How do I know if a unit is better than another?

[WinsingtonIII]

So what do you think are the deciding factors?

In the moment I play a campaign as Saba, so why not show me an example with my 3 basic light infrantry troops that I can recruit, nubian spearmen, ethiopian light spearmen and native hellenic spearmen. I think the Ethopians are the best, because of their better defense skill. Between the other two I dont really have a clue who I think is better.

Which stats are most important really depends on what you want to use the unit for. The online unit guide here gives you more information than the in game unit descriptions do. In fact, two of the most important stats, lethality and morale, are not in game unit descriptions. Morale is probably one of the most important stats all around, as it tells you how long the unit is going to be able hold against the enemy before routing, and whether or not it will rout immediately after getting flanked or may be able to hold out for a while even though they are completely surrounded. Generally, in EB, I view a morale of 11 as "average." Anything below that is relatively poor morale (although they may still hold well if used correctly), and units with 11 morale will hold very well if not too much flanking/rear pressure is put on them. I view a morale of 13 as "semi-elite/professional," although of course many non-professional, non-elite units have morale this high, but it is definitely above average morale and these units will hold well even under pressure. Finally, I view a morale of 15 or higher as "elite." There are non-elite units that have morale this high, but most elite units have morale in the 15-18 range, and units in this morale range are difficult to break. I guess the terms "high" and "very high" might be better than "semi-elite" and "elite." You also must consider whether a unit is "trained" or not, and whether is has high "discipline" or not when considering morale. Units that are "trained" or "highly trained" and/or are "disciplined" or "highly disciplined" will lose morale at a slower rate. Units that are "untrained" or "impetuous" will lose morale at a faster rate. Some high morale "barbarian" units break faster than would be expected because they are "impetuous." I believe the "impetuous" trait also means that they may charge without orders.

Lethality is also very important. This determines what percentage of successful hits the unit makes against an enemy result in kills. Units with a low attack can actually be very deadly if they have a high lethality, because even though they score less successful hits, those hits that are successful are very likely to be kills.

If you want to use a unit offensively, as a flanker/assault unit, the most important stats are generally charge, attack, lethality, and whether the weapon is armor piercing or not. Drapanai, for instance, have terrible defense and basically no armor, but they are great flanking troops (if you keep them away from missiles) due to these previously listed traits.

If you want to defend/hold a line with a unit, defense, armor, shield value, and morale become more important. Additionally, the tightness of the unit formation is especially important for defending.

With missile troops you run into a whole new line of stats, like range and amount of ammunition, that must be considered. For cavalry, it really depends on the type of cavalry, speed and range may be most important for light skirmisher cavalry, while charge is most important for lancers. Really, it's difficult to say what makes a unit good because it really depends on what you want to use that unit for. I would say that overall, morale is one of the most important stats in EB though, simply because the slow kill rate in EB means that battles generally depend on breaking the morale of the enemy while maintaining the morale of your own troops.

As for Saba, the Ethiopians are the best of the light spear troops you listed, but once you can get them, use Sabaen Levy Spearmen instead. They aren't much better in the defense department, but they have 13 morale, which is quite good.