Best units

[Ownager]

I was wondering if there was already a best unit thread, and if not, maybe we could start one. The aim of this thread would be to choose the best units of each type, (cavalry, infantry, archers, seige, ships) and compare them and find out why they are the best. I think I'll start with best generals unit.
They look epic, they fight epic, and they are epic. These guys have massive amounts of armor, are better than the Grivpanvr of Pahlava, and the Companions of the Succesors. And they are free, since they are generals bodyguards. I think these guys have the highest charge of cavalry in the game, and probably are the only ones with a cool face mask. The Pahlavan late general comes very close, with a much higher lethality of their secondary weapon, but 3 points less armor.

[Entropy Judge]

There is (at least one, as well as a "worst unit" thread). They are, however, rather old - like, a year since the last reply 'old,' I think. So we won't bother raising the dead.

Anyway, since it's kind of a theme with me ... how do you define "best"? In many ways, the Romans have the best units (Marian/Imperial Cohorts) because they are so cheap compared to other great units and have massive AoR, despite not having true "Elite" stats. In fact, which faction you're playing as has a huge impact on whether a unit might be considered "good" or not - for example, I have decried Camillan Hastati as being pointless for a Roman player to bother using, since C Principes are more effective and are marginally cheaper ... but for other factions, C Hastati make for great units because they're ridiculously cheap, have good Defense and Morale stats, and have Pila!

Anyway ... hm. My choices ... will be heavily biased toward the West, as I don't play many Eastern factions.
Cavalry (Heavy Shock): Thessalian Heavies and Germanic Heavy Cavalry; the former are great Chargers with excellent Lethality, Hardy, an AP Sword, and good Defenses, while the latter aren't quite so Lethal, but have that nasty Longsword for close combat. (Yes, yes, someone is bound to bring up some Heavy Shock unit with Thessalian stats but a Mace instead, but I don't play in the East, so )
Cavalry (Shock): Iberi Curisi and Leuce Epos; the former are probably the best general-purpose Cavalry in Europe, and the latter are great Light Cavalry Skirmishers with excellent Charge capabilities.
Cavalry (Light): Leuce Epos. Illyrioi Hippeis get an honorable mention for having Secondary Axes, but they're just not as good.

Archers (Foot): Torn between the Toxotai Kretikoi for having excellent Archery stats (Long Range, good Ammo, good Attack, good Armour) and the Thureophorontes Toxotai for being great general-purpose foot units (Good Archery stats, a Longsword, and the Defense to fight effectively as Light Infantry). Probably go with the Cretans, though. Another good one is the Persian Heavy Archer.
Archers (Cavalry): Roxolani Noble Cavalry, because 6 Attack, 190.4 Range, 40 Ammo Horse Archers aren't bad enough, these bastards also have 12 Armour and a 5-Attack AP Spear with .4 Lethality and 44 Charge. If there's anything more disgusting that these guys, don't tell me. Sod that.
Skirmishers (Foot): Thracian Peltasts. Ridiculously Lethal AP sword along with generally good stats? They're almost as bad as the RNC.
Skirmishers (Cavalry): Leuce Epos.

Pike Unit: Hysteroi Pezhetairoi; while they don't have the raw stats of Elite Pike units, they're close enough, significantly cheaper, and have a solid AoR.
Spear Unit: Appea Gaedotos and Mori Gaesum; the Appea have an Axe, the Mori have slightly better stats and a Longsword. Honorable Mentions go to the Speudogardoz, Thorakitai Hoplitai, and especially the Woithiz Watha.
Heavy Infantry: As mentioned, I think the Marian/Imperial Cohorts take this, for having great stats at low prices and a huge AoR. Other great Heavy Infantry include Rycalawre (Dat Eagle!), Gaesatae, the Dubosaverlacica/TAB/Dosidataskeli Trio, and Germanic Heavy Infantry.
Shock Infantry: Worgozez, for me, take the first place. Competing for second are the Agrianians, Kluddargos, and Ordmalica.
Light Infantry: Cladaca, Uazali, Teceitos.

General BG: Gonna have to go with the Sarmatian BG Cavalry; they're Roxolani Noble Cavalry with 22 Armour.
General BG (Foot): Well, there's only the three, right? Celtae Vollorix, Germanic BG Infantry, and Saba BG Infantry? I'm going to put the GBG over the SBG (slightly higher base stats win out over the Javelin, IMO), with both over the CV.

