Let's talk about cavalry

[The General]

To that guy with the Iberi Lancearii
Okay Sotaroas are Archer-Spearmen, ie-anti cavalry, and Lancaerii are also a bit under-powered, along with the Roxolani Archer-Cataphract(seriously, full cataphract armour yet only 26 defense..) I, being the
Asshole I am, beefed them up considerably.

I do know that they're Celtic Archer-Spearmen, but, still, charge in the rear of one unit of them, by two units of Lanceari - and I lose more men in the charge, before the Sotaroas take out their spears?

In reality, the Lanceari would've probably ridden through the unit, impaling the poor Celts from the behind while doing so, and the Celtic unit would've been broken. That, or the Sotaroas would've faced the Lanceari with their spears to try and fend off them (rather than let themselves be charged in the rear). Also, the Lanceari have 30-or-so defence, with quite a bit of armour, which, imho, should reduce their vulnerability to spears somewhat... Or so one would think.

Meh, less whining, more discussion.

[Obelics]

I love the Brihentin in the West, they are like gallic warriors on horse, so they have that nice 2.25 letalithy long sword in melee... im sure a long sword is more useful than a short one from the elevated place of your horse... I like very much good melee fighting cavalry.

also i noticed in my experience, than a Curepos or Leuce Epos, with 1 or 2 silver chevron, would stand in melee forever... at last in the 0.81 version of EB, i dont know in 1.1.

Always from my 0.81 experience, best cavalry in all asia minor and greece, were the Tracian Prodromoi Mercenary, they are fast, Armour Piercing melee, good armor, good resistence at all, and they are not so much expensive as other heavy cavalry.

Regarding Roman post marian cavalry, i noticed that Gallic Equites are very good for charge, while German Equites are better for melee. So i suggest to have 2 units of German cavalry for "dangerous task" as supporting infantry melee, and 1 unit of Gallic Equites to keep in reserve and use for devasting charges. Regarding the Iberian Equites, i havent tryed them too much.

[Olaf The Great]

I do know that they're Celtic Archer-Spearmen, but, still, charge in the rear of one unit of them, by two units of Lanceari - and I lose more men in the charge, before the Sotaroas take out their spears?

In reality, the Lanceari would've probably ridden through the unit, impaling the poor Celts from the behind while doing so, and the Celtic unit would've been broken. That, or the Sotaroas would've faced the Lanceari with their spears to try and fend off them (rather than let themselves be charged in the rear). Also, the Lanceari have 30-or-so defence, with quite a bit of armour, which, imho, should reduce their vulnerability to spears somewhat... Or so one would think.

Meh, less whining, more discussion.

30 or so defense? They have 16 armor, 8 skill, and 2 shield. in my backup EDU

I beefed it up 18-9-2

[The General]

30 or so defense? They have 16 armor, 8 skill, and 2 shield. in my backup EDU

I beefed it up 18-9-2

Meh, 26, then. It has been four or five months since I played the campaign.

[QuintusSertorius]

It's a toss-up between Curepos and Epos Liguriae. Former has the better stamina, and lances which means lots of good charges. Latter has slightly better armour, melee skills and spears, which means they're better at sticking around.

[Irishmafia2020]

Since nobody has mentioned it, in my Eastern campaigns I have found the Indo-Iranian light cavalry to be solid mercenary cavalry (they are mislabeled as light - they are a true medium cav), and the regional Median and Asiatic Cavalry (same unit - different name) to be cheap decent medium cavalry. Indo Iranian Heavy Cavalry is a regional unit exclusive to Gandahara in the far East of the map. I also use 4 units of Dahae riders (not the aforementioned Dahae skirmishers, but a step up from them) as a quick reaction force in the East. The riders are standard horse archers, but they double as a useful medium cavalry unit in a pinch. Ethiopian Hippies are a good deal as well in Arabia/Ethiopia/Egypt. Kinsmen are solid, and they are a major reason that turned homeland regions into client states in my AS campaign. Baktrian Hippies are the best medium cav in the game, but they are exclusive to Baktria.

[QuintusSertorius]

Has anyone had any experience with the Roman auxiliary cavalry?

I was having a look at the RV to see where Germanic auxiliaries can be recruited, and was impressed to see both the Gallic provinces bordering on the Rhine can recruit them. Though presumably you need factional barracks (and a type II government) to do that?

[General Appo]

I´ve used them a tiny bit, yes, mostly to fight rebels and brigands, but yes, I´ve used them. The Gallic ones are quite good for flanking and charging, and I mostly treat them as heavy cavalry. I once staged an invasion of the entire north of the Black Sea, 1 FM, 10 Marian Legionaries and 9 Gallic Auxiliary cavalry from Galatia. Worked like a charm, the HA didn´t stand a chance. In the last battle I faced two full stacks of HA and foot archers. Put the Legionaries in front in Testudo formation and let them shot of all their arrows. When the finally charged the Legionaries the Gauls circled around and slaughtered them from behind.

The Germanic auxiliary cavalry is more like very strong Hippakontistai, or the Tarantinoi. Good skirmishing cavalry, but that packs quite a punch in melee. Not so good at charging, but can certainly take out some enemy missile and light infantry units, and against enemy cavalry they´re great, at least against the relatively weak ones I´ve meet (germanic light cavalry, Leuce Epos, Belgae cavalry, etc.).

The Spanish ones I havn´t used much, but my limited experience shows them as a very good unit. Nice skirmishers, not so good chargers, but very good at melee. Havn´t really meet any heavy infantry or cavalry with them, so can´t say anything there.

The Thracians ones are quite good as well, pretty much the same as the Spanish ones. Very good against HA´s though, fast and quick killers, with a little micro-management a few of these can catch up with any HA´s and make short work of them.