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Ranking upon you playing or the AI?
If it's you then Seleucids belong up there although Carthage is easiest due to early accessibility to all of Italy and Rome through the Carthaginian blitz.
If it's the AI, then the Seleucids should come about dead last. Their late lineup is fantastic but they never survive to have it.
Ranking by me playing. I agree about the AI's suicide mission with the Seleucid, but frankly, when you play them, theyre as easy to expand with as Egypt or Brutii on any of the harder settings.
Carthage is difficult mainly due to the number of enemies they face head on.. Macedon have access to Light Lancers (one of the best units in the game), which makes their expansion a lot of fun, especially if you love Cav!
This Brutii faction is too easy.
I've so far played the Julii, Seleucids, Carthage, and Germania (H/H) and I have to say that playing as Brutii is by far the easiest go at the campaign I've had.
I launched a campaign into Greece with not even my faction leader. My invading army had 4 hastati, 2 velites, 1 equite, and my general. Halfway through my campaign I reinforced this army with another 2 hastati. By 260B.C. the whole of Greece was mine. I killed three Macedonian kings and 2 Greek kings (all of which had at least 5 stars or more) who commanded armies of 10+ units each.
There were a couple times when I thought that the Macedonians had me (they assaulted my small army in Thermon with 9 light lancers, 4 levy pikemen, and 2 macedonian cav) and the greeks (2 spartans(?), 8 armored hoplites, 4 hoplites) but I destroyed them all with just 5 hastati and 2 equites!
Playing as other factions and then going back to play a Roman faction, you can see just how overpowered the Romans are. I mean, the hastati's attack is only 7 but their defense is 16!?! I stretched the hastati into nice thick blocks and they took those light lancer charges like champs, surrounded them and chopped them up. Even with a low attack rating these guys just don't die and eventually they just outlast you. To think of all the headaches I've had using iberian infantry and libyan infantry while playing carthage.... and all the casualties I suffered when I was german.....
The money situation is not even funny. I've been giving away 100,000 denarii every other year to Germans (I tried to get to the Seleucids but they were attacked by 5 or 6 factions right in the beginning and wiped out). Soon I would have to give away 150,000 a year or so. Those concentration of wonders around Greece makes it an even easier game than say, if you played as Julii.
I am building as many fleets and as many armies as I want, and I am not even denting my income. This faction is way too overpowered, esp. how fast you're able to blitz Greece (the cities are so close together and the area so mountainous there is never more than two ways into any greek city). Hastati are great starting troops (I think they're more versatile than spear warband, but those two units are the best starters I think), and Roman generals never seem to die as easily as say German or Carthaginian generals in melee.
This should definitely be the first faction you play, its easy and fun (fun for a beginner at any rate).
I'm in the first 20 turns of the Brutii and I've been having a hard time trying to balance economic and miltiary development. Making about 2-3k a turn, but it's not enough because I'm trying to raise a third army in addition to the two I already have. I guess the problem will be alleviated over the next few turns because I've just conquered Carthage and Lilybaeum. Now I'm concentrating for a two-prong attack on Greece and Macedon. I'm trying a new approach in this game, keeping my armies to a minimum and bribing what else I can't fight, while 'fighting dispersed'. I'm only going to conquer coastal provinces this time, before going on to the rest of the continents.
The senate will give you $10,000 everytime you take a good size city for them. Thats how I blitzed Greece, they kept giving me senate missions in the area. And after I had the greek cities I didn't have to worry about money anymore.
Ah. Damn the senate, all they said was I would be rewarded with a unit for Larissa, so I didn't bother. I can conquer Greece well enough with my principes. >.
The Brutii have the most room to expand, what with Greece, then Asia Minor, then Syria, and finally Egypt. (Not to mention Dacia and Thrace, if you're in the mood for it) And their temples are simply too good. One (Juno) halves culture penalty and reduces squalor, another (Mercury) increases trade like nobody's business, and good old Mars gives you veteran soldiers right off the bat. Thier campaign is fun, but really best for beginners because it's easy (even on VH/VH) and lets you fight all kinds of different people.
By the way, I downloaded the patch 1.2 and now suddenly all my men have pencil arms and pencil feet, does anyone know how to solve that problem? (I've tried changing the unit detail, it didn't work ~:confused: )
Just started a new Brutii game with the idea to immediately strike at Sparta. After doing that, Macedon left their seige at Athens, so I got Athens too. I then made peace with Greece to generate some trade $ as I was having cash flow problems. (The town the senate wanted me to take, appoleona (sp?) was taken by Macedon, so the senate told me not to worry abou it)
What is the best course of action from this point? Greece is crippled, but not dead. Macedon has made some minor expansion, but did not get Athens. Should I wipe Greece out completely first - then attack Macedon, or should I just proceed up the Balkans fighting both and ignoring the greek cities not in the Balkans? Thoughts?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Imperator
I believe Craterus posted a thread about it in the Colosseum quite a long time ago, months if I recall, you may want to look into the archives to see if you can find it? There was a solution.
Hello there Imperator ~:wave:
At work at the moment but just checked the Com and suggestion was to unclick "unit shaders" in the advanced video option menu.
Hope this helps :charge:
Take out Macedon right up to Bylazora. then go for the Greeks at Rhodes and the Rebel city above it. That should make you nigh on unstoppable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gunboat
Of course try to take them all out before they upgrade to stone walls. Leave Pergamnun fo a while if you want to avoid an early conflict with Pontus.
You are absolutely correct. ~:cheers:Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
as Macedon elected to declare war on me, this is the plan. Luckily Macedon was kind enough to wait and declare war after my principes were being produced at Sparta. On the downside I have lost two generals already! One in a charge against pirates on crete! (still can not beleive my faction leader was killed by pirates!) The other was killed by macedonian light lancers outside of Cornth.Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
Gauls. I hate Gauls. Even before they poked out my father's eyes...Quote:
The Julii seem to have the weakest temples, especially since bacchus causes drinking traits in your governors...