[Ownager]

I think it would be better if we divide this into classes, like East and West. Germanic heavy cavalry are barely comparable to Grivpanvr in matters of Armor.
I always stayed away from Leuce Epos, because I felt that most people overrated them. Lancearii, however, are definitely the most versatile cavalry in the West, comparable only to Sacred band, Companions and other elites. Lets define the west as everything west of Epirus, including Epirus.


My votes are here.
Heavy shock cavalry (West)- Sacred Band cavalry. They look ridiculously cool, are better than the roman bodyguard, and are epic enough that they don't require a reform to upgrade them. Molosson Agema are also cool, but with less armor. Companions cavalry is also good.


Shock cavalry (West)- Scurisii? Not that much. I prefer the Prodromoi. They have ok charges and melee.


Light Cavalry(West)- I think Carthaginian citizen cavalry are pretty good, though they can barely be considered light. They have good charges, but they don't exist because of their over handed spears. Or is that wrong? They are good flanking cavalry.


Archers(Foot)- I would say either Syrian archers or Caucasian Archers. Syrians have better melee and Armor stats, while Caucasians are half the price of Cretans with the same missile attack, which is usually all I look for.


Cavalry archers I will go with the Roxalani noble cavalry, although they seem to be more of a melee unit than a missile one.


Skirmishers(Foot) While Velites are not too bad, I would say the Balearic slingers or Thraikoi Peltastai are the best. The first has long range and armor piercing, while the latter has the features you described. But, you are forgetting another key one. Three in fact. The Peltast, the Elite Peltast and the Indo Hellenic peltast. The first is a viable flanking unit, as well as a good skirmisher. The second is a great assault infantry, while the last is a very good spearman as well as peltast.


Skirmishers(Cavalry) Campanian cavalry are also great, and they get my vote. They have good melee stats and good javelins.


Pike Unit- I prefer the regular Pezhetairoi, because they do not require any reforms to get, and are available in a lot of places.


Spear unit- You might have forgotten the classical hoplites, who have large AORs and cheap costs for an effective unit.


Heavy Infantry(West)- Lots of choices. I think the Marian cohorts take the prize, but you need a lot of reforms for them, and they come pretty late. I have a large list. Sacred Band infantry, Pedites Extraordinarii, Calawre, Solduros, And the heavy Iberian infantry.(forgot their name) I thought Dosidateskelli were removed because of lack of historical proof.


Shock Infantry(West)- Gaesatae or Elite Liby-Phoenicians. The latter has a good Libyan axe and can hold well, and so is a viable flanking infantry.


Light Infantry- Libyan Spearmen are ok, Miiltia hoplites are great for their price, and Caetrati and Balearic infantry are also there near.


General BG- The Hetairoi Kataphractoi can take any missile attack with 29 armor. Plus their melee stats are better.


Infantry Bodyguard- there are actually two more. Some starting KH bodyguards are Spartan units, while the rest are always Epilektoi Hopilatai. They still aren't better than the Sweboz generals, but they have more defense. Its amazing how Germanic elites with little armor can defeat extremely well trained and loyal Greeks.

[Entropy Judge]

I always stayed away from Leuce Epos, because I felt that most people overrated them.

Eh, it's hard to overrate them, really. If I could only use one Cavalry unit, including BGs, I would pick Leuce Epos - they're fast, have excellent Stamina, a nice Ranged attack, and a solid Charge. Sure, they're fragile and can't stand in melee, but that describes at least half the cavalry in the game. Of course, I could just have overly fond memories of slaughtering most of a stack of Romans using two units of Leuce Epos and ... two other units () as the Sweboz.

Lancearii, however, are definitely the most versatile cavalry in the West, comparable only to Sacred band, Companions and other elites.

They lose a lot due ot the lack of any Stamina bonus, though. I'll agree they're the most powerful, with that 43 Charge, but I'd pick almost any other Heavy Cavalry unit over them unless I was feeling ostentatious; heck, most of the time I take Curisi, because you don't need Cataphract-level charges in Europe (and they're cheaper).

Lets define the west as everything west of Epirus, including Epirus.

I usually use Makedon as the cutoff (West of Epirus doesn't get you KH, for example), but fair enough.

