Romans against cavalry?

**TheNomad** · September 16, 2006, 05:40 PM

I'm playing as Rome on H/H and I just got whooped by a Carthaginian army of mostly cavalry against my balanced army.

I just find countering calvary with triarii very difficult. Does anyone have any tips?

**Lusted** · September 16, 2006, 05:54 PM

Yes. Don't just use triarii. Use your equites and triarii in combinatin to hold off/destroy the enemy cavlary whilst your main force defeates their infantry.

**Tzif** · September 16, 2006, 07:44 PM

I'm playing as the Greeks at the moment, and triarii slaughter my cavalry. So I'd say they are pretty effective.

**Legionary Jezza** · September 17, 2006, 02:16 AM

yes but he's on about carthaginian cavalry.

**Holger Danske** · September 17, 2006, 06:28 AM

And one anyoing thing about the triarii is that they don't use their spears against cavlary which makes them completely useless.

**TheNomad** · September 17, 2006, 06:29 AM

Originally Posted by Holger Danske

And one anyoing thing about the triarii is that they don't use their spears against cavlary which makes them completely useless.

Yeah that's actually my main problem, I can't make them use spears against cavalry.

**Lusted** · September 17, 2006, 07:28 AM

Do alt + click when you charge, they should use spears then.

**TheNomad** · September 17, 2006, 07:33 AM

Okay, I'll try it later because the Carthaginian all-cavalry army got starved out already

**Aleric** · September 17, 2006, 03:48 PM

I am macedon and find it easy at the moment as i move up italy. Roma is mine.

Alo of money from just athens alone. There's no more greece, numidia or thrace.

**Beetlecat** · September 17, 2006, 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by Lusted

Do alt + click when you charge, they should use spears then.

Cool, ill have to remember that the next time I use them to pounce on a general in his town center.

How about when defending? Do triarii use their spears if attacked by horses while standing stll, or do I need to watch carefully and counter-charge?

Was it the animations that caused this behavior?

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**Lusted** · September 17, 2006, 05:17 PM

The RTw engine just doesn't handle spear and sword units which dont use the phalanx formation very well.

**Beetlecat** · September 17, 2006, 06:12 PM

Ahh, so this is behavior that triarii had even in vanilla? I'll just have to babysit them when horsies are about.

**Tzif** · September 17, 2006, 08:10 PM

Why not just give triarii phalanx in gold edition?

**Hader** · September 17, 2006, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by Tzif

Why not just give triarii phalanx in gold edition?

Cause that is not how Triarii fought, and it takes away from the Roman fell of the unit.

**Beetlecat** · September 18, 2006, 01:03 AM

The Roman feel of putting down their spears and drawing their swords whenever horses draw near?

**Tzif** · September 18, 2006, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by Hader

Cause that is not how Triarii fought, and it takes away from the Roman fell of the unit.

Ok, but what about something similar to a phalanx, where they all but their spears forward and charge or something?

**The Walrus** · September 18, 2006, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by Hader

Cause that is not how Triarii fought, and it takes away from the Roman fell of the unit.

They fought similar to a phalanx style. At least that is what they said in Wiki

**TheNomad** · September 18, 2006, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

When the Principes and Hastati of Republican army were rearmed with javelins, the Triarii retained their long spears and scuta and continued to fight as a phalanx. If the initial attacks of the javelin- and sword- armed troops could not break an enemy, the Triarii served as a strong point around which the army would regroup (in the same manner as in much later centuries squares of musketmen were to provide a defensive screen for reforming cavalrymen). They also were responsible for holding off cavalry charges with their spears.

Anyways, I successfully beat a Carthaginian army with lots of cavalry using alt+click with my triarii