Introduction

I hate pikemen. I hate all of them. I never have any success with them unless it's on overwhelming odds. I always find them easy to beat. I hate Levy Pikemen. I hate Phalanx Pikemen. I hate Silver Shields. I hate Bronze Shields. I hate Royal Pikemen (don't tell me it isn't a pikeman, it sucks just as much). I hate Pontus Phalanx Pikemen. (this deserves a seperate mention). I hate Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (this deserves to be mentioned again).

The Advantages of Pikemen

1. Large unit size
All pikemen, with the exception of Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (this deserves another good bash on the head), have 50% more men than the infantry norm of 40 men on normal. Desert Cavalry on foot? In the same realm as Egyptian Bowmen? Hardly.

Having a 50% larger unit size theoratically boosts all of the unit's stats by 50%. This is true for the Desert Cavalry, its sheer numbers makes it overpowering. This is true for the Bowmen, it shoots 50% more arrows than your standard archer. But this isn't true for the phalanx pikemen. The 50% higher offense is merely theoratical and will never be achieved effectively.

Why?

For cavalry, their attack method is charging the enemy. They ride over the enemy. Therefore, most if not all of this theoratical bonus in attack would be utilized. The scare value of the nubmers in a cavalry charge also makes up for the low charge bonus of the Desert Cavalry. Lastly, more men = more enemies thrown around.

For archers, they shoot - if they get into melee, their unit size won't matter. A 120 men archer unit, compared to a 80 men unit, is definitely going to shoot 40 more arrows per volley; hence Egypt's advantage in a low budget archer duel.

But what of phalanxes?

In the phalanx formation, the only spears that are actually effective are the foremost row, or at most the first two rows. The rest will be hitting air. The rear ranks will be raising their spears, making them useless in combat. The default formation places it as a deep line, which means the rear troops are useless. Lengthening the lines will eliminate the latter, but the phalanx mechanics of Rome: Total War means that if your lines are much longer than the foes and you give an attack command, you will surround the enemy and causing melee fights - to be afforded at any cost. If you don't give an attack command, you do not gain the additional spear points that lengthening the lines give you; all that will be used is the first two rows of spears that comes into contact with the enemy.

In melee, the pikemen can utilise their numerical offensive advantage more. Unfortunately though, all pikemen have pathetic melee stats. Which means that by utilising their advantage they lose. And even in a melee fray, it would be difficult to use this advantage to the full; more often than not, only the foremost ranks would be engaged.

2. Very long spears
Most pikemen, with the exception of the Royal (this deserves a second mention for suckiness), have very long spears. What are these good for? Nothing.

The very long spears are theoratically better at keeping foes at bay. But think. Are the short hoplite spears any worse than the long pikes at keeping non-phalanx units away? No. No infantry can get past a phalanx from the front, no matter its length. As for cavalry, they break phalanxes by pushing the men back. Pushing the pikes back are the same as pushing the men back, the goal is to put the cavalry inside the phalanx formation so that it loses coherence. Once the cavalry is inside the phalanx, the pikemen does even worse than normal phalanxes. Their long spears are a hindrance here. Whereas at least some of the men in a distrupted hoplite formation can still attack with their spears, in a distrupted pikemen formation, the pikemen cannot attack effective with their long weapons and will fight with swords.

Long spears also makes for slow turnings. To fight cavalry effectively phalanxes need to turn quickly to avoid being flanked and bring their spears to bear. Pikemen turn slower than hoplites in phalanx formation, so they actually have a disadvantage.

The only situation in which having very long spears is effective is in a pure phalanx vs phalanx combat. The side with the shorter spears will be unable to reach the side with the longer spears, and will get massacred.

Or is it? For this to happen, all pikemen involved must be directly facing the enemy, or having both the pikemen and hoplite ranks be equal in length. In a field battle this doesn't happen often; usually, one side pushes back another's phalanxes - usually, the hoplites do the shoving - and drag the battle into a melee.

Only in two situations do the pikemen have a definite advantage over the hoplite. Street battles, and bridge battles. Here, it is nearly impossible for phalanx battles to become a melee, and the pikemen will triumph. But in field battles, the pikemen are at a disadvantage.

