Tips for playing as Romans?

[underthesun]

Kind of self-explanatory.

My Roman game is going okay, but I think that maybe I have expanded a bit too quickly. It's ~250 BC and I have control of Carthage and all of Italy, and since the Ptolemaioi have attacked, I'm forced to march into Egypt.

This normally doesn't concern me, however I'm aware that while the Romani are powerful, their recruitment area is by and large quite... restricted?

[Horst Nordfink]

What exactly do you want to know?

[Dubius Cato]

Same happened to me and I went directly for the throat - Alexandria, Memphis, and the cities south. As a diversion, I sent another army to to Palestine that worked its way up to Antiocheia, totally destroying everything, and I mean everything there, while sending the fleet to blockade all ports I could. It made me 120000 mnai, and the Ptolemies only sent Hellenic spearmen afterwards, the cheapest of troops. You need a good navy for the reinforceements. After a decade or so of this it became extremely tiring, but I soldiered on and own Egypt now. Then I needed to take a break from the Romanoi.

If you cannot hold Africa, I suggest leaving Africa. Ptolies are always a pain.

[Starforge]

Kind of self-explanatory.

My Roman game is going okay, but I think that maybe I have expanded a bit too quickly. It's ~250 BC and I have control of Carthage and all of Italy, and since the Ptolemaioi have attacked, I'm forced to march into Egypt.

This normally doesn't concern me, however I'm aware that while the Romani are powerful, their recruitment area is by and large quite... restricted?

Until the Marian reforms your recruitment is basically homeland Italy. Either plan on recruiting / hiring locals or shipping replacements to the front. I usually semi-avoid this by marching an extra stack for every 2 that are pushing forward for replacement purposes (at least for infantry - auxiliaries I usually don't replace and merely recruit locals / hire mercs.)

[General Appo]

I´ve often made the mistake of stumbling into a war with the Ptolies before I´m ready for it, simply by taking Lepki which the Ptolies always attacks.
Now I usually go for Iberia before Africa, and then cross the Gibraltar to attack Kart-Hadast from the east. On other areas I try to take Cisalpine Gaul, Massilia and Tolosa, but find it beast not to expand much more into Gaul. After takinng Illyria I go for the Epirotes, and if I can take out the KH and Makedones. After I´ve done all this I usually hit the Marians, and then my empire goes haywire with expansion.

[underthesun]

How's local recruitment in Hispania?

I ask because my new strategy is to take all of Italia proper, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, and Cisalpine Gaul, wait until I get the Polybian reforms ~242 BC, then either sail west to Hispania (not as easily reinforced, but valuable) or to Greece (a lot more fighting/dealing with phalanxes), but more easily reinforced, pretty valuable). Once I've secured those two, I'll rid myself of the Carthaginian menace and invade them properly.

So far it's ~263 BC and I'm getting ready to invade Sicily.

Or should I hold off on Sicily for now and go for Greece? That's another option.

[Disciple of Tacitus]

Or should I hold off on Sicily for now and go for Greece? That's another option.

A great question and much has been written about it here on the forum. I will include a link to the Konny's famous Romani Unit Guide below. Which also has AOR maps and government level suggestions for conquered territories.

My own two cents... take Sicilia. Carthage will declare war, but the dumb AI hasn't figured out how to load armies onto ships and land them, so you only have to defeat the Carthagian forces on Sicily. Carthage will not launch a counter attack.

Without the Polybian Reforms, I think you will find Greece Proper a hard nut to crack.

Regardless, let us know what you decide and how that goes. Welcome to EB!





https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=93896

[underthesun]

Yeah I'll probably do that. Greece is very defensible too once you've gotten the right cities, or at least that's what my campaign as Epirus taught me.

Thanks :)

[Olimpian]

I´ve often made the mistake of stumbling into a war with the Ptolies before I´m ready for it, simply by taking Lepki which the Ptolies always attacks.
.

Well just don't take Lepki.Let Carthage have it and maybe some of those desert provinces.They'll send the occasional stack,but it's better than endless galatians...

[Dubius Cato]

I know how hard it is not to go for that fattest and easiest of targets, Carthage itself, immediately. If you take Sicily, then your grim legions are in sight of it. There is just so much money there.

[underthesun]

I know how hard it is not to go for that fattest and easiest of targets, Carthage itself, immediately. If you take Sicily, then your grim legions are in sight of it. There is just so much money there.

It's QUITE tempting, especially when you know the alternative is going off to fight in Gaul, or against the various Greek factions! :-o

[Admetos]

Well, Greece isn't so poor itself 'ya know...