ROME: TOTAL WAR
COLLECTED STRATEGIES OF THE GAMEFAQS/GAMESPOT FORUMS
v. 1.0

collected by SamuraiZombie (email: [email protected])

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Factions
a. Julii
b. Brutii
c. Scipii
d. Carthage
e. Greece
f. Seleucids
g. Egypt
h. Parthia
i. Britannia
j. Gaul
k. Germania
l. Dacia
m. Scythia
n. Macedonia
o. Spain
p. Pontus
q. Armenia
r. Thrace

III. Credits and Final Notes

1234567890123456789112345678921234567893123456789412345678951234567896123456789

I. INTRODUCTION

This strategy guide is the collected work of many individuals on the
gamefaqs/gamespot Rome: Total War forums. Though I have contributed a couple
strategies myself, all that I have done is collect them and compile them
into a single FAQ. I also did a little editing for clarity.

The strategies presented herein focus mainly on campaign map strategy and
very little on battle map tactics.

This guide is a work in constant progress.

Version History:
1.0 - the first iteration.


II. FACTIONS

a. JULII=========================

Blamat says: Destroy all barbarians!
This is the easiest Roman Faction. You face mainly barbarians: Gaul, Germania
and Britannia to the north, and the Spainards to the west. Once you've defeated
Gaul, I usually send one army to the east and conquer the other barbarians, and
one down south to take Spain. I think after that, I'd send that army over to
Greece or something, don't feel like trudging through desert... but yeah just
put all the Barbarian towns into enslavement, destroy any of their temples and
build a Jupiter one... I find those ones to work good, they give a pretty nice
bonus in happiness and stuff. Even though you won't need it for barbarians,
still make some ships. They are imperative in transporting troops over to
lower France to make your conquest quicker. Remember to bribe other family
members.

b. BRUTII========================

GeorgeWang says: Steal Sicily from the Scipii
Grab Appolonia and the two rebel provinces above it. Then strike at Greece at
Syracuse. Hopefully the Scipii will have attacked it already, leaving it ripe
for you to pluck. If you're going to wait for the Scipii to take Syracuse, you
might be waiting 20 years, and Greece is your objective after all. Keep an eye
on Carthage's town in Sicily as well, you might be able to steal it now or
later depending on when you want to fight Carthage. At this point you'll want
to take Thermon, then Athens. Then, you might as well declare war on Macedonia,
or they'll do it for you.

*****

sevenwarlocks says: It's All About Greece
The Bruti are more complex to play that the Scipii and will probably take the
greatest amount of micro-management early on, but you if launch yourself
correctly, will be able to win with them much more quickly than with either
the Scipii or the Julii.

Your base of operations will be Greece, of course, but you also want to
position yourself in Africa, the Mediterranean, Gaul, and Asia. You will want
to build as many money-generating structures as you can, (before ALL other
priorities except quelling civil disorder.) This includes docks, of course,
which you will need to generate seriously big navies. I’ve seen the Pontics
come at me 800 or 900 very early on. Because you will own the huge cities of
Greece, you will be very rich if you keep doing this throughout the early part
of the game.

Phase I:
Capture cities in every direction and block the likely expansion routes of the
Scipii and the Julii. At the start, divide your forces between A (Greece) and
B (Mediterranean/Africa). You will want to add the C group (Gaul) as soon as
you have some free troops in Italy to do so with. With the A group, start into
Greece, attacking what you need to attack to keep the Senate happy, but trying
to work your way down to Athens, Corinth, and Sparta as quickly as possible.
These are your core three cities. Delay war with Macedon as long as you can
(see if you can get the Greek Cities to surrender to you early, giving you a
city in Asia Minor. Then you can attack them again. There is very little
penalty for being ruthless in R:TW). I, for one, laugh when the Macedonians
come at me with huge hoplite armies. With a little practice you will find
these to be some of the most easily defeated units in the game. Just find a
unit of your own to distract them with, then flatten them from behind with
cavalry. Once you have the core three, you will be able to raise taxes
everywhere because of the Temple at Corinth. Upgrade Sparta to produce the
best infantry possible, and Athens to produce the best missile units. The
temples in these cities give great bonuses in these areas, so once you have
upgraded, try to produce a constant stream of units from each, setting your
rally point further and further north as needed. As the game goes on, these
armies, along with the abundant mercenaries in Greece, should keep you rolling.

