Can Cataphract Archers Beat Clibinarii Immortals in OG Rome Total War

[@hammer3721]

The Clibinari are just armoured horse archers on steroids.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

True :) Thanks for the comment.

[@napoleoncomplex2712]

I wasn't aware that the Sassanids had access to genetically engineered super soldiers. That's my explanation for this anyway.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Hmm. Ancestors to Space-Marines? :D Thanks for the comment.

[@napoleoncomplex2712]

@@qualityoldgames7721 All we need is a mod that utters 'BATTLE BROTHERS' at max volume every time you click on an Immortals unit.

[@camilolazo4010]

Yup, I remember the clibananas being so damn strong

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Yea, seem to be the strongest unit in the game :) Thanks for the comment.

[@sarmatiancougar7556]

Clibinarii Immortals are possibly the single strongest unit in the classic Rome TW. I suggest you test them against the Spartans to really tell which of them is the number one. I bet the Immortals will win if you let them shoot their bows but who knows.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will add that to To-Do list :)

[@napoleoncomplex2712]

30 defence might actually be enough to crush through a Spartan phalanx. Especially when backed up with a second hit point. That's ludicrously powerful.

[@rorschach1985ify]

Considering how the shorter reach of Spear Phalanx units always breaks up quicker, I can very much see them doing that. Their massive armor that surpasses the value Cataphracts have alongside having 2HPs as well, and their high AP attack, which while not as effect due to the Spartans low armor, still means they will hit hard while taking a long while to kill and if the phalanx breaks apart I can easily see them winning, only thing I think will challenge that is the fact they are so small they might not have the right impact.

[@rorschach1985ify]

@@qualityoldgames7721 I suggest first having them charge without missiles, then charge after firing missiles, and the third where you try to micro a bit to have the Spartans keep themselves in formation again, the previous two attempts should just have them ordered to attack or standing and nothing else to see how they fare without it

[@he4620]

​​​​@@rorschach1985ify My favourite unit in whole game is Clibinari immortals. But I think it is challenging to win against defensive phalanx without shooting and much less men per unit

[@Lobtic]

CI one of the most cracked units in all of RTW.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Agreed :) Thanks for the comment.

[@milkbaologist5610]

i remember that i did a Sassanid playthrough by spamming Clibinarii Immortals(Training generals), needless to say, it was super fun

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Yea, I guess about 3 units are a full army :D Thanks for the comment.

[@rorschach1985ify]

No question who would win. Clibinarii Immortals are the most broken unit in all Rome total war. So infamous they are that unit guides that usually say what certain counters all units have could not name one for them because they are just so powerful they break the game. They outright mention how because of their insane Armor value alongside their 2HP that they can take hits from Horse Archers from all sides while they stand still and by the time they run out of ammo they still have half the unit left. The guys are broken beyond measure to the point the Armenian Cataphract Archers were not fighting them, they were FED to them.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Yea, they seem to be rather OP. Let's see if Spartans have any medicine for that :) Thanks for the comment.

[@MSF_Soldier_Alligator]

I’m surprised the immortals took as much damage as they did. I’m glad you got the importing to work! There’s all sorts of interesting matchups to see with that.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Indeed :) Do you have some specific matchup in mind? Thanks for the comment.

[@micahbonewell5994]

@@qualityoldgames7721 OG Berzerker vs BI berzerkers? Eastern Archers vs Pharoahs Bowmen? Comitanenses vs Roman Cohorts? Scotti Chariots vs Britain Chariots? Alexander Phalangites vs Royal Pikemen?

[@qualityoldgames7721]

@@micahbonewell5994 Thanks for the comment. I will add those to TO-Do list :)

[@MSF_Soldier_Alligator]

@@qualityoldgames7721 Honestly some late Roman forces going up against earlier Romans would be cool.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

@@MSF_Soldier_Alligator Thanks for the comment. Some are coming and we are making more :)

[@romajincharadze8703]

One of them are from barbarian invasion how?

[@qualityoldgames7721]

The link to a vid explaining that is in the video description :) Thanks for the comment.

[@jackychen6261]

One unit of about 30 clibinari immortals won a battle against a full army once on auto resolve. I had to pack up and go so just clicked auto resolve so i could leave. They got like 5 experience chevrons from that battle meaning those 30 dudes just went on a free for all killing spree 😂 these guys are just too overpowered but simultaneously too fun to use

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Nice. Seems rather like an opposite of Eastern Infantry :D Thanks for the comment.

[@he4620]

Wow, this is the real combat units👍

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Indeed :) Thanks for the comment.

[@rorschach1985ify]

I feel just using the normal Clibinarii would be more balanced as they have arrows too but have lower stats then Immortals though they have larger numbers of soldiers.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Thanks for the comment. Yea, that might have been more even :)

[@jpkim-dv2um]

Even not close defeat. It seems irrational 😢

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Yea, those Clibi Immos are rather op :) Thanks for the comment.

[@infantilepillock1687]

Very cool. Did you also watch the recent video from to nerd is to human, where he describes how to import units from RTW, BI and Alexander from one to another?

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Yea, The vid taught me how to do that, and link to the vid is in this video's description :) Thanks for the comment.

[@infantilepillock1687]

@@qualityoldgames7721 I always dreamed of crushing the Barbarians in BI with actual Roman Legions. Now I might actually do it! 😀

[@qualityoldgames7721]

@@infantilepillock1687 Yea. I am dreaming of a making a Julii campaign in BI at some point :D Thanks for the ocmment.

[@Manschier-0816]

look like you use the guide video of this youtuber - To the nerf is to Human TNH again , but Clibinarii Immortals should list at Archers Range or Stables Barracks ?