I would say Brutii is my favorite faction of all. Why becuz they have nice Temple bonuses but too bad not the Neptune. Having a few Mars Temples for recruiting, one for Juno to train your governors/generals then the rest is Mercury.
They get the +3 exp temple of Mars line. This is great. Also, their position is nice for an easy ride into Greece and the riches of the east.
ok Brutii may have Greece, rich indeed, but
Julii has the best temple. The pantheon to Epona is better than the Pantheon to Mars, purely combat speaking:
Julii
Pantheon Epona:
25% Happiness
XP Bonus 5
Brutii
Pantheon Mars:
25% Happiness
XP Bonus 3
Morale 1
Health 10%
Trade Goods 2
where 1 XP used to be +1 attack +1 defense (nondirection dependent) +2 morale, where a morale value of 6-10 is average.
Morale 1 could mean morale +2, so that Epona +5 att +5 def +10 morale is probably better than +3 att +3 def +8 morale.
As someone mentioned in another thread, there is no pantheon of Epona. The gauls can build sacred circle of Epona (level 3), while Julii can't build that at all. If I as Julii would conquer a gaul city with that temple I would keep it though. :charge:
Edit: And then I saw that it is actually possible to upgrade the sacred circle of Epona to level 4 and level 5 temples as Julii, and as all romans in 1.2
I must not claim to know things I dont know :embarassed:
@Bulawayo
When in doubt, i usually let post count decide ~:)
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Kosmos
Posts: 4
Kosmos, where is that?
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 170
'nuff said.
Warnings Level: 1
ignore this part (!) ...
Note that it's not just Julii that can build Epona Pantheons. Any Roman factions can. Just storm northern Italy and choke off the Julii expansion. Then the Brutii shall have the mighty horse temple too.
Waiting for the Gauls to build a Sacred Circle of Epona can be extremely infurtiating though. They seem to like Abnoda and Teutatis instead. Grrr. I usually win before 240BC so these ultra late temples are a moot point.
I took down the Egyptians in 12 turns flat, most of it spent on movement! 4 grand armies stormed Alexandria, Sidon, Antioch and Memphis in the first wave, then Damascus, Salamis, Thebes and Jerusalem, and then Bostra, Siwwa, Petra and Cyrene in the third! And all this because of the careful planning of strategically built forts and the activity of my diplomatic shock troops that ensured the campaign went without a hitch. I was faced by a grand total (throughout the course of the campaign) with the equivalent of one and a half full-stacks distributed across 12 settlements. How's that?
sunsmountain
When in doubt I usually prefer doing some research instead of just listening to the authorities ~;)
Sometimes it does happen that I'm not in doubt although I'm wrong, but that's life I guess. The only time I have played as Julii I wiped out the Gauls so fast I wasn't able to see the upgrade from Sacred circle to Awesome temple. I believe they didn't even had any sacred circles of Epona...
Take care amigo ~:cheers:
Let post count decide? Everyone should get the same respect here, regardless of their post count. ~D
here here ~:cheers:
I concur.
Bashing a relative "noob," even when they're incorrect, does not encourage broader discussion.
"Post count," of itself, proves only that you have time to write e-mail.
Info on "taking over" foreign temples was new to me, and an interesting concept.
Nobody ought to noob-bash. Alright, a little sarcasm perhaps is warranted, but openly attacking him is just unethical. Even bribing is more honourable.
We were all noobs once, some of us still are ~D
The difference in our knowledge is small, our ignorance is even :bow:
yah, we're all human... we all make mistakes from time to time. Like that time I violated my cardinal rule and sent my generals careening into the armoured hoplite line...
Noob-bashing is FUN! Yay! err....I mean...It's a terrible thing to do...
Sorry, I just had to say that...
On to the subject. I am just wrapping up a great campaign with the Brutii. At the begining, I stole someones idea to have 'expiditionary armies' to go save the Selucids. I sent a half stack over to Sidon, which was controled by the Egyptians. I took the city and built up my armies. I had to keep my economy going at home so I took Sparta, Athens, Corinth, and Larissa. I focused on economy at first, then troop upgrades. Over in Sidon, I built up 2 large armies and proceded to lay waste to the egyptian empire. I gave all of the land except for modern-day egypt to the Selucids. Memphis, Thebes, and Alexandria, I gave to the Numidians.
O, I forgot to mention that I had taken Carthage and Thapsus and allied with the Numidians and Selucids. The Numidians had expanded and once I gave them egypt, they had all of North Africa except for Carthage and Thapsus (my cities).
Things were going well until the Selucids and the Numidians decided to backstab me on the same turn. I defended Carthage from the Numidians and then destroyed their other army that was coming. Then i just forgot about them.
The Selucid Empire, on the other hand, was like my baby. A baby that needed to be punished. I built up an army and took Antioch. I also built up an all cavalry army and went out on seek-and-destroy. This was my favorite part of the campaign. I had my best general and his son together figting with a mix of equites and merc cavalry. I went out and defeated no less that 7 full stack armies and countless others against half stacks. Cavalry, eles, charriots, phalanxes...they were all slaughtered. My general eventualy had 10 stars and was a 'cavalry commander of genius.' I had only heard of this trait before, never had I even gotten a 'skilled cavalry commander' trait before. I couldn't believe it. Anyways, once the remaining armies had went to hide in their cities, I went on an assasination spree. I built 8 assasians and went and started killing family members left and right. All but 2 of my assasians were killed but those 2 became 9 point 'eye' thingy...
Any family member i saw traveling that my assasians couldn't take out (faction leader and heir) I just went and killed with my cav army. Evidently, I didn't kill every family member because they were still alive but something more important had come up.
