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Velites RomeRome Missile Infantry

Velites

These javelin-armed skirmishers are fast moving and lightly armoured.

Recruited from amongst Rome's poor and those too young to fight as hastati, the velites were the Roman army’s light infantry. They wore wolf skin head-dresses which are thought to have some totemic significance, although they were also worn to induce fear in their enemies. At the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, when Scipio Africanus confronted the Carthaginian general, Hannibal, it was the velites who helped fend off his initial elephant charge, utilising their light armour and weapons to move quickly around them. They harassed the elephants to a frenzy while the cavalry blew horns to disorientate the beasts. Hannibal had hoped to break the Roman lines with his elephants; instead, many of the frightened beasts turned on the Carthaginians. Those elephants who didn’t crash through their own lines were caught in a cleverly orchestrated manoeuvre, whereby the Romans carefully channelled them through gaps made in the cohorts' formation.

Velites Velites Velites
Velites

Unit Name

Velites

Main Unit Key

Rom_Velites

Land Unit Key

Rom_Velites

Naval Unit Key

pel_transport

Soldiers

120

Category

Missile Infantry

Class

Missile Infantry

Custom Battle Cost

340

Recruitment Cost

340

Upkeep Cost

80

Missile Damage

32

├ Missile Weapon

rome_javelin

├ Projectile

javelin_normal

├ Missile Damage

20

├ Missile Ap Damage

12

└ Base Reload Time

10

Accuracy

5

Range

80

Reload

13

Shots Per Minute

7

Ammunition

7

Melee Attack

8

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

3

Melee Defence

37

├ Base Defence

12

├ Shield

pelta

└ Shield Defence

25

Armour

15

├ Armour

cloth

├ Armour Defence

10

└ Shield Armour

5

Health

45

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_very_light

├ Man Health

40

└ Bonus Hit Points

5

Base Morale

25

Abilities

No Ability

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.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Transport
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Very slow speed
  • Weak ramming
Velites
  • Short range
  • Fast rate of fire
  • Very good damage and armour penetration
  • Very weak in melee
  • Very poor morale
Requires Buildings
Velites Lv. 0 Field of Mars
Field of Mars
(rome_military_1)
Level 0
Auxiliary Camp
Auxiliary Camp
(rome_military_aux_2)
Level 1
Auxiliary Barracks
Auxiliary Barracks
(rome_military_aux_3)
Level 2
Auxiliary Garrison
Auxiliary Garrison
(rome_military_aux_4)
Level 3
Manipular Barracks
Manipular Barracks
(rome_military_main_2)
Level 1
Cohort Barracks
Cohort Barracks
(rome_military_main_3)
Level 2
Legionary Barracks
Legionary Barracks
(rome_military_main_4)
Level 3
Garrison Buildings
Velites x 2 Garrison Colonia
Garrison Colonia
(rome_city_garrison_2)
Level 1
Garrison Municipium
Garrison Municipium
(rome_city_garrison_3)
Level 2
Garrison Urbs
Garrison Urbs
(rome_city_garrison_4)
Level 3
Auxiliary Barracks
Auxiliary Barracks
(rome_military_aux_3)
Level 2
Auxiliary Garrison
Auxiliary Garrison
(rome_military_aux_4)
Level 3