be careful not to spread your forces over too wide a front or too many fronts. I suggest signing a ceasefire with Germania once you defeat thier sieges.
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be careful not to spread your forces over too wide a front or too many fronts. I suggest signing a ceasefire with Germania once you defeat thier sieges.
that couldint be said any clearer hounds of ulster.
but,i like to consider regions you control 'home bases' for regions your invading,like this...have a faction leader,a fule bannered army,and a ship from brittania(your home base on attacking germania)and sail to denmark,once you take that,germany will slowly crumble....
I've been trying to get those dirty Krauts to accept a ceasefire after I destroyed their first full-stack, about a decade ago or so. I've had a permanent diplomat outside Moganticium ever since.
In any case, it's not going to be a big offensive, as I can't leave myself open to the Limeys. My plan was to just mount a simple offensive at Trier. Taking that city protects Lugdunum, Alesia, AND Samorobrivia in one fell swoop. I can either burn it to the ground and use it for a buffer, or hold a line along the Rhine. Either way, it solves most of my problems.
Leaving regions you conquer, in a chevauchee-style raid, and then abandon to the Rebels, as a buffer is a very wise move, because the main enemies of Gaul (Julii, Germania), while usually take thier sweet time taking these rebellious proviences, which gives you as the Gauls time to consalidate and, if needed, re-train, your forces.
The problem with Gaul is that the Julii are very aggresive even on the lower difficulty settings, which means you don't have much time to build up your forces before the Hasati and and Principes come in chucking thier pilum at you.
Victory! Victory on all fronts!
It's been a difficult 2 or 3 years, but the tide has turned now (permanently, I hope) to the side of Gallic arms.
In Italy, I marched my army across northern Latium, crossing the Tiber to the north of Rome. I'd march down the west side of it and besiege the city safely from there. However, the Senate army pursued me and attempted to force a river crossing. MY massive force wheeled about, lured the entire army to battle just above te ford, and then the other half slammed into their rear. Only 1 general escaped to bring news of the catastrophe to Rome. 2000 Romans died to about 50 Gaelic casualties, mostly in cheap warbands. Rome, virtually undefended, fell before the year was out.
Around Patavium, massive Greek stacks continued to besiege the city. Time and again they were destroyed by my Foresters sallying. Finally, I took the offensive and took Segestica, drawing off pressure from Patavium. From here I can hit the Greek stacks as they come up the coast from Salona, and if they besiege the city, my Foresters shoot 'em dead! I can hold here whilst I take the offensive on other fronts.
The war in Spain went well. One Carthaginian army was destroyed outside Numantia. When I arrived outside Corduba, it held a massive garrison of cavalry, plus another full-stack nearby. I withdrew a short distance, and the full stack attacked me, unsupported. I was outnumbered, but I used my superior infantry to force a hole in their line and then roll them up. Marching back to Corduba, I stormed the city, the Roundshields proving ineffective against my multitudes of infantry in the streets. Corduba fell, and the three remaining Carthaginian armies in Iberia evacuated for North Africa. I intend to send a diplomat to secure a ceasefire and trade rights.
Spain has provided no resistance. A minor stack besieged Osca, but were forced back in a sally battle. Their main field army (a pitiful quarter stack) remains encamped a short march to the south. However, to their rear, I've sent half of the army that took Corduba (the other half remained for policing and retraining) to take Carthago Nova from its pathetic garrison. I think the war in Iberia is safely over. I'll keep a full stack until Osca is taken, just in case, and then a minor garrison in Corduba in case Carthage feels like coming back.
It is in Gaul that the real war is, now. My planned offensive never materialized, as a powerful German assault hit Samorobrivia whilst I was relieving yet another siege at Lugdunum. That city fell, and a minor force slipped behind my lines to besiege Condate Redondum. I sallied against the 2 spear warbands with my 3 warbands and peasant unit, but was narrowly defeated - 1 spear warband can defeat 3 warbands, even when outflanked and hit from the rear! It disgusts me. The city fell.
With my military situation now resembling that of France's just prior to the Battle of the Marne in 1914, there came an abrupt reversal of my fortunes. Germanic armies were roving willy-nilly across northern Gaul, approachng Alesia from the west and north was well as the usual eastern attack. I had lost 2 cities and had 3 more threatened - all of the homeland, in fact.
However. I had finally raised a decent force in my rear, mostly of warbands, to chase off the 3 large rebel armies that had been blocking my trade routes for years. I got two generals out of these battles, and by the time the three rebels were destroyed (they'd been around for nearly a decade!), I had decent 3/4 stack perched just south of Condate Redonum, on the bridge there. I had a full stack barreling northwards from Alesia (sweeping east through German territory and destroying a few small armies on the way) to retake Samorobrivia, a second full stack IN Alesia, prepared to fight the Germans to the west, and finally, my elite Italian force just crossed the Alps and is bound for Trier. The next two or three years, if all goes well, will see the complete destruction of the German war machine and a final end to this long war.
Now, to do something about those dozen Grecian armies headed for my borders...
take my advice,until you can make chosen swordsmen,FORGET about sicily
Oh, I'm churning out a goodly number of those in Italy, but I'm ignoring Sicily (which is completely Scipii territory, the last of the Roman Republic) until the Hellenes are destroyed.
Anyways, campaign update:
Iberia is quickly winding down. Carthago Nova fell after a brief fight, leaving the Spanish two scattered armies that I can see and 1 remaining settlement. I'm concentrating my 4 major forces in the area (one in Numantia, in Osca, in Corduba, and in Carthago Nova) to put a large field force to take the final settlement. It shall then sweep up remaining Spanish rebels if they're on trade routes and proceed to either Germany or Illyrium.
In Gaul, the Germans were caught completely flat-footed by my counteroffensive. 4 Gallic full-stacks (granted, two of them mostly warbands wtih a general attached) attacked north from Lemonum, west from Alesia, north from Alesia, and north from the Alps simultaneously. The Germans were spread out in a bunch of little stacks and proved no opposition, despite nearly equalling my numbers. Samorobrivia fell to my old field force, the German faction leader barely escaped the Alesian garrison with his life, his army in shambles around him, the Lemonum army destroyed or scattered about 5 stacks of 2-3 spear warbands and 2-3 screeching women each, and is besieging the last ten or so in Condate Redondum, oh, nad Trier fell in a single turn to the combination of spy + elite Italian force. With that battle, when Germans fell by the hundreds to Gallic arrows, all my losses over the past decade were avenged!
With German resistance crumbling everywhere, the plan is to swing my elites back over the Alps, to take the fight to the Greeks, whilst the Lemonum force supports my main field army as it moves into Germany, and the fullstack that WAS garrisoning Alesia at last invades Britain. I can finally guard myself AND attack on this front, after too long on the defensive.
The problem now lies in Venetia. Three Greek stacks came up and attacked. I met one in a field battle, but the victory there cost me nearly as many casualties as the Greeks - in more valuable swordsmen, too. I dare not face them in the open field again unless I have more room to manuever - keep getting pinned in forests and lose track of events.
One of the remaining stacks is now besieging my battered field army in Segestica, while the other is making hard for a weakly held-Patavium. Spies report more Greek stacks all marching northwest - Greece has no other enemies save Gaul.
Still, I have every confidence my elite force can turn the situation around. So far I've been fighting the Hellenes with the scrubs of my army (plus foresters), and winning. With good troops, who knows?
Good strategy approach. Tactical suggestion against Greece.
Forresters work well against Greeks, but take a while to get through armored hoplites.
Concentrate your best cavalry into one force. Use forresters to thin the Greek cavalry. Then hit their cav with yours. Then use your cav against their missile troops (while avoiding the phalanx). Now your forresters can flank the hoplites (who are generally too slow) and shoot on the rear/non-shield flank. This will really thin them and let your swords go in at a numerical as well as h-t-h bonus advantage -- with a little judicious help from your wisely spear-shy cavalry.
