Spartans

[General_Chaos]

any quick ideas for winning battles with the spartans?formations + tactics wise?
cheers

[century x]

any quick ideas for winning battles with the spartans?formations + tactics wise?
cheers

Don't get surrounded don't let the enemy get behind your formations and use infantry to occupy the center while you swing the Calvary around and hit from the rear.

[Grimbold]

4 phalangites
4 thorakitai
4 hoplite units
2-3 archers
2-4 cavarly

[Dramatic Cat]

7 Spartan Heavy Phalangites/Perioikoi
4 Spartan Hoplites/Skiritai/Marines/Metoikoi
4-6 Spartan Xisto-whatever (their heavy cavalry)
2 Spartan Hypo-whatevers (those overpowered skirmishers)/ Spartan Archers
1 General

Don't use Promachoi, man per man they're the most brutal unit in the game, but they all fall like fleas to either pila or slingers and their cost really isn't worth it.

Simple enough, just hammer and anvil tactics is what you need. Phalanx at the center, Hoplites at the flanks, cavalry at the wings, skirmishers either meashielding the flanks or meatshielding the phalanx, if meatshielding the phalanx then deploy them further away so that they have time to reatreat either trough the unformed phalanx or through the flanks, thus not breaking the formed phalanx. Use more meatshields when going against romans to eat their pila. After the cav is done with the enemy cav just send them for the enemy missile units and if possible the general. Afther their mobility is gone just charge and charge again at their backside until done.

A more early game, cheap army consists of
8 Metoikoi
4-6 Marines/Skiritai
2- Archers /hypo-whatevers
4-6 Xysto-whatever
1 general.

Practically the same, hammer and anvil but with a crapload more mobility. You can actually spare some cavalry and fit more of those overpowered skirmishers to harass the enemy rear, causing epic morale drops, and they're almost as tough as any nations not-so-crappy-early-line-infantry. Like those roman antesignani.

And in the campaign all you have to do is capture both towns to the north of you (olympia and argos i believe) in the very first turn. Yes I'm talking about siegeing and taking those two towns with their full stacks with only the senseless collage of units you start with. If you wait more turns you won't have the money and strength to beat back the greek onslaught.

yep After that it's one greek settlement at the time, don't expand to quickly or you'll have to deal with macedon, dacia, scythia to the north, Rome to the west, and pergamon to the east. Pay special attention to Rome, fill their peninsula with spies and keep track of their expansion. If you see that they're massing armies to invade some place then go and loot the peninsula (quite gamey I know, but it's the romans so its not bad), siege and take and burn as many settlements as you can in as little time as you can. You can hamper-but not stop- the romans for a dozen turns doing this.

The spartans have quite an awesome unit roster capable of many infantry-based formations. Those formation are the ones I use, other people have completely different playstyles that would totally kill my campaigns but that actually works for them. Try out for yourself and find out if you're more of a phalanx guy or a hoplite guy.

yep

[swhunter]

any quick ideas for winning battles with the spartans?formations + tactics wise?
cheers

Feint one flank and attack the other with heavy units. When weakened send some archers, and slingers from behind a flank with a good line of infa for support. The slingers and archers hitting them from behind will weaken any enemy! And their loses will be staggering! Then use cav, and watch them run!
After testing Sparta over 52 campaigns for RS2, this works great. But be watchful. Sometimes the A1 has surprises for you. And it never plays out the same. When they have the higher ground RETREAT! The Spartan army is very SMALL AT FIRST. Keep your army intact.
High ground is very important for this to work. Don't fight on their level! Hit and run with larger armies. Spartans were good at ambushes, and pike-men holding ground in well defenced areas. If possible destroy them by piece mail, if not you will be sorry. And have a fun glorious death!