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Thread: Germania

  1. #1

    Default Germania

    Guide.
    Frogbeastegg's Guide to Total War: Shogun II. Please note that the guide is not up-to-date for the latest patch.


  2. #2
    Member Member Mightypeon's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Ok, I am currently playing with the Germans.
    This are my early game observations:

    Strengths and weaknesses:
    The Germans seem to be the strongest barbarian Faction.
    While the Gallians seem to suck in general the British tech tree requires to much before it can rival the strength of the German Phalanx.
    To put it short: No Level 1 unit in the vicinity can beat the German Spears, and even most Level 2s will strife.

    German have also very fast acces to an interesting early flanking unit (screaming women).

    The Skrimishers are ordinary as is their Light Cavalry.

    Their heavy infantry is also oridnanry, they are better than the Gaul counterparts but they do not really reach the brillaince of the German spearman.


    Your early battleiline should be composed of your general, 2-4 Spear units, some Light Cav and Screaming women or Axemen.
    If you get Archers use them, German Archers are important because they can be used to force your enemy into your hands.

    Strategy:
    Germany is poor. The first thing I doo is bringng trade and famring income online by builing a road, a level 1 famr and a Merchant in every city.
    recruit some peasants to serve as preliminary Garrisons.
    Every peasant you get nets you one big angry german Spearman who can be used for rapid early game expansion.
    Where to expand?
    Well, the Brittains always attack you (their goal seems to be Trier or Begicum or both). put your spears together and kick them around a bit.
    The taking of Saxony, should be also clear.
    I would recomand to expand into the east and the south.
    In detail, try to aquire modern day prussia, modern day Lithunia and possibly Bohemia from the rebels.
    If the Dacians beat you to Bohemia skip it.
    I have made the experience that it is also possible to get as far a Russia.
    You could also take Iovacium.
    I would adovocate agasint taking Lugdugmum, this will always lead to a war with the Gauls. use your spy to check the istuation in Italy, once the romans have taken Mediolanum and modern Venice, engage the Gauls.
    Try allying with the Juli, bolster this up by allying with the other romans too.
    Chances are that the Juli will go for Spainor Karthage.
    Now comes a buildup phase.
    You may try to sack Great Brittain, however it is usually enough to sink their navy.
    Basically, start preparing for the inevitable crush with rome.

  3. #3
    The Maiden Member Jeanne d'arc's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    This is great fun to play with the germans, the spearbands are the key to victory.Expansion is easy with so much rebel provinces around you for the taking.
    Send diplomats to the southeast part, the Dacians will be there and also a few rebel provinces, use your diplomats to bribe any invading armies from the Dacians that are trying to take those.This will buy you some time and will preserve relations to the Dacians.Also get them to sign a trade agreement for like 1500 denari, use that money for bribing if u ever need to.Also make deals like that with the britons and gauls, they will also accept.
    The Dacians will easely accept an alliance in my campaign.
    The Germans have a very interesting unit roster and i disagree that the game sais they have limited cavalry, they actually have the best barbarian cavalry there is but u will only get these at higher levels.
    Good luck!
    En nom Dieu!

  4. #4
    Member Member Mightypeon's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    If have played my campaign a bit farther:
    A: The Britains have to die, period.
    They will attack you no matter what you do.
    Be sure to take the first strike.
    Use Bordesholm on low taxes to get a naval base and assume supremacy in the noprhern sea.
    You dont have to invade Britain, just crush their navy.
    You could even try to make peace after their navy is done for.
    In the east some ok rebel provinces (vicus Gothi is nice) are yours to take, expand until Pripet and Tribus Gepide.
    Do not engage another power on the "eastern front".
    Try to take out Gallia after the Brits are contained, they have a medeterran acces and can get filthly rich. Try to get to good relations with rome too, you can beat them but you should not do it right now.

  5. #5
    Member Member chemchok's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    I would say that crushing the Britons is more important than containing them. If you let them live, they will be an annoyance at your back for the rest of the game. Plus, once you take the British Isles you can largely forget about them and focus all your resources elsewhere.

    A key province to take is Noricum (city = Iuvavum), you can easily seal off the mountain passes to the South to protect yourself from both the Gauls and Jullii. Keep yourself on friendly terms with the Dacians and Scythians on your Eastern front and focus on the Gauls. By the time your armies take Massila or Narbo Martius, the Gauls should have built enough structures (that don't incur a cultural penalty) in those two cities to allow you to churn out your higher level troops. This will provide you with a great staging point to invade both the Italian and Spanish peninsulas.

    Remember, the earlier you fight Rome, the easier it will be.

  6. #6
    Just an Oldfart Member Basileus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Its tough at the start but ive found it best to attack both the british city on the mainland and the gaulish capital under trier, wipe them both out as soon as possible or you´ll be in long wars with both. I tryed to play it historicly on my first try but those britons and gauls made my life sour almost evry time.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Germania

    First of all, TAKE ALESIA!!! It will severly hurt Gaul which will make it easier to kill them. Then take the Briton foothold.( I'm playing medium/medium, and after I took the city, Briton hasn't bothered me since) Your main priority is GAUL or DACIA. They will be relentless. Gaul will keep coming at you after you take Alesia. Keep a family member there. He will quickly become the greatest general of them all. Your real first priority is to take a more 'civilized' city for you to make your more advanced units. It will also give you high amounts of money for exterminating the populace.(Exterminated Massilla and got 6,00 Denariis) The Germans have the best Barbarian calvary unit in my opinion which is, you should know this, Gothic Calvary. As Germania, get Beserkers and night raiders as fast as you can. They will be useful in the dense forests of your homeland. Well, I'll post more later if I get a chance.
    Never underestimate a desperate man.

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  8. #8
    Barbarian of the north Member Magraev's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Germania is a challenge for me, but they probably have one of the nicest rosters of any barbarian faction. The only thing lacking is armor on the chosen axemen and they'd be great.

    I my current game I kicked briton off the mainland and got a cease-fire. They keep bringing over small stacks though and I once had to break the cease-fire to remove a full stack they had standing next to their old city.

    I'm keeping an uneasy alliance with the gauls (costing me money on a regular basis, but I need all the help I can get against the bloody romans).

    I've spread to the far east, but those provinces seem absolutely worthless yet. I'd reccomend focusing on the west and south after getting the vicus gothi (sp) province and the one just south of it. To the south I've taken the old gallic province in venetia from the julii. It's really hard to hold on to though, I'm regularly attacked by julii and brutii armies. It's easily the best city I have though...

