menu
HomeHome / Total War: Rome II / Mercenaries / Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Persian Archers
Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Persian Archers Mercenaries Missile Ship

Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Persian Archers

These swift, manoeuvrable ships are a useful scouting force for any admiral.

A purse of silver always improves a man's aim.

The 'one-and-a-half' or 'hemiolia' was a light galley which was much favoured by pirates in the ancient world. It developed from the bireme, a ship that had two full decks of oars along its entire length. The hemiola reduced the number of oars on the upper level, leaving roughly half the number of oars and rowers in the midship section. The smaller number of rowers had little effect on overall speed because the laden weight of the vessel also dropped. Because it used both oars and sails, and the crew could rapidly change propulsion method, it was an ideal vessel for chasing down fat, wealthy merchant ships. Boarding attacks were mounted from hemiolas; ramming was not a useful tactic as loot ended up with the fish rather than enriching the pirates! The speed and handiness of hemiolas made them useful as scouts, supply boats and vessels used to pick off damaged enemies at the edge of battles.

(Mercenary Persian 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.

Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Persian Archers

Unit Name

Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Persian Archers

Main Unit Key

Mer_Per_Raider

Land Unit Key

Mer_Per_Archers

Naval Unit Key

persian_one_halfer

Soldiers

80

Category

Light Ship

Class

Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost

400

Recruitment Cost

400

Upkeep Cost

300

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

467

└ Ship

persian_one_halfer

Ship Speed

6

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

45

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_very_light

├ Man Health

40

└ Bonus Hit Points

5

Base Morale

30

Abilities

Raiding Hemiolia
  • Row Hard 10
    Increases speed for 10 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

Raiding Hemiolia
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Light crew
  • Very fast speed
  • Weak ramming
  • Very poor boarding
  • Poor missile combat
Mercenary Persian Archers
  • Long range
  • Average rate of fire
  • Good damage but low armour penetration
  • Very weak in melee
  • Very poor morale

Faction Mercenaries Pool

Mercenaries Pool
No. Pool Faction Initial Unit Count Chance To Replenish Max Replenish Per Turn Max Count
1 rom_faction_pool_naval_persian 1 0.15 1 1