A few more brief battles.
My barbarian offensive began today, as three armies rolled out north, north-east, and east against Britannia nad Germania. No contact with the Britons yet, but I expect that shall change - I'm not quite in sight of Londinium and they've had a solid decade or so to build since I kicked them out of Gaul.
Two battles were fought against Germania, however, one by my elite field force, recrossing the Alps, and one by my Alesian garrison-turned-army. Two moderate strength German armies were wiped out, including the German king. Moganticium is besieged, and my third force will be upon Damme in a turn or two.
In Iberia, my armies have all united and a full-stack is racing for the final Spanish settlement, hoping to arrive before a full-stack Spanish army I saw running around besieges one of my settlements. No battles.
It is in Italia that the heavy fighting is raging. I sallied against the Greeks besieging Segestica, but was unable to drive them off. My foresters killed a few, but with no cavalry I couldn't get behind the armored hoplites (70% of their force), and so it was mostly ineffective. My elite field army, the only reinforcements available, won't be in position for another 4 turns.
Finally, two brutal sieges were fought. In the first, a full Greek stack, though of lesser quality than the other, stormed Patavium, held by only 3 warbands, 2 skirmishers, and some foresters. The battle was long and fierce, as I was slowly pushed back through the streets, but in the end, I drove off the army. I had only 55 Foresters out of the entire force remaining at the end of the fighting.
With the heroic victory of Patavium bolstering me, I thought holding Segestica with my battered, weak army might be possible against the overwhelming numbers of heavily armored Hellenes. However, my men were dispersed in multiple small units, and so my attempt to hold the walls failed as they began routing too soon. I regrouped at the town square and attempted a second stand, but in the narrow streets, even outflanked and outnumbered the armored hoplites proved invincible. Segestica was retaken by the Greeks, who lost some 75% of their numbers. I will avenge myself once my main army arrives...
That was all I had time for. I think I'm nearing the end of this campaign - once Brittania, Germania, and Greece lose their empires, I should have the 50 settlements I need. It is currently the year 245 BC.
i see your doing well on your campaigne vitellus,but.....:focus: i kind of want talk about evading and attacking germania.
have you noticed how britons are good fighting germania with chariots?(and very 'fond' of trier?)thats because germania baosts there ability to make a phalanxe barbarian unit and makes them frequently in there armys.thats what gaul has to do,by making alot of of barbarian cavalry to counter attack a german phalanxe or perhaps triarii,victory will be a certain possibility
Germania is crumbling fast - I have taken Trier, Moganticium, Batovorundum, and Damme with my two armies. They were merged into one army due to miscellaneous losses and garrison duties sapping my strength. The Germans, with their 3 remaining settlements, can muster one full stack to oppose me. n_n I sacked every settlement I took, so the entire region is depopulated.
Brittania is no more. I crushed their first full stack at a bridge outside of Londinium. Their last army was destroyed outside Eubaricum (canna spell), and the rest of the island was taken within the year. My modern, powerful forces simply cut through these barbarian armies like a hot knife through butter!
Same story in Spain. Destroyed their field army at a bridge, sacked their last settlement. I left the warbands in the Iberian army as garrison (and to clean up any rebels around), while the specialized units are headed for the coast. Carthage refuses to accept a ceasefire, so I've decided to begin a campaign against her island possessions, to improve my income.
Speaking of which, income is now nearly 10,000 denari a turn. I can easily construct armies where needed, build whatever I want -after so many long years close to the wire, it's an incredible luxury. I've used the excess funds to begin my plan for the ultimate destruction of the Greeks.
The plan is this: I'm still fighting around Segestica and Patavium. My elite army has wiped out close to 5 Greek full stacks, but there's no end in sight, and I've gained no ground. So, in southern Italy, I'm using those lovely Roman facilities to build a second elite army of Chosen Swordsmen, Foresters, and Noble Cavalry. This army will be ferried smartly across the Adriatic, to Corinth, if I can manage it (that's if the seas are relatively free of pirates and Greeks), or to Thermon if I'm nervous. Once I have an army lose in their rear, destroying their core cities, the Greek war effort will collapse, I'm confident.
With any luck, the next post will be my victory one! The end ot all these long wars is finally in sight...
I hope if you took spain,you took palma so you could keep an eye on those carthaginians,and if your going into italy,you should take caralis so you could keep an eye on the civil war in sicily.
it took you that long to take brittania?(including hibernia,i hope)
The island fell extremely quickly...once I landed on it. I faced no real resistance other than the attacks outside Londinium. The delay was due to my resources being stretched incredibly thin by war on 3 fronts - I could only afford one army in Gaul, and I needed THAT to hold back the Germans. Italy has been Gallic territory for at least the past decade, while Sicily has been Scipii dominated for at least that long.
Both Palma nad Caralis are on my new hitlist, since Carthage has refused all my peace overtures. Havena played much since my last post, due to time constraints.
Northern Italy could be held if a meeting hall is constructed quickly, swordsmen will defeat Hastati. hold the bridge on the river Po. the AI rarely tries to get around it although somethings they does.
Gaul is one of the better factions that I've played on H/VH (as in enjoyable).
Right at the beginning you have two options: Unite or Die.
Most would rather choose the former. To achieve this here is what I did.
Immediately create three distinct armies:
1)Fight off the Britons/Germans.
2)Fight off the Romans.
2.5)Fight off the Spainish/Carthage.
3) Take Massilia and Lugdunum.
As you can see resources are spread thin, and you must get the most bang for your buck. First on your priority list is to perfom the crucial marriage between Cisapine Gaul and Transalpine Gaul by taking Massilia. On every other front be on the defensive, unless a particularly juicy opportunity presents itself, such as the spanish leaving one unit as garrison in Osca. :tongue3:
As for the Romans I found that taking segesta made them confused for a good 4 years. But eventually they came, and came in force (as we all know). A system of forts allowed me to direct their every movement. Such that I took Arretium when there was a small garrison. That really took the wind out of their sails. :wry:
The Britons provided the most challenge for me, oddly enough. But luckily up in the north there you start out with Alesia (The Gaul's main powerhouse) and their faction leader which gives you a slight advantage. BTW, I got an alliance with the Germans for the first 10 years of the game, which served me well enough. It seems they were happy enough to go picking up rebel provinces in the east. After a long campaign of butt kicking in the north with the Brits and Germs I exiled the Germans to Domis Dulcis Domis (Home Sweet Home). BTW, the city being named Home Sweet Home in Latin definately makes me think the CA producers have a sence of humor.
I found the Spaniards to be quite the pushovers, and after a decisive bridge battle with the Carthiginians I was king of Iberia. I actually got Corduba before it became a minor city so I eventually turned it into a round settlement (I hate squares by the way). On then to Palma, Tingi, Cirta, and Caralis. I then had to give that army a break as I waited for the sack of Rome.
The Sack of Rome: Once I developed enough chosen swordsmen, and a couple Foresters-
[time out: I really was disappointed by the foresters. I've heard so much about them, but was phased a little when I found out that they took two turns to create. I was then shocked that they weren't much better than cretan archers. Maybe my expectations are too high. I never really found their ability to hide anywhere to be useful in battle either.]
