Help a Rome: TW newbie

[~Corsair#01~]

As for the onagers, they have a very long range. At that long a range, the display does not give you detailed information about enemy objects or units. Eg. when you start a battle, you'll notice that it just says "Gauls" or whatever, rather than "Gallic Warband 54".
When you were hitting the gate, the display didn't tell you that the gate was 73% destroyed or whatever because you were too far away, so the gate appeared to just pop open after being hit so many times. If you zoom in you could probably have seen the doors being bent and broken.

RTW is a great game, but you'll quickly learn that the AI is not up to much, particularly on the strategy map. I recommend the Seleucid empire as the hardest faction. Carthage can be quite hard too if you don't attack Numidia and wait for the Scipii to attack you. I like to limit the territory I control and fight alongside allied factions like an
ancient US, it makes the game harder and also keeps me from having to micromanage like 40 different provinces.

The developers have left a number of factions unplayable, even if you complete the game. These include Dacia, Spain, Pontus, Numidia and Scythia. These factions tend to have less unique units than the others but other than that are perfectly playable.
You can download a file to unlock them here
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=52468
The mod makes these factions playable and gives them maps and faction information in the Select Faction screen. Other than that it doesn't change the game and you can still keep your saves.

 

[Stuck in Pi]

yea, Selucids are like impossible, everybody declares war on you and the only way I've seen them survive is by retreating to different islands. But when they got rolling, I wouldn't want to face their armies.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

yea, Selucids are like impossible, everybody declares war on you and the only way I've seen them survive is by retreating to different islands. But when they got rolling, I wouldn't want to face their armies.

Retreating to islands? Wow, I think I lost like one province as the Seleucids. Granted, there was a long time where I was barely scraping by, just managing to summon an army fast enough to go waste it stopping another army. Everyone goes to war with you, but if you can manage even pyrrhic victories, it'll by you time enough to slowly build and economy, and maybe an opportunity will arise to grab another province, pillage an important city.

I personally found the Seleucid Empire the singularly funnest game of RTW I've ever played. That's in Vanilla; in RTR, it gets even better.

 

[Keroro]

I favour the selucids too, very satisfying to match up your army to the might of Rome at the end-game. They have so many fantastic late game units, it's just a case of trying to hold on against 5 or even six factions until you get to use them. A line of phalangites with Silver shield legion and cataphract support will embarass most enemy armies.

RTR or the Extended Greek mod bring in an even more challenging situation for the Selucids. As in any war situation the key is to hold the line in one area, and push forward in another. Get your best general to tear up the Ptolomies with a couple of full stacks of troops while another few generals wheel around the northern areas trying to lift the countless seiges that you'll suffer from Greece, Armenia, pontus, parthia etc. Once egypt is secure you'll have serious money coming in and you can turn your attention (and economy) to sorting out problems in the north.

Edit - Cheezy, is funnest a word?

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I favour the selucids too, very satisfying to match up your army to the might of Rome at the end-game. They have so many fantastic late game units, it's just a case of trying to hold on against 5 or even six factions until you get to use them. A line of phalangites with Silver shield legion and cataphract support will embarass most enemy armies.

Indeed. The challenge is fighting off Armenian cataphracts with Militia Hoplites until then.

RTR or the Extended Greek mod bring in an even more challenging situation for the Selucids. As in any war situation the key is to hold the line in one area, and push forward in another. Get your best general to tear up the Ptolomies with a couple of full stacks of troops while another few generals wheel around the northern areas trying to lift the countless seiges that you'll suffer from Greece, Armenia, pontus, parthia etc. Once egypt is secure you'll have serious money coming in and you can turn your attention (and economy) to sorting out problems in the north.

I find the most direct threats to be the Bactrians and the Parthians; while you're busy concentrating on the Ptolemaic Empire and Pontus, especially when you can only afford to maintain one aremy at a time.

Edit - Cheezy, is funnest a word?

It's not not a word

 

[PredatorFett]

If you plan on playing Barbarian Invasion ( my personal favorite) play as either the Eastern Roman Empire, or the Sassanids.

I'd try the East Roman empire first, though, but if you plan on wanting to play as any other faction for the rest of the time you own the game ( you will not want to play as any one else!) play somebody different first.

 

[Ajidica]

What are some tips as the ERE? Whenever I play as them, I always abandon the game around the point the Sarmatian Hordes besiege Constantinople.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

What are some tips as the ERE? Whenever I play as them, I always abandon the game around the point the Sarmatian Hordes besiege Constantinople.

I've never played the ERE, but I would say probably willingly abandoning the Levant, maybe Colchis, and throwing everything you've got into one big army and pwning the Sassanids when the come.

As the Roman Empires, you cannot rely on autocalculators to win the game; you must fight every battle manually, and every battle must be executed perfectly, otherwise you will fail. The game can be won, but it's not going to let you just walk into it. You cannot afford the stoic approach to war, you've got to use what you've got, with very very limited reserve; as the West, you have NO reserve.

 

[Ajidica]

Are you sure abandoning the Levant is a good idea? By keeping the Levant it gives you lots of money, and it isn't invaded often because the sassanids concentrate their efforts on Antioch and the middle passage through the mountains. Also, how do you stop the hordes that are besiegeing Constantinople? And as the ERE, your economy is in better shape.
Is it a better tactic to use the reccomended limitani/comitatus defence stratagy by using the defence force to slow down the enemy until the field army gets there. Or should I use a themes and tagmata system where where I spread my units out somewhat more evenly so if I suffer a defeat I can quickly rush reserves and I have a 'praesental' army in a major city that is well trained and experianced.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Are you sure abandoning the Levant is a good idea? By keeping the Levant it gives you lots of money, and it isn't invaded often because the sassanids concentrate their efforts on Antioch and the middle passage through the mountains.

What I mean is, don't fight to hold them. Put a minimum number of peasants to keep the city from rebelling, and take all those troops and form armies to guard the Cilician Gate (the mountain pass above Tarsus). The Sassanids only get their awesome infantry late-game, so engage them in mountains and forests to minimize the effetiveness of their extensive cavalry formations. Again, commanding battles is a must, given how easy it is to break cavalry, all the more so when flanked; just draw them into the anvil, and hit them with the hammer, and repeat.

Also, how do you stop the hordes that are besiegeing Constantinople?

Your best bet may be to relocate your capital, and either abandon Constantinople as a free city and hope for a loyalist revolt. Or, meet them in Thrace with a large army. Remember, you're going to have to command every battle, to maximize troop efficiencys; just force them to attack you, so you can choose the part of the battlefield in which they attack you. If you can choose the battlefield, the advantage is so clearly yours.

And as the ERE, your economy is in better shape.

I'll have to play a game as them and discuss my strategy, but I have a feeling that the economic strategy of the West can only be amplified when applied to the East. You've simply got to consolidate your forces, and only defend the places you absolutely have to.

Is it a better tactic to use the reccomended limitani/comitatus defence stratagy by using the defence force to slow down the enemy until the field army gets there.

No, limenatei suck. Don't rely on them for anything unless supported by Comitatenses, but if they are present, it should the the Limenatei supporting them, not the other way around. Legionaries are still the premier infantry in the game, maximize their usefulness, and you'll kick more ass with three units of Comitatenses than you will with ten of Limenatei.

Or should I use a themes and tagmata system where where I spread my units out somewhat more evenly so if I suffer a defeat I can quickly rush reserves and I have a 'praesental' army in a major city that is well trained and experianced.

No, consolidate forces into one or two large armies (or teams of armies), don't seperate your forces, they'll be greater than the sum of their parts when together, and only be wasted when they engage seperately.

To win, you're going to have to take a few huge armies and throw their weight around. It'll leave huge areas almost undefended, which, I'll be honest, makes me nervous and is very risky, but to be honest, you really can't afford to lose any battles, and thus must meet their force with extreme force.

 

[Ajidica]

Thanks for the advice. It appears I have to get better at fighting Horde armies because the game doesn't show the Golden Horn Ports in Constantinople (Constantinople could be under land siege, but as long as the sea lanes were kept open. That was why the Huns didn't do a full fledged invasion of the ERE, they couldn't storm the city due to the Walls of Constantine and later the Theodesian Walls).

What are some good ways to fight horde armies? As far as I can tell, the best tactic is to destroy their horse archers, then use your Hippo-Toxotai and archers to slaughter the enemy. And if you have heavy cavalry, use them to break enemy formations open.

Last question: as the ERE, what are better Cataphracti or Clibanarii? I am thinking the Clibanarii but the Cataphracts have good shock value. (Minor Rant: In early Byzantine Armies, they were known for their cataphract archers. Why arn't they in the game?)

 

[Keroro]

The ERE isn't an easy campaign. I kept hold of Constantinople by building a series of forts around it with small garrisons - that stops the barbarians from besieging the city and you can counter attack with your main army. Remember that you lose a lot of income when under siege, try to stop them happening and your economy should remain in pretty good shape.

I agree with Cheezy on the tactic of putting two or three big armies together and the need to fight the battles yourself. The auto-calc is rubbish for the Romans in BI. The legions or Comits should be the core of your armies and remember to use the heavy cavalry wisely.

Catas or Clibs? I prefer Catas, but it's a tight choice.

 

[lutzj]

Make sure you turn "Auto-Manage Taxes" on; the computer does a good job of squeezing the right amount of profit from cities, and you WILL lose a few cities or a few thousand denari due to forgetfulness while still getting used to the game.

 

[djwe06]

I've just started playing this game a few days ago and seemed to have managed it easily. The difficulty I did is the easiest (to be sure xD). What I did was apparently not the best idea. I chose the Julli and attacked Europe. I slowly but surely captured every signle Gallic city there, then went to Germania as they have been weakened by the Britons. After that, Britannia seemed to be hard. They were using chariots and the Generals often have high Command. So I always had Triarii/Auxilia (spearmen) in my Armies.

As the game progressed earlier on, some military change occured which brought new units. The ones I always get are: Auxilia (For Enemy Cavalry), Roman Cavalry (For Flanking the Enemy and Chasing Them), Praetorian Cohorts (Main Unit for Battle), and in some occasions, either Archer Auxilia or Cavalry Auxilia (For Weakening them and Enemy Cavalry). I never lost a single battle using that mixture of unit classes (even if outnumbered and using the first ones[Hastati, Equites, etc.]), except the time I only had 4 town guards and 4 peasants in a settlement which was attacked by a friggin over 700-soldier Briton army with a high Command General.

Now, I'm onto the United Kingdom, I've just finished capturing London. After that I think I should invade the area of Spain? Italy's already conquered by the Brutii......

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Of course, this game takes place before 1701, so there is no United Kingdom yet...

 

[Longus]

Sounds like you're doing quite well, but I wouldn't ignore your Roman compatriots too long if I were you; eventually they will become your enemies and the hardest you've ever faced at that. If you're not already in a position to declare all-out war against them, try at least limiting their expansion; the Brutii often invade Greece and, if they manage to fortify the entire peninsula, can be a tough nut to crack. Try cutting them off and taking a few of the choice Greek cities for yourself, it will slow them down and give you another front from which to press them when the time comes.

 

[101rstImperial]

Expanding on what Longus said, it's not a bad idea to have a "Base of Operations" virtually everywhere - have one in Africa, Spain, Central Euro, Greece.

 

[WumpusCivName]

Yo there, Noble djwe06! Nice for you to be among the RTW fans. Yes, some of your units were changed after some time that you play your campaign. That phenomenon is a MILITARY REFORM. There are more than one of them that will happen in your game: Marian Reform, Augustan Reform, etc., wherein you experience some unit changes or upgrades. I don't play a Roman faction myself (I usually play Greek Cities faction), but hearing your Italy has been taken over by the Brutii might spell bad news. One objective to winning a campaign is when you become strong enough to fight the Senate itself, and become Rome's Imperator. If the Brutii had already vanquished the Senate, you'll have a tough time (should I say "interesting time"?) in defeating Brutus so that your Julius would finally be the Emperor of Rome. At any rate, happy playing--the main point here is that you enjoy your game. Hawooh!

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I've never seen the Augustan Reforms, nor heard of them.

 

[Stuck in Pi]

^^

same here.