Quote Originally Posted by RabbitDynamite
Yes, phalanxes do have verrry slow kill rates. They aren't supposed to be the deadly mincing machines of Vanilla, their primary purpose is to pin the foe in place so something else can deliver the killing blow.*

Mind, if one two phallanx units fight with one having a height advantage, or one manages to "catch" another in formation phallanx in the flank, things can get bloody.

*Historically, wasn't the decline of the successor states partially because that they neglected their missile and cavalry arms, and the all phalanx armies were much less effective?
Yeah, more of less. One of the big reasons was the depletion of the cavalry arm by the Sucessor Wars.