Realistic cold steel 1.4.pack

This mod is designed to show how warriors really fight with their weapons during the time period of TW: Rome 2 grand campaign.

Infantry categories and descriptions:

Light Spearman: Spear and shield-equipped infantry are good at holding the line especially against deadly cavalry charges. But using spear in one hand without a proper secondary weapon means they are not good damage dealers, which makes them weak against well trained swordsmen. Most spearmen are cheap units, but still there are costly and better-armed spearmen, e.g. Wodanaz Spears.

Hoplite: Hellenic elite infantry with good discipline and melee skill, usually well equipped. They have a Kopis, Gladius or other secondary weapons, so swordman is not a problem for them. While forming hoplite phalanx, they lock their left arm with their big shields together to make an unbreakable shield wall. This sacrifices their DPS since they can not do anything more effective than stabbing with their spear in one hand behind the shield wall.

Phalangite: Macedonian Phalangites pose a powerful front with their Sarissas, but are vulnerable against flanking attacks.

Swordman: They use Javelins to weaken their enemies, and then charge them with Gladius, Kopis, axes, Celtic swords or other kinds of single-handed weapon. They are good against infantry but vulnerable against cavalry Charge.

Legionary: Roman legionaries are elite swordmen, they are well disciplined and able to form a spear wall using their Pilums as short spears. This makes them the most adaptive melee infantry together with the Hoplites.

Archers: Archers are NOT defenceless in melee – although most of them are not protected by shields, they are not weaker in melee skills. However, it is not easy to deploy huge numbers of well-trained archers, that is why number of men in a unit is decreased. The same change also happens in horse archers.

Javelin Throwers: It is not possible for anybody to carry more than 5 javelins to the battlefield and move swiftly as skirmishers at the same time, so Javelin Throwers have very limited ammo in this mod. But like archers, they are not useless in melee now, which is why they are categorized as melee infantry. It is a good idea to use them as light swordmen to flank the enemy after their ammo run out.

Slingers: The main weakness of slings are their ineffectiveness against armored targets. However, their shields give them an advantage against light archers while shooting each other. And don’t forget to use them as light swordmen if necessary.

Falx-man: By using two-handed falxes, Dacian falx-men sacrifice their defence to cut down heavy-armored target. Falxes are also very effective against cavalry, but falx-men have to find a way to survive the charge before cutting down enemy cavalry or elephants.

Cavalry categories and descriptions:

Shock cavalry (Lancers): We all know they are deadly in charging the enemy. But different from vanilla game, their melee defence is much higher while melee attack significantly lower. So when locked in melee, they are useless but not fragile. This buys the player more time to pull them out and regroup. As for Cataphracts, they are now almost immune to missile shots thanks to their armor.

Melee cavalry: Cavalry with short spears are good for counter-cavalry or cutting down light infantry. Remember, some of them are far more better fighters when dismounted – Equites and citizen cavalry for example.
Mounted javelin thrower: Mounted javelin throwers can carry more ammo.
Mounted archer: Training a horse archer is not simply a combination of riding and archery, so number of riders in a unit is limited. But they are still swift, deadly and have more arrows than foot archers.

Artillery:
While Ballistae, Onagers, Scorpions etc. exist, keep in mind they are NOT artillery in TW Empire, they CAN NOT change the tide in any open battle. Bring them along in sieges though.

Naval warfare:
Of course you cannot just put an army on transport ships and crush a well-trained fleet. That is just NOT going to happen.
Hence, transport ships are terribly slow due to lack of oar power compared to warships. They have a heavy load to carry.
If your enemy is so arrogant that they let their army set sail without any escort, engage them with even a significantly outnumbered fleet of proper warships, and you can just slaughter them all.

Interesting Factions
In vanilla game some of the DLC factions are extremely powerful to make a good sale. Although I want to make every faction worth trying, in this MOD most of the factions are balanced due to its historical military performance. And thus the following factions are highly recommended:

Rome: Your well-trained legionaries now have higher defence than barbarian swordmen, combined with their advantage in equipment and anti-cavalry Defensive Testudo tactic, you can rely on them in almost any case. And you now have auxiliary archers in the later stage.

Suebi: Life in the dark forest is still hard and challenging. But from the Cimbri invasion to Alesia, Germans have proven themselves to be good fighters. Your people are short on metal weapons, so do rely on your spears and javelins. Shower your enemies with a salvo of heavy javelins, and then let them behold the Furor Teutonicus.

Seleucid: This faction is surrounded by enemies at the start of the campaign, but if you do survive, the Seleucids will become the true heirs of Alexander the Great: based on a true union of Persian and Greeks, you will have a powerful army composed of excellent pikemen, hoplites, heavy cavalry, and archers.

Pergamon/Egypt: Historically, Pergamon was a powerful ally of Rome. In this mod, the Agema Spears of Pergamon are the best hoplites in all Greek factions, they replaced spolas and aspis with better mail armor and thureos, and also carry a javelin into battle. Pergamon noble cavalry could also match any Diadochi companion cavalry. For Egypt you will also have the same Agema Spears-historically, mail armor and thureos are also used in Ptolomaic army.

Pontus and Armenia: The two factions are similar and introduced together. You will have traditional Persian heavy cavalry combined with deadly lancers learned from the Greeks. You will also have an opportunity to make your eastern infantry better. As a historically dangerous foe of Rome, Pontus will have Greek hoplites and pikemen from the start, and later you will have Bronze Shields, elite pikemen with scale armor, perfect for defensive roles. For Armenians, you have to start with your eastern spearmen, learn from the Greeks, and build your own heavy infantry step by step. Both factions are able to develop an army similar to the historical Later Eastern Roman army.