The Marius Event. I had never before seen this happen in my game before. I knew full well about it but I always beat the game too fast. I really wanted to start the civil wars. However, I only had like 15 provinces so I didn't have much popular support. I had built up huge, super-armies of upgraded Early and regular Legionary Cohorts and my Princepes (sp) that were left over. I also had some onagers. I set up my armies around all of the starting cities of all of the Roman factions as well as all of Sicily. (I had already taken Syracuse at the begining of the game)
I got my 10 eye point thingy super assasian over to Rome and tried to assasinate some of the family members. My assasian kept missing his targets. Over and over. I tried him on the Scipii faction heir and he killed him fine. I tried again on the Senate faction leader. He had a five percent chance. He died trying and I was outlawed. YES!!! Time to kill everyone :duel:
That same turn, I sprung my trap, I beseiged 5 cities in one turn. I waited to build some seige towers even though I had my onagers (I don't trust them against stone walls). The next turn, I captured all of the cities. That one turn took me an hour and a half...
Because I had taken Carthage and Thapsus early, the Scipii had decided to land in Greece and take several settlements there. I built up and took some of those out. Over in France, I had taken the last of the Julii cities. I eventualy got the Scipii down to one city. That was a great battle...
Anyways, Thrace had taken over the rest of Greece in the power vacum that I had made when I didn't take Greece. I attacked them and took most of their settlements. I also went into Turkey to take Pergarium and the two cities to the south.
That is where I am at right now. 44 settlements and counting. It has been a very staisfying campaign.
A few notes:
The upgraded generals bodygaurds that you get after the Marius Reforms beat the pants off of the regular ones. I find myself using them a whole lot more now.
a Pantheon to Mars combined with a foundry makes for some troops that are so good, it's almost unfair. I mean, from Rome I am pumping out First Legionary Cohorts with 4 xp, and +2 to armor and weapons. Now I can just steamroll over the Britons who killed the stupid Gauls.
I intended for this to be a short post but o well...
I can't empathise with anything but the Roman civil war part, because NO campaign I've ever played has ever given me the marian reforms until AFTER all the other romans are under oath of fealty to me...
But yeah, springing traps is fun! I like your style :-) A fellow blitzkrieger after my own hungry heart.
But well, I don't use assassins. I prefer to use diplomats and a lot of money on them. They're so much more useful on MY side of the battleline. All cav armies are fun to create! You can completely paralyse one enemy faction and fix his armies in place with one fast ranging cav army that splits and combines to menace different cities. Of course, keeping settlements besieged is an extremely valuable thing since it means any units he loses, he can't rebuild. Never mind if he sallies out to break your siege, just resume the siege again--he will never build be able to build anything. Seriously.
^_^
As to noob-bashing, well...'nuff said. :)
Yes, the campaign I just finished has been a first in many aspects. I had never built assasians ever before, I had never seen the Marius reforms before, and I had never used an all cavalry army before.
My cavalry army eventualy got a unit of merc elephants. That was helpful. I just went and destroyed every city that still had a wooden wall.
And about the bribery, I rarely bribe anyone, but the other Romans, well, I would rather have them fight for me than for me to have to kill them all. I actualy didn't have enough troops to strike the Julii lands because they had so many armies right at the top of Italy. I had just left one full stack to ward off any Julii incursions. I was trying to get a ceasefire so that I could finish my operations in the southern half without interuption. I sent a diplomat to Arretium and they refused my ceasefire but I did notice that I could bribe the city and the 3/4 stack army inside it for only 70,000. Not exactly pocket change but it was quite a deal. After I had the city, army pushed north and finished off the Julii.
Yeah, I just entered war with all the Roman factions (as Brutii). I'm also at war with Thrace. An other scary thought...
Its a bit worrying when all they do is sit there on Sicily or Italy and spend 50 years building five or six full stacks just because the AI can't figure out how to expand. This is the legacy of v1.3.
Nevertheless, my current Brutii campaign is going swimmingly; the temple bonuses from Mars and Juno is particular making sure I have both excellent managers at Croton, Thessalonica (vital) and Larissa, and strong armies at Tarentum and Thermon. Temples of Mercury at Apollonia, Sparta and Athens are also doing wonders for my economy. Have expanded into Greece, taken most of Macedonia and I am now considering moving on into barbarian territory - a first for me with Brutii as usually I prefer to go for the richer rewards in Persia, Egypt and Carthaginian Africa. This new approach however, is in response to the growing threat of Gaul and Germania (a beneficiary of the new patch, perhaps?) - whom the Julii seem incapable of dealing with - both of whom are expanding rapidly in the north.
Thessalonica (always a sicknote) has my best troops - including Triarii - so it should prove an excellent staging ground for my assault on northern Europe and the balkans.
Its 240BC, and Croton is ten years away from an Imperial Palace, and the Marian Reforms. Yay.
Any ideas for fighting the Brittanic hordes?
In my current Brutii campaign I followed the usual strategy of attacking Greece first, followed by the Macedonians. Than I expanded to the north and east, embroiling my armies in a biiter contest against Thrace and Dacia. Other than taking Sardis, and Rhodes, a result of my war with Greece, I've pretty much left the rest of Anatolia alone for now. It is currently controlled by Pontus. I will use these cities to springboard my invasion of the Pontic provinces later when I see that they are thoroughly engaged with Epypt.
To put some cap on the Scipii, I follwed up on a request by the Senate to help them early on by blockading Syracuse by actally taking control of the city, giving me a base in which to strike them when civil war breaks out. In a similar effort to block Julii expansion. I decided to to head northwest into Gallic lands and take some of the regions that would normally fall to them by default. This has worked well, limiting the Julii to only seven total provinces.Spain is a protectorate of theirs, but that is about to change with the adept use of diplomacy in the future. This leads me to my contact with the British.
While busy fighting in the balkans, it seems that Brittania proceeded to conquer almost all of Western Europe. Attempting to move into what I thought was a rebel province in Gual, I discovered it was actually British. Their army attacked before I could withdraw and the war was on. In this case their armies seem to have enourmous experience ratings, as do their Generals. They also have good armor and weapons upgrades. I guess this was a by-product of their defeating the Germans and developing the right buildings.
My armies don't have anywhere near the level of experience or armor. The only way I can beat a large British force is to have at least two armies involved, which means giving control of one of them to the computer. I realized only too late that I did not build any temples of Mars. I opted for temples of Mercury instead as it really boosts the economy.
