Rome: Total War

[saltynay]

I haven't got the expansion packs and am stuck on an old patch as one of my disks is scratched but First you need to understand the principles of the game.

Number of men, Moral, Generals status, Armour upgrade, Stamina, weapons upgrade, direction of attack, size of formation and finally amount of support all factor into formation on formation fighting. A phalanx is a defensive line it is much stronger when stopped and there feet are planted then attacking. You get different grades of phalanx from militia upto heavily armoured and if multiple phalanx formations converge they will get in each others way and reduce there effectiveness.

Sometimes it is cheaper to produce troops in one settlement then it is another so to optimise funds and expansion at the start you should produce troops in settlements that have the cheapest training costs. I also gear my settlements to be economic rather then militaristic this will let you rapidly build an empire at the start.

A general is an excellent tool for morale, A line of men with the general safely behind is a lot more effective then charging the general in and him retreating. Your men may run in a cascade effect as one begins to waver the fear spreads across the line into other formations eventually everyone is running. This is the effect you want to put into your enemy if using an offensive line (not phalanx) wait until they are 25 metres away from your line and charge with one unit of cavalry coming from either flank of the enemy. They will break and run 9/10.

Learn troop types, the cretan merceneary archers can fire further then standard archers, cavalry archers are excellent at attack/ retreat tactics. Use settlement defences to your advantage by trying to keep the towers firing arrows at them for as long as possible.

Work with a strike force of 5-6 armies full up with reasonably good generals. I usually have one which is full with the best cavalry I can afford and use them to scout ahead, two armies with siege equiptment, one with worthless troops to fill up the settlments once they are taken and stabilise the populance and finally one more which is two replace killed troops in the first 3 armies and lay siege when needed. Its normally better to siege then to straight out attack if you can afford the time.

Attack a sieged settlement from multiple directions to disperse their troops then converge back at the main gate taking all there defensive towers (run through it and you will capture it) and opening them for a cavalry rush to the middle.

 

[Tim]

Crikey, thanks

I haven't really started the campaign yet, seems odd (i thought the game would just be fighting), so im afraid im a bit lost on the whole economic thing

 

[saltynay]

Well once you get stuck into my points will make more sense and you should be an excellent tactician in no time.

 

[Mikepsyche]

The other day, i had seval phalanxes, and i tod them to attack another grpoup of about the same number, but when i got bcak to that part of the field my men were either dead or running in panic and theirs seemed virtually untouhed....

Are there any ways of getting them to fight better, or was i just unlucky?



Aand, i was using it for free off a (legal) website, but that was really annoying me, so now i have the disks

I have Rome, Barbarian Invasion and Aexander. I have installed Rome and Barbarian Invasion and need to patch before i install Alexander.

I went onto the Total War website, and tbh got a bit confused . Soo, what patches do i have to install? im guesing i can't just go straight to the most recent one, but am equally sure that i don't have to install every single one....

Any advice from all you R:TW 733ts is much appreciated

Yeah, I love phalanxes, but they'll get owned if you don't pay attention to them. I usually don't tell them to go on the offensive too often, as they're defensive units, but I do move them closer and closer to the other army until they're trapped. Most of the time the other army is stupid enough to attack, and then they're nicely skewered. All the while getting some nice flankage done with whatever cavalry I have. I think they're one of the toughest units in the game, but at the same time they're incredibly delicate becuase of they're so cumbersome.

 

[yosa]

Weaken the borders through attrition, then ally with them when they need it, in a direct fight cavalry have the advantage, sue to there mobillity, and charge speed, I still prefer defending untill attacked well I wile away there abillity to host an attack.

 

[parsalian]

Hammer the with archers until they attack then let the phalanx do the work, finish them with cavarly, and move on.

 

[Clover]

Oh oh oh! I'm like...a Ultra master
Been playing RTW for years!



Ok, perhaps just as important as leadership and maneuvering is the quality of troops you have- what faction are you playing as? Personally i find the Romans to be the best for beginners- Legionary cohorts are extremely reliable men


A basic strategy, is forming a single line putting all your cav on a single flank- (preferably general cav, unless its a MP game then pret )

The enemy will engage your main line- thats when you sweep your cavalry around the enemy in a pincer movement, reform your Calvary lines into three-two ranks and individually charge them right into the rear of the enemy units engaging your main infantry line. This more often than not will immediately cause the enemy to rout, mass routs are devastating to a army.

If they do not rout, imminently withdraw your cav back, and re-charge into their rears. Make sure to hold down "Alt" if you ever stay engaged with your Calvary, especially cataracts witch have a AP bonus with maces.

Why do you need to use Alt? Because it tells your Calvary to switch to swords witch are good for prolonged combat- the only time you use spears is when charging

Swords attack faster, and have a 1+ attack rating. Note...not all Calvary have swords..


Remember, if you have a choice- always kill the enemy general's unit first- this is a massive moral drop for his men.


So in short- form a line of infantry ( early game, try to use principles or Trarii ) Select your infantry and tell them to allow throwing pilla's at will. When the enemy engages your main line, sweep your Calvary around to the read- a good 30 yards behind the enemy- and smash into their rears- then withdraw repeat until done.


Now..archers are a devastating weapon in MP games- i personally rarely use them in campaign games- but when you do, never- never attack enemy's from the front with archers- unless they have no Shields, and no armor ( Chosen axeman are a perfect target- belongs to the Germans) this is a waste of arrows- most good infantry has a shield rating of 5- and a armor rating of at least 10. Thats 15 total defense against most arrows that have about 7 attack power.

What you do- is shoot them in the backs, this halves the armor you are shooting ( if a unit has 10 armor points, you only recognize 5 when shooting in the rear) and most importantly, you bypass the shield all together!

about 4 archer units can finish off about any unit with about 3-6 volleys when shooting in the back, and it is devastating.


I hope that helped..and its not to confusing



Another good faction to play as is Greece, the computer is so dumb- it will throw itself into a head-on attack against a phalanx. I've rarely lost a city playing as a phalanx heavy faction. This is a retard tactic in MP games- but forming a "Box" is a golden tactic against the computer.

This is how it's done, you need 4 phalanxes ( minimum)

Place the first phalanx in a line




|
pikes face this way <-- |
|

Then line up the 2nd hoplites unit like so


|
|
|_____

pikes facing this direction
|
V

Make sure the two units are fused together at the flank- do the same thing with your other two units- make the pikes face north, and the other face east


They should look like a square, with pikes facing out wards.

The computer is so dumb it will rarely attack the rear of your men with archers- and normally attack the front, shielded part.


and the infantry will be forced to attack your pikes head-on.

Agian..never try this in a online game..their archers will slaughter you...


A cheaper tactic- is called border camping, place your men along the border preferably a corner, so the enemy cant access your flank- this works great with hoplites or an pike unit.

Never border camp, or "red line camp" in a MP game- its considered cheating and extremely dishonorable..



Most of the time- those tactics are a battle winning plan, simple plans that i have won countless battles with.

Of course- those are just basic strategies i still use them from time to time..but a lot of times battles call for agustments..because the computer is erratic >_>