Which faction provides the biggest test?

[Vincent Butler]

Europa Barbarorum is an awesome mod for RTW, more realistic. You can hire regional troops out of a levy barracks (hoplites, Celtic Archers, or Peltasts, for example), or train your troops out of your own, sometimes the levy troops are better. Phalanx on defense is less effective. Rome can only train their regular troops in Italy until the Marian reforms, when they can train their troops anywhere. There are actually three reforms for Rome: you start in Camillan era (Hastati, Principes (as spearmen), hoplite-style Triarii, Leves (skirmishers), Ascensi (slingers), Rorarii (light spearmen, actually called reserve skirmishers), Campanian Cav (skirmisher cav) and Equites Romani (light cav). You go to the Polybian reforms, with Principes now swordsmen and Triarii normal spearmen. The Leves and Rorarii are gone, and replaced by Velites. Oh, if you don't advance your barracks, they still build the old units. You get the Marian reforms once certain conditions are met, and you can get the Imperial reforms, though that is not a given. Hoplites are not phalanx, they and most other spearmen fight overhand. Each turn is one season, so stuff costs more and takes longer to build. There are many regional wonders instead of the seven. Peltasts are actually good, the RTW equivalent is Heavy Peltasts. What was Peltasts in RTW is Akontistai. Those are just a few of the changes. Rome is one faction, no senate, and Egypt is more realistic. I will stop for now, but it is AWESOME.