A Comprehensive Guide to Swêbōz Gameplay

A Comprehensive Guide to Swêbōz Gameplay

Table of Contents
1 Tactics
2 Units
3 Strategy


1 - General tactical considerations

Contrary to popular belief, Germanic units are usually disciplined and have a very decent morale (although not as extreme as Dacian units). Due to these factors and to the abundance of spears among Germanic units, all of them are capable of defeating cavalry units in melee (of course you shouldn’t expect your archer-spearmen to win against cataphracts or the like…).

Germanic units are very melee-oriented and consequently, the Swêboz can field excellent assault troops as well as line holders. Even their skirmishers, being armed with spears (who would’ve guessed it?), can hold their own in melee for some time, being far superior in this respect to comparable light skirmishers of “civilized” factions.

The main disadvantages of Germanic units are their missile range, which is usually pathetic compared to Eastern or Hellenic units, and their light armour. The long range options for a Swêboz commander are limited, unless he or she manages to recruit some foreign troops. As for the armour, bear in mind that your most heavily armoured native units before 190 BC are the FM bodyguards, with an armour value of 9 (which is decent, but nothing special) and a relatively small shield.

To sum it up:


Advantages

Above average morale

Capable, disciplined line holder units

Every native Swêboz unit can, to some extent, be used in melee

Above average lethality of melee weapons

Great stamina

Vicious infantry charge

Good ambushers (second only to Lusotannan)

Combat boni in woods


Disadvantages

Inferior at ranged combat

Usually poorly armoured

Vulnerable to missiles

Weak economy cannot support as many armies as their adversaries

Limited cavalry choice


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Read up on battlefield tactics here:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...75#post2455175



2 - Units

2.1 Recruitment

2.1.1 Factional units

This is an overview of all units that can be recruited in your native MICs, plus bodyguard infantry and two factional mercenary types:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/...unitroster.jpg

Top row: Spearmen - Gaisofulxo Frijod, Dugunðiz, Dugunðiz Xathjiska, Druxtiz Xobugiska, Druxtiz Goudiska, Gaisolitho Aljod, Speudogordoz.
second: Armor-piercing units, irregulars, and skirmishers - Jugunðiz Xathjiska, Sloxonez, Worgozez (merc only), Druxtiz Basterniska, Woithiz Watha, Skuðjonez, Jugunðiz.
third: Swordsmen - Druxtiz Xeruska, Xerunoudozez, Dreugulozez Brunjadoi, Xosenthozez Xazdadoi (Bodyguard infantry).
fourth: Cavalry - Dreugulozez Exworeidondijoi (merc only), Reidonez, Marxolitho Wolxiskod, Xosenthozez Marxoreidondijoi.


Area of Recruitment for Germanic units, not counting Celto-Germanic ones:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

http://europabarbarorum.heimstatt.ne...ankamannoz.jpg

All Germanic units are only recruitable from your factional MIC. Celto-Germanic Spearmen are recruitable from your factional MIC as well, which is why you should build these in Gaul and Britain (once conquered) - but only up to level 3. The Alpine and Central European Celtic regions provide Celto-Germanic Cavalry as well, available at level 4 factional MIC.


2.1.2 Regional units in your Expansion Regions:

Balts and Lugians/Oskywie Culture
(Left to right) Top: Zemjones, Kirwinikos, Lonkinikos, Medjinikos
Bottom: Korodrougos, Marslugoi Lugjiskoi

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://img30.imageshack.us/img30/38...andlugians.jpg

Celtic (incl. Belgian and Alpine) units

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://img51.imageshack.us/img51/80...drhaetians.jpg

Area of Recruitment for all Baltic units:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

http://europabarbarorum.heimstatt.ne...as%20viras.jpg

Celtic and Baltic units are available in your regional MIC, and make formidable auxiliaries. The most instrumental ones are:
Baltic Frontiersmen, Celtic Slingers, Celtic Light Cavalry, and Celtic Axemen.


2.2 Unit descriptions

2.2.1 Germanic and Celto-Germanic units (factional MIC)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Gaisofulxo frijod
spear, shield

Germanic tribal spear militia; slightly tougher than the otherwise identical Lugoae. Note for non-Germanic factions: Preferable to other units of their class (Lugoae, Illyrioi Phyletichoi, Pantodapoi, Kavakaza Sparabara) because of better morale and charge.

+ huge unit size, cheap, decent shield
- unarmoured, no secondary weapon


Skudjonez
bow (15) + spear

Germanic archers. Good vs deer, but less so against Romans. Slightly better than Sotaroas (their Celtic counterparts), but still the third weakest archer unit in the game. Can pack a nasty surprise for cavalry though, due to being archer-spearmen.

+ decent secondary weapon (spear), very cheap
- unarmoured, no shield, small unit size, low ammunition supply (15 arrows)


Jugundiz
javelin (6) + spear, shield

Basic Germanic skirmishers. Cheap and flexible; useful against all kinds of units, even cavalry. Can fight in melee for some time. One of your most important units, Strategos! Make great garrison troops, too. Spamworthy.

+ decent secondary weapon (spear), good javelin range, good shield, cheap, large unit size
- unarmoured


Jugundiz Xathjiska
javelin (2) + club, shield

Low tier clubmen, equivalent of Celtic shortswordsmen, but more dangerous due to their armour piercing melee weapon. Make excellent garrison troops because of very low price and high versatility. Zerg rush against armoured units recommended. Very vulnerable to missiles though, so don't put them into the main battle line.

+ armour piercing club, powerful charge, very cheap, large unit size
- unarmoured, small shield, recruitable in only one region


Sloxonez
javelin (2) + club, shield

An anti-armour unit designed to take on heavily armoured infantry and cavalry. They can serve as makeshift line units when spearmen or swordsmen are not available, but are vulnerable to missiles. The standard anti-armour unit of the Suebi.

+ high javelin attack, armour piercing club, good shield, good morale, powerful charge
- unarmoured, low javelin range


Dugundiz
javelin (2) + spear, shield

Standard line troops. Disciplined, hard-hitting and versatile spearmen, make good flankers as well. Tougher than their Celtic counterparts but still somewhat vulnerable to missiles. Useful throughout the entire campaign.

