EB Online Faction Guide

[Maion Maroneios]

phalanx exploit? f*** **f!!! That's not an exploit, that's a weak point they got, that's all. It's like to say : don't use archer against my naked fanas, it's using their weakness and so must be considered as exploit. Yeah, to toss a 21 foot sarrisa away to punch the guy in the face must have been difficult when facing a wall but certainly not impossible! I'm not encouraging to run threw phalanx, i don't do it myself (because my guys have no armors at all... so it'd kill too many of them) but to all hellenes lovers, stop crying that because your phalanx get smashed in a way that it's exploiting the system and damn, accept that even your pike elites have their weakness, wich, in war, is there to be EXPLOITED by your ennemy! yeah, that's the point of war... to exploit the weak points of your ennemy. so, if you don't like that, well, find a way to counter it! we call it : STRATEGY!

No Duguntz, you got it wrong. It was impossible to just run an entire unit behind a wall of pikes. We don't cry about getting beaten, but certainly we won't sit there cross-armed and watch our armies get obliterated because someone rips our main line apart within seconds.

And yes, it is undoubdly an exploit. A cheat, if you prefer. Because you use the engine against the opponent. Running behind a pikewall ruthlessly without even bothering to shield yourself, would get you impaled. Badly. That's what I believe, at least. But if you employ this exploit with several good sword-wielding units, you'll rip the enemy phalanx line apart in zero time. Your own lossess may be great as well, but in the end you'll win anyway. Especially if you have superior quality armies with chevrons and weapon upgrades.

But you know something? That's my oppinion, and what you stated is yours. You want to use the phalanx exploit yourself because you deem it historically accurate? Fine. But don't try playing against me on-line, because I don't consider myself a cheater nor do I like to play against such people. And Duguntz, obviously I'm not referring to you. I'm referring to anyone who shares the same oppinion as I aforementioned (the pro-phalanx exploit guys) in general.

EDIT: You want my proof of it being an exploit? Give me one occassion under which a non-pike armed army broke a pikewall on a clear, open field against decent (Macedonian) pikemen. Without using any pilae or javelins to disrupt the formation, and without using terrain anomalies as an advantage. As far as I know, the "strategy" you talk about applies to those who actually want to beat a phalanx army, not vise versa. Because the main ojective of a phalanx army, is to pin and outflank. Not to try and keep your phalanxes from being torn apart by men who run behind your lines. Sheesh. If you face a phalanx army, you have to find a way to outflank the enemy. That, my friend, is your strategy. Not mine.

Maion