A few questions from a noob!

[Freols]

Hi, really enjoying this mod again, haven't played it for years.

A few questions though:

1. How do you recruit Greek Sacred Band units?
2. Why do the Sacred Band have light weapon type? All the other hoplites I have seen use heavy...
3. Any tips for countering the super elite Phalangites from Macedon and other empires... they can take down my Spartan guard fairly quickly, and all the Greeks seem to have is bog standard Phalangites...

Cheers

[Fouch]

1. I'm pretty sure the Greek sacred band just require a 5th level Greek barracks.
2. I don't know but I doubt it makes much of a difference.
3. Hit them on two sides at once. Putting anything head on against a Phalangite unit is asking it to die. But you can sacrifice one unit on their front so another can attack the vulnerable sides or back. Greek heavy cavalry would make a fine flanking unit.

[Tackowat]

What Fouch said, basically. Flanking's the way to go, especially with Macedonian phalangites. If you can get some heavy cavalry (or heavy infantry, if you're equophobic (hell yes I can mix Latin and Greek (and put parentheses within parentheses (see?))))...

Uh... nevermind that. Seriously, though, flank them, get behind them, anything to keep away from those spear points. I find that skirmisher cavalry on their back tends to help, as well. Or just regular skirmishers if... oh, wait, we've been through this.

[Scutarii]

Phalangites killing Spartans? Must be a joke... Put the Spartan's in shield wall, charge at the front of the phalanx. Phalanx line broken, no men lost (probably).

If you don't play with BI, just pin and flank. And use the Spartan's as a flanking unit, not the center, so they don't get ravaged as much.

[aznflea]

shield wall > phalanx.

unless the phalanx is uber

[Freols]

Cheers for the advice, I was playing Alex, and hence had no shield wall... it came to a point where I was up against whole Seleucid armies of uber Agyraspid Phalangites, which totally raped my hardcore hoplite army.

Seeing as I love hoplites so much I installed it on BI, it's way way easier now.

I still wonder why the sacred band have a light weapon type... if it doesn't make a difference, why have the distinction at all?

[DimeBagHo]

The 'light' weapon is just an oversight. Probably a hold over from when they were a different unit type. The only difference it makes in-game is to weapon upgrades from temple and blacksmith buildings.