This entire section is the work of Tamur. Rather than repeat his excellent diplomacy guide I decided to include it, with his kind permission. So, until otherwise noted this is Tamur’s work. This version of his guide dates from October 10th and is out of date on some points. He has also added some more advanced information to his later versions. Please find his topic, along with a download of the latest version of his guide, here. I think that the version in this guide is better for beginners, while the latest version is perfect for intermediate and advanced players who want to go the extra mile.
Introduction
Rome: Total War offers a challenging new dimension to the Total War series – deep diplomacy. Your diplomatic agents now have many possible offers and demands they can tender toward any faction in the game. As the game describes it, "A diplomat is an individual trained in the arts of flattery, cajolery, smooth talking and sometimes even bullying who is sent out to deal with rival factions. It is his job to strike bargains, cement peace treaties or even demand a surrender. Diplomats also act as the eyes and ears of their factions in the places they go."
This guide is by no means complete. As new or corrected information comes available it will be updated. Because of the depth and complexity available on the campaign map, the Diplomatic Strategies section will be constantly added to as players find new ways to utilise this tremendous dimension of the game.
Although I would like to claim that all the words are mine, there are many others who have contributed to this document. Parts of the descriptions have been taken from the game itself, and someone (or some few, more likely) at CA deserve a big thanks for making this part of the game as robust as it is. Players have contributed a great deal with their insights. I'd like to thank Thoros of Myr for being the catalyst to the project with his understanding of the diplomatic side of the game, and all the great people at the Org who express their views eloquently and with passion.
Note: Text in dark red points out areas where the information available is questionable, incomplete, or otherwise in need of more research.
If you read something incorrect, find missing information, or have answers to questions raised in this document, please feel free to contact me (Tamur) directly via email: cicero3558@yahoo.com
Conducting Negotiations
The Mechanics of Haggling
To open any negotiation, you need someone to negotiate with, and you need a goal. For a quick list of possible goals, see the Senate Missions section later. For now, though, we'll assume that you want to open your first negotiation with the Gauls, who are neutral to you. You want to gain trade rights, which allows commerce to flow between your towns and the towns the Gauls occupy.
First select one of your diplomats, and move him into Gallic territory. It's often best to send a spy in before your diplomat so you can see where the faction's family members are, and where cities are. Although some say it makes no difference, there are those who claim to have gotten better results from negotiating at cities, or better yet from negotiating at the faction's capital.
Once your diplomat is in Gallic territory, right-click on any agent, or a city, belonging to the Gauls. The negotiation screen will open up. Note: you don't need to be in a faction's territory to negotiate with them – you simply need to be able to right-click on a faction's agent.
On the negotiations panel, there are two main parts.
The left half contains all your diplomatic options. These change based on your standing with a faction. A faction to which you are neutral will have different diplomatic options available than one with which you are at war, or allied.
The right half contains all the current proposals. When you first open up negotiations, this will be empty. If an emissary from another faction has sought you out, then this will be full with their offers and demands.
The offers section, as well as the demands section, is split up into two (well, three, but Bribes are different) sections: Offers, and Demands. The Description of Offers & Demands section lists and describes all possible offers and demands (so far discovered anyway).
With this screen open, you can Offer something by clicking on one or more of the items under Make Offer. These are things you are proposing to do. In our example, we want to gain Trade Rights from the Gauls so our towns can start sending goods to their towns, and vice versa. We find "Trade Rights" under the Make Offer section, and click it. "Trade Rights" has now moved to the right side of the negotiations panel. You can cancel that offer by simply clicking on it in the right panel, and it will move back into your possibilities and be removed from your current offers.
You can Demand something by clicking on one or more of the items under the Make Demand heading. These are things that you are proposing that the other faction do. In our example, we don't want to demand anything because "Trade Rights" is an offer-only proposal. See the Offers & Demands section for more information about offer-only proposals.
Some options have further information you need to provide. For example, if you click "Attack Faction" under the Make Offer header, then you'll need to specific which faction you're offering to attack. If you demand "Regular Tribute", then you'll need to specify how much per turn, and how many turns (half-years) you want them to pay that amount.
Propose, Give as Gift, and Inform
Once you've finished adding offers and demands, you need to "table" the proposal. There are three buttons on the bottom right corner of the negotiation panel.
Propose simply sends the proposal you've crafted to the faction you're negotiating with. They consider it and reply (which we'll cover later).
Give as Gift will simply give whatever you're offering to your negotiating partner. Any of your Make Offer options that are not by nature reciprocal (such as Trade Rights or Alliance) can be given as gifts.
An earlier version of this guide reported that factions cannot turn down gifts – this is not true. Factions apparently can turn down gifts on occasion, most often stating, "We cannot match this offer." The reasons for this are unclear.
If you give a gift, it means that the faction in question has no obligation to repay your generosity. Giving a profitable province to a faction as a gift is probably not a good idea. The friendliness of the gesture is likely to be cancelled out by the greed it generates.
Gifts can tip the balance in negotiations with a faction. However, you can either give gifts in a negotiating session, or offer/demand in a standard fashion. You cannot combine both in the same negotiating session.
It is possible to give a gift and follow that gift up immediately with a request for something like Military Access or Alliance if the faction has been reticent before to give in to these requests previously. But again, the gift-receiver has no obligation to return the favour.
Inform is an option only when you are making a "Cancel" offer, such as Cancel Alliance. Offers such as these have no bargaining involved. You are cancelling the agreement, and your word is final.
Accept, Reject, and Counter-Offer
When an offer has been tabled, the other faction has the option of accepting it, rejecting it, or giving you a counter-offer. If you are receiving a diplomat, then when the negotiations open you will have these three options immediately to reply to their proposal.
Acceptance is simply giving the thumbs up to an offer. At that point the negotiation becomes "legally binding", though of course treaties can fall apart rather quickly sometimes.
Rejection puts an end to the current set of proposals. This doesn't mean that negotiations are necessarily over – a new proposal can be tabled by you or the other party. But it does mean that the proposal as it stood was entirely unacceptable to the party who rejected it.
A counter-offer is the position between acceptance and rejection. Receiving a counter-offer (or giving one out) is a very encouraging sign. It means that your negotiating partner is serious about your proposal, but they feel that it's unfairly weighted toward your side. Most often they will counter-offer something weighted to their side, and the position closer to the middle of the two is where an agreement will be reached.
Bribes
Bribes fall into their own category. You can bribe neutral or enemy units of any type. Bribe an enemy army, and they melt into the countryside. Successfully bribe a faction family member, and they turn traitor and join your cause. Bribe another diplomat, spy, or assassin, and they are yours for the using.
When bribing, you simply need to approach the unit you want to bribe with a diplomat (right-click). Click Bribe above the Make Offer header, and sit back to watch the fun. The bribed unit will either outright refuse, or will demand a certain number of denarii. You can haggle with them on the amount. If your bribe is accepted, you will see their faction flag change to yours. In most cases, if you bribe an army, it will simply disappear.
There are two cases where this is not true. First, if you are playing one of the Roman factions, and manage to bribe the army of another Roman faction, then the army doesn't melt away – it becomes yours to use.
The second case is when you bribe another faction's family member. If you successfully bribe a family member, they are by default adopted into your family (no option to not adopt them). They appear as "sons" under a sponsoring family member. The mechanics of who is given the privilege of sponsoring a bribed family member is currently not understood.
Threats
One special case in the Make Offer section needs some explanation. Accept or We Will Attack is in the offer section. This translates any demand it's attached to into a threat.
The successful use of this option is restricted to the case where you have marched in enemy lands, beaten them repeatedly in battle, and know via spying that they have been severely weakened by your onslaught. The negotiating partner who receives a demand with Accept or We Will Attack tagged must have been recently attacked, and beaten, before acceding to this threat.
When it works, it can get you the largest diplomatic prizes in the game (such as Protectorate Status or Region Giving). If it doesn't, you've probably killed off diplomatic possibilities with this faction for a good while to come.
How Do I...
This section functions as a FAQ about the larger-scale mechanics of diplomacy, and as such does contain a lot of spoilers. If you're interested in digging through the diplomatic engine yourself and discovering what works and what doesn't it'd be best to skip this section entirely and move in to the next!
That said, those who struggle with the diplomatic engine should find many of their questions answered here in easy-to-find form. This information is scattered throughout the guide in different places.
... secure a treaty of Military Access?
If you've tried, you know it's near impossible to simply demand Military Access with an open-ended "you name the price" approach. Even gifting regions will not work in most cases.
Make Single Payment is your friend here. Approach the faction whose lands you want military access to, and demand Military Access, then offer a single payment of around 4000 denarii. If they don't go for that, or make a counter-offer, then open a new proposal and offer them 6000 denarii. You can keep going up by 2000 denarii until you get an acceptance or a counter-offer.
If you have to go above 12000 denarii it's often not worth the price, but that depends on your situation in the game.
... pad my treasury using my diplomats?
There are a number of ways to do this.
First, if you've got a good map to offer, you can make anywhere between 2000 and 8000 denarii each time you sell your map. Remember, though, that each faction will probably only buy your map once. You'll also get a better price for your map the farther away you travel from your own lands.
Second, securing trade rights with as many factions as possible gives you a much better chance that the goods from your regions will find buyers happy to fork over the denarii. Your ports especially will appreciate this, since they switch their trade lines to the most affluent ports available to them.
Third, a good diplomat in combination with a large army or invasion force can get you a lot. If you are attacking a faction and have been winning all your battles against them, then you can use the "Accept or We Will Attack" threat to coerce tribute, single payments, settlements, or protectorate status out of a faction. Of course, tribute and single payments are the only way to make some quick cash.
... add to my diplomat's influence?
Station diplomats near all of your ally's capitals, and keep pestering them for this or that little thing. The more you use your diplomats, the more influence they will gain.
