
Originally Posted by
The Stranger
i disagree, theyre not. The question we were debating, atleast in that thread, and also a bit in this one, was amongst others, the cost-effectiveness of elite units.
The result was, that SOME (with emphasis on some, for various historical and balance reasons) elite units are cost-effective, but that the regular units are in most cases the most cost-effective units in the game. It doesnt even take alot of testing to deduce this, because if you look at stats, elites are easily 2x more expensive while perhaps only 20-25% better in stats. However, if you are asking about the point of elite units, the point is this, they are simply unmatched in their specific role on the battlefield. So an elite cavalry will simply do better in routing the enemy faster, this will not always be worth 2x more upkeep, but that one battle you needed the enemy to route instantly to not lose the battle, you are going to wish you had that elite. The same for elite phalanx or melee infantry, and the ultimate unit, the TAB, like all elite they simply have more staying power, they barely ever route, they barely ever give up ground, and they can tie down so many other units, even when surrounded, they just dont die. Again, in most battles, specially if not flanked, a regular will do the job equally well (not better ofcourse, but as good to not warrant 2x the upkeep for an elite) but that one battle, for example in case your village got attacked by 60 angry hoplite citizen that want democracy, you are going to wish your garrison was made up of 3 TAB and not of 6 hoplites, because the TAB will fight to the last man, while the hoplites will break alot sooner.
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