Barbarian have some good infantry units and Carthage has very good units you just need to know how to use them. The Seleucuid Empire has a very variated choice of Units they have Legions, Phalanx, Elephants and Cataphracts
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Barbarian have some good infantry units and Carthage has very good units you just need to know how to use them. The Seleucuid Empire has a very variated choice of Units they have Legions, Phalanx, Elephants and Cataphracts
Krall
Banned
The Carthagian ones aren't too good, but Egypt and the Greek ones can be good.
The AI just doesn't know how to phalanxes, it doesn't realise you can turn the phalanx formation off and then make the phalanxes run.
I was playing as the Selecuids [if you do play as them, be prepared to fight Parthia, Armenia, Pontus and Egpyt all at once], and I managed to hold of a MASSIVE Armenian attack using only three phalanx units.
How? They were besieging me. With only one ram. They went straight to the gate, the gate which had phalanxes on the other side. You remember the battle of Thermopylae, right? Vast amounts of enemies pushed into a tiny area against a smaller, but more experienced force which has rows upon rows of spears pointed at you? It was like that.
And, though the Selcuid empire does have Cataphracts, it takes ages to get them. It takes ages to get any close combat cavalry, really.#
And now, a short list. Krall's tips for playing as non-Roman factions in RTW:
Selecuid: Best variety of troops, but with several nations baring down upon it straight away. You'll have to be a pretty good strategist to win with these guys.
Egypt: Basic troop unit is a phalanx, which is nice. It doesn't take too long to get close combat cavalry, but they're not as good as Roman ones. The generals are all ranged chariots, not CC cavalry, something which I hated when I started to use them.
Greeks: Lots of phalanxes. Generals are like Roman Generals, so that's good. Use ranged mercenaries and non-phalanx units to augment your phalanxes if you can.
Carthage: While its units aren't that good, it's relatively easy to get a massive naval force with these guys [I certainly did]. After a few struggles against the Scipii and the Spanish you should be fine until you try and take over Numidia or Gaul.
Those are the only non-Roman factions I've played as, apart from the Gauls, but I didn't play them for a long enough time to get a good knowledge of their workings.
I don't know why everyone is bashing Egypt. Their phalanx/chariot combo can easily overwhelm any army in the game, espeically the Roman tortoises...
I always found either Egypt or Parthia the hardest faction to fight in the game. By the time Rome got into that area, the Selecuids had been conquered by one of the two, and they were allied, dragging you into a long and brutal struggle way too far from your bases.
By playing as Egypt one time though, I was able to conquer all of North Africa, all of Mesopotamia/Parthia/Scythia, invaded Greece and Macedonia, and the game ended (I never finished) with me allied to an expanded Germania fighting the Rome-Macedon-Gallic Axis in Dalmatia/Illyria, Noricum, Bruttium (Sicily was Egyptian), and with me landing a decent sized army in Latium itself...granted my budget was about '100' or something by the time this was done
I never had any problem whomping them as Rome. In fact, I find that a Roman army maxed out with 2 archers, 2 Leaders (i.e., heavy cavalry) and all the rest of the army made up with legionares, the Romans are almost invincible. I say 'almost' because that formation gets whomped by any army heavy in elephants.... but then, swap out some legionaires with more archers, and those elephants go down too...
Rome is somewhat to powerfull if youre not playing as them and youre not very expirienced player.
Gaul: Strong infantry and if you produce many units in the start of the game you can easely whipe out the romans before they get to powerfull. If you play Gaul i advice to rely on numbers until you can produce stronger units to match up against the remaining factions.
Germania:
They have very strong units but their population is very low and like all barbarians they cant get a huge city. If you play with Germania try to get many terretories in the game start and let your population grow rapidly to produce more units. and invasion of Gaul would be a good idea before you follow their original goals to defeat the Scythians.
Brittania:
Brittania is pretty strong if used good. I would advice to rapidly invade Gaul since there busy protecting their North Italian holdings. Also you got a medium sized army at Samarobriva in the game start this would make it easy to conquer some Gaullic towns. Also leave the Germans alone for a while. As for their units vast armies of warbands and swordsman schould be supported by chariots slingers and wood warriors/head hurlers. By the time you have made contact with the Romans you schould be strong enough to handle them.
If you have unlocked some unplayable factions like Macedon i cant help you.
I don't know why everyone is bashing Egypt. Their phalanx/chariot combo can easily overwhelm any army in the game, espeically the Roman tortoises...
I always found either Egypt or Parthia the hardest faction to fight in the game. By the time Rome got into that area, the Selecuids had been conquered by one of the two, and they were allied, dragging you into a long and brutal struggle way too far from your bases.
By playing as Egypt one time though, I was able to conquer all of North Africa, all of Mesopotamia/Parthia/Scythia, invaded Greece and Macedonia, and the game ended (I never finished) with me allied to an expanded Germania fighting the Rome-Macedon-Gallic Axis in Dalmatia/Illyria, Noricum, Bruttium (Sicily was Egyptian), and with me landing a decent sized army in Latium itself...granted my budget was about '100' or something by the time this was done
If you get bored of playing factions and conquer enemies try to mass migrate them somewhere else on the map. This may affort cheats in the game start but after you settled down its fun. I once worked my way to Sicely with the Scythians
If you can get the advanced Selucid unts, they rock. The best of just about every faction type in the game (except barbarians). And Have you ever seen cavalry charge directly into a phalanx? I think the game underestimates the destruction said unit takes.
which unit? If the cavalry charges from the front, yeah, they get smushed. But if they run around and attack from behind, the phalanx is smushed...