Travel is a big help as well. Some traits and retinue characteristics come only from going well outside your faction's boundaries. Picking up a Foreign Hostage, for instance, can only happen if your diplomat is in a war zone or recently conquered territory. Becoming a Linguist requires going into foreign lands. Don't keep your diplomats in safe places their entire career, or you'll have a lot of very uninspiring diplomats to work with.
... use "Accept or We Will Attack"?
See the description of Accept or We Will Attack in the Offers & Demands Description section. Basically you need to pummel a faction thoroughly, then back off for a round or two, then send in a good diplomat to start demanding things with this threat as the only offer in the negotiation.
Squeamish diplomats will not like doing this, but if those @#$^@! who became your worst enemy thirty years ago finally give in to an Accept or We Will Attack demand, it's a great feeling of fulfilled revenge!
Diplomatic Strategies
This section is a rough-and-ready guide to strategies on the diplomatic level. These are listed in no particular order.
1. The Caesar Maneuver
Summary Quote:
"We could destroy you, but..."
Description:
Move a diplomat around in enemy territory with a large and well-seasoned army. The army defeats anything in its way, and lays siege to a rich settlement (or even the faction capital). Then the diplomat moves in to offer a better alternative.
Offer/Demand Combos:
Ceasefire / Regular Tribute
Ceasefire / Give Region
Ceasefire / Become Protectorate
Ceasefire / Military Access
When To Use:
* When a faction has refused any offers more than an in-word alliance and you need to force an issue, such as Military Access.
* As punishment when a faction breaks an alliance or cancels Trade Rights.
* Anytime you don't mind being seen as a bully.
2. The Cleopatra Maneuver
Summary Quote:
"Here, we know you'll like this..."
Description:
Station a diplomat at a faction's capital, and as much as you can afford it, gift cash, provinces, etc, to them. Wait a turn, then ask about what you're really after.
Offer/Demand Combos:
(all offer-only gifts)
Give Region
Make Single Payment
Regular Tribute
Attack Faction
When To Use:
* When a faction has refused demands for Military Access or Alliance.
* When you're working to move a recent Ceasefire to an Alliance.
* Anytime you want to be seen as a generous, kind-hearted faction with altruistic motives.
3. The Pompey Maneuver
Summary Quote:
"You idiots need this more than I do."
Description:
Fulfill another faction's Senate obligation by taking a settlement when they're unable to take, then give the settlement to the faction who should have taken it. Optionally, try swapping this region for one more suited to your geographic preference. A variation is to give the region to the Senate.
Offer/Demand Combos:
Give Region (as Gift)
Give Region / Give Region
Give Region / Make Single Payment
When To Use:
* When you want to gain standing with the People (giving to SPQR faction).
* When you want to be seen as an insufferable snot by the other factions.
* When you need cash. You can raze the settlement (Exterminate Population), then give it to another faction to repair, but sell it at a high price.
4. The Caelius Maneuver
Summary Quote:
"I'm sure you'd all rather just go back home and farm a bit, right?"
Description:
Prepare a large siege army on the border of a province you want to take. Send a spy and your best (or at least a four-Influence) diplomat into the province. Bribe every single one of the armies in the province, then walk your seige army in and take care of anyone who wasn't bought off.
Offer/Demand Combos:
Can be followed up with
Give Region / Make Single Payment
When To Use:
* If you spy out a province you want to take, and find that the enemy have swarms of small or large armies that you don't want the expense and hassle of mopping up for two or three years.
* If you want a quick quick way to beggar a faction (i.e. take a settlement with this maneuver, then offer it back to them at a high price).
* When you have a large treasury and not much patience for battles.
* If you want to quickly stun an enemy's military, and know that a significant portion of their military forces are stationed in or near this province.
5. The Robin Hood Maneuver
Summary Quote:
"These saucy varlets need a good drubbing, and we will all share in the tasty proceeds."
Description:
Prepare a large siege army, and place them in a province that fulfils the following conditions:
* You can get to it without crossing territory that isn't yours or isn't Military Access-ible, and...
* The province borders a faction who you have an alliance with, and whose land you want military access to, or whom you want to have as firmly-bound allies, and...
* The province also borders a faction with whom your ally is at war
It may seem like a lot, but these are all over the map most of the time.
After you have picked out this province, move one well-skilled diplomat to your ally's capital, and one to the capital of the faction about to be pounced on.
Once you have your army and agents in place, besiege and capture a settlement of the faction with whom your ally is at war. Exterminate the populace, and as soon as you've got it, offer the region to your ally faction, with a generous sum of denarii (6000 or up, depending on how skilled your diplomat is) – but couple these two offers with a demand for Military Access. If they refuse outright, up the Single Payment amount until they do accept.
Once Military Access is secured, move onward to smash the faction you took the settlement from. After you've defeated any major forces, especially if you're able to kill one of their faction members, give them a Ceasefire proposal with either Protectorate or Regular Tribute attached. Let them tribute for a couple of turns, then end the tribute early and offer an Alliance. Use the tribute money to buy Military Access.
This most often results in having vast regions of land in which you can move your armies. It also results in a stable section of the world from which you don't have to worry about invasion.
Offer/Demand Combos:
Too much to break out, see Description.
When To Use:
* When you need to secure a troublesome border area so you can focus on matters elsewhere.
* When you want to test out the diplomatic prowess of your best agents.
Diplomatic Disasters
Sometimes things don't go exactly the way you expect them to. Sometimes it's not even close. This section aims to cover the basic diplomatic problems that happen, and how to recover from them.
1. The Wandering Army
Description:
An army from a faction who have no Military Access treaty with you moves into your territory but doesn't attack anything. This also happens when you mistakenly (or intentionally) move your army into a territory of another faction from whom you have not secured Military Access.
Results:
If you are playing a Roman faction, you will receive notification from the Senate telling you to move your army out of that faction's territory or suffer the consequences. The consequences of not moving are that the Senate will probably investigate your family's finances, and (if the Quaestor that year is not part of your family) will likely levy a whopping fine on you. Fines as high as 90000 denarii have been reported by players. They may also bar your family from Senate office for a period of two to four years.
Recovery:
If you are the perpetrator, then you need to immediately move your army back into your territory, or territory for which you have gained Military Access. This will avoid any retribution from the Senate and the neutral faction in question.
If you are on the receiving end of such a move, and you have a diplomat in the area, then you can try bribing the army (if you have the cash, of course). There are no diplomatic options currently for demanding that an army to whom you are neutral move their wandering army out of your lands. Hopefully this scenario does not happen too often, though up in the steppes of Scythia and Pripet it's bound to happen.
2. Refusal on All Offers
Description:
A faction refuses all of your offers, even Region gifts.
Results:
You should prepare for an attack from this faction. If they will accept nothing from you, it is likely that they are preparing for war. The old MTW engine would accept peace treaties the round before it launched a major invasion. In RTW, this happens rarely (though it still happens).
Recovery:
Simply leave the faction alone, and move armies to the border to build forts and defend against incursions. Leaving one of your diplomats in their area is a good idea, because then you at least have the possibility that this faction will use your easily-accessed diplomat to get messages to you. However, your diplomat should be on the watch for assassins.
Description of Offers and Demands
The following list is a complete list of all possible offers and demands you can use in a negotiating session.
Alliance (offer only)
Stances: neutral only
Description:
If you offer an alliance, you are offering to solidify relations with a faction. These solid relations will be demonstrated by you by (1) not attacking the allied faction, (2) leaving trade routes open between yourself and the allied faction. Additionally, the alliance can be made stronger by not attacking your new ally's own allies. It can also be made stronger by expanding the trade routes between you and your new ally by building better roads between your cities and the allies' cities, or expanding ports which service your ally's harbours.
Clarification:
No additional info needed.
Tips:
Alliances are most often accepted when there has been some previous history of contact between two factions. The most common negotiated lead-in to a successful alliance proposal is to exchange map information and cement trade rights. Let trade flow for a little while (a year or two). Also important is to consider the question, "Who are the allies and enemies of this faction?" If their enemies are your allies, your diplomat is likely to walk away empty-handed unless he's got a large treasury behind him, as well as a good influence rating. It's still possible to cement an alliance in this situation, but there is no possibility for stronger ties than an in-word alliance. If you want to move from a state of war to an Alliance with a faction, you must first negotiate a Ceasefire, then work to fulfil the qualifications above to secure an alliance.
Cancel Alliance (offer only)
Stances: ally only
Description:
If you are currently allied with a faction, you can offer to cancel the alliance. If this offer is simply placed out on its own, then the cancel is unilateral – no matter what they think, your faction will cease all formal ties to that faction. If, on the other hand, there is a Demand associated with this offer, then this offer translates into a threat, with the demand side being "protection money".
Clarification:
No additional info needed.
Tips:
Although this is a simple diplomatic maneuver, in can have far-reaching consequences. If the faction you're cancelling the alliance with share other allies with you, then there's the possibility that you will lose more than one alliance by doing this. Be sure you can handle the sudden loss of those ties, with the resulting drop in trade income. It may not happen, but best be prepared.
Trade Rights (offer only)
Stances: neutral or ally
Description:
You can offer to give a faction trade rights. This is bilateral – if they accept, then trade is allowed to happen between your cities and theirs, and your ports and theirs. Trade rights can be granted with or without an alliance. They are vital to the economic and growth ability of any faction who aren't world powers. Trade rights benefit both your faction and the faction you are giving rights to. If you want to make life difficult for a faction, cancel or do not give trade rights to them, and encourage other factions to attack your target faction, thus cutting off trade to other factions as well.
Clarification:
No additional info needed.
Tips:
Besides Map Information, this is the most basic relation any two factions can have. Since, as said above, it is mutually beneficial, expect little resistance when proposing a trade agreement. If they turn it down, however, it's likely that an examination of the web of alliances and enemies will show that you've severely ticked off one of their strongest allies. If that's the case, and really do want trade with a faction that has denied it, then patch up relations with that ally of theirs, then propose it again.
