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HomeHome / Total War: Rome II / Massagetae / Units / Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen
Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen MassagetaeMassagetae Melee Ship

Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen

Ramming attacks from these ships inflict terrible damage.

Spearmen are the backbone of an army; they keep cavalry at a respectful distance.

There is a good deal of debate as to how large ancient warships worked; the principles are understood, but the details are not always so clear. A Roman 'quadreme' or Greek 'tetreres' would seem to have four rows of oars if the name is translated literally. However, it is unclear how four sets of oars each with one rower apiece could be used without them getting in a terrible tangle even with a magnificently trained crew, or how the top set of rowers would be able to handle the extremely long oars pitched at a steep angle and still produce any power. The chances are that the term 'oar' had become synonymous with 'rower' and that the lowest bank had more than one man per oar. The other option was to go back to a double row of oars, with two men apiece. Two banks of oars would also have made for a cheaper construction task for each ship. Either way, the result was a ship that could rival the lighter trireme in speed, yet had more deck space for a large fighting contingent or artillery pieces.

(Steppe Spearmen)
Far from being simple, ignorant barbarians, the various steppe tribes had a great cultural wealth. Living in an area stretching from the Caspian Sea to the northern shores of the Black Sea; the Greeks called them 'Scythians' and the Persians 'Saka', while a western group became known as the Sarmatians. Wearing trousers marked them as barbarians as far as the Greeks were concerned, before their tall, pointed caps and swarthy appearances were even considered. Looks apart, they were, however, exceptional horsemen, highly-skilled with composite-recurve bows and deadly hand-to-hand fighters. Grave goods suggest that Scythian women were as warlike as their men, and probably fought alongside them in battle. This may well be the origin of the Greek myths of Amazon warrior women.

Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen
Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen

Unit Name

Persian Assault Teteres - Steppe Spearmen

Main Unit Key

Ste_Spear_Four

Land Unit Key

Ste_Spear

Naval Unit Key

barbarian_persian_four

Soldiers

120

Category

Medium Ship

Class

Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost

570

Recruitment Cost

570

Upkeep Cost

110

Ship Health

760

└ Ship

barbarian_persian_four

Ship Speed

3

Melee Attack

14

Weapon Damage

20

├ Melee Weapon

rome_spear_anti_cav

├ Melee Damage Base

15

├ Melee Damage Ap

5

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

30

├ Bonus vs Elephants

30

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

14

Melee Defence

52

├ Base Defence

22

├ Shield

celtic

└ Shield Defence

30

Armour

45

├ Armour

cloth

├ Armour Defence

10

└ Shield Armour

35

Health

45

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_light_fast

├ Man Health

40

└ Bonus Hit Points

5

Base Morale

25

Abilities

Persian Assault Teteres
  • Row Hard 20
    Increases speed for 20 strokes.
    Ship speed
Steppe Spearmen
  • Square
    The unit moves into a close square formation.
    Bracing, morale, melee defence
    Can't move

Attributes

  • Hide (forest)
    This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
  • Resistant to Cold
    This unit tires less quickly in snow.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Persian Assault Teteres
  • Average hull strength
  • Medium crew
  • Average speed
  • Average ramming
  • Average boarding
Steppe Spearmen
  • Average defensive unit
  • Low damage but average armour penetration
  • Weak attack
  • Poor morale