murmillo or Thraex?

[Beer]

which one to choose

[Bomjus]

if you are controlling manually i vote thraex because you can get some really good free hits in if you know how to block. if you let the AI handle everything i'd go murmillo since they just constantly swing at things till dead.

either way i always have at least one murmillo because he can turn the tides in a big group battle with just one swing.

[Citrus-CW]

Yes, is it Murmillo or Thraex. In fact anyone who took Greek and Roman in college will tell you that the dev actually messed up his gladiator classifications. The Thraex in the game is not the Thraex from ancient rome. In fact the gladius and legionare shield combo, with a helm in the shape of a fish was given to the Murmillo. Yes the Murmillo was not a dual-wielding class of gladiator, he used sword and board plus heavy armor. The Thraex was actually named after the weapon he used called a Thracian (curved sword). The type of thracian they used was called a Sica and was only about 30-34 cm long compared to the 80 cm long gladius. The Thraex also had a shield but it was more the size of a buckler, called a "Parmula" and came in many shapes. So the Thraex was actually more like a dagger and buckler class during ancient rome, and the Murmillo was the heavy legionare. They were often pitted against each other in combat.

But I hear you ask, then what class of gladiator dual-wielded. Worry not because they did have a dual-wielding gladiator, it was called "Dimachaerus." However, they were rarely used much as they wore very little armor and were considered a lower class of gladiator. The word Dimachaerus in latin means "bearing two knives" hence their fighting style.

As for the Retiarius, nothing to complain, its pretty spot on.
I'm happy if anyone read this, you just got some education for free. More than I can say for my tuition bills.

[Alacor]

Originally posted by Citrus-CW:

Yes, is it Murmillo or Thraex. In fact anyone who took Greek and Roman in college will tell you that the dev actually messed up his gladiator classifications. The Thraex in the game is not the Thraex from ancient rome. In fact the gladius and legionare shield combo, with a helm in the shape of a fish was given to the Murmillo. Yes the Murmillo was not a dual-wielding class of gladiator, he used sword and board plus heavy armor. The Thraex was actually named after the weapon he used called a Thracian (curved sword). The type of thracian they used was called a Sica and was only about 30-34 cm long compared to the 80 cm long gladius. The Thraex also had a shield but it was more the size of a buckler, called a "Pamula" and came in many shapes. So the Thraex was actually more like a dagger and buckler class during ancient rome, and the Murmillo was the heavy legionare. They were often pitted against each other in combat.

But I hear you ask, then what class of gladiator dual-wielded. Worry not because they did have a dual-wielding gladiator, it was called "Dimachaerus." However, they were rarely used much as they wore very little armor and were considered a lower class of gladiator. The word Dimachaerus in latin means "bearing two knives" hence their fighting style.

As for the Retiarius, nothing to complain, its pretty spot on.
I'm happy if anyone read this, you just got some education for free. More than I can say for my tuition bills.:cgrazz:

Thanks for the info. Was actually curious about some of this, as I had an idea Murmillo was off from watching Spartacus and playing Gladius back in the day.

Are there many other types of gladiator styles? If so, which do you think would make good additions to the game?

[Citrus-CW]

There were many different gladiatorial classifications, but this is because they were more like roles that were taken on during a stage performance. Gladiators during ancient Rome are much like the "WWE" wrestlers we know today. A good gladiator not only had martial prowess but also an intimate knowledge of stage-craft. The different roles gladiators had usually evolved over the generations depending on what enemy the Roman empire had at the time and who became their allies.

Examples of this are a classification known as "Gallus" which basically stood for Gauls. This was later replaced by Thraex when the Gauls made peace with rome. This is also the case with another class called "Hoplomachus" (Greek Hoplites) which seems to have taken the place of the class known as "Samnite" after they also made peace.

In Rome classifications were not just what gear you were given but also showed your status in the "Gladitoria Munera" (Gladiatorship). The Murmillo was based after a Roman soldier so they were considered the most valuable and were given the best treatment, followed by the Thraex (Roman Enemies) and so on.

Now I will name some Classifications that I think might add to the game, the problem is that the Romans literally gave names to every sort of variation on the match so it gets difficult. Classes like the "Andabata" literally means "blind-folded gladiator." They could have any set of weapons, just that they had to be blinded, sometimes permanently. Then there was "Bustuaries," or "tomb fighter," which alludes to the history of gladiator fights as funeral games where they would kill slaves and throw them onto a pyre. This class was basically an unarmed slave thrown into a murder pit, and was considered the LOWEST of all gladiators (see "used as an insult").


Class suggestions: "Velites" (skirmisher) / Used a javelin and parmula (buckler sized shield

"Sagittarius" (mounted horse archer) / Sat on horse and shot arrows

"Scissor/Arbelas/Cestus" (named after their weapons they used)
Double bladed short sword / Half moon blade / Knuckledusters
* Essentially the same class just different weapon

"Equites" (mounted spearman) / Used spear, gladius, parmula
*Mostly fought other Equites


"Essedarius" (chariot fighter) / Fought while riding chariot
*Mostly fought other Essedarius

"Gladiatrix" (woman gladiator) / This is actually a modern term for a
female gladiator as they were so rare and only had a few accounts.
Honestly my VOTE goes to this one as its most unique. Also female gladiators were usually topless while fighting as they were considered a gimmick.

Other things of note: Domina does mean "Female Master" but a gladiators master was called a "Lanista." Then there is the "Bestiarius" which means "beast fighter" and these were usually criminals given inadequate weapons and asked to survive against lions and what-not.

[Alacor]

Interesting. Thanks for the info. Were Secutors a class of gladiator? They were present in Gladius, along with Murmillos and Samnites.

[Citrus-CW]

The "Secutor" (chaser) was armed similar to a Murmillo with a large shield (scutum) and sword, maybe a dagger sometimes. They are essentially Murmillos trained in killing "Retiarius," and they wore specialized armor to protect from the Retiarus' trident.

The Samnite was a gladiator based after the italian soldiers of Campania (a region of southern italy) They usually had a large shield, short sword and a knife, sometimes given a spear.

In retrospec the Murmillo, Samnite, and Secutor were really much the same. I never played Gladius so I dont know how they were portrayed there but this was how they were historically. The main difference was armor. Murmillo resembled a fish, Samnites wore armor based after their country, and Secutors wore very enclosed armor.

[Alacor]

Cool, gotcha. In Gladius, Murmillos were what you'd expect, but Secutors were a bit smaller and wore pretty light armor along with a small buckler-like shield. Samnites were giant fat dudes that hit really hard. They had scutum-like shields, though.