Quote Originally Posted by QuintusSertorius View Post
I do disagree, because that isn't my experience. Elites are rarely much better at doing the same job, and they certainly aren't better than two regular units at doing it. Two units of Hoplitai will hold a line much more effectively than one of Hypaspistai, not least because one can pin and the other flank. Especially when you have the force multiplier of your own cavalry, doing the unit-breaking from the rear added into the mix.

The better morale is often irrelevant compared to the impact the general is having, and the difference between 11/12 (the usual morale of regulars) and 15 (usual morale of elites) not anywhere near as important as between 8-10 (usual levy morale) and 12.
thats not a fair comparison, you should compare 2 elites to 4 regulars, and not 1 elite to 2 regulars. manouvers are another extra thing to consider, and its not fair to take that out of the eqation for 1 unit but noth for the other.


No, clearly you don't. Levies are an irrelevance since they are not capable of doing the same job. Whereas elites are only at best 25% better than regulars stats-wise, for double the price.

The only economy elites are providing is in taking up less slots in a 20-unit stack than the equivalent cost in regulars.
im not comparing elites to levies, im comparing how good elites do vs something and how good regulars do vs that same thing. its the obvious choice for that something to be levy units, because i can't balance the ratio of regulars vs another regular or an elite vs another elite. so i let 1 regular fight 1 levy and see what the casualties are and what the cost is for that unit, and i do the same for the elite, and then i compare the two. then i look at what point the levies will overwhelm and start to defeat the regular/elite and again i compare the results.

the conclusion was that when for example you can put 1 regular vs 1 levy, then cost-wise the regulars will suffer less casualties than the elite. but when you are in a chokepoint where you can't put two regulars but you can use 1 elite, then the elite (some of them atleast) will do better than even 2 regulars (put behind each other) because the elite will break at a much much later point.

its not that hard.