Quote Originally Posted by Philipvs Vallindervs Calicvla
Units that have been kept under arms will have more XP, won't they?

My point is very simple, the base level of training was fairly even and the Romans did not have the elite permenant soldiers other armies did until after Augustus.

So why should a newly recruited Marian cohort be better than a newly recruited unit of mid-level phalangites?
I'm not asking that, I just expect that a cohort should, man for man, stack up fairly evenly with eg. pezhetairoi. Like I said earlier, I haven't done the testing to find out whether this is the case; if it is, then the cohort is fine.

My point about the evocati stands, though. I don't see why veterans should be better at throwing the pilum but identical in every other respect. I doubt the older veterans would have stronger arms or better eyesight; it seems much more likely that their experience (yes, even a freshly recruited cohors evocata would consist of veterans with experience) would give them better morale and perhaps slightly better melee skills. It depends how big the effects of being older vs. being more experienced are, and that is debatable.