Krall
Banned
Uh, you can't unlock them, they're completely unplayable in every way.
I started playing as the Germans recently, managed to grab three cities in the first few turns and ally with both the Britons and the Gauls. I'm going to push east now, then try going south towards Greece.
Alternatively, I could just give up with Germania [their starting cities suck, but I am only 5 turns in and on my way to getting a couple of stables, which is awesome as I love using cavalry] and go play as someone else. Maybe Carthage, Greece, or the Scipii...
Indeed, anything attacking a phalanx from the front is fecked, which is why you keep cavalry or non-phalanx infantry on your flanks.
This also helps when attacking, the phalanxes attack from the front, and the non-phalanx infantry or cavalry run around the back of the enemy lines and attack from behind. Instant routing, then your troops move towards the centre, routing all the enemy's units as they go.
Phalanxes are also awesome for defending a city, with enough of them you can completely block up all the holes your enemy makes, and they all die when they try and charge in.
Krall
Banned
Oh yes you can if you change some files in the game
Ah, cool. I've always wanted to play as Spain or Scythia.
Hmm, I wonder if you can play as the Rebels?
I've just spent some time playing as Carthage, and I have some tactical analysis of their units and general position in the game.
Main points to remember about the Carthagians:
1. Town Militia suck. Seriously, they're not your standard infantry unit, they're for making up numbers and defence ONLY. Iberian infantry are your standard infantry unit.
2. It's quite easy to get a large navy, Carthage, Thapsus and the Sicilian cities are all perfect port cities. It's quite easy to get Triremes quickly too. I, personally, was at war with all four Roman factions [including SPQR] and, to be honest, I owned their navies with ease. I'm not that far in and I could easily blockade all their ports, that's right ALL OF THEM. That said, the Romans have barely expanded at all yet. They have 7 ports between them, compared to my 5 [hey, since I'm one faction and they're four, that's pretty good]. The Romans also have a strange tendency to transport a large amount of troops across the sea on a whole 1 boat, morons, if their ship sinks, their army is destroyed. I once saw the Scipii trying to move quite a large army complete with THREE FAMILY MEMBERS on one boat that wasn't up to full strength.
3. Also quite easy to get cavalry, they're not the best cavalry in the world, but they suit their purpose well and are quite cheap. I had, after a shortish time playing as Carthage, three or four cities that could produce Round Sheild Cavalry, and Carthage itself could make Long Sheild Cavalry and Elephants.
4. If you're going to play as Carthage, do your very best to take over Sicily ASAP. You can easily move your army in to take the Greek city, then regroup and take the Scipii city. If you wait for the Scipii to besiege the Greek city, then there'll be a Greek army outside of the city near your Sicilian city's border. Your army will crush it easily. When the Scipii see you coming, they'll probably retreat back to their own city, leaving the Greek city ripe for the taking. Once you've got the Greek city, then go for the Scipii one. The Scipii city is the best city on Sicily, and it'll probably have stables straight away, so it'll greatly add to your on-land military force.
5. The Romans want Caralis. They want it now and they will do anything to get it. Anything. Seriously. Building 4 town militia and putting a family member in the city won't do smack, they'll just keep coming. I advise using Carthage and Thapsus to build up a decent army [2-4 Iberian infantry, 2-4 RS Cavalry, more if possible] and puting one of your stronger family members on the island. That'll easily defeat their first few attacks [note: the Scipii and Julii may collaberate and both come at you at the same time]. I advise taking your family member outside of the city every couple of turns to check for mercenaries on the island, there's usually some hoplites and peltasts sitting around near Caralis, recruit them, the hoplites will be a great help. After a few goes the Romans might try landing a big force on the island. I advise keeping a decently sized force in Carthage near a small navy which can quickly rush to land troops on the island and destroy the Roman navy. Working up two decently sized navies and then blockading the Julii and Scipii ports on the west side of italy will also stop them from making more boats without having to defeat your navies first.
6. "Money is the root of all evil," if that's true, Carthage is Satan himself, provided you put up taxes to 'very high' or 'high' in most cities, you'll be raking in 10-20k per turn in no time. After things start getting more expensive this will go down, but by then you'll be well on your way to taking over the world.
Okay, so all of that was quite long, but it's still all true.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take over Numidia, Gaul and the Roman factions.
I remember though that I couldn't completely kill the Scipii, they were down to one province and whatnot.
As i said beated not destroyed or killed. with just one province even the romans are weak. probably a desert province isnt it.
Ah, cool. I've always wanted to play as Spain or Scythia.
Hmm, I wonder if you can play as the Rebels?
I've just spent some time playing as Carthage, and I have some tactical analysis of their units and general position in the game.
Okay, so all of that was quite long, but it's still all true.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take over Numidia, Gaul and the Roman factions.
Yes its fun btw also play with Pontus or Macedonia.
and you cant play as the rebels i think.
But you can play the senate but dont under any circumstances click the senate button in you faction overview. http://www.consolecheatcodes.com/pc/rometotalwarcheats.html
Krall
Banned
Ugh, I hate Pontus and the fact that they have light and heavy missile cavalry straight away. Macedonia would be good, though, it starts out about as strong as Greece, I think.
I've decided to play as Greece again recently, it's quite easy, really, they can be a very very rich faction like Carthage, you just have to be careful if you try to expand on Anatolia, otherwise you'll get Pontus or the Selecuids coming after you.