At some point, grab a city in Asia minor. If you can bribe a city or get one
through negotiation, so much the better. You will want Sardis fairly early.
Meanwhile, with the B group, try to grab Sicily and Sardinia before the Scipii
and Julii grab them. You also want Carthage. Well do I know that Carthage may
be the hardest city in the game to take, but it is worth it to totally box in
the Scipii. Once you have Carthage, the Scipii are essentially dead. If you
time it right, you can even attack Carthage while the Scipii are laying siege
to it, forcing them to help you steal it from them, which is a thing of beauty.

Then you can basically forget about Africa. Add your C group and attack Gaul.
You want to grab Masilia and Lugdunum relatively early so that you can box in
the Julii. I often find the Julii are a bit more tenacious than the Scipii,
and they will sometimes go around me and taken Spain, well, let them.

Phase 2: Roll your mighty armies to victory, taking all of Greece, the Greek
islands, Macedon, Thrace, Dacia and Pontus, and on deeper into Gaul or into
Armenia if necessary. The main thing is that you don’t want your armies
pinned down on “guard” duty, so, repeat after me: Don’t Hesitate - EXTERMINATE!
Remember that you are a tough guy now. Don’t wait for wars to start themselves,
start them when you are ready. Create agent strike forces to patrol your
borders in Gaul, Greece, Asia Minor, and Africa. Have a spy to see what is
going on, and plenty of diplomats to bribe every army you can. With this
strategy, you will have such a superior position that the civil wars should
be like swatting flies. You should easily be able to win before 200 BC.

c. SCIPII========================

sevenwarlocks says: North Africa & Mediterranean Islands
Your first priority is to capture Sicily, then take the rest of the
Mediterranean islands as quickly as you can, because the Julii will have them
soon if you don't. In my current game, I have turned Sicily into my main unit
production center, with each of the three cities specializing in a unit type:
infanty, cavalry, archery. Then take on Carthage, and destroy them as quickly
as you can. Though I didn't do this in my current game, I believe it is next
wise to take the rest of West Africa, stopping at Egypt, as the Egyptians
can generally be reasoned with. This is important because the Numidians
aren't that tough, but they are likely to back-stab you at the most
inopportune moment if you leave them alive. If you are totally focused deep
in Europe or Asia, it could cost you decades to re-organize your military to
fight a campaign in Africa. During the grab for the Mediteranean and Africa,
I would avoid getting entangled in wars with the Gauls or Greeks. Just
ignore the Senate if they ask you to attack. Your troops are needed to
finish solidifying your base.

After you have Africa and the Mediteranean in your pocket, you should choose
your next target carefully. You could take Egypt, but I wouldn't do so unless
they are actually threatening to win the game. Your real choice is between
Gaul and Greece. Think carefully, because this will determine how your
provinces are situated during the endgame. Europe can be played more
defensively, but if you have Greece, you are going to be right in the middle
of things, so be prepared to go maximum-hostile at a moment's notice.

Which of these you choose to do should be based on the relative strength of
your REAL rivals, the Brutii and Julii. Here you want to attack in the
direction of the stronger family, so that you will hold key provinces in it's
area of the board during the civil wars. By this time, you should be well
prepared for the final show-down. Just remember: be prepared to conquer a lot
of stuff. 50 is a big number.

d. CARTHAGE======================

Boris Wizen says: Western Strategy
In your first couple turns, you will be forced into several wars. Your
priority is to consolidate Africa up to Siwa, who you can leave to the
Numidians as a buffer against Egypt. Abandon Caralis, as you must defend
Sicily, or abandon it. With your elephants, even the much larger Roman
force is at a disadvantage. The Greeks will probably attack you, but try to
make peace with them ASAP. If you don't feel you can hold Sicily, its better
to spare your general and elephants. It is also feasible to move your
elephants to Spain and concentrate there.

