Civ Discussion: Byzantines

Hello, everybody! Today is the 20th Friday of civ discussion which means that we are already 2/3 of the way done. In celebration of that, the discussion for today belongs to my favorite civ, the Byzantines! Last week, we had a nice discussion about the Chinese, and if you want to go back to that or any other discussion we've had in the past, I'll link them below. Next week, we will do the Magyars! Feel free to ask the community anything, answer any questions, or just make whatever remarks you want regarding the Byzantinea!

•Cataphract (UU: Anti-infantry cavalry)

When do you use Cataphracts, and how do they compare to the knight-line? With anti-cavalry armor and a large bonus to infantry, how do you counter Cataphracts? Tell us why you know Cataphracts are the coolest unit in the game.

•Greek Fire (Castle UT: Fire ships gain +1 range.){Added in HD}

Is this tech worth getting, and if so: why? How does the extra range affect the way Byzantine Fire Ships' attack or perform in combat?

•Logistica (Imperial UT: Cataphracts deal blast damage and gain +6 attack against infantry.)

How important is it to get Logistica if you're going for Cataphracts especially since Byzantines don't get Blast Furnace? How does the tech perform in the battlefield as opposed to just on paper?

•(Team Bonus: Monks heal units 50% faster.)

How good is having 50% faster healing monks?

Civ Bonuses

•Buildings have 10% more HP and gain +10% more each age. (Excludes gates)

•Spear-line, Skirmisher-line, and camel-line are all 25% cheaper.

•Fire ships attack 20% faster.

•Town Watch researched for free.

•Imperial Age upgrade costs 33% less.

How does having higher HP buildings affect the Byzantines considering they don't get Architecture or Masonry? How venerable is Byzantine countering and trash rushes/wars? Are the Byzantines a strong water civ with the new Fire Galley meta, and how well did they perform in AoC? How does free Town Watch help with scouting? How big of a bonus is the cheaper Imperial Age upgrade and how does it compare to other age-up bonuses like that of the Chinese, Ethiopians, Italians, etc...?