Any suggestions for dealing with these Britons? Does the AI always have more units than twenty allowed in an army? I always seem to be coming up against these huge AI armies.
Rotorgun ~:confused:
Hmmm.. no temple of Mars? Not even one? ~:confused: Not good, especially with Brutii. But... salvageable.
I suggest you destroy a couple of mercury temples in middle level towns near the front and build new mars ones. You may have the numbers, but you need experience, and you need it quickly. It should take six turns to get to level three temple of Mars, during which time you might decide to play defensive against the Brits. Keep big stacks together in case they they attack, so you are not outnumbered, and push more troops up to the front, preferebly first through your new Mars enhanced cities, where you should retrain them as quickly and efficiently as possible.
From there you should be able to launch a stiffer reposte to British delusions of grandeur. :duel:
Germania offered me a gift!!!! :dizzy2:
I'd just ended our alliance by siding with the Brits. Two turns later, Germania offered me 154 denarii and the 'reassurance that our friendship would endure despite the end of our alliance' or something along those lines..
Never seen the AI do that before. Hell, never been offered a gift before, measly though this one was.
Naturally, in my excitment, I accepted.
This brutii campaign rocks!
Thanks to Garvanko!~:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
I have taken your advice and am now on the defensive in the northwest against them. It is getting tough as I feel the need to expand in Anatolia for about seven more provinces. I currently own 31. Civil war with the other Roman factions looms on the horizon, as my popularity with the people has gone sky high. I've been ecouraged to march on Rome at least a half dozen times already, but I have to conclude this war with the British without leaving them strong once the Civil war commences. The Senate has assigned me to take Samarobriva, which is cholked full of British suoerior units. I have my assasins working overtime killing off family members and destroying enemy buildings. It must be hurting them as they have started a counter assasin campaign.
All that aside, do you offer any good tactical advice for fighting Brittanic armies? They come at one fast in extended line that at times it seems the traditional Roman three line approach gives up too much of the flank. How do you approach this?
Appreciative,
Rotorgun :bow:
Don't use a traditional three line apporach. Match them up in a line with your infantry (guard mode), with archer auxilia supporting from behind on skirmish. Then target their chariots with your Roman and Missile cavalry and skirmishers. AI chariots tend to charge alot, so keep them occupied while your Cohorts deal with their swordsmen and warbands.Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorgun
It would however be best to attack them in their settlements where there is less space for their chariots, rather than in the field.
Im fast coming up to a confrontation with the Brits in my Brutii campaign so hopefully we'll be toasting victory together in Londinium soon!
Thanks again Garvanko,Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
I will take your advice, and even practice such tactics on the Custom Battle Mode before taking it to them. This will be after I properly train my cohorts and archers upon the completion of my awesome temple of Mars.I think you may be right about besieging them in their settlements. I guess I preferr to draw them out into the field and weaken them in open battle. The survivors will retreat to the village where I can deal with them easier. (At least that's the plan)~:confused:
Anyway, thanks again for such good advive.
rotorgun
"It is well that War is so terrible...else we should grow to fond of it."- Robert E. Lee
Soften them up before you enter the settlement with your archers - auxilia are excellent marksmen. Then drive in with your cohorts and cavalry.
I agree it is tempting to deal with them on the field, but believe me, a bit of practice with Seige tactics, and you'll soon be good at both! If they don't have spears or strong infantry, then shock them with Cav once you break down the gate, then bring in the infantry.
As we say in the army,Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
Hoooah!
Good luck to you as well in your campaign,
rotorgun
"...the general must niether be so undecided that he entirely distrusts himself, nor so obstinate as not to think that anyone can have a better idea...for such a man...is bound to make many mistakes" - Onasander
I was in the middle of a Brutii campiagn in which I was about to rule the world. Then BI came and I quit it, and now am playing as different BI factions!~:)
After looking this post over again for a second time, I realized that it is not such a strange occurence. This also happened to me once before during my first Julii campaign. Essentially, Britannia must be as big a threat to Germania as are the Romans. After all, aside from the Gauls, the British are the most likley competition for all that trade to be had along the Atlantic and Baltic coasts. The Germans are probably anxious to preserve a peace. You could probably exploit this situation to gain more consessions from them. I would be prepared for a change of positions, however, as soon as Germania rebuilds its strength. They certainly stabbed me in the back as soon as I started to expand across the channel.Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
Your right Garvanko, the Brutii are a hoot to play!
Rotorgun
You guys always say a civil war looms on the horizon, but I've found another way to complete the campaign. Take 49 or more provinces (not one of any other Roman Factions but you can close them in if you want by taking cities around theirs) and then lay siege to Rome. In my case the Julii helped destroying Rome as they attacked me with 2 cavalry units when I was laying siege. I played very offensive that battle and before the Senate reinforcements arrived, I killed the 2 Julii units. That's how I got Rome. If you want to take Rome the same way as I did, make sure there's a small Julii or Scipii stack near, they will attack you and if you're quick you can get Rome without much casualties and without much of a fight.
Well said GE. It is a good idea to follow such a strategy if the Roman Senate doesn't ask you to kill off your faction leader, or declare war on you as you become more of a threat. That's what happened in my Jullii campaign, and when I refused to order his death, the Senate declared war. Sometimes I also get impatient by taking on so many other factions to avoid the civil war. If I see that my chances to win the war are good "Alea ecta est!" (Ceaser), the die is cast. What steps do you take to prevent the other Roman factions from initiating a war with you?Quote:
Originally Posted by GreatEmperor
Rotorgun
Well if I got lots of money, I give gifts to them, but if I haven't got much money I try to complete many Senate missions as in my game they always give me missions like: block the port of Scallabis. They are easy to complete and because my playing style is very offensive (I'm at war with almost everyone on my border), I don't get war with allies or neutral factions I don't want war with.
It might be a bit confusing but that's because my English isn't very good.
