Do you like to use elefants?

[Tartaros]

Hello,

i just wanna know, if you use elefants in whatever faction. i for myself like this untis, because they can break wooden palisades and have a nice fear factor, are good cav-killers and if they have bows, they are also good archers.
melee is diffrent. i only charge with them, when the mainbattle has started for a while. they are my reserve for the "hammer".
if not protected they are vulnerable and very expensive.

[Hax]

I used them extensively in my Illyrian and Italian campaigns while playing as Epeiros. Most of the battles they didn't really even do anything, aside from standing at my flank. The fact that I FIELD elephants was enough for the enemies to have their morale sink.

[konny]

No, never.

[Che Roriniho]

yes, when I can afford the buggers. I know from facing them, that, whencharging, you're basically f*cked, even if you have phalanx. Romanoi are good because almost everyone has javelins, which are very effective against them.

[Maion Maroneios]

I certainly do. I've even enabled their recruitment as Makedonia and they proved to be extremely effective against my western foes, provided that I used them correctly.

Maion

[Tartaros]

year, javelins are there nightmire.
thats why i´m very affraid to use them to early in the battles. later on, most enemy units don´t have time to reaked.

also the epirotes one are really good for fast village-rumbling, because most of the rebeltowns don´t have stonewalls.

as seuleukid i like to use these elephantes kataphraktoi indikoi against the steppe panzers. they mostly absurb the fist contact (when no phalanx available).

[Aemilius Paulus]

I do but in very, very small amounts (not more than one for every second army and only by the time I am getting a 40k income). My two main roles for them are to act as instant battering rams and to lower the morale of the enemy without ever engaging in the actual combat. They are just too expensive and difficult to replace. However, my every army has three highly experienced spies and one assassin attached to it, so the gates are always opened by the spies (who have a higher than 100% chance opening the gates together).

My favorite elephant tactic is to combine them with all of these units: galatian wild men, scythed chariots, flaming arrows and artillery when possible to make the ultimate intimidation force. All of the above mentioned units affect the enemy morale and when playing as the Seleukids, the enemy routs (at full strength) upon contact with my troops. They are so demoralized by this that most of them do not even have time to take losses before they rout, leading the other units with them. Even if the enemy does not rout right away (such as if the enemy army is made up of elite or very experienced units), they still rout right the second after their general dies, on whose death I concentrate all of my efforts. Numerical superiority even further demoralizes the enemy ("distraught over the number of enemies"). Just be sure to have plenty of light cavalry to pursue such a massive rout.

[facupay123]

I use them only as a special deluxe unit in my main army when my i've got economic stability, if used correctly they can turn the tide of a battle, they'r great for taking care of cavarly and ther's nothing better than an elephant full charge agains a phalanax's rear when it's busy fighting your own phalanax.

[Aemilius Paulus]

By the way, why do the EB elephants have only one hit point? I was very disappointed to see that. They are very hardy, but the armor that they have is surprisingly low. Is there any hidden stats that make the elephants so strong? Armored Indian elephants have only 20 defense and 1 hit point, yet they are much harder to kill than a unit with identical stats.

[Hax]

By the way, why do the EB elephants have only one hit point? I was very disappointed to see that. They are very hardy, but the armor that they have is surprisingly low. Is there any hidden stats that make the elephants so strong? Armored Indian elephants have only 20 defense and 1 hit point, yet they are much harder to kill than a unit with identical stats.

Eh? I'm pretty sure Elephantes Indikoi [the normal ones] have 30 armour.

[Tollheit]

Elephantes Indikoi:
crew: 1 hp, 20 defence (14 armour, 6 skill)
animal: 4 hp, 31 defence (24 armour, 7 skill)

Elephantes Kataphraktoi Indikoi:
crew: 1 hp, 20 defence (14 armour, 6 skill)
animal: 4 hp, 37 defence (30 armour, 7 skill)

[Aemilius Paulus]

Elephantes Indikoi:
crew: 1 hp, 20 defence (14 armour, 6 skill)
animal: 4 hp, 31 defence (24 armour, 7 skill)

Elephantes Kataphraktoi Indikoi:
crew: 1 hp, 20 defence (14 armour, 6 skill)
animal: 4 hp, 37 defence (30 armour, 7 skill)

I am confused! How can the crew and the animal have different stats?!? Or are both of the stats simply added together? The EB units list states that Elephantes Indikoi have 1 hitpoint and 20 defence but now I see that this was just the stats of the crew, which makes sense because elephants are so sodding hard to kill. Still, why don't they just mention the combined stats? After all, the crew cannot die before or after the animal dies; they die at the same time! Please help!!!

[Foot]

crew can die before the elephant does. As to why they aren't combined. You'd have to ask CA. We didn't design the stat system. We just use it to the best of our ability to represent what we try to represent.

Foot

[Aemilius Paulus]

Geez, I never had an elephant crew die before the elephant. Ever. How can that possibly happen. Is the crew more likely to die under a missile attack since the non-ranged weapons can't reach them?

[Lysimachos]

Geez, I never had an elephant crew die before the elephant.

Same with me. But sometimes when you have a reduced unit, in the next battle they may start with as many elephants but less archers on them, so i'm sure they are seperate entities for the game, which makes me think it's theoretically possible.
Btw, i can easily live with an elephant unit that doesn't lose its elephants but i remember in vanilla i once had a unit of chariot archers and when the battle began, they only had charioteers... that wasn't exactly what i used that type for
Man, i can hardly remember vanilla

[Tartaros]

i confirm that. sometime no archers left on the towers, but still a lot of elephants in the unit.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Thanks!

[Vasiliyi]

Elephants, when used correctly are awesome! Just let the enemy waste there javelins and arrows and your good to go rampaging. Plus by then the enemys moral is lower from continues fighting. A charge from the rear and you will watch even the most elite either fly in the air or run with the tails between their legs. But ofcourse, make sure you are economically ready to handle these guys. I absolutly love them. (I've got triple silver chevroned ones)