In addition, phalanx mechanics ensure that it will take a good long time just for the pikemen to kill the hoplites. Phalanxes do not close up on each other. The foremost ranks will actually stay a short distance away - close enough for the pikemen to start attacking, but not close enough for them to actually hit things. The men that are actually carrying spears and fighting with them rarely take casualties, it is the men that walk around with spears raised or fighting with swords that usually die.

The disadvantages of pikemen

1. Abysmal defense, especially against missiles
Congratulations Levy Pikemen, You're Winner! You are officially THE unit that has lowest defense of all spearmen, and THE unit that has lowest defense against missiles. Even with the improved phalanx missile defense in 1.2, all pikemen - not just levies - perform abysmally against arrows.

Cases in point

Low end phalanxes:
Pikemen representative - Levy Pikemen, 2 Shield + 3 Skill = 5
Hoplite representative - Militia Hoplite/Nubian Spearmen, 5 Shield + 3 Skill = 8

Obviously, the Levies have lower defense than the Militia Hoplite and the Nubian Spearmen. Against missiles, skill ratings do not count - so the Levy Pikemen would be left with 2 defense, while the hoplites would at least have 5.

Mid-range phalanxes:
Pikemen representative 1 - Phalanx Pikemen, 6 armour + 2 shield + 5 skill = 13
Pikemen representative 2 - Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (this deserves another mention) - 6 armour + 5 shield + 5 skill = 16
Hoplite representative 1 - Hoplite - 6 armour + 5 shield + 5 skill = 16
Hoplite representative 2 - Heavy Spearmen - 7 armour + 5 shield + 5 skill = 17
Hoplite representative 3 - Nile Spearmen - 3 armour + 5 shield + 5 skill = 13
Hoplite representative 4 - Poeni Infantry - 7 armour + 5 shield + 6 skill = 18
Hoplite representative 5 - Spear Warband - 3 armour (huh?) + 5 shield + 3 skill = 11

Of these, the Spear Warband is the lowest. It is also worth noting, however, that it is almost a pikeman, having 120 men but normal spears.

The standard Phalanx Pikemen ties with Nile Spearmen for second lowest defense. But note their cost. Nile Spearmen cost 360. Phalanx pikemen cost 580. Take the unit size difference into account, Phalanx pikemen still cost more per men.

The Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (this deserves yet another mention) costs less than the normal phalanx pikemen and has more defense. At 16, it ties with Hoplite but is lower than the Heavy Spearmen. Yet, note their cost. Hoplites cost 440. Heavy Spearmen cost 460. Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (no amount of mentions could make up for its suckiness) cost 470 but have only 40 men. True, they do have long spears, but in my opinion, it really doesn't matter.

The highest defense in this lineup is that of the Poeni infantry, at 18. Note that it costs less than the normal phalanx pikemen, at 540 compared to the pikemen's 580.

As for missile defense, the Phalanx Pikemen definitely does NOT shine. Tying with the cheaper Spear Warband and Nile Spearmen for lowest, the Phalanx Pikemen once against proves its weakness against missiles.

As for the Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (this deserves as many mentions as I can comfortably give) it fares better since it actually carries a shield worthy of the name, not the small toys that most pikemen carry. Again, it ties with Hoplites in the middle, and slightly lower than Heavy Spearmen.

Poeni Infantry, with its heavy armour and large shield, ties with Heavy Spearmen as being the best against missiles here.

High End phalanxes
Pikemen representatives 1 - Silver/Bronze Shields Pikemen - 6 armour + 2 Shield + 6 Skill = 14
Pikemen representative 2 - Royal Pikemen - 6 armour + 5 shield + 6 skill = 17
Hoplite representative 1 - Armoured Hoplites - 11 armour + 5 shield + 6 skill = 22
Hoplite representative 2 - Spartan Hoplites - 3 armour, 5 shield, 9 skill, 2HP = 34
Hoplite representative 3 - Pharoah's Guards - 7 armour, 5 shield, 7 skill = 19
Hoplite representative 4 - Sacred Band - 11 armour, 5 shield, 7 skill = 23

Feeling faint yet? Among this lineup, only the Spartan is more expensive than the Silver Shield, and only the Spartan and the Sacred Band cost more than the Bronze Shields and the Royals. Yet both of these - even the Royal Pikemen which actually has a shield instead of a joke - have lower defense than any hoplite. You could disregard the 2HP that Spartans have, and it will still tie with the Royal and have higher defense than the Silver Shields or the Bronze Shields. This is to the extent that, even if the 50% defense bonus brought by unit size is brought to the full, elite pikemen would STILL have lower defense than elite hoplites.