I never give the AI gifts. Whats the point? Will it ever reciprocate? How many gifts have you ever received from it? ~:handball:
I just let it expand as and where it sees fit, and Im seeing the benefits in what should be an terrific endgame in my Brutii campaign. Basically, Im wiping the floor with the Germans having decided to expand northwards. The Ponts control the east, the Egyptians and Numidians control the desert, while Spain and Britainnia are strong in the west. Im worried about Pontus though.. their massive expansion westwards through Russia may prove a critical phase in the game - Ive been fortifying my structures in preparation for what looks like inevitable confrontation. :argue:
Germania is down to 3 provinces, so I might start thinking about a ceasefire. Best to keep Britannia at armslength for now (although I am allied with them), especially if, as is increasingly likely, the Civil war erupts, and my attention is diverted to italy, where about 15 full stack Senate, Scipii and Julii armies lie in wait. ~:)
The point in giving gifts to the Senate is that they think you're a good friend and so you can postpone the Civil War to any time you like.Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
Im actually having enough trouble trying to start the civil war, let alone end it. Ive assassinated countless Scipii captains and family members, Ive refused senate missions, I've expanded rapidly and now hold 28 provinces (hopefully 30 will trigger the war), and Ive built up about five full stacks on the Italian peninsula and placed them on Scipii territory - a transgression of course. Ive also cancelled trade rights with the Julii, just to hold down their own belated expansion into Europe.
Both my senate and mob approval are level pegging at the moment at +7, so its a case of tipping the balance in favour of the mob in th enext few turns.
Its a race between my Brutii and Pontus to see who can get to 50 first. Now that's a first!
Its 185 BC.
If you are trying to start the civil war, have armies outside all of the major cities in Italy, then when you are ready, have assasians try to take out the Senate faction leader or heir. Once your assasian is killed in the attempt, the civil war will start and your armies will take all of Italy (hopefully)
Well, if you expand rapidly the citizens will love you and you'll get a message that they want you instead of the senate. At that point just attack another Roman Faction you like and the Civil War will begin.
And Bubbanator: I don't know if I'm the only one but when I try to take out the Senate Faction Leader or Heir or General they may fail but they never get killed in action. It's very strange but I may Assassins seem indestructible. They only die if they grow old.
Better is to get a diplomat to cancel your alliance with one of the Roman factions, wich will start the war too. The reason why this is better is that if you attack an ally you'll have a harder time getting alliances in the future.
A Question: what's the use of an Alliance?
Er.. Ive been unaligned with the other Roman factions since turn 10. Its now 182 BC, and there isn't even a sniff of a civil war.Quote:
Better is to get a diplomat to cancel your alliance with one of the Roman factions, wich will start the war too.
I expanded slowly so I could explore more aspects of the game (particulalry economic and cultural) and make good use of the marian reforms. Plus, whats the rush? ~:)Quote:
Well, if you expand rapidly the citizens will love you and you'll get a message that they want you instead of the senate. At that point just attack another Roman Faction you like and the Civil War will begin.
Not that much. Allies are less inclined to attack you obviously, but will still do it if they think it's a good idea, particularily if you share a large border. However, my playstile is that I honorably stay loyal to my allies and should they betray me, I hunt them down mercilessly:charge:Quote:
Originally Posted by GreatEmperor
It makes for a longer and more challenging game then if you just seized every opportunity for quick conquests.
The problem here was that he couldn't get to the point of the game where you can attack the other roman factions. And if you rush your standard with the citizens will grow very high and you can attack them early.Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
Hey there Ya'll,Quote:
Originally Posted by GreatEmperor
Sorry I haven't been able to get back into the discussion in awhile; I had to perform my weekend drill duties. I thought I might add in a little comment about this question from the GE.
I have found in my campaign that making alliances with as many factions early on, as per the advice of both Quietus' and Frogbeastegg's guides to the game, provides for a little more flexibility in my strategy. I have been able to expand my initial trade rights/map information deals early on to gaining some fairly solid allies. Through such relationships I have been able to ecourage Pontus to attack Eygypt earlier than I anticipated the AI would do so. This has caused Pontus to commit vast rescources in the east which will weaken their western defenses enabling me an opportunity to attack them when the time is right.
Spain has been a loyal ally for sometime and has agreed to assist me against Britannia for a moderate sum. I hope to get them to attack the Julli after my war with Britain. This will be a diplomatic coup as they are currently a Julii protectorate. If I can pull it off, it will definately help me when I engage the Roman factions for the win in the endgame.
I am glad that this game includes the more subtle diplomatic approaches that can be taken in the management of imperial power. It definately adds period flavor to the contest.
Well, gotta go....Rotorgun
War!!! :charge:
Took Perguman and Halicarnass from Pontus which gave me enough support from the mob to start the Civil war, which I promptly did by attacking the Scipii.
Neverthess, Im also now at war with the Brits.
Anyone ever seen a Legionary Cavalry unit get routed by a british General's chariot unit, where the General's unit attacked by encircling and mercilessly running rings around the Cav unit? Never seen anything like it - it was like they were caught in a mixer. There is no escape from this, by the way. Its like fighting to the death, except you can't respond at all.
I've finally conceded and given up on BI.
I'm playing RTW 1.0 and playing as the Brutii. It's 263 AD, and I own Appolonia, Croton, Tarentum, Lilybauem and Thapsus. I was hoping to steal Syracuse but the Scipii beat me there. Now heading towards Carthage, but I fear that the Scipii will beat me there too.
More as it comes in..
Hello Craterus,Quote:
Originally Posted by Craterus
It sounds like you are having a good start. It's alright that the Scipii have Syracuse for now, as long as you continue to hold Lilybauem from Carthage, it should give you a toe-hold to prevent the Scipii from taking all of Sicily. It is essential to keep them from controlling Sicily in the late game. I would advise on making peace with Carthage, however. A war with Carthage will invite periously long lines of supply. Let the Scipii fight the elephants for now. You can always blockade them in Africa by cutting them off from the mainland later.Concentrate your strategy against the weaker Greek Cities, followed by the Macedonians. This will win you many advantages such as:
1. Building a great economy through the expanded Agean trade.
2. Acess to great port facilities with which to dominate the sea lanes of the afore-mentioned ocean.
3. A strong central position from which you can expand your empire east or north with, what we call in the military, good interior lines of communications.
