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Assault Bireme - Hastati RomeRome Melee Ship

Assault Bireme - Hastati

With a ramming attack that can break an enemy hull, these ships are deadly weapons.

These young men are the armoured front line of a Roman Legion.

The waterline ram was first mounted on a vessel in around 850BC. Warships and naval tactics were transformed. Ships were no longer platforms for infantry battles on the water; the ship itself became the weapon. Galleys changed as the new reality sank in. Ramming at speed would hole and sink an enemy, therefore slimmer, faster, handier ships were required. More speed on demand obviously required more oars a fast ship with a single row of oars ended up being stupidly, impractically long. The solution, then, was to put in a second set of oars above the first, but slightly offset to allow for rowers' benches. These biremes, a Latin word meaning 'two oars', or dieres, the Greek equivalent, were no longer than previous designs but had twice the number of rowers. They were fast, manoeuvrable, and could carry a fighting contingent. Some nations also gave their bireme crews fire pots; these clay pots filled with oil and pitch were hurled at enemy ships in the entirely reasonable hope of setting them ablaze.

(Hastati)
During the 4th century BC the Romans abandoned the phalanx in favour of armies consisting chiefly of hastati, principes and triarii. These were deployed in maniples: compact blocks of men, arranged in a checkerboard formation. This allowed flexibility when moving across the battlefield, particularly when compared to the sluggish movements of a solid pike phalanx. Like most sophisticated city-states of the ancient world, Rome expected its men to fight, and supply their own war gear when they did so. A cynical observer might be tempted to note that the manipular Legion also made sure that the hierarchy of Rome was preserved. The youngest and least wealthy became hastati, the first line of battle in a Roman Legion. Behind them came the second line of principes, older and richer men, and finally came the triarii, the most experienced warriors. “Going to the triarii” was a Roman saying that came to be used in all kinds of situations, implying that everything else had been tried and found wanting.

Assault Bireme - Hastati Assault Bireme - Hastati Assault Bireme - Hastati
Assault Bireme - Hastati

Unit Name

Assault Bireme - Hastati

Main Unit Key

Rom_Hastati_Two

Land Unit Key

Rom_Hastati

Naval Unit Key

roman_two

Soldiers

60

Category

Light Ship

Class

Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost

430

Recruitment Cost

430

Upkeep Cost

86

Missile Damage

30

├ Missile Weapon

rome_pilum_light

├ Projectile

pilum_light

├ Missile Damage

20

├ Missile Ap Damage

10

└ Base Reload Time

15

Accuracy

5

Range

40

Reload

0

Shots Per Minute

4

Ammunition

2

Ship Health

501

└ Ship

roman_two

Ship Speed

6

Melee Attack

35

Weapon Damage

35

├ Melee Weapon

rome_gladius

├ Melee Damage Base

30

├ Melee Damage Ap

5

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

0

├ Bonus vs Elephants

0

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

12

Melee Defence

48

├ Base Defence

18

├ Shield

scutum

└ Shield Defence

30

Armour

60

├ Armour

chest

├ Armour Defence

25

└ Shield Armour

35

Health

50

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_medium

├ Man Health

40

└ Bonus Hit Points

10

Base Morale

45

Abilities

Assault Bireme
  • Row Hard 10
    Increases speed for 10 strokes.
    Ship speed
Hastati
  • Attacking Testudo
    The troops of this unit raise their shields above their heads in a defensive formation.
    Protection against missiles
    Limited speed

Attributes

  • Disciplined
    This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
  • 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

Assault Bireme
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Very light crew
  • Fast speed
  • Weak ramming
  • Good boarding
Hastati
  • Average attack
  • Weak defence
  • Average damage but low armour penetration
  • Poor morale
Upgrade
Required Technology Cohort Organisation Cost 150 Upgrade To Assault Bireme - Legionaries
Required Technology Professional Soldiery Cost 450 Upgrade To Assault Bireme - Legionary Cohort
Requires Buildings
Assault Bireme - Hastati Lv. 0 Shipwright
Shipwright
(rome_port_patrol_2)
Level 1
Docks
Docks
(rome_port_patrol_3)
Level 2
Coastal Patrol
Coastal Patrol
(rome_port_patrol_4)
Level 3
Garrison Buildings
Assault Bireme - Hastati x 2 Shipwright
Shipwright
(rome_port_patrol_2)
Level 1