Heavy shock cavalry (West)- Sacred Band cavalry. They look ridiculously cool, are better than the roman bodyguard, and are epic enough that they don't require a reform to upgrade them. Molosson Agema are also cool, but with less armor. Companions cavalry is also good.

And the question of price rears its ugly head again - Liby-Phoenician Cavalry are only a few points off of SBC, and even have a better Shield, but are significantly cheaper. They might fit better into Shock or Medium, though, so I won't quibble. Molosson are hurt more by the lack of a Shield, since the Armour loss puts them into Very Hardy territory.

Shock cavalry (West)- Scurisii? Not that much. I prefer the Prodromoi. They have ok charges and melee.

Curisi, not Scurisii. And Thracians do the Prodromoi better (But yes, shame on me for forgetting Thraikioi Prodromoi - one of my Makedonian campaigns let me shatter a small Carthaginian Pike army using two Thessalians and two Thracian Mediums!)

Light Cavalry(West)- I think Carthaginian citizen cavalry are pretty good, though they can barely be considered light. They have good charges, but they don't exist because of their over handed spears. Or is that wrong? They are good flanking cavalry.

Correct, overhand-spear Cavalry units don't charge correctly (which is a shame). Can't say I've ever used them, my Carthaginian campaigns have usually been about the Liby-Phoenicians trampling everything.

Archers(Foot)- I would say either Syrian archers or Caucasian Archers. Syrians have better melee and Armor stats, while Caucasians are half the price of Cretans with the same missile attack, which is usually all I look for.

Syrians have those terrible Shortswords, though, and the Caucasians are hampered by lower range and Ammo count compared to the Cretans (30 points off range and 7 fewer arrows). Syrians do have better range than the Bosphorans, but lower Attack and Ammo count, and only very slightly cheaper.

Skirmishers(Foot) While Velites are not too bad, I would say the Balearic slingers or Thraikoi Peltastai are the best. The first has long range and armor piercing, while the latter has the features you described.

Balearics are ... eh. They do have great ranged Attack and an AP sword ... but don't really have the stats to stand in melee, and if you use slingers at all you should start racking up XP pretty quickly. In all honesty, even simple Hellenic Slingers are better, as they have longer range, more ammo, and much cheaper. Velites suffer mainly from (again) having that paltry shortsword and lowish defenses for melee, and being fairly bland spear-chuckers. I'd rather take Imannae or Jugundiz.

But, you are forgetting another key one. Three in fact. The Peltast, the Elite Peltast and the Indo Hellenic peltast. The first is a viable flanking unit, as well as a good skirmisher. The second is a great assault infantry, while the last is a very good spearman as well as peltast.

Peltastai Makedonikoi are no more Skirmishers than Pictone Neitos (or, more accurately, Pedites Extraordinarii) are! If they fit anywhere, it's in Shock or Heavy Infantry. As far as Peltastai and their Eastern cousins ... well, they're not quite what I'd call "great." Rather, they set the standard for a quality unit. They are good units, quality skirmishers and decent Medium-Light Infantry, but they don't have the oomph to propel them into true Greatness.

Pike Unit- I prefer the regular Pezhetairoi, because they do not require any reforms to get, and are available in a lot of places.

Actually ... Pezhetairoi are only recruitable in ~8 regions.

Spear unit- You might have forgotten the classical hoplites, who have large AORs and cheap costs for an effective unit.

I put them in the same class as Peltastai, in that they're the baseline of quality. They are very nice, it's true.

Heavy Infantry(West)- Lots of choices. I think the Marian cohorts take the prize, but you need a lot of reforms for them, and they come pretty late. I have a large list. Sacred Band infantry, Pedites Extraordinarii, Calawre, Solduros, And the heavy Iberian infantry.(forgot their name) I thought Dosidateskelli were removed because of lack of historical proof.

Calawre in the same list as Solduros??? Madness! (I kid! I thought about including them, but then I'd have to include all my other favourite Casse units ...). Dosis were dropped actually because they were believed to have been far too few in number to have made up any kind of 'unit' - Ordmalica and the Dubos were dropped for historical issues, AFAIK (although you can reactivate all three with some minor editing). And you mean the Loricati Scutari? They're good, but you rn into the same problem as with Iberi Lanceari, in that for what they're going to be doing, the Medium version is nearly as good ... although the Loricatis are at least not so much more expensive that you wouldn't use them.

Shock Infantry(West)- Gaesatae or Elite Liby-Phoenicians. The latter has a good Libyan axe and can hold well, and so is a viable flanking infantry.

