Non-Romans to crush Romans?

[Quirinus]

But do your hoplites normally move fast enough to encircle the enemy? It nearly ruined me during a major battle with the Germans when my center of militia hoplites caved in. Luckily I had a reserve barbarian mercenary unit at hand, which plugged the gap.

[Spartan198]

But do your hoplites normally move fast enough to encircle the enemy? It nearly ruined me during a major battle with the Germans when my center of militia hoplites caved in. Luckily I had a reserve barbarian mercenary unit at hand, which plugged the gap.

Roughly 8/10ths of the time. I haven't actually lost any battles because of it,yet,though I have had a few close victories. If you're uncomfortable with using phalanx infantry in this manner,then barbarian mercenaries would probably serve you better. I myself use prefer to use Armored Hoplites all across the board and fake a rout instead to draw the enemy in,then immidiately reform my center after turning my flanks inward to form the killbox.

My suggestion would be to test out tactics you're unsure about in sandbox before using them in the campaign,as everyone has their own distinct command style and strategies (balls to the wall brute force for me). So,using this individual's tactics with the same identical troops as he,may not yield the best results for that individual.

[The Wandering Scholar]

I'm sure that any faction can infact take on the might of Rome.

[Spartan198]

I'm sure that any faction can infact take on the might of Rome.

It all depends on the player's command ability. A superior commander with inferior-quality troops will always defeat a lesser counterpart with top-tier units.

[Quirinus]

Yes...... that goes without saying. The OP was asking about the best choice, I think.

[IceWolf]

I've been able to do it with Carthage (good starting position, biggest drawback is no archers) and Scythia (just keep attacking them with full stacks of HAs). I was doing well with Germania, running them out of the boot, now Julii and Scippi are confined to one island each, but I'm having a hard time eradicating the Brutti completely. I ran them out of Greece but they're holding out in Illyria and now and then Croton or the other Italian Brutii city rebels back to them. Coupled with overall Italian squalor and now the Dacians and Brits are eating away at my homeland up north. Oh yes, I've run into negative cash flow as well. This German campaign is stalled possibly broken we shalll see.

IceWolf

[DerekBaker]

Thanks for the replies.

I got beaten four times as Carthage, before finally getting my act together and winning. Went on to conquer the whole map for the first time:

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Impressive

[Quintus.JC]

Well done.

[Quirinus]

Thanks for the replies.

I got beaten four times as Carthage, before finally getting my act together and winning. Went on to conquer the whole map for the first time:

Whoa. That is cool. How do you keep all those huge cities from revolting?

I like how the caption says, tongue in cheek, "There is nothing more to prove.." Is the cutscene the same as when you conquer fifty provinces?

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Thanks for the replies.

I got beaten four times as Carthage, before finally getting my act together and winning. Went on to conquer the whole map for the first time:

That is impressive indeed!!!

Do you really get some message after you have conquered the whole map??
That makes me want to play some campaigns all over again

[RLucid]

3. Their flanxes are almost Unbeatable. roman short swords cant get past greek spears.

Guess the AI doesn't simply retreat some units, concentrate missile fire, force your army to turn, nor use terrain that disorders the phalanx forces. Nor will it, use Heavy & Light Cav combined with Light Infantry spearmen to engineer a cavalry superiority, defeating the Light Lancer units.

The main problem, is when outnumbered, that you tend to run out of ammunition, which is particularly embaressing if you cannot withdraw.

Historically, even the Macs evolved Phalanxes (based on Philip & Alexander forces) proved no match for the manipular legions, once the Romans learned not to take on the Phalanxes frontally.

The long term trend, was for lighter shields and armer, in favour of mobility. The Mac phalangists were less well protected, than the classic Greek Hoplites, but with advantage of longer double-handed sarisssa.

Heavy Infantry is dominated by more mobile missile wielding Light Infantry & Cavalry, accept where holding ground or breaching is essential eg) sieges & bridge crossings.

[DerekBaker]

Do you really get some message after you have conquered the whole map??

Yep, that screenshot was taken immediately after taking the 103rd and final territory.

[Motep]

I've always found that the Greek Cities have the highest chance (when under player control) of crushing the Romans early. Their best units (besides Spartans) are relatively low-tiered,so you can start pumping out Armored Hoplites,Archers,and Heavy Peltasts (if you use skirmishers,which I don't) rather quickly. And depending on how good a money manager you are,you can upgrade Syracuse rather quickly to start doing this. Combine that with it's position in Sicily,and it's most commonly the best staging point to begin your invasion of Roman lands.

I use that rout to my advantage with hoplites. About every 7 out of 10 times that my center gives way,the enemy will pour their entire army toward the gap left behind. When that happens,I turn my flanks inward to surround them. Combine that with a rallying action by my general which can sometimes reform my center at the last moment,and I lay back to enjoy the slaughter.

In my experience,Romans seem to be especially susceptible to this.

Yeah...what he said.

[Motep]

You get a different message for taking the whole map than you do when you just take the fifty provinces.

You conquered at 18 bc? I have nver gotten a game to last that long before.

[CaptainBlack]

Against what everyone has said I'd go with Gaul on H/H. First I take care of the scattered mess at the beginning by moving my capital to Mediolanium from Alesia, then I take all my forces west of the Alps and migrate them into Italy. Because Mediolanium and Patavium increase in population at a very rapid pace, getting choson swordsman isn't all to hard.

And when it came the battles I had to make sure I had a full stack everytime. Then my tactics were attack them right away before they can get their velites and archers into position, then with my attacking force I send 2 units of infantry around the flanks, each set of infantry accompanied by a unit of barbarian cav on their flank to take care of the Gen, or any cav. So I usually go for the outnumbering of the romans. And sometimes I also found it very easy to send a full stack or two straight to rome.

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Barbarian's biggest weakness for me always has been unit power overall - especially vs the Romans and their dramatically powerful late Roman unit roster. Although Chosen Swordsmen can hold standard Roman legionaries, holding back Urbans and Praetorians can be a bit of a challenge. If you know how to use their special abilities, it is do able though.

The Barbarian special ability "warcry" is quite simply brilliant. It provides a massive attack bonus against the attackers, so is a must before combat ensues. The "chant" ability is also quite good, boosting morale in critical situations.

The only problem with the "warcry" ability is it's temporary nature (something like eight seconds) and then, afterwards, the fact that it needs time to recharge before it can be used again. During this time the Barbarians are vulnerable to attacks from superior forces. Also, if it is called while fighting, blows cannot be issued in the meantime, this makes it useful before a charge, but not very good in prolonged hand to hand combat.

[Quirinus]

Isn't it more like thirty seconds? The warcry itself takes ten or so seconds, doesn't it?

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Isn't it more like thirty seconds? The warcry itself takes ten or so seconds, doesn't it?

Sorry - that was a mistake. I meant to say the warcry itself takes about eight seconds to complete rather than the effect.

My apologies