Strategy Tips

[roguebolo]

This system does not allow me to edit my post as a junior member, so I had to reply to my own post to add to it.

The other thing about building new units in the opening of the game, since I'm waiting for better buildings to build the better troop types, I concentrate on building fleets -- which I can afford, because of the money generated by my diplomat and because they have a low upkeep cost. Early naval power is invaluable; and I upgrade their weapons and armor as soon as possible, of course. I also focus on building spies so that I can have one in each city and a few to move around with my armies and the map. Fleets and spies and a few additional diplomats take priority to military units at this early point in the game because of their low upkeep; by the time I have a good naval force and spy network, I'll be ready to start building some of the more advanced military units.

Another thing I often do, any time during the game, is build a fort and with a spy in it rather than building a watchtower. It costs a little in upkeep, but is far more flexible. I garrison the fort with a single, fast moving, low upkeep cavalry unit so that if he is besieged, he can be used as "reinforcements" (which actually make it to the battle in time!) after his rescuers attack the besieging army...This works great for blocking enemy movement through passes, bridges, etc., including blocking rebel armies from wandering into your territories.

[pukey123]

Roguebolo: I read with great interest your strategy in the use of the diplomat. I'm brand new at the game and would appreciate your telling me if this strategy is applicable with the Julii family, full campaign or short campaign. Thanks in advance.
pukey123

[roguebolo]

Yeah, it works quite well with the Julii. I haven't actually played a short campaign yet but I can't see any reason why it wouldn't have the same results. Try it, you'll like it.

Are you playing the full campaign or the short one? I have a couple of other guidelines that I follow when I'm playing one of the Roman factions, but they probably only apply to the full campaign because they are based on a foreknowledge of the imminent Marius Event.

Basically, I build as few hastatis as possible -- none if possible -- using, retraining, and replenishing only the squads I started the game with (some with experience bonuses) -- until I'm capable of producing principes. Even at that point I build only the minimal number of principes needed for conquest, since they will soon become ridiculously obsolete. I continue to to rely on mercs for my missile troops; and the only way that Romans can get decent spearmen is by hiring mercs until they can build triarii. Cavalry has a low upkeep, so I freely build cavalry auxilia but I never build equites; in a pinch, cavalry auxilia are almost as good at melee as lousy equites and they are better at chasing fleeing enemies, including other cavalry.

The only pre-Marius unit I build a lot of are triarii, since they have some melee advantages over their post-Marius equivalent (auxilia) although they don't have quite as good stamina. A neat trick to know is that if you have a bunch of triarii (or some other unit) in the construction queue when the Marius Event occurs, you will be able to continue building those units that are queued even if they become obsolete. However, there is a small bug in RTW: they will no longer get experience bonuses applicable to the settlement!

Despite this conservative policy of NOT building units that are soon-to-be-obsolete, I train a lot of wardogs for future use, especially in regions where I get experience bonuses. After the Marius Event, these regions will be reserved for training advanced cavalry, infantry and missile units; but because of my forethought, and my modest and unassuming character, I'll have a stockpile of prebuilt, experienced and well-equipped wardogs (which take 2 turns to build) and cavalry auxilia waiting to accompany them on their conquest of the Mediterranean.

I guess the whole approach capitalizes on the idea that the quality of your units is more important than the quantity. Generals also gain rank and good character traits faster by beating up bigger armies with their smaller, more efficient ones.

[Exodus]

using diplomats to sell map info when ur playing julii is important coz the area the gauls occupy doesnt really give u alot of trade money.

[Aggie]

Diplomats are not only vital for getting trade rights and selling map info. You can also use them to bribe armies. If you bribe the other Roman faction armies you get those armies for a lower price than the training costs!! So by bribing you will get cheap troops and a reduction of the army size of the other opposing Roman factions. And you don't need to build troops yourself. I also have a lot of diplomayts guarding my borders, to bribe invading armies. They mostly will disband, but the threat of an invasion dissapears with it.

[Slon]

Some general tips:

- Protect bridges since they usually serve as choke points. If you have an advanced settlement nearby, don't be shy when building good pikemen/phalanx units to protect it. Then, add some units of archers/onagers. Place the speak units at the very front of the bridge and set them to phalanx+guard mode. Have another unit of phalanxes (preferably 2 more) behind them. This will serve to help rotate guarding units quickly when one of your units takes casualties. Also, you will be sure to stop cavalry charges across the bridges with 2 units standing front to back in phalanx formation. Place archers at the left and right sides and have them pelt the enemies, making sure to turn off fire at will once enemy units get close to you phalanxes (cuts down friendly fire casualties). Onagers at the back are a good idea for pelting enemy archers/reinforcement units waiting behind their lines. Just be sure to place the onagers directly behind the second phalanx unit to prevent critical misses + tons of casualties.

- Sell maps to factions that are further away from you for extra profit. You can even resell it for less. In fact, try to sell everything. It will help with bribinb armies.

- Don't go for extremely expensive high tier units (unless they are guarding a bridge that is close to a settlement which can retrain the units). Go for tier 3/2 units, as they will be almost as good, but much cheaper and easier to retrain.

- Go for settlements that aren't landlocked or settlements that are profitable (unless you are Julii and are forced to go after cheap settlements). If you are Julii, used the bribed roman armies to attack the expensive greek and silician settlements before the Scipii/Brutii get their hands on them.

[roguebolo]

If I'm playing the Romans, I might occasionally bribe an allied Roman army if it consists of units that I really want -- such as triarii, before I'm able to build them myself. Otherwise I don't bother bribing them just because "they're cheaper" -- because they're really not that much cheaper, when you consider that the real cost is in the upkeep.

The real advantages are more like the advantages of mercenaries -- they might already have some experience chevrons, they might be units you can't build yet, and you don't have to wait for "build time" to bring them into play. These are the most important factors to take into consideration when expanding your army with bribes.

A more useful way to spend your bribe money is buying new family members to have for more generals, governors and (most importantly) more children! Another common use for bribing armies is when I need to eliminate a rebel or enemy army from one of my territories but the nearest army can't afford to abandon their garrison duties to attack it for a little extra experience. And the third and best reason for bribes is when I just don't feel like a rinky-dink battle with a small rebel peasant army and want to move on with the game.

Bribing an allied Roman faction's armies on the grounds that it reduces their military strength is ridiculous because it has absolutely no net gains for you. Bribing an enemy Roman faction's armies can be extremely useful though.