Of course, If you are commited to an African extravaganza, be sure to make peace with the Greeks to ensure that your overseas expidition is not attacked by their navy. They are bound to be pissed off that another Roman faction took Syracuse from them, and this can be exploited to give you an ally against Egypt, or the Scipii, with whom you are bound to fight sooner or later.
Good luck,
Rotorgun
Now you have an understanding of the power of an experienced British war chief! I have also had the pleasure of seeing this type of attack rout my Legionary horse on its way to rescue the Legionary Cohort unit that was just moments before routed by the charge of this tough 8 star leader. All this while watching my entire infantry line pack up and leave the battle after being attacked by the acompanying 3 cheveron, silver sword and shield Chosen Swordsmen, and Warrior Band infantry. This is why I was so keen to have an awsome temple of Mars.Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
By the way, after failing to take Sambrobiva in the time alloted me by the Senate, the Julii took advantage of my careful assassin campaign, which caused this city to rebel, to just move on in....'Good grief Charlie Brown!' I had to admire the AI for its seeming sense of humor.
I live for this game!~D
I've found out something so you can get a city without casualties. Example:
In my campaign the Scipii where laying siege to a Numidian city. I sended an army over there with 2 onagers. I then divided the Army in 2 pieces: The 2 onagers and the rest. The Scipii where still laying siege to the city and they had a lot more soldiers than the Numidians did. I attacked the city with the 2 onagers and the Scipii came as reinforcements. I destroyed the gate and they took the city, but because I attacked it and they were only reinforcements, the city was mine. I quickly moved the rest of the army in so that they wouldn't rebel.
That's a great way for capturing cities that one of your allies is laying siege to.
Yes, they are uberstrong, I admit. But completely lost against missile troops. In that battle, I withdrew all my infantry and attacked with my archers and skirmishers, and eventually just wore the down till they routed. There were Chosen Swordsmen in that British army as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorgun
Crater:Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorgun
What RG is advocating here is, of course, the orthodox Brutii approach. It's a classic precisely because it makes so much long-term sense.
You seem to have begun a Scippii spoiler campaign, trying to take the wind out of their sails by getting their targets first. Nice strat, but you appear to have been a touch slow off the mark. Since you're there, taking Carthage can annoy the Scips further, so go ahead, but enslave, recruit cool mercs, disassemble buildings for cash and give it to the Julies. The Scips won't attack them either and then YOU don't have to deal with the constant rebellions etc. To annoy the other factions further you might then fleet up to Sardinia and Massilia (if the future Caesers aren't there yet), take them, keep Sardinia but give Massilia to the Scips. Same kind of roadblock.
In the long run (if not as immediately as RG is suggesting) though, you should head back to the Aegean. Once it is your trade lake, you really do end up with a hammerlock. It may be the orthodox strategy, but it is so for a reason.
Thanks for the off-hand compliment Seamus. I do have a tendency to play conservatively as I don't have much RTW experience. My predominate experience has been with board wargames, but the general principles of good strategy seem to apply to this game as well. So far in my current Brutii campaign, played in H/H mode, the aforementioned approach has worked for me up to this point. I am a bit stymied as to what to do now however.Quote:
Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh
The British are almost kicked out of Europe, and I can either attack the Julii to start the civil war early, or invade Anatolia, currently occupied by Pontus (except for Sardis and Rhodes which I own). I think that the right approach is to go for Pontus, as they are currently engaged in a death struggle with Egypt.~:handball:
Any ideas on how I should proceed? And what does "Illegitimi non carborundum" mean? (I don't know alot of Latin unfortunately)
Thanks, RG
Not meant to be off-handed. An orthodox strategy becomes orthodox because its effective. If you're playing 3R as the krauts, you crunch Poland turn one, you don't attack one block there and go after Yugoslavia. Orthodox is NOT an insult.Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorgun
Starting the CW may not be a bad idea, but if that is your goal then set your defenses elsewhere and pre-set your attack groups to hammer the Julies hard. You'll want to cut them in two to defeat in detail or take a couple of economically crippling locales. Don't overextend at first, of course, since you get visited by lots of roman armies and you'll need to chew them up.Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorgun
Taking Asia Minor would be sound, and probably a bit safer unless you see a real weak link in the Julies territories, but be sure to establish a strong defense line in the passes for when the horse/chariot boys come after you. If you go this route, consider an expedition around the Black sea to make it an additional trading lake for you.
Wild option: if you have/can build the fleets and forces, a massive assault on all the Eggy home territories might catch them with their forces forward toward Pontus. The Nile do be rich too, if you can stabilize it despite the cultural penalty, and there are some good defensive choke points to either side.
"Never let the bastards grind you down."~:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Rotorgun
I got Carthage and Syracuse!!! I bribed the Scipii army sieging Syracuse, and the Scipii were too scared (for lack of of a better word) to siege Carthage. So, I had time to build up an army from Lepcis Magna. With Carthage under my belt, I now have a great trading routes between mainland Italy, Sicily and Carthage/Lepcis Magna. I making lots of money each turn.
I don't want to do the traditional route of the Brutii, I will let the Macedonians get wiped out by the mighty Thracian empire (6 provinces :wow:) :eek: and the similarly struggling Greeks. The Thracians and Dacians both have expanded. Dacia are going at Gaul territory, and Thrace have just stormed southwest.
Although the Senate is willing me to go after the Greeks and Macs, I went after the Dacians (1, in case they get too big for their boots, 2. more interesting route into the Aegean) then I will hit Thrace in their homeland and then take the Aegean.
In the diplomacy, under what the sente thinks of each faction and how they should be treated it says something like: The Dacians are far from our thoughts. We should not be in war, and should try to make an alliance and get friendly relations..
I now own: Tarentum, Croton, Lilybauem, Syracuse (Capital), Lepcis Magna, Appolonia, Segestica and Salona. I am going for Noricum (Dacian) and Aquincum (Dacian).
