Mini Guide: Getting started with Rome II

[Bramborough]

Superb, especially in the discussion of economy and building lines. I'm at 50 BC-ish, so roughly 220 turns in, and I see I've been approaching much of this sub-optimally.

I'll second the comment about barracks & troop levels. As Rome, I don't see a need to go beyond Level III Barracks...actually, maybe even Level II Barracks. I've got most of the map now, about half of it under my direct rule, and another 20-25% of it under client states and allies. So all the "hard" fighting is behind me, it's just a matter of my 15-stack steamroller taking the turns necessary to mop up remaining factions. Throughout the game, I've never needed troops of higher quality than Legionaries & Veteran Legionaries. First Cohorts are basically same as Veteran Legionaries, only some very slight variations in capabilities and cost. Praetorians are better, but not so much better as to justify their increased cost. I've never even bothered to build the Level IV Barracks and haven't even tried the troops recruited from it.

I do think it's a good idea to build an Auxiliary Barracks in your troop-producing province. First, it gives you the capability to recruit some good spear infantry (which the Roman barracks doesn't provide), useful for flanks and defending siege artillery from meddlesome cavalry. Second, the Italian aux cavalry (I think it's called Socii Equites Extraordinarii?) is MUCH better than the Roman-recruited Equites during the early & middle portions of a battle in flank attacks and breaking lines.

Fully agree with all comments regarding Circus Maximus and Pantheon. Regarding Cloaca Maxima, I agree that its benefits are also very good. By the time one gets high enough tech to research and build it, however, I'm not sure the growth bonus is all that useful. One's older "core" provinces have probably already maxed out on growth anyway, and the empire is large & rich enough by now that it's really not all that important for newly-conquered provinces to grow at the fastest possible rate. Such new provinces, moreover, have also been developing themselves the entire campaign, and probably don't need the growth. The AI may have built on them stupidly, but the slots are usually all available. This could all be different if one beelines to Cloaca Maxima right after the military line described, and therefore obtain the building much earlier in the campaign...but I'm not so sure this would really be the best tech prioritization.