-I knew it was time. I squashed the remaining pitiful Julii beneath the heel of my boot like a red bug. I then banged my blood-stained hand on the gates of Rome, only to be greeted by the pumpus Maxentius and his band of mongrels that were skulking in the countryside. Roman pride can be impressive, but all too predictable. Maxentius confronted me and rose his gladius high into the air and swung it down with all the might of Rome, but his gladius was stopped short by true Gallic steel. Sparks showered us both, and the battle of nations ensued. I'll admit Maxentius fought well....for a scared little boy. I attacked him right were he was most strong. I thrusted my sword into his shield directly, plunging through it and then feeling the familiar feeling of a Gallic steel sinking into roman flesh. He collapsed before onto his knees and begged for mercy. "Mercy" I chuckled to myself. Then I unremorsefully decapitated him and held his dismembered head aloft for the all the battling men to see. Upon seeing their general's head dripping in the hands of their worst nightmare, they all fled. Even the Triarii, who are held in such high esteem, fled like whipped curs. The few men that escaped my blade, arrived back in Rome only to announce that the entire population was to be slaughtered by the scourge of Jove. The sun of Rome was setting, and the age of Gaul was just beginning.
Needless to say, the conquest of Italy was a successful and went off with out a hitch. As you can see, a great beginning is what counts. Once you have united and established yourself, you become an unstoppable force, the likes of which have never been seen.
I hope you liked my gory dramatization of the battle with SPQR as much as I did.:wry:
Sounded like an AAR rather than a guide :P
It's actually more of a hybrid. It starts out giving advice, but then captures the imagination of the player with a AAR dramatization. Then concludes again with a tid-bit of advice. It's the perfect guide!
For those that need to get a better understanding of my campaign I put the final screenshot online. It was the summer of 241 BC (not bad eh?), and was the perfect year to end my glorious campaign.
I personally found the gauls to be one of my favorite campaigns, they are difficult (H/VH) straight from the get-go. But led by the proper tactician, they can steamroll straight over the might of Rome, like a mushy cookie batter. mmmm...
I digress... Anyways, here is my screenshot. Comments please.:sombrero:
https://img138.imageshack.us/img138/...lendlx6.th.png
Your victory was much more rapid than my own, which wasn't secured until about 235 BC or so. I think the key was your alliance with Germania - that gave you a free hand to operate against Britannia. For my part, I spent most of the first two decades simply fighting off endless German attacks on my homelands - the Romans were never a threat after my lightning attack, and the Iberian front was hindered by a lack of troops to fight in all directions, so I expanded slowly there until I was able to build a covering force for Numantia.
I just remember, above all, the constant frustration of German attacks on that huge land border I had with them, forcing me to defend from the Channel all the way to the Alps.
I should give alliance with germania much more credit. With the Gauls, the moment of crisis is crucial at the beginning. The alliance with germania definately cushioned the initial shock of fighting wars on all fronts.
what a blitzer eh?
You shoud know me by now. Of course it was a blitzer.:tongue3:
As Gaul, I don't know if there is any other way TO play successfully. You have to act swiftly to eliminate one rival before the others all around you grow powerful enough to pose a threat. For me, it was the Romans, and their swift elimination meant I never had any trouble in Italy (before the damned Hellenic intervention), and the funds from the Italian cities allowed me to hold off the barbarian attacks in the north and the Punics/Iberians in Hispania long enough to gain a decisive advantage. GSC was even more successful, managing a non-aggression pact with Germania that allowed him to eliminate the Britons and secure his rear early on.
Indeed as Gaul, urgent action is required. Basically throwing everything at the Romans and taking them out before they get an Imperial palace (God forbids!).
I remember in the last gaul vanilla campaign i've played there were about 20 sites of "famous battles" scattered all over the Italian pen. - Obelix would have been proud :)
Ok, I'm tackling this the second time through now. Both been on VH campaign and M battles.
I agree that as Gaul you have to be agressive and fast, you have a huge reign and plenty of borders, but no income. It is a priority thus to Stabalize your situation. what I did was barge north with everything in Alesia and kick the Britts into oblivion, this for two reasons, the first time around I had taken their mainland foothold, but had been required to station a huge garison there for most of the game, something that the gauls really can't afford. Killing the Britts thus leaves your back clear and you can have one army less, it also gives you access to a lot of coast and thus ports, giving you much needed income. So what I did this time, was not even taking a breather, but insantly jumping to Londinium and taking the battle there as a result I killed the last brit general by turn four leaving their last settlement to rebel.
similarly in the south, people say Gaul's territory is divided in two and that it's essential to unify it, but that's only half right, it's actually divided in three. Numantia is left totally surrounded and I read here people advising to garison it properly, again costly and again an army that does nothing, but sitt there waiting for the inevitable, I mean seriously you are in the smack middle of Spain's domain, what's he supposed to do? Ignore you? Don't think so, Empty Numantia and charge Osca, this will relieve the threat on Narbo Martius, if you challange Julii early on both these cities will then be left safe, the Carthinians have too many borders to guard to launch assaults all the way up here.
Continue the assult on Spain, Spain starts small and weak, use that, the sooner you exterminate him the easier time you will have, the issue here is Carthage, but he usually take a few turns to warm up, just like the Germans, before they do you should have Spain and Brittania well on their way to oblivion. With two fronts less you have less forces to waste your money on and ALL of the new territories are costal, which gives you what Gaul needs most, money.
Both times I left Julii alone, because I know he will attack, but it's easier to fight a defansive battle and he stats with a sizable army. While waiting for that I sent the forces around Narbo Martius to take Massilla and Lugdunum before going north to reinforce my German border.
The troops in northern Itally I sent to take the rebel settlements. Mediolanium north to take luvalum, then south again to handle Julii while the city spawns new toops to handle the Roman threat. Patavium going east to take Segestica and Aquincum.
Aquincum here is essential, taking it and walling it up quickly and placing a small garrison of four - five units will halt Dacia, who may linger for a while in your territory, but not attack unless you lessen the garrison, this is great and makes them go to war on the other front.
When Julii begins to move (it will only take a few turns) don't hesitate, just smash the bastard. The Senate might have a big army but it will just sit on the boarder and watch, there's no need to engage them if you don't want to. and if you do, make sure it's a bridge/ford battle. The Brutii though will eventually come up the eastern side of the Itallian pernisulae, they will also come north on the other side of the coast. I took Salona and have been keeping them busy in sieges there. He will at times send ships up as well, but unless one of the armies are allowed to march, then he troops on the boats wont come ashore.
After killing the Brits, Spain and julii, in that order I concentrated on Germany and pushing into North Africa, while getting my cities in Italy on their way to producing foresters. I did the same with Alesia, but by the time I managed to produce the first unit 256 BC My armies pushing east were sieging Lovosice and marching on Vicus Gothi, meaning there was a very long way to the front, so I'm not sure producing the units there was such a good investment.
After finishing up with the germans I with a somewhat strengthened garrison in Aquincum made a simultanious assult on most of Dacias settlements, which meant I killed him off in a couple of turns without having to face all of his forces, which proved lucky because my armies were apparently obsolete by this time, facing chosen archers and such isn't fun with first tier troops. Which made me consider waiting there before taking on Scythia, especially seeing as both Campus Lazyges and Porrolissum are big developed cities, which means you can produce good troops there.
However Scythia apparently didn't like to wait so that I could get forresters to tackle their horrible horse archers and moved in immidiatly and sieged Porrolissum, which now faces three nearly full stacks of Scythian troops. That's where I'm at, taken Rome in Italy, pushing with huge forester armies and slaughtering everything there (apparently I could build awesome temple of the Horse in Rome, so I'm doing that, Gold version of the game, no mods)
Have nearly taken out Numidia in the south, but now Carthage is moving huge stacks into the southern desert. (I'm having trouble making the damn cities there happy, which put a serious dent in my progress.) Trying to gather the rebel killing foresters in Spain and France to make a semi-force to take out Malta and head on to help out in North Africa.
Now is actually the first time I faced any real difficulty, first time I played the Imperial campaign with the Gauls, money was the problem, now getting real troops to the front is it., but then again 43 regions by 250 BC, is ok, with Gauls, right? It's probably about time I stopped blitzing.
