What now?

[Lysimachos]

Actually, I would never disband any elephants - sure they were expensive and contributed to my lack of treasury, but they also kept me going as they won me countless victories as Epeiros and made my exhausted and decimated army still a force to be reckoned with (eliminating Makedon and the KH within 5 years of game time). Ships, sure - there's no need to keep them around. But elite units (as well as cavalry) are worth so much more than levies and if you use them well they win you wars, not just battles.

"Use them well" is the important part. Expensive units should be in an army which is regularly fighting battles in which the elite units' superiority makes a difference. Anywhere else anything above average has no place (in the beginning).

[panten]

"Use them well" is the important part. Expensive units should be in an army which is regularly fighting battles in which the elite units' superiority makes a difference. Anywhere else anything above average has no place (in the beginning).

Absolutely. If expensive units are not fighting in the beginning they are pretty much only burning money - and chances are, there's not a lot of it. On the other hand: no matter how good one is a general, there will be losses - especially with units who have not been upgraded and are green - here elites make the difference: they effectively hold back or break the enemy and can cause massive damage to the enemy army. Keeping them around will make it easier to expand into new territories and will help to stabilize economy faster - even with the higher upkeep. And those troops are really worth it since it will take a probably long time to be able to recruit them.