And if those Numidians (own the rest of Africa as far as egypt) stab me in the back, I swear to hunt them down and kill them all. :evil:
Appreciate it SF, and your right, standard strategies in most games are a good way to proceed. I am not so obstinate, however that I won't consider a change of plans.Quote:
Seamus Fermanagh]Not meant to be off-handed. An orthodox strategy becomes orthodox because its effective. If you're playing 3R as the krauts, you crunch Poland turn one, you don't attack one block there and go after Yugoslavia. Orthodox is NOT an insult.
A very interesting proposition to take on Egypt. I have, coincidentally, been tempted by the idea already as Pontus has been a fairly loyal ally so far.(We have killed each others spies and assassins a few times ~;)Quote:
Wild option: if you have/can build the fleets and forces, a massive assault on all the Eggy home territories might catch them with their forces forward toward Pontus. The Nile do be rich too, if you can stabilize it despite the cultural penalty, and there are some good defensive choke points to either side.
I like this translation!Quote:
"Never let the bastards grind you down."~:)
I'll keep y'all posted about which strategy I take.
Rotorgun
Go for it Craterus!:charge:Quote:
Originally Posted by Craterus
I shall follow your campaign to see how much more differently it proceeds compared to the traditional approach. The Dacians and Thracians should be well matched opponents if you can engineer a treaty with one, or the other, and get them to attack each other. After the Dacians are fully engaged you can always break the peace and then hit them. (Beware of their fast moving Horse Archers and Axe wielding Falxmen, for they can be deadly!)
That was a great coup to pull off against the Scipii! What are you planning to attempt to slow down the Julii ? A Spainish province perhaps?
Nike!(Victory!) ~:cheers:
Rotorgun
yes, the carthiginian route is always fun, and immensely profitable of course. ~D
My own campaign is hitting top gear. The civil war looks like it will be a cake walk, which is fine, as it will allow me to concentrate fully on Pontus - it is likely that we will be the only two factions left in the game in around 20 turns or so..
Ive found the most balanced army to be.
2 Generals
4 Roman/Legionary Cavalry
4 Archers Auxilia
8 Legionary Cohorts
2 Urban Cohorts/Onagers
Rome will fall soon, and with it comes First Cohort training facilities. Oh yes!
This is pretty much what I shoot for also, although I will substitue 2 Auxillary Cavalry for the Roman or Legionary units if I am going to face opposition with Missle/Horse Archer Uuits.Quote:
Ive found the most balanced army to be.
2 Generals
4 Roman/Legionary Cavalry
4 Archers Auxilia
8 Legionary Cohorts
2 Urban Cohorts/Onagers
Rome will fall soon, and with it comes First Cohort training facilities. Oh yes!
Question: Does the AI always allow one of its big stacks to have more than twenty units? Seems like I'm always facing these huge super-stacks up to one and a half times the normal size of my own. I only usually count no more than twenty enemy units on the battlefield however. Surely a phenomena.
Rotorgun
When you view an enemy army (with a spy) their rows are only 9 spaces long (as opposed to the 10 per row for the human-controlled army). Therefore, big armies always have 2 units on a 3rd row. It looks like their armies have more units, but they don't.
On with my Brutii campaign:
I took Noricum but pulled my armies out of the Dacian Empire to deal with a much bigger threat. The Thracian Empire has now taken most of Greece. Macedon are left with Corinth and Athens, and Greece are left with Sparta and Thermon (on the mainland, they do still have Rhodes and Pergamum). All of these cities are poorly garrisoned and easy pickings for the Thracian "horde" that is rampaging through the Balkans.
I took my Dacian army, and piledrived into Bylazora. Only to find 2000 falxmen waiting! :eek:
The army that was protecting North Africa has been sent to deal with the Thracian menace as well. I will try to pincer them at both ends of the Balkan peninsula.
In other news, the Gauls, whilst holding their orginal provinces, are taking land in Spain and it looks like the Julii may have given them enough leway (sp?) for them to run rampage. The Britons are going into the Germanian territory, and the Germanians (large empire) have expanded towards Scythia. It seems the Barbarian Invasion sort of stuff is happening already, except that Rome is still on top. Oh, and surprise surprise, the Egyptians have put the Seleucids down to one city (Seleucia) and it is only 250 BC.
I have a 10 city empire, in 20 years. I know, I am a slow mover but I tihnk it is going OK. I knew I'd have to take the Balkans at some point. But at least the Dacians tasted Roman steel before I did it. 3 generals of theirs down, and I think I've given them a grudge against the Romans, even thoguh they accepted an alliance almost immediately after war.
I never really use Cavalry Auxilia after the marian reforms. Ive never felt the need to have them in my armies.Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorgun
Armies however, are dominating my game at the moment. A sea of red Julii and blue Pontic stacks are camped on both my frontiers in Europe and Asia Minor. Its fun, but every battle is a major engagement, and it is taking a lot of time. Im attacking on the western front, and trying to push on to Rome, but the Scipii (by virtue of having never really left Italy all game) have about five stacks sitting next to Capua, while Rome has three stacks of their own. The Julii are sending more down as well, so I need to take Rome soon or there could well be a stalemate on the peninsula.
Pontus is interesting though, and perhaps more dangerous, and as a result Im playing a purely defensive strategy here. They control all of what used to by Scythia, parthia, Armenia, Egypt and of course the Seluecid Empire - they've taken Thapsus as well. I don't think they were too impressed with my incursions into Asia Minor and having taken 4 provinces, and two 'wonders' to boot, i think I've grabbed a little too much of their attention. Around ten of their stacks have made their way down from Persia.
I might give this a few more years and if I take Rome, I'll stop and try the Greeks.