Bah! The dongs really are overrated!

General BG- The Hetairoi Kataphractoi can take any missile attack with 29 armor. Plus their melee stats are better.

Of course, only a fool would use missiles against a Cataphract ... and no cavalry likes standing in melee. If you set the two against each other, yes the HKs would probably win more often - but against most units they'd *face*, I'd rather have the Archers, since you're not endangering your FM as much (freak accidents have been known to happen )

Infantry Bodyguard- there are actually two more. Some starting KH bodyguards are Spartan units, while the rest are always Epilektoi Hopilatai. They still aren't better than the Sweboz generals, but they have more defense. Its amazing how Germanic elites with little armor can defeat extremely well trained and loyal Greeks.

I did forget about the Greeks - I'd remembered the initial Spartan BGs (and discounted them because it's only the initial units), but for some reason thought they switched straight to Cavalry BGs. As for the Sweboz BG beating them ... better Morale, higher Attack, and the occasional usage of those incredibly Lethal longswords.

[Ownager]

I'm not aware of what a dong is. The West seems pretty much covered. Thraikoi Prodromoi are too Far East to be considered. I personally think an army would be better off with two units of Caucasian archers than one of Cretans, and the Classical hoplites mixed with peltasts are ok. The IndoHellenic peltasts use spears though, which aren't as bad as the short swords. Still, Velites and the others have high melee stats. I think the Saka heavy hoplites are another contender, but leave that for the East. Ooh, and forget tothe last part, because KH is to the East of Epirus. EDIT: I don't think its an accident when the general is killed during a charge. My dumb generals charge in front of the bodyguard, begging for death. Luckily the weight of my bodyguards usually routs the enemy, but I dread the time when my general goes right through the enemy phalanx to the other side....

BTW: I was looking through the forums, and saw this upstart talking about game theory. A certain someone I know brought up the Wikipedia definition of it, and began a massacre......(this was in 2010 or so)

[Entropy Judge]

I'm not aware of what a dong is.

Slang referring to ... uh, the naked part of the Naked Fanatics. :/

Thraikoi Prodromoi are too Far East to be considered.

Eh, they're in the same category as the Getai and Makedonians; I consider them West.

I personally think an army would be better off with two units of Caucasian archers than one of Cretans, and the Classical hoplites mixed with peltasts are ok.

Probably, yes - now you have more arrows. Of course, the Caucasians are still more vulnerable to countermissile fire, but that's a threat easily neutralized. And yeah, Hoplitai + Peltastai is a good combo.

The IndoHellenic peltasts use spears though, which aren't as bad as the short swords.

Yep; more versatile and higher Attack.

Still, Velites and the others have high melee stats.

Uh ... no. They've got standard Attack for Shortswords and good Defense Skill, but with bad Shortswords and low Mass they're only moderate-quality Light Infantry. Velites work fine for a suicide line, but not as melee fighters.

EDIT: I don't think its an accident when the general is killed during a charge. My dumb generals charge in front of the bodyguard, begging for death. Luckily the weight of my bodyguards usually routs the enemy, but I dread the time when my general goes right through the enemy phalanx to the other side....

If you're charging with the Army General, sound the Horn right before the charge impacts - he'll stop and rear his horse, but the charge keeps going! Very handy.

BTW: I was looking through the forums, and saw this upstart talking about game theory. A certain someone I know brought up the Wikipedia definition of it, and began a massacre......(this was in 2010 or so)

....
*Goes to look*
...
:shakefist:
... Must ... find ... must ...

[Ownager]

It was something about Hayasdan. Yes, it was. I always do that thing with my generals, but sadly it doesn't work with any of my back ups, which is pretty bad. Sorry about the little Velites thing. Coming from RTW and the like, 12 attack is pretty high, discarding lethality. But with lethality involved, it doesn't really matter.

[athanaric]

Well, since you're asking for "best", not "strongest", here are:

Bodyguard (cavalry) - Sarmatian BG
Bodyguard (infantry) - Suebi BG

Heavy infantry - Cohors Reformata (reliable, versatile, low price, huge AoR; drawback: conditions for getting them in campaign are too difficult). Also some others

...

Skirmishers - Peltastai (the regular Greek ones)

Archers - Cretans (OP?); also Heavy Persians, Arab Archer-Spearmen. Maybe Scythians and Caucasians, as well.


