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HomeHome / Total War: Rome II / Parthia (Imperator Augustus) / Units / Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers
Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers Parthia (Imperator Augustus)Parthia (Imperator Augustus) Missile Ship

Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers

Deadly accurate dart-throwers give these ships a significant crew-killing potential.

Archers should be valued for the ability to strike down a distant foe.

The 'five', called a quinquereme in Latin and a penteres in Greek, was a ship first used by the Syracusans against the Carthaginians sometime around 398BC. Like other polyremes, a term meaning many-oared, the chances were that it did not have five banks of oars but that the word 'oar' was used to mean 'rower'. In such a case, the arrangement of rowers would be two-two-one going up from the waterline. It makes sense to keep as much weight as possible low in the vessel to help its stability; a high centre of gravity makes any ship liable to capsize if struck from the side. The quinquereme, then, would be a formidable vessel both in terms of appearance and combat value. With a large fighting contingent aboard and plenty of deck space, this heavy vessel could cope with most enemies and threats.

(Persian Light Archers)
Very few Persians were professional soldiers and, apart from the earlier elite Achaemenid Immortals and some mercenary hoplites, none were formally trained or drilled. Instead, troops were levied by rich land owners as an obligation during times of war. Levied infantry included slingers, archers and javelin throwers, all wearing little armour but some with shields for protection. As might be expected due to the local terrain, cavalry was an important component in an eastern army, and several types were raised. Lighter cavalry wore iron or bronze scale armour over a tunic; these mounted warriors carried javelins and a sword but had no shield. Horse archers were used to wear down infantry with fast, ruthless attacks. Heavy cavalry included a royal bodyguard. The Parthians, and later the Sassanid Persians, developed all-over horse armour to protect their valued steeds as well as the fearsome cataphract warriors. These were as armoured as any late medieval knight.

Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers
Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers

Unit Name

Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers

Main Unit Key

Eas_Per_Archers_Five_Dbl_Scorpio

Land Unit Key

Eas_Persian_Light_Archers

Naval Unit Key

persian_double_scorpio_five

Soldiers

140

Category

Medium Ship

Class

Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost

1210

Recruitment Cost

1210

Upkeep Cost

242

Missile Damage

35

├ Missile Weapon

rome_recurve_bow

├ Projectile

arrow_recurve

├ Missile Damage

31

├ Missile Ap Damage

4

└ Base Reload Time

12

Accuracy

5

Range

150

Reload

18

Shots Per Minute

6

Ammunition

15

Ship Health

1090

└ Ship

persian_five

Ship Speed

5

Melee Attack

9

Weapon Damage

24

├ Melee Weapon

rome_shortsword

├ Melee Damage Base

20

├ Melee Damage Ap

4

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

0

├ Bonus vs Elephants

0

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

4

Melee Defence

13

├ Base Defence

13

├ Shield

none

└ Shield Defence

0

Armour

10

├ Armour

cloth

├ Armour Defence

10

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

50

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_very_light_fast

├ Man Health

40

└ Bonus Hit Points

10

Base Morale

30

Abilities

Scorpion Penteres
  • Row Hard 20
    Increases speed for 20 strokes.
    Ship speed

Attributes

  • Resistant to Fatigue
    Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
  • Hide (scrub & forest)
    This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.
  • Resistant to Heat
    This unit tires less quickly in the desert.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Scorpion Penteres
  • Good hull strength
  • Medium crew
  • Average speed
  • Average ramming
  • Poor boarding
  • Very good missile combat
Persian Light Archers
  • Long range
  • Average rate of fire
  • Good damage but low armour penetration
  • Very weak in melee
  • Very poor morale
Requires Buildings
Scorpion Penteres - Persian Light Archers Lv. 0 Naval Yard
Naval Yard
(east_port_military_3)
Level 2
Drydock
Drydock
(east_port_military_4)
Level 3