Rise of Rome strategies?

[Jethroe]

I just unsuccessfully finished my first attempt at RoR (playing as Rome) on Emperor level.

I ended up with 19% land and 33% population and the Persians beat me on points by a fairly wide margin.

I think I may have waited too long to spread out. I was dominating near the end but it was just too late and the corruption was a serious problem. Those damn Carthaginians kept harassing my borders all game though.

I lost out on the Oracle and Bacchanalia as well which seem to me to be vitally important.

I think when I play it again, I should focus more on wiping out the Celts early and space my cities closer together. I initially thought an optimal spacing strategy would be best but in retrospect maybe not with the changes to corruption. The only adavantage the FP gives now is to the number of cities not distance.

In any case, anyone who has successfully finished the scenario who would like to share some tips on what strategy they used would be most welcome. Thanks.

 

[lbhhh]

You could/should concentrate on the carthiginians ASAP and destroy them. If you take spain and northern africa then move to egypt( which is very weakly defended) you should be able to win by domination or points. This is of course easier said than done but I managed to get a dominion win on emperor with Carthage doing the opposite so I don't see why this strategy wouldn't work...

Hope that helps.

 

[Longasc]

I did it the following way, and was somehow right by making some - in hindsight - absolutely correct decisions:

1.) Destroy the Carthaginians

2.) Try to have peace with everyone else

3.) Do not wage War with Macedon or the Goths, Celts. Egypt and Persia might declare war, but if Macedon is doing well and between you and them, this will be only a pathetic gesture...

4.) The easiest way:

Get North Africa, fortify the Italien North. It will take some time and legions, send your Army to North Africa, too. You should be able to take Carthage fairly quickly and easy!

But beware, they will soon counter with War Elephants!!! They will even come over Marseille to northern Italy!

Goths and Celts should end up fighting each other, I heard usually the Celts win!

Both of their offensive units are nasty, the Gallic Swordsman is no match for a legion, but they can retreat and run away, and the Goth UU has a powerful attack but is heavily specialized on attack and a very bad defender - that is why they lose in the long run probably.

You can get those 20/50 % by

- taking North Africa except Egypt
- colonizing Spain and starting a war against the Celts.
Important: Do this with Legionary III, I found them even tougher than the Carthaginians!

Germany, France, Spain, England - that is where you will have lots of space and lots of people. You should even consider founding cities in the east of Italy, you might even end up nearly surrounding Macedon, very good farmland there!

In the end, built Settlers and settle every empty spot of your Empire to get the terrain.

It is a VERY BAD decision to try to take out the Macedons: They are VERY strong.

Egypt sucks however. I did not do it and stayed away from Persia this way. But a conquest of Egypt might be an option.

However, Germania is very close to your homelands core and it has roads, its defenders are barbarians... get them first.

Research: You should get: Legionary I Tech, Legionary II Tech, Legionary III and Republic (stay with Oligarchy however) and as fast as possible Imperialism, the optimum government for this scenario.

You should be done researching before 0 AD, you can then try to get the Bacchanalia and raise the luxury Slider to 50% or even more as no more research is needed! This is also the point in time where you should begin to build up armies for the Conquest of Gaul and Germania.

Good Luck, Emperor.

 

[IglooDame]

I'd agree with Longasc except for a few minor differences:

- Absolutely go after Carthage 100%, it's the only civ on the board you'll never make peace with and as long as it has even one city it'll try to make alliances with everyone against you.
- Expand peacefully through Yugoslavia, Austria, France, and Spain as quickly as possible.
- Stay peaceful at all costs with Macedonia and if possible get them to declare war on Carthage; their galleys will help protect against an early Carthaginian amphibious attack on southern Italy.
- Stay peaceful with the Celts and if possible get them to declare war on Carthage; they'll keep Carthaginian forces in Spain occupied and you won't see any elephants crossing the alps.
- Go crazy on science early, you'll be done with the whole tech tree that much quicker, and switching govt to Imperialism is a big boost.
- Concentrate your workers in Rome early, there's a lot of shield potential there and it turns into a Wonder factory.
- Stay friendly with Macedon (I repeat it because I think it's the key to the scenario).

 

[akots]

Originally posted by Jethroe
... I initially thought an optimal spacing strategy would be best but in retrospect maybe not with the changes to corruption. The only adavantage the FP gives now is to the number of cities not distance. ...