    As Germania you can't autoresolve, since that means awful losses you can't afford. You have to fight every battle, and make sure you don't throw your soldiers away. 500 dead germans take 2 turns to regenerate or more in the thinly populated region. Your best regular infantry will NOT stand up to the romans one on one, so maneuver is the key. Never try a straight fair fight - youll lose. My new single unit of nightraiders seem very nice though, and I'm looking forward to seeing the chosen archers
    Last edited by Magraev; 10-16-2004 at 18:25.
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  9. #9

    Default Re: Germania

    Ive had it pretty easy as germania early expansion out to domus dulcis and vicus venedae wheere i got an alliance with scythia and dacia which has held for an entire game
    the scythians and dacians have been peaceful and are allies. my army consists of cavalry and thats all. flanking the AI caues them to rearrange their lines in such a haphazard way that you shoudl be able to pick off a lot of units that havent quite formed up properly. This in particular for the romans who just dont seem to know what they are doing. The gaul warbands just rout instantly when hit from the sides and the briton chariots dont do much damage when hit by 6 units of cav from all directions. so why do you even need infantry. i did have to starve out most towns which takes a while but losses are a lot less. hitting them as they come out of a gate when they sally forth is just a meat grinder for 3 units of cav. one either side of the gate and one in the front. most of my generals are 8+ stars and i keep getting new generals from captains who attack the rebel bands.
    The chosen archers are amazing. excellent range, excellent accuracy and can fight if they need to.

    i never had to fight the romans with the marius event in effect since i was easily able to take italy faster than i too gaul. they kept attacking my sieging army and the town garrison were reinforcements that never got to return to the town and i just strolled in. triarii were no problem as they tended to run to the site of a recent cavalry charge and if i charged on the left then the right. the triarii just ran back and forward across the battlefield then get the exhausted unit to followa cav unit while anotehr cav hits them in the back then slice down the routed unit. in my current game. julii are gone, SPQR is gone, Scipi only has thapsus and lepcis magna (both under siege from noble cavalary and ports blocaded) and the brutii hold corinth and athens. (both under siege and blockaded).

    i had to move my capital down to patavium to cope with the culture penalties i was getting from the italian cities, since the barbarians dont have any benefit for being more populated than 6000 most roman cities have all the necessary building to get the highest quality troops i just exterminate them.

    cav is the way to go

  10. #10
    Alienated Senior Member Member Red Harvest's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    I'm about to complete a "short" Germania campaign that on VH/VH that requires the conquest of Dacia and Scythia as well as 15 provinces. In order to do that I had to first eliminate the Britons, and start eliminating Gaul. This brought me alongside the Julii, who promptly attacked...they are suffering for that now. In the end I will probably conquer 40 provinces before I am done, but the outcome is now certain.

    Overview: Move FAST! Briton and Gaul are horrible neighbors, they will attack even if you ally with both of them. Start building armies to eliminate them both and keep them on defense rather than offense. There are rebel provinces all around. Be very aggressive in seizing them before your neighbors, it is the only way I could keep my finances positive while playing VH. Dacia makes a good ally if you have just enough forces on your border cities with them that they don't get any "bright" ideas. Scythia will also be a good neighbor.

    Your Armies: Your problem is lack of cavalry accessibility early on. You only have one province that will be able to build them for many turns...and you must build the structure first. Buy merc cav and merc cav archers wherever possible. The spearband will provide the bulk of your forces. By maintaining 4 row/rank lines of spearband you can present a very wide front that is nearly impenetrable. I march them into the enemy as a contiguous line with my few units of cav on both flanks. I switch to phalanx as they close (guard mode on or off) and give them orders to march *past/through* the enemy line. I keep my cav tucked just behind the flanks and as they engage send the cav around the flank. The enemy end units crumple before or right at the time my cav hits them. The opposing line group routs and I chase down the remainder with my cav. (Typical battle on VH/VH will give me ~1,000 kills, with 20 or 30 losses. A close battle might cost me 150 men and once I even lost 250 because I had insufficient cav.)

    Early Strategy: Take Bordesholm, Vicus Gothi, and Lugdunum ASAP. This will get you a nice income. I "occupied" because the province populations were low...and some time during the game I would like them to hit the next city size. Gaul will want Lugdunum, so they are going to attack. No matter, make it their honeypot. Keep a good army there to defeat their stacks repeatedly--you might need to reinforce it periodically, particularly with any cav you can get.

    Send diplomats far afield. I sent one toward Dacia, then Scythia to secure alliances. I picked up alliances with Thracia and Macedon along the way. I also sent one on a long tour of Gaul and the Iberian peninsula. I managed to get alliances with all of Rome and trade with Spain and Carthage. The alliances with Rome unravelled when they attacked Macedon. But I was able to keep trade rights with some of their factions (although I don't know that I had much external trade.)

    Midgame Strategy: Plan to take Samarobriva from the Britons ASAP. This will be their "honeypot" while you try to get a port so that you can invade and finish them. With the Gauls occupied in Lugdunum and Britons in Samarobriva, you can build a third army to take Alesia from the Gauls. It has lots of upgrades and population and will start producing some tough "chosen" archers and swordsmen if you don't. When you take it, "enslave" is a good idea: it sends population to your many small cities. Gaul will be on the ropes after this. Take Condate Redonum and you will have a port...this is how you invade Brittania without waiting for a port of your own. The hop to London is short, and the Britons will be busy in your neck of the woods, unable to defend their own. It will only take a few turns to finish them (exterminate or enslave as needed to balance money/population needs.)

    Also, during the early midgame, you need to take Domus Dulcis Domus ("Home Sweet Home") and Vidus Venedae from the rebels. This will keep money flowing, and it will keep the Dacians in check since they run out of money with nothing to conquer. At some point in the midgame I had the money to build a small army to take Lovosice. I think it was in Dacian hands. After that Dacia was on the ropes. I quickly took Aquincom, and then sent some exploration to Iuvavum which was rebel so I took it as well. Dacia was wiped out by Thracia before I had a chance to finish them. Note: Dacia has falxmen, and when mixed with archers I've found them a bit tougher to beat on VH with spearband and cav. (Do not let Dacia hit you first! I got triple teamed by Dacia, the Britons, and Gaul in my first attempt at Germania. I could never get financial traction to finish any one of the three, and the Dacian falxmen eventually attrited my army away.)

    Lategame: Take the rest of the Gaul provinces in France. You might want to exterminate to get some money from the larger population centers. Although enslave works better on some areas and especially if you need to rebuild stacks/build new armies with all those nice upgrades. Take a hop from the UK to take Hibernia. Take Cisalpine Gaul, Transalpine Gaul and Patavium. This will bring the Julii down on you. They hit me with three full stacks in Cisalpine Gaul, one for each of three turns. I had a powerful 1/2 stack army. After that I had finished the Gauls in Italy and turned my attention to the Julii. I hit them both in Italy and Iberia simultaneously.

    Endgame. With all effective opposition silenced, turn on your Scythian allies. This will mean long marches. I am ready to start this phase.
    Rome Total War, it's not a game, it's a do-it-yourself project.

