Best (RP) management strategy for Polybian Italy ?

[bisthebis]

I've recently got Polybian reform, and I'm slowly heading towards Marian. (By slowly, I mean... I've still 350 turns to play )
I'm wondering about the best way (on the RP side) to manage governments in Italy. At the moment, I have 3 Socii Italii, 3 Ius Latinorum and Roma which is a Municipe. Coloniae are +/- built everyhwere.
Should I upgrade my Socii now ? This would mean I would lose socii troops (and, though I haven't tested them yet, Pedites Extraordinarii and Cohors Sociorum look DAMN AWESOME), which would lead to pure roman army, and RP speaking, would prevent social war from happening, if I'm right. On the other side, I need to upgrade to Ius Latinorum if I want latifundiae, which are required for reform.

What would you advise ?

(Oh, and by the way, how do I get the refroamtor trait ?)

[Rad]

Keep the Socii for as long as possible. They made up half (or more) of the Exercitus.

[Roma_Victrix]

Seriously, though, the Pedites Extraordinarii are basically the best infantry unit the Romans can recruit in Italy. Given how the EB II team has inexplicably decided to handicap and diminish the Triarii unit to a very tiny size, the Pedites Extraordinarii unit is now way, way more important and powerful than the Triarii (if only because of their greater numbers). The only problem is that the Pedites Extraordinarii are super expensive to both recruit and maintain for each turn (like 600 mnai each turn, which is almost as much as a heavy cavalry unit).

Personally, I'd advise for you to keep the Socii system until at least roughly 120 BC or thereabouts. It's good to utilize it for a while before moving on to the Marians, especially if you are pacing yourself and slowly building up your empire. Someone who likes fast expansion might get bored with the Polybian units, though, and if you're that type of player, by all means, go full steam ahead to gain the Marian reforms.

[Dooz]

Given how the EB II team has inexplicably decided to handicap and diminish the Triarii unit to a very tiny size

Isn't the explanation that it's in keeping with historical accuracy? Just like the explanation for every other decision in EBII?

[Rad]

Isn't the explanation that it's in keeping with historical accuracy? Just like the explanation for every other decision in EBII?

For the Polybians, yes. I dunno why they did it for the Camillians. I was under the impression that the Camillian hastati-principes-triarii ratio was 1:1:1.

I actually like the smaller Triarii size... takes less space, levels faster, and you are actually somewhat pressed to use them as a reserve due to their limited number.

[Hummer]

I upgraded right away from my Socci to my Ius Latinorum but I regret it because I lost all my Pedites Extraordinairii and Cohors Sociorum. They are both awesome units. Roma_Victrix is right on though, the Pedites Extraordinairii are definitely the best Roman unit. I lost a lot of flavor in my army's because of losing these units.

I recommend keeping Socci for a long time.

[MrBlack103]

Triarii are still immensely useful of course due to the morale aura.

As to the OP, don't upgrade. Pedites extraordinarii are badass, both in looks and stats. I love seeing them in the field.

[bisthebis]

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep my Socci for another century then !
It's a shame that Extraordinarii are so scarce that I don't dare using them at full potential :p
Still, Cohors Sociorum are damn aweosme with their 240 guys/unit.

Triarii have proven to be very useful in my battles (especially for morale), but their tinyness (IDK if this word exists ) makes them a true reserve unit. Love that !

[QuintusSertorius]

As people have said, keep your socii for as long as you're able to. Both for variety and capability. There are some very good allied units you'll sorely miss once you've moved to a Roman government.

I'd also say delay the Marian reforms for as long as possible, too. If you like, you can always instigate a "soft" Marian reform by recruiting only Principes for your line infantry.

[bisthebis]

Why would you delay Marian ? Being able te recruit in Provinciae looks like a major bonus in long term, well worth a roster switch

[QuintusSertorius]

Why would you delay Marian ? Being able te recruit in Provinciae looks like a major bonus in long term, well worth a roster switch

Because it makes the game far too easy and causes the loss of a lot of variety. You can always recruit outside of Italy with Allied Governments, or indeed Civitas Liberae governments, rather than moving to Provinciae too soon.

[QuintusSertorius]

Why would you delay Marian ? Being able te recruit in Provinciae looks like a major bonus in long term, well worth a roster switch

Because it makes the game far too easy. You can always recruit outside of Italy with Allied Governments, or indeed Civitas Liberae governments, rather than moving to Provinciae too soon.

[bisthebis]

That's a fair point. Though I guess once I'll be at turn 500~600 the game will arleady be to easy

[QuintusSertorius]

That's a fair point. Though I guess once I'll be at turn 500~600 the game will arleady be to easy

Depends how you play it. If you restrain yourself to minimal expansion, and stay active with preserving a balance of power in your nearby regions (ie not letting any one faction "win"), you can still have a very variable and viable game left.