Light HAs - Dahae Riders

Noble HAs - Parthian Medium Nobles

Light (javelin) cavalry - Leuce Epos

Lancers - need some time to consider...

[Ownager]

What about the Baktrian Hippotoxotai? Sarmatian BG is probably not the best, as the light nomad style of warfare is ruined by his presence in the field, unless there is a large compliment of Heavy cavalry to aid him, which usually happens Late game. Plus the hammer and anvil roles are definitely not useful here. Dahae Riders are a bit too expensive for my taste, and the Cohors reformata is really hard to get. Plus it really makes the game a lot more boring, since you only have one unit to form your main infantry.

[athanaric]

What about the Baktrian Hippotoxotai?

They're good, but most people consider the heavy Nomadic HAs better. For example, Roxolani Nobles have the same armour stats (IIRC), but a much more powerful charge, more range, better morale, etc.

Sarmatian BG is probably not the best, as the light nomad style of warfare is ruined by his presence in the field, unless there is a large compliment of Heavy cavalry to aid him, which usually happens Late game. Plus the hammer and anvil roles are definitely not useful here.

Sarmatian BGs are the best. They score no records in any department (Saka Early BG have longer range, Baktrian/Parthian/Armenian Late BGs have more armour, charge value, and morale, etc.), but the combination of their stats is what makes them incredibly useful.
Hammer and anvil à la Macedon is not the only role for armoured cavalry. Sauromatae BGs eat arrows, they also shoot arrows, and they can crush enemy cavalry in melee and everything else in a charge. The bodyguard units are absolutely crucial for nomadic factions in early campaign (because at that point, you can't recruit those Roxolani Nobles, let alone pay them).

Dahae Riders are a bit too expensive for my taste, and the Cohors reformata is really hard to get. Plus it really makes the game a lot more boring, since you only have one unit to form your main infantry.

Most EB players swear by Dahae Riders. Scythian Riders are also very similar. Both very versatile units, very powerful for their price and class, available in crucial locations of the map, and to every faction.

[Principe Alessandro]

Most EB players swear by Dahae Riders. Scythian Riders are also very similar. Both very versatile units, very powerful for their price and class, available in crucial locations of the map, and to every faction.

Uhm, Roxolani and Saka riders are better in every way, though not available as much like the Scythian and Dahae riders.

[athanaric]

Uhm, Roxolani and Saka riders are better in every way, though not available as much like the Scythian and Dahae riders.

Roxolani Riders have shorter range. They are very good though, I actually prefer them to the other "Rider" types.
Saka Riders are cool, but as Ownager said, only the Saka can recruit them. Plus they only have 30 arrows instead of 40 (in exchange for longer missile range), and no AP weapon (= weaker charge).

[Ownager]

Sarmatian BGs may be important to Sarmatia, but they are still not powerful enough in a straight up fight. Although I like your thinking, I'm still not sure whether they are truly better. Roxalani nobles etc. take a long time to get, since their MIC level has to be really high, and the weak nomadic economies aren't great for sustaining units that are that expensive. While they may be available to every faction, Scyhtians and Dahae are usually used by either Sauromatae, Saka, Pahlava, Baktria, and sometimes Arche Seleukeia and Hayasdan. They are versatile units, especially the Dahae, but they have a lot of upkeep. It is also useless to the Baktrian player, since horse archers work best in large numbers, and large numbers of horse archers defeats the purpose of having Alexandrian phalanxes and Cataphract cavalry.

[athanaric]

Sarmatian BGs may be important to Sarmatia, but they are still not powerful enough in a straight up fight. Although I like your thinking, I'm still not sure whether they are truly better. Roxalani nobles etc. take a long time to get, since their MIC level has to be really high, and the weak nomadic economies aren't great for sustaining units that are that expensive. While they may be available to every faction, Scyhtians and Dahae are usually used by either Sauromatae, Saka, Pahlava, Baktria, and sometimes Arche Seleukeia and Hayasdan. They are versatile units, especially the Dahae, but they have a lot of upkeep. It is also useless to the Baktrian player, since horse archers work best in large numbers, and large numbers of horse archers defeats the purpose of having Alexandrian phalanxes and Cataphract cavalry.