  11. #11
    One Knight Stand Member Spartakus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Germania is great battlewise. Once you have managed to build a nice army, that is. Losses do not have to be heavy, just avoid autoresolve most of the time, as already pointed out by Magraev.

    The key to victory, in my opinion, is spearmen and chosen archers. Form a solid wall of phalanxes, position some units of chosen archers behind these, and some cavalry on the sides to make sure they don't get any nasty surprises. The spearmen can be reinforced with night raiders and berserkers, great units for making the enemy rout. This makes them particularly useful against your neighbours the Gauls and the Britons, as these guys rout at the drop of a hat. I have yet to see this strategy fail.

    Where to go? In my opinion every Germania-player's duty is to plunder Rome before Alaric. Which gives you hundreds of years, so no need to hurry, conquer Britannia and Gaul first.
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.

  12. #12
    Member Member Mightypeon's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Well, I have something to add to the German Phalanx:
    Add one unit of Axes or Barb Merc and one unit of screaming Women.
    Let both use their abilites when the enemy gets close.
    The combined effect of the scremaing + the warshout is almost enough to "shake" some units, and certainly enough to make the pesky romans run earlier.
    It also gives you the edge in Phalanx vs. Phalanx as their Phalanx will run before yours does.
    Always keep 2 units of Cavalry, the other germans arent that good in chasing routers and german cavalry is good in protecting flanks.
    Oh, I noticed that some well defendet border forts can occupy the Dacian/Thracian/Skythian mongrels with very little troops while your guys spank rome.
    Does anyone have some tips on Naval warfare?
    I am unable to put any kind of dent into the roman navys, which is quite pesky, I cant even get a diplomant to africa for getting an Alliance with Cartage/Egypt...

  13. #13
    Member Member Mightypeon's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Well, I have saved the problem with the roman navy, by killing them all.
    their navy is nto that scary if they dont carry any troops because soemone just spanked italy.
    On hindisght, it was significantly more easier than anticipated.
    The Julii armies were unxeperienced, my tpyical 4 Spears, 2 chosen Archer 1 general one gothic 2 Light Cav on Axemen on one screamer armies beat them up pretty well.
    5 Star Spearman can still hold up Legions, mainly because they posses a bigger size and get a morale advantadge (well, you did use the scremaing women eh?)
    I have engaged the Dacian/Thracian (the latter have absorbed Macedon), the Falxmen are somehow Cannon fodder (my Cav runs through them, they dont even get close to my spears and my Archers are shooting them up anyway.)
    however the Thracian Pikes are pretty nasty, alas their small front size will mean their doom, in addition the AI cannot really use its Phalanxes.
    I am doign a "Sitzkrieg" with the Skythians, pretty small garrisons (one General + 2 Spears +1 chosen Archers) are sitting in some border forts and protect the irver corssings, the Sykths dont even try to siege.
    My Spy recently found out why the Skythies are so boring, the Scythies lost their leader + main army against the Amazons, however I dont have enough troops to garrsion the land which would be ripe for taking.

    I have to confess that I dont like Berserkers, the require that you build a temple to Donar, however, Donar is inferior to Wotan in most respects (Wotan get more units and a better bonus) in addition, the priests of Donar help you helaing your wounded which I think is one of the best skills ever, the +2 command while using infantry is even better.

    I can only recommend chosen Axemen coming from a level 3 Wotan temple city with a nice armour smith. Want to go toe to toe with the urban cohorts? Well, chosen Axes can do the trick, in additoon they are propably one of the best one turn units.

  14. #14
    One Knight Stand Member Spartakus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Quote Originally Posted by Mightypeon
    I have to confess that I dont like Berserkers, the require that you build a temple to Donar, however, Donar is inferior to Wotan in most respects (Wotan get more units and a better bonus) in addition, the priests of Donar help you helaing your wounded which I think is one of the best skills ever, the +2 command while using infantry is even better.
    But they look SO cool!

    Seriously, Donar may be inferior to Wotan, but the berserkers do cream enemies in battle. I have seen these guys chase away Roman units many times their size. With the hitpoints, they don't go down as easily as you might expect either.

    On the side, it's worth noting that the germanic god Wotan and the norse god Odin are one and the same, just a variation in the spelling from old norse to saxon. Same with Donar/Thor. So these fellas are actually the predecessors of the berserkers in Viking Invasion.
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.

  15. #15
    For TosaInu and the Org Senior Member The_Emperor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Ok I started off a game as the Germans last night to have a bash at them.

    Theya re hard on the battlefield with those spear warbands... To be honest I thought they would have been higher upt he tech tree than they are. I was really amazed that while the Britons and Gauls get the default "Warband" the Germans got a Phalanx... Still they do need it more than the Britons and Gauls do, their lands are so dirt poor you have to Blitz the map to avoid early game stagnation. Especially with the Britons and Gauls.

    For my part I ended up at war with both of these factions very early on. I got agressive and took Alesia from the Gauls (it is their Capital after all)... Then the Britons joined in sending an army to try to besiege Alesia from me right afterwards.

    So I scraped an army together and attacked their Gallic foothold. Fortunately the moment my army got close to their city, the Big Briton army lifted the siege to rush back to defend. It was a big mistake and I took the town while they were stuck on the road... That army was later destroyed in a heroic victory near the town.

    My eastern flank though is extremely weak due to the dirt poor nature of Germanic towns, fortunately I am allied with Dacia and am pursuing an alliance with Scythia, to hold them at bay.
    "Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it."

  16. #16
    Member Member MadKow's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    I also started a German game. I play on medium so dont expect some genius insight from here. My very first target was the briton foothold which was promptly dispatched.
    As soon as that was taken care of, i went for the gauls. At this point i still have to conquer the two mediterranean cities. In the mean time a full stack of brit troops lead by a 5 star general crossed the Channel and is menacing their former posession.

    My biggest problem is population growth. The German cities grow VERY slow. Temples of Freya(?) may help there, but if you want berserkers and Gothic cavalry you have to please the other gods. The East so far is not a problem. I was slow taking the Helvetii town and lost the Tyrol to the Dacians. However my Eastern most provinces are providers of very interesting mercenary forces, namely Scytian Horse Archers and Samartian Cavalry. HA are useful as most of you can imagine, and Samartian Cavalry has an outstanding Charge bonus. Haven't used them yet, though.

    The German spearband caused my very first defeat in RTW while playing the Julii and overconfidently assaulted a German settlement.
    So far i've only used spearmen, cavalry and a few screaming ladies, besides the ocasional mercenary barbarians, when facing big numbers.
    It's been quite fun, playng the Germans.

    Oh.. watch your leaders... they can get some nasty vices from drinking too much ale.