Cancel Trade Rights (offer only)
Stances: neutral or ally
Description:
You can offer to cancel trade rights, with or without a Demand associated with it. This works in exactly the same way as Cancel Alliance.
Clarification:
No additional info needed.
Tips:
Again, take care to examine the web of alliances and enemies to make sure that this cancelling will have handle-able side effects.
Military Access (offer & demand)
Stances: ally only
Description:
If you offer Military Access to a faction, you are offering that faction the ability to move their armies into your provinces without fear of reprisals. Conversely, if you demand Military Access from a faction, then you're asking for the ability to move your armies on their land safely. An alliance with reciprocal military access is probably the strongest form of alliance in the game. This allows them to aid you against enemies in your lands, and allows you to aid them against their enemies. A side benefit of this is that you can march through an ally's provinces to attack another faction without having the constant pressure of a border to maintain. Your ally's provinces act as the buffer zone between you and your enemy in that situation. Your ally will be grateful for the help, and you will be grateful not to have a large border to fortify.
Clarification:
No additional info needed.
Tips:
To successfully negotiate for Military Access, you must be either neutral to or enemies with a faction's enemies. Alliance with a faction's enemy will almost completely eliminate the possibility of successfully negotiating for Military Access. Also, if you currently have a Military Access treaty, then making an alliance with that faction's enemies will almost certainly spell doom for your Military Access. Since Military Access is a level of trust beyond the standard, you may be required to give more than offering bilateral Military Access. If you've assured that there are no alliance conflicts, and a faction turns down a request for bilateral Access, try again but offer a single payment, or tribute over a couple of turns. If you're desperate for Military Access, you can try offering a settlement.
Attack Faction (offer & demand)
Stances: any
Description:
Offering to attack a faction, or demanding that the faction you're negotiating with attack a faction, can be done without an alliance. You either offer or demand the attack, specify which faction is the target, and hope for the best. See tips on the nuances of using this negotiating chip.
Clarification:
When either offering or demanding an attack on a faction, you need to specify which faction should be the target of the attack. If you offer to attack, then the faction you specify is the one that you promise to launch an attack on. If you demand an attack, then the faction you specify is the one who you want your negotiating partner's faction to attack. There is no year or turn limit set. This makes the process of judging whether a faction has fulfilled this obligation rather abstract. Couple this with the fact that you cannot effectively see where any AI faction moves it's armies, and you have a completely untraceable promise. So, take this one with a grain of salt.
Tips:
When offering to attack another faction, you are throwing in a bargaining chip to gain something with a demand. Your demand will come either with the offer to attack, or later, and the faction you're negotiating with know this. They know there are no free gifts in the world of diplomacy. If you go into a negotiation knowing this, then you can understand that, if you demand that a faction attack another faction, then you will be expected to pay up. This either means you need to pay them enough to recover any possible losses (this could add up to a large amount), or you need to offer at the same time to attack one of their enemies to whom you are currently neutral.
Give Region (offer & demand)
Stances: any
Description:
You can offer a region to a faction as part of negotiations (or as the entirety of a negotiation), or you can demand that a region be given to you. In game terms region translates into province. When you give a region, it means that you must move your armies out of the province's main settlement during the turn in which you negotiate the region transfer. If you don't, you'll likely receive a message calling you a liar and possibly breaking off diplomatic relations with you. As should be obvious, giving a province to another faction is a big step, for which you should expect a large reward. If a province is near rebellion, has large squalor problems, etc, then expect the same payback as if you were trying to sell a rust-pitted vehicle with no engine. You can offer multiple regions at one time.
Clarification:
You will need to specify the region(s) offered. This consists of going through a list of all the provinces that you own (except where you've specified your capitol to be) and putting a check beside the one(s) you want to offer.
Tips:
Provinces mean revenue, population, and unit production power all in one nice package. This can be a very powerful bargaining chip. It won't work in the most severe cases (such as if you are negotiating for Military Access with someone whose enemy is your ally), but the giving of a region can be a huge economic and social benefit to a faction. Use with care. You can couple a Give Region offer with a Give Region demand, effectively swapping provinces with another faction. Depending on who you talk to, this is an effective way to cement an alliance, though the cases in which it is rejected are unclear.
Make Single Payment (offer & demand)
Stances: any
Description:
This is simply the giving of a single one-time lump of cash to another faction, or the demand of a one-time lump sum from another faction. Often this is used to balance out what would otherwise be an unfair negotiation. For example, if you give a region like Attica, which has huge income potential, for a region like landlocked Tribus Iazyges, you will probably also tag in a Make Single Payment to balance the transaction.
Clarification:
You will need to specify the amount which you will give (offer), or which you expect to receive (demand).
Tips:
This is the single most flexible tool in your negotiations toolkit. Use it to balance your own proposals, counter-propose to the AI faction's requests (which are often weighted on their side quite a bit), buy large favours for your faction, and so forth. If you have a vast treasury, this is the tool to use to accomplish what would otherwise be impossible.
Regular Tribute (offer & demand)
Stances: any
Description:
Like Make Single Payment, demanding and offering a regular tribute is a purely financial transaction. However, demanding tribute is demoralising to anyone receiving such a demand, and is often viewed as a hostile action. Demanding and getting Regular Tribute damages the enemy's ability to create an army, build defences, make city improvements, and recover losses from any ongoing wars. Being under such an arrangement is often intolerable, and will often lead to renewed battle.
Clarification:
When demanding tribute, you will need to specify the amount per six-month turn you wish to be given, and the number of turns that this should continue.
Tips:
Demanding Regular Tribute is often the sign that a faction is near the end of its lifespan. If accepted, it can put a tremendous strain on the resources of a faction, thus weakening it in all areas. A strong enemy will never accede to a request for Regular Tribute. A weak or recently beaten enemy will accept it simply for survival's sake. A strong ally may accede to a Regular Tribute request if you've given over a lucrative province in exchange for nothing but cash, and you want to avoid hitting them up for a mountain of cash with Make Single Payment.
Map Information (offer & demand)
Stances: any
Description:
This is the most basic form of interaction between factions. In a unilateral Map Information negotiation, one side gives their Map Information to another faction either as a good-will gift, or for cash. The side that buys the map gets to see all city, resource, and infrastructure information the map holder has seen. In a bilateral Map Information transaction, they give you their map of the world, and you give them yours. When you do, you gain the ability to see all the cities, resources, infrastructure, etc, that your negotiation partner has seen, and they have the same privilege with your information. Once you have bought the Map Information of another faction, your campaign map changes to reflect the changing ownership of settlements that were on the map at the time you bought it. So if Themiskyra happens to be on a map you bought from the Parthians, you can keep an eye on who owns the place for an indefinite length of time without needing agents in the area. Map Information is a nice prelude to a request for Trade Rights, sometimes coming in as a necessary prelude.
Clarification:
No more information needed.
Tips:
The simplest use of a Map Information offer is to offer it and leave your demand open (blank). This allows your negotiation partner to name their price for your map information. This is a great way to pad your treasury early in the game. You can make anywhere from 2000 to 4000 denarii per transaction by offering your map information in this way. Coupled with a Map Information demand, a Map Information offer is a simple exchange, as described above. They will appreciate the shared knowledge, and you gain some information you likely lacked about city ownership and province infrastructure. Map exchanges like this can help lead to friendly relations such as Trade Rights or Alliance. When you initially find another faction, a map offer or exchange is a good way to break the ice. Later, or even in the same negotiation session after they've accepted a map from you, bargain for Trade Rights. Even if the faction in question is much to far away to be an effective trading partner, this agreement can only help. With these two in the bag, you're well on your way to gaining an Alliance and everything that's possible after that.
Accept or We Will Attack (offer only)
Stances: neutral or enemy
Description:
If you add this chip to a negotiation, you are threatening your negotiating partner with painful consequences if they don't accept. This works when you've had a string of victories over a faction and you know they're hurting. Time this threat badly, there is a very good chance that the threat will be rebuffed, and you will find yourself out of diplomatic possibilities with this faction for several years.
Clarification:
No more information needed.
Tips:
When you've been pounding a faction into the dust and want to exert your diplomatic control over them, back off for a round or two, then send in a skilled diplomat. Demand a settlement, or that they become a protectorate, or any number of other demands, and for offer simply click the "Accept or We Will Attack" option. If you do this right, this may be the best way to gain a faction as a Protectorate.
Ceasefire (offer only)
Stances: enemy only
Description:
Simple – you promise to stop butchering the other faction, and if they accept, then they promise to stop trying to attack you.
Clarification:
No more information needed.
Tips:
There are basically three situations in which to use Ceasefire: when you're getting your tail whipped and you want a break, when you're in a fairly even but long-running conflict and need the resources to deal with another problem, or when you're decimating an enemy and they are down to their last drop of life. In the first case, you'll need to offer something big, like Give Region or Regular Tribute to have any hope of a Ceasefire being accepted. If they refuse with one of those two, then throw in a single payment if you can afford it. In the second case, the other side may be in the same situation, and you can simply offer the Ceasefire. They may demand more – if so, go for Make Single Payment to balance out the difference if it's not too much. In the third case, offer a Ceasefire in conjunction with a large demand – Regular Tribute, Give Region, or Become Protectorate are all in the realm of possibility here. Players have reported receiving over 12000 denarii in Regular Tribute from this Ceasefire scenario.
Become Protectorate (demand only)
Stances: neutral or enemy
Description:
When you demand that a faction become your protectorate, you are offering several things at once:
* All hostilities cease
* You have full Military Access to their lands
* Alliance and Trade Rights are guaranteed
* The length of the Protectorate status is unspecified
You get no cash by default from gaining a faction as a Protectorate, nor can you use or disband their troops.
Clarification:
No more information needed.
