Tactics - Javelins

[Cheimison]

All,

I am finding the AI uses dozens of Javelin units (foot and mounted) which dominate every battle. Seemingly unlimited ammo and impossible to catch as they evade any attempt to contact them, they annihilate regular infantry. Then if you do occasionally catch them, they are a match for any kind of infantry and even cavalry, and either win or hold firm for multiple moves. Then if they 'fall back', you're back to chasing them. Any suggestions on how to handle this?

Yet in the other thread they say Javelins are useless.

In the few games I have played, the light troops do very little damage so are only really useful if you shoot people right before you charge. Other than that, and maybe helping to flank or distract enemies, they don't seem to make much difference either way.
Every once in a while they will do quite a bit of damage, especially javelin throwers, not sure if that's random or some POA that I'm missing.

[devoncop]

It makes a huge difference to missile units whether they need to move or not before shooting and also the armour of the target. I have seen fully loaded Javelins that did not have to move cause over 100 casualties on unprotected foot and Archers the same.

[Cheimison]

It makes a huge difference to missile units whether they need to move or not before shooting and also the armour of the target. I have seen fully loaded Javelins that did not have to move cause over 100 casualties on unprotected foot and Archers the same.

That's probably it, most of the time it's some joke figure like 4 damage, other times it's actually quite brutal.
Early this morning (like 2am) I broke a Makedonian veteran phalanx with javeliners boxing them in while I had my hopelessly outmatched Dacian infantry charge their front.

[NikiforosFokas]

I am desperately trying to recall another word used by Caesar that has been used to suggest legionarii acting as light infantry but it is evading me at the moment. However, it basically just means that they were not carrying their usual "impedimetia" i.e. the baggage they normally carried as part of being "Marius' mules". They were, therefore, just troops ready to fight at a moments notice rather than fulfilling a separate function.

Am I thinking of "expeditii" here?

Dredging the memory

You are the real hero.

[rbodleyscott]

It makes a huge difference to missile units whether they need to move or not before shooting and also the armour of the target. I have seen fully loaded Javelins that did not have to move cause over 100 casualties on unprotected foot and Archers the same.

Don't forget that on some epic battles and historical campaigns a force multiplier is in place. So the units are accordingly reported as larger than standard and casualties likewise. You cannot therefore compare casualties in a battle with a force multiplier to those in one without.