  17. #17
    One Knight Stand Member Spartakus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Quote Originally Posted by MadKow
    I also started a German game. I play on medium so dont expect some genius insight from here. My very first target was the briton foothold which was promptly dispatched.
    As soon as that was taken care of, i went for the gauls. At this point i still have to conquer the two mediterranean cities. In the mean time a full stack of brit troops lead by a 5 star general crossed the Channel and is menacing their former posession.
    I can imagine. Conquering Britannia before heading southwards solves this problem. Less men in the north equals more men in the south, and of course, you need everything you've got to deal with the Romans.

    Quote Originally Posted by MadKow
    My biggest problem is population growth. The German cities grow VERY slow. Temples of Freya(?) may help there, but if you want berserkers and Gothic cavalry you have to please the other gods.
    Freya's correct. The key to this one is balance, I would suggest building the temple of Freya in about 1/3 of your cities (more or less). Which cities must be decided according to location, the safe towns which are (or will be) in the center of your empire and far from the line of battle would be my choice, as you wouldn't want to recruit your berserkers and gothic cavalry from these places anyway.

    Now go get Rome!
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.

  18. #18
    For TosaInu and the Org Senior Member The_Emperor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    I have found that the Germanic towns need farms, its the only way to get them up to scratch I feel given their natural lack of food & growth.

    At any rate when I took the Briton foothold it was very early on and they had that massive army running around... I can only think that the upkeep has killed them because I have yet to see them come back against me. Even their navy is out of sight at the moment.

    The Gauls are more of a challenge, but given they only have 3 provinces in mainland Gaul (this side of the alps) and one of them is besiged by me, they won't be much of a threat for much longer.

    Oh well time to get some ports & boats and paddle across the pond...
    Last edited by The_Emperor; 10-28-2004 at 15:02.
    "Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it."

  19. #19

    Default Re: Germania

    The problems facing the German player are money and population growth. In my latest game I built few troops at first and went for the rebel provinces of Bordesholm and Vicus Gothi to the north. They're not cash cows, but they are easy to get and hold so attack them first while you send out your diplomats and develope your provinces.

    The majority of my temples were dedicated to Freya. I wanted the fertility bonus but also knew that the towns I captured would be well developed to produce high quality troop so it's there I put my temples to Donar and Wotan.

    As you build up for war remember your diplomats. Ally with Dacia and Spain and whoever will join you. Travel the world, establish trade and sell map info. Try to use this cash to build farms, markets and ports. Go easy on the troop production because their upkeep will drive you into the red after the these diplomatic windfalls run out. Another good use for this mad money is bribing troops. I took out a couple of Brit 1/2 stacks early on, and the Brits never recovered.

    Your early strategic goal is to take Alesia and defeat the Gauls in the field but then eliminate the Brits. Take Sambrovia and Condate Redoran (sp?) and then jump across the pond (don't stay on board!) to take London. Usually the Brits oblige and send whatever they have left back to Gaul (you can wave to them as you pass!) so taking Britain is a walk in the park.

    I focus on troops in London but concentrate on trade in the rest. That is why Britain is good to take first. It has all that extra trade income, and besides the occasional rebel is easy to maintain. Once Britain is secure it's easy to roll up the rest of Gaul.

    I usually enslave as I go, unless it's a tiny settlement, then I occupy.

    On to Rome!
    He moves, you move first.

  20. #20
    Ringwraith Extraordinaire Member The Witch-King's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Ah, Germania, always a lot of fun. Here's an interesting strategy I read on the boards at TWcenter and which I've pulled off with great success. If it works, you've won the game, it's as simple as that. When you begin take ALL your troops and gather them into two large stacks near the town below your capital, I believe it's called Mongotiacum. Don't spent money on your towns, you won't be staying in these worthless lands. Buy a couple of spearbands in Mongotiacum and Trier and send them to join your armies while you wait for the troops from Vicus Marcomanni to arrive. Build some diplomats too (another two will do), they'll be invaluable to get money, which you'll desperately need. Now march south into Noricum, but ignore the town, you have bigger fish to fry. Send your diplomats to sell trade rights and maps to everyone you come across, you can often make 5000-10000 denarii with this. March your two armies into Italy and cross the Po river into Julii lands. Attack the Julii and lay siege to both their main towns. Build some rams, attack the next turn and exterminate, you need the money and you an't afford to keep a large garrison. Make Arminium your capital, you are here to stay! By now all the Romans will be at war with so push on to Rome as soon as possible. The Senate army is your greatest foe, the Scipii are probably busy on Sicily and it'll take the Brutii some time to march some troops to northern Italy. Lay siege to Rome, but do not attack. Those walls are deadly! If you're lucky the Senate will do something stupid, like attack your besieging army (you did remember to bring as many troops as possible, didn't you?). Defeat the SPQR army (nasty buggers with good weapons and armor, so use your spearmen to hold the line and flank them with your cav), if you're lucky you can destoy the SPQR troops inside Rome as they join the battle and capture the city the next turn. Exterminate the populace. Congratulations, you've captured Rome, including some very nice 3rd tier buildings!.

    By now the Britons will undoubtedly have attacked your deserted holdings in your old lands. Let them! The lands are worthless and you did sell all the buildings, didn't you? Let the Britons waste time and effort buidling up these tiny hamlets. The Gauls will also inevitably attack you with their crappy warband/swordmen combo armies. Easy fodder for your spearbands, just don't let them swarm you. In the mean time your diplomats are running all over Europe selling traderights and maps to everyone they meet. By now you will have built up a large deficit (-10000 k and you'll be losing money for some time) and you need to get out of the red fast! Your armies will have taken losses and you need pecunia to retrain and reinforce your troops!

    Retrain and reinforce your army in Rome (be sure to build shrines everywhere, preferably to Wodan) and march on Capua. Be careful here, I suffered a nasty defeat when the Scipii faction leader sallied forth from the town. He's a nasty bugger who can devastate your army. I destroyed him in a second battle but he took a while to die, so don't overextend your forces!

    The Brutii will keep sending small to medium sized armies to Arminium, so keep a sizable force there. Hastati and Velites are no match Spearbands and Barbarian Cav, so it's shouldn't be a prob. The Julii are effectively neutered with their two main towns gone. It's possible they've taken both Caralis and Segesta. Take Segesta from them to drive them off the mainland. They may land armies but it's probably just a ragtag band of Hastati, peasants and townwatch, easy fodder for your spearbands (great unit and the key to victory!) so ignore Caralis for now. After you've taken Capua reinforce your army and swiftly march on to Tarentum, siege it, take it next turn, exterminate and march on to Croton. Rinse and repeat.