+1 Forester Warbands are good; Forester Warbands with 6 or more levels of experience are lethal - both at range and in melee; that's why I would recommend going after Albion as soon as you have connected your lands, partially to get some strategic depth, partially because they will stab you in the back anyway, but mainly to get those Forester Warbands plenty of experience fighting troops that are no better than yoursQuote:
Originally Posted by Claudius Maniacus Sextus
After many years i reinstalled RTW and decided to play as the Gauls. I only play VH/VH.
Havent finished yet but doing well so far. Exterminated Britania, juli and senate. Germania down to 2 towns and currently laying seige to both Bruti settlements in Italy. Its 252 bc. Havent used forresters and elite swords yet, only barb cav and swords.
In the first turns produced diplomats on all three fronts and got alliances with Germania, Spain, Carthago, Bruti and senate. Sold trade rights and map information to all except juli and Germania. Later in the game used diplomats to prevent wars by simply buying off any foreign army on my lands before they could declare war on me. With the Alesia army blitzed Britania and exterminated them. Narbo Martius army unified the country taking the two rebel settlements. Mediolanum and Patavium built for swords and cav (including temple and blacksmith). Stationed the Patavium army on the bridge. After getting three full stack armies mainly of swords and barb cav blitzed juli. With one stack sieged rome on the river passage tile. Defeated the senate army on this bridge battle. Most settlemenst i chose to occupy but the more far away ones, including rome i sacked.
Dont know but it seems the trick to win as Gauls is diplomacy, to prevent 3 front wars.
Welcome (back?) to the .Org, Wugui ~:wave: . Sounds like you are having a fun game.
Is Numantia worth keeping, or should taking Spain be a priority. Obviously taking Italy is so you can eliminate Rome before Marius, and then spring into lucrative Greece. If you are astute in a battle, even Warband can be used against British Chariots. Forester Warband are awesome, too bad it takes so long to get to them. Warhounds will do well against Britannia or Germania, but not so much against Rome. Swordsmen should be the core of your army, with a Druid to help. It seems that swordsmen beat spearmen (excluding phalanx) in hand to hand combat. Just personal observation, definitely so on walls. Most elite units are swordsmen, only Rome and Carthage have good non-phalanx spear units (Auxilia, Triarii, and Libyan Spearmen are nothing to sneeze at). Naked Fanatics provide good shock infantry, and I believe are the same temple as Druids (Esus), though I could be wrong. Also, temple to Abnoba gives gold upgrade to missile weapons. Gaul's main problem is money, which taking Italy and Greece will solve.
These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. 2 Samuel 23:8 KJV
Depends on where you locate your capital:shrug: I generally don't jump into N. Africa as Gaul...Italy becomes the primary target after Spain is conquered.Quote:
Is Numantia worth keeping, or should taking Spain be a priority.
If you are referring to the S.P.Q.R., then taking the city has no bearing on when Uncle Marius shows up...at least in my experience. I've taken the city with a Royal Palace intact (more than once) but no Marian Reforms had occurred. It's usually Carthage that drives the Reforms, and occasionally one of the Greek cities like Athens.Quote:
so you can eliminate Rome before Marius
Never recruited a Druid unit, and can't see me ever doing so. Their stats are weak, the 32 man unit is too small, and I honestly don't see their benefits being better than 'War Cry':shrug:
Yep. But don't overlook the financial benefits of Spain....every province can have a port, and there's one or two mines to be had, as well.....Quote:
Gaul's main problem is money, which taking Italy and Greece will solve.
Agreed. I think that was why I had to abandon my latest Briton campaign, when I should have gone after Italy and Spain, I went after Italy and Germania, suspending my war with Gaul so it was one less thing to worry about. Really, as a Barbarian, if you take over anything city or larger, it is a good idea to kill population growth right off the bat, you can't advance the city anyway. And is enslaving a totally different culture better or exterminating? I know the exterminating is good financially for the looting, but the city will take a while to recover. Just looking for advice on that, can probably apply it to my Greek campaign as well. As barbarians, the exterminating seems inviting because it is hard to make money, but that may not be the best choice.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReluctantSamurai
I play Germania alot, and the economic scenario is much the same. Germania has a legitimate "growth" temple in Freyja (so it's rare to need to enslave), and 12k rather than 24k is the maximum development level, so I generally exterminate to generate cash from looting, and to prevent tieing down my armies to garrison duty. With the added time cushion from exterminating, I can bring even potentially large cities like Corduba or Massilia under control with ZPG strategy. But if a city is close to the 12k mark, it's better to just capture it intact if you can. You may have to put up with several turns of riots, but eventually things will calm down and the final level of the governors building can be built.Quote:
Really, as a Barbarian, if you take over anything city or larger, it is a good idea to kill population growth right off the bat, you can't advance the city anyway. And is enslaving a totally different culture better or exterminating?
The Greek Cities is a different kind of campaign with a different approach to economic development. You are dealing with large incomes (and expenditures), potentially very high population counts, and the need for a strong navy (as Germania, I build a very small fleet to cut off Britannia from the mainland, and not much else). So extermination is a less viable alternative in most instances.
Because riots reduce population, in a case like above I'd immediately find a way to take the population over 12k (disbands or enslaves) so I can start the governor's building - and then allow riots if unavoidable.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReluctantSamurai
12K is the max? Upgrade to Large Town is 2000, upgrade to City is 6000, right? Barbarians can't do Large City, which goes at 12K. Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that 6000 is the max upgrade for barbarians, though I could be mistaken.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReluctantSamurai
No, you are not mistaken....my bad:dizzy2: I guess the 12k sticks in my head because that's about where I achieve ZPG with most barbarian settlements.Quote:
Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that 6000 is the max upgrade for barbarians, though I could be mistaken
By barbarian I presume you mean Britons and Germans. How dare you call britons barbarians?
~DQuote:
How dare you call britons barbarians?
Brits and the donkey carts they call chariots...:rolleyes:
I'll have you know the Brits didn't have donkeys til the Romans brought them. What did the Romans ever do for us, eh?
Taking heads as trophies sounds barbarian to me.~;) Talk about Barbarian, the Bible mentions that there is neither Jew nor Greek, Barbarian nor Scythian. There is barbarian, ie non-Greek, and then there is Scythian, really barbarian. Celts as a whole were barbarian. I am glad my ancestors were not barbarians, the Vikings.:clown:
Well that's where you're wrong. Throwing heads - now that's barbarian :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent Butler
If you had to wear a hat like like that, wouldn't you be in a permanent bad mood?Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent Butler
I'm a Celt and I'm only mildly barbarian. Vincent the Red.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent Butler
Pardon me. I guess something needs to be done with the heads, like putting them on a pike. That is civilized.~DQuote:
Originally Posted by williamsiddell
I think it was more as much time as they spent on horseback. Ouch.Quote:
If you had to wear a hat like like that, wouldn't you be in a permanent bad mood?
Hey now, my brother is the red one.:rolleyes2: We have the Celts to thank in part for soap, don't we? Anyway, we came over to England with William the Conqueror, and rubbed shoulders with the monarchs after that. If the name Fitzwalter means anything to you, our line of Butlers descend directly from the Fitzwalters.Quote:
I'm a Celt and I'm only mildly barbarian. Vincent the Red.
Ha ha.
That's where the guy who invented lollipops (or whatever Americans call them) got the idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent Butler
I've heard of soap but never use it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent Butler
Fitzwalter sounds like an Irish name. Vincent Bloodaxe.
