Range infantry is not good against them ofc, and HC even has bonus against infantry
There is no spearmen.
Help
Legions, centurions and war elephants are all cost effective against cataphracts. Massed siege can also work, but it is advisable to have something in front to protect them. Camels are also a counter to cavalry, but I’m not sure if they are effective against fully upgraded cataphracts, as it’s only a bronze age unit. Horse archers can beat them too, but you will need good micro to do that well. The cataphract is actually perhaps the weakest super unit, as it is very expensive, but not that effective.
Cataphracts are rubbish on population limits over 50 as critical masses of archers will murder them before they even get into range. If 50 pop use phalanx or priests. On 200 pop multiplayer nobody used them as scythes were much better with trample and no gold cost though they might tone down trample with the upatch-hd.weebly.com
I tested it more and in low numbers every iron age unit except for elephant archers and siege beat cataphracts and even those will become effective against them when they reach a critical mass. Even composite bowmen are cost effective against them.
Cataphracts definitely need to be buffed. The upgrade is ridiculously expensive and all it gives you is an overprices unit that is useless against almost all other units. The UPatch already addresses this by giving them 20 more HP and 1/1 more armor and 1 more attack bonus against infantry. However, I don’t think even that is enough.
In general, massed archers are very powerful and I think cataphracts should be made more effective at dealing with them. I think that instead of +1/1 armor they should get +3 pierce armor. This would make them extremely resistant to archer fire and capable of dealing with even massed archers, while keeping them vulnerable against infantry, elephants and chariots.
@qweytr24 said:
I tested it more and in low numbers every iron age unit except for elephant archers and siege beat cataphracts and even those will become effective against them when they reach a critical mass. Even composite bowmen are cost effective against them.Cataphracts definitely need to be buffed. The upgrade is ridiculously expensive and all it gives you is an overprices unit that is useless against almost all other units. The UPatch already addresses this by giving them 20 more HP and 1/1 more armor and 1 more attack bonus against infantry. However, I don’t think even that is enough.
In general, massed archers are very powerful and I think cataphracts should be made more effective at dealing with them. I think that instead of +1/1 armor they should get +3 pierce armor. This would make them extremely resistant to archer fire and capable of dealing with even massed archers, while keeping them vulnerable against infantry, elephants and chariots.
Lets see how the meta develops with the Upatch first. I’m very wary of changing anything at all as I’ve stated elsewhere, but the developers have spoken about balance so the logical change if Cav remain useless very late bronze and into iron age would be to allow the Bronze and Iron Shield upgrades to apply to cavalry (not chariots/scythes). +2 pierce ontop of the Upatch changes would make cav good later on. Don’t forget scythes trample damage is being nerd which also makes Cav relatively better than previously.
Anyone seen any screenshots of the updates Cavalry man model - I’ve seen lots of heavy/cats but don’t recall seeing the standard cavalry?
@“Mystic Taboo” said:
Anyone seen any screenshots of the updates Cavalry man model - I’ve seen lots of heavy/cats but don’t recall seeing the standard cavalry?
You can see the standard cavalry several times in the trailer.
@FocusedHare2310 said:
Range infantry is not good against them ofc, and HC even has bonus against infantry
There is no spearmen.
Help
That’s not very difficult. Helepolis, Cavalry archers clustered together, Academy units, and Long Swordsmen = 35food, 15 gold, much more abundant. If you’re Choson, then you’ll have no problem.
@qweytr24 said:
@“Mystic Taboo” said:
Anyone seen any screenshots of the updates Cavalry man model - I’ve seen lots of heavy/cats but don’t recall seeing the standard cavalry?You can see the standard cavalry several times in the trailer.
Ahh yes I think you are right, I mistook them for heavies but yeah I can spot the white horse models now. Look OK. Not as good as the triremes and phalanxes though that look badass 
If you play archery first, then wall of your base, make sure the Chariot Archers are spawned inside the base. Then keep defending until you can have 20+ CA to break out.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=xDHPfpHoAMA
If you play stable first, then when you get to Bronze build temple. The priest can take care of Cavalry.
hit and move with archers and a hugeee eco boom with your villagers into wood/gold, lots of reproduction buildings (5-10x)
Mass scythe dominate cataphract due to trample damage. Even though scythes do less damage, they can hit more than 1 unit at the same time. ■■■■, mass scythe will even kill mass legions just because of trample damage.
@BlazingGaming13 said:
Mass scythe dominate cataphract due to trample damage. Even though scythes do less damage, they can hit more than 1 unit at the same time. Hell, mass scythe will even kill mass legions just because of trample damage.
Is this post upatch-hd.weebly.com. @BlazingGaming13? I thought Upatch was being included in the DE?
Scythes get a smaller trample radius, whilst Cataphracts get +20 hp and +1/+1 armour, that might change the equation. I haven’t played the Upatch though but looking forward to the Beta (hopefully I’ll get selected).
All hail trample damage! We need to exploit this.
Cavalry is not massively hard to counter. Priests easily convert them and it is value, since they cost a lot to make. Centurions would beat them if they stand and fight. Mass swordsmen beat them - you need mass swordsmen if you’re using swordsmen anyway. Archers and balista/helepolis will test them.
The trample damage of armoured eles was quite ridiculous in RoR, wasting any melee unit and ruining towers from the other side of walls, killing multiple buildings at once that were 2 tiles away ;p