Thanks for the insight Craterus. I guess I never noticed this before.Quote:
Originally Posted by Craterus
Aren't those falxmen just wonderful! They can really tear up a cavalry unit if it should happen to misjudge its charge.Quote:
On with my Brutii campaign:
I took Noricum but pulled my armies out of the Dacian Empire to deal with a much bigger threat. The Thracian Empire has now taken most of Greece. Macedon are left with Corinth and Athens, and Greece are left with Sparta and Thermon (on the mainland, they do still have Rhodes and Pergamum). All of these cities are poorly garrisoned and easy pickings for the Thracian "horde" that is rampaging through the Balkans.
I took my Dacian army, and piledrived into Bylazora. Only to find 2000 falxmen waiting! :eek
Does this mean that you have abandoned your North African venture?Quote:
The army that was protecting North Africa has been sent to deal with the Thracian menace as well. I will try to pincer them at both ends of the Balkan peninsula.
Ten cities in twenty turns is "movin' at a fair pace" in my neck of the woods. I agree that you had to do something about the Thracians however. Perhaps you can give a region back to Dacia in return for trade rights and for their assistance against Thrace? This should give you some "leeway" to reorganize your forces for the coming attack. Beware of the deadly combination of Thracian Heavy Cavalry, Phalanx, and Bastarne infantry combination. Don't underestimate its latent power to disrupt a well formed Roman legion'. They fight a little differently than the Macedonians and Greeks,much faster in the attack, if I remember.Quote:
I have a 10 city empire, in 20 years. I know, I am a slow mover but I tihnk it is going OK. I knew I'd have to take the Balkans at some point. But at least the Dacians tasted Roman steel before I did it. 3 generals of theirs down, and I think I've given them a grudge against the Romans, even thoguh they accepted an alliance almost immediately after war.
Good luck, and your campaign sounds fascinating!
Rotorgun
In fact, it's 10 cities in 40 turns. I have not abandoned North Africa, but I have taken the good force out of there. What remains is Hastati and Town Watch. If the Numidians decide to betray me, I will have to outnumber them since the troop quality isn't great.
I have agreed an alliance with the Dacians, and I hope that they will take the oppurtunity, when I hit them in the Aegean, to take their homelands, which, as I understand are poorly defended. Waaay too many commas in the above sentence. You may need to re-read it ~;).
The Senate has asked me to agree trade with Germania, so I've sent my only diplomat off into the wilderness. I could really do with one in case I need to bribe a Thracian stack. And I could also do with a ceasefire with Carthage and the Greeks. That should keep Carthage off my back, and Greece will be paying out for me protecting them... More as it comes in, and you're right, it is fascinating.
One problem, because of the whole fiasco with BI, on my main computer, I installed upstairs and had a go with huge units (never had a campaign with huge unit size before), the specs are much the same as mymain computer, but I thought I'd have a go anyway. I get CTD's on the epic battles, even thouh in custom battles the computer says I can have 3200 soldiers on the battlefield with no problems. In battles with 2000 (1000 vs. 1000) men or more, it CTD's. I think I'm going to have to fight some pretty epic battles against Thrace, and I'll have to auto-calc on some important battles, with expensive armies. Should I start again on large, or keep going on huge? :help: A little dilemma for you all to help me work out.
Hmmm...I'm not sure what size video card your using, or how much ram you have available. I had a similar problem when going for huge units until I upgraded from a 64 meg Video card to a 128 meg Raedeon 9200. I also added another 512 Ram stick to give me 1 gig of ram. I can usually run any battle up to 20 full sized units per side without alot of delays, as long as I keep some of the other options, such as unit details, ground effects, and other such eye candy to a moderate level. You can probably go to the video options and play with these settings to get the most out of your system. I am still saving for another ram stick and a 256 meg VC to improve my system's performance.Quote:
Originally Posted by Craterus
If these adjustments won't do, than go for large units; then you can increase the amount of detail for a more satisfying experience. There is also a default "performance" option on the game video settings which gave me a good starting point. From there, I would play a small custom battle to see if I liked it and then adjusted from there. I still seem to get the best performance out my machine with large units. ( I still enjoy those great "huge" battles every now and then) I hope this was helpful, as I'm not the greatest techno-geek in the world.
rotorgun
Sorry for breaking this into two separate posts; I just thought that this was a topic that needed to be dealt with by itself. You've made a good diplomatic move with Dacia. Have you been able to get them to agree with your requst to attack the Thracians? You might have to spend some denarii and give up some map info. You might even need to offer a previously owned Dacian town back. It will be worth it to see them embroiled with your rival!Quote:
Originally Posted by Craterus
As for the Senate's request, no problem. I took the advice of some others and sent diplomats to every corner of the world to established trade with as many factions as I could initially. This not only has brought me more wealth, but has gained me some valuable allies in my current campaign. Create more diplomats by all means. Make as many freinds as you can. This was the real secret of Roman success. They were able to get many countries obligated to them which enlarged her trade and increases her recruiting pool; hence the Auxilia units when you take over a foreign province.
I am really enjoying this series of posts about the Brutii. I have such a busy life, that I am not able to play my own campaign except for weekends. At least I can get alot of good ideas from talking with my fellow players in the meantime.
Appreciate the time y'all take to correspond.
Rotorgun
Hail Garvanko!Quote:
Originally Posted by Garvanko
So what's it like to engage the Pontic armies in battle? I have yet to do a practice custom battle with them. Can these Persians fight? Are they actually even Persians? ~:) Do you offer any suggestions on how to train myself to deal with them? I'd be greatful for any insights that you can give me.
Rotorgun
In my opinion the best way to train yourself to deal with them is to fight with them. Just go into a singleplayer battle and let the AI choose the characters.
Sounds like a good idea. I'll give it a try this weekend. So how is your campaign coming along?Quote:
Originally Posted by GreatEmperor
Thanks, Rotorgun
Yes, but what I'm asking is:Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorgun
Should I quit this campaign and re-start with large units, instead of huge, or have I gone too far? Maybe I'll try the Julii, as the only Roman faction I haven't had a good go at?
If I continue, I know it (CTD's and auto-calc ing important battles) will annoy me, even though it was getting fun with Thrace and all.
Re-start with large units, Craterus.
RG, fighting Pontus is a bit like fighting the Greeks, except their Cavalry is superior.