Naked spear men best barb unit?

[ra2z]

Im noticing that naked spear men are infliciting 50-120ish caustlies to my units while a noble spear unit can only deal 12?

[Chris P. Bacon]

I think you mean the Gaesatae. Ya they are a very powerful unit that can do serious damage to even elite units especially if they are lower attack spears.

[meerkatology]

pretty sure best barb units are the berserk/falx type things. iceni 2h sword guys and cantabri berserkers.

[Krixux]

pretty sure best barb units are the berserk/falx type things. iceni 2h sword guys and cantabri berserkers.

And to OP
(Cris P. Bacon too lol)

I am still uncomfortable (lol) with all those Barbarian uber stats/attack units... to a certain degree...

I understand the need of diversity and immersion in DeI (R2TW in general)
But given the time frame, most are kind of "fantasy" units, that never existed in reality.
As opposed to "Immortals", 1st Cohort, phalanx ( 16x16 unit), Alae, etc; which were historically defined units with respective training and abilities.

One exception , and perhaps there are more no doubt, are the Flax/sica units (not per se units in the traditional meaning) that forced the Romans to adapt their armour. Which actually happened Historically iirc.

Seeing "naked spear men" cutting steadily through a Phalanx unit is hilarious (imho) to say the least.
Eventually if in control of a Major/Classical faction (ex Macedon) the player will dominate then conquer.
But as AI Macedon being wiped out by "Naked " guys, is just...a .. well... uhh...mmm...what's the word...phhh

[KAM 2150]

All those naked guys have higher stats due to more freedom of movement, but are moved down by everything in prolonged combat. Not to mention being charged by cavalry and shot down. Those disciplined, armoured barbarians are the true force.

[DeVrie]

Agreed, I've been using the fear inducing naked spearmen in two ways and this is what I've found out.

They aren't that expensive and the upkeep is comparable to other basic units, so I tried an army with naked spearmen as the main battleline and they did well but suffered horrendous casualties. Not one of them broke and still mauled they held and killed many men. Thus, excellent units but not cost effective to overdo it.

Instead what I do is keep 2 or 3 behind my lines, boosting my morale and scaring the enemy. If the enemy has many archers and I can't get to them quickly for some reason, I'll just charge them into combat to spread the pain around.

Bottom line: they add colour and variety to my army, they are crazy naked fanatics and they aren't cost effective enough to field a large fantasy army comprised exclusively by naked men. What's not to like?

PS: playing as the Suebi I have to say one of my favourite units is the AoR Skudantz(sp?) the hunters. They are stealthy and good with their bows. Coupled with a general that has archery bonuses these guys can really rack up kills when deployed along the sides with minor backup.

PSS: I think the AI detects hidden units from too far away. Does the AI have a greater stealth detection than the player? Because these archers I mention in the PS have the snipe ability, can fire while hidden, but the truth it that the bow range is inferior to AI detection range, even if inside a forest. Which is kind of a shame and a missed oportunity to have death whistle from the trees and men dying in confusion.

Woof, long post, sorry

[Korvyr]

the Appae Gedatae you mean? Their states are too high right now.

[geala]

In what way are Gaesatae not historically mentioned? That such units existed who fought naked is very clear from the written sources. That they were a certain kind of mercenary force and presumably asked to join the invading Celts because of their performance is an educated guess. Beneath the freedom of movement without clothes (which btw would offer not that much more protection than the naked Skin against nasty cut and thrust weapons) the nakedness could have had relations to the devotion to a god and/or a visible sign of braveness and the despise of death. You see this also in other cultures, f.e. American plains indians or Maoris. All can be interpreted into an above the average soldier.

[meerkatology]

on a side note, those barb tribes lived in areas that are pretty cold... wouldn't naked units freeze to death =\
naked spearmen in the winter time in germania?

[Chris P. Bacon]

on a side note, those barb tribes lived in areas that are pretty cold... wouldn't naked units freeze to death =\
naked spearmen in the winter time in germania?

When your high as a kite on shrooms, standing with your shieldbrothers and slashing and chopping off the limbs of your enemies the cold isn't your #1 priority.

[ThatWhichThinks]

on a side note, those barb tribes lived in areas that are pretty cold... wouldn't naked units freeze to death =\
naked spearmen in the winter time in germania?

Presumably they are capable of wearing clothes and whatnot to stave off the cold during the campaign...they just choose not to in battle.

For battle, I think Chris P. Bacon has the right idea, though maybe increasing fatigue due to cold on these units would be good.

[Zonac]

on a side note, those barb tribes lived in areas that are pretty cold... wouldn't naked units freeze to death =\
naked spearmen in the winter time in germania?

Haha that is one of many reasons why anyone fought in winter!!!

[Cambion]

There is ample historical evidence that the actual reason to fight (not march) naked was the danger of infection from particles of clothing in the wounds. The "look how brave I am you turtle" effect probably came later.
The barbarians werent so barbaric.

[Irishmafia2020]

The Celtic "barbarians" sacked Rome and Greece (Delphi) in the BC era - the Romans didn't really gain the upper hand until Julius Caesar! There is a tendency to dismiss the barbarian factions as primitive and ineffective warriors, but that was certainly not the case in 272 BCE! It was also not the case later - in the 400's CE barbarian factions again got the upper hand on Rome/Greece militarily speaking... The naked Celts, especially the Gaesatae were formidable individual combatants who enjoyed success against the Greeks and Romans. The armor of the Celts and some steppe tribes was also superior for a long time to that worn by the civilized cultures in the Mediterranean. The real downfall of the barbarians was their lack of discipline and general disunity.