companion cavalry

[Karel de Stoute]

I'm playing a campaign as macedonia and i have conquered antioch a few yaers ago. I'm building up barracks and i can only go up to lvl 4. How do i get my lvl 5 barracks and companion cavarly in antioch?

[fomalhaut]

may seem obvious but im guessing you would need the Regional I government for a unit like that

[Biowulf]

The short answer is that you most likely can't. You would need the homeland resource and a lvl 1 government to get your MIC that high.

[Karel de Stoute]

hmm, bummer, i'll have to use galatian cavalry

[Drewski]

I'm playing a campaign as macedonia and i have conquered antioch a few yaers ago. I'm building up barracks and i can only go up to lvl 4. How do i get my lvl 5 barracks and companion cavarly in antioch?

Probably too late now, but you could (sorta) cheat. As long as there is already a type I gov built, be it Selec or Ptol, then repair the building, and it will allow you to build a top lvl 5 factional barracks. Then destroy the type I and build your own govt. The barracks and recruitability will stay.

Must say that I always do this in Antioch (but only Antioch), if the game ever gets that far. A large amount of factions can build their top lvl troops in Antioch (even Baktra!) but only Ptols and Selec can build the necessary govt "legally"....

[Olaf The Great]

The same story is true if you want Sword Champions in Casse lands as the other celtic factions.

[QuintusSertorius]

Don't Makedonian FMs have Companion Cavalry for their bodyguards? In which case, why bother recruiting them?

[Olaf The Great]

You can't always have enough to do a good cavalry charge(3 units is usually enough) and there just aren't enough herpaderp dull/uncharismatic/langourous FM's to use as free cavalry.

[QuintusSertorius]

You can't always have enough to do a good cavalry charge(3 units is usually enough) and there just aren't enough herpaderp dull/uncharismatic/langourous FM's to use as free cavalry.

You don't need that many, and why only use your useless FMs for cavalry?

Or am I failing to account for the blitzers who need all their competent FMs for governors?

[Ca Putt]

it's an option if you don't want to use multiple FMs in armies, plus they have more men than most fms and some people don'T find it right to abuse the free cav FMs are.

[Biowulf]

And it's not just blitzers who keep FMs in every city . I never blitz, I keep all cities governed by someone, and I try to use only armies controlled by an FM. It's more of a challenge to keep FMs in cities all the time.

[QuintusSertorius]

it's an option if you don't want to use multiple FMs in armies, plus they have more men than most fms and some people don'T find it right to abuse the free cav FMs are.

Given that their upkeep comes out of your revenues, they're anything but "free".

And it's not just blitzers who keep FMs in every city . I never blitz, I keep all cities governed by someone, and I try to use only armies controlled by an FM. It's more of a challenge to keep FMs in cities all the time.

When you play as slowly as I often do, you have a surfeit of FMs. At one point in a Pergamon game, I had something like 11 of them and two provinces. I still never have more than two in any one army (as my heavy cavalry).

[Ca Putt]

free in terms of: free replacement whereever you are which would otherwise cost you a level 5 barrack(and all the lower level barracks + gov) plus the initial recruitment cost plus traveling time(as elite units often have a limited AOR) in which the unit has to be paid but cannot do anything usefull( plus many BGs have +3moral). AND the fact that RTW is coded to let you have a cartain number of FMs - thus you'd have to pay them anyway and every dead bad FM gives you the chance to get a new, better one.

considering that and the overall cost of heavy cavalry(or infantry) and the fact that everything is relative anyway(so it goes without saying): yes they are (relatively) free.

mercenary generals however, that is a whole new story.

[Megas Methuselah]

When you play as slowly as I often do, you have a surfeit of FMs. At one point in a Pergamon game, I had something like 11 of them and two provinces. I still never have more than two in any one army (as my heavy cavalry).

I killed off most of my FM's in my last civil war but over the past 20 years, they've been popping up again like rabbits. I now have a few full-stack armies in forts along my borders with the Helvetii and Sweboz, each with 3 FM's in it. I try to ensure they get 4 years of education in Massalia's academy, then 10 years of active military service, before sending them to get fat off a rich satrapy. They usually emerge from the whole ordeal with 5+ management skills, some influence, and even some command stars. The ones with the most command stars are usually kept with the army for 20+ years until I begin pitying them and pension them off. It keeps me from having to deal with a whole bucketload of useless and idle family members.

[Julianus]

I always thought 16 is the highest morale you can get, but just found that Hetairoi has 18 and Solduros 17. What makes these two so special that they surpass all other super elite units like Hypaspistai and Grivpanvar?

[vollorix]

And naked dudes like Gaesatae got even over 20, but that´s because they use some doping, i guess^^
Some Bodyguard Cavalry got morale value of 18, i guess it´s partly for balancing purposes, and also to make them equal to the "BG" Hetairoi.

[Jacke]

And it's not just blitzers who keep FMs in every city . I never blitz, I keep all cities governed by someone, and I try to use only armies controlled by an FM. It's more of a challenge to keep FMs in cities all the time.

Unless it's a very slow game, how do you get enough FMs for every city and some for the armies?!?

[Biowulf]

Adoptions, marriages, and the fact that many FMs breed like bunnies. And almost all my games are slow ones.

[vartan]

I noticed a misconception in this thread. I want to reiterate, as a fellow member here mentioned, that the filling of the ranks of family member bodyguards is not free but actually costs administration costs. You can find this in your financial page if I'm not mistaken.

[Cute Wolf]

well, $200 per FM (comparable to Haploi) is still far cheaper than $900 up somewhat for most elite cavalry, even when they have double the numbers (if that FM is no influence guy), the "administrative costs" is only a quarter

Plus your governor also have dat cost, if they aren't good managers, they are better work in the field to pay up their wages

PS: I know it's minai not $, thank you