Arcani- how to

[Jamess]

I've heard several people talking about arcani and how great they are. I'm new to the forums and I utterly suck at arcani:)
How do you use them, what are they good for? I'd really like to use them(coolness factor) but sadly I'm at a loss to see why not add another UC in their army slot?

[Quintus.JC]

Arcani offers its advantages; they can hid in bushes and are therefore good for ambush; they have superior stamina and lighter armour so don't tire as out as quickly. Plus they do have the hefty 2 HP bonus and good melee status, and their mask is quite awesome and causes fear among enemy troops, so there is plenty of reasons to stick with these Ninja rejects.

Having said those, however, I still wouldn't depoly a lot of them on the battlefield, especially after the Marian reforms when the legionaries reigns supreme. Plus the fact that Arcani are purely fictional and historically inaccurate. But the choice of playing them is entirely up to you.

[Slug For A Butt]

Personally, I don't use Arcani. I see them as a flanking force but I find I'd rather have a unit of medium cav instead.
But everyone plays a different game.

[gollum]

Welcome to the org Jamess, enjoy your stay.

In theory good to spring ambushes, in practice very difficult considering the speed of the vanilla game. As it has been said however they cause fear, have 2 hit points (they need to die twice to die, so essentially the unit isn't as small as it seems), they have relatively good stats. They can be used in critical melee areas that you wish to overload/brake, and they can be devastating as flankers. They also have phenomenal stamina, and so dont shy to overuse them or overrun them.

I personally mod them out.

[Empirate]

Superfluous unit CA put in the game just for the heck of it - that's my opinion. Put Arcani against Praetorian Cohorts (both about equally hard to get) and you'll see what I mean. Or try and make an army of Arcani and supply them with reinforcements once you're out there fighting Gauls or stuff. They don't hold a candle to other "special" (read: fantasy) units, like Berserkers or Head Hurlers, either.
What do the vaunted Roman legions need these guys for? All your bases are covered well enough except for Elephants/Chariots as shock troops. Arcani don't have a job on the battlefield another (standard) unit can't do just as well or better. As for those who like to flank with infantry: learn to use the power of cavalry, and you'll abandon your childish games soon enough!

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Historically, arcani would have been deployed in pairs or trios, as advanced scouts, and only in the later empire. So, as presented in vanilla, they border on sheer fantasy as has been suggested above (along with limed heads that crush armor, resurecting quadruped seeker missiles [dogs], and ptolemaic generals riding chariots to battle).

If you are going to play with them, you'll find that they are a good surprise from the flank unit -- but that light auxilia aren't much worse at that. You'll find that they sword fight well for their size, but still won't beat an urban cohort or the like. What they do wonderfully with is ladder work. The units up the ladders facing an opponent on the wall always get chummed, but with arcani it happens slowly enough that you can get other apparatus to the walls and get the units deployed to fight while the arcani die. Basically, I use them like I do doggies going into a breach....but at least the doggies come back from the dead if I keep the handlers alive.

[Centurion1]

I remember when i played a campaign using only arcani and the gladiators. lol its was ridiculous. they and the gladiators do well in city fighting though where numbers dont mean anything otherwise

[ReluctantSamurai]

I used them occasionally back when I still played Roman factions. And I used them in a similar way that Centurion1 used them.......city fighting. They don't need reforming to fit in the narrow city streets, and opposing units cannot bring all of their numbers to bear for the very same reason....narrow streets.