Tips:
Players report that having a Protectorate seems to do no good for the conquering faction, while actually Becoming a protectorate is great... you can worry less about invasion, you pay no taxes to your conquerors, and you can use the time to recoup losses and build your economy. Protectorate status breaks down if you do anything to harm your status as Allies of the other faction.
There is not enough player experience with this option to know much more. It would be helpful to know, for example, if a faction who are in Protectorate status can be bled for cash more easily (by repeated demands for Make Single Payment, or Regular Tribute).
Senate Missions & Policy
The Senate keeps a list of its current policy toward all factions in the game. This can help you to plan your diplomatic activity, either to coincide with the wishes of the Senate or to subtly thumb your nose at the Senate's agenda. To see this policy screen, simply click on your faction's circular icon in the lower right section of the screen. The screen that opens up is the Faction Policy listing. Click on any of the faction icons to see a detailed description of current Senate policy toward that faction.
The Senate will sometimes tell you to send your diplomats on very specific missions. A list of these follow, with a description.
There are reports of players having never seen any of these in any of their games. The conditions behind their appearance remains a mystery akin to those of the Good Goddess.
Send Emissary
The Senate asks you to send an emissary to a specific faction, with no goal in mind besides diplomatic contact.
Demand Tribute
The senate feels that a faction needs to recognise the superiority of Rome. It requests that you send a diplomat to demand a regular tribute payment. You will be rewarded depending on the size of the tribute you obtain.
Obtain Surrender
The Senate feels that a faction has been weakened enough to make forcing surrender a realistic option. Send a diplomat and demand that they become a Protectorate under Roman control.
Negotiate Return of Legionary Eagle
The Senate would like to send a diplomat to negotiate the return of the Legionary Eagle a faction holds. The loss of the Eagle standard is an ongoing source of shame to the Legion that lost it, and there seems to be little chance of getting it back by military means.
Negotiate Settlement Handover
The Senate feels that there is a realistic prospect of persuading the current owners to hand over a settlement by offering them an exchange for one less valuable to us. Send a diplomat and attempt to get them to hand it over.
Obtain Map Information
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and negotiate a treaty to obtain map information to extend Rome's knowledge of the world.
Get Trade Agreement
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and negotiate a treaty to get trading rights for Rome.
Appease Faction
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and get them to agree not to attack. Offer tribute or anything else that seems reasonable. As a short term measure this is most important.
Provoke Attack
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and see if you can provoke them in to making an attack against us. Rome wants to be at war but does not want to appear to be the aggressor.
Peace Talks
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and try to improve relations with this faction. No particular result is expected - just sending the diplomat and getting agreement on an offer is enough as a first step.
Make Alliance
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and make an alliance with them.
Give Cash
Allied friends sometimes need financial support. The Senate asks that you make a single payment of at least one tenth of your annual income to a faction.
That’s the end of Tamur’s section on diplomacy. Now for a few froggy notes, mostly emphasising some of Tamur’s points and giving my own experience.
Selling maps.
You can sell your map for a nice profit each turn; I find I can usually get around 1,000 denarii per sale in the early game. I keep a diplomat near a city belonging to each faction I have contact with and sell them my map each turn. This is great training for the diplomats, and it keeps contact open and thereby seems to make alliances last longer. Finally it gives me more spending money in the early, lean days while cutting back on my enemies spending money and hampering their growth. Selling maps is so powerful I wouldn’t bother if it didn’t keep my alliances alive for longer.
Bribery.
This is so powerful I don’t use it any more. Bribery is dirt cheap in terms of both money and tactics; a couple of thousand denarii will remove a large, quite good army from the equation.
Keeping your alliances going.
As I noted above I find my alliances will last much, much longer if I have repeated, sustained contact with that faction. Before I read Tamur’s guide my alliances lasted around five turns at the most; now I have had alliances last for more than twenty turns.
Protectorates.
Having a faction as your protectorate gives you all the advantages of an alliance and military access, and some security; protectorates don’t seem to rebel. Regions owned by a protectorate count towards your controlled region count, getting you closer to victory without needing to conquer and manage the settlements yourself. You get tribute too, which can be very considerable if the protectorate is a rich faction.
Extort, bargain, negotiate.
Never accept the AI’s first offer, and never ask for what you really want the first time. You can often bargain, getting a little more or reducing the price of what you want. If you want 1,000 denarii for your map start by asking for 1,500 or more, then work your way down. You may even get the AI to agree to your outrageous request first time.
Ah, the Senate. A bunch of old men in togas with the feebleminded and insulting delusion that they can order you about, that they are the true heart of the Roman Empire. What do we do with old men in togas, everybody? :everyone yells “kick their asses!”: No we do not, and Wayne, stop eating crayons! We are far more devious than that, oh yes, far more devious. Allow me to lapse off into my fictional writing and quote a character of mine, a spymaster by the abnormal name of Trempwick, here: “Love, fear, control of something or someone they care about; those are the three main ways to gain control over a person. Pick a person apart to see how they work, then apply that proverb and they are yours.” My Trempwick is one smart, sly, crafty, shifty beggar indeed and he has just summed up our dealings with the Senate in one bit of catchy dialogue, or at least I like to think so. The catchy, not the aim – I know about the aim, it’s the catchy that’s an issue. Maybe.
Love, ah yes, sweet, sweet love. You want the senate to love you; you want them to hang off your every word, to look after your interests, and to bend over backwards for you. What do you get if the Senate love you? Money, positions for your family, nice missions, support. If you are in good graces with the Senate then your job will be easier. How do you get the Senate to love you? There are two main ways:
1) Successfully complete at least some of the missions they give you. This also nets you a reward which can range from cash in hand, to a unit, to a guaranteed position in the next elections.
2) Conquer nasty people. To check who the Senate want bashed look at your faction screen (click on the round thing with your logo on it), then on the senate screen, finally on policy. Work your way through the factions that are convenient for you to attack and note the ones which the Senate has a hostile policy towards. Of course the old men like any conquest, so you can just pulp the lot nearest to you.
When you are in good grace with the Senate then you are more likely to have your family assigned Senate offices. These offices are a Good Thing; they give assorted bonuses depending on the post, but even the least of them gives a bit of prestige to the recipient. You have to work your way up the ladder; you can’t just jump right in to consul.
When the Senate like you they give you easy tasks, ones which are useful for you to accomplish and often have good rewards at the end of them.
Fear; now we are turning things up a notch. As your family expands and becomes more powerful the Senate’s love will begin to fade, festering away under suspicion and fear. This is a delicate phase; if you keep a low profile you can easy go back to being loved; if you push the envelope you will become truly feared. You can tell when the Senate fear you because it will say so on the Senate floor screen; check this often to find out public and Senate opinion of your family. Now, the Senate will begin to fear you for two reasons:
1)You are growing large and powerful. They hate seeing power concentrated in the hands of but one family.
2)You have become very popular with the people. Popularity with the plebs means they may offer you a chance to become emperor; the Senate fear this more than anything, an emperor is a king by another name and Rome hates kings.
When the Senate fear you then they begin to give you difficult, dangerous or downright impossible missions. They want you to fail. Yes, when they ask you to capture Londinium (London for those who don’t know) in 5 turns when all your armies are in Greece they want you to fail; they want to bring you down a peg or two and re-establish who is boss. If you actually manage to do the impossible and teleport your armies to Britain the Senate will be glad Rome has gained but they will hate you for being good enough to pull it off, so expect to see your rating with them get worse.
Note that the Senate can hate you; this is actually a different thing to fear. Hate is gained when you repeatedly fail missions and ignore the Senate completely; often you can counter this by conquering the odd place or two which you will probably be doing anyway. However if you do not conquer and do not accomplish the missions, essentially just sitting their picking your teeth, you have nothing to counter the growing dislike. Hate has nothing to do with you being strong or beloved of the smelly populace, and everything to do with you being a total loser.
Control of something they care about; ah yes, this one is the real jackpot. What does the Senate care about most? Rome. Control Rome and the Senate need no longer bother you. Well, usually. You see in my games the Senate has always been quite passive, supporting the other factions but never actually conquering any cities; it was just in control of Rome itself. Now in some games the Senate may go and conquer a bit, or they may be given a province or two as a gift. Even if they have more than Rome they will be essentially broken without it, so the point still stands, even if you have a little more tidying up to do after your triumphal entry into the city.
Generally speaking the average player will work their way from ambiguity to love, then slowly to fear. The civil war will begin (details later) and end, hopefully, with your faction victorious and in control of Rome. How do you deal with the Senate? Make them love you until you no longer need that love, then make them fear you until they play into your hands and begin the civil war. Then finally, and so very sweetly, wipe them out.
In my experience so far all I had needed to do to keep on the Senate’s good side is keep expanding slowly, taking down my designated enemies (e.g. the Gauls in my Julii game) and accomplishing the occasional mission. And my rating steady rose until they loved me, and then began to fear me a little. My rating with the people never did too well with this approach; the best I got was them swearing at me in the street. I shall kill them liberally for that later.
The Plebs.
Rumour, and logic, has it that the plebs will like Roman victories and expansion so conquering should help your rating. If this is so then the boost is very minor, to the tune of two faction icons for a 15 province empire and several famous victories. I suspect that holding games in any arenas you might own will boost your popularity; people always love a good gladiator show with plenty of split blood and freebies for scroungers. Certain Senate missions offer a set of free games in your honour if you succeed in the mission; these games will boost your standing amongst the plebs.
The Civil War (RTW style).
Because I have only played short campaigns thus far (something, such as this guide, has been sucking up my free time so a long game is impossible) I have not actually hit the civil war myself. This is all based on reading. :winces:
Ok, the civil war will begin when the Senate outlaws one of the three other Roman factions. If they really fear you they might ask for your faction leader to commit suicide. If you comply then they will calm down for a bit; if you refuse they will outlaw you. You do not have to let your leader commit suicide unless you want to avoid the war. There is usually a very good chance that the senate will request the suicide of the man who replaces your recently departed leader, and then the man after that, and the man after that, until you run out of people to kill. So suicide can only buy you a little bit of time at rather a high cost.
