Praise: Balance Improvements CA made in battles
After playing a couple of short campaigns I've made note of some problems as has everybody else, but I also want to make note of some things that seem to be working better. Because of the changes, I no longer feel confident in taking in the AI when I am outgunned 2 or 3 to 1 on very hard. I have actually lost a few fights and have had a number of "Pyrrhic victories." Of course, part of this is that I can now use infantry...
Infantry battles are now possible on VH/VH. Prior to the patch cavalry was so powerful that infantry was of little value. That is no longer true. Cavalry is still powerful, but it lacks the charge and staying power it had before (some of this is probably morale related.) With the huge attack bonuses the AI was getting on VH, plus the pri/sec bug, when facing Roman armies they were getting +11 attack pre-patch! So fighting using primarily infantry was almost always a disaster unless my infantry was phalanx units.
Archers are not so deadly to heavy infantry. This has reduced the tendency of archers to determine the battle. I still have some issues with the power of all archer units, particularly vs. unshielded units, and the strength of vanilla archers vs. vanilla slingers, but overall the archer balance has taken a considerable step forward.
Overall weakened battle morale is making the elephant units more realistic. They are also quite deadly to anything and everything while amok. Although still devastating (as they should be), the big pachyderms need to get their work done and get out quickly, before they run amok. Before I could use them as very blunt battering ram without much thought to their preservation. Now, I must be more cautious with them. They are not the sort of unit to take to the field with a weak general (very much as it should be--poor generals had disastrous results with elephants.)
Anti-cav units actually work decently at holding cavalry unless morale breaks, which is as it should be.
Phalanx units feel "more real" I haven't fought that much with or against them yet (some as Carthage, not alot), but when I have, and when I've tested they seem better. Before they were either invincible or useless. It was just wierd. Sometimes they mowed down units easily, other times they were swept over as if they weren't even there.
Javelins/Peltast can be quite useful Before, with friendly fire issues, these units did me almost no good. Now, with FF fixed they can be used as a screening force and are good at harassing heavies as they approach. I might be mistaken, but they seem to cause a few more casualties per volley than before, too vs. lightly armoured/lightly shielded. I've even had some long skirmishes with other javelins when sallying--the way it was meant to be!
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