Precisely. And that's where the whole mount armour and defence comes in. Increasing HP isn't going to work and it's not realistic because chariots and horses couldn't take all that many hits. It's more realistic to leave the HP as it is but increase the amount of armour slabbed onto the battlecars. Chariots by right were not used as flankers but as shock forces. So the armour of your chariotry should reflect that. As to using ranged troops to soften the enemy, how'd you do that Franc? Every time I try to use ranged troops to soften up ANY enemy, as long as they were not archers, they would be immediately chased by the enemy's cavalry before they even had a chance to fire a volley, forcing my cavalry/chariotry to come out to save their necks.