations and tactics historically?

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true.:yes:

Although in these "favourite X" threads, I'd usually say something about armenia, so I will, armenians only good because its Jack of all trades, but no of units are the best ...except cataphract horses archers because they have a little bit longer before there cut down by spears, and there still useful even after they've ran out of ammo, just because of there armour.

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Originally Posted by Abokasee

Although in these "favourite X" threads, I'd usually say something about armenia, so I will, armenians only good because its Jack of all trades, but no of units are the best ...except cataphract horses archers because they have a little bit longer before there cut down by spears, and there still useful even after they've ran out of ammo, just because of there armour.

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good choice. They're my favourite horsemen after the carthagiian Long Shields. :charge:

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Originally Posted by Spartan198

The Greek City-States.

While I just love those vanilla Spartan hoplites for their stats, I've always thought they looked like priests in bronze caps. So my favorite vanilla unit would be Armored (or Armoured, for all you U-loving Brits out there) Hoplites.

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:yes: Agreed. The armoured hoplites, with their Corinthian helms and bronze hoplons, look cool and is relatively useful-- unlike a lot of GCS units, the armoured hoplites actually fare pretty well in auto-resolve.

Other than that, my other favourite unit is probably Parthia's Persian cavalry. Awesome horse archer that works equally well as light cavalry, and not too high-tier either.

I can't decide on my favourite unit so i'll split it into 2.

My favourite Infantry unit would have to be either the Head Hurler or The Greek Cities Hoplite selection. The Head Hurler has a good missile and attack and the good old phalanx is just good against any unit.

My favourite Cavalry unit would be the Chariot or Cataphracts. Chariots slice the enemy into 2 as well as rout them. The Cataphracts are heavily armoured and have a good charge.

I actually really likes the Roman Legionaries, very ordinary, but very effective and a good all-rounder with few weakness.

I also have a thing for Cataphracts, they're the only cavalry in RTW with the ability to break a unit with one thunderous charge, with their lance and shear weight. These guys are turely the forerunners of Medieval Knights.

I just love Balearic Slingers, no idea why but I love them.
I use the obvious tactics of running them behind enemy line and killing them, or smashing phalanxes up.

My favorite faction would be the Seleucians .. They have a very challenging start and later they can fight against romans with their own weapons.. what could be better than that?? :beam:

My favorite unit would be actually Cretan Archers. In all my campaigns, no matter what faction, I just need to get them! :beam:

I remember when I sent my Carthaginian FM from Lilybaeum for mercenary hunting in Asia Minor.
He went back after 10 years or so with 10 Cretans and 10 Balearic slingers! :beam:

Briton light chariots.

They are the only "horse archers" in an otherwise HA-less biotope.
Accordingly, they roam the marshes unchecked. Cavalry cannot catch them, light cavalry would get slaughtered anyway.

They require just a simple smithy, a building that would be installed in all of my towns anyway.

They are one of the finest terror weapons.

They feature high melee damage, high ranged damage, high movement speed, high ammo, and low unit size. If properly employed, they will boast golden chevrons in no time, and suffer minimal losses in the process.

It is fun to watch them doing the cantabrian circle.

You have to remember their weaknesses, though.

I like most units (except the fantasy ones). But if I had to decide, I'd chose the Sassanid Cataphracts in BI. Now these guys got some style.:yes:

Probably Cataphract Archers due to their only weakness being speed which isn't really a true weakness without other factors. They have the combination of cataphract armour and melee attack with the ranged power of a horse archer making them nigh unbeatable in combat scenarios.

Unlike the standard horse archers they don't have to constantly retreat after their arrows have run out and cannot be obliterated by other projectiles.

~:)

Armored hoplites and war elephants, not the armored kind.
I can do whole campaigns with a few units of one or the other.:laugh4:

i really love the Armoured Hoplites, however, i'm just playing my first Germanic campaign and those beserkers are so hard they're hilarious. I just defended against a sally and the 3 berserkers units ran off into the settlement and killed everbody, one unit killed 600, the other 550, and the final unit although leaving half it's men outside managed 300 or so!!

i just sat and watched whilst smoking a fag.