    By now the Brutii are stuck in Greece and the Dalmatian coast and the Scipii are probably holding all of Sicily. Keep a large army near Croton and Tarentum, both the Scipii and the Brutii will occasionally send armies to take those cities. In northern Italy the Gauls are probably making a nuisance of themselves, so help yourself and take the two cities they have there and reifoce the pass leading to transalpine Gaul. Your original homelands have probably been taken by the Britons or have rebelled due to unhappiness. No matter, you now possess all of Italy and you should be making a profit by now and have some cash in your treasury from all those sackings. Build up Rome to make all those highend units you normally can't build until 150 BC. It won't take long, due to the excellent infrastructure in the Roman towns. Now build up an army and a fleet. A small expedition will be enough to finish of the Julii. The Scipii will take more troops but shouldn't really be a problem. And what do you do when you've taken Sicily? By now you're in a practically unassaillable position to take over the world! Be sure to send the Gauls and Britons your regards, preferably by a large army made up of Gothic Cavalry! I'm sure their warbands will appreciate the gesture. :p
    Last edited by The Witch-King; 10-28-2004 at 18:03.

  21. #21

    Default Re: Germania

    Interesting. It's also more historically realistic to have the Germans launch a huge raid on Italy than create a nation state in the forrests of northern Europe. But I just don't see it as a necessity.

    It doesn't take to 150 bc to build highend units. As soon as you take London and build the temples to Wotan you can get Gothic Cav. That should happen in 20yrs/40 turns. It also only takes two upgrades to make chosen archers, which to me is a far more important unit and makes your slow moving spearbands truly devastating.

    But the strategy does have a more barbarian slash and burn feel, so i might try it when I cycle through the factions again.
    He moves, you move first.

  22. #22

    Default Re: Germania

    Rome fell with a whimper. You know Rome is weak when the Brutii and not the Julii have control of Massila in southern France. \

    It was more a matter of logistics than tactics to take Milan and Venice (still Gaulish!) and the two Julii cities. I was surprised to see the "faction destroyed" flag when the Julii cities fell, usually they own Sardina/Corsica and survive till you get around to raising a fleet. The Brutii sent a few stacks out of Illyricum but they had little to guard their cities and they quickly fell. I besieged Rome until they emerged at the end to fall on MY swords. The Scipii but up a good fight and even brought troops over by boat to try to raise the seige. The second battle must have killed the last of their line because when Capua fell they were gone.

    My anti Roman battle plan is a simple, one sided end run.

    (OOPs wrong button.)

    The side will change depending upon the terrain/circumstances but I find one overwhelming envelopment works best against legions. 4-5 spearbands with 4 archers, 1 screamer, 1 general, 3 lc 2 hc and the rest axemen and wildmen. I set my spears/archers in the center but only a few covering forces on the weak side and mass the rest on the other. I use my cav to keep the velites at bay because they can cut you up if you get bogged down fighting some experienced legions. They will also provide a final straw, if needed, to crack the Roman battle line.

    Dacia is next, followed by Macedon. I wonder if Macedon will be tough.
    I hope so.
    Last edited by DojoRat; 10-29-2004 at 20:23.
    He moves, you move first.

  23. #23
    Member Member Dragoncrusader's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    A guide to the Germans

    Troops
    Type No /Experience /Attack /Total /mele/missil /Charge /Weapon Type /Defence Total /Armour /Skill /Shield /Hit Points /Recruit Cost /Upkeep /Special factors
    Barb Peasants 120 0 1 1 light 4 3 1 0 1 150 100 Woods Snow
    Skirm Warband 80 0 6/9 4 missile 3 0 1 2 1 220 130 Woods Snow
    Chosen Archer 81 1 12/14 5 Missile 13 8 5 0 1 560 180 Flaming wod/snw
    Spear Warband 121 1 10 8 light 12 3 4 5 1 510 200 Phalanx Wod/Snw
    Screech Women 80 0 11 7 heavy 1 0 1 0 1 320 130 Woods Snow
    Hounds 40 0 14 4 light 3 2 1 0 1 612 60 Woods Snow
    Axemen 81 1 12 7 heavy 10 3 5 2 1 450 120 Warcry Wod Snw
    Chosen Axemen 81 1 20 9 heavy 7 0 7 0 1 522 200 Warcry Wod Snw
    Beserkers 24 2 22 8 heavy 7 0 7 0 3 756 120 Warcry Wod Snw
    Naked Fanatics 80 2 16 6 light 9 0 4 5 1 430 130 Warcry Wod Snw
    Night Raiders 80 1 16 8 heavy 11 3 3 5 1 486 130 Warcry Wod Snw
    Barb Cav
    54 2 11 9 Light 12 3 5 4 1 400 90 Wedge Wod Snw
    Noble Barb Cav 54 0 11 10 light 15 6 5 4 1 600 160 Wedge Wod Snw
    Gothic Cavalry 54 3 17 10 light 23 10 9 4 1 632 190 Wedge Wod Snw
    Generals 24 0 14 10 light 14 4 6 4 22 940 92 Snow
    Hastiti 80 0 8/12 2 heavy 14 5 4 5 1 440 170
    Equites 54 0 8 7 light 12 3 5 4 1 390 110 wedge

    Tech Tree

    Town Large Town Minor City
    Govern Warrior Hold (Peasants) Warlords Hold (Diplomat) High Kings Hall (Gen Bodyguard +1)
    Walls Wooden Palisade Stockade na
    Barracks Musterfield (Spear Warb) Meeting Hall (Axemen) Hall of Heroes (Chosen Axemen)
    Stables na Stables (Barb Cav, Hounds) Warlords Stables (Barb Noble Cav)
    Rangesna Practice range (Skirm warb) Archery Range (Chosen Archer)
    Smiths na Blacksmith needs trader (weapons +1) Weaponsmith needs market (Weapons +1 Armour +1)
    Port na Port (1 trade fleet)(boats) Shipwrght (2 trade flt)(large boat)
    Farm Land clearance (food +1) Commnl farming (food +2) X
    Roads Roads (trade + travel) x x
    Tavern na Tavern (Public Order +5%) Bardic Circle (Order +10% Nightstalker)
    Trade Trader (populus + 0.5%) Market (populus +0.5% Spy) Great Market (populus +0.5% Assassin)
    Freya Happy +5% Populus +0.5% Screeching Women Happy +10% Populus +1% Happy +15% Populus +1.5%
    Donar Happy +5% Happy +10% Experience+1 Happy +15% Experience +2 Beserker
    Woden Happy +5% Experience+1 Happy +10% Experience+2 Naked Fanatics Happy +15% Experience +3 Gothic Cavalry


    Short campaign set at medium/medium. Objectives 15 provinces and outlive Dacia and Scythia. These factions are very similar to Germania but the Dacians have some armoured infantry and the Scythians lots of horse archers but neither have any spears.

    Overview
    Your starting position is good because you have five provinces in Central Europe and these are surrounded by rebel ones. But you are going to need it because you have a small population, low population growth and low level technology (Germania can only build up to Minor Cities) and this can present a challenge in a long game. So the plan is to expand widely and fast before the other factions can get established and to challenge the Romans early as possible.