The civil war ends when only one Roman faction is left, and that had better be yours unless you want to lose.
Quite interestingly you can actually sometimes negotiate peace treaties with the individual Roman factions after the civil war begins. If you are very fortunate you can even be at peace with all the Romans while the civil war is officially still in progress.
The Civil War (BI style)
This doesn’t really belong here, but I guess this is as bad a place as any to put it (it gets next to impossible to decently compose a document this long with just MS Word and no way to actually look at what you are doing without the aid of a computer. My apologies), and it does have some relation to the RTW civil war. There’s no senate in BI, and the civil wars you encounter there are caused by disloyal Roman generals and/or cities rebelling. The wars can involve as little as one breakaway army and as much as most of your empire.
Mission Impossible.
Some Senate missions are pre-programmed and will always happen; these are the missions you are assigned right at the start of the campaign. After that I think it is a mix of pre-programmed and random, depending on the world state and your popularity with the Senate. Potential rewards are varied in their worth. If the reward is something like preferential consideration for an office then it may not be worth the effort, well not if they ask you to conquer a huge, dangerous city belonging to a neutral faction. However sometimes the Senate offer big rewards for easy missions, such as ‘will be well rewarded’ for blocking a port. Yes, you can get a huge pile of denarii for sailing a ship to the designated port and leaving it there for a turn. So, make sure you read the small print carefully and fully consider the implications of what they request before deciding what to do about the mission.
This chapter is dedicated to the battlefield half of the game; I bet you couldn’t guess that, could you? In both of my previous Medieval: Total War guides I went into some detail on the battle side of the game; I won’t be doing the same here, at least not in such depth. You see we don’t know the combat calculations, the unit stats are only just being discovered, the bonuses are mostly hidden, and generally it is all very vague. I will pass on what I can and note a few dos and don’ts.
RTW is a more dynamic game than MTW, to me at least. It relies more on logic. I find that on normal difficulty, without any bonuses to either side as given by difficulty, that logic and historical knowledge provide plenty of basis for what really happens on the field. Of course there are some exceptions to this rule, but overall what you thin should happen does. If you think of a cavalry charge against a ragged, strung out unit you expect the cavalry to mow the infantry down. That’s what happens in RTW. If you think of a cavalry charge against a solid, well formed and disciplined infantry force you expect them to get bogged down and killed. That’s what happens in RTW. I am sure you are getting the picture now.
One very small yet oh so important note on difficulty and battle: On harder difficulties the AI gets bonuses, to the tune of an extra +7 to attack on very hard. That means that when playing on any difficulty except normal you should expect to see odd outcomes, such as cavalry riding over your phalanx as if they were not there.
Rank and file.
A quick intro in terminology for those of you not already acquainted:
Say hello to our happy little Roman cohort. As you can see I’ve clumsily labelled the various parts of the unit. The front and rear are obvious. The flanks go on both sides, predictably, and are also obvious if you are familiar with the word in a military context. The rank is a little less easy to point out on this diagram; it’s a row of soldiers standing side by side. For more on flanks and the rear of the unit read the next little section.
Rank is a less … concrete concept then in MTW. In MTW I could, and did, say how to optimally deploy each and every unit in all situations. In RTW rank is so different that’s not really possible. Instead I get to tell you general guidelines.
The deeper a formation is the larger its flanks become and the less ground it covers with its front. The thinner a formation is the more fragile it is. It is a balancing act, playing depth and coverage off against each other, and the needs vary quite a bit depending on what unit you are using and what is about to happen with that unit in the battle. I can offer one firm bit of advice here: using a unit in just one rank is asking for trouble; your enemy will tear right through the heart of the formation and destroy it faster than you can blink. Ok, two firm bits of advice. Some units have nice, orderly formations, such as the legionaries in the picture above. Others have looser, more ragged ones, especially barbarian units and missile units. The solid formations are more effective at resisting charges than the more disorderly ones. That out of the way it is time to go to the vaguer bits.
For infantry (not phalanx).
When facing cavalry or a strong infantry charge rank is key; four ranks is a very good depth for infantry to repel charges with. If you are facing chariots or elephants five, even six ranks can be needed to stand solidly and dispatch the charge. I would say that the absolute minimum you want to use in any situation is three ranks; I myself have settled into using four ranks almost all the time, with the exceptions being when I need to cover a lot of ground (drop to three ranks) or need to repel a very dangerous charge (increase to five or six).
For cavalry.
Depth is a little less important for cavalry, and they tend to be charging, not receiving charges. I like to use my cavalry in three ranks for smaller units, and four ranks for larger ones. This makes the formation sturdy (thinner formations collapse on impact) and gets the maximum number of men slamming into the enemy as the charge hits. Sometimes I use five ranks, generally when I need the unit to be more mobile.
For missiles
Since there is no line of sight accuracy penalty in RTW I have taken to deploying missiles in short, squat blocks about five ranks deep, sometimes more. It makes them easier to position, and this way they are a little better at pulling back on their own without human intervention if left to skirmish.
It is also good to remember that unlike MTW the advantages of a few of your men wrapping around the enemy formation are minor. In MTW this would cause the enemy unit to crumple quickly; in RTW more often than not a few men will simply turn around and start fighting on the flanks while the others fight on the front. That means there is no longer a very good reason to string your formation out to be a little longer than the enemy’s.
For advice on phalanx units read on; they have their own special section.
Front, flanks and rear.
Hitting a unit in the flanks or rear gives you an advantage, and probably a small attack bonus. Hitting any unit in the rear with something will be devastating; if you manage to charge heavy cavalry into the rear of an engaged unit you will cause tremendous damage and possibly even cause an instant rout. The flank of a unit seem less vulnerable then they were in previous TW games. This is because the men on the flanks do a better job of turning and fighting, in effect allowing the unit to fight on two or more fronts at once. Note that men will turn and fight on any front, so you can actually surround a unit and see it fighting on four fronts. Obviously dividing manpower up like this is a bad thing, and so being flanked, hit in the rear or surrounded is still a powerful and dangerous thing. The phalanx deserves special note; it is practically invulnerable from the front unless they lose cohesion and start using their swords instead of spears or pikes. Hit them from the rear for best effects. Hitting the flanks is also good.
Missiles in general.
There is one big change to the established system that TW veterans generally have an issue with. This is not a grumbling ground, so I will simply log it quickly and informatively for the newbies and those just making the transition from the older games. Your units can now fire with no accuracy penalty if they are in more than two ranks; the old line of sight penalty has been dropped. This means you can deploy your archers in ten ranks without any loss in performance. I repeat, the old line of sight penalty is gone.
If your missile units are left on fire at will and given no orders they will shoot of their own accord at any enemy units in range, unless they are likely to hit their own friends in doing so. Note that if you order a unit to shoot at a specific target they will keep on shooting regardless if any friendly casualties they may cause.
Missiles of all types are more effective in RTW than in BI due to higher armour and shield values. Shooting the flanks or rear of a unit is far more important in BI.
Height is still an advantage to ranged units, increasing the damage they do and the range at which they can fire.
Rain and snow still dampens bowstrings, reducing both accuracy and range.
Armour reduces the effectiveness of missiles; heavily armoured units will only suffer a few casualties per volley as their armour protects them. Lightly armoured units will take heavy losses per volley.
Shields also protect men for missiles effectively; the larger the shield the better the protection. You can bypass the shield’s protection by shooting from the side or rear of a unit. You only need a 45 degree angle from the front to bypass the shield, so you do not need to stand right off to one side.
Shield and armour values do stack, so shooting head on at a heavily armoured, shielded unit will probably do no damage at all beyond the odd man killed every other volley.
Archers.
Archers are the basic ranged unit most people will understand instantly. They come in infantry and cavalry flavours; the cavalry version is covered a bit later on. They shoot in an arc so you can position them behind your line and they will fire over the people in front. They have good range, and some elite archer units like archer auxilia and Pharaoh’s bowmen have extra long range compared to other bow units. Surprisingly arrows seem to be the most effective missile against heavily armoured enemies; I would have expected them to be the least effective. You can send archers forward to skirmish and rely on the skirmish mode to bring them back to safety because their range is long enough to allow them to shoot a few volleys before the enemy close enough to force them to pull back. Note that your archers may pull back reliably but they may also move to a stupid location, such as in the middle of your heavy infantry line, and then continue shooting. If your archers stand in the middle of your infantry line and shoot you will suddenly notice half your front line is dead. For this reason I never leave archers to skirmish, preferring to control them myself or to keep them safely behind my front line firing overhead. Arrows are not armour piercing.
Sling units.
Sling units are the only unit in the game which will not shoot in an arc; they release their shot in a mostly flat trajectory, just like a gun. This means you should never place them behind another unit and leave them on fire at will or give them an order to shoot – they will very often mow down the unit in front of them without a single bullet making it to the enemy. They have good range, though lower than archers, and because of their unique trajectory they cause a lot of deaths per volley. This is because any bullets which miss are likely to hit the man behind the original target. Slingers can be devastating. They have enough range that you can send them out in front of your lines to skirmish, but due to their trajectory problems it’s best to control them yourself; if you don’t you might turn your attention back to your skirmishing slingers only to find they have wiped out half your army for you. An alternate line of skirmishing, the only one you should drop to using after the battle lines have joined, involves running your skirmishers around to the flanks and rear of the enemy line and unloading on them as they melee with your own front line. Slingers often have loads of ammo, in the form of bullets, so you can rely on them keeping up a sustained barrage for quite some time. You may like to know that sling bullets are not armour piercing.
Javelin units.
Javelin units are short range skirmishers. They come in infantry and cavalry flavours; you can also find some units of heavy infantry (mostly Roman, in both BI and RTW) who have a special variety of javelins called pilums. The heavy infantry version is covered in the section called ‘Roman infantry and the pilum’ further down.
