menu
HomeHome / Total War: Rome II / Korkyra (Wrath of Sparta) / Units / Trieres - Marines
Trieres - Marines Korkyra (Wrath of Sparta)Korkyra (Wrath of Sparta) Melee Ship

Trieres - Marines

A ram of bronze and a unit of marines to make short work of the enemy.

Shield and spear in hand, these men are trained to fight at sea as well as on land.

Of all the warships found in the ancient world, it is the trireme, or trieres, that remains the most famous and recognisable. Nearly all Hollywood 'sword and sandal' movies will include a trireme somewhere. The vessel was entirely designed for war. Its name came from the three rows of oars carried on each side, stacked above each other in staggered columns to give the rowers some room to work. The top row of oars pivoted on a rowlock, or oarlock, mounted on an outrigger projecting from the hull. This allowed the top oars to pitch down at a sharper angle to reach the sea without getting tangled in the lower ones. The trireme was a greyhound of a ship, capable of high-speed dashes with a well-trained crew and, contrary to popular belief, not all rowers were slaves. Aboard Greek vessels they were citizens, and were given respect, not the lash. They were also largely fair-weather ships, and unsuited to rough seas such as the Atlantic; the lowest level of oars were, at most, less than half a metre above the waterline. That, however, did not stop the trireme being a superb weapon against other ships: a high-speed ramming attack could rip a hole in the side of almost any target. The type was also large enough to be used in other ways, which lead to it carrying archers and assorted light artillery pieces.

(Marines)
Naval warfare in the ancient world was just another way for infantry to fight one another. The earliest documented naval battles are those of ancient China, 'grapple and hook' battles where boarding operations and close-quarters combat decided the victor. During the Second Punic War, Rome famously broke Carthage's mastery of the waves by creating the 'corvus' - a bridge that allowed its soldiers to board and fight. The distinction, then, in antiquity, between fighting on land and at sea was small, yet chiefly a matter of 'sea legs' - maintaining balance whilst toppling your opponent. Hoplites therefore appeared on Greek ships, and not just as passengers, which allowed Greek armies to pursue operations further afield with greater flexibility.

Trieres - Marines

Unit Name

Trieres - Marines

Main Unit Key

Pel_Marines_Three

Land Unit Key

Pel_Marines

Naval Unit Key

pel_greek_three

Soldiers

80

Category

Medium Ship

Class

Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost

730

Recruitment Cost

500

Upkeep Cost

100

Ship Health

└ Ship

pel_three

Ship Speed

Melee Attack

42

Weapon Damage

26

├ Melee Weapon

rome_hoplite_spear

├ Melee Damage Base

20

├ Melee Damage Ap

6

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

15

├ Bonus vs Elephants

15

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

25

Melee Defence

61

├ Base Defence

46

├ Shield

hoplite

└ Shield Defence

15

Armour

55

├ Armour

cloth

├ Armour Defence

10

└ Shield Armour

45

Health

65

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_hoplite

├ Man Health

45

└ Bonus Hit Points

20

Base Morale

55

Abilities

No Ability

Attributes

  • 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.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Trieres
  • Poor hull strength
  • Light crew
  • Fast speed
  • Weak ramming
  • Poor boarding
  • Average missile combat
Marines
  • Average defensive unit
  • Low damage but average armour penetration
  • Weak attack
  • Poor morale