    Development
    You have 2 large towns Damme and Mogontiacum with 3000 souls and a technology goal of 6000 and these should be developed first into your troop producing centres and you should aim to get at least one of them up a tech level to Minor City. I had Mogontiacum, as a cavalry and missile troops centre for Noble Cavalry and Chosen Archers so that there was less of a drain on the population and built it first into a Minor City. I built the temple line to Woden to get Gothic Cavalry. Damme became the infantry centre and had the temple line to Donar and developed more slowly. Develop the other towns with level 1 items such as a palisade, farm, roads, trader and a temple to Freya for population growth. Have a garrison of 1 Peasant in each and 3 spear warbands on frontier towns. I doubt if there will be enough spare cash or people to develop any of the Towns into Large Towns early in the game but if you can, build a musterfield in Batavadurum and use this to supply extra warbands. Later you can build a port here when it grows into a Large Town. You only get four family members so have a governor in each of the two large towns and two armies. In the early game I make it a rule only to spend the PROFITS from each year and to leave the balance as an emergency fund. You will have to more population into the three towns that you are developing and you can do this by recruiting peasants, sending them to the developing town and then disbanding them.

    Economics
    Normally your low tech level, would be offset by trade income and you would have plenty of money. Not Germania. You will be short of cash all the game and I only managed to keep two 20 unit armies in the game with a 10 unit reserve and three frontier garrisons of four units each. About 65 units in total and about 10 diplomats and spies. Your farm income is low at between 300d and 450d a province and less than 200d in internal trade (due to poor roads) and you only get one mine in Vicus Gothi another 200d. External trade is difficult to get as you only have a port onto the North Sea and can only trade with Britannia and Gaul, both of whom are at war with you most of the time. My trade with Londinium was worth around 700d when it got going. Trade does build later when you capture the Black Sea and Gallic Mediterranean ports but by then you are facing the Romans, so you are going to need it. I kept two diplomats full time selling map information, one in Italy and Spain and the other in Greece and Anatolia. At between 5,000 and 15,000d a time this was a major source of revenue.

    Tactics
    Your troops are some of the best barbarian soldiers and the spear warband in phalanx formation is very powerful. Coupled with some Barbarian Cavalry to run down missile troops and routers and some axmen to cover flanks of the phalanx that is your early game army. It will defeat all the barbarian opponents, often when you are heavily out numbered. Just roll the army forward into the enemy and watch their centre crumble! Later you can add Noble Cavalry to crush the enemy’s cavalry and their flanks. When besieged just roll a phalanx into the breach and wait for the enemy to kill themselves. I normally have just three spear warbands so that I can cover all the breaches and a missile unit to keep off their missile units. I have seen just such a force kill an entire army of besieging Britons.

    Against the Scythians, you will need to take armoured cavalry to destroy their cavalry and infantry (and survive the arrows) and as many Chosen Archers (guarded by 4 spear warbands) and Mercenary Horse Archers as you can muster. You will suffer casualties but your firepower should keep the Horse Archers at bay and they are not a strong faction.

    Against the Romans, you need to guard your flanks but again you just need to roll the phalanx forward to destroy their centre. A single unit of spear warband is on a par with a unit of Hastatii so try and get all the armour and weapon upgrades that you can. Keep your units tight in a line so that you get local superiority when the Romans are more spread out trying to outflank you. What I find odd is that the recruitment cost of the Spear Warband is 70d greater than a unit of Hastatii and the upkeep 30d more. They have about the same combat power but you have a lot less money and population than any Roman Faction so these are relatively expensive units. You will need to fight every battle yourself so that you do not lose any men that you do not need to.

    Strategy
    You have a central position and will have to fight a war on two fronts using your interior lines to mass your troops against any threats that develop. Luckily you have the Alps to the south and if you can capture Iuvavum you can put a fort in the Alpine pass to the south to stop the Gauls/Romans coming that way. That leaves Gaul and Britannia in the West and Dacia, Macedonia and Thrace to the east. My strategy was to keep an army in the West and fight a slow war against Gaul and to neutralise Britannia through diplomacy – in the end they fought the Gauls instead. In the East, I sent every spare unit (about 30) to capture Dacia with Macedon and Thrace as allies and then sent a two pronged thrust into Scythia, one prong going along the Black Sea coast and the other through Pripet. I had just finished that in 243bc when the Brutii attacked from Pannonia but I was able to bring the army back from Scythia and Gaul to stop them. Game won. Continuing the game, I will take Greece to improve my economy and population and then southern Gaul and finally move into Italy.

    Starting Strategy
    270 BC Mass all your troops at Mogontiacum and your spy as your Eastern Army and send them to capture Lovosice, Vicus Marcomanni, Vicus Gothii and Bordesholm from the rebels. Move south to capture Iuvavum and built a fort in the pass through the Alps garrisoned by 3 spear units to stop forays from Italy. 263 BC Use Lovosice as a base to build up and retrain the army and then move into as much Dacian territory as you can before the Brutti get there. Capture Dacia by around 245 BC and then strike into Scythia using Vicus Marcomannias a base. The distances in the East are huge, so split up into small armies and try to capture as much of the Scythian hinterland in the first strike. It is not well defended as the Scythian army is at Campus Scythii facing the Thracians. Concentrate again at Tanais and destroy the Scythians in the province of Scythia around 230 BC. You are then positioned to move into Greece or against the Brutii as you wish but you have now won the short campaign.

    270 BC In the West send the diplomat to Alesia to get an alliance with the Gauls and sell them map information and then onto the Britons for trade agreement and map information. Build an army Batavodurum as the Britons will attack soon. When they do, counter attack and capture Samarobriva which should finish the Britons on the mainland for a while. If the Julii fight the Gauls, you may get peace there for a long time but if they go into Spain then the Gauls will attack you. They attacked me around 263 BC and I captured Alesia and sent about 1,500 of its population to Mogontiacum which finally became a minor city in 253 BC. The Gauls kept sending small armies up to Alesia which were easy to kill and kept the Britons under control with a diplomat. Around 240 BC having destroyed the bulk of the Gallic armies, I captured Lemonum and the British re-appeared on the mainland, got a bloody nose at Samarobriva and so went off to besiege Condate Redonum- a Gallic town! Captured Massilia around 230BC but kept other Gallic provinces alive as a buffer against the Julii.

    Gave up trying to control rebel armies, as I always seemed to have four and I could never seem to bribe them, even family members.

    I quite liked playing the Germans but got fed up with the lack of money and always having to scrape together units to get together a decent attacking army. Also the task of taking on Scythia was very dull as the distances were so huge and you were vulnerable to an attack back home. But they have the best barbarian army and can take on anyone. Am now going to try this emigrate to Rome strategy. Sounds like fun!
    Fiery death from above

  24. #24

    Default Re: Germania

    Nice units but no cash.