The Motepian Shadow General.

Seriously, I like the Sacred band and armoured hoplites. Not only are they great warriors, buit they look great on a horse

German Berserkers. It is inspiring to see a tiny group of men send a 10x larger army running in terror. Plus, their "Berserkergang!" acknowledgement is awesome.

Gladiators
Mercenary or not, these guys are tough.
I always make sure to hire 1 or 2 units of them to protect my flanks.
They can hold most flankers for at least a good 3 sec before they route from overwhelming numbers so that I can send help to them.

Surely there must be cheaper options to protect your flanks for 3 seconds?

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Originally Posted by khaos83_2000

Gladiators
Mercenary or not, these guys are tough.
I always make sure to hire 1 or 2 units of them to protect my flanks.
They can hold most flankers for at least a good 3 sec before they route from overwhelming numbers so that I can send help to them.

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I think Gladiators makes better flankers than to defend flanks thenselves.

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Originally Posted by Quintus.JC

I think Gladiators makes better flankers than to defend flanks thenselves.

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Nailed it right on the head. Is what I use my gladiators for.

Gladiators are tough, takes alot to kill. I use them to hold the battle line.

I'll split my fave units
Missle-Marian reformed roman archers
this guys have brill range and strength (always on wall with mercenary hoplites)
Infantry-Almost certainly berserker's! (smashed a professionally made roman army with 5x berserkers
and 5x Gothic cavalry )
Cavalry-cataphracts (mangled Parthia because they had camels!)
The AI are dum because they hardly ever use the units properly!
Parthia slamed their cataphracts into my heavy spearmen!
Germania threw berserker's into my spartan hoplites!
And the roman archers always shoot my rubbish units instead of my decent ones:helloo:??

Heavy offensive infantry e.g. gladiators, berserkers, Chosen axemen are best used for offensive (duh) duties, these dudes makes excellent flankers. Phalanx units are best for holding the line, that is if you can get them. Legionaries are superb at that as well. Minds you, some units can't take a charge from cavalry, so it's best to sort the units out before you engage.

That being said, infantry units with 2 HP are some of the best in the game. :2thumbsup:

I've got two favorites.

Mounted, Armenia's Cataphract Horse Archers are just unbeatable. They've got the range and mobility of light HA cav (thought not as fast), and they can work as heavy shock cav in a pinch.

Unmounted, I'd have to give a shout out to the lowly Peltast, followed closely by the Cretan Archers. Playing as one of the Roman factions (whom I almost always choose), I always end up with a good number of Peltast units in my ranks and not a few archers. Since most of my battles are sieges on low wooden walls, standard practice is to use archers from range to get units moving away from the walls, charge up and line up spearchuckers just outside the walls, and then let them expend their ammo on the idiots that try to run up as I'm making several entry holes. Depending on what faction I'm up against this doesn't always work great, but most of the time it does, and I can kill upwards of 70% of the enemy forces before they pull back to the town center.

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Originally Posted by Darkvicer98

Gladiators are tough, takes alot to kill. I use them to hold the battle line.

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I use them as the romans would use auxiliries for. Holding the enemy in place while i manouver the legions.

cataphract archers -№1:pirate2::smg::pirate2:

for me the armoured hoplites and the horse archers..........minimaum losses for my armie maximaum for my anemie ^^

I totally love Scythed chariots! Once, I had only like 4-5 Scythed chariot units when i was playing as Pontus. I killed off...no, I MASSACRED a 18-unit egyptian army of nile spearmen and cavalry, led by their faction LEADER, no less. These chariots are AWESOME!!!!
Other than them, i like cretan archers- they are really cool, and for some reason, I don't know why, I like their accent.:laugh4:
I also like armoured elephants-these guys are ultimate! I can kill truckloads of guys with a single unit of these beasts.
As for infantry, i like spartans-they are really good fighters, and im always partial to greeks, for some reason. For some reason, I also like woad warriors a lot.... Don't know why.
For cavalry, my favourite is the cataphract-they just massacre. Nothing else needs to be said.:laugh4:
Too bad I can't try them all out in 1 army-that army would rock!!!!!!!:guitarist:

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Too bad I can't try them all out in 1 army-that army would rock!!!!!!!

