difficulty levels

[MajorFreak]

summary: i read somewhere that very hard just increases attack strength for BOTH the AI and myself? If so that's why i worship archers. lol. I'm assuming this rumored "bug" is true...please confirm

Assuming this is true, then i have a few followups:

1. I thought it increased AI morale and lowered my units morale, etc?
2. So tactical map is okay...if i wanted more realism i'd get that realism patch. Is it really recommended?
3. how about strategy difficulty? I love rebels so i always play very hard...are there some down sides to VH?

[Myth]

It boosts only AI stats. In RTW the AI gets a morale bonus as well as stat bonuses. Since stats are so vital in the RTW combat mechanics you will sometimes see Peasants thrashing units like Phalanx Pikemen and other such absurdities.

For more realism play the mod Europa Barbarorum. The guys there have great historical advisers, it's actually hosted right here on the .org

Difficulty on the strategy map is not increased on VH as the Ai doesn't get it's intended money bonus. This may vary if you play Europa Barbarorum though, best ask on the forum.

If you're playing Vanilla I'd advise you to play VH/VH as it's too easy anyway. Especially if you are one of the three Roman nations, Egypt, Carthage or the Seleucids. The EB creators advise people to play on Vh/Medium as the units have been thoroughly rebalanced and the barbarian natons no longer suck arse compared to the more advanced factions.

[econ21]

Difficulty on the strategy map is not increased on VH as the Ai doesn't get it's intended money bonus.

I've never heard that claim - are you sure? I think on VH the AI factions get 10k gold each per turn. They also get more hostile to the player, which imo is the downside - it means diplomacy means less and you are stuck in constant war with each neighbour.

VH battle difficulty massively skews the stats to favour the AI, so you will lose "fair" unit melee match ups. That will tend to lead the player to rely on missiles and cavalry, which are already too strong (again imo).

If by "realism patch" you mean the Europan Barbaroum mod, then definitely try it out. (I've gone back to it at the moment and am very impressed once again.) Apart from the formiddable realism, the combat is very different - much slower paced.

I would recommend VH/M for a well balanced game, at least for the stronger factions like Romans.

[MajorFreak]

mmmm...i'm on VH/VH all the time. yes, sometimes it's impossible to get the AI to listen, but i've been paying attention to tips like "the AI is a sucker for offers of map info" and other such juicy tidbits...i've actually gotten everyone but the celts to ally with me (or at least be neutral - Rome is insistent i can't ally with Egypt by removing alliance option from the diplomacy screen)
...
I was wondering about stuff like birth rates, grooms for womenfolk, spies/assassin usage...stuff like that. I figured that sort of question is kinda moot after finding out about the pop cap on male heirs (it's hovering just under 2 generals for every 1 province "gained")...i guess my biggest concern is bribery attempts: does the cost to bribe vary per difficulty level? how about the chance to get traits/ancillaries?

I assume all such questions are a "nope, just revenue" answer until otherwise noted. BTW, i'm having a tonne of fun now that i know how to get "fertile" and "hale & hearty" traits...although i'm having difficulty with getting Oracles and Bodyguards - how the heck?

Oh...and since i'm on a roll: is there any way via the romeshell (~ key) to remove stuff like farms/walls/roads from a province?


And thanks for the BE reference...i'd assumed "Realism" mod was my only real choice

[econ21]

And thanks for the BE reference...i'd assumed "Realism" mod was my only real choice

If you do want to explore realism mods, the other one to look out for is Rome Total Realism Platinum Edition (RTR: PE). We had a lot of fun with that as a Total War RPG:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?65721-The-Will-of-the-Senate-Battle-reports&prefixid=WotS

It's quite a bit closer to vanilla RTW than Europa Barbarorum (the latter can be quite a culture shock initially unless you relish talking about the AP quality of the swords of HaParasim HaQdosim).