    I thought ppl were kidding when they said sell trade rights and maps for 10k or more...omg! it works

    The Scipii refused my deal for map info for 10k (5k had been my highest attempt up til then) the counter offer was 1925k/turn over 9 turns What could I do but (begrudgingly) say yes?

    A common theme here, and something I have seen as well. The Romans seem to make no headway against Gual while you are fighting. My diplomat in Italy does not see many troops, perhaps the best plan IS the Roman Blitz detailed above.

    edit:Lol, the only thing worse than your cash position is your population. It's now 230'ish and I have yet to see a city of 6000. When do these guys get archers? The Guals are spamming archers/foresters and chosen sword; despite losing every town outside Italy...none of which can produce archers btw

    Also, I have been enslaving everything I get my hands on and the pop. in my main towns is still tiny.
    Last edited by HopAlongBunny; 11-02-2004 at 23:10.
    Ja-mata TosaInu

  25. #25
    Member Member Mr Frost's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Quote Originally Posted by HopAlongBunny
    ...edit:Lol, the only thing worse than your cash position is your population. It's now 230'ish and I have yet to see a city of 6000. When do these guys get archers? The Guals are spamming archers/foresters and chosen sword; despite losing every town outside Italy...none of which can produce archers btw

    Also, I have been enslaving everything I get my hands on and the pop. in my main towns is still tiny.

    Pick which towns you want to become your top production centres and don't build anything there unless you absolutely need to {ie , you need Cav and non is available for hire and no other town can build them} . Your spears are the workhorse , but at 121 men per can drop a small population fast , use your secondary towns to produce these .
    You might try building peasants in a town you don't mind depopulating , and sending them to your chosen towns in a steady stream {disband them when they get in their new home and increase that towns population by 120 per unit} .
    Try getting the spearment to mate with the screaming women
    7 out of 10 people like me ,
    I'm not going to change for the other three .

  26. #26
    Guest Es Arkajae's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Quote Originally Posted by The Witch-King
    Ah, Germania, always a lot of fun. Here's an interesting strategy I read on the boards at TWcenter and which I've pulled off with great success

    Thats a good idea.

    Playing as Germania I abandoned Germany after building roads and one unit of peasants in each province and a couple extra spear warbands, and then moved all my forces down to the mountain pass just above Mediolanium.

    I took Mediolanium, built a fort blocking the road to Masilia to stop Gaul reinforcements and then took Patavium. Building up some more units over the next few turns (some axemen and naked fanatics), I also hired some barbarian cavalry mercs Then it was war against the Julii and other Roman factions. The battle against the combined Julii/SPQR armies was something fierce but from a good defensive position I let the Roman armies break on my wall of spears.

    Overtime I lost all of Germania to the Britons, Gauls and rebellion but I have all of mainland Italy and just took Sardinia (a quick hop from Rome and the AI usually won't attack ships in port).

    I couldn't have done it without the money gained from selling maps and sacking cities but now I have such an extensive domain I have money rolling in and two major armies in the field.

    The Julii are gone, the Brutii have been reduced to Salona and Apollonia, Rome is taken and is now my capital.

    The Scipii control all of Sicily, Thapsus and they're about to take Carthage, so I'll need to take them but it shouldn't be too diffcult with some smart transporting.

    Of course when I start going up against some phalanx armies my battles will probably get more difficult but a spear wall works wonders against the Romans.

    Great game, great idea mate

    Edit: as this is a guide I should probably add some better tips:p

    Here they are.

    * Spear walls are your friends, if on the defensive then find a place where you can protect your flanks and plant a wall and let your enemy come to you, place some axemen behind the line to send in as reinforcements to endangered parts of the line. Hold back your cavalry to chase routers or destroy missile troops that hang around after you've smashed their heavy infantry.

    * If on the offensive then march your spear wall right up to the enemy and then stop, same effect instead this time the mountain is coming to Mohammed. Just watch their cavalry around the flanks, use your own cavalry to intercept these or pin them until something better can arrive, standard stuff.

    * The AI will hardly ever attack forts, just four well placed forts in Northern Italy will help guard your back whilst your armies conquer their way South, at the worst case the enemy will attack, you won't be able to bribe them and you will lose the fort and the single unit inside. However you will have bought time to rush one of your armies north to reinforce your two northern cities.

    * The AI will hardly ever (if ever) attack ships in port, Sardinia is just one quick hop away from Rome, Sicily from Capua and Carthage from Lilybaeum, you don't have to engage the Roman navies just avoid them when you transport an army.

    * A tactic I considered when going up against the Julii/SPQR army, its a gross exploit so I didn't use it, by result the battle was much closer but I felt more manly but if you're stuck then maybe its for you.

    Plant your spear wall right in the corner of the deployment screen on defensive battles with a flank on each edge, as soon as the battle starts move them backwards so that there is no way around their flanks at all, stick all your other units behind them. Use screeching women/warcries whatever to buck up your line, maybe stick some skimirshers behind it too.

    Unless you fight like 'an old woman or an idiot' you will not lose that battle.
    Last edited by Es Arkajae; 11-11-2004 at 22:00.

  27. #27
    Saupreuss Member Stefan the Berserker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Quote Originally Posted by The Witch-King
    Ah, Germania, always a lot of fun. Here's an interesting strategy I read on the boards at TWcenter and which I've pulled off with great success. If it works, you've won the game, it's as simple as that. When you begin take ALL your troops and gather them into two large stacks near the town below your capital, I believe it's called Mongotiacum. Don't spent money on your towns, you won't be staying in these worthless lands. Buy a couple of spearbands in Mongotiacum and Trier and send them to join your armies while you wait for the troops from Vicus Marcomanni to arrive. Build some diplomats too (another two will do), they'll be invaluable to get money, which you'll desperately need. Now march south into Noricum, but ignore the town, you have bigger fish to fry. Send your diplomats to sell trade rights and maps to everyone you come across, you can often make 5000-10000 denarii with this. March your two armies into Italy and cross the Po river into Julii lands. Attack the Julii and lay siege to both their main towns. Build some rams, attack the next turn and exterminate, you need the money and you an't afford to keep a large garrison. Make Arminium your capital, you are here to stay! By now all the Romans will be at war with so push on to Rome as soon as possible. The Senate army is your greatest foe, the Scipii are probably busy on Sicily and it'll take the Brutii some time to march some troops to northern Italy. Lay siege to Rome, but do not attack. Those walls are deadly! If you're lucky the Senate will do something stupid, like attack your besieging army (you did remember to bring as many troops as possible, didn't you?). Defeat the SPQR army (nasty buggers with good weapons and armor, so use your spearmen to hold the line and flank them with your cav), if you're lucky you can destoy the SPQR troops inside Rome as they join the battle and capture the city the next turn. Exterminate the populace. Congratulations, you've captured Rome, including some very nice 3rd tier buildings!.

