Javelins

[antisocialmunky]

Light skirmisher cavalry don't have enough missiles to be useful. Gameplay-wise, they need more missiles or some sort of other use.

And no, sieges don't count. Sieges never count.

[satalexton]

how can they not count =/ a half stack of psloi can essentially grind a full stack of AS spam down to nothing...

[Bucefalo]

I think javelin cavalry is quite useful. I guess we agree that a volley of javelins causes more damage than one of arrows at short range, the main advantage of the arrows is that they can be fire from much longer distance.

Pin an enemy infantry with one infantry unit of your own (no matter if it have lower quality), then manouver your javelin cav to the rear of the enemy unit, and fire a volley of javelin at close range at their backs. Watch them tremble, and if they don´t rout, just keep firing or if your unit have decent melee stats charge at them.

I find that is one the best ways of using javelin cav, as a horse archer could do the same, but their impact at close range cause much less damage on the moral of the enemy than what the javelins do.

Besides, i find the idea of adding the "disease" kingdoms effect to the javelins interesting, maybe a little overpowered thought.

[Aulus Caecina Severus]

yeah, but why many javelins are less effective than arrows?
haven t javelin more weight than arrow?
Many horse archers and archers have 5 or 6 of missile attack, the same point of skirmishers: then javelin should be more powerful, in my mind.
2 armoured skirmisher cavalry suck against 1 unarmored horse archer cav(especially raiders witch can charge).
With EB1 units stats, i prefer to take archers than skirmishers, because archers can easily kill all enemy skirmishers before they come near my army.

Post Scriptum
About roman pilum: this is only weapon that can save legionaries from extra heavy cavalry charge... PLEASE MAKE IT MORE POWERFUL, almost like spanish solifera (6 of attak).

[antisocialmunky]

how can they not count =/ a half stack of psloi can essentially grind a full stack of AS spam down to nothing...

I'll believe that when I see it as AS spams elites in my game.

[satalexton]

caucasian archers, slingers + akonkistai, @ karkarthiokerta. Arbela also works somewhat. The cities are located on top of a hill of sorts, shoot them to make them run up the hill (use hippakonkistai as 'incentive'). arrows + fatique + rocks and javalins = lots of dead AS troops

[antisocialmunky]

... because a terrain + siege scenario obviously allow one to claim his hypothesis works for the general case of open field battle. -_-'

[Hanoeman]

My main use for javelin cavalry is harassing other troops and sometimes trying to lure away enemy cavalry. Of course in game effects don't really correctly represent the punch harassing could have had in real ancient life, but it still does the trick most of the time. Javelins shouldn't really be stronger, but I'm all in favour of the more accurate idea. Although that applies mostly to specific situations where the throwers are standing more or less still and can actually pick out an individual target. If they're just vollying away the impact of the javelins is fine as it is.

[Cartaphilus]

Javelin cavalry is very useful, specially to catching routing armies, just as in reality.

And fighting other cavalry (using the javelins) or archers/slingers (using their secondary weapon).