Butler the Berserker. Fitzwalter means "Son of Walter", and the most famous of the Fitzwalters was probably Lady Marian Fitzwalter of Robin Hood lore. And we seem to have strayed from topic. Anyway, as Gaul (or Britannia), I used to fight most of my battles in the city, but I am thinking maybe that gives especially Rome an advantage, their units beat barbarians from the front, and they cannot be flanked in town. That is what you really want to do, flank them, so taking the battles out of the city might be better. At least in barbarian towns, you don't get the help of the walls decimating them either. I imagine if you take a city with stone walls, you can fight in city better, you can meet them on the walls instead of the ground, and your towers do more damage. As Germania, it probably still works in the city because of the phalanx.
Here I go being mechanical again. I no longer fight at the walls in a city - I fortify the town centre (units may be permanently wavering but never rout). That means even if I lose I take more with me :) I'm not sure Gaul has a really good defensive unit though. Do they have wardogs? They come into their own in a city.
As a phalanx I do not fight at the walls, as Rome I do, sometimes, it depends on a lot of variables. Large Roman/Greek city I always fight at the town center, letting my walls do most of the damage. Egyptian walls and cities stink for defense: Eastern/Egyptian gates cannot even fire inward. If there are Onagers present or more than one Siege Tower I defend at the town square.Quote:
Originally Posted by williamsiddell
Town centre-takes me back to Age of Empires:pleased:.Quote:
I fortify the town centre
Yes, I am pretty sure Gaul does have Wardogs, but Wardogs are useless against armoured units, and even worse against phalanx. Even standard swordsmen do fairly well against them, at least if that is all they are fighting. They do well against Warband, Peasants, Screeching Women, and such like, not so much against chariots, only good against Cataphracts for the humor of watching what Cataphracts do to them:laugh:, not great against cav as a whole.Quote:
Do they have wardogs?
Aye, in the field wardogs usually rout before the units they're supposed to scare.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent Butler
But I remember assaulting a town, and wardogs charged out the newly opened gate and my ram unit just ran away :) Also in my current game I had two solid hoplite units properly arrayed for defence set up in the enemy town square. They were attacked by 3 wardog units. As far as I could tell the wardogs were permanently wavering, but it was the hoplites that eventually ran.
But the real problem is when it comes to auto-resolve of a siege. I don't think I've ever won an auto-resolve where the garrison includes wardogs.
:laugh4:Quote:
only good against Cataphracts for the humor of watching what Cataphracts do to them
Yep.....splat!
I have seen the ram unit rout in that situation, but it was against Britannia and Germania, so Warband and Spear Warband not in phalanx. I have never seen properly defensed phalanx lose to dogs, the dogs just impale themselves on the spears. Sometimes a dog or two will not die, same as happens with enemy units, just either turn the phalanx off guard mode or raise then immediately lower the spears.Quote:
Originally Posted by williamsiddell
Well I have! I didn't mess about with the formation - they just killed dogs (until the hoplites eventually ran). It's because enemy units don't rout on the town square.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent Butler
OK - you've forced me to think back. I'd taken Croton, Tarentum and Capua on the mainland so it must have been one of those three. I think it was the Tarentum siege mentioned elsewhere.
Early on I never have a large army - in this case 2 generals, 4 hoplites, a militia hoplite and a battered archer (all from Sicily). Inside the city was the faction leader, 2 hastati and 3 dogs.
I took some heavy losses early but destroyed the hastati then I did what I like to do if possible - I lure the enemy general to chase my general. So while they were playing hare and hound round the outskirts of the city I moved my 2 remaining hoplites up to the town square with the other general. When I got there one dog unit must have been heading after my general and the other 2 were at the opposite corner. I was able to line up my phalanx inside the town square with the general behind before the 2 dogs attacked and the third appeared at the far side.
They were all in action while I went to see how my general was doing elsewhere. When I came back the hoplites had bolted. I diverted my general to the square and attacked and defeated what was left of the dogs with my two generals before the enemy general appeared. It was touch and go but I won with not much of my army left :)
So the dogs did not hit your spears head on, were they able to hit your hoplites on the side? And what difficulty, I just started on M/M, so that may have something to do with it. By properly defensed I mean lined up barricading the entire street so nothing can hit them from the side, and (hopefully) it is only your men to the rear.
Tarentum has a large square and my hoplites were across one corner while the dogs were coming from the opposite corner. Usually I wouldn't set up actually in the square (as you said across a street end), but I wanted to draw them to my phalanx. Mostly they attacked head on, but since there were 3 units, some would have overlapped the sides and maybe even got to the back. I wasn't watching when the rout started so I don't know.
Playing VH/VH - the AI seems a little smarter and definitely causes higher casualties.
If I were playing Gaul I would garrison with dogs because they seem hard to beat in auto-resolve sieges. So if the enemy performed an assault I would always auto against it in that case.
Right, you did mention you weren't watching, else you could have probably done something. It is the handlers who rout, the dogs live while their handler lives, unless they have been released, then I am not sure, I have seen dogs die on their own. I do not auto-resolve sieges, even if there is no way I can lose, because I like to entirely destroy the enemy army. The dogs target another unit once they have finished off one, so there is that. Realistically, I don't know how effective dogs would have been other than against peasants or untrained units, a unit of armed men could easily dispatch of a group of dogs. Also, would the dogs really distinguish between your men and theirs? That said, I may start training dogs for my war against Spain, I had not thought of that before. Then again, anything better than Iberian Infantry would own the dogs.
^don't know when was the last time you stared down with an angry, angry dog but it's not pretty. :>
Anyway, by this time I am fairly certain that the playable factions in the campaign roster are ordered in the way of increasing difficulty, from the easy-peasy Julii to the pretty hardcore Gaul. I've read many insightful strategies on this topic, and for my M/M imperial campaign, after studying the initial conditions, I opted for:
a) total war against the Julii
b) total war against Spain
c) send the brits packing home
d) pray to Epona that nothing goes horribly, horribly wrong in between.
It's now 265 BC and I've taken Osca and Carthago Nova (+ a doomstack destroyed in Celtiberia, so Spain is pretty much dead). Belgium is well defended, the Julii are history and there's a really nice view of Italy from the walls of Rome. Memorable moments:
1. I met a much larger brittish force is Belgium, but it was broken in two. I had 4 warbands, my faction leader + a unit of light cav and a druid, against an initial army of two warbands, slingers, peasants and two units of chariot archers + reinforcements of warbands and heavy chariots. Luckily, the initial army camped in a forest, so I simply charged in, flanked with my general and caused a mass rout. Chariots move very slowly through forests, so they were easily bogged down and destroyed. I had enough time to hide my warbands, and the reinforcing army walked right into them. In conclusion, everyone died, I lost a maximum of 3 dudes lol.
2. I know from previous experience that sometimes, when landing armies in Italy, the Senate will decide to ruin your day so I did not risk heading straight from Arretium. Instead, my spy opened the gates of Segesta and I cornered about a third of the Julii army there, killing them with no casualties. I camped in the forest on the border of Etruria and managed to ambush another small Julii force. The next turn my spy managed to open the gates of Arretium, and I took down another third of the Julii forces with little losses. Being inside the city, I was fairly certain I could hold off the Senate army if they decided to siege. However, they didn't and next turn I met what was left of the Julii on a hill in Umbria. Killing the last of their royal blood meant that Ariminum rebelled and I was once again nervous that the Senate might march in while I besieged it, but it didn't happen. So, by the eve of 267 BC, one obstacle on the path to greatness was removed.
3. With 6 warbands, 4 swords, 3 units of light cav and 3 warlords I challenged the SPQR on a crossing of the Tiber. The SPQR had no less than five captains, well experienced principes, triarii, and a few units of velites in a full doomstack. Long story short, I managed to pull a perfect Cannae. There were two crossings on the battlefield, the SPQR crashed through one of them right into my boys and bent them into a crescent shape, but as they did that, I raced my light cav over the other crossing and slammed into their backs. It was beautiful, they fought to the last man in a kind of reversed Sambria (if I remember well this was the battle where a union of gallic tribes managed to surprise Caesar's camp, but ultimately ended up surrounded and instead of routing fought to the last man) and I lost about half my army. However, Rome is mine now, and the rest of the latins are pretty much dead (though the brutii may have a stack moving up the dalmatian coast).