+ high attack (both weapon types), good shield, powerful charge, large unit size
- poorly armoured, low javelin range


Dugundiz Xathjiska
javelin (2) + spear, shield

A local variant of the Dugundiz. Slightly better stats. Strong all round warriors.

+ high attack (both weapon types), good shield, good morale and discipline, powerful charge, large unit size
- poorly armoured, low javelin range, recruitable only in one region


Druxtiz Xobugiska
javelin (2) + spear, shield

A local variant of the Dugundiz. Slightly better stats. Emphasis on defence (shield, discipline).

+ high attack (both weapon types), very good shield, very disciplined, powerful charge, large unit size
- poorly armoured, low javelin range, recruitable only in one region


Druxtiz Goudiska
javelin (2) + spear, shield

A local variant of the Dugundiz. Slightly better stats. Quite unusual spearmen with a vicious charge but decent defence at the same time.

+ high attack (both weapon types), very good shield, good morale and discipline, very powerful charge, large unit size
- poorly armoured, low javelin range, recruitable only in two far-off regions


Gaisolitho Aljod
javelin (2) + spear, shield

These spearmen are the only factional unit you can recruit in most Celtic lands - hence their importance for your campaign. Reliable and disciplined like Dugundiz, they make a fine line unit and can hold off superior troops at need. Available in Gaul, most of Britain, Central Europe, and even some places further east and south. Nice looking and incredibly practical.

+ good attack and missile range, very good shield, very large area of recruitment
- poorly armoured


Xerunoudozez
javelin (2) + sword, shield

Strong and disciplined all-round troops, they are useful both as main battle line unit and as flankers. They make good assault troops and are particularly deadly against lightly armoured enemies. Stronger than Bataroas but smaller in numbers. Lightly armoured.

+ high attack (both weapon types), high lethality sword, good shield, good morale and discipline, powerful charge
- low missile range


Druxtiz Xeruska
javelin (2) + sword, shield

A local speciality, they are even more skilled than Xerunoudozez but unfortunately without armour. Like stronger but less numerous Botroas. Unusually high morale.

+ high attack (both weapon types), high lethality sword, good shield, very good morale and discipline, powerful charge
- low missile range, unarmoured, recruitable only in one region


Druxtiz Basterniska
falx

The Bastarnae falxmen are a somewhat unusual troop type for this faction, but a very useful one. Their lethal falxes make short work of infantry and cavalry alike, however they must be protected carefully from enemy missiles. Unsuitable for the main battle line. Best deployed as flankers against heavy infantry or cavalry, and particularly good at killing enemy bodyguards. Also available as mercenaries.

+ highly lethal and armour piercing falx, good morale, very powerful charge
- poorly armoured, no shield, retrainable in only one province


Speudogordoz
pike, shield

High tier pikemen and your strongest line unit, their superior discipline and battle skill marks them as elite troops, although they only carry medium armour. They dominate cavalry, chariots, and light infantry, and are capable of holding the line against most infantry types. Vulnerable to some missile types, e.g. pila.

+ very high attack, increased lethality, decent armour, very good morale, excellent discipline, powerful charge
- no secondary weapon (for gameplay reasons), somewhat small shield


Dreugulozez Brunjadoi
sword + spear, shield

Reformed heavy infantry, mostly identical with the bodyguard unit. Powerful against both infantry and cavalry, they make good breach assault troops, as well as a critical reinforcement for the main battle line. Widely available in the form of mercenaries and mercenary generals. They aren't Solduros but still very powerful (and with better stamina).
Unfortunately, the reversal of their main weapons means they are slightly less useful on walls, because they will revert to spears there. Same problem as with Solduros, Ischyroi Orditon, and Hypaspistai.

+ high attack (both weapons), highly lethal sword, well armoured, very good morale and discipline, powerful charge
- small unit size, small shield, only recruitable after 190 BC


Woithiz Watha
javelin (4) + spear, shield

Called the "Wild Hunt", these lunatic warriors are a somewhat unorthodox type of spearmen only to be found among barbarians: the offensive spearman (keeping in mind they are naked too, this can have more than one meaning). Capable of shredding light troops in melee. While their morale is equal to that of Solduros and bodyguard units, their armour unfortunatley isn't, so keep them away from enemy missiles! Their insane charge, missile supply, and fear effect on infantry means they are excellent flankers and an ad hoc cavalry substitute.

+ very high attack all round, four javelins, frighten enemy infantry, excellent morale, very powerful charge, available at mid tier
- unarmoured, small shield, small unit size, low missile range, recruitable in only one region


Worgozez
javelin (2) + axe, shield

Of Wolf and Man. They frighten infantry and carry armour piercing weapons, and make superb flankers and ambushers.
As a bonus, they are mercenaries and thus available to every faction. Meaning you can field them in your Royal Baktrian siege army alongside Indian Guild Warriors. Ouch.

+ high attack all round, frighten enemy infantry, armour-piercing axe, good shield, very good morale, very powerful charge
- mercenaries only (= not retrainable), poorly armoured, small unit size, low missile range


Reidonez
javelin (4) + spear, shield

The basic Germanic cavalry comes equipped with four heavy javelins, a spear, and some light armour. Although more expensive than some other light cavalry, they are still worth hiring because of their usefulness in harassment, cavalry fights, and pursuit. Indeed, they are particularly important against enemy missile troops, especially foot archers and slingers, who are a big threat against the lightly armoured Suebi infantry.

+ high attack, good morale and discipline, good shield
- low missile range


Dreugulozez Exworeidondijoi
javelin (4) + spear, shield

The mercenary variant of the Reidonez. Comes with a bigger shield but otherwise identical.


+ high attack, good morale and discipline, very good shield
- low missile range, mercenaries only


Marxolitho Wolxiskod
javelin (4) + sword, shield

Celto-Germanic cavalry are a heavy skirmisher cavalry type, and an interesting tactical option for your armies. They are especially suitable for harassing heavy infantry, cutting down skirmishers, and for cavalry fights. They can even take on Equites Consulares (Roman bodyguards). Recruitable in several provinces south and south-east of Suebi homeland.

