Discussion: the most cost-effective unit?

[Afkazar]

Hoplites are undoublty the best in city defending.While they cant hold the walls they can EASILY hold the routes leading to the town square.As long as a better units of hoplites or increible cav comes.Even then i set my my hoplites up in such a way that an entire phalanx cant get to town square without getiing hit in the sides by at least 1 other unit

[HumphreysCraig00]

In single player the most cost effective by far is Light cavalry (equites is the one I have experience with) As with good strategic use (and a bucket full of luck ) I can rout a few kinds of early/mid game Full stack armies(@) with 2 equites units (although I always keep a minimum of 4 (2 Striking 2 reserve) incase I make a mistake and rout the 2 stiking units ).

And theyre cheap as chips and you have the ability to build them from the start of the game. The downside though is I cant take settlements with them without massive casualties, I dont know why. But its possible to avoid them with city reinforcement fights also missile cavalry is difficult to destroy with them sometimes, but often the AI screws up and makes it easy.


In multiplayer though there is no most cost effective unit. As you need balanced armies to do well at all(*), (although all berserker armies wipe the floor with people who dont know how to counter them) So there could be a multiplayer most cost effective unit ratio (2 Hev cav to 1 hev infantry for instance) but no most cost effective unit as far as I can see.


@ Not 100% of the time, around 40-50%, but it is somehting I can doo, ive never got to the endgame so dont know about then (I get bored)

* for me anyway

[ByzantineKnight]

Peasants: They cost nothing and do nothing lol

Just Kidding

British Light Chariots: A couple can easily decimate a full stack of almost anything.

[LuckyDog Trojan]

NobleNick:
Thanks for the analytical work you put together pertaining to the Legionary Cohort. I'll have to remember that in the future when my D-funds are quickly drying up due to upkeep costs for all those Praetorian & Urban Cohorts I tend to get carried away with building.

For me - I get a lot of mileage out of the Archer Auxilia unit - as long as I can keep them out out 'harms way' (melee encounters) and don't have to send them back into the cities too often for rank replenishment. Long term, these guys do a heckuva job of softening up the enemy for me in battle after battle. They are often instrumental in helping me to achieve battlefield victories.

[woad&fangs]

wardogs!!!!!! they're cheap as dirt for upkeep and replenish themselves after every battle!!!! mounted missile troops like light chariots are also good because they can kill more than 100 enemies per battle and not take a hit. plus they only cost 400 to recruit and have low upkeep because they dont have many troops per unit.

[Stuperman]

Barbarian Mercs!

Just kidding, they are about the least cost efftive unit avaiable.

I'd say Phalanx pikemen, 150/turn, 240 men, long spears, can beat hopelites easly (as they have shorter spears), will kick most roman troops ass (against AI, who rush the front), they destroy cav. Only real weakness is on walls, and they are vunerable to archers and cav as thay are slow.

[guineawolf]

Barbarian Mercs!

Just kidding, they are about the least cost efftive unit avaiable.

I'd say Phalanx pikemen, 150/turn, 240 men, long spears, can beat hopelites easly (as they have shorter spears), will kick most roman troops ass (against AI, who rush the front), they destroy cav. Only real weakness is on walls, and they are vunerable to archers and cav as thay are slow.

150/turn? Are you mentioning the levy pikemen? Successfully using militia hoplites to conquer the map,i am gonna try that after my Carthage campaign...