Latin Equites

Summary
Equites are the only cavalry available to the Latin faction group, being a dependable melee cavalry brigade with very good charge strength and solid defenses, available early in the game.

"Recruited from the Roman Patrician class, the Equites are well armoured heavy cavalry capable of breaking through light infantry and moderate spearmen units."

- In-game Description

History
Roman cavalry was originally unarmoured and likely rarely used in battle, but the Equites seem to have gradually adopted heavier armour and were by the early 3rd Century BC described as being able to occasionally hold their own against even elite cavalry units such as the Thessalian Cavalry. The Romans struggled to field enough of their own cavalry as the Republic expanded, however, as in Roman society only the richest were able to afford the required horses and equipment, while this social elite was also required to staff various offices in the growing amount of Roman provinces. As such, the Romans became forced to supplement and eventually entirely replace their citizen cavalry with large amounts of foreign auxiliaries, after their lack of cavalry contributed to numerous defeats in the Second Punic War of the late 3rd Century BC.

In-game they are only given their later armoured melee cavalry and not their light cavalry of the earliest period, presumably to avoid giving more than one cavalry brigade to a faction group that is not meant to have a particularly versatile cavalry arm, while at the same time offsetting their weakness in the early-game.

Tactics
Equites are tied with Gallic Noble Cavalry for having the highest charge strength of any regular brigade in the game, only beaten by the mercenary-only Thessalian Cavalry and War Elephants. Their melee damage and defense stats are fairly average, however. This means that Equites are optimized for charge impact rather than protracted melee combat, and they are best used against light enemies with low charge block stats in open areas where they have sufficient room to execute charges.

Latin Equites are nearly identical to Sabellic Noble Cavalry, but have superior charge strength. This is the opposite of what holds true when comparing the infantry of these faction groups, where the Sabellic factions have the superior charge stats.

Equites are arguably the highest quality early-game cavalry in the game on a per-soldier level, having superior stats to Gallic and Etruscan Light Cavalry but also a higher cost and smaller brigade size. The Gauls and Etruscans are able to unlock even better cavalry in the late-game, though, with Gallic Noble Cavalry having very similar but slightly better stats than Equites, and Etruscan Heavy Cavalry being much more powerful in protracted melee engagements.