+ highly lethal sword, decently armoured, good morale
- mediocre missile range


Xosenthozez Marxoreidondijoi
spear + sword, shield

This reform unit is the only Germanic heavy cavalry unit in the game, and will greatly help you on the battlefield, providing you with an entirely new tactical option: that of armoured shock cavalry warfare. These riders are your most heavily armoured troops, and with their superior combat ability will make your campaign easier, especially against the Romans. There is no reason for not purchasing this unit, except a very tight economy. Slightly superior to the Gallic Brihentin and about equal to Remi heavy cavalry.

+ armour piercing and highly lethal lance, highly lethal sword, well armoured, very good morale and discipline, powerful charge
- available only after 190 BC

3 - Strategy

3.1 Economic centres

Gawjam-Rugoz - contains a port site, a mine (income 600 mnai/turn; must be built first), and some tradeable goods. Also, the Amber Route.
Gawjam-Silengoz - contains two mines (income 1200 mnai/turn; must be built first), and some tradeable goods. Amber Route. Home of the fearsome naked Harii warriors, who will serve under your banners.
Gawjam-Habukoz - contains a port which can be upgraded to level 2, and some tradeable goods.
Gawjam-Skandzawarjoz - contains a port site which can be upgraded to a level 2 port, a mine (income 600 mnai/turn; usually built by Eleutheroi), and some tradeable goods. Also features the possibility to build a level 1 naval port.


3.2 Conquest of Eleutheroi settlements

Your mileage may vary, and there are several possibilities how to start. If you want to play less aggressively, you might want to disband your initial cavalry and conquer only a few settlements at the start. If you want to keep all troops, you'll have to blitz at least four settlements to make some money. This strategy is relatively safe for beginners:

The initial strategy for an aggressive player is to rush the following settlements, after having assembled a sufficiently large army:
Gawjam-Rugoz
Gawjam-Silengoz
Gawjam-Kimbroz
Gawjam-Skandzawarjoz

Second expansion, should take place in the 260ies:
Ascaucalis
Carrodunum
Gintaras-Ostan

Third expansion (now you have some real money and should have good troops):
Gawjam-Habukoz
Gawjam-Heruskoz
Arctaunon
Vindelicoppidos
Gawjam-Gotanoz (via ship from Skandza)


3.2.1 A way to reach Gotland without getting squashed by pirates:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by athanaric

Usually the Baltic Sea is infested by ridiculous numbers of pirates, which will sink your transport fleets. Here's what you do:
1) Conquer Gawjam-Skandzawarjoz (build level 1 government of course).
2) Build up its trade port to level 2 [this gives you a money boost you need to afford ships].
3) Build a military port. This will enable you to build the transport boats.
4) Move your army on land as close as possible towards Gotland. It should be near modern day Västervik.
5) Build a unit of transport boats, and move them between Gotland and your army. Their (the fleet's) movement points expire there. Make sure your army has enough movement points left!!! Otherwise they will be stuck on the fleet and sunk by the inevitable pirates.
6) Move the army onto the boats. They should be able to get out of them onto Gotland in the same turn (otherwise you're screwed).
7) Take the settlement, build level 1 government.
8) Proceed the same way as in Gawjam-Skandzawarjoz. Now you will be able to build a level 2 military port on Gotland.
9) Build six units of "warships" on Gotland. KILL ALL PIRATES with them. Retraining will be necessary a lot.
10) Warships are expensive, so disband or merge the least experienced ones when there are no pirates nearby.

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3.2.2 Why is it so important to conquer Carrodunum and Gintaras-Ostan early on?

Both settlements eventually gain a scripted roving defender, which makes it very hard to get them after 260 or 250 BC or so.


3.2.3 The conquest of Gaul or parts thereof

It is perhaps a smart idea to leave the Gallic factions alone for a while and have them tech up their provinces. But make sure that the Romans (or other pesky factions, such as the rabid boy scouts from Iberia) don't gobble up the Gallic provinces.
Why? Because of cultural penalty. You see, the Gauls (unlike you) can build stone walls, level 2 farms, garrison quarters, universities, public baths, hospitals, festival grounds, and most importantly paved roads - of Barbarian Culture.

This means you can conquer provinces with an advanced infrastructure and a decent economy without suffering from cultural penalty.


3.3 Governments

It is recommended for this faction to build a Type I government wherever available. It doesn't really add more building options, but it is important for the highest level factional MIC, which you will need for the pikemen and the reform units.

Generally, your expansion regions are best off with a Type II government. There are some things to be taken into consideration, though:

Some important auxiliaries, namely Leuce Epos, Mori Gaesum, Tekastos, and Lugian Swordsmen, require a level 4 regional MIC, which in turn requires a Type III or IV government (unless already built by Eleutheroi). This means that you might want a Type III government in Helvetis and Lugouw at least.
Of course, it is possible to have a Type III or IV first, upgrade the regional barracks to maximum, and then implement a better government type (to get better ports and factional MIC levels). This is a regular exploit which I regularly take advantage of. Some players might consider it beneath them.


3.4 Temples

Luckily, the Swêboz commander has a plethora of gods at his disposal (ahem. The gods beg to differ...). You will have the choice between various interesting temples, which go beyond the boring yet practical happiness bonus.

Temple of Frouwjo (Freya) (2 stages)
Dedicated to the Goddess of Sex, it naturally bestows a population boost and a very decent happiness bonus.
The default temple in regions with Germanic culture and certainly among the most useful, all the more as it only needs one upgrade to give remarkably high boni. With a 1% population increase bonus and a 20% happiness bonus on level 2, Freya delivers the best bang for your bucks. Very useful if your towns are still small.
Recommended for homeland regions, as well as expansion regions close to Germania.

Temple of Enxwoz (Freyr) (3 stages)
Another fertility god. The Germans are a happy people. Mostly identical to the Temple of Frouwjo, except that it needs one more upgrade to display its full benefits.
Recommended for homeland regions.

