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HomeHome / Total War: Rome II / Syracuse (Rise of the Republic) / Units / Assault Hexeres - Sacred Band
Assault Hexeres - Sacred Band Syracuse (Rise of the Republic)Syracuse (Rise of the Republic) Melee Ship

Assault Hexeres - Sacred Band

These magnificent ships are both intimidating and extremely dangerous.

The best and bravest of Carthage trained to fight as hoplites.

As centuries passed, naval tactics and needs changed across the Mediterranean. There was a move towards larger ships, partly as an expression of national or dynastic power: the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt were particularly fond of large ships to show their wealth and influence in a physical way. These 'polyremes', a term meaning many oared, were not suitable for ramming work in battle. In practice many of them had no more oars than smaller ships; what they had were more rowers per oar than smaller ships. A Roman hexareme or Greek hexeres would have a couple of banks of oars with three men per oar, and appear to be an over-sized version of a smaller ship. Even so, thanks to being tremendously heavy and strongly constructed, they were slow moving, and hardly capable of the quick turns needed to take advantage of enemy mistakes. Instead the large ships made use of their wide decks and plentiful carrying capacities and became fighting platforms for infantry and artillery. Boarding or long-range bombardment were the methods to be used to defeat the enemy; naval warfare had come full circle in terms of fighting methods, even if ships had grown significantly.

(Sacred Band)
The Sacred Band were a phalanx of veteran spearmen, raised in Carthage, and trained and armoured in Greek hoplite fashion. They were unique in that they were drawn from the populace of the city itself, rather than being allies, levied subject peoples or mercenaries; these were the groups that normally made up Carthaginian armies. Chosen from the nobility and wealthy citizens, they were well trained and disciplined. Thanks to their social status they could afford the full panoply of hoplite armour: a bronze cuirass, greaves and helm, and a hoplon shield. In the case of the Sacred Band these were predominately white in colour. Armed with hoplite spears, tipped with an iron head and bronze butt-spike for balance, members of the Sacred Band also carried straight swords. Renowned for their valour, even in defeat, the Sacred Band was expected to fight to the last, and did so at the Battle of the Crimissus in 340BC. Their numbers never recovered and in time the pressure of Carthage’s wars with Rome meant that the Sacred Band was superseded by mercenary armies, paid for by Carthage's trading wealth. These armies still had small numbers of Carthaginian citizens and Liby-Phoenicians, but the Sacred Band of old was no more.

Assault Hexeres - Sacred Band

Unit Name

Assault Hexeres - Sacred Band

Main Unit Key

inv_car_specialport_greek_four_sacred_band

Land Unit Key

inv_car_sacred_band

Naval Unit Key

greek_six

Soldiers

160

Category

Heavy Ship

Class

Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost

1200

Recruitment Cost

1200

Upkeep Cost

240

Ship Health

1046

└ Ship

greek_six

Ship Speed

5

Melee Attack

42

Weapon Damage

29

├ Melee Weapon

rome_spear_elite

├ Melee Damage Base

24

├ Melee Damage Ap

5

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

20

├ Bonus vs Elephants

20

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

22

Melee Defence

59

├ Base Defence

44

├ Shield

hoplite

└ Shield Defence

15

Armour

105

├ Armour

bronze

├ Armour Defence

60

└ Shield Armour

45

Health

65

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_hoplite

├ Man Health

45

└ Bonus Hit Points

20

Base Morale

70

Abilities

Assault Hexeres
  • Row Hard 30
    Increases speed for 30 strokes.
    Ship speed
Sacred Band
  • Hoplite Wall
    The unit moves into close wall formation.
    Bracing, melee defence, shield strength
    Acceleration, speed

Attributes

  • Expert Charge Defence
    This unit’s melee attack and damage are increased against charging enemies.
  • Disciplined
    This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
  • Encourage
    This unit provides a morale bonus to nearby allies.
  • Formation Attack
    The unit will try to stay in formation when in melee.
  • Hide (forest)
    This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
  • Resistant to Heat
    This unit tires less quickly in the desert.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Assault Hexeres
  • Very good hull strength
  • Heavy crew
  • Slow speed
  • Strong ramming
  • Very good boarding
Sacred Band
  • Very good defensive unit
  • Low damage but average armour penetration
  • Average attack
  • Good morale