Need some advice (Counter for late game Spartans)

[Sensei54321]

Hello everyone,

I recently resumed playing the new version of 0 AD and would love some help. I am playing with a friend, with ceasefire, who loves using Spartans, while I play as the newly added Germans civilization. So, the games end up as one late game battle. His army mostly consists of promoted elite melee champion Spartiates (300 hp each). I tried to counter this countless times, but the battles are always one-sided. What approach would you take against this late game army (regardless of civilization)?

Any advice is truly appreciated.

[Tapothei]

I don't have much experience with multiplayers, in my case using horsearchers and just kite them since their slower, just uh... don't stop and stay far away from them. Then again their spartans, maybe use mostly champion/mercenary swordsman with helps of healers and mercenary archers/crossbow with the highest damage per attack? Since they blob, having siege throwers in the back could help soften them a bit. If you want to slow their arrival use stone walls, be ready with champions to destroy any rams, then return back to the walls. Having upgraded towers as support can help too when he's offensive.

[Sensei54321]

Hi Tapothei,

thanks for the advice. I tried that as the Seleucids a couple of times, using their champion cavalry melee cataphracts as support, but the Spartiates have x2.5 bonus against any cavalry and they fall like wheat. Ranged cavalry could be one of the options, but it takes a lot of micromanaging. Last time as Germans I tried melee fighters (axemen and clubmen) with their champion healers (who heal and sap enemy hp automatically) and ranged slingers right next to a castle with three times the units and still got crushed. His Spartiates were almost unharmed. It feels like there is no direct counter unit of any sort for them, while they crush cavalry and melee alike... 

[AlexHerbert]

Yeah that Hoplites spam is a nightmare, that's why I made this test

 

Edited February 28 by AlexHerbert

[Sensei54321]

Hi AlexHerbert,

thank you so much for the video. I will try the "counter" in a few moments. Will report back with the results.

Cheers! 

[AlexHerbert]

 

And here I added the one I forgot

 

[LeJardindEpicure]

So its the splash damage that does the work against spartans hoplites

[DesertRose]

Spartain Hoplites are a bit overtuned at the moment.

Swordsmen should be a cost-effective counter to spearmen, but due to the Spartain Hoplites haveing an 11% faster rate of fire it makes them already almost as good. And with then either the +10% health or the +10% damage upgrade they become a cost-effective counter to their counter. 

So the default strategy is to not fight them head-on, but to build lots of defenses, destroy their Rams with cavalry and / or swordsmen, raid them, and eventually win a battle of attrition.

If your Civ has access to them you can try Elephants, but then they can do the strategy to avoid them and raid your economy instead.

[Deicide4u]

Use masses of ranged units, preferably ranged cavalry. Once the blob of Spartan death comes close, simply run away until you're at the safe distance. Nothing worse than dealing with annoying hit and run attacks, trust me. 

Keep up with the upgrades as Spartiates have a lot of base armor.

[BreakfastBurrito_007]

Sparta has no eco bonus and the buildings they use to train those champions are expensive. If you find a way to attack early with other civs that can boom faster such as gauls or germans or ptolemies then you might have a chance of not needing to fight the hoplites.