Wow they are good (hastati/principes)

[Comemnus]

Just looking at roman hastati/principes they look rather average to stat wise, and yet they seem to preform exceptionally. why is this? do they have some attack bonus I am not seeing? Do they have an exceptionally high attack speed?

Also the Iranian archer-spear man are entirely amazing, and they are dirt cheap.

[Beefy187]

I rather Celtic slingers. Four units of those can fight back enemy stack. I never liked the Roman infantry because im a archer/slinger commander and those boys are soo hard to kill.

Iranian spearmen are extremely useful against barbies (especially Sarmatians) too bad Baktria and Pahlava have to fight AS and their tough pikemans.

[Treverer]

Just looking at roman hastati/principes they look rather average to stat wise, and yet they seem to preform exceptionally.
...
Also the Iranian archer-spear man are entirely amazing, and they are dirt cheap.

But both shall be slaughtered by Gaesatae or Tindanotae ... Believe me!

[Horst Nordfink]

I always found hastati to be pathetic! Every time I sent a unit of hastati to fight anything, they were almost routed.

Principes were good though, they made up for the girly fighting of the hastati.

[Bellum]

I use an equal (or close to equal) mix of hastati, principes, and triarii to great effect. Though I imagine hastati would be pretty poor without some form of support, so would accensi, if you take my meaning..

[bovi]

First reply! CARPE DIEM!!!!

Please stop posting nonsense.

[Tellos Athenaios]

But both shall be slaughtered by Gaesatae or Tindanotae ... Believe me!

Oh no. If I know I am about to meet some Gaesatae on the battle field; I make sure to have some slingers on hand. And believe me Iosatae are the best kind: if they get charged by enemy light/medium cavalry then more often than not they rout the enemy cavalry.

Secondly the Archer-Spearmen combination is very, very powerful. It won't work against phalanx-based armies; but if you take care to support these troops with some mobile infantry + cavalry...

No way the Gaesatae will survive it.

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

A Roman army in EB was made to fight like a Republican Roman army. Hastati, even Camillan ones, are very good but in a large fight don't expect to win without the Principes, and the Roman army almost never did. They wear down the enemy greatly, and that's what they're suited for.

On smaller fights, I don't even need to send the Principes. I spare them and the Triarii for decisive conflicts. When you get Polybian Reforms, the morale of the Hastati will be high enough to keep the pace with the rest of the Roman army, and they'll do their roles much better. Manipular warfare is by far the best and most effective war in EB: because the enemy elites will be tired and will lose their strenght when they can rout the hastati, and when you can send the decisive punch of fresh Principes. Plus if they ever manage to rout the Principes, they'll be too tired to ever face the punch of new, fresh Triarii.

That's why the Romans are so effective: flexible and disciplined heavy infantry with lots of reserve fresh troops ready to be thrown at the enemy's most vulnerable point.

[Horst Nordfink]

The unit I was most impressed with were the Dacian Shock Infantry! They batted well above their average on many an occasion and more often than not provided me with that little je ne sais quoi when things went a bit pear shaped.

[Tellos Athenaios]

"I don't know what"?!

[Horst Nordfink]

Je ne sais quoi - "I don't know what"; used to mean a certain, indescribable or indefinable 'something' which distinguishes the object in question from others which are superficially similar

[bovi]

Also known as whassit or wossname. Or in this particular case, edge.

[Watchman]

"She has that certain... je ne sais quoi."
"Is that French for big hooters ?"
- Rocky and Tommy, Rocky by Martin Kellerman

I've noticed slingers and archers are poison to the Nekkid Men. Or maybe it's just the way I tend to play Focus Fire(tm) and Bait And Switch(tm) with them. Certainly beats trying to whittle down their HP through that crazy-ass defense skill in HTH, although I've also succesfully buried Reb Tindanotae under those Galatian knife-dudes when it comes to that... ...although it was probably those nutty clouds of javelins that did most of the job.

[antisocialmunky]

I always use Hastati/Hoplite Haploi/Samnite Spearmen/Celtic Levies as a first line with them set in defense mode with principles in the second rank in attack mode. Out of all four, Samnites and Hastati are simply great at what they do. I have many silver shield Hastati sitting around by the reforms.

[Spoofa]

silver shield hastati?

I didnt know they made silver scutums

[antisocialmunky]

bler - I meant Silver Chevron.