I also struggled badly to win and could not do it easily because of corruption. The problem is to get enough gold for buying settlers and upgrading legions. However, after installing 1.13 patch and building FP things got much easier. I finished it in 2 days at early ADs. In the core, build legions I/II/III and upgrade them to III. Use them to build roads in the core. In general, the core should be improved as soon as possible. In corrupt cities, build garrisons and settlers, rush them if needed. You must get Temple of Arthemis. Other wonders are not so important. Go to Republic as soon as it is discovered. Always build settlers and spread as rapidly as possible. Then, around 100 BC actively start war in Carthagian territory in North Africa with as many legions as reasonable possible. 20-25 is enough. At the same time, send some troops and settlers to Iberia. Settle North Africa and Spain and Eastern Europe to the North of Macedon. Keep peace with everyone but Carthage. Keep everyone allied with you against Carthage. Give Macedon and Persia Republic and then trade them some more techs or luxuries or maps for big gpt. Gold is the key to this game. After settling Western part of Africa and Iberia, move all the troops to Celtic border, start the war and capture as many cities as possible. Then, 20% is reached very soon. As far as military tactics is concerned, try to use legions III for serious battles. They are very powerful and have very few losses. When using legions I and II losses to elefants are relatively high. Also, use leaders to build some armies with cavalries for mobile offense.

 

[joycem10]

the temple of artemis is a key wonder to have in rise of rome. you get the automatic expansion of borders associated with free temples in all cities, and since all land (other than islands) on the map is connected it will work on all cities.

really a big help in pushing your land% numbers up.

 

[Mano3]

I'm impressed with how the folks that won this scenario followed actual history pretty close. During the Second Punic War, the key to Carthage was Spain. After Spain was controlled, the Romans launched their invasion on North Africa from Sicily. Interesting how some game follow a historical route.....

 

[Jethroe]

Thanks for all the tips fellas. I really appreciate it!

I started a freshgame and it's going a lot better this time around. When I indicated I missed out on the Oracle earlier, I meant the Temple. I agree it is the key and I got it by hair this time over Macedon.

I also sacrificed early cash and pumped up my taxation slider so I could research and keep my citizens happy as I used all my troops to go after Carthage straight away.

I guess I'm just still clinging to my general builder strategy of the normal game. You definitely have to adapt to the different situations in these scenarios. I gotta say I love them as they really make you explore different play styles. That can only make us all better players. Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[toh6wy]

All this is well and good. But these are all strategies for playing *as Rome.* What about poor old neglected Carthage, Macedon, and Persia? I personally tried this one w/ Macedon first, but quit it eventually b/c the Romans declared war on me w/o being provoked, even after I tried reloading and giving them lots of cash beforehand. And I *really* didn't feel like fighting Rome and Persia at the same time.

 

[akots]

Originally posted by toh6wy
All this is well and good. But these are all strategies for playing *as Rome.* What about poor old neglected Carthage, Macedon, and Persia? I personally tried this one w/ Macedon first, but quit it eventually b/c the Romans declared war on me w/o being provoked...

I also started to play first as Macedon just to see how it goes. I allied Rome (luxury trade) and Carthage (cash) against Persia and started expending to the north-east. Also, managed somehow to build Great Library. Then, Scythia allied with Persia against me and started slaughtering settlers and destroying new cities. So, I quit.

It is more easy to win as Rome because: legions are extremely powerful, citizens is a great unit, garrison is same price as spearman but has defence 3, Rome starts with Mathematics/Currency, etc.

Though, I will try again as Macedon, but on Monarch. It seems very difficult on Emperor just because of happiness.

 

[Cuivienen]

~ Strategies ~

Rome

Begin by taking Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica to end any threat to Italy proper. You may also want to take Massilia from the Celts early on, then make peace and be nice to them afterwards.

After establishing yourself in the Meditteranean, move troops by land to attack Spain and, at the same time, attack the city of Carthage from the sea. The new Carthaginian capital should be Carthago Nova, ruining their eastern cities.

After conquering Spain, cross Gibraltar and attack the remnants of Carthage from your outpost at Carthage itself and from Spain. By this point, the Carthaginian resistance should be minimal.

After destroying Carthage, cover Spain and the region north of Macedon with a blanket of towns. You may want to Ally with Macedon and Scythia against the Persians at this point simply to keep the annoyingly powerful Persians occupied.

To finish off the Conquest, conquer Egypt. Egypt should give the final bit you need to win by Domination. If not, attack the Celts afterwards.

Macedon

Ugh. Macedon. Macedon is a nightmare to play; their UU is much weaker than the others and they start in a relatively infertaile area.

Your bet bet is to ally with Scythia and Egypt against Persia. The Persians, fighting on three fronts, will slowly fall to your army. Be sure not to provoke Rome into attacking you -- you may want to ally against Carthage with them just to insure their friendship.