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Thanks for the comment. Imo from Stables and they are a Bodyguard unit :)

[@Manschier-0816]

@qualityoldgames7721 Yep , your point was correct and I already forgot Clibinarii Immortals was general bodyguard 😅😅😅😅

[@liszarezo3658]

Ah yes, Clibinarii. Recrutable governor units, only one in game. They are strong combo, but they also can be given traits like lords in learning bulindings. Their only problem is livespam, when commander die, all unit disband.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Thanks for the comment. Agreed on that :)

[@rorschach1985ify]

"Recrutable governor units, only one in game." That I remember is wrong, all Bodyguards are recruitable in the campaign and they all come with their own Governors/Generals.

[@liszarezo3658]

@@rorschach1985ify all other need event, Clibinarii are only one recrutable as normal unit in stable.

[@rorschach1985ify]

@@liszarezo3658 Where was it ever shown the others need an event?

[@liszarezo3658]

@@rorschach1985ify I played this game few times, and don't know any other option to recrute commander unit than event or bribe in other nation.

[@gabimartinovici4585]

Cliblinarii imortals ar the best trop in the entire game, the catafracts Archers have no Chois in face of them

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Agreed that the Clibi Immos are really good :) Thanks for the comment.

[@diacles4702]

Am I the only person who’s never seen or heard of the Clibinarii before? Are they part of a mod/hack to the OG game?

[@qualityoldgames7721]

They are from Barbarian Invasion expansion to Rome: Total War :) Thanks for the comment.

[@diacles4702]

@@qualityoldgames7721 But how are you able to use them with the House of Julii?

[@israelalexandroheredia6879]

I was see Clibinarii Immortals vs Parthian Cataphract Camels

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will add that to To-Do list :)

[@gabimartinovici4585]

How about sassanid cliblinarii vs catafracts Archers?

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will add that to TO-Do list :)

[@squishymusic9723]

Oh right .... These guys are the Sassanid bezerkers

[@liszarezo3658]

but with armors, bows and horses...sound like knights 1000 year earlier

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Without notable weaknesses :) Thanks for the comment.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

@@liszarezo3658 Indeed :) Thanks for the comment.

[@he4620]

​@@liszarezo3658 But knights were not professional at shooting on horse These guys are even better in this perspective😂

[@liszarezo3658]

@@he4620 East europe knights yes.

[@elsacrroo9267]

IVE 🗣🗣🗣

[@qualityoldgames7721]

:) Thanks for the comment.

[@krzysztofpieta572]

Can someone tell me why are we not using those units in their original factions? I know that they are not armenian nor julii bc they are from barbarian invasion, then what's happening here and why?

[@tct0248]

BI is it’s own version of the game. I guess you can port over units but not factions

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Thanks for the comment. I have imported the Clibinarii Immortals from Barbarian Invasion expansion :)

[@qualityoldgames7721]

@@tct0248 I think factions can also be imported but it would be a quite a bit of work :)

[@askthepizzaguy]

Cataphract archers may have good defense against arrows but they have no shield and are bad in melee, particularly against armor piercing weapons. Because they're slow and not great in melee versus mid opponents I prefer the speed of non-cataphract horse archers and their lower associated costs. No lie, I love the armor, I love the resistance to arrows, but some casualties versus other horse archers are just the cost of doing business and in a campaign those losses are easier to replace than trying to juggle multiple horse archer types that cannot be combined into a single unit. I find that if regular horse archers face off against cataphract horse archers, the melee part should be done by spearmen or armor piercing infantry and they should also take the vast majority of the arrows from the opponent. The horse archers should be there to return fire, flank, chase down routers, kill general, etc. Behave like horse archers, and behave like light cavalry, not prolonged melee cavalry. Putting horse archers in melee is a waste of your best troops and should only be done at overwhelming odds and for brief contact. Besides, we have to give our infantry something to do. Most other units all die from horse archers, might as well give the infantry some experience. If they get badly bloodied, at least it wasn't our MVP horse archer units.

[@askthepizzaguy]

Funny, I kind of have the same attitude about foot archers. Fancy armored melee capable archers are nice, but if you're using your archers in melee at all, something has gone terribly wrong. I would rather have entirely unarmored long distance archers spammed to the max than lesser numbers of harder to replace armored archers. The armor is nice against missiles but ideally your own missile units shouldn't be shot at anyway. That's what meat shield infantry is for, and cavalry that is melee capable. They flank, they tank, they shank, all so your missiles are the soldiers on the battlefield that never see melee and never get shot with arrows. Whenever that's the case the armor doesn't matter anyway and you just want more ammo and more shooting.

[@hammer3721]

What I like about the cataphract horse archers is that they are so verstaile. Other than Parthia and Scythia (which you'll likely demolish in the early game as Armenia), no other faction boasts of horse archers, so we'll automatically have the superioity in that department. Cataphract horse archers can both fight and shoot arrows, and while they are particularly slow, they will also resist for a long period of time. They only require lvl 2 baracks, which makes them quite easy to recruit. In addition, their charge value is pretty similar to that of normal cataphracts, so they can just be used as 'shock troops' to quickly collapse enemy morale.

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Sounds reasonable. The result could have been a bit different with kiting as Cata Archers seem to have long range missiles :) Thanks for the comment.

[@micahbonewell5994]

@@qualityoldgames7721 Kiting might have helped, but Clibanarii have Good stamina and Cata Archers do not, so what they make up for in less causalities they lose in stamina. I would say loose formation for the Cata Archers or Cantabrian circle might be something to try.

[@shorkan1000]

@@micahbonewell5994 Cantabrian circle is not really an option either, because it tires them out quick, especially with the heavy armour

[@gabimartinovici4585]

În my whay it was a crushing defeat not close

[@qualityoldgames7721]

Yea, seems so :) Thanks for the comment.