Sabellic Hoplites

Summary
Hoplites are a heavy infantry brigade available to the Sabellic faction group. They are slow, defensive spearmen, with the ability to enter phalanx formation to further boost their defenses in pitched battles.

"Disciplined infantry that fight with a long spear and a large round shield. Better equipped and trained than regular spearman, hoplites are generally composed of free citizens who can afford to purchase their own equipment. Hoplites originated in the city-states of Ancient Greece but quickly spread to other Mediterranean cultures like the Latins and Etruscans."

- In-game Description

History
While some of the Sabellic tribes who received the most Greek influence, such as the Lucani, are known to have at some point started fighting as hoplites, the exact extent of hoplite warfare among the Sabellic tribes is unknown and it's possible that this style of warfare did not reach the tribes more distant from Greek and Etruscan civilization.

Some tribes, such as the Samnites, would adopt a more flexible heavy infantry capable less reliant on staying in formation and additionally capable of missile fire with heavy javelins, eventually making hoplite warfare obsolete in the Italian peninsula.

Tactics
Hoplites are the first improvement in infantry available to Sabellic factions and are a big step up from basic spearmen, though the player will likely want to replace them with the even stronger Heavy Hoplites as soon as they can afford to do so.

With good missile resistance and decent defenses, Hoplites are good at taking missile damage and suitable for use in sieges. They benefit greatly from the phalanx formation in pitched battles, which provides a great increase to defenses and charge block but only so long as the formation holds. If the formation does break, Hoplites will still prove superior to light infantry spearmen, but will not be able to hold out long against late-game infantry.

Sabellic Hoplites have a higher charge damage than the equivalent hoplite brigades of other factions, making them good at quickly overwhelming lighter brigades. In protracted melee engagements, however, they are inferior to Illyric Hoplites who have a higher damage output, and to Greek, Sicilian and Etruscan Hoplites who have higher defenses (but are also slightly more expensive).