reforms

[Nero Varus]

Is it possble to beat the romans after the reforms? I've tried several times and faied horribly.

[King of Kings]

of course.You probaly could but each time ive tried ive had either clear or crushing defeats but that might be because im crap.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Yes.

It's much more difficult, but your infantry becomes more of a "pin the legions" than "defeat the legions."

Basically, depending on your faction, either use hammer-and-anvil and crush them with your cavalry, or just completely wear them down with horse archers (Carrhae, anyone?).

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hi Nero Varus,
May I ask which faction you are playing as? Thanks!

[Caius]

Im playing as Germania, can I beat the legions?

[mightilyoats]

I have the same problem as Germania. The only strategy that has worked for me was a very early attack on Rome (Invade Italy ASAP)

At least Germania has strong Cav (Gothic I think), so as GenralHanky said, Pin them with your spear phalanx and flank them.

Though I am not the one to talk, when I tried to take them on my Cav got slaughtered by their gladiators (of all things). After about four crushing defeats I gave up.

[Ciaran]

With Germania it´s less of a problem than with Gaul, say.
Your phalanx spearmen are excellent at pinning the troops down and you also get armour-piercing Chosen Axemen. Run those around the flanks and charge the pinned legionairs from behind.
Also don´t just concentrate on field battles, pay attention to the strategic map and try to block bridges, that is almost a guarantee for victory.

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hi Caius Flaminius,
To add to what Ciaran said - beserkers are excellent at legion killing! Simply let them loose and allow them to send those legions flying in the air. I've seen two units of almighty Beserkers destroy a full stack legionary army before and take only two losses of their own! Comnined with Chosen Axemen and the Spear Warband they are the ultimate destroyers of armies. Good luck, cheers!

[guineawolf]

of course.You probaly could but each time ive tried ive had either clear or crushing defeats but that might be because im crap.

which faction you use???:inquisitive:

[guineawolf]

Im playing as Germania, can I beat the legions?

why not?last time i played germania,i use bar cav to charge them down(90 upkeep),i also use warhounds.i wait them to build to huge city,then take them,my original minor city leave to those romans,i sack rome,destroy SPQR,then i leave rome to rebels....those spears still can beat legions,just don't let them catch your flank....and if you want to use axe men? just use night raiders,(130 upkeep)better defense..:2thumbsup:
those huge city,if you can't hold them make them rebel,then exterminate them for denarii.my old campaign ain't finish,i think i gonna played them again in huge size....

for barbarian,attack always the best defense......when you attack,they will force to defense,then you won't need to defense anymore,just send all your forces to attack,leaving only archers to garrison your city(especially chosen archer warband):2thumbsup:

I leave 2 chosen archer to garrison each city ,the rest is peasant,as standard..

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hi guineawolf,
Sorry, yet I disagree there. Although the army composition may work, leaving Rome to rebel probably would not help. Sadly, standard victory conditions are to hold Rome and fifty provinces.

[LuckyDog Trojan]

Nero: In addition to some already good suggestions that have been made, I too will chime in and tell you that you CAN whip the Romans with a barbarian faction AFTER the reforms.

Amongst other things, threaten them and make them attack you (passive offense) as much as possible - especially in regions where you can take a stand on the high ground. Make them do the climbing and the exhaustion factor will help to 'level the playing field' just a bit. Likewise, try to do the same with your cities. With the right mix of personnel garrisoned within, you can often get a very good 'kill' ratio in your favor. Defend the gaps in mountain passes and as Ciaran stated, take a stand on bridge crossing points and make them come at you in single file. Missile units can work wonders in that situation.

BTW: What difficulty level are you playing on? (Strategic/tactical).

Keep the faith and keep hacking away - you WILL find a way.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Okay, here's an abridged list of factions and what would probably work against the Romans.

Other Romans - Simply out-Roman them. Do it by numbers, tactics, or quality, but it should be easy if you've managed your campaign map right.

Carthage - If you can resist the temptation to blitz the suckers, I suggest using your Sacred Band Infantry/Cavalry to the max here. Hammer and anvil, pin and crush. You will get tired of me saying this.