I think I got things in control battle-wise, but I'm not sure how these guys will fair economically throughout the campaign. Their tech is very, very limited, agriculture and trade produce little revenue and taxing will be a major problem once cities become large. The plan is to conquer the whole of Italy and Spain, Sicily if need be to vanquish the Scipii, and then I'll head for Greece. Sometime in between I'll jump the channel and kill those brittish bastards too.
It pays to be aggressive with the Julii, in the long run. I've tried the tactic of being defensive using the two bridges in front of Mediolanium and Patavium while I overran Iberia, kicked the Brits off the mainland, and smacked Germania down to the point where they pose no real threat. It works but....it can get annoying and sometimes downright dicey fending off the Julii until I get to Chosen Swords, Forester Warbands, and the like.
I would say you got really lucky concerning the SPQR. Times that I've tried sacking Ariminum and Arretium, the SPQR reacted immediately to attack me...not a pretty sight early in the game:sweatdrop: and the main reason I usually opt to wait for better troops. But kudos for defeating them so early. Be aware that the composition of the SPQR doom-stack is level dependent. At VH/H (my usual setting), that stack will contain advanced Cohorts including Praetorian~:eek:
Economically, Gaul can do very well once you control all of Iberia with its' mines and port cities. You're right in assessing that farm income will not be very high, but port trading and mines will be your mainstay. In playing any barbarian faction, it's important to stabilize population growth once you hit 10-12k. It's not easy with the buildings available, but it can be done. I had screenies from some of my Gaul & Germania campaigns, but somehow they got 'lost' when I transferred my online account from ImageShack to PhotoBucket:wall:
Speaking of screenies...you should add some to your campaign AAR's. It's nice to see visually what's going on....
Ok, here's a pic of Magna Gallia in the making, 15 years in.
http://images.akamai.steamuserconten...77F7F24ADA632/
I find these guys to be pretty strong in the early game. Those swordsmen are beasts and their light cav is as good as any other light cav, or even slightly better. Fighting late game greece or egypt might be problematic, but until then it's easy sailing.
Always liked the Chosen Swordsmen. But if/when you ever play Germania, you might not look back on playing any other barbarian faction. Even better infantry, and far superior cavalry, IMHO. Chosen Axmen, Zerkers, and Gothic Cavalry rule! Chosen Archers are amongst the elite in the game.Quote:
Those swordsmen are beasts and their light cav is as good as any other light cav, or even slightly better
Nice screenie...With the Romans gone, you shouldn't have much problem with anyone else. I do find it strange that you've dipped into N Africa? I assume you're after Ellies:laugh4:
The Scipii are holed up in Sardinia but I will take care of that very soon. The Brutii have some mudholes on the dalmatian coast and I'll probably have to deal with that as well since no one else seems interested.
I find it impossible to maintain good relations with neighboring factions. They will declare war sooner or later, and when I saw doomstacks pilling up in Corduba it was clear what had to be done. Also, I didn't fancy seeing war elephants and sacred bands churning out of Carthage in a couple of decades. I'm rather certain I don't have anything close to an adequate answer for that (maybe mass skirmisher/archer armies with a few units of heavy cav for decisive blows, but I'm really not accustomed to fighting like that; I'm a infantry man myself with a liking for cavarly support).
That aside, I had to declare war on Egypt when I landed in Africa because they had parked a fleet right in my way. Bastards :furious3:. I'm rather certain I don't have anything close to an adequate answer for elite egyptian armies + chariots either, but hopefuly they don't have any western ambitions. Keeping the germans at bay is a bit annoying because I have only light cav detachments up north and they make huge phalanx armies, but it's doable. Britannia is pretty much dead at this point and the dacians have suffered their first crushing defeats.
After North Africa is occupied I'll probably go for the Balkans.
You have access to one of the better skirmisher units available...Spanish Mercenaries. Basically Spain's Scutari unit. If you pull up the Carthage guide to where I posted a couple of my Carthage screenies, you'll see an army of War Ellies and Spanish mercs. These guys can stand up to moderate melee after they've expended their javelins, and that's their advantage over straight up skirmishers.Quote:
maybe mass skirmisher/archer armies with a few units of heavy cav
:bounce: The AI can be downright devious, at times....Quote:
That aside, I had to declare war on Egypt when I landed in Africa because they had parked a fleet right in my way. Bastards
Well, I've been busy with other things but it's great to get back to the campaign. So, here's the current situation.
http://images.akamai.steamuserconten...317AAA405BC29/
I need 4 more cities to win but I am THROUGH with pacifying barbarians -.-
Those bastards have developed the perfect defense: keep all your towns level 1 mudholes and swarm the enemy with endless waves of dirt farming peasants. Bleah. It's been quite an adventure to establish the beachhead in Thermon though. The greeks have a MASSIVE fleet, I've never seen the AI build so many boats before. I wanted to get to Sparta initially but it was impossible with my rafts, so now I'm going to ferry armies in one go from Tarentum to Thermon and invade by land. It's nice to fight the greeks. They've got a slight infantry edge, but I've got plenty of troops to flank with since Foresters can also double as anticav infantry.
By the way, how do druids stack their chanting, if at all? Do 2 units give a bigger boost than 1?
Have no idea:shrug: I tried them the first few times through...didn't see any benefit that a good old-fashioned warcry won't bestow. Never used them again.Quote:
By the way, how do druids stack their chanting, if at all?
It may depend on your difficulty, but it seems the enemy routs faster if you have druids chanting. Like, they rout as soon as they engage your troops. Bear in mind I have only played on E/E and M/M, with barbarians only on E/E, I believe. If you are concerned about realism, they are not a realistic unit, Druids were exempt from military service. That said, I always have a unit of Druids with my armies. The problem is, they require a specific temple, and in some places, it behooves one to have a different temple than the Druid one, Esus, if I remember correctly.Quote:
Originally Posted by wooly_mammoth
By the way, the Julii can upgrade the temples of Epona to Awesome Temple/Pantheion of Horse, as many Roman cavalry units adopted Epona as their patron deity. Pantheion starts your units trained there with two silver chevrons, Awesome Temple with one silver chevron. Something to keep in mind if you did not know that already and want to play as the Julii. I think that can only happen if it is a Sacred Circle when taken over.
I've been playing the factions in the order listed in the roster (noticing the increasing difficulty pattern while at it :sweatdrop:) so the Julii campaign has been finished a long time ago.
In general, with regard to temple specific units, I do not mind that requirement for support troops such as druids, because they are less likely to get in the middle of the action anyway. It's the temple melee infantry that's problematic, I tend to avoid those units since I want to be able to retrain quickly the forces that take most of the heat.
As for gauls and temples, my default choice is Esus anyway if the province has a port, because the law bonus reduces corruption and helps maximize income from sea-trade. Otherwise it's an equal distribution of Epona and Abnoba. I avoid Teutakis since I find naked fanatics pretty useless and the extra chevron from Epona is certainly more valuable than the weapon upgrade from Teutakis.
Don't sim your battles, then, because your Druids will get involved and they will take casualties. Have you encountered Egypt yet? None of the Barbarian factions are really set up to fight Egypt. That should be interesting. Forester Warband should REALLY come in handy there.Quote:
Originally Posted by wooly_mammoth
I don't use Naked Fanatics either. They are a decent shock infantry, but I don't really use infantry for shock, that is what cavalry is for. My brother would field one or two with his armies as shock troops, but they are a specialized infantry and not to be used in the line. Even Warband aren't much good, because they rout too easily and demoralize your other troops. Great for garrison, though.