Let's not even begin on the missile defense of the Silver Shields and Bronze Shields. In this lineup they tie with Spartans for low missile resistance, but remember, Spartans have 2HP. Sacred Band and Armoured Hoplites have fully double the defense against missiles. Even the Royal Pikemen had a lower missile defense than the Pharoah's Guards. Whereas phalanx pikemen could at least contend in defense with hoplites and thus make good line-fillers, the so-called "elite" pikemen are just plain terrible. Missiles that would bounce harmlessly off the shields and armour of the hoplites would pierce chests, limbs, and skulls of pikemen. A few volleys from Chosen Archers may not even do any damage to Sacred Band, but they may well decrease the numbers of a Silver Shield pikemen by a quarter - at least!

2. Weak melee capability
No one expects phalanxes to do the job of legions outside a phalanx. Maybe insane phalanxes like Pharoah's Guards, Sacred Band and Spartans, but not normal phalanxes.

The fact is, however, that pikemen perform below the average expected of hoplites in melee. Their melee stats are always either equal to or less than equivalent hoplites, but never higher than; in melee combat, the pikemen rarely actually gains from its higher numbers; and pikemen undoubtly suffer from their poor defense.

Cases in point:
Low-end phalanxes
Pikemen representative: Levy Pikemen, melee attack 3 (1 charge), defense 5
Hoplite representative 1: Militia Hoplite, melee attack 3 (1 charge), defense 8
Hoplite representative 2: Nubian Spearmen, melee attack 2 (1 charge), defense 8
Hoplite representative 3: Nile Spearmen, melee attack 5 (2 charge), defense 13

The Levy Pikemen costs 310, Militia and Nubians 230, and Nile Spearmen 360. All units except for the Nile Spearmen have 2 morale.

Let us compare the Levy Pikemen and the Militia Hoplite. They cost about the same per men, with the Militia Hoplite slightly higher, but a negligible difference. The 60% high defense of the Militia Hoplite, however, is not negligible.

Now we compare the Levy to the Nubian Spearmen. The Nubian Spearmen has 60% higher defense per men than the Levy Pikemen, but also 33% lower attack. We can take it as a draw.

When compared to the Nile Spearmen - which borderlines between low-end and mid-range - however, the inferior stats of the Levy Pikemen shows - badly. Yes, it is true that the Nile Spearmen is 80% costlier per men than the Levy, but with 66% higher attack, double morale, and 160% higher defense, there is no doubt that the Nile Spearmen is the better.

Mid-range phalanxes
Pikemen representative 1: Phalanx pikemen, melee attack 5 (2 charge), defense 13
Pikemen representative 2: Pontus phalanx pikemen (this deserves all the mentions in the world), melee attack 5 (2 charge), defense 16
Hoplite representative 1: Hoplite, melee attack 5 (2 charge), defense 16
Hoplite representative 2: Heavy Spearmen, melee attack 5 (2 charge), defense 17
Hoplite representative 3: Nile Spearmen, melee attack 5 (2 charge), defense 13
Hoplite representative 4:* Spear Warband, melee attack 9 (8 charge), defense 11
Hoplite representative 5: Poeni Infantry, melee attack 7 (3 charge), defense 18

Note: I am dubious about the Spear Warband's stats. It will not be discussed here.

Phalanx Pikemen (normal) cost 580, Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (the ever present mention) cost 470, Heavy Spearmen cost 460, Hoplites cost 440, Nile Spearmen cost 360, and Poeni Infantry cost 540. All except the Poeni Infantry have 4 morale, the Poeni have 8.

In the mid-range, as in the previous test, the phalanx pikemen is not outstanding - but, with the exception of the Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (it must be mentioned), they performed well enough to be almost on par with the others.

