Cavalry

[Fluvius Camillus]

If you are talking about the EB timeframe... Big Kontos charges, followed up by AP weapons (like maces), decimate any opposing cavalry, not to mention they are armoured from top to toe.

~Fluvius

[Alsatia]

If you are talking about the EB timeframe... Big Kontos charges, followed up by AP weapons (like maces), decimate any opposing cavalry, not to mention they are armoured from top to toe.

~Fluvius

Kinda reminds me of those Constables of Jerusalem you get in M2TW:K... (No Jewish pun intended)

[Exosus]

The Catraphacts took everything that was great about the Companions and then added on to it. They were the most fearsome cavalry in ancient history; sources are in almost universal agreement on that point.

[Andy1984]

I don't think cataphracts are overpowered. Place scythed chariots, concentrated missile fire or masses of low level infantry against them and see what happens. :)

About light cavalry winning over heavily armoured cavalry: this had perhaps something to do with the numbers of the historical light cavalry?

[antisocialmunky]

The Catraphacts took everything that was great about the Companions and then added on to it. They were the most fearsome cavalry in ancient history; sources are in almost universal agreement on that point.

They were an independent development. Also, Companions were used to outmaneuver the enemy where as Cataphracts were used to charge through a disordered enemy frontally.

[Flavius_Belisarius]

And this outmaneuver isnt possible in eb because the companions have the same crappy stamina like cataphracts :\

@Andy

Im quite sure that the Byzantines were at the most times more when the fougth against the arabs. I read that the arab light cavalry defeated the cataphracts of byzantium several times, maybe the outmanveuvered the cataphracts, and thats sure easy because cataphracts will be very fast tired in a desert.

[HunGeneral]

I would suspect that the fact that Catas tire quite fast in the desert (like said bafore) and maybe that the Arabs fielded above all skirmisher Cavalry (javelin cavalry + horse archers) had a role in defeating the Byzantines. (lets also not forget that these Arabs had defeated the Sassanids earlier so they had some experience fighting heavy cavalry... )Althoug I'm not sure since I don't have much knowledge of that era and it's warfare. (I'm rather informed about the Ottoman/Turkish invasions on the Balkan and South/East Europe, both thats a different story..)

[Flavius_Belisarius]

Yeah that arabs had a lot of ranged cavalry and excellent ligth cavalry. The seldjuks which combined heavy cavalry and light cavalry defeated the cataphracts of byzantium again, first the tired the catas with their light cavalry and finaly the finished them with the heavy seldjuk kav but i still dont understand how the arab cavalry should defeat the cataphracts in melee.

[antisocialmunky]

And this outmaneuver isnt possible in eb because the companions have the same crappy stamina like cataphracts :\

Companions are fast. Kataphracts in their tired state can be caught by fast infantry while the fast and very fast types don't have to worry about it.

[Flavius_Belisarius]

Companions are fast. Kataphracts in their tired state can be caught by fast infantry while the fast and very fast types don't have to worry about it.

I didnt know this, i thougth they are same fast because it isnt written in the unit skill description.

And whats with their stamina, is it as bad as the cataphracts one ?