After conquering Persia (which takes a LONG time), attack Egypt and settle the regions to your north. This should be enough for Domination. If not, attack Scythia.

**SIDE: Macedon desperately needs offense. Beeline for the wonderous Heavy Cavalry, which alleviate Macedon's offensive woes.

I'll do more later.

 

[DBear]

I found the best way is to take out Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica while keeping everyone else friendly. Then invade Spain. I then launched a two-pronged attack, one from Gibraltar and the other upon Carthage itself. The nut soon cracked, and then Carthage did something amazing.

They went over and wiped out Egypt! Egypt had been pathetic the whole game. They had lost the Nile Delta to the Persians but still had the upper Nile. Thus I had to cross the Sahara, going around the Persians, then hunting down their cities on the extreme south edge of the board.

With that out of the way, I then picked a fight with the Celts, getting the Goths and Macs on board. Massilla fell quickly, but it's hard chasing down those Gauls.

Whatever else you do, KEEP THE MACS FRIENDLY! Another thing--you will burn through the tech tree in no time, once the tree is done, minimize science while dialing up lux to around 30%. This will help even conquered cities become happy.

This is an enjoyable scenario, unlike its evil twin the Fall of Rome, where the other barbarians will not attack for anything.

 

[toh6wy]

I didn't find playing as Macedon too hard. I captured a lot of Persian cities and had something like six armies of various combinations of Hoplites and Hvy Cavalry. But then, Rome decides to attack me for no apparent reason, and I knew I couldn't hold up w/ only a smattering of hoplites (one, two at most per city) and 99% of my offensive force attacking Persia.

Originally posted by DBear
This is an enjoyable scenario, unlike its evil twin the Fall of Rome, where the other barbarians will not attack for anything.

That's not true at all - I tried this one w/ the Sassanids, and at one point had every single nation at war w/ either Rome or Byzantium. You just have to have a good amount of gold - several hundred or so - and a good map doesn't hurt either. Unfortunately, this came back to haunt me, as I didn't mobilize my forces in time and both nations were destroyed by barbarians, and I effectively lost out on the two major oppurtunities for victory points. So next time, I'll just ally w/ a few strong nations so I can actually have a chance of getting some VPs...

 

[jack merchant]

I won this one as Rome on Emperor after multiple starts to discover the best strategy and am now playing as Macedon.

As Rome, I:
- Grabbed Sicily with the initial Army first, and for a good part of the time it served as a lightning rod for Carth landings - they never landed on the mainland
- Went after the Celts right away. While I didn't wipe them out, I reduced them enough so I could peacefully colonize France and grow those cities there.
- Went after Southern Spain next, then colonized Further Spain for the territory requirement.
- Settled South Germany, Hungary, northern Yugoslavia forthe silks spot there.
- Militarily, after Spain I went for Carthage proper, though they were still far from beaten by the time I won.
- I also ffought the Macedons, as the Persians were beating them anyway and I needed their cities for the population.
- I bbuilt the ToA (indispensible for grabbing territory) and TGL (which is just plain overpowered for this scenario). Also captured the Lighthouse and wished I had built it myself so my galleys could escape from the Carthaginian ones.

Macedon is tough ! Crap UU (I think it's actually more expensive than the Immortal too) so losses are heavy, and Persia is producing an insane amount of units. Making some headway though; I do hope I won't have to fight Rome as they'll likely have L3s by the time I get to them.

 

[tomart109]

I'm playing Carthage for a change. (I admit, I did reduce the difficulty level... but I view Carthage as the hardest; with Persia as the easiest.) I managed to secure Sicily with a lucky Sword Army, and I got the Lighthouse (with Seafaring, my boats now go 5 to Rome's 3!) Naval dominance and mobility is great - I can transfer forces where needed, and threaten most of his coastline. (Note - Galleys can carry FOUR units in this Conquest - a whole Army can fit on one boat!)

Micromanaged city development, along with a well-timed Golden Age (triggered with first Elephant victory) has gotten us about even with Persia in power. Bribing others to attack Rome has paid off; even Macedon went along, and drew off Legions so I could sack the one Roman settlement in Spain. I just got a Leader to rush the FP in central Espagna, and hope to make a second good core there.

I'm being drawn to Egypt by the tempting incense and silk (can't do Bacchanalia without it) so I may clash with Persians, especially if they turn out to be the main rival.

At one point, almost everyone was at war with me, but the Greeks and Persians came by sea, and were easy to deal with.