About Javelin skirmishers

**chadwicknight** · December 20, 2014, 05:07 AM

In my roman campaign I noticed that some skirmishers have a decent amount of armor and melee defence/attack. Is it proper to use them also as a first tier of the front line? Maybe withdrawing them after a while of melee combat and sending more specialised troops in?

Else I can't find a proper way to use them, aside for roleplaying and diversity. Archers are way better imo.

**rick1063** · December 20, 2014, 06:12 AM

If you can get your javelin men around the back of an enemy unit which is engaged they are really devastating, that is their strength in my opinion

**chadwicknight** · December 20, 2014, 06:38 AM

Originally Posted by rick1063

If you can get your javelin men around the back of an enemy unit which is engaged they are really devastating, that is their strength in my opinion

Of course, but archers may be used the same way. Plus their good range makes up for the relatively less damage and opens up more tactical approaches.

**Xubarku** · December 20, 2014, 06:38 AM

Archers may get more kills over the course of a battle, but javelins get all their kills very rapidly. I like to keep one or two in every army just to nuke something high value. An elite unit, the enemy center, maybe their general? Some things are just too much headache if left alive. As for uses, they're not robust enough to form the first wave. Their shields makes them worthwhile as a skirmisher screen, however, and I use mine to soak up enemy missile fire. This allows for the first wave, not to mention your archers/slingers, to remain at full health during the skirmishing phase.

The higher stat units are peltasts, and they play double duty. After they've used all their javelins, they're tough enough to attack, but try to keep them as a flanking force. They're not THAT durable and will probably get cut to ribbons in a straight fight, but at least they're capable of doing something more than waiting out the timer. Despite this, I usually recruit javelinmen instead of peltasts, just to save a little in upkeep, and use some variety of dedicated flankers.

Ultimately though, yeah, archers are more effective and versatile. While I don't mind factions that rely on javelinmen anymore, there are definitely things you can pull off with archers (or even slingers) that javelin units will struggle with. I'm not so sure the same can be said in reverse. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

**chadwicknight** · December 20, 2014, 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by Xubarku

Archers may get more kills over the course of a battle, but javelins get all their kills very rapidly. I like to keep one or two in every army just to nuke something high value. An elite unit, the enemy center, maybe their general? Some things are just too much headache if left alive. As for uses, they're not robust enough to form the first wave. Their shields makes them worthwhile as a skirmisher screen, however, and I use mine to soak up enemy missile fire. This allows for the first wave, not to mention your archers/slingers, to remain at full health during the skirmishing phase.

The higher stat units are peltasts, and they play double duty. After they've used all their javelins, they're tough enough to attack, but try to keep them as a flanking force. They're not THAT durable and will probably get cut to ribbons in a straight fight, but at least they're capable of doing something more than waiting out the timer. Despite this, I usually recruit javelinmen instead of peltasts, just to save a little in upkeep, and use some variety of dedicated flankers.

Ultimately though, yeah, archers are more effective and versatile. While I don't mind factions that rely on javelinmen anymore, there are definitely things you can pull off with archers (or even slingers) that javelin units will struggle with. I'm not so sure the same can be said in reverse. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Well, this was the answer I was looking for. Thank you very much!

**rick1063** · December 20, 2014, 07:16 AM

That's true but archers are not available to all factions so sometimes you have to make do with javelins!

**GatoVolador** · December 20, 2014, 07:39 AM

Javelins are best used to kill heavy troops, but due to their low ammo, it is best to wait until the enemy is engaged so you can throw from the back. Now, even peltasts have to be babysitted, for enemy cav can still destroy them. I tend to have two javelin units supported by two shock units on one of my flanks in early armies (the other flank I leave for cav). Later on hellenic factionss hit the thureos reforms, making thureos spears aviable. Since the patch that makes them a more dedicated missile unit, theese guys rock. They have more men than peltasts, so even with less ammo, they throw more javs. And they have spears and a huge

ing shield, wich means they are far more resilent against missiles and cav - so no babysitting needed. Once they run out of ammo they can still do a decent job flanking in melee. Three on one flank substitute the 2-2 formation from early armies, freeing up space for whatever you like. You can even substitute the 2 spear units you should have on the flanks of your main line (1 on each) for thureos spears for more flexibility for a total of 5 hybrid units capable of supporting.
But never ever use them as main line

Cheers