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Thread: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

  1. #1
    Roma_Victrix's Avatar Call me Ishmael
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    Icon12 Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    There are many great units in the game and I often only speak highly of heavy infantry and heavy cavalry, whom I consider to be bedrocks of the army, but I might have to reconsider that idea slightly. In my Makedonia campaign, I've finally reached northwestern Europe and have conquered northern Gaul. I fought against the Aedui, who recruited the Belgae Spearmen and used them in a few battles, but I didn't really notice how immensely bad-ass they were until I recruited and used them in my own armies. I didn't think they would make much of a difference, just like any other light infantry unit with no armor and nothing to protect them but a shield and their defense skill. Their stats are arguably misleading of how effective they really are in battle. This is indicated in ancient primary sources like Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico, quoted in a loading screen of the game using the Latin "Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae", or "of these, the Belgians are the bravest". You're goddamn right they are!

    Here's a screenshot of their stats and appearance:
    https://i.imgur.com/idz0R8l.jpg


    In the very first battle in which I used them (ironically against Hayasdan, marching them to the northeastern front in the Pontic Steppe), I thought of them as a throwaway unit that would advance against either enemy infantry or cavalry at the bottleneck of a nomadic camp entrance. There, I planned to use heavy infantry and other skirmishers behind them to pelt the enemy with javelins while the Belgae Spearmen would just take on all the damage while defending the other units from attack and distracting the enemy. They did a bit more than that! They not only suffered way fewer casualties than I had expected and strongly held their ground, but as soon as the enemy buckled and ran in the opposite direction, my Belgae Spearmen quickly decimated them with their javelins and then ran at lightning speed to cut the rest of them down.

    I was in pure shock. They ran after the fleeing enemy almost as fast as cavalry. The moment I understood their true potential I used the other three Belgae Spearmen to flank the enemy on the other side of the nomadic camp. I almost felt like some German soldier doing a Blitzkrieg against the Poles in WWII (not every day you feel like a Nazi). The battle was over before I knew it.

    Just thought I'd point this out, and how excited I am to use them again in the near future. God they are bad-ass. You definitely made them perform according to Caesar's hype!

  2. #2

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    Great to know mate!
    I'm still on my Carthage campaign and if I ever reach that far I will try that unit on my armies. Currently, I'm fighting for the Iberian Peninsula against the Aeruokai and holding the southern gaul, after the Peninsula, I will expand to the north.
    The only thing stopping me is problems with my pc that keeps freezing when I'm in battles (I think It's too much for my poor pc)
    But good to know that!

  3. #3

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    are the belgian swordsmen fast moving as well?

  4. #4

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    Fantastic discovery!

  5. #5
    Roma_Victrix's Avatar Call me Ishmael
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    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    Quote Originally Posted by Lusitanio View Post
    Great to know mate!
    Quote Originally Posted by BHL 20 View Post
    Fantastic discovery!
    No problem, guys.

    Quote Originally Posted by hlidskjalf View Post
    are the belgian swordsmen fast moving as well?
    Now that's the million dollar question! I don't seem to have a way to recruit them, or perhaps I've just somehow ignored them in the regional mercenary roster. Perhaps someone else could chime in here and offer an explanation based on experience. I've played against the Belgae Swordsmen, even recently when fighting the Boii, but I can't remember if they have armor slowing them down or not.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    I've played against the Belgae Swordsmen, even recently when fighting the Boii, but I can't remember if they have armor slowing them down or not.
    AFAIK they only have bronze helmets.

  7. #7
    Genava's Avatar Senator
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    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    How did you manage to get 9 experience belgian regional units?
    LOTR mod for Shogun 2 Total War (Campaign and Battles!)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIywmAgUxQU

  8. #8

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    Quote Originally Posted by Genava View Post
    How did you manage to get 9 experience belgian regional units?
    I'd assume it's from a revolt, there are some broken, hardcoded mechanics there.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some



    not fast moving, great flavor units though! seem to be more or less interchangeable with batoroi, i'm not sure if they offer any benefits otherwise
    Last edited by hlidskjalf; June 11, 2018 at 06:41 PM.

  10. #10
    Roma_Victrix's Avatar Call me Ishmael
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    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    Quote Originally Posted by Genghis Skahn View Post
    AFAIK they only have bronze helmets.
    Quote Originally Posted by hlidskjalf View Post


    not fast moving, great flavor units though! seem to be more or less interchangeable with batoroi, i'm not sure if they offer any benefits otherwise
    Ah! So they are not as fast moving but they at least have 3 armor points. That's a fair trade off, although it is certainly better to have both of them to complement each other and their different roles on the battlefield.

    Quote Originally Posted by QuintusSertorius View Post
    I'd assume it's from a revolt, there are some broken, hardcoded mechanics there.
    Bingo! You nailed it. For my own forces, I'm usually able to get them up to five or even six experience points before retraining them.

  11. #11

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    Be wary of taking anything under "Abilities at a glance" too seriously, it's a hardcoded reading of the EDU which often spews out garbage. Moreso in the case of cavalry than infantry, though.

  12. #12

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    In the raw unit files, they are listed as having speed 0.95, identical to the Uisusparos Kingetoi (the regular Celtic spearmen).

    Actually, looking at this, they are almost identical to the Uisusparos Kingetoi, only that they have one less armor, one less heat penalty to fatigue, as well as having one higher in base attack and charge with their spear. But that's literally the only difference, I'm afraid to say.


    Edit: One could then perhaps argue that, if this isn't a matter entirely of confirmation bias, that the one armor difference doesn't diminish their fighting ability as much as the one attack increase strengthens it. But the difference seems minimal, at best. Now, let me tell you, Uisusparos Kingetoi are no slouch either, spearmen are really quite excellent in melee in this version of the mod.


    Edit 2: And, if you want to see the true unit stats (as well as more information) displayed on the unit cards, I'd recommend you check out my Extended Unit Descriptions submod here on the forums:

    http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...it-statistics)

    (the most shameless self-plug)
    Last edited by Cryoshakespeare; June 12, 2018 at 03:41 AM.

  13. #13

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    oh man i would have been using this long ago, thanks!

  14. #14

    Default Re: Belgae Spearmen live up to their reputation and then some

    Any unit wit 9 chevrons looks impressive... these look excellent for the price though, fast and offensive spearmen, but nothing really crazy (hint hint EBI Spartans). I like how in EB2 even elite units are "human" and die like flies under missiles, being tired, etc. Makes them more fragile and harder to replace, encouraging a more realistic use than just "spam the best".

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