Your first objective is to take Cirta, which is quite simple. Make it your
capital once you start moving into Spain. Have Carthage and Corduba make
only military buildings, nothing else (except Sewer and Public Baths). All
other cities should focus on trade. Also try to build Stables and then
Cavalry Stables in Corduba, Spain. Once you've taken Cirta, Lepcis Magna,
and the two Saharan provinces, move your troops into Spain and land at
Carthago Nova. Pray Corduba has held, as the Gauls and Spanish will attack
it nearly every turn. It is best to defend the bridge. Also, be careful not
to let diplomats near the town (use a militia to not let them past the
bridge) or they may bribe the city.

Once Africa is consolidated, you should have a sizeable cavalry force,
along with some elephants, in Spain. Bribe whatever armies you can (Spanish
Skirmishers, Iberian Infantry, and Round Shields will join you), and take
all of Spain. It shouldn't be too hard as long as Corduba can make Long
Shield Cavalry every turn. And remember to recruit Spanish Mercs when
needed.

Now you have a variety of options. If you are playing a short campaign,
retake Sicily, land on the Italy, and destroy the Scipii (who are so weak,
as they don't expand other than to Carthage). You can then withdraw or
harrass them (be careful, as the other Romans are quite strong). Try to
ally with Germania, and take out the Gauls, same strategy as against the
Spanish (cavalry and elephant charges). Move over the Alps and down into
Italy. At this point, consider taking Siwa, but be wary of the Egyptians
if you are not already allied. Egypt, the Brutii, and possibly Selucia
are your only comparable enemies.

And a few general notes:
Exterminate every city over 2000. It takes too long to garrison them, and you
NEED the extra money for Mercs and Carthage (Carthage will be a Huge City by
about 248 BC, meaning their buildings and units will cost a ton of dough).
Especially if you are using a force of about 1/2 cavalry, it is impossible to
garrison and continue conquering without losing most of your infantry. Also,
having elephants mean you don't have to wait to build battering rams when
attacking wooden walls. Carthage and Corduba should be your only provinces
producing anything other than Iberian Infantry and Skirmishers. Every other
town should focus on trading and income. Carthage will grow so quickly, it
will only have sanitation, temples, and stables by the time it matures.

Control the sea. Keep a small fleet at the Herculean Straight (between Spain
and Africa). Thapsus should produce the bulk of your fleet (make sure to
upgrade their ports and produce the best ships). Keep them all in a group, as
you will have to fight a ton of navies. Attack any Scipii navy near Sicily
EVERY TURN, so they cannot build up a fleet. This is key. Once you're ready
to attack Rome, their fleet will be unstoppable, but don't worry about it, as
they will soon be pirates.

After Rome is gone, the game is as good as won. If you feel threatened by
Egypt, attack, and exterminate their three big cities (which hopefully are
nearly ungarrisoned).