Javelins are more damaging per volley than arrows, as in they cause more deaths on average assuming all things are equal. They do have a short range, shorter than the skirmish range so you will probably find your men run away without throwing so much as a single javelin if skirmish is on. Therefore most of the time you want to turn skirmish off, either turning it back on when you want the unit to pull back to safety or withdrawing them manually. You get fewer shots per man with javelins than the other missile types; the actual number varies from unit type to unit type. The dedicated skirmishers have more missiles than the heavy infantry with javelins. Javelins are thrown in an arc so you can position javelin using troops behind your front line and they will throw over the heads of the other units. Occasionally I find this courses problems with friendly fire, but not often as long as your javelins are not on a backwards slope and so lower down than your front line.
Most javelin skirmishers are fast, so you can actually skirmish with them. Send them running out to throw a few volleys at the enemy as they advance, then pull them back before the enemy reach them. Beware of cavalry when doing this; even the AI won’t miss the chance to mow your skirmishers down and unlike the other missile units javelins have such a short range they have to get very close to the enemy to work. This means you don’t usually have time to pull them back before the cavalry hit and wipe them from the face of the planet. Cavalry based skirmishers are usually fast enough to nip back out of the way, but they probably won’t have time to throw many javelins before the AI sends its cavalry to intercept. You can also send your javelin units around to throw into the flanks and rear of an enemy once battle is joined.
Ordinary javelins are not armour piercing. Pilums are.
Crossbows
A few units in BI are equipped with crossbows. These have a flat trajectory, and so can’t fire over other units or terrain features like hills. Otherwise … it’s pretty much business as usual.
Spears.
Spear equipped units have a bonus against cavalry; the bonus is added on to the spear unit’s attack when facing cavalry of any type. Spears do not receive a rank bonus in RTW, unlike in MTW. There have been some big changes to spears since BI appeared, meaning my advice for them must change to almost the opposite. Now I say don’t charge when facing cavalry! Er, well, it’s not entirely so simple as that.
When a unit is left standing still (doesn’t even need to be on guard mode) and an enemy unit comes close enough, the unit will assume a ready position, raising shields and settling weapons. If a spear unit does this then it receives an extra bonus against cavalry, a new bonus for braced spears. This bonus can only be gained if the unit is not moving and has had time to brace itself. Note that the bracing cannot be ordered by you; it must be left to the little virtual captain of the unit. This, combined with the general spear V mount bonus (also increased a bit) should be enough for you spear unit to make some nice horse kebabs. Bulk is necessary; four ranks at the least, or the unit will be swept away by the impact of the charging cavalry.
Life, sadly, is seldom so happily simple. The AI may be rather moronic, but it won’t often send cavalry onto your waiting spears. So often you have to go and attack, forfeiting that brace bonus. In which case my old advice still seems to hold true: counter charge, preferably hitting the unit in the flanks or rear while it is engaged with another unit, and attack with the unit formed up into three ranks so maximum men get into battle right from the start.
Spear units can and will beat sword units with similar stats. However my testing has revealed that the results of any such match ups are unpredictable; one time the spears will win, another the swords, and seemingly no clear reason for either outcome. Again, three ranks and counter charging really did help the spears out a lot. So remember your spears are not helpless little bunny rabbits; they can fight very effectively, although you should probably keep a close eye on them and ensure that they are adequately supported.
The Phalanx.
The phalanx is a tricky unit to use properly, although it is now much easier to get along with than in the original versions of the game thanks to changes made in the patches. All the same it takes a little more practise and work to use these units to their best, but they can be rewarding if you do master them.
The phalanx is practically invulnerable head on, so long as it maintains discipline and uses its special ‘phalanx formation (it’s the unit’s special ability). When the special ability is turned off the phalanx will convert, for all intent and purposes, to an inferior unit of swordsmen. They may use their spears/pikes for a little while, but not effectively and not for long before they draw swords. In this mode you can also hold alt and right click to order them to go straight to their secondary weapons, just like you can with missile and cavalry units. You probably don’t want to do this very often, and you should try to get at the enemy from an advantageous spot, such as the rear, when doing this. Most phalanx troops are quite weak when out of phalanx mode.
With phalanx mode on the unit will use the long spear or pike and only drop to the weaker sword if the enemy manage to force their way past the spear points.
I suppose now is a good time to mention a few quirks related to the statement “The phalanx is practically invulnerable head on.” Well, firstly I have seen quite a few people saying that cavalry can beat a phalanx even if they charge head on into the spear points. I have spent hours testing this in both single player and multiplayer and found it to be untrue. Cavalry lose about 98% of the time, and their victories were freak accidents. As long as the phalanx is in phalanx mode, in good formation, and hit head on they will slaughter the cavalry. Many times I even found the phalanx could see off cavalry when charged in the flanks or rear, times when I fully expected the phalanx men to be slaughtered. This is because the phalanx managed to turn around and start fighting the cavalry effectively very quickly. If the phalanx is occupied to the front when the cavalry hits the flanks or rear then the chaps on horses do much better. Secondly I have seen it said that spear using hoplites (as in short weapons) can beat pike using phalanx (as in much longer weapons) head on, even though the spears have the shorter range and need to push past the pike points. This one is … true. To a certain extent. Heavily armoured spear phalanx can push their way past the pike points of the weaker pike phalanxes. Given equal match ups stats wise and the spear phalanx dies. So both of these points are worth bearing in mind.
Thanks to the alterations made in the 1.2 patch giving advice for phalanx units is much simpler than it used to be. Take guard mode off unless you intend to stand still and need to hold your position. Guard mode makes the phalanx less dynamic; it reduces the pushing effect and ability to reform to get more men into combat. It is … quite hard to explain, but with guard mode on the little men don’t wander forwards to take up their positions and attack quite so well. Also some very odd things can happen, such as the formation redressing its ranks so it ends up backwards to the enemy it is supposed to be attacking.
With guard mode off … click once to attack. It’s really quite simple. Phalanx units can’t charge and they can’t run if in phalanx formation. They will march up into range, pull up their shields and begin to advance, pushing the enemy back and stabbing with their spears. Alternatively you can stand still and hope the enemy walk into the spear/pike points.
As far as depth goes it depends which type of phalanx you are using. Both types need depth in addition to cohesion to function well; these two factors make it harder to disrupt the formation and thus rob the phalanx of their best weapon. Spear phalanxes can have the first two ranks of the formation fighting at once when in phalanx formation. They also have fewer men than pike phalanxes. I find that four ranks suits them nicely, keeping a balance between frontage and depth. Pike phalanxes can have the first four ranks fighting at once, and they are some of the largest units in the game in terms of manpower. I find that six ranks is good; again, a balance of frontage, combat power and depth.
While in phalanx formation the unit cannot run; it is also very slow when turning. If you urgently need your men to run turn off phalanx mode, tell them to run and then turn it back on as they arrive at their destination and begin forming up again. To get your phalanx to turn properly issue the order, then turn off phalanx mode, turning it back on just as the unit finishes the manoeuvre. I say issue the move order first because the unit can get underway that little bit quicker and be on their way while you give the exit phalanx mode order. Always, always remember to turn phalanx back on if you turn it off or you will get a nasty surprise because your unit will not fight as you expect them to.
How to deploy your phalanxes; this one is a rather long and important topic.
This is from what I call the “Please, I want to die!” school of phalanx deployment. There are large gaps between the units, exposing their flanks. Remember it’s the front of the phalanx you want to be fighting, not the rest! Always guard your flanks; never leave them exposed like this.
Now this one is right from the school of “I’m here to kill you.” Notice how all the phalanx units are in a single line with only tiny little gaps between them? That’s as close as the game will easily allow you to deploy them. This phalanx is strong. You will notice an array of other units scattered about; this is because you should never use phalanx units unsupported. They need some other unit types to guard their flanks, in this case units of cavalry. Peltasts (javelin units) are deployed out front to skirmish and break up the enemy before they reach the phalanx; they will need to draw out of the way to the sides, not straight back. Why? Because if they go right back they will disrupt the phalanxes and that does not help your cause much. It’s usually possible to run your skirmishers about to the sides, then support with cavalry if the enemy pursue them. Behind the phalanx line are some archers; they will fire over the heads of the phalanx and keep on disrupting and demoralising the enemy even when melee is joined. Make sure you turn skirmish off for them though, or they will scuttle back when the melee begins. You can also send the archers forward if you are on the offensive, to pummel the enemy before sending in your infantry. The cavalry are there to support the flanks over and above all else. They are not rout chasers, not unless the flanks are safe and will continue to be so. If the enemy hit the flanks of this line then things will more than likely go to hell in a hand basket. The general and his bodyguard take a central position, nice and safe, ready to support if needed.
When you have a big line of phalanx units like this it is … not so good to click on the targets you want the to attack. This is because they tend to lose that single, close line as they advance, making themselves more vulnerable. Instead try selecting your entire phalanx line, holding down the alt key and then clicking behind the enemy. This will get the line to advance in perfect order and position, maintaining the same facing as before. As the units run into the enemy they will begin to fight, and they will do so, if you got the command right, in the same single line that they set out in.
Cavalry, how to use it and how to stop it.
Cavalry is made to charge; in melee it will usually die quickly, but on the charge it will cause much pain and suffering. Any ragged, strung out unit will be swept over by the charging cavalry, mown down as if it were never there. This makes cavalry devastating against most missile infantry. The key to real cavalry use is motion; keep them moving as much as possible. Let them charge; the unit will usually pull away slightly and recharge of its own accord. When they finally stop and become stationary pull them back by double clicking on some empty ground, let them regroup as they run away from the enemy, then send them back to charge again. Rinse and repeat. Note that if your cavalry has fragile morale pulling them back may cause them to rout. This is highly irritating.