Still, they were mediocre at best. For example, between the Phalanx Pikemen and the Nile Spearmen: they were pretty much identical as far as melee stats go. Unfortunately, the Phalanx Pikemen cost 580; which means that the pikemen, per man, costs more than the Nile Spearmen. And while multiple units of Nile Spearmen could be maneuvered into a position to flank the eenmy, this is not an option with pikemen.

Now we look at how the Phalanx Pikemen measures up to the slightly less expensive Poeni infantry.

Not good. Poeni infantry have 40% higher melee, double morale, and 40% higher defense. True, the pikemen do have more men, but as I said earlier, not all the 50% bonus can be utilised to the full.

Next, let us look at the Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (I must not neglect to mention it). It fares surprisingly well compared to Hoplites and Heavy Spearmen, trading off 30 denarii for longer spears than the Hoplite.

It is clear that the pikemen, in comparison with equivalent hoplites, perform less well in melee.

High-end phalanxes
Pikemen representatives 1: Silver/Bronze Shields, melee 7 (charge 3), defense 14
Pikemen representative 2: Royal Pikemen, melee 7 (charge 3), defense 17
Hoplite representative 1: Armoured hoplite, melee 7 (charge 3), defense 22
Hoplite representative 2: Pharoah's Guards, melee 10 (charge 4), defense 19
Hoplite representative 3: Spartan Hoplites, melee 16 (charge 4), defense 17, 2HP
Hoplite representative 4: Sacred Band, melee 10 (charge 4), defense 23

The Spartans are of an entirely different realm from the others; therefore it is here for comparison purpose only. It will be referred to, but it should not be used as proof.

Silver Shields cost 730, Royals and Bronze Shields cost 690. Armoured Hoplites cost 640, Pharoah's Guards cost 620, Sacred Band cost 710, Spartans cost 1220. Silver/Bronze Shields, Royals, and Armoured Hoplites have 8 morale, Pharoah's Guards/Sacred Band have 10, Spartans have 14.

As with the last test, all high-end pikemen fare badly. Comparing the Sacred Band and the equivalent in cost, Silver/Bronze shields - Sacred Band has 43% higher melee attack, 25% higher morale, and 50% higher defense. In a theoratical test, the pikemen can keep the Sacred Band at bay, but in a real battle, the Sacred Band will slowly but surely overwhelm the pikemen, and without even taking significant casualties.

The Royal Pikemen is just as pathetic, despite its higher defense. It doesn't even have this one advantage over the other phalanxes; in trading pikes for shields, it still fails to be even dependable.

Pikemen are useless in melee, period. Whereas the high-end phalanxes such as Pharoah's Guards and Sacred Band can actually beat legions in sword combat, pikemen would be lucky to beat Hastati.

3. Poor morale
No "Cases in point" here. It is quite obvious that, at the same cost, the pikemen would have lower morale than it's equivalent hoplite. Levies don't cost much less than Nile Spearmen but have poor morale compared to the Spearmen's normal; Phalanx Pikemen cost more than Poeni infantry but have lower morale; and all elite pikemen have 8 morale compared to the Pharoah's Guards and Sacred Band's 10.

Ideally, the pikes would keep the enemy at bay, meaning that the lower morale would not matter. Ideally. But I have yet to see a single field battle in which the pikemen could fully keep the enemy at bay for the entire battle. The pikes would do some mild damage, then one side slowly encircles another into a melee punctuated by spear action in the center. Pikemen suffer. Seriously.

While having 50% larger unit size does not translate into 50% more attack or defense, there is at least a definite increase. But having 50% larger unit size has no effect on morale. Phalanx Pikemen rout as easily as Hoplites.

What makes Sacred Band so good? Their morale. Even when cav units charge at full force into them, they can stand their ground long enough for help to arrive, or even rout the enemy by themselves if there are 2 or more Sacred Bands. Pikemen cannot do that. Even Silver Shields and Royals will rout fast.