Gauls - This is difficult. Better if you just blitzed them early. I'd go for strength in numbers here. If that's not an option, pick the ground that you fight on and use Foresters well.

Britons - Same thing applies with the Gauls. If you are not averse to using Head Hurlers or Druids, make sure to incur the morale bonuses/penalties so things get a bit easier.

Germania - Your phalanx works surprisingly well, still. Spice it up with some bezerkers and Gothic cavalry.

Greeks - Hammer and anvil. Too bad you don't have better cavalry. Use Cretan archers to even the score.

Macedonians - Hammer and anvil, although you have proper cavalry to do it this time.

Egypt - Hammer and anvil. Chariot archers will also bug them. Do not use normal chariots, they die way too easily.

Seleucids - Hammer and anvil, but that's not your only option. You could opt to go legionnaires vs. legionnaires with your Silver Shields, or go Persian on them (see below).

Parthia - Do what worked at Carrhae. Horse archers mixed with the slamming potential of Cataphracts.

[guineawolf]

Hi guineawolf,
Sorry, yet I disagree there. Although the army composition may work, leaving Rome to rebel probably would not help. Sadly, standard victory conditions are to hold Rome and fifty provinces.

i leaving the rome to rebel becoz i want to conquer to whole map......i got to leave rome before i reach 50 provinces,but i dun want it fall to another faction.

i have been experienced that when i conquered Italy and someone recapture rome,there just send a diplomat to "buy off"my nearby cities...just like pain in the ass....(eh..i am those type that like to overwhelm my enemy in numbers...like Saladin,when he come,he come in force..:2thumbsup: )

[bedlam28]

Other related Question, but do Marius reforms occur still as normal if you play as one Roman faction that destroys the others before it kicks in ?? Or do you need to hold off till the Reforms occur before getting into civil war ?

Playing as the Scips Ive been offered the support of the Plebs if I want to take Rome, but Marius is still scratching his nose and thinking about the future ...

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hi bedlam28,
Nope, the civil war, fortunately, doesn't effect the Marius event - you still have to have one huge city on the Italian peninsula to get them to occur. Good luck with your campaign, cheers!

[Nero Varus]

I am playing as the Egyptions but i've also had problems with other factions.

[Celt Centurion]

Excellent points Lucky Dog Trojan. Your comment on including missile units is right on! Those German archers have got it going on!

My greatest problem as Barbarians is their extremely limited development in the way of buildings. They can get excellent armor and weapons by taking, say, Capua with it's Temple of Vulcan and a Roman Foundry. Taking other cities produces similar results but the culture penalties were constantly throwing my German occupiers out with revolts.

I've won many battles as most factions, mainly by having a good balance of infantry, cavalry and missile. The right mix is the key.


Nero: In addition to some already good suggestions that have been made, I too will chime in and tell you that you CAN whip the Romans with a barbarian faction AFTER the reforms.

Amongst other things, threaten them and make them attack you (passive offense) as much as possible - especially in regions where you can take a stand on the high ground. Make them do the climbing and the exhaustion factor will help to 'level the playing field' just a bit. Likewise, try to do the same with your cities. With the right mix of personnel garrisoned within, you can often get a very good 'kill' ratio in your favor. Defend the gaps in mountain passes and as Ciaran stated, take a stand on bridge crossing points and make them come at you in single file. Missile units can work wonders in that situation.

BTW: What difficulty level are you playing on? (Strategic/tactical).

Keep the faith and keep hacking away - you WILL find a way.

[LuckyDog Trojan]

Thanks for the kudos Celt: Another thought comes to mind when playing as a barbarian faction and taking on the might of Rome: AMBUSHES! Obviously, the terrain is most conducive for this when playing Gaul, Germania or the Britons AND you must be patient (which I'm rarely able to do). However, if you can leave several of those half-stack armies camped in the woods along side roadways, the opportunity will, sooner or later, present itself. And, the boys in the Senate will once again be singing: "Give me back my legions...".

Nero: How many territories do you currently own and what's your money situation like?

[Caius]

Im still playing as M/M

200 BC

and my back is being kicked by the Romans.I cant stop they!I deleted Brittania, and the Gauls wont life for much(2 lasts settlements under siege)
they are going to win!I need urgent advice or im going to die.
Massilia is under siege by the Julii.I dont own Montiaqum anymore.What can I do?