Never, ever charge your cavalry at a phalanx head on unless you really want to see them turned into little horsemeat kebabs. Even charging into the rear of a phalanx is dangerous if you do not pull your cavalry back before they have change to enter melee. Charge, pull back quickly, then charge again. Phalanx units eat horses for breakfast. Charging into the front of any well formed infantry is a risky proposition and should only be attempted by heavy cavalry in an emergency. Spear units will also give your cavalry a headache. Chariots, well just keep your cavalry away from chariots if you are attached to them in any way. Chariots mince horses. Oh, and elephants – elephants tread on horses and laugh evilly while scraping the ex-cavalryman off the soles of their big feet. Use your cavalry primarily to tackle vulnerable missile infantry, to harry the enemy’s flanks, and to charge home into the rear of an engaged unit. Never, ever hang around in melee; that cannot be stressed enough.
The key to killing cavalry is stopping them, then mobbing them. Use deep units to take their charge, and then hit them with more infantry in the flanks or rear. Don’t let them withdraw for another charge; get them bogged down. You can also shoot them to soften them up a bit. I suspect horses are big targets and therefore easier to hit than infantry. Once cavalry are stationary they are very vulnerable, as I’ve been saying repeatedly throughout this section.
Camels have an advantage when fighting horses; keep your horses away from camels and send your camels after horses.
A good demonstration of how best to use your cavalry against infantry: in support. The Roman infantry is slugging it out with the Carthaginian infantry; the cavalry charge is just about to hit the Carthaginians in the back. Because they are already tied up with will be less capable of fighting back against the cavalry, and they will also take a lot more damage when the charge hits. This in turn inflicts quite a blow to the Carthaginian morale, both because of the losses and because of being surrounded.
The same scene a little later. The first unit of Carthaginian infantry is routing with only a handful of survivors. The cavalry is just beginning its second charge, having pulled out when the momentum of the first charge was lost.
Horse archers and mounted javelin throwers.
Horse archers can fire on the move; they can also pull off the famous Parthian shot and shoot backwards. They might be large targets but they will be able to beat infantry archers most of the time in a shooting match. If they use their cantabrian special ability (assuming they have it) then the infantry archers will barely be able to touch them. They are vulnerable to nearly anything in melee; with a few exceptions missile cavalry are very light. The heavier variety can melee like any other cavalry. You should use most missile cavalry to charge into the rear of enemy units if you have to sent them into melee. They also make very good rout chasers due to their speed, although be aware that they will shoot routing enemy if they have ammunition left.
Horse archers are great at nipping behind units and bypassing their shields, robbing them of the significant anti-missile defence bonus they impart. They can draw off enemy units, leading them away from the main army so they can be fallen upon and killed safely, or simply to keep them out of the way for a bit.
Javelin cavalry have a shorter range but they pack more of a punch per volley. The same general principles apply to using them, you just need to be a little more attentive.
Roman infantry and the pilum.
If you just click once to attack with Roman infantry you will find they rarely, if ever, get the chance to use their trademark pilum throw before drawing swords and getting stuck in. If you want them to use their pilums you will need to turn fire at will on; note that this option is off by default. Draw your unit up in a reasonable depth and wait for the enemy to close. Don’t give any orders at all. Your men will now throw their pilum into the charging mass, then draw swords and charge into the disordered, reeling mass.
A small, related note: All pilum using Roman infantry is set to use their pilums as their default attack. This means they will always pause and begin to go through the throwing animation even if they have no pilums left. To get them to charge properly, and remove the annoying delay, hold alt and right click.
Pilums are great in a multitude of situations; the only real time you do not want to be using them is when you need to get into a melee quickly. A chance to cause damage without letting the enemy hack at your men is almost always great, and the casualties you inflict on the enemy with the pilum volley make them a little easier to break. If your legionaries are about to be charged by cavalry draw them up in four ranks, turn fire at will and guard mode on and simply stand still. The cavalry will get a lot of pilums in their face, their charge will make little impact, and your legionaries will begin to fight the demoralised survivors. I’ve seen off many cavalry charges with little damage this way. Do note that it really works best if you have a line of legionaries, rather than a single unsupported unit.
When facing pilums, i.e. when charging Roman legionaries and their clones as used by other factions, speed is the key. If your men run in (double click when giving the attack order) then most often they will hit the legionaries before they have chance to throw. Once melee is joined only the men at the very back will throw their pilums.
Pilums are armour piercing.
Size matters! The importance of a big pike.
This kind of ties into the phalanx blurb but hey, I’ll put it separately for emphasis. Spears will engage with the front ranks only. Spear using phalanxes will engage with the front two ranks. Pike using phalanxes will have the first four ranks fighting all at once. As you might imagine the more ranks fighting at once the more devastation the unit puts out.
Also note that size matters in another regard; long weapons will keep the enemy at bay. Units with swords cannot even get close enough to attack a pike or spear using phalanx from the front, not until the phalanx loses formation and starts to use swords as well. So, part of the advantage of big weapons is being able to fight when the other guys can’t.
War dogs.
War dogs regenerate automatically after each battle as long as the handlers survive, as in the dogs will regenerate, not the handlers. The handlers have to be replaced by retraining just like any other soldier. War dogs are fast enough to be excellent rout chasers; they have trouble keeping up with some of the faster light infantry and cavalry but otherwise they can give chase and bring men down. War dogs are very effective against phalanx units because they get past the spears and start shredding the men who are not very well equipped to handle dogs. Aside from phalanx units war dogs are most effective against rabble type units; heavy infantry will usually see them off without too many problems. They are also quite effective against stationary cavalry. It is impossible for you to issue and attack order targeting the unleashed dogs themselves; you can only give orders to attack the handlers, and that does not help much one the dogs are loose. If a unit is being eaten by dogs about all you can do is leave them to fight alone, perhaps ordering another friendly unit to stand in the same spot with the hopes that those men will also begin to attack the dogs.
Ballistae.
Ballistae can shoot down the gates of wooden and palisade walls. This saves you a turn or two building siege equipment.
Alternate attacks, getting missiles to melee and so on.
All missile units have a melee weapon of some sort; usually it is a crappy weapon but better than nothing in a tight pinch. You can order them to melee by holding alt and right clicking. Note that you do have to turn skirmish mode off if you want your unit to melee, otherwise they will keep dodging back and the whole thing begins to resemble a farce.
Most cavalry has two weapons, usually a lance or spear of some sort and then a sword, mace or other short weapon. The lance or spear does more damage on the charge, but in melee it is not as effective. Sometimes that secondary weapon is very powerful, or has an armour piercing effect; check the unit’s stats to see what is what. You can hold alt and right click to attack; this causes the cavalry to charge with the spear/lance and then draw their secondary weapon, if they have one. Heaven knows why they don’t do this automatically ...
Skirmish mode.
Skirmish mode is actually useful this time, as long as you keep an eye on skirmishing units and steer them out of any trouble they may be working their way towards. Generally it is quite reliable at keeping your units out of enemy reach. Do remember that chaps on foot can’t outrun horses.
Cantabrian circle.
This special ability is used by some missile cavalry units. It enables them to keep up a constant, morale sapping stream of missiles on a target unit. It also makes them very hard to hit with missile weapons. It does tire them out rapidly though, and it is a reasonable target for hostile cavalry to charge.
Wedge.
Wedge is a special formation certain units of cavalry can use, usually heavy cavalry. As you might guess from the name your cavalry will form up in a wedge shape with one man at the front, two men behind him, and so on. Because the guy at the front is the unit’s leader you should avoid using this formation if your general is in the unit – Alexander the Great may have survived leading many cavalry charges but chances are your own generals will not share his luck.
In my experience wedge formation is best when facing a thinly strung out enemy formation; the wedge will punch through the centre of the enemy unit and keep going before wheeling around to charge into the unit’s back. Against denser formations the wedge will stall before more than a handful of men have started fighting. When charging dense formations it is best to use a line; you get more men into the fight right from the start and therefore do a lot more damage. Once your cavalry charge has halted you will want to take your unit out of wedge so it can fight more effectively or you will want to order them away from the melee to charge again. Don’t let them melee in wedge; it’s not too effective.
The shield wall
This formation is BI only. Units with this special ability will form up into a tightly packed form presenting a continuous row of shields to the front, rather like a phalanx but without the pikes and phalanx bonus. It’s quite hardy in most respects; able to resists charges very well if 4 or more ranks deep, and not too bothered by any missile weapons except javelins unless said missiles are coming from a direction other than the front. One great feature is that if you select two or more units in shield wall mode, group them, and order them to use the group formation ‘single line’ they will form up into a single line with no gaps between them at all. This is amazing for presenting a solid defensive line with no weaknesses to be exploited. The formation does not kill quickly, it is defensive in nature, with the emphasis on outlasting the foe and wearing them down.
The shield wall is very vulnerable to flanking attacks, and to attacks on its rear. Protect it well. While the formation can move it is slow, and unwieldy.
The schiltrom
Another BI exclusive formation. This one belongs to some spear armed troops. When the order is given the men in the unit will form up into a sort of circle, with spear points presented in a bristling hedge. It cannot move at all. It is horrifically vulnerable to missiles, because missiles not hitting the men and shields in front tend to hit the backs of the men standing behind them. It’s a very good formation for repelling attacks of any sort, and impossible to flank. It can do plenty of damage in melee.
Guard mode.
Guard mode makes a unit keep its formation as best as possible and remain on the same spot as far as it possible. It prevents a unit from chasing routers. Giving the unit a move or attack order will override the stay put function of guard, but they will still try to keep their formation. If you have given an attack order they will chase the routers. Guard mode is good in some circumstances, such as holding a defensive line, but in melee it can be a real pain. I often find units with guard on don’t engage properly and then slowly rotate and reform after the charge so their back is facing the enemy. Yes, that means the enemy gets a huge advantage.
You’re test(udo)ing my patience!
The testudo formation that the post Marius reform legionaries use makes them quite immune to missile fire … small missile fire, catapult boulders still squash men flat. It is terrible for melee, men tire quickly in the formation, and the transition to and from testudo is slow. It’s really only useful when you need to advance under heavy missile fire and don’t need to fight or defend yourself at the end of it all.
Pulverising problematic pachyderms.
I shall quote Mike B in CA’s official FAQ: “Burning pigs and siege artillery are the classic counters. Defeating elephants depends on the circumstances where the elephants are used, but usually fighting head-to-head with them will result in a lot of casualties before the elephants drop. We favour hanging back and hitting them with as many missile weapons as possible, as quickly as possible. Sometimes you might have to sacrifice a unit as a 'speed bump' to delay the elephants and give your missile troops more time but nothing in Rome: Total War is invincible or undefeatable.”
I will also add that phalanx units will kill elephants quite nicely so long as the phalanx keeps formation and engages the elephants head on. If the bit grey lugs get to the phalanx’s flanks or rear expect Pain with a capital P. For this reason it’s a good idea to try and get a line of several phalanx units to tackle elephants.
The wheels on the chariot go round and round, round and round (a children’s song from 2000BC)
Chariots are a bit of a problem. One rule of thumb I now obey as far as possible is to keep my own cavalry and other quite loosely formed units away from chariots. I try to shoot them as much as possible to cause what damage I can. When melee is forced I try to hit them with densely formed, disciplined infantry. Once the chariots are stopped they are dispatched reasonably easily. It’s the stopping them which is hard.
Flaming ammo.
All archers along with catapult based siege equipment can fire flaming ammunition. Flaming ammunition is less accurate than conventional ammo but it causes a bigger morale hit when (if!) it actually does hit its target. The flaming pots fired by onagers will cause more casualties than normal ammo if it hits down in the centre of a tightly packed mass of men, but it is so inaccurate this effect is rare. Flaming ammo can also set fire to buildings; burning buildings will take constant, steady damage.
Fatigue.
When a unit is doing something, be it marching, running or fighting, it will steadily get tired. The rate it tires at depends on the unit, climate (hot weather is more tiring for heavily armoured units), and the activity. Walking up hill is more tiring than marching down hill, for example. It’s all very logical. When a unit is standing idle it will slowly regain stamina. It is a good idea to rotate troops if you can, using a few units to fight while others rest and recover. This is mostly possible in battles on a limited front, such as bridge defence.
Height.
Height accords a significant advantage to the man who is highest up, and a penalty to the one who is lower down. Fighting up hill is a bad idea and should be avoided wherever possible. Charging and fighting downhill is a great thing to do, just make sure you remain on the slope or you will lose your advantage. As noted earlier missile units can shoot further and do more damage when they are higher up. Height is great; love it and use it to your advantage.
Trees.
Some units get bonuses when fighting in forests. You can also hide troops in forests to spring ambushes on unsuspecting enemy units. Cavalry perform badly in trees; it’s hard to ride, fight and watch out for branches all at the same time. Keep your cavalry away from trees and try to lure enemy cavalry in. Trees also intercept missiles, giving shelter to units being shot at or hampering the effectiveness of any missile unit shooting out from forests.
Long grass.
Some kinds of infantry can hide in long grass and spring ambushes.
Bridges.
I’ve not fought many bridge battles so far. Note that some units have problems crossing bridges, especially when they are crowded. Chariots should cross only when the bridge is empty or they will possibly fall off and drown. Yes, any unit can fall off a bridge and drown in the river.
Defending a bridge is quite simple.
I have my legionaries (or other good, solid infantry) arranged to block the mouth of the bridge. One main unit is set to block the bridge; that unit has guard mode turned on so it will not move out of place. Other units stand ready to reinforce as needed, and in clear spells one of the other units stood behind that bridge blocking main unit could swap places with it, cycling in fresh troops quickly. I have my missiles arrayed behind; they can provide a constant stream of fire support until they run out of arrows. Note that using slingers like this is really not recommendable; they will probably kill more of your own men because of their trajectory. My general is safely out of the way, and a unit of cavalry stands by ready to gallop across the bridge when the enemy completely rout, mowing them all down. Since my infantry in this picture have pilums they are all set to fire at will. If the enemy have a lot of missile units it is advisable to set up slightly further back, safely out of range. As long as you can attack the units pouring off the bridge before they have chance to regain their formation and cross in bulk you should do well.
Attacking a bridge, now that is harder! No fancy pictures this time, just general tips. Do as much damage as you can with missile units first. Send some units with good morale and good armour across first; they will survive longer and hold the bridgehead while the rest of your units begin to cross and add their own weight. Using units with fragile morale or poor protection to lead the assault usually leads to them routing back into the rest of your crossing troops, spreading panic, slowing the crossing and achieving nothing at all. Expect a lot of casualties when attacking a bridge.
Charging, running and that old debate.
It appears that right click once is still attack, right click twice is run to attack, and charge is a completely separate thing you cannot order. Know that all infantry and cavalry, at least the ones I have tried, have automatically begun to charge when they get in range of an enemy when I single click. Reiterated: single click=walk, double click=run. Yes, I do know what the tutorial says, but the tutorials in MTW and STW said the same thing and it was proven wrong.
Now I am assuming that the old need for a good run up to reach full speed, and therefore full charge bonus, is present and correct in RTW. This means that if you only have a short distance between your unit and their target it might be beneficial to order them to run to the attack, giving them more impetus. Cavalry in MTW benefited greatly from running for a bit first, because their charge threshold (the distance at which they began their charge) was too low for them to reach full speed. If they were travelling faster when the charge began they gathered more of a bonus.
Um, in summery this is still under investigation and none of this should be taken as 100% fact, but in my experience charging is still automatic and double click is still only run. I order units with a double click if I need them to close quickly, if the enemy are already close, or if they are cavalry. Two of these three are motivated by the desire to get them moving quickly now so as to stand more change of hitting that full bonus, one is motive solely by the desire to get close quickly for some reason, such as a vulnerability in enemy lines, or incoming missile fire.
Sieges.
In the set up phase on the campaign map the siege equipment you will be able to build depends on the level of fortifications present in the city. Wooden walls only need battering rams, and so this is all you will be able to build. Stone walls require tougher equipment so you can choose from siege towers, sapping points and a few other bits and pieces. Note that while the more advanced types of stone walls look as though they have exactly the same siege equipment this is not exactly the case; siege towers will be taller, tougher and armed with more effective weaponry (including ballistae) with which to cover the assault. You can also bring your own portable siege weaponry, such as onagers. Elephants can also ram doors down. Your army will have a certain number of build points, depending on what units make it up. Each item of siege weaponry costs a certain number of points to build; most of them take one turn but I have hear it is possible to build some in less than a turn if your army has enough build points. At the least large armies can build several bits of weaponry in one turn because they have more points than small ones. Make sure you use as many of your points as possible, and don’t skimp on siege weaponry. There is little worse than turning up with just two battering rams, only to find they are both destroyed and you can’t get in past the walls. When faced with stone walls and a lack of onagers I like sap points. I use a cheap, expendable unit to do the sapping, and then mob the dirty great hole in the wall with my shock troops. Several holes are better than one, so set up several sap points.
The central square, marked by those nice faction related flags, is the objective of the attacking army; if they have men in the central square and there are no defenders present a countdown of three minutes will begin. Unless the defenders manage to get some men back into the central square before the time runs out the attacks will win regardless of how many defenders are left. The siege will also end with victory for the attackers if there are no defenders left alive, or if the last few defenders are routing. The central square gives units infinite morale; they will steadfastly fight to the death and any routing units will head for the square. However if the last few men are routing towards the square but are not actually in the flagged area the attackers will win.
Never, ever go in through the front gate in stone walls – your troops will be boiled with oil! This includes gates a spy has opened for you; the daft idiot opens the gate but leaves the boiling oil intact. Spies must get some sick pleasure from seeing their compatriots being burned alive. Bash a hole in the walls or use siege equipment to get on top of the walls, then capture the gatehouse, then you can send your men in through the gate because the oil is disabled.
On stone walls towers will only stop shooting arrows if you capture them. Select a unit of infantry and click on the wall top near the tower; the infantry should enter the tower and climb up onto the walls, capturing the tower in the process. If your infantry are already on the walls just tell them to walk to the walls on the other side of the tower; they will then pass through the tower and capture it.
Siege towers have their own weaponry mounted on them, as I briefly mentioned before. They can only attack if you turn fire at will on. Do so; having repeating ballistas sweep the top of that epic stone wall you are assaulting really helps your men out.
Reinforcements.
All armies adjacent to the attacked party will participate in the battle, unless it is a night battle, in which case only those led by generals with the night battle trait will join in. When more than one of your own armies is involved, you may choose whether to have your other armies led by the AI or standing by to act as reinforcements under your own control. If you let the AI have a bash the result is fairly predictable: the army marches on the field and then behaves like any other AI army. You can’t give it any orders, and it makes no attempt to coordinate with you. Under your own control one of two things will happen. If you have less than 20 units in the army you are controlling the extra units will march on from the correct direction and immediately come under your control. If you have 20 units then the units will have to be summoned using the reinforcement button on the interface; summoning will only become possible when one of the twenty unit slots is empty. You can order a unit to withdraw; once it has left the field its slot will be empty. It is a good idea to withdraw badly mauled units during lulls in very long, big battles so fresh troops can be brought out, assuming you have any.
The battle timer.
The more units you have in a battle the longer the time you will be allotted. With patch 1.2 (and all later versions) you can turn the timer off in the options at the start of a campaign.
Unit guide
I have not produced my own unit guide for RTW, and as far as I know there are no guides by other people in the same style as my unit guide for MTW and STW. However I have been given a link to Soulflame’s unit guide which contains all the unit stats and unit availability.
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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg
), and spotted something that I think isnt quite true:
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