If I am in a port city, I use whatever maximizes trade, for temples. I don't remember Gaul's bonuses. I know not everybody has a temple that helps trade, I don't think Gaul does, correct me if I am wrong. I am compiling, if I ever get around to finishing, a spreadsheet with the information about every temple in the game.
It's been done already. Look in this topic:Quote:
I am compiling, if I ever get around to finishing, a spreadsheet with the information about every temple in the game.
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...ide-to-Temples
Partway down is a link to an Excel d/l over at twc. I'm not a member there anymore, so I can't tell you if the link is still viable. If it's not, PM me with an email addy and I can send you both files.
And no, Gaul does not have any trade bonuses (or economy, for that matter) attached to any of its temples.
The only battles I sometimes autoresolve are against rebel stacks if I'm attacking with specialized cav armies that have the sole purpose to wipe them out. However, due to the fact that I tend to keep these armies quite small and that autoresolve will score you victory only if you have an overwhelming stat advantage, I need to fight personally a lot of these as well. As for campaign battles it goes without saying that I never ever autoresolve, since I just take huge amount of casualties and kill very little of the enemy. Nothing like taking a 2% casualties percentage on your side and obliterating 100% of the enemy heh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent Butler
As for Egypt, I probably won't get to fight them since I'm so close to finishing the campaign, but I'm pretty sure the Gauls would slaughter them so bad it wouldn't even be funny. Chosen Swordsmen will destroy any and all of their infantry, while all of their support units are inferior to foresters. Pretty sure those bushwhackers can obliterate pharaoh's bowmen and even win in melee against any of their light cav or chariots with their spears. + they are ridiculously easy to retrain.
I wouldn't count on Egypt being easy. You have nothing that gets a bonus vs cav, that I know of. Now chariots are not that hard to defeat, but your units are too light (not including Chosen Swordsmen) to really stand up to chariots. Now if you can prevent them from breaking up your Warband units, they could do OK, set the Warband to Guard mode, they might do better. Just experience dealing with Britain's chariots.Quote:
Originally Posted by wooly_mammoth
Pharoah's Bowmen have insane armour (for archers) and long range as well, so they would stand up to your Foresters. They are really the problem for me, the best counter is cav, who would then get wiped out by their chariots. Note, chariots get destroyed by elephants, so Elephant Mercenaries aren't a bad idea anyway. Lightly armoured units such as swordsmen would fall prey to their slingers. Chosen Swordsmen could handle any of their infantry, provided you flank their phalanx. I am sure that is what you do anyway with phalanx, as your units are not armoured enough to stand toe-to-toe with a phalanx. Your cav as Gaul is only mediocre to decent, but just as good at least as theirs.
Then again, I don't know the makeup of your armies. Personally, I would rather use my bowmen to wear down their phalanx. But I always find I have to shell their bowmen eventually. I have never tried a Barbarian vs Egypt, by the time I got over there with Britain the Scipii had already wiped Egypt out. I am sure I could devise some strategy, as I am sure you would too. Just curious, what difficulty are you playing on?
I play on M/M. Anything else is too hardcore for me.
Also, it's good to know that anything vaguely resembling a pointy stick (including peasant's forks or forester's hunting spear) has a bonus vs. cavalry, even if it not listed in the "abilities at a glance" list. Even town watch or warbands are competent at holding off a cavalry charge, and you sure never ever charge directly into an infantry unit having pointy sticks for weapons, no matter low lowly they may seem. Now, just out of fun I tried a custom battle with foresters vs egyptian chariots. The chariots got completely obliterated, as I was expecting. A few volleys of arrows whittled their hp a bit, and then the spears kicked in.
Also, I just won the campaign. I Hopped a large cavalry force over in Thermon to keep garrison while I moved the main army and took Larissa. Sadly, I never got into a really serious fight with a greek doomstack. That would have been fun. As I was taking Larissa I also trudged through the forests and took the last german town (defended by their women hah). Some dacian guy defending by himself the final town that I needed died of old age, and I just walked in. Sweet victory. The dacians did try to offer some resistance in the field as I was advancing, so at least that was fun.
Germania is next.
Expect money problems with Germania.Quote:
Originally Posted by wooly_mammoth
Glad to see somebody else who plays on that level, it seems like everyone else plays on some combination of VH and H. I have yet to try harder than M/M, I have only completed Greek campaign on M/M. Then again, I play till I cover the map. Yeah, that takes a while. I usually have two or three campaigns current at a time. I have covered the map as Seleucia, Greece, Macedon, Julii, and Brutii. I usually get tired of one campaign after a while, so I start another one, and switch between the two when I get bored.
Forester Warband have good enough defense to handle a chariot charge, and good enough melee attack to defeat them. Like I said, those Pharoah's Bowmen are my main problem. They seem to wear down my Archer Auxilia if they want, and Archer Auxilia have decent defense for archers. Also, Egypt like Onagers. When you send your cav to deal with them, their chariots will own your cav.
I will hit Town Watch with heavy cav such as Legionary or even Roman Cav. Peasants are worthless enough not to bother about. Warband and Town Watch can hold in a battle line till the iron fist hits, whatever that may be. I hit them individually. On Guard mode, they receive the charge even better.
Are you aggressive in the battle or defensive? I am defensive, relying on heavy infantry to receive the enemy attack. Gaul is not going to be effective against Egypt like that. If you are aggressive, that may work better, so maybe it is just my fighting style that seems like Gaul would have problems with Egypt. I guess that would require playing the campaign, if my money supply can last long enough to get there, it usually does not. If I can make it into Greece, that should help.
Onagers are completely useless against units. Just put your guys on loose formation and you'll lose something like 1 or 2 extremely unlucky dudes if the enemy has a full onager doomstack and you just sit back looking at the sky. If you have long ranged archers either focus fire the crews down (or use flaming arrows to burn the engines, but the former is usually faster), if not just close the distance and they are completely annihilated.
Now, the kind of gallic set-up I would use to invade Egypt would be:
1 general + 1 noble cav + 2 light cav (bronze wep/armor + 3 bronze chevrons from Epona)
8 chosen swordsmen (bronze wep/armor + 3 bronze chevrons from Epona)
6 forester warbands (bronze armor, gold weapon from Abnoba)
2 druids (bronze wep/armor)
I'm pretty sure I can beat any AI Egyptian army with this. However, I am very certain I could not beat my ideal Egyptian set-up:
1 general + 3 heavy chariots (gold wep/armor)
8 pharaoh's guard (gold wep/armor)
4 pharaoh's bowmen (gold armor)
4 chariot archers (gold armor)
+ combat bonus in deserts for all those bastards.
Will try a custom battle for fun on medium difficulty, but I think the sheer technological advantage + insane number of chariots makes it impossible. However, I've never seen the AI tech-up so much and create such an army. Pharaoh was still shuffling nubians around when I was winning the imperial campaign.
Dunno why you would waste time and money on Druids. First, they are a 32-man unit (on normal size) with weak melee stats. Wasting two unit slots on a militarily weak unit is....well...silly. As a barbarian faction you already get Warcry which has a more immediate and predictable effect (besides giving a temporary boost to stats). Having a bunch of tree-huggers chanting and burning incense....well my Cataphracts would be laughing so hard they'd likely fall out of their saddles~DQuote:
2 druids (bronze wep/armor)
If you liked Forester Warbands, you're going to looove Chosen Archers....the best, IMHO. And you're going to relish Germania's infantry, especially Bezerkers. And Germania has the best cavalry of all barbarian factions....Gothic Cav rule!
As with any barbarian faction. However, Germania has the Temple of Freyja to boost population growth. Used in every backwater town that isn't named Damme or Mogontiacum until such time as growth no longer is necessary.Quote:
Expect money problems with Germania.
