Rome total war & barbarian invasion

[Legio X]

Hi! I love Rome total war and have won campaign with the Julii and recently i began playing the expansion barbarian invasion, where my favourite faction is Eastern roman empire. Now i wonder which factions you like most in both rtv and barb invasion, i would also like to get some random tips about the game etc, happy for answers!

[Northern Neil]

Hi! I love Rome total war and have won campaign with the Julii and recently i began playing the expansion barbarian invasion, where my favourite faction is Eastern roman empire. Now i wonder which factions you like most in both rtv and barb invasion, i would also like to get some random tips about the game etc, happy for answers!

Here's a tip. Do NOT upgrade your city walls to 'Epic Stone Wall'. For some strange reason, the game designers leave them flat, without crennelations. Although you can place ballistae etc. on them, your troops are actually more vulnerable. The 'Epic Stone Walls' only are an advantage if you auto resolve your battles in campaign mode.

[Legio X]

Ok thanks very much, i didnt knew you could put ballistae on lol

[Maty]

Ok thanks very much, i didnt knew you could put ballistae on lol

 

Not only can you put ballistas on, but you can sometimes get to sortie several times per turn. Even if you don't leave the city walls, you can barbecue a lot of horses with fire arrows every time, as the barbarians always fall in under your walls at the start of the sortie.

 

When they attack you , if you can't defend the walls, pull back to the city's central square with all your troops. The opposition take a pasting from the automatic fire from the walls, and arrive at the city centre in dribs and drabs and your forces, even if smaller overall, can defeat them in detail.

 

Finally, if you are playing the Eastern empire, go for cataphracts against infantry and foot archers against the blasted horse archers. And when fighting Persians make sure you have artillery for the climbanii - they are not called immortals for nothing.

[Legio X]

When i played last time i tested to put ballistae on epic walls, but it didn't work. Do you know any reason, is that maybe a mod? Please answer.

[Kosmo]

Towers behave strangely in BI. I had my troops falling from the siege tower on the epic wall and dying and twice they got stuck in those towers.

[Maty]

When i played last time i tested to put ballistae on epic walls, but it didn't work. Do you know any reason, is that maybe a mod? Please answer.

 

It's pretty hit and miss - I found sometimes I can put them in certain places (such as between the towers over the gate) but sometimes they won't work there. I also found that you can put them in the street to shoot over the walls, and one crew will work the ballista whilst another right next to them will not - even if you get them to change places. It's a bit quirky.

[Ursus]

The few weeks I played it before I became disgusted with it, I liked the Hellenic faction. Once you get all of Greece and the surrounding lands conquered, with connecting roads and ports, you'll never want for a treasury. And if you build an army of armoured hoplites and Cretan archers, you can take on Roman legions.

 

Plus I liked the fact the Greeks have 4 deities to choose from, whereas the Roman factions only had 3.

[DecimusCaesar]

Those ballista siege towers are a nightmare. It's like the enemy have mounted machine guns on them, they completely decimate my wall defenders. I hope the Creative Assembly has patched this. Still, it's nice to play Rome Total War once in a while, even though a good 4 1/2 or 5 years have passed since it's release. I'm looking forward to Empire: Total War which is going to be released 3 weeks from now. Anyone else heard of this?

[Kosmo]

CA previous release in the series, Medieval II, was not that great.

What I dislike most about RTW is that the AI it's dumb. I don't care if they make the game more complex (naval battles will be added) and the graphic looks great if the AI it's still dumb and I can defeat any enemy very fast. Many people play with Very Hard settings to make it a challenge but I don't like that, so I blitz to victory.

BI is much more exciting, being attacked by a horde in early game can lead to huge battles (defending against siege while the enemy uses 7 stacks in one battle can kill a computer). The actions of the factions are harder to predict. For example if the hordes do not snowball the romans including the West became very strong or if the East and Sassanids make peace they both expand a lot and build strong armies.

Still this games depend a lot on the AI. For example in BI the Eastern Romans can build churches in all cities in the first turn but the AI does not do that so religious struggles cripple the Empire.

[Legio X]

Thanks for the posts everyone, i really apriciate it!

[Caesar CXXXVII]

Played, yesterday, Empire total war - amazing game with the usual faults, waiting for the mods...Oh...the possibilities !!!

Edited March 19, 2009 by Caesar CXXXVII

[tk421]

It is best to avoid exhausting your troops. Some factions work better with certain types of units. Use units that work, infantry cohorts for the Romans, cavalry for the Huns, etc. The Romans can use cavalry but I find the Huns are better at using cavalry. The Romans however make for very strong infantry so if you use them in good numbers then you should be able to defeat enemies on the battle map without too much fuss.

[Galba]

I love this game !, in my opinion he is one of the best that total war can offer and I know ! I played them all.

I played all the levels with all the factions and won everywhere....you just need to chose each time a completely knew strategy and tactics for the battle.

 

Personally I always favor the romans but its just too easy with them, with their super versatile units thats almost good against anything that the over factions can offer.

 

Interesting to play are the Seleucid Empire on Expert level.

1) they don't have any special good units in the start of the game.

2)city's that are too spread out and hard to defend.

3)Surrounded from all directions by strong factions with mobile units which you lack.

EAST: Armenians and Parthinians NORTH Pontus SOUTH Egypt EAST Greece

and if that is not enough after you finish all of them usually you have a strong roman Julii and Brutii that by that time conquer all of Greece eastern Europe France and Spain.

[tk421]

I myself prefer BI to the original RTW. Defending Rome from the Barbarian invasions, or migrations if you prefer, is a great thrill brought to life by superb graphics and sound. The music adds much atmosphere to the game and is well worth listening to when not playing the game.

 

The comment above by one of our comrades about pulling your troops back to your central plaza is a good one. It prevents troops from routing too easily and keeps their morale high even in what looks like a hopeless battle. With practice I was able to fend off some 200 East Roman troops with nothing more than one unit of Western bodyguard cavalry. By the end I had just one guy running from one end of the plaza to the other, not unlike what you saw in Monty Python Life of Brian. The enemy got tired and was routed, giving me victory in a battle against greatly overwhelming odds.

 

Never underestimate the importance of morale in the game. Demoralizing the enemy's troops with fire arrows and artillery can make your job much easier, allowing you to win those pivotal first battles with much less troops. Infantry hate cavalry so run them down with your cavalrymen, do not leave them standing still. Use your religious units and your general to help bolster troop morale.

 

Morale is that one factor that can win you some great victories at lower cost.