First time Total War

[CYZ]

So a week ago I started playing Total War for the first time, obviously I went for RTW.

So after two short practice campaigns I'm now playing Jullii on hard/very hard. I have taken northern Italy but the Gauls keep coming over the Alps every winter. I accidentaly gave them 5000 gold too (I meant to demand 5000 instead...)

I've got a full stack with hastati, principes, archers, 2 wardogs, a balista and equites. I also have some reserves. I think I can beat them, they have a few full stacks spread around but no archers and almost no cavalry.

Should I just go and take as much land from them as I can? And is it bad to ignore Macedonia who is growing towards me?

 

[Jos Ballenbak]

Yes, go get them!

 

[thecougarbear]

I always found it a real pain in the arse to go to war with the Greek factions early. Fighting their stupid phalanx troops takes a very particular and (what I found to be) pretty boring strategy. For that reason, I always avoid war with the Greeks until I have sufficient cavalry to demolish them at their flanks.

 

[schlaufuchs]

I always found it a real pain in the arse to go to war with the Greek factions early. Fighting their stupid phalanx troops takes a very particular and (what I found to be) pretty boring strategy. For that reason, I always avoid war with the Greeks until I have sufficient cavalry to demolish them at their flanks.

Really? I always found them to be rather easy to beat; just use the same strategy you use on just about every other damn army.

 

[Traitorfish]

Send wave after wave of bottom-tier troops to their pointless and hilarious deaths? That's how I tend to play the early game, if as much out of panicked desperation as by design.

 

[Dachs]

If you have at least one fullstack, you can beat any number of enemy fullstacks.

 

[thecougarbear]

Really? I always found them to be rather easy to beat; just use the same strategy you use on just about every other damn army.

Sure, to a point. Engage in the front, attack at the flanks and rear. But against the Greeks I always felt like that was the only way to fight a battle, and I found it boring. At least against other factions you could use other tactics if you felt like it (like grinding them up like hamburger from the front.)

On the other hand, it may be that I just hate looking at the stupid animations that the phalanx use when engaging.