*****

DirtyLarry says: Build an African Empire
I'll do Carthage even though I failed in the end as them. Get your King back
to to Carthage. Build up the defenses on all of your islands because the
Romans are going to attack pretty soon. Now I always tell the game to auto
manage taxes and so I usually get very rich doing this. BUt after you have
repelled the Roman assualts you have to start planning for taking North
Africa. Now get that game map out that came in the box because Africa has
a lot of empty land between the settlements and it helps to know where they
are (ED'S NOTE: You can also follow roads, if they have been built, or look
on the campaign map for lone green squares in the middle of a desert; these
usually indicate a city). Now raise armies of calvary and your light
infantry plus send your diplomats out into some more remote areas. Use the
armies, in which you should also include elephants, to take out the large
Numidian towns and armies. Use your diplomats to buy up the smaller cities
and also keep diplomats near your armies so they can buy off any force
trying to lift seiges. Now once you have conquered up to the Egyptian border
build up at the border. I found out the hard way that the Egyptians will
attack you. I was lucky enough to have a large mercenary force and could
repel the attacks. I also used my diplomats to pay off some of their men
and upped the diplomats skill so I could have them buy up Egyptian towns in
the interior and cause chaos. Now make sure your forces in Spain are reasonably
strong so you can defend that front the Gauls and the Spanish. So it is now the
time to build your main attack army. Hopefully you have been improving your
cities and have access to armoured elephants or war elephants. This is the
point at were I messed up at because I hadn't realised how large Egypt was and
so I hadn't built up a large attack force and so I found myself lacking the
forces to finish Egypt off. BUt anyways build up a large, diverse army. I
usually do two of every advanced unit. Then depending on the state of your
navy, march or sail this army over to Egypt. Use it to smash through Egypts
towns and enslave the people. In every town install a skeleton force to
maintain order. Once you have finished them off, conquer every thing up to
Byzantium. THen build up another two armies. One in Spain and one in Carthage.
Use the one in Spain to conquer all of the barbarian tribes. Send the once
from Carthage straight for Rome. Once you have Rome hold it until you have
taken care of the Gauls and maybe the British. Then have the two armies meet
up to destroy the Julii. Now have them both sweep throught the rest of Italy.
Now use you mass army to conquer every thing else which shouldn't be to hard
since the Greeks and Macedonians might be the only troublesome factions left.
I warn you everything past the part where I told you I messed up is based
purely off of speculation and hasn't been tested.

*****

SageZhuge234 says: Screw Africa, Get Rome
About the Carthaginian strategy that has been posted (ED'S NOTE: DirtyLarry's),
I don't advise that to be a good way to deal with things. You should try to
ally with the Greeks and take out the Romans from Sicily, they are your
greatest threat. If your lucky enough like I was, the Romans will attack
Syracuse from Capua and not Messana, because it is a better city. Then you
just take it from the Romans, and now you control all of Sicily and are very
powerful. I don't know whether it would be advisable to attack the Italian
Peninsula at this point, because the armies of Rome itself are strong. Once
you start creating Peoni Infantry in Carthage and War Elephants, you can think
about taking out the Italian Peninsula before Rome becomes too powerful and
before the Marian reforms.

You should focus on taking out the Numidians because they will just be thorns
in your side and conquer Spain. It should be easy then to pummel through the
weak Gallic warbands and at that point, your empire is large enough to take
on anyone.

e. GREECE========================

Heero04 says: Early Game Strategy
On your first turn immediately move all your troops except for one unit out of
Syracuse, hire as many mercenaries as possible and take Messana from the
Romans. Do the same thing at Sparta: immediately take all troops, hire
mercenaries, and take Corinth.

on your second turn (or possibly third) counter the Carthaginian army in
Sicily with your army that just took Messana. In Greece, move your troops from
Corinth and take Athens.


f. SELEUCIDS=====================

Mastersword7 says: Seleucia Needs Allies
Succeeding as the Seleucids requires some slick diplomacy and a good deal of
luck. Remember, you have a lot of neighbors, and every neighbor is a
potential enemy. Get trade agreements with everyone you can, and if you and
another faction are at war with the same people, make an alliance immediately.

Now, in the first few turns, your economy and military are nothing to brag
about, and you have a lot of territory to manage. Build traders and roads in
all of your settlements right off the bat, and when that's taken care of start
building up your military. Eventually you'll have to face Egypt, and Militia
Hoplites aren't going to cut it against Desert Axemen (which you will come to
hate with a passion). Quickly take Palmyra, Salamis, and Sidon. Also turn an
eye toward Halicarnassus; it's a good naval base with a wonder as well. Make
sure you have a big army, though: the garrison of this rebel city is small, but
the army just outside it is not. Depending on your situation, take out your
weaker enemies while trying to keep Egypt off your back. When the time comes
for war with your southern neighbor, it is likely that they will heavily
fortify their frontline cities. You can shorten the length of the war by
building a big army and invading Egypt itself by sea. The three cities you
should assault are Alexandria, Memphis, and Thebes. You'll get two wonders and
take a major chunk out of your enemy's income. After that, the Egyptians will
not be able to last long against you. When they are gone to their ancestors,
solidify your control over the east.

