v 1.2 Macedonian Peltastai (Elite): assault role must be a joke, right?

[Slaists]

The description of these suggests they excel at killing opponents on city walls with their javelins. That must be a joke... At best, they are able to get a couple kills by throwing javelins up onto the walls (from a close range), missing most. I think, the game mechanics simply does not allow to use missiles for such a role.

[Tellos Athenaios]

The description of these suggests they excel at killing opponents on city walls with their javelins. That must be a joke... At best, they are able to get a couple kills by throwing javelins up onto the walls (from a close range), missing most. I think, the game mechanics simply does not allow to use missiles for such a role.

They excel in assault where their javelins can scatter defenders from breaches in defenses made by your siege engines.

(Emphasis added.)

So far I don't see any proposition of them throwing anything up, or onto anything else?

[Slaists]

(Emphasis added.)

So far I don't see any proposition of them throwing anything up, or onto anything else?

Ok, I might have misread it about these particular ones then. I will double check when home. I remember though one of the peltastai descriptions praising them for being able to pepper enemy covering behind/on walls. In either scenario javelin efficiency would be quite negligible.

Also, the only time javeliners would be able to do substantial damage THROUGH a breach in the wall would be if the enemy had turned their backs or the right side towards the breach. In other cases, the shields would be pretty effective protecting the defenders against the javelin rain (a few kills at most if the defenders were facing the breach from inside).

[Novellus]

Javelins never seem to take out as many soldiers as I thought they would. In general, even a division of Akonistai parked in the rear of an enemy deuteroi phalanx only seems to knock out a handful of phalangites, even after throwing all six. Sure, they're not elites, but one would expect more casualties on the enemy's part if they're being struck by a storm of javelins from the rear.

But when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, the Peltastai Makedonai are killers. They hack away at the famed Spartiartai and other infantry units as well. They're so threatening that I often send in phalangites to take care of them rather than risk my other infantry units including the elites. And on walls, these things are a terror. Factions such as KH don't have very many soldiers that can stand up to them.

[desert]

I dunno. On level ground, I've had a fresh unit of Akontistai kill half a unit of Argies through flank fire.

BTW, are we still doing that old Bartix thing?

[Cute Wolf]

Well, they are excellent when they man the siege tower....

[Rilder]

Javelins never seem to take out as many soldiers as I thought they would. In general

Unless your Romani and a single unit wanders in front of your army.

[mosedavid]

blimey.... ive just fought a siege battle with those very same elite mak units attacking and they probably killed 4 to 1 against my light italian merc spearmen (the ones in white), routed a regular classic hoplite, some galatican swordmen etc etc. I won but there wasnt much left of my army. A force of those and some mak phalanx are pretty unbeatable. Brilliant morale. I'm playing as rome, seen off carthage and now against Macedonia its the first time in EB1.2 that i've been up against anything as good as those and the reformed phalanx. BTW, are phalanx units suposed to have such amazing attack stats? the ones I was fighting against had something like 19 attack and 30 something defense. And I have Camillian troops - at best :(. Can't be right can it?

[anubis88]

they must be extremely experienced troops

[theoldbelgian]

I found a rather practical use for archers in which slingers don't excel that much
assault battles against wooden walls
they keep other missile troops away from your ramming men or better kill every skirmisher that thinks about throwing a javelin at my elephants
for some reason they shoot better at walls then slingers
its propably the thing that when you sling a rock in a bow and it lands it doen't have thet much force anymore
but an arrow stays pointy no matter if its slowed down by friction

[Darth Stalin]

It's due to the ballistics - whatever is thrown from a sling, it's trajectory is rather flat, thus anything on its way can stop the missile/bullet. Arrows fired by archers have their trajectory more peaked, thus are able to fly over the wall and hit the poor guys behind it.

[Slaists]

It's due to the ballistics - whatever is thrown from a sling, it's trajectory is rather flat, thus anything on its way can stop the missile/bullet. Arrows fired by archers have their trajectory more peaked, thus are able to fly over the wall and hit the poor guys behind it.

well, it depends how far a slinger wants to shoot. i find it rather unrealistic how the game engine shows the slingers shooting stones over huge distances in straight line. gravity works on stones too... at such distances, unless aimed much higher, the stones would have hit the ground long time before reaching their target.