really hope pike phalanxes arn't as op as they were in rome 1

[Magnum_Opus]

Hoplites weren't overpowered in Rome 1 at all, though perhaps they were very exploitable against the AI by using them to defend choke points like gates and bridges.
Hoplites are slow and inflexible, just pin them from the front then hit them from behind. And the unit pinning them doesn't even have to be engaging them, they can just stand there and wait for the flanking force. Not to mention missiles. Winning against a Greek player is extremely easy in Rome 1 multiplayer, all you need to do is bring a superior missile element, crush their pathetic cavalry and shoot them to death.
The one thing that annoyed me about hoplites though was that charging them from behind with cav decimated your cav unit.

[acm_no1]

The one thing that annoyed me about hoplites though was that charging them from behind with cav decimated your cav unit.

yep, that's extremely annoying in RTW 1 but RTW 2 will be different, Rally Point's video showed that phalanx formation is extremely weak if you charge them from behind, makes the formation far less effective than it was in original game.

1 thing im wondering is if phalanx has 2nd weapon as it did in RTW 1, where would they throw their spears if forced to use gladius, in terms of animation. In RTW and Medieval 2, soldiers draw 2nd weapon out of nowhere instantly, that's a bit hilarious to me