In a phalanx fight, the poor morale of the pikemen more than makes up for their long spears. Phalanxes cause a morale penalty to units directly in front of them, especially high-morale phalanxes. In a phalanx fight involving several equal number of units of both Silver Shield and Sacred Band, Silver Shields would become Steady quite early, and when another Sacred Band pushes at them from the flanks, the pikemen rout easily. On the contrary, when attacked by equivalent hoplites (say, Pharoah's Guards), the Sacred Band would stand for far longer even when the Guards are pressing at them from more than one side. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that pikemen start hitting air when the Sacred Band close up and tire quickly. Against Rome this disadvantage becomes more pronouced. Unlike phalanxes, legions, when given an attack command, do not stay in front of the spears, since they have no spears with which to attack back. They will tend to spread out on both sides and drag the pikemen into melee.

Units in Depth

Levy Pikemen - Without me telling you, you should be able to tell that this unit is useless outside bridge and street battles. They have higher primary attack than Militia Hoplites - and that is about all. They have no defense. Against archers, all they have to guard themselves is the phalanx formation and their shields. Not very much at all. In no time, any archer or slinger would tear their formation to pieces.

Phalanx Pikemen - The best pikemen of them all. Not that it means very much; they still suck. But they, unlike their "elite" counterparts, are not totally outclassed or overpriced. With skill, they can hold strong infantry at bay long enough for Companion Cavalry or Cataphracts to deal the decisive blow. Of course they are weaker than the Silver Shields or Bronze Shields, but they are much cheaper, and really not totally outclassed.

Pontus Phalanx Pikemen (the last time I mention them! Seriously!) - Useless... is too kind a word. They suck. Totally. I would dearly have put another 3000 words describing how bad they are, if I hadn't already written 3000.

Why? They fared well in the tests!

Then compare their costs, per man, with the Bronze Shields.

Jaw still on your face? Good. Now you know how bad these... things... are. If a unit is so inefficient that you have to replace them with BRONZE SHIELDS, you know it totally sucks.

Silver Shield Pikemen - The only reason why I would use them is because I have money to spare. If you have that much to spare, please, buy legions and cataphracts first, before upgrading your phalanx pikemen to Silver Shields.

These guys simply do not live up to their cost. If you enjoy seeing 730 denarii investments torn apart by arrows from two archers, by all means, buy them. Few civilised (non-barbarian) top-tier infantry are so bad against arrows. Phalanx formation does not help them.

They can fare well against elephants and chariots, but then just about everything do. They do not have a bonus against horses, or at least my source says this much, and they are needlessly vulnerable to cavalry. Silver Shield Legions would hold better against cavalry then them. If you have something else holding the cavalry back while your pikemen flank them, you'll do well, but then why not use your own cavalry?

Bronze Shields - Two good things can be said about them. First, they are the only Pontus infantry that is actually worth using. Second, they cost less than Silver Shields for nearly identical stats.

That's about all.

Every weakness that the Silver Shield has applies to the Bronze Shields as well. They fare better against cavalry than Silver Shields, but if they are put into a situation where they are in the position to maul cavalry, then ALL phalanxes can do the same thing.

You have no reason not to use Bronze Shields as Pontus if you are using infantry, but don't expect them to shine. They are line-fillers, that's all. Don't expect them to be war-winners.

Royal Pikemen - What do you mean, it's not a pikemen? Regardless, it suffers from all the faults, and doesn't have one of the two advantages of pikemen - their very long spears. All my experiences with the Royal Pikemen has proven to be disappointing at best. True, I have won battles with Macedon, but had I replaced my Companion cavalry with Royal Pikemen, they would have been much tougher.

They don't suffer as much as the Silver and Bronze Shields do against missiles, since they actually carry real shields. But they still do poorly against arrows; as the top-infantry of Macedon, it's quite badly armoured compared to most other top-infantry.

Prologue
Well, thank you for reading this far, I assure you that it is over, you can heave your relieved sigh now. And I won't mention the Pontus Phalanx Pikemen again.

Simply, pikemen are bad. They aren't the total waste of money that non-phalanx spearmen are, but compared to the hoplites, they truly aren't impressive. Historically, the hoplite phalanx evolved into the pike phalanx, Rome: Total War has reversed this trend. The pike phalanx may be a lot less vulnerable than the real thing when flanked, but it is also a lot easier to flank than the real thing.

You've heard my 3907 words on pikemen. What are yours?

[/rant]

[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited 03-08-2005 @ 06:24 AM).]