I can tell you from experience that Dahae Riders are excellent for a Baktrian player, especially in early game when you can't afford to wait for Baktrian HAs (they need a tier 4 factional MIC, not to mention a lot of money, to get). Even just one unit of light HA in your army will significantly increase your range of options, not to mention your range of missiles.

[Samariten]

As being said Cohors Reformata is the best unit in game. But here goes my personal list.

infantry Cohors Reformata

cavalry Grivpanvar

archers Toxotai Kretikoi

[Ownager]

Infantry- The drawbacks of Cohors Reformata are clear. Late in the game, when the human player becomes too strong, when he can defeat enemies at will, having this unit makes little difference. Added to that, the reforms take a long time to arrive and are hard to get. Plus, they remove the diversity of armies and make them into clones of each other.
Cavalry- While Grivpanvr are one of the best cavalry, they require advanced reforms, and are only available late game. I prefer the Baktrian Hippeis, for their cheapness and versatility over Grivpanvr. Both types of Companions are also acceptable.
Archers- Kretan archers are pretty expensive for archers, (Principes cost less) and have an great missile attack. However, many archers come close, while none can match their destructiveness.

[Samariten]

Infantry- The drawbacks of Cohors Reformata are clear. Late in the game, when the human player becomes too strong, when he can defeat enemies at will, having this unit makes little difference. Added to that, the reforms take a long time to arrive and are hard to get. Plus, they remove the diversity of armies and make them into clones of each other.
Cavalry- While Grivpanvr are one of the best cavalry, they require advanced reforms, and are only available late game. I prefer the Baktrian Hippeis, for their cheapness and versatility over Grivpanvr. Both types of Companions are also acceptable.
Archers- Kretan archers are pretty expensive for archers, (Principes cost less) and have an great missile attack. However, many archers come close, while none can match their destructiveness.

Still best infantry unit ingame and in my opinion best cavalry. I agree reforms take time to achive both cohors reformata and grivpanvr but that doesnt take away the fact that they are extremly valueable assets. I disagree that cohors reformata takes away diversity of armies. You still build your legions with scoii units as before. The only change is hastati, principes and triarii are melted together. On the contrary its a very diversity unit, it can assault, defend, guard rear and to it very well.

If one ignore reforms and roman units then it might look like this.

Western campign
Infantry
Milites Ilergetum or/and Dunaminica

Cavalry
Brihentin and Liguriae Epos

Archers
Toxotai Kretikoi and Sotaroas

Eastern campign
Infantry
Hard to give any special unit as thrace, grecce and getia gives so many fine units to fill up as scoii. Though Hoplitai can be recruited anywhere and are useful on the field.

Cavalry
Hippeis Thessalikoi and Misthophoroi Thraikioi Prodromoi

Archers
Toxotai Kretikoi and Thureopherontes Toxotai

[Brihentin13]

If one ignore reforms and roman units then it might look like this.

Western campign
Infantry
Milites Ilergetum or/and Dunaminica

Cavalry
Brihentin and Liguriae Epos

Archers
Toxotai Kretikoi and Sotaroas

Wow, that is the first time I've ever seen anyone sing the Sotaroas' praises. You do mean the Celtic archers, right? Uh...could you explain? I play as the Celts A LOT. In fact, my first three campaigns went Casse, Aedui, Arverni. Yet, in all that time, I have never seen a reason to use these units when the slingers seemed so much more efficient. I'm intrigued. You may have unlocked a whole new world of murder for me if it just turns out I'm doing something wrong

[Samariten]

Wow, that is the first time I've ever seen anyone sing the Sotaroas' praises. You do mean the Celtic archers, right? Uh...could you explain? I play as the Celts A LOT. In fact, my first three campaigns went Casse, Aedui, Arverni. Yet, in all that time, I have never seen a reason to use these units when the slingers seemed so much more efficient. I'm intrigued. You may have unlocked a whole new world of murder for me if it just turns out I'm doing something wrong

I dont think you are doing anything wrong nor that i do anything that is more improved. They are also not in real comparsion with Toxotai Kretikoi. But they are cheap and they keep unarmored/light armored units occupied. I use in fact both the celtic slingers and archers when expanding westwards but just mentioning archer type in my army composition and not the other skirmisher types.

[seleucid empire]

I think it's your play styles that differ. I suspect that Samaritan like me, is more concerned with keeping the core troops intact rather than every single unit. So he would throw his archers into the fray and just replace them easily while brihentin has more elite archers which he keeps out of melee