What is your favorite unit?

**Rad** · January 16, 2016, 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by wojtekimbier

I'm very practical and all my favourite units are the ones well-worth the money I pay for them, not necessarily the best-looking or the strongest heroes

Illyrioi peltastai are the best cheap javelin-armed infantry in the game hands down at the moment.

Good man,

**Rad** · January 16, 2016, 09:52 AM

Those Hellenic units are freaking amazing! They are definitely high on my favorite list now. Thanks, Roma!

**Roma_Victrix** · January 16, 2016, 05:17 PM

No problem. And as you requested via PM, the Polybian units have also been posted to the OP. Enjoy.

**Rad** · January 17, 2016, 03:51 AM

Nice!

**Rad** · January 17, 2016, 11:31 AM

Got a question: Do Polybian Triarii use underhand or overhand spear grip and is the spear point pointed in the right direction when in combat, i.e towards the enemy?

**Hummer** · January 17, 2016, 04:33 PM

Thorakitai. Not really sure why. They look cool and appear to do well in battle.

**Evanissimo** · January 18, 2016, 01:10 AM

I really like the Armenian Royal Guard; excellent bowmen who are also frontline infantry. They also look real cool with their shiny helmets. It's cool to see a continuation of the immortals in the game.

**Roma_Victrix** · January 18, 2016, 07:32 AM

Originally Posted by Evanissimo

I really like the Armenian Royal Guard; excellent bowmen who are also frontline infantry. They also look real cool with their shiny helmets. It's cool to see a continuation of the immortals in the game.

Those new Armenian cataphracts are also amazing; even the steeds they ride have incredibly impressive and detailed armor. They're probably one of the most realistic-looking units in the entire game when all is said and done.

Originally Posted by Shadowwalker

Peltenai - I have no adequate words to describe their usefulness. There are only 2 situations where they don't excel - against mounted skirmishers and against a cavalry charge. Other than that you can throw them against more or less everything and expect them to stand their ground.

Precisely. As certified skirmishers, the Thraikioi Peltenai have so many more javelins compared to your standard infantry who are also equipped with throwing spears (i.e. thureophoroi, thorakitai, principes & hastati with their pilums, etc.). Once they're done expelling their javelins, the enemy might have an entire unit that's been killed off, or several of them who are considerably damaged, all before you bother rushing the Peltenai in to help the heavier infantry finish the job. It's perfect! Working in tandem with slingers and archers in the rear, they are nearly unstoppable. Unless of course you're being charged on all sides by Seleukid cataphracts.

**CenturionMarius** · January 18, 2016, 01:39 AM

Thraikian Mezenai!

superb cavalry for its price! Great unit, one of the best cavalry unit to be fielded by Western Hellenic Factions!

**Shadowwalker** · January 18, 2016, 04:06 AM

What a tough question!

To be honest - I can't pick one unit I like the most. It highly depends on the campaign I'm playing (and I started quite a few in 2.1b...).
[Please note: I'm not talking about graphics - all units I encountered so far are depicted in a very immersive and beautiful way graphics-wise.]

A few examples:

Hayasdan

Armenian Spearmen - highly dependable line infantry, very good cost/usefulness ratio, available in good numbers.
Bodyguard cavalry - battlewinners. There's nothing like the charge of those beasts.

Sab'Yn

Khamis - flexible, durable, quite expensive though. But the combination of strong archery and strong melee is just amazing. I'd prefer these guys over Toxotai Kretikoi (which are awesome themselves!) anytime.
Ethiopian Spearmen - though vulnerable to missiles these guys are the difference in battles against Nabataea. They are one of only few factional Sab'Yn units that can take a charge by Nabataean lancers without faltering. And they are a strong flanking / shock unit, too.
Bedouin Cavalry - at the moment the best cavalry Saba can get. Not good for taking on enemy cavalry (except Hippakontistai and the like) but high charge and very useful for driving off skirmishers/chasing routers.

SPQR

Velites - they even outclass Euzonoi (which are quite wonderful already), you can even use them as sort of emergency line infantry (against the lighter celtic infantry for example).
Polybian Triarii - they just won't go down! Even when completely surrounded they don't break easily and therefore give you time to flank and win a battle that would be lost otherwise.

Epeiros

all Illyrian units - they are a complete army in itself. You only lack long range support but you have superb line infantry, good phalanx, good skirmishers, good support/flank infantry. And the Illyrian Cavarly is among the best cavalry options you can get in the west.

available Mercenaries

Peltenai - I have no adequate words to describe their usefulness. There are only 2 situations where they don't excel - against mounted skirmishers and against a cavalry charge. Other than that you can throw them against more or less everything and expect them to stand their ground.
Skythian Archers - my archers of choice whenever I have the chance to get them. They are like the Caucasian Archers from EB 1 - cheap but with the ability to completely destroy enemy skirmishers/archers. Highly useful against those pesky horse-archers, too - if you make use of their superiour range, that is.

These are just a few examples, I could name almost every unit.

And, once again - it doesn't really matter what kind of army I field. EB 2 makes me pause in battles very often just to look at those badass graphics. I never cared much for the battle graphics, I usually just played the battles zoomed out to the max. EB 2 changed this. My battles last a lot longer nowadays, just because of the many many breaks I take to look at the units.

**Roma_Victrix** · January 18, 2016, 09:19 PM

For anyone who's interested, I've updated the OP to include pics of the gorgeous new Armenian cataphracts.

**Memnon the Rhodian** · January 19, 2016, 03:30 PM

Definitely the Prima Cohors, or first cohort. I'm a huge Rome fan boy

**Rad** · January 20, 2016, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by Memnon the Rhodian

I'm a huge Rome fan boy

Arent we all lol.

**Cohors_Evocata** · January 20, 2016, 05:35 PM

Originally Posted by Rad

Arent we all lol.

Not all of us.

**Roma_Victrix** · January 20, 2016, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by Cohors_Evocata

Not all of us.

This seems pertinent to this discussion.

**Rad** · January 21, 2016, 01:44 AM

Originally Posted by Cohors_Evocata

Not all of us.

Your name says otherwise

**Cohors_Evocata** · January 21, 2016, 03:02 AM

Originally Posted by Roma_Victrix

This seems pertinent to this discussion.

Well, that's the point, isn't it? We often glorify the Roman Empire as an enlightened monolithic entity, which spread the glorious light of culture to all these primitive barbarians, don't we? We often ignore all the brutal expansionism attached to it and how the native population would've seen it.

Either way, I approve of the use of Monty Python

:

Originally Posted by Rad

Your name says otherwise [emoji14]

*Sigh* I guess it's due to overexposure, but I'm not as fond of the Romans as I used to be, though I never was a Roman fanboy in the first place. I didn't pick my username due to it being from a Roman unit, but due to the meaning of the Latin and because I simply liked how it sounded. The name has grown on me by now and changing it would be too much of a hassle imo.

More on-topic: I think the Hayoc and Tsanrazen Ayrudzi look pretty damn awesome, especially with how detailed the mail on the former looks.