Now it's time to take care of the Romans. It's unlikely you'll start your
fight with them before the Marius reforms gives them the baddest-ass army in
the world, but by now you should have Elephants. Th pachyderms can make a lot
of Roman soldiers very miserable, so feel free to make full use of them. The
Brutii should have take control of Greece by now. If you have Cyrene, it will
serve as a useful base for launching attacks on Greece.

Take Corinth as soon as you can, it has the last wonder (you should already
have Rhodes). You can probably figure out the rest: bring Greece under your
control, expand northwards if you like, then prepare to assault the Italian
Peninsula. Do not expect this to be easy, since you'll have to deal with all
of the Roman factions at once. A strong navy is vital in this struggle. When
Southern Italy is yours, conquer Sicily, then go north again, use Cyrene to
launch armies at what's left of the Scipii, and then you'll be pretty much
unstoppable. Have fun conquering the rest of the world.

g. EGYPT=======================

the silent assasin says: Conquer the Desert
Of course build your economy up and make sure Thebes, Alexandria and Memphis
are making the big bucks since they are right by the Nile. Ally with the
Seluecids first. They are your first target but if you ally with them they
shouldnt be concerned with you. Most likely Parthia, Pontus or Armenia will
swoop down from the north/east. After you've built up your army, cancel the
alliance and take these 3 cities first: Damascus, Sidon and Antioch. Those
three are the money makers for the Seleucids. Now just spread and conquer
what's left of the greek wanabes. Ally with Pontus/Armenia if you feel
the need to.

After you can see that Seleucia will be yours, spread to the west. Carthage
always loses to the Scipii so think of it as an arms race so to speak. Forget
Lepcis Magna. Go straight for Carthage and Thaspus. These two cities usually
make a ton of money.

Once your done with Africa you have 2 choices. Cross into Spain/Sicily or even
Italy if you want to try it. Or you can conquer back in the Middle East. It's
your decision but I say conquer in the Middle east because there are 3 wonders
that can be captured very easily. If the Greeks took the Sardis then you'll
have to go to war with them. Take that city and Halicarnassus, which should be
held by Rebels. Easy wins to get the two wonders. After that, build up a small
force (or a large one if needed) and invade Rhodes. After that you will have
6 wonders under your control.

After you get the wonders can invade the Western part of the world or continue
your conquest in the Middle East. I once again would take the middle east. You
can usually easily get Athens, Sparta and Corinth since the Greeks are probably
fighting Macedon and the Roman families. Possibly Thrace as well. Take the
cities and you'll have ANOTHER wonder under your power. Once you get parts of
Greece I would stop your conquests in the Middle east. Take Spain and Gaul if
you want. You now have the Roman empire surrounded. Barbarians are probably not
going to ally with the Romans (the Britons possibly) so the Romans won't have
an escape path. Forget the other cities, as you should have 50 or close to 50
provinces under your control. Go straight for Rome. Bribe the Senate army and
sack Rome.

After getting Rome, conquering the remaining provinces you need and voila.
The world is yours.

h. PARTHIA========================

SamuraiZombie says: Conquer the Desert
Take Seleucia immediately. You need the extra money and population growth the
Hanging Gardens gives you. If you can make alliances with Armenia, Pontus and
Scythia, do so right away. Even if Scythia declares war on you, try to ignore
them, they're not a big threat, and their territories are poor and not worth
conquering. Armenia is usually worth taking, for the extra income, and to
secure the northern border.

