Originally Posted by
Frontline1944
Now, certainly, the Getai are known because of their Drapanai. They are an excellent unit, pure and simple. I won't go into much detail, but I'm sure that you would appreciate the usefulness of a unit that can tear into the rear of a phalanx and (this is with levy or medium phalangites) start wiping out the unit at 5-6 men every 2 seconds (a conservative estimate, based on the results of a few custom battles). Moreover, they defend walls well against virtually any unit, are dirt cheap, have an AoR that includes much of Southeastern Europe, and have a decent unit size. I'm fairly certain that you can obtain access to Drapanai on the second turn of a Getai campaign, assuming that you head straight for Sarmizegethusa.
But that is not the issue here. You say that Drapanai is all the Getai have? Tsk tsk tsk...
The Getai are at a crossroads geographically. Their roster allows you to deal with darned near well everything. Allow me to elaborate.
Western archers can be collectively described as "crap". Start from the left edge of the EB map, move west, and by the time you reach the Getic lands, you might find a few decent archer units (Baltic Frontiersmen come to mind). But until you do reach Getic lands, you'll notice that archery is rather lacking in most factions. The Getai, however, boast excellent archers: Komatai Toxotai, who although aren't equal to their eastern cousins in range or ammo, are very versatile troops who carry a spear with which to defend themselves from pesky light cavalry; and Komatai Agrianai, a completely unique unit which boasts excellent archery skills but can also double as a quick-moving, hard-hitting light infantry unit because of their secondary .225 lethality Celtic longsword.
Likewise, the Getai are the first faction you'll encounter as you scroll to right to have horse archers (HA). You'll find Getikoi Hippotoxotai to be a rather typical HA, but they can be put to devastating use against Westerners. Ktistai are another unique unit, a combination of armored horse archer, lancer, and priest.
The Getai prove to have superior skirmishers. Surely you have heard praise of their Komatai, a hardy bunch of troops that can launch six volleys of javelins before throwing themselves into the thick of the fight. The EB description does not exaggerate when it says, "If forced into melee they can hold their own against other light and even some medium infantry." This is most assuredly not the case with Akontistai, Leves, and the like. Later on, you will gain access to Komatai Epilektoi, an elite armored skirmisher unit that can lay waste to the enemy flank by charging in with their dreaded longswords.
Have you noticed a pattern beginning to emerge? In each case so far, I have presented two units for each unit type, one available early in a campaign and one that you gain access to with your highest MICs. Near the beginning of this post, I made the claim that the Getic roster allows you to deal with most anything. And so it is. In the early game, you will be able to annihilate AI stacks with a combination of battle-winning troops. As the AI makes its expansions and throws stacks of elites at you, you will be able to field a completely new army composed of your own elites to triumph over the enemy (I assure you, though, that Drapanai will wipe out elite phalanxes just as they do with levies). Let us continue, then...
Due to their proximity to the Hellenes, the Getai have some units that are described as having Hellenic influences, namely the Getikoi Stratiotai. These spearmen will serve you well as line infantry, able to hold enemy troops in place (and also deal death to any charging cavalry) while your Drapanai, Komatai, and the like flank the enemy line. After some time, your troops will undergo a process of professionalization, and you will gain access to Komatai Thorakitai Stratiotai. Widely acclaimed as one of the best pseudo-phalanxes in the game, these troops will astound you with their capabilities from the moment you employ them in the heat of battle.
Mezenai are skirmisher cavalry, adept at harassing the enemy and running down routing units. You will find that they are useful in the forests and the plains alike. The Ischyroi Orditon (you might also find them called Agema Orditon, if I am not mistaken) are your heaviest troops. Clad in armor, trained to the highest degree, armed with a spear and a longsword, these "mighty men of the Ordes" will never disappoint you. Komatai Pelekuphoroi are axemen that wear some armor, a useful alternative to Drapanai when making excursions into the lands of the Sauromatae. You will find excellent medium cavalry in the form of the Tarabostes, who combine good looks with the typical fierce Dacian disposition. And, of course, you have hardy slingers, Komatai Sphendonitai, that can shower the enemy with armor-piercing stones.
Have I convinced you yet? No? Well, there is more to come. As you might already know, the Getai are just a subset of the conglomeration of people called the Thracians. As you strive to reunite the rest of the Thracians under the banner of the Getai, you will gain full access to all the units that Thrace has to offer.
You may have been asking yourself, "All well and good, the Getai clearly have a superior roster... but where are their medium infantry?" Well, you have two units to choose from: Taxeis Triballoi, whose warlike nature, versatility, and longswords combine to produce a dominating force on the battlefield; and Galatraikes, a lighter version of the aforementioned unit that you will find performs superbly when flanking.
The Thracians are well known for their cavalry. Thraikioi Hippeis, like Mezenai, are skirmishing cavalry. Expensive? You may consider them so. Good at what they do? More than that, they are excellent at their role of darting around enemy units, showering them with javelins, leading them away from the main force, and hunting them down when their morale breaks. You will be using Thraikioi Prodromoi in a different manner: while the enemy troops are throwing themselves onto your main lines, flank them with your T. Prodromoi and charge home. These excellent lancers will send many men flying and will crush enemy morale. As medium cavalry, they can also be tasked with running down routers and combating other cavalry. As a plus, Thraikioi Prodromoi are better than normal Prodromoi (they have a point or two more of either attack, armor, or defense skill; I will check up on this tomorrow).
You might have thought that the Getic selection of skirmishers couldn't get much better. Ah, but it surely can when you consider Thraikioi Peltastai. These are the original Peltasts and are still the best Peltasts. They combine the roles of skirmisher and shock infantry into one unit, for after mowing down enemies with their javelins, they can charge in with their falxes (indeed, falxes: armor piercing, .26 lethality - the same as that given to the Drapanai) and further slaughter their opponents. Continuing along the same vein, let me quickly point out the numerous assets of the Thraikioi Rhomphaiaphoroi: .285 lethality rhomphaia (as mentioned above, a falx's lethality if .26), 11 attack, 12 armor. I will leave it to you to imagine the devastation one unit of these troops can inflict upon enemies, especially phalanxes (or you could simply open a custom battle and observe for yourself).
I believe the last unit to be mentioned is the Thraikioi Doryphoroi. They are superior to Lugoae and Pantodapoi in that they carry javelins, four of them. You will find them useful as garrison troops and flank guardians.
There you have it. And if you still do not play the Getai after reading this, I will bang my head against the wall and lament, "Father of Time, give me back my two-and-a-half hours back!"
Re: Which Faction Should I Play as Next?
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That's a first
I'm surprised I missed this for so long...
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