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Well, as the Seleucids, you get three out of the five you mentioned, which is why many folks consider the Selkies to have the best overall roster in the game. While you can't get Spartans, the Silvershield pikemen available to Seleucia are certainly no slouches when it comes to phalanx fighting......and the Companion Cavalry are very good, as well...not as heavily armored as cats, but sturdy and able to go toe-to-toe with heavy infantry.........

Those aren't the only units I like. As I said, I also like woad warriors for some reason.
In fact, I just like SAYING "woad".
I like warcry tactics too.

Urban Cohorts are my favorite. Although Berzerkers are a close second. FYI Berzerkers trounce Spartan Hoplites in a fair scenario. They charge right trough the phalanx and rape them with their own spears.

True, beserkers can beat Spartans, but I didn't get the hang of the Germans when I got the game.
I just need some faction with Scythed chariots and a Hoplite and the world's my oyster:laugh4::laugh4::laugh4::laugh4::laugh4:

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but I didn't get the hang of the Germans when I got the game.

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Germania is a lot of fun to play if....you can get their economy up and running. Specialized units like the Berserker or the Night Raiders are fun. Gothic Cavalry rules! and if you enjoy archery, then the Chosen Archer is for you. The Chosen Archer has the added benefit of good melee stats, so you can send them into the fray after the shooting is over.

My favorite barbarian faction. Oh yeah....they get a spear unit, to boot. Not as good as hoplites or any of the dedicated phalanx units, but good enough to use the classic hammer-and-anvil tactic.

For barbarian factions, Britain isn't so bad, either. Their chariots are cool. REAAALLY cool.

You mean those "donkey carts" masquerading as chariots? :laugh4:

Two factions I rarely play because I hate having my generals in chariots....Egypt & Britannia. Try fitting those suckers down a narrow street during a city assault......

I said Britain was cool because I won battles when I was considerably outnumbered because of these guys. And i would NOT have won those battles with other unit types.

But, even though they are cool, they aren't the best, I admit. There are better units than them.

At least the Celtic chariots in RTW have historical correctness.

See here:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...Be2lKfMWDykDEg

And here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariot

The use of chariots in the Middle East, however, pretty much ended at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331BC when Alexander the Great handily defeated the chariots of Darius III.

For Egyptian use of chariots:

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/chariots.htm

http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/...cs/chariot.htm

Note this passage in the second link:

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Chariots were much more dependent on the terrain. They were most effective on flat, dry plains, without boulders, debris, or wet topsoil impeding their advance or even causing their breakdown.

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Something the game designers should have known before modeling them into the game. And as I grew up in hilly farm country, I can attest to stability problems for vehicles towing wagons or trailers. I spent a lot of time, when I worked in a local welding shop, repairing tractor hitches and the tongues on trailers, hay wagons, and balers due to roll-overs.

Anyways....some fun reading.

Those pages were cool....thanks for the links. On the whole, though, your favourite unit would depend on your way of playing.

yes with seleucia you can get :
all elephants types , best pike unites , Cataphract , and best Greek or macedonian cavalry (compagnions.....) and finally the legionaries from the roman technologie :book:

Seleucid Silver Shileds are inferior to Royal Pikes and both are inferior to Sacred Band Hoplites / Armoured Hoplites / Spartans

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Originally Posted by Myth

Seleucid Silver Shileds are inferior to Royal Pikes and both are inferior to Sacred Band Hoplites / Armoured Hoplites / Spartans