Aim directly at the Seleucid Empire right away, and take (besides Seleucia)
Damascus, Antioch, and Tarsus. Try to keep the Egyptians off you in the
meantime. If the Egyptians look scarier than the Seleucids (and they usually
are), you have to make a judgement call about when to make peace with the
Seleucids and turn your attention to Egypt. Egypt is scary. The last Parthian
game I played, I had to leave the Seleucids with Antioch and Tarsus so I could
pay attention to the Egyptians.

Sweep up Sidon, Jerusalem and Salamis. These three cities will most likely
double your income and should cripple Egypt's economy. Drive down into Egypt
proper and finish them off. Don't try to expand much past Libya at this point.
The desert is a nice natural buffer between whoever has West Africa, either
the Carthaginians or the Scipii (probably the Scipii). A single stack of horse
archers should be good enough to guard Libya.

During this process, keep moving your capital westwards. The original capital,
Arsakia, is not close to anything and you want to hold onto the rich cities of
the Eastern Mediterranean and Egypt, AND keep them large (i.e. not
exterminating every city you conquer) so you can build troops for your next
move. My capitals have been at Seleucia (while conquering the desert),
Damascus (going after Egypt), Sidon (conquering Asia Minor and Greece) and
Halicarnassus (moving in on Rome).

Now turn your attention back to Asia Minor, and the Selucids and Pontus.
Conquer all the way to the end of Asia. Take Rhodes and Cyprus. Now you're in
an excellent position to begin an invasion of Greece. Whether you're fighting
Greece, Macedon or the Brutii at this point is up in the air, but odds are the
Brutii have all of Greece by this point.

From here, it's just a long slugfest as you conquer Greece, and push the Brutii
back. This should be relatively easy, since the Romans don't have the ability
to effectively counter horse archers and cataphracts. If you have the troops,
move against the Scipii in Africa too, taking Lepcis Magna, Thapsus and
Carthage. But Greece should be your primary target, because you want to deny
the Romans the scads of money that these cities make. Once you've wrapped up
Greece, move your capital even further west and get ready to take Rome.

i. BRITANNIA======================

Thrakoth says: Gaul, Spain, Then Germania
First as always set up as much trade as you can. Get trading rights with
Germania and Gaul asap. Reinforce your city on the European mainland because it
is going to get hit hard either by Germania or Gaul...for me it was both. Don't
bother having your generals and such hang out in towns seeing as how they can't
really manage things at all. Since your culture is pretty much the same as the
other barbarians you shouldnt need to exterminate the cities that you take but
rather enslave them so you can get to your next city level as fast as you can.
Do not just get shrines that allow you to make woad warriors because you need
the trade increase to help your economy. Get some Andrasta shrines because
while the woad warriors might totally suck the head hurlers and druids are the
exact opposite. Get to light chariots quickly for they one of the best units
available to the brits and gain experience really fast. As for expansion, work
on Gaul down into Spain first. Once you finish with them you should have what
you need to deal with those pesky Germania spearmen. Spain and Gaul should fall
pretty easily. The Romans tend to rather be your ally then be your enemy so
don't worry about them too much till later.

*****

sevenwarlocks says: “King of the Who?” Gaul, Spain and Rome
Money is going to be a problem for a while, so avoid the temptation to build
a large standing army early in the game. Do a bit of development of your center
island and capture Ireland before you launch your invasion of the mainland.
Also, be sure to possess undisputed control of the English channel. You won’t
get far without the ability to transport troops across without fear of enemy
harassment. Carefully consider the placement of your shrines. You will need
shrines to Britannia in Londonium and other wealthy cities to ease the
financial burden, shrines to Andrasta in cities where you have some excess
population, since these will be able to produce a constant stream of woad
warriors and head hurlers, which will be very important units for you, early
on. Finally, put a shrine to Brigantia on the mainland in the first 6000 +
city you can grab, and upgrade until you can build druids. A mix of light and
heavy chariots can act as a good screen against cavalry, but I find they don’t
form a good military backbone. Instead, focus on your infantry, swordsmen and
chosen swordsmen, which can hold their own against any infantry in the game.