Temple of Thunroz (Thor) (3 stages IIRC)
Home to the God of Badass, it provides a happiness bonus and IIRC a slight population boost. Oh yeah, and a morale bonus that doesn't work (regrettably).
Recommended for homeland regions.

Temple of Nerthuz (2 stages)
Temple of the ancient Earth Goddess. Provides a nice little trade bonus, plus some happiness and a small population boost. Perhaps one of the best for core regions, along with Frouwjo.
Recommended for homeland regions.

Temple of Deiwoz (Tyr) (3 stages)
Deiwoz is the God of War and as such a must have in RTW. Somewhat less of a raging imbecile than Mars/Ares, this is reflected by his temples being more useful than the Roman and Greek temples to their war deity. It provides a happines bonus, a morale boost (rendered useless by the engine), and a +2 experience bonus on stage 3.
Recommended for homeland regions as well as regions with powerful auxiliaries (e.g. Carrodunum in Lugouw).

Temple of Wathonoz (Wodan/Odin) (3 stages)
Wathonoz is The Boss (though slightly more reasonable than Zeus/Jupiter, thanks to his sharing most of Hermes/Mercury's traits) and consequently, his temple gives a very nice law bonus. Providing +20 law when fully upgraded, this is the perfect temple for outlying regions with high corruption such as, say, Mallorca. Or Rome.
Recommended for outlying regions, distant expansion regions, and Gawjam-Gotanoz.

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This blitzing guide contains important informations:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...or-new-players.


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To be expanded. Suggestions as to what's missing are welcome.

Good Job, I usually use the starting armies to conquer the following settlements, in that order:

Gawjam-Rugoz (close and economically strong)
Ascaucalis (Amber Route AFAIR and Medininka recruitment, Medininkas are crucial to my tactic against other barbarians)
Gawjam-Silengoz (Skaudagangaz recruitment and Mines AFAIR)
Carrodunum (Lugian Swordsmen recruitment, size, Amber Route and Mines AFAIR)
At this point my starting army is usually somewhat depleted and I have to chose one more settlement to take, I usually grab Gawjam-Kimbroz or Gawjam Habukoz.

At this point my income is finally again positive and I spend 10 or so years consolidating me conquests by building economic, pop and mili buildings then I start next wave of expansion taking:
Gawjam-Kimbroz or Habukoz, whichever I did not get before
Gawjam-Skandzawaroz
Gawjan-Heruskoz
and
Arctaunon

The tribes of germania are now united under my banner and I will often consolidate some more before taking Gawjam-Gotanoz (have to build ports first) and/or Gintaras-Ostan.

I usually leave my neighbours alone for a while after that as I do not blitz, only attacking the Rumi or Wolhoz if they attack me.

My next wave of expansion (unless attacked) is either taking the nasty C European Rebels or sneaking a fleet to the British Isles to take some rebel settlements there then wait for the inevitable casse attack before wiping them. Vastly strengthening my economy in both cases and allowing me to build Boii Swordsmen if I go for C. Europe. However, at this point some stupid and weak sotherners have often attacked, and if so, my next expansion is taking some provinces from them.

Yes, my expansion targets vary from campaign to campaign, and I now tend to take Ascaucalis and Carrodunum in the first wave. I'll add some explanations.

Apart from the obvious stated reasons, my route of conquest is also determined by which is the shortest to walk and thus fastest. My first two campaigns I took Kimrolandam, Habukoz and Heruskoz after Rugonoz, then Skandza, and Arctaunon, which is possibly slightly faster/shorter. But these days I go for the mentioned expansion/route in order to get the best possible units fast (I am a lover of elite, scary, etc units and always use them in any game I do). Medininkas rip Wolhoz to pieces and the Rumi does not sppreciate the power of Lugian swordsmen and frightful countenenace of the Skaudagangaz.

One question... I'm assuming I disband the 4 units of light cavalry right off the bat? They don't seem to be worth keeping around for sieging Eleutheroi

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WinsingtonIII

One question... I'm assuming I disband the 4 units of light cavalry right off the bat? They don't seem to be worth keeping around for sieging Eleutheroi

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I'd say do as you please; they have a frightfully high upkeep for the start. If you disband them immediately, you may have to blitz less.
Personally, I just hate disbanding troops (except Apeleutheroi) and I can find some uses for the Reidonez even in a siege (where they get depleted anyway). But if you can do without them, it might actually be more wise to disband them.

Hope you enjoy uniting the tribes and getting out of the initial debt. The build-up part of the campaign is perhaps the most fun for me.

I totally agree. And at the sieges the Ridaroz are great for chasing down routers on their crazy run back towards town centres.

So, it's 261 BC and I've taken Gawjam-Rugoz, Gawjam-Silengoz, Gawjam-Kimbroz, Gawjam-Skandzawarjoz, Ascaucalis, and Gintaras-Ostan. I took the first four before 266 BC, but then I had to wait around to get out of the hole so I could retrain my army. Those mines in Skandawarjoz are definitely lifesavers though, before I captured them I was barely breaking even and still 13,000 in debt, but after capturing them I was making 2,000 mnai a turn and was out of debt within 6 turns or so. I'm a little behind the guide I guess, as I doubt I'll be taking Carrodunum in the 260's, but it will probably be in 259-258, so pretty close to target. Right now I need to refit my army because I don't think I can take on Lugii swordsmen and Urodusios with what I have left (well, I probably could, but it would dangerous and might cost me some generals). However, my improved factional MIC has finished building in my home town (I'm not going to attempt the spelling), so I can finally retrain/train Dugundiz, which is going to be nice. Earlier when I retrained my army I had to fill it out with Sloxonez to make up for the Dugundiz I lost, and they serve a completely different battlefield role so my lines were pretty thin towards the end and almost completely bodyguards.

Overall, I'm satisfied with my decision to disband the Reidonez, because I'm making much more money then I would be, and I managed to scrape through OK. However, there were a couple moments when I wished I had, namely when the AI actually decided to swing its cavalry around my rear. Luckily, since Skutjonez have spears, disaster was averted because they easily covered my rear against the cavalry. They are much more useful than I expected, although that's probably because nobody wears any armor up here so arrows are absurdly deadly. I've finally got ahold of some Menjinikos, which is exciting, but unfortunately I haven't seen them in action yet.

I'm going to go ahead and nominate Dugundiz for the most versatile basic infantry unit in the game. They are absurd. They can hold a line well, they can flank well because they have a good charge for spears, they can act as impromtu skirmishers if they have to, they of course kill cavalry, they also kill infantry with ease, and I've never had a unit of them break (actually I've never had a single unit in this campaign break, so part of the reason is probably general's morale boosting traits). But anyways, they are very fun and very good. Their only issue is missiles, they don't like those very much. Of course, the Germanic Bodyguard infantry are practically indestructible to anything, so they can soak up the missiles if necessary. One of my bodyguard's exhibited a 16 to 1 kill to death ratio in one battle, and that was just while holding a line. Absurd.

As you can probably tell, I'm having a great time, although I'm getting a bit worried about the Romani, they already made the Aedui a protectorate and it's only 261 BC...

Anyways, thanks to both of you, Macilrille and athanaric, for your guides. In fact, both of you have a balloon, the first I have given out I might add. :balloon2: :balloon:

Edit: Should I be building Type II gov'ts in the Baltic regions, or will that make me miss out on any high-level regionals?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WinsingtonIII

I'm a little behind the guide I guess, as I doubt I'll be taking Carrodunum in the 260's, but it will probably be in 259-258, so pretty close to target. Right now I need to refit my army because I don't think I can take on Lugii swordsmen and Urodusios with what I have left (well, I probably could, but it would dangerous and might cost me some generals).

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You'll just need some more Jugundiz and Medjinikos. The Lugii Swordsmen and the exhibitionists are very vulnerable to missiles, which means even Skudjonez are a real threat to them.
Make it a "Parthian siege" with shooting as many people as you can before entering.

Quote:

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Luckily, since Skutjonez have spears, disaster was averted because they easily covered my rear against the cavalry. They are much more useful than I expected, although that's probably because nobody wears any armor up here so arrows are absurdly deadly.

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They are extremely cheap, which makes up for low range, ammo, and morale. Also the fact that their secondary weapon is actually useful makes them far better than, say, Toxotai.

Quote:

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I'm going to go ahead and nominate Dugundiz for the most versatile basic infantry unit in the game.

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Their "regional" variants (available in factional MIC) are even better. The Chatti ones have very slightly increased morale and range, whereas the Chauci and Gaut spearmen have better shields.

Quote:

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As you can probably tell, I'm having a great time, although I'm getting a bit worried about the Romani, they already made the Aedui a protectorate and it's only 261 BC...

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Just keep them covered with spies. If all else fails and they blitz the Gauls, raid their Italian cities. That's even historical.

Quote:

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Anyways, thanks to both of you, Macilrille and athanaric, for your guides. In fact, both of you have a balloon, the first I have given out I might add. :balloon2: :balloon:

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Thanks, glad you're enjoying this faction.

Quote:

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Edit: Should I be building Type II gov'ts in the Baltic regions, or will that make me miss out on any high-level regionals?

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Type II is perfect for Baltic regions. All their units are available at regional MIC level 3, even those "Polish" swordsmen (who are quite useful, BTW. They are about equal to Botroas).
Just make sure to (initially) build a Tyoe III government in Carrodunum, for the insane swordsmen. I'll add some information on temples and recommended governments to the first post.

e: done.

Not much to add really, what you are also noticing is the high morale of Sweboz units, they very- very rarely break, perhaps even less than the Romans. In fact in my games the Polybians, at least, break more often than Sweboz, even crappy Sweboz. Get yourself some XP-adding temples and see them really kick behind. Ludens has a guide to them somewhere around here. There is in fact a Gallic Temple that equivalates the one that gives you 5 (I think it is 5) chevrons and the Gauls can build Huge Cities, and thus wondrous temples. I got one that way. Sadly it could only produce a few units.

Anyway, I am glad that our guides convinced you to come over to the Dark Germanic-barbaric Side. Just wait till you see what Slagonez does to armoured infantry :-D

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Originally Posted by Macilrille

Not much to add really, what you are also noticing is the high morale of Sweboz units, they very- very rarely break, perhaps even less than the Romans. In fact in my games the Polybians, at least, break more often than Sweboz, even crappy Sweboz. Get yourself some XP-adding temples and see them really kick behind. Ludens has a guide to them somewhere around here. There is in fact a Gallic Temple that equivalates the one that gives you 5 (I think it is 5) chevrons and the Gauls can build Huge Cities, and thus wondrous temples. I got one that way. Sadly it could only produce a few units.

Anyway, I am glad that our guides convinced you to come over to the Dark Germanic-barbaric Side. Just wait till you see what Slagonez does to armoured infantry :-D

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I'm already building temples to Deiwoz in all my unit producing settlements. What level of settlement am I limited to? Minor cities? Or am I stuck at large towns? That would be unfortunate...

As for coming over to the dark side, I've always been a "barbarian" fan (especially Getai of course), so I think I was already halfway there, I had just been meaning to start a Sweboz campaign for quite a while now.

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Originally Posted by athanaric

They are extremely cheap, which makes up for low range, ammo, and morale. Also the fact that their secondary weapon is actually useful makes them far better than, say, Toxotai.

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Yeah, the major complaint I have with them is low ammo. They burn through it so quickly that I find myself trying to make every volley truly count, so that none are wasted on shields. But, now I'm going to be able to field Medjinikos soon, so that problem should be resolved.

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Their "regional" variants (available in factional MIC) are even better. The Chatti ones have very slightly increased morale and range, whereas the Chauci and Gaut spearmen have better shields.

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I noticed this when looking through the stats, right now the only ones I could recruit are Gaut Spearmen I think, but my MIC isn't high enough in Scandanavia anyways. Either way, when I said Dugundiz are the most versatile basic infantry unit in the game, I was including their other varieties in that category as well.

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Just keep them covered with spies. If all else fails and they blitz the Gauls, raid their Italian cities. That's even historical.

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I actually already sent a spy down as soon as I saw the message pop up, and the situation isn't as bad as I thought. The Romani do appear to be focusing heavily on the North, but they still haven't taken all of Cisalpine Gaul yet, and the Aedui still have their one Cisalpine settlement under their control. Venturing over into Transalpine Gaul I found that the Aedui actually seem to have the upper hand over the Arverni (but it's still very close, the Arverni could easily come back), which was interesting, I was expecting them to have been badly beaten by Arverni in order to have become the Romani's client state. I'm not sure what I want to happen here. Arguably, if the Aedui win and the Romani actually honor their alliance for some time, it may force the Romani south and thus away from me. On the other hand, if this same situation occurs, it could mean that I would be facing a united Aedui and Romani, which is not what I want. But if the Arverni win, they will probably be too weak to resist Roman expansion and thus I will probably be dealing with Romans who control all of Gaul and Italy. I'm just going to have to what a bit and see where it's heading before I make any decisions I guess.

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Originally Posted by WinsingtonIII

I'm already building temples to Deiwoz in all my unit producing settlements. What level of settlement am I limited to? Minor cities? Or am I stuck at large towns? That would be unfortunate...

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Large cities.

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Yeah, the major complaint I have with them is low ammo. They burn through it so quickly that I find myself trying to make every volley truly count, so that none are wasted on shields. But, now I'm going to be able to field Medjinikos soon, so that problem should be resolved.

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Indeed. 25 arrows is better than 15, and 184 m range is better than 143 m.

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I'm not sure what I want to happen here.

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You want one of the Gaul factions to come out on top, and not the Romans. Why? Because of cultural penalty. You see, the Gauls (unlike you) can build stone walls, level 2 farms, garrison quarters, universities, public baths, hospitals, festival grounds, and most importantly paved roads - of Barbarian Culture.
If that fact doesn't make you devise a wickedly evil plan for your campaign, concerning, er, the "cultural enrichment" of Gaul, I don't know what will.

e: copied this into OP.

Yes, let them build up and max out, then take them. And unless you play with the mod making expansion historical the Romans will at some point come knocking on your door. And Romans are the absolute worst enemy I have faced as Sweboz. Great fun :-) Especially when you ambush them.

Yeah, I already figured Roman domination was the worst case scenario, but this makes me even more sure of that. The annoying thing is the Romans have no enemies now and as such are free to throw troops at the Central European defensive stacks. But luckily they've been losing hard for the most part

Updated with some concise unit descriptions.

Great thread. I started playing EB after some time and my choice were the Swebozez. I only began my campaign, but I must say that they are great. I conquered few towns with starting army (Dugundiz and bodyguards, disbanded cavalry, archers were used as garrison troops).
My expansion path was Ascaucalis, Gawjam~Rugoz, Gawjam~Kimbroz, Gawjam~Habukoz, Gawjam~Heruskoz and Arctaunon. Perhaps not ideal, but it worked. I got from debt and started assembling an army of Jugundiz, Dugundiz and Medijnikos for some further conquest.
I also like your description of temples (God of Badass, :D) and agree with Wathonoz as better boss than Zeus/Jupiter. Actually, Odin is one of my favourite gods. It is interesting that the savage barbarian Germans (and later Vikings) chose god of wisdom as their main god. I have read somewhere on the forum, that sweboz can add really high experience bonus with their temples. Temple guide by Ludens says, that level 3 Nerthuz gives +3 exp, but it is not aviable for construction. Does this mean, that I have to conquer town with level 3 temple of the god with same attribute (I think it is fun)? Is there some other building or wonder that gives exp bonus?

It´s the temple of Deiwosz, not Nerthuz, which gives experience to your troops. Build level 3 Gouvernment and a field of games, and you can crank out 4 chevroned units ( best suited for Actauron, where you can get Chatti Spearmen and Chatti Jugundiz with low tier level barracks, otherwise you´d have to cheat and demolish your level 1 government building after constructing the barracks ).

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the Goddess of Sex

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Freya delivers the best bang for your bucks

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Sorry, had to do it.

It was Nerthuz

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Originally Posted by Ludens

Nerthuz (fun)

• Shrine
  +1 Happiness
  +1 Population growth
• Small Temple
  +2 Happiness
  +1 Population growth
  +1 Trade
• Temple (not available for construction)
  +3 Happiness
  +3 Experience

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Originally Posted by WinsingtonIII

One question... I'm assuming I disband the 4 units of light cavalry right off the bat? They don't seem to be worth keeping around for sieging Eleutheroi

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I kept them and used them at seiges to counter the charge of the enemy general, who was on horseback too. (I always wait for the enemy to sally out, and sometimes attack with a smaller army than the garrison, so they sally immediately.

I found in a one-on-one engagement my own Reidonez would usually lose in melee against the enemy general's bodyguard, even though they were Reidonez too - must be down to the enemy having better morale due to their general's presence. Still, even keeping the enemy general tied up for a while was always good enough for me to win the main infantry battle, so that when the enemy general finally turned up his army was already routing.

So it's worth keeping the initial 4 Reidonez units just as diversionary flanking units to keep the enemy cavalry occupied.

News from my campaign:

It's 250BC, more and more tribes are joining the Sweboz confederation (by force, byt they will see the benefits later :laugh4: ), coffers are filling with gold. Only problem are the Romans. They are conquering the Gaul, especially Arverni provinces, Gergovia has already fallen and Arverni are left with one province (fortunately not neighbouring the Romans). Aedui are neutral to Romans and at war with Arverni and they seem to be minding their own business, but they are losing many soldiers to Eleutheroi, so when Romani turn their attention towards them, they may be in danger.
So I consider following your advice and send a stack of young (cheap) warriors eager to prove their abilities to stop Roman expansion and get some loot. :skull:

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Originally Posted by Titus Marcellus Scato

I kept them and used them at seiges to counter the charge of the enemy general, who was on horseback too. (I always wait for the enemy to sally out, and sometimes attack with a smaller army than the garrison, so they sally immediately.

I found in a one-on-one engagement my own Reidonez would usually lose in melee against the enemy general's bodyguard, even though they were Reidonez too - must be down to the enemy having better morale due to their general's presence. Still, even keeping the enemy general tied up for a while was always good enough for me to win the main infantry battle, so that when the enemy general finally turned up his army was already routing.

So it's worth keeping the initial 4 Reidonez units just as diversionary flanking units to keep the enemy cavalry occupied.

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Hmm..yeah I think Morale is one end of it, but I know in M2TW you can easily see that the general is wrecking havoc on his own, even if just a captain he's probably the toughest guy in the army. I guess I haven't payed as much attention to him when playing RTW, but it's probably the same deal here.

Yeah I came over to see what the fuss was about yesterday, installed the EB I did... :P Now this is what a campaignmap should look like! I started the Seleucids first, but realised there was a tad much new stuff to learn before handling an empire in distress, it's easier to learn by trial and error ifthere's not so much of the new stuff at the same time, so figuring that Sweboz with their one starting settlement wa a better bet I jumped that one.

I was a little puzzled by the fact that you've effectively got a negative cashflow of minus 5 k right off the bat. I'm not one for dispanding units, unless they're expencive and useless (like peltasts/velites/javeliners..etc in Vanilla who are only good at emptying your coffers and friendly fire...in the back no less...)

Then came the next shock, my gathered forces measured as high on the stackscale and the garrison stacks in any of the independant cities...no divide forces and über-blitz like in vanilla. (Yeah, I always choose VH campaign, could have something to do with it, but in Vanilla that hardly matters, I assume that's not the case here.)
Still I'd have to blitz like mad or be foreever lost in debt, heck I reached -32k and change before I turned the negative trend in my purse. Heck I'm still at minus 9,5k! And it's the fall of 268, effin' plenty of turns into the campain and the only thing I've built was what the few starting coins could muster into a long since depleted building que.
Well at least my faction leader just got, "Sated Warmongerer", so I assume I'm not fighting too little.
Gotta come back and have a look at that blitz-guide...I didn't know there was a laundry list.

Edit: Yeah he's a damn old tired bastard! Just thirty something, but he's always tired or exhausted it seems, brought him dishonour it did too, for despite his victories he apparently did something to lose his priviliged and honourable status as what the heck unpronouncable it was and the only thing I could come up with was the fact that he could just never keep up. Luckily I have one "inspired" general that can force-march the army and then the olf fool comes around to lead the fight once the siege has produced the needed battering rams :P

The tale of my campaign, the inspired leading the way for the tired old fool, who does trudge along because he's a warmongering megalomaniac who really does like the fighting...though I suppose he might not like it was much anymore...he did get "sated" after all...
https://img821.imageshack.us/img821/...8084970.th.png
Sorry baout the filesize, free fraps = bmp and optimization on imageschack did change that to PNG, but not a whole lot of compression...it is noted for future endevours...

Hmm a question:

Is there a tier guide for the troop recruitments? Since the building browser in game is pretty much useless, it would be very helpful to know what tier one needs of faction/native barrack to recruit the unit early on so that one can choose the necessary type of government.

EB's Recruitment Viewer program; which should be installed at the same time your EB mod was installed.
If it isn't, search your RTW folder; mine is like this:
RTW/Recruitment Viewer/RecruitmentViewer.exe

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Originally Posted by Poulp'

EB's Recruitment Viewer program; which should be installed at the same time your EB mod was installed.
If it isn't, search your RTW folder; mine is like this:
RTW/Recruitment Viewer/RecruitmentViewer.exe

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Thanks! ;) I totally didn't know how that stuff during installation would work later on, but I see it's quite a nifty gadget.

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Originally Posted by Alrik

Edit: Yeah he's a damn old tired bastard! Just thirty something, but he's always tired or exhausted it seems, brought him dishonour it did too, for despite his victories he apparently did something to lose his priviliged and honourable status as what the heck unpronouncable it was and the only thing I could come up with was the fact that he could just never keep up.

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That's because you've been moving him 100% of his movement allowance. That will tire out a general, and often triggers the "gloomy" train in pessimistic ones. If you move the guy just 90%, he'll stay fresh and happy. Sadly this means you have to babysit generals on multi-turn moves.

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Originally Posted by Alrik

Thanks! ;) I totally didn't know how that stuff during installation would work later on, but I see it's quite a nifty gadget.

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I'd also stay away from VH campaign and VH battles if I were you - EB is designed to be played on Medium difficulty in both, by players new to the mod. Which is like Hard difficulty in Vanilla. VH in EB is just uber-hard, so difficult that if the game was an FPS it would be called 'Impossible' or 'Nightmare' level! The player isn't meant to win playing VH in EB, the AI is meant to win at that level - the AI gets virtually unlimited funds and all factions hate you in VH campaign, and in VH battle AI low-grade units can beat your elite units.

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Originally Posted by FriendlyFire

That's because you've been moving him 100% of his movement allowance. That will tire out a general, and often triggers the "gloomy" train in pessimistic ones. If you move the guy just 90%, he'll stay fresh and happy. Sadly this means you have to babysit generals on multi-turn moves.

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Ahh, so that's how to do it, I've let them sttay a turn or two in a town or sometimes just compleatly still even in the wilderness to get rid of it from time to time and let them catch up later. I was just happy I had two generals that started out as "energetic", I thinc it was..., and then moved onto "inspired", those never seem to tire, they get a bit grumpy with the "force marched" trait sometimes (I'm guessing from having to shout all the time for the men to keep up, that can give anyone a sore throat.)

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Originally Posted by Titus Marcellus Scato

I'd also stay away from VH campaign and VH battles if I were you - EB is designed to be played on Medium difficulty in both, by players new to the mod. Which is like Hard difficulty in Vanilla. VH in EB is just uber-hard, so difficult that if the game was an FPS it would be called 'Impossible' or 'Nightmare' level! The player isn't meant to win playing VH in EB, the AI is meant to win at that level - the AI gets virtually unlimited funds and all factions hate you in VH campaign, and in VH battle AI low-grade units can beat your elite units.

