On this page:
- 4.4.1 General
- 4.4.2 Melee Infantry
- 4.4.3 Cavalry
- 4.4.4 Hunters
4.4.1 General
Barbarian units are characterised by a strong offensive attack, generally slightly faster infantry, and overall more power per man. Centurion writes: "They are the strongest fighters in the game, man for man they will always win, unfortunately they are the slowest to build (72 seconds for 16 warriors) and are usually swamped by enemy forces that out-number them. But with a Chieftain at a high level the Barbarians get an insane offensive bonus, and they can steal enemy mana/stamina." Barbarians are perhaps the most difficult army to use effectively: In my experience they are not as easy to keep alive as Romans, but lack the rapid replacement abilities of Egyptians. While their special units are excellent, some are very hard to use effectively, notably Hunters.
4.4.2 Melee Infantry
Shadow_Praetorian writes: "Barbarians have the best attacking infantry. Beserkers and Warriors throw rocks." From Lt_Kerensky: "Infantry are tough, but expensive and, due to throwing axes being slightly worse than Pilum, not as combat effective as Roman Auxiliary Infantry. As catapults and other siege engines use the same number of infantry to man them, this actually means that siege machines are more expensive for the Barbarians." Of course the 'cheapest' war machines and siege engines are produced by the Egyptians, by virtue of the low 'cost' of their slave units. Lt_Kerensky continues: "Warriors are the toughest standard infantry. In large numbers they are the masters of the open battle due their speed and power. Throwing stones can be a treat when pursuing a fleeing enemy. ... Berserkers excel when fighting large masses of foot enemies. They are 'mob' killers, and will dispatch, with ease, up to 2 Legionaire troops or 4 Soldier troops. Bad choice when fighting cavalry, Gladiators, Praetorians and ranged troops." Neoendofday adds: "Try Berserkers and pair them with slingers."
4.4.3 Cavalry
FV Constantinus writes: "The Noblemen are awesome. They are great fighters. I can send them to the front of the attack many times before they start to take big loses." From Lt_Kerensky: "Noblemen are the best standard cavalry. They are not as quick as the Equites, and are as vulnerable to spears and arrows. [But] They can defeat almost any unit on their own."
From Athos: "The Barbarians are great for the sheer power they have with their units, and how German Cavalry can dominate the field when put to good use. The fact that they can ride into the woods does make them almost uber units." Centurion notes: "They [German Cavalry] get severely kicked by Praetorians." German Cavalry are highly effective against the majority of single targets, particularly when they charge them. I find they perform less well when swamped by several enemy and are forced to fight their way out.
4.4.4 Hunters
Hunters have the ability to hide, almost unseen in woodland, and pounce on passing enemy, causing huge amounts of damage. This ability sounds particularly dangerous, but in practice it is hard to make effective use of. From Kmorg74: "The ambush is a great leveller for the Barbarians. Best way is to avoid that wood area if you can do so. They cannot hurt you if you do not need control of that area. And if they come after you, cavalry slaughters them." Centurion writes: "I send Legionaries just outside their position. Then send a cheap unit such as a scout to the forest very close to were they are. When hunters use ambush tactics, they just kill the scout leaving me free to charge with Legionaries."
LordJohnDrinksalot writes: "If I have the time, I always send a scout's wolf ahead into the forests. I avoid attacking Hunters in forests with melee units, if I can help it. I have archers hit them. If the Hunters attack, they're easily wiped out in the open. When I've used Hunters in multiplayer, my opponents run them down with Germanic cavalry (which operate in forests) with no losses to them. One guy I played had three Hunter units in grasslands when my Wolf Scout found them: lucky I had some archers and flaming arrows... When I've used Hunters against the AI skirmish, I've found it was a time-waster: One good ambush isn't too important when the AI is capturing more villages than me."