[Celt Centurion]

It's been about two years since I seriously played as the Germans, and toward the end I had about 40 or so territories and my money situation was really bad. After a series of revolts; in frustration, I retook the cities, exterminated everybody, and destroyed all the buildings that I could. It was only my second campaign and I've learned a lot since then.

Presently, I have two campaigns going on. One is as the Brutii, I have again about 40 territories and money comes varying between 4,000 and 15,000. Blockades tend to hurt, as well as being besieged. That's one reason that I try to break sieges and blockades quickly.

The other one I have going on is in the XGM (Extended Greek Mod) which I am rather new to. I am the Ptolomaics (Greek/Egyptians) and about 10 turns ago, the money started going constantly into the hole. I have about 20 territories, and I'm adding money simply to fight off the back-stabbing, alliance breaking, Pontics. One thing I just learned a few days ago, don't bribe what you can recruit. I was taking in about 11,000 to 15,000 every turn, and there were some rebels just outside of Thebes. I didn't have much of an army nearby, but lots of money. I bribed the rebels army, but after that turn, rarely have I gotten more than a couple of thousand, usually just 300 to 400.

Presently, I have been besieged pretty much every turn for 30 turns with a full stack. I have no idea how they make so many so fast, but even now, I'm besieged by one at Side (on the coast, West of Antioch) My population has fallen from 6,000 to 400 simply backfilling casualties) It has a city barracks and armorer, but there is one stack besieging, and three more waiting their turn. I sally out, and by use of archers and slingers destroy about 1/3 of the stack, run out of arrows and stones ending with a draw, and repeat the process every turn. Then, they will backfill that stack and attack as they did last night. Somehow, I fought them off, but with high casualties.:wall: They let the clock run out, but still had two units of 240 heavy spearmen with silver armor. I destroyed their tower and ram, but they still had two sets of ladders. I was down to three groups of about 120 Greek Hoplites with bronze armor. My archers were out of arrows, my slingers were out of stones, so I waited on the walls, a company of hoplites over each set of ladders, with the third group in reserve over the gate. So now their faction leader, and the rest of that army are on a Trireme with gold armor, and the only fleet I have that might have a chance is two turns from hitting them. I hope they stay a spell.

The saving grace for people comes from Salamis as I'm able to train 240 nubian spearmen every turn, and when I finally break a siege after 2 or 3 turns, I cruise them across the water, discharge them, and retrain my depleted units. I also have my faction heir there, and he's a good one, high command rating of 10 stars, and a night fighter. I also have two other family members there, and they go out and gather mercenaries as they become available, but for some reason, Pontus is able to form full stacks very fast, and the all get sent to Side.

I've considered destroying everything in the city, and evacuating my army, but I don't want to give it to them. I hope to gather enough to have an army to go take whatever city is cranking out units with gold armor. After I finish them off, I'll probably stop, but I do want to beat Pontus for the aggravation they have caused at that one city.:whip:

Silly I know, but they went from being an ally to attacking me with a full stack, and another, and another. At every end turn cycle, I know that Pontus will either besiege Side again, or still have an army already besieging it.

I hope to finish the Brutii campaign in a week or so, and the Ptolomy campaign as well, but for the past few turns I've had to add money every turn.

Strength and Honor

Celt Centurion


Thanks for the kudos Celt: Another thought comes to mind when playing as a barbarian faction and taking on the might of Rome: AMBUSHES! Obviously, the terrain is most conducive for this when playing Gaul, Germania or the Britons AND you must be patient (which I'm rarely able to do). However, if you can leave several of those half-stack armies camped in the woods along side roadways, the opportunity will, sooner or later, present itself. And, the boys in the Senate will once again be singing: "Give me back my legions...".

Nero: How many territories do you currently own and what's your money situation like?

[guineawolf]

Hi guineawolf,
Sorry, yet I disagree there. Although the army composition may work, leaving Rome to rebel probably would not help. Sadly, standard victory conditions are to hold Rome and fifty provinces.

i forget to ask,why?if i want to conquest the whole map?(coz Rome want to rule the world,right?):2thumbsup: