Phalanx bug

**walterbarrett** · September 04, 2013, 07:28 PM

I was playing as Macedon and had just captured a small settlement from Athens. An Athenian army came to try to take it back with some hoplites and slingers. On the battlemap I put 3 phalanx units in the main avenue to block it off.

When the Athenian hoplites came to attack my phalanx (which was in phalanx mode), they just... walked right through the center unit like it wasn't there. The whole Athenian army walked in like nothing was there and hit my general and some skirmishers. Is this a common bug anyone else has seen?

**Eikki** · September 04, 2013, 07:32 PM

Yes it is. Phalanxes are breached without any effort by the enemy. There's no point to them right now.

**Lord Dakier** · September 04, 2013, 07:45 PM

I've not seen this problem although I've not used Phalanx really yet. I saw a quick bit of some phalanx combat and I was impressed how aggressive they looked and in a slower paced game they'd look epic.

Let me just remind people that phalanx were sometimes breached head. The whole idea of the Roman shield was to block the prodding attacks of phalanx and allow the man to bypass his way through enough to face his now defenceless enemy. Not that I'm saying its accurate whats going on I'm just taking away the notion that phalanx where inpenetrable walls of spears.

**stoogeofstooges** · September 04, 2013, 07:48 PM

I've had no problems with the hoplite phalanx or the pike phalanx. Both seem to be working as they should. Occasionally, a group of elite infantry will begin to push their way past the pikes using the shields, especially if my phalanx is being peppered with missiles.

**CTD_or_Bust** · September 04, 2013, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by stoogeofstooges

I've had no problems with the hoplite phalanx or the pike phalanx. Both seem to be working as they should. Occasionally, a group of elite infantry will begin to push their way past the pikes using the shields, especially if my phalanx is being peppered with missiles.

Same here. I've started R2 with Athens and I am literally cleaning house against anyone that faces me by using standard Hellenistic formations and proper phalanx tactics.

This smells like the thread where people complained that a phalanx broke formation when they ran full speed. Or threads on S2TW on why everyone is attacking me after I've annexed 7 of my neighbors.

**Doe3000** · September 04, 2013, 07:54 PM

I'm curious if this is a feature, or whether it's a bug. It seems that when the Pikemen are standing around before a battle they don't have any pikes. It's only when you select the Phalanx button that their pikes magically appear. Is it supposed to be like that, or is there something wrong with the game? Those pikemen just look naked without their pikes.

**Revan The Great** · September 04, 2013, 08:04 PM

What I have noticed is that sometimes, during a siege battle, the AI will ignore your soldiers and just try to march straight to the city's capture point. Sometimes, if the enemy is in great enough numbers, they will have enough mass to push through your phalanx. In my experience, they take such horrific losses in doing so that it hardly matters.

**GatorMarine1833** · September 04, 2013, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by walterbarrett

When the Athenian hoplites came to attack my phalanx (which was in phalanx mode), they just... walked right through the center unit like it wasn't there. The whole Athenian army walked in like nothing was there and hit my general and some skirmishers. Is this a common bug anyone else has seen?

I've had this happen as well. As Epirus I had taken Sparta from the Spartans and they were attacking me. I blocked the two main roads with two pike phalanx units each w/o gaps. One side a Levy Pikemen unit and a Royal Hellenic Pikemen (the best Epirus has got to offer) and the other had two regular Pikemen. When the Spartan Hoplites (mostly perioikoi) attacked they marched straight through my Pikemen and charged toward the town square.

At first they did try to fight for a bit but were getting torn apart. They backed up, waited, and tried again. The second time was when they just walked straight through my formation.

**Metallistic** · September 04, 2013, 08:34 PM

Another thing... Have you guys noticed that the AI very rarely uses phalanx units the way they are supposed to? Pike units should have their Pikes out/as their primary weapon as default. Otherwise the AI just sends them in with their swords...