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Sweet! Sounds like my kind of game. The campaign that is, I haven't played RTW that much, but I do remember that the AI got fecked-up if you didn't have "medium Battles", unroutable units with impossible statbonuses, which makes for boring unnatural battles that were as fun as shooting yourself in the foot to give your opponent a fighting chance. I.e. just painful.
I don't mind a more challenging campaign though, I played the Britannica campaign a few times and thought "I want a europe campaign at this scale!" And EB isn't that far off. In M2TW so far I typically have the whole map conqured by the time Ghenghis arrives even on VH/VH, which makes for an awfully boring wait for the rest of the scripted happenings, I've never made it to any of them, so a harder campaign is just dandy as long as the battles are fought fair enough I can live with the AI getting a load of free units.

Regarding the reqruitment tool, it seems to be older than the latest version of EB, for not all units are in it, Baltic frontiermen, for one.

I also found out, very annoyingly that there's no information on boats, the guide above states that you can build first tier boats in Scandinavia and second tier on Gotland, failing to mention that those are the only places that you can build boats, I knew from somewhere that you couldn't build in every costal settlement, but I had assumed that you could in about half of them or something. This information about the extremely limited boat production shouldn't be in the guide, it should be in the faction description, that's a major error on the EBs side. How exactly is a player to know that he isn't going to be able to build even transportships anywhere?
Where and what ships you could build would REALLY be helpful to have included in the Recruitment Viewer!

No moral bonus for temples? If what you say is true, there is no reason to build temples to Thor or Odin. I mostly stick with Deiwoz or Nerthuz.

Culture penalty: Do Druidic schools give culture penalty? If not, do they help educate young German nobles? Or is there no effect? Does Ynys Mons have any effect on young FM?

Good guide. I was unaware there was a delay to some of the roving Generals. This has proved useful. These are the kinds of things I like in a guide, not "disband cav and blitz..."

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Originally Posted by moriluk

No moral bonus for temples? If what you say is true, there is no reason to build temples to Thor or Odin. I mostly stick with Deiwoz or Nerthuz.

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The law bonus would be reason enough to build temples to Wathonoz (Wodan(Odin)) in all settlements with a significant distance penalty, otherwise you will lose loads of cash to corruption, way more than Nerthuz can make up for.
For roleplaying purposes, you might want to build a temple to Wathonoz in Silengolandam (the naked black dudes are fanatics devoted to Wathonoz).
Apart from that, you can get some ancillaries from Thunroz (Donar(Thor))(they are not worth it, though), and with a temple to Wathonoz in a region with a type 1 or 2 gov you can get the awesome trait:

Spexaleigoz
"Through his intuition, or grace of wit granted by a higher power perhaps, this man has the ability to "see" or at least guess the future, through signs and clues around him. He is often correct when making predictions about the likely outcome of events and planned actions."
+10 to Trade income, +1 to farming output, +1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield, +1 to Line of Sight

Ordinary traits possible to get from Swebom temples:
Temple of Frouwjo: Brave, GoodLeader, GoodTactician
Temple of Enxwoz: GoodFarmer
Temple of Thunroz: GoodBuilder
Temple of Nerthuz : GoodTrader
Temple of Deiwoz: GoodDefender
Temple of Wathonoz: Brave, HarshJustice

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Originally Posted by moriluk

Culture penalty: Do Druidic schools give culture penalty? If not, do they help educate young German nobles? Or is there no effect? Does Ynys Mons have any effect on young FM?

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All barbarian factions including Sweboz can get the Ynys Duwall training, academies including druidic schools should work for any faction.
No culture penalty, as already explained by Athanaric.

Apologies for staying away for so long. Updated initial post for the sake of clarity.

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Originally Posted by gamegeek2

Sorry, had to do it.

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Somebody noticed :laugh4:

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Originally Posted by moriluk

No moral bonus for temples? If what you say is true, there is no reason to build temples to Thor or Odin. I mostly stick with Deiwoz or Nerthuz.

Culture penalty: Do Druidic schools give culture penalty? If not, do they help educate young German nobles? Or is there no effect? Does Ynys Mons have any effect on young FM?

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Tollheit has covered most of it. The problem with Nerthuz is that her temple only has two tiers, of which the second one is good in early game and in core provinces, but kinda lacking once you expand beyond Germania. Odin's temple is the one I actually build most because of the extremely helpful +20% law bonus.

As for Kelts, they have a significant tech advantage on you and there is no cultural penalty involved. Which means a greedy Swêboz player - like myself - often waits until they have teched up with lvl 2 farms, paved roads, stone walls and the like before claiming their land.

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Good guide. I was unaware there was a delay to some of the roving Generals. This has proved useful. These are the kinds of things I like in a guide, not "disband cav and blitz..."

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Thanks, I had that in mind.
As another poster has proved in this thread, it is even possible to blitz Noricum and Bohemia before the roving defenders arrive. This is a little bit insane though :laugh4:

I don't know where else to ask:
After 1-2 years I started to play EB again. I started as Sweboz. I've conquered Gawjam-Rugoz, Ascaucalis, Gawjam-Silengoz, Carrodunum and Gawjam-Kimbroz (or Habukoz? the one with the port. Don't remember atm..).
Now it's ~266 BC and I can spend money.. finally..
I wanted to ask what Government i should build in those "citys" and where I can look up what advantages they give (regional units?).

Btw... there are many Salt Mines @ carrodunum (or Ascuacalis?) but my mining income is 0 ? Don't they count as mining income? Do they produce income at all?

Sorry for my english.. :( reading is a lot easier than writing..

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Originally Posted by Namenloser

I've conquered Gawjam-Rugoz, Ascaucalis, Gawjam-Silengoz, Carrodunum and Gawjam-Kimbroz (or Habukoz? the one with the port. Don't remember atm..).
Now it's ~266 BC and I can spend money.. finally..
I wanted to ask what Government i should build in those "citys" and where I can look up what advantages they give (regional units?).

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Of those only Carrodunum has a worthwhile regional unit, Lugii Swordsmen (two-handed swords, lesser version of Casse Champions.) So it's worth building a Type III or Type IV government there. I think Type III will let you recruit them.

All the other towns you mentioned are of Germanic culture, not Celtic or Baltic, so Sweboz should build Type I or Type II governments in those regions and recruit factional (Sweboz) units.