High tech or low tech?

[Calamari]

When it comes to army composition (in the campaign) do you usualy favor hight tech or low tech units?

High tech units (armoured/spartan hoplites, preatorian/urban cohort, triarii ect) certainly are better, as in they kill things quicker. They do have a number of disadvantages compared to low tech (hastati, warband, hoplites ect) which are cheaper and much easier to retrian which allows the player to keep their army full especialy in barbarian areas (like Scythia and Gaul).

With the Romans, most people go for a mid tech army of Legionary Cohorts but even they are 4th tier troops.

Any thoughts?

[Entropy Judge]

I prefer 3rd, occasionally 4th-tier troops. When I play as Rome, Principes (and later LC) are my major infantry troops; when I don't play as Rome, I'm playing a Barbarian faction, which is limited to 3rd-Tier troops, which is their "High" tier. Cavalry depends on which faction I'm using - Gothic Cavalry is the only cavalry I use (aside from Warlords) as Germania, but I use Light cavalry if I play as Gaul or Spain; as the Britons, I don't use cavalry at all. As Rome, I'll use Equites and Roman cavalry, and Bodyguards. Aside from those (and Archers), I hire mercs to give me some better units - hoplites, Sarmatian cavalry, Bastarnae infantry.

[Selifator]

Depends on a load of factors but I usually grab what I can. My armies will usually consist of troops gathered in a couple of cities, then shipped somewhere, add some mercs and done.
I have had armies consisting of a couple of my own units attack a city or win a battle, then I get a MotH, and hire loads of mercs. Some of my armies are specifically built, but I usually recruit units haphazerdly.

[aznflea]

i usually try and get the most cost/turn efficient troops. praetorians are better than legionaires but cost 2 turns which is just ineffective so i just recruit the 1 turn legions. what i tend to do is establish safe routes to and from retraining

[Njord]

I don't usually play as roman factions where early game units aren't able to be retrained so I find that end game I have a variation of experienced t1/2 troops on defense, while my more advanced armies are on the offensive. Or situated in hotzones where mass advanced enemy units will be appearing.

[NobleNick]

High tech (highest tech I can get at a given stage in the game), almost always; since those are typically the most cost effective.

Low tech troops, with their low morale, can be a liability on VH battle difficulty.

[Cmdr_Sdxo]

Bulk troops : Low tech
Armies of my better generals : Medium-to-high-tech, mostly low tech however.
King's guard/armies of a significant city/location : only high tech troops.

I heavily favour low tech units, being cheal bulk 'n all and preserve the high tech for "ceremonial units" or special tasks(such as guarding the capital etc.) .

[Barry]

Bulk troops : Low tech
Armies of my better generals : Medium-to-high-tech, mostly low tech however.
King's guard/armies of a significant city/location : only high tech troops.

I heavily favour low tech units, being cheal bulk 'n all and preserve the high tech for "ceremonial units" or special tasks(such as guarding the capital etc.) .

Very similar to my style of play. Basically I start the game aggressive to give myself a nice advantage over my neighbours using (roman factions, lets say Brutii) hastati and keeping a steady trickle of town atch behind my main army as garrison. Usually Appolonia, Salona, head down to Thermon. By the time I get to Thermon, around 5/6 turns, I can recruit princeps from Tarentum, ships from croton but my hastati are getting beat up so I take a few turns out, recruit missiles from Thermon, garrison Thermon with my new Princeps plus 2/3 recruited before they were availiable whilst my battered hastati go home for retraining, returning experienced and with a few princeps on a strong navy.

I delegate this army to my best General and lay siege to either Athens, if it is Greek or Rebel, or Sparta. The capture of Sparta enables me to recruit experienced princeps with armour upgrades which get merged with some missiles and delegated to my best general, my second best general gets my other small stack. Now to war with Macedon.

Now I am set up to continue this formula, every settlement should be able to have a governor plus my generals. If not I leave one good guy on Italy, one to govern Sparta/ Athens/ Corinth. The money will be raking in now so I can train another army which must be lead by my third best general unless it can be lead by my second best. You get the idea. Continue with the management formula, assign a governor to 2/3 provinces to free up generals for my armies to make more areas to govern...

Lots of micro management but very good fun.

[Elite Peasant]

I'm trying to get away with low tech units (e.g. Hastati) as long as possible. Since in unmodded RTW you can retrain your units easily as long as the conquered city has the right buildings, you can keep up momentum this way. Conquer, retrain, build one peasant and move on.

[Roman_Wolf]

I used to go all about high tech units, as they really matter.
but lately I've been using only low tech units to increase campaign difficulty.

[Legio]

High tech and loads of mercenaries for use as fodder in sieges. I like to reserve my high tech troops for battles.

[Toorima]

Always the highest tech I can get. Battles will end quicker with less losses on your sight. If I push forward into enemy territory and can't recruit my Elite Soldiers in the freshly seized cities, I add some local troops but even when wait for supply from my home cities.

[taw]

I always use low tech, in RTW and M2TW too. High tech units are way more expensive than they seem - if it takes 5 turns to get them from your main cities to the front, you just added 5x upkeep to their recruitment cost, more than doubling it. Low tech units can be recruited everywhere, cheaply, in very large numbers. The only problem is when enemy has a full stack of high tech units, like Senate army in vanilla - then you need to attack with 2-3 full stacks of cheap units with extra stacks as reinforcements. The first stack will all rout or die, but the second or at worst third should win the battle.

[aznflea]

you have to take into account the experience. because low tech troops die easier, their exp can fluctuate wildly whereas the high tech troops can be retrained over and over until they can get gold chevrons. if youre good that is

id prefer 3phalangites to 6 militia phalangites. the 3 have much better cost effectiveness and they can be relied upon to hold a line whereas militias are defeated by frontal assault from a hastati.