    By now the Britons will undoubtedly have attacked your deserted holdings in your old lands. Let them! The lands are worthless and you did sell all the buildings, didn't you? Let the Britons waste time and effort buidling up these tiny hamlets. The Gauls will also inevitably attack you with their crappy warband/swordmen combo armies. Easy fodder for your spearbands, just don't let them swarm you. In the mean time your diplomats are running all over Europe selling traderights and maps to everyone they meet. By now you will have built up a large deficit (-10000 k and you'll be losing money for some time) and you need to get out of the red fast! Your armies will have taken losses and you need pecunia to retrain and reinforce your troops!

    Retrain and reinforce your army in Rome (be sure to build shrines everywhere, preferably to Wodan) and march on Capua. Be careful here, I suffered a nasty defeat when the Scipii faction leader sallied forth from the town. He's a nasty bugger who can devastate your army. I destroyed him in a second battle but he took a while to die, so don't overextend your forces!

    The Brutii will keep sending small to medium sized armies to Arminium, so keep a sizable force there. Hastati and Velites are no match Spearbands and Barbarian Cav, so it's shouldn't be a prob. The Julii are effectively neutered with their two main towns gone. It's possible they've taken both Caralis and Segesta. Take Segesta from them to drive them off the mainland. They may land armies but it's probably just a ragtag band of Hastati, peasants and townwatch, easy fodder for your spearbands (great unit and the key to victory!) so ignore Caralis for now. After you've taken Capua reinforce your army and swiftly march on to Tarentum, siege it, take it next turn, exterminate and march on to Croton. Rinse and repeat.

    By now the Brutii are stuck in Greece and the Dalmatian coast and the Scipii are probably holding all of Sicily. Keep a large army near Croton and Tarentum, both the Scipii and the Brutii will occasionally send armies to take those cities. In northern Italy the Gauls are probably making a nuisance of themselves, so help yourself and take the two cities they have there and reifoce the pass leading to transalpine Gaul. Your original homelands have probably been taken by the Britons or have rebelled due to unhappiness. No matter, you now possess all of Italy and you should be making a profit by now and have some cash in your treasury from all those sackings. Build up Rome to make all those highend units you normally can't build until 150 BC. It won't take long, due to the excellent infrastructure in the Roman towns. Now build up an army and a fleet. A small expedition will be enough to finish of the Julii. The Scipii will take more troops but shouldn't really be a problem. And what do you do when you've taken Sicily? By now you're in a practically unassaillable position to take over the world! Be sure to send the Gauls and Britons your regards, preferably by a large army made up of Gothic Cavalry! I'm sure their warbands will appreciate the gesture. :p
    I did this also, but keep one of your heirs at the western border and build peasants for Garrison in Germania after you reached Italy. When you attack the roman Cities, enslave their population and the northern villages will soon grow fine... Then you'll be having two Empires, the grown-up Germany and the captured Italy. If you connect the two pieces to one by captuering Iuvavum, Mediolanum and Patavium from the Gauls you have the H.R.E.o.G.N. in the Ancient!

    Other emigrations do also work, you can easyly win the short Campaign if you travel to the Balkans and put up somekind of Austria-Hungary in the West or Ostrogoth-Empire in Romania...

  28. #28
    Mad Professor Senior Member Hurin_Rules's Avatar
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    Default Re: Germania

    Just finished my first campaign as Germania on m/vh. Really fun. A few points I noticed:

    First I tried smashing the Britons right off the bat. This did not work. The problem was that by attacking Samarobriva I overextended myself and invited attacks by both Britons and Gauls. I took Samarobriva, but had to fight off three major armies in about 6 or 7 turns. I defeated them all, but my army was battered and the Gauls immediately took the city back. I spent a lot of money and was back to square one.

    I started again and went with the "let Trier be Verdun" strategy-- build up Trier as a defensive town to suck in the inevitable attacks by Gaul and Britannia, while concentrating on expanding into north and east into the Baltic in particular. Once I had some good incom from places like Bordesholm and Vicus Gothi, I could hold off both Gaul and Britannia. After building up a while I got Batavodurum to build a ship, landed and took Londinium. After that, the Brits slowly weakened and I turned my attention to Gaul. They were fighting the Julii so it went easier than expected. I took all of France and made some forts to guard the Pyrrennes and the Alps. Then I invaded northern Italy (taking out Dacia, which was one of the conditions for short campaign victory), pushed into and took about 2/3 of Italy, including Rome. Things slowed a bit after that as Marius' reforms meant his troops outclassed mine (and I was getting to lazy to fight each battle--autoresolve sucks!). Then I sent my fastest troops and mercenaries east to take Scythia. That took a long time, as he had stretched all the way to campus Alanni, and it took 15 turns just to get there!

    In terms of tactics, chosen archer warbands are great against the Romans pre-Marius. I just set up my phalanxes and dared him to attack; if he didn't, my archers decimated his troops; if he attacked, my spears pinned him while my cavalry flanked. I hope they work on the AI for the patch, as it is pretty stupid.

    Never found naked fanatics to be of much use-- too fragile. Gothic cavalry are good; I also bought some Sarmatian mercenaries but I was disappointed in their performance.
    Last edited by Hurin_Rules; 11-15-2004 at 00:07.
    "I love this fellow God. He's so deliciously evil." --Stuart Griffin

  29. #29
    Member Member Mightypeon's Avatar
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    May 2004
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    Default Re: Germania

    I found out that it is possible to hold the western border, expand into Behmiea, civus Gothi and Bordesholm and crush rome in the same time.
    However you would have to do some "phase spear" or deploy at the end of the field abuse for it.
    For those who dont know: phase spear takes advatnadge of the affect that Phalanx troops can attack through Walls. Place you Phalanx directly beihind a gate (put guard on). You should see their spears sticking out on the other side.
    The approaching enemy rams will not be able to do damage because your spears are long enough to kill the first 2 soldiers who man the ram.
    The other abuse invloves setting up in the edges.
    4 Phalanxes can esily strecht an edge, make sure that there is no room to flank you nad have a field day.

  30. #30
    The Maiden Member Jeanne d'arc's Avatar
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    Dec 2002
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    Default Re: Germania

    If u dont wonna have the pleasure in dealing with those Gaul forester warbands, expand towards Alesia and dispatch an army from there east towards patavium and mediolanium.Make sure u take the road through the mountains(less chanche in getting ambushed and in my game it was unprotected) , it leads right into the area of these 2 core troop producing cities.Use a spy to scope the area first though cause they usually have a field army nearby.Then attack and pillage both cities, it will make good money.Leave the cities for the Gauls while in the meanwhile u can expand your kingdom towards these cities and by the time u get there they might be rebuild making them ideal to help forge an army for your move towards Rome.
    En nom Dieu!

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