Land battle, Sgs v. hops

Now that the game rules changed, SGs can fit into slots of 13, but hops can fit in slots of 30s, 40s, or 50s. So Does that mean that hops are the new thing now? as in They can over power SGs by numbers? I lost really badly because of hops with chifeochoitrang if you saw my CR. So is it worth it to just make a huge army of hops? or should I stick with SGs?

There should be a mix.

SGs are easy to overwhelm with numbers, but hoplites against hoplites is a fair match. If you have the two of them together, that can only boost your chances. Right?

I always use a mix, but I'm assuming each would be good for either defense or offence, not both.

I tend to use both. I try sending the hops first then backing up with SG's. Not sure that's always the best plan. I think a mix is good.

Just to move to another area of the battle. I keep hearing on other servers that archers are useless. A lot are using slingers ahead of caribs and archers. Any views good people?

It seems stupid that the game would make archers worse than slingers when archery is much more advanced than slinging...

Yea, apparently archers don't do much. But slingers cost less. so I guess they're thinking that slingers are cheap, and they can take up slots fast so you can stall for more reinforcements...but i use gunners.

I think it would depend what you're using them for. You can't fire flames through or over a city wall, so caribineers probably aren't best for defense, but you can sling a rock or shoot an arrow over a wall, making slingers and archers ideal for defending your town.

As to which defender is better...

For ranged units, sc are the way to go...there are no good substitutes. As far as front line goes, it depends...mainly on how active you can be. If you need to just send in a big army and go offline for whatever reason, use hoplites. If you're able to send a fresh wave in for each round, sg are the the best option (as long as they are fully upgraded, of course). Whichever you choose, activate a hepha forge with it whenever you're able to.