Persian Scythed Chariots are a type of heavy cavalry unit available to the Persians in Rome: Total War: Alexander.
Description[]
Chariots, especially of the scythed variety are a weapon of terror able to carve corridors of ruddy-tinted death through enemy formations. Though determined spearmen will eventually stop them, they will pay a heavy price to do so with many survivors left to fact life shorter by a good or two - or even a while leg! Far better to use missile and skirmish troops to shoot the horses out from under them before closing to exact vengeance on any unfortunate survivors.
Tactics[]
Persian Scythed Chariots are statistically the best chariot unit available in Alexander stats wise. They're superior to Indian Chariots in all stats bar defence and Persian General's Bodyguard have worse melee attack in return for more men in the unit and a ranged attack. Their attack is even better than the elite Macedonian heavy cavalry like Companion Cavalry, though their defence is nowhere near as good. Even Barbarian Peasants have better defence stats than chariots! Where they're let down is their extremely limited unit size, with just 18 men in the unit, the lowest of any unit in the game.
Statistically, the Persian Scythed Chariots have several big weaknesses that make them a big liability and stop them being great. The first is their unit size. They have just 18 men in their unit, the lowest in the game, which combined with their low defence means they will quite literally melt against anything armoured or that can attack somewhat decently. Their defence is the other weakness, like other chariot units. The chariots themselves are unarmoured and the men riding in them are similarly unarmoured without a shield to defend themselves with. Combining this with their large size means missile units that have a good effective range, particularly Indian Longbowmen, will have no trouble picking off the small number of chariots before they can get anywhere close to the fight. When they do, however, they are deadly. Their melee attack is amongst the highest, if not the highest, out of any unit in the game, particularly for a cavalry unit. Their morale is not bad either, though due to having no defence it doesn't count for much. When used for charging their high melee attack and charge stat means they are very effective at running over enemy units and causing mass routs very quickly, or for running down fleeing units or missile troops thanks to their high speed.
Chariots are a rare thing to see on the battlefield, both in campaign and skirmish battles. They are relatively expensive to keep and aren't actually all that useful thanks to their low manpower count. A far larger cavalry unit could be used in their slot which could be arguably far more useful. Like other cavalry, these chariots are best used on the flanks and ESPECIALLY need to be protected by other cavalry units! They are the very definition of a glass cannon, with absolutely no defence but extremely high attack. If they get caught by an enemy cavalry unit, they will rout nearly instantly due to their again low manpower and atrocious defence, hence the need for supporting cavalry. Using them alone makes them a priority target for missile units who can pick them off easily. If they can be worked behind an enemy army, they are excellent shock cavalry, which is where they make up for their many flaws, capable of inflicting mass casualties and possibly causing mass routs as well, especially on units with low morale. They're also good for running down fleeing enemies, especially those units who still have a lot of men left in them, as they could regain morale to come back into the fight.
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