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Exactly. Spartans are cool fighters, though I go with bezerkers as well. They're actually pretty cool, now that i got the hang of them.:beam::beam:

Its Different hmm this is ganna be long:
Romans-Urban Cohort,Praetorian Cavarly
Gauls-Chosen Swordsmen
(Favorite Faction 3)Germans-Bersekers,Night Raiders,Screeching Women
Britons-Woad Warriors
Spanish-Bull Warriors
Dacia-Falxmen
Thracia-Bastanae ir something like that
Carthage-Sacred Band,Armored Elephants
Greek City States-Spartan Hoplites,Armored Hoplites
(Favorite Faction 1)Macedonia-Royal Pikemen,Macedonian Cavarly,Campanion Cavarly,Archers
Scythia-Noble Women,Head Hunting Maidens and the Noble Men or something like that
(Favorite Faction 2)Seleucid Empire-Silver Shield Pikemen,Silver Shield Legionares,Companion Cavarly,Cataphracts,Armored Elephants
For those I havent mentioned I dont have favorite

favorite faction?
brutii by far for their temple of healing. Get that, an academy plus a captured temple of farming and you get 4 ancillaries of casualty reduction. Then there's the cretan archers, the mercenary hoplites available exclusively at sparta province (lvl3 veterans. w00t!), and the mercenary elephants. Who needs anything else if you have 4 healing aides on your general? lol

I'm actually curious as to how this yummy awesome temple of ares is going to do for me...i'm so used to the pantheon of Mars that i'm not quite sure what +4 morale will do that lvl3 veterancy will do. Depends on whether lvl4 morale is like armor upgrades (they never dilute through battlemap attrition)

• actually, that's a funny thought. hehe...deep in the frontier your gold plated army suddenly has it's armor broken and can only be repaired at a foundry. lol. thank god creative labs didn't think of everything. haha

If you asked me what my favorite faction is for their inherent units? hmmm...assuming i'm choosing from experience i'd have to pick the default unlockable factions and go with briton for those chariot archers...but i hate playing them cuz they're one big 'wingame' button. So, my second choice is celts for the forester archers - they can HIDE ANYWHERE. lol. not that i've ever needed to hide a mob of those when they slay anything they can see from nyaaa nyaaa distance. I'd pick germans but i can't get the knack of playing them and their berzerkers.

If you consider both factions played by a human, Scythia and Armenia are beasts, as well as Egypt. Scythia have easily available AP light cav that slaughters most other cav. And their horse archers...

Anyway, morale is different from experience chevrons and armour/weapon upgrades. You should prioritize like this:

- Exp. chevrons (they grant attack/defense + morale bonuses)
- Armour/Weapon upgrades (add attack/defense)
- Morale boosts (make armies harder to route)

In some instances morale is obsolete (Berzerkers are immune to routing)

As the Brutii I usualyl build temples of Mars everywhere. I have too much money as it is anyway to use Hermes and the other one, I just don't bother with it, I can retrain and buy new armies anyway. Though I usually do keep the Awesome temple of Artemis that the Macedonians have in Thessaloniki to make my archers better.

I've heard that the best temple available to anyone in the game is actually a Julii Pantheon that upgrades some Gaulish temple, but I don't remember the details.

The best feature about playing as the Brutii is their starting position. All other reasons, however fun and important as they may seem, are secondary to this. Other factions, including Roman factions have some pretty impressive temples to choose from. The Egyptians, Seleucids, Carthaginians, among others, come to mind. Recruiting merc 'Creeshans', Ellie's, and +3 Hoplites can be done by anyone, it's the quick access to them (except for the Ellie's) that is part and parcel to the Brutii starting position.

And "best temple" is of course, quite a subjective thing, depending on your play-style and the faction involved. I, personally, like the Macedonian Temple of Zeus for its' law & order capabilities (important for securing a happy ZPG for distant cities), and the several craftsman temples that grant gold armor. And who can say that the Scipii Temple of Neptune isn't cool? The Decere is simply the best quinquireme in the game.