VH on the campaign map isn't really that fearsome. It just means that enemy/rebel stacks will be of higher quality, at the start, and that brigands will actually do something besides stand around being fodder for your armies-in-training. They will sometimes band together (if you don't wipe out spawns immediately) and attack your cities. I found that refreshing and fun.Quote:
it seems like everyone else plays on some combination of VH and H
VH on the battle map is too much for me. The first time I lost after conducting a battle that I should have won, simply because the AI gets insane stat & moral boosts, I stopped playing VH for battles. Too much not having fun. I can have fun if I lose, but beat me because you had superior troops/tactics or because I made a mistake, not because the devs were too lazy to develop a better AI (play Shogun for an AI that is smart and is fully capable of kicking your ass without bonuses).
Sounds decent. I might go with two Noble cav and one Barbarian cav. One Druid for me. RS, I think their melee stats are actually decent, but I may be wrong. Also, Wooly, what are their hit points, one or two? Yeah, forget the Warband (except as missile fodder, if you do that, I don't) and even regular swordsmen. You need armour when facing Egypt. Kind of an expensive army. But by the time you are over there, you should be doing better for money anyway, if you go through the Balkans/Turkey.Quote:
Originally Posted by wooly_mammoth
If an Onager with flaming missiles hits your troops, it is a lot more devastating. Less accurate, though, but if they do land a hit it counts for more. I like to counter Onagers with Onagers, if fighting Egypt. The problem with siege engines, it is one more thing to watch out for them trying to hit. I actually put my siege up front, then move my units in front of them when the enemy gets close.
Let me put it another way...on normal unit size, a 32-man Druid unit costs 490 denarii (90 upkeep) for 13/14 attk/def and takes two turns to train. An 81-man Chosen Swords costs 680 denarii (210 upkeep) for 13/17 attk/def and takes only a single turn to train. The only difference between the two, other than defensive capability, and cost, is the Druid Chant. Considering what a well-timed Warcry does for a temp morale and stat boost, is a single Druid unit really worth more than twice a Chosen Swords unit? Not to me, at least, which is why I consider them a waste of money. Also, you need a specialized temple to train (or re-train) Druids which can be a pain for a fast-moving offensive.Quote:
RS, I think their melee stats are actually decent, but I may be wrong.
One.Quote:
what are their hit points, one or two
OK, but as Wooly pointed out, they are not a combat unit. Of course, it is up to whoever makes the army to decide what they want. It seems that the chanting more intimidates the enemy than helps your own troops out. At least, that has been my experience. The temple thing is more of a problem, I agree on that.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReluctantSamurai
I like druids for the added swag. ~D
They are a nice unit to have around and make the army a bit more diverse. Not that I ever got a chance to use them in a serious battle in the campaign, I only got to have 3 such units around, the one you start with and 2 which I ferried to Greece, but who never saw a really major battle. Not sure if that chant actually does something, though. :laugh4: Maybe I'll get another chance to test them out with Britannia.
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OK, but as Wooly pointed out, they are not a combat unit.
Alright....last attempt~D A 'non-combat unit' who 'never saw a really major battle' is one you might afford at normal difficulty (and even at that you got lucky that you were never really pressed hard by a multi-stack attack). At the next lvl of difficulty you will more than likely wish you had a couple of Chosen Swords when facing a doom-stack attack by elite Roman cohorts who will impale that "added swag" on the points of their pilum just before they cut you into little pieces. I would rather depend on a known tactic, Warcry, that works 100% of the time, than an iffy tactic that depends on poor morale and poor leadership on your enemy's part.Quote:
who never saw a really major battle. Not sure if that chant actually does something, though.
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It seems that the chanting more intimidates the enemy than helps your own troops out
"That chant" will have no effect on seasoned veterans led by a good general. You are better off with Warcry....but whatever floats your boat:rolleyes:Quote:
Not sure if that chant actually does something, though.
And on E/E is the rub, mate~;) You are already getting a +4 to unit morale and attack rating [Easy=+4 morale/attk to the player; Medium=no bonus either side; Hard=+4 morale/attk for AI; Very Hard=+7 morale/attk for AI]. But let me ask something else...as Britannia or Gaul you've had to deal with Germania and those ultra-silly Screeching Women, which are basically Druids with weaker stats. Did their "hag-nagging" screech ever cause any of your troops to rout? Probably not because your troops were seasoned and led by, at the least, a decent general. So why would you expect chanting to work when the situation is reversed?Quote:
It may depend on your difficulty, but it seems the enemy routs faster if you have druids chanting. played...with barbarians only on E/E
I'm going to predict that at some point you will get bored with winning as easily as you appear to be, and crank up one or both difficulty settings. That's the route I went, and the one a lot of other players did, as well.Quote:
I play on M/M. Anything else is too hardcore for me.
This is a good discussion on the effects of difficulty settings:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...tle-Difficulty
And to amend my earlier comments about campaign map settings...the higher the difficulty, the greater the penalty on income. IIRC, the range is +15% to -15% (Easy to Very Hard) but I'd have to check on that.
OK, I did not know the differences in all the difficulties. I use Warcry as well, but it wears off, Druids can keep chanting. I fight defensively, so I let the enemy come to me, usually. I don't know how many times I have done a Warcry, and they attacked only when my guys were almost done. Anyway, I think enough said on that. Yeah, I don't use Screeching Women. I don't like the idea of sending women to combat, so that carries over into my gaming.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReluctantSamurai
Like I said....whatever floats your boat~;)Quote:
I fight defensively, so I let the enemy come to me, usually.
Here's a situation...in my last Germania campaign I was attacked by two full Britannia stacks, one from the front, the other from the rear (doesn't matter how good you think you are, the AI can pull a concealed stack out its hat sometimes). The only stack I had spotted was the one in front of me and true to RTW's screwy way of determining battle map starting positions despite what the campaign map looks like, I was at the south end of a north-bound kangaroo. I know it's Germania, but Screeching Women is their equivalent to Druids.
Two choices...retreat and live to fight another day (don't remember the odds but a betting man would have wagered the farm against me), or fight. I'm not a betting man so fight it is:stare:
I put everyone including archers into melee mode (with Chosen Archers that's just like having another melee unit) and charge up the hill to take out the first army before the second can catch my tail. I manage to rout that army with moderate losses, regroup, and turn to face the second army which is just reaching the bottom of the hill. After a protracted fight, what's left of them retreat...I don't pursue because my guys are dead tired. Historical marker left on the field of battle.
The point of this long-winded description is that "chanters" would have been a liability due to lower combat skills, and the lack of time to use their special. I am usually the aggressor when it comes to battles, except when facing multiple-multiple stacks. Chanters are of little or no use.
True enough, but Warcry works 100% of the time...chanting requires the enemy to have low morale which might occur early in a campaign (depending on who you are facing) but mid to high level troops will have good morale and even better with a competent general at the head. And chanters can't do anything else or benefit disappears. Now if you can afford having one or two units standing around doing nothing but their "Om-Mani-Padme" thing, then you really need to crank up the difficulty slider. I can just imagine what the troops in that SPQR doom-stack defending Rome might think when they see Druids in an approaching Gallic army....they'd be peeing themselves from laughing so hard~DQuote:
I use Warcry as well, but it wears off, Druids can keep chanting.
Then don't play Scythia:boxedin: They have two female units...Head-Hunting Maidens (a very good light cavalry unit with AP capabilities), and Scythian Noble Women (a horse archer unit with good enough attk/def stats to melee).Quote:
I don't like the idea of sending women to combat, so that carries over into my gaming.
And definitely, Amazon Total War won't be your thing, either:laugh4:
Anyway, just to clear things up for Vince, druids aren't supposed to lower enemy morale but boost your own troops in that department. I guess their use depends whether or not you need an extra fighting unit or a support unit that can make your existing fighters perform better and last longer.