Gaul is a fairly easy target, since they will almost always be at war with
Spain, Germania, and Rome. Unfortunately, if you conquer Gaul, you may find
yourself at war with all of these yourself, and that can be uncomfortable.
So, when you attack Gaul, try to keep to the west coast, leaving a sliver of
Gaul around to act as a buffer between you and Germania. You should fight
your way down to Spain and conquer the entire region, so you will at least
have one safe flank.

By the time you have finished with Spain, you will almost assuredly be
fighting the Romans. Try to hit their flanks with rour woad warriors and head
hurlers (think of hurlers more like grenadiers than archers). Use your
swordsmen and chosen swordsmen, backed by Druids as front line troops. Use
your war cries and chanting abilities, they provide your main battle edge. You
may be surprised by how easy it is to get large armies of supposedly
disciplined Roman legions to run away. When they do, run them down with
chariots. Since Rome isn’t going to stop fighting you until you wipe them out,
you might as well do it sooner rather than later. Try to take Italy after you
are done with Gaul and Spain.

After that, Germany, Dacia, Thrace, Macedon, Greece, etc... should basically
fall like dominos.

j. GAUL==========================

no strategies yet!

k. GERMANIA======================

NameUsedBefore says: Economy and Defense
When I'm the Germans, or any faction for that matter, I always build a trader
and roads for all or most of my settlements. Then, as the Germans, I take the
Denmark area as early as possible. After this I can do two things to confront
the inevitable, the invasions from the Britons and Gauls (this is on hard/hard,
btw). I can set up fast-striking units all over the forests in and around
Germania and ambush all incoming armies. Or, this is what I do most, I build a
good set of German spear warband units (usually three) for each settlement in
danger. When armies attack my towns I set up my phalanxes in the cities in a
way that buildings cover their flanks and all the enemy has is a row of spears
to go through. VERY effective, even against Briton-chariots.

As I hold down the fort on the west I usually send a good general and an army
to go conquering the east and any gimme-rebel-settlements. It's a good thing
to bolster your defense while you can build up your empire in the east/south
enough to where you can finally throw your own invasions into Gallic/Brit land.

*****

plantman30 says: Clever Diplomacy and General Recruitment
Playing as germany on hard/hard I made peace and aliances to my east since I
needed to concentrate my forces on the overzealous Gauls and Britons. Keep the
peace with Rome but you will eventually have to deal with them too. I found the
Germans where very good at having the opportunity to adopt generals so I often
left most of my generals in the cities and would limit their battles to those
close enough to get back to the city on the same turn while one general did
most of the damage to Gaul and another to Brittania. If you do go without a
general, the screaming woman unit is very good to have behind the lines. I
never had a unit break in front of the women. A few times they did without.
Money seemed always short despite having markets so I had to exterminate most
of the cities I took in order to keep afloat, although enslaving would have
probably been better.

l. DACIA=========================

no strategies yet!

m. SCYTHIA=======================

TheSmartJoker says: Attack Dacia
I am not far in this campaign, but I'll do my best :). First off, build wooden
pallasides around your towns, next build up your economy with farms, markets
etc. because you really need it. Scythia has weak units so you need the extra
money. Get allied with Thrace, (they are next to your most important city),
getting allied with them is to stay safe from attacks. Offer alliance, and
trade rights, you can demand their map information then. Do the same with
Parthia.

Now, build up a small army to get the Rebel province Bosphorus (south of you),
this will give you an easy province. Try to build up an army to attack Dacia;
you are near their capital. Scythia has mainly Archer units, so try to get as
many non-archer units as much as you can, because those archer units are not so
good.

You may take your time with building up your army, because the alliances with
Thrace and Parthia will keep you safe for many turns. The Scythians have many
disadvantages: low money amount, weak units, low unit variety (mainly archers),
big territories that makes traveling hard etc.

But they also have some advantages. You get your time and will be left alone
in the beginning, so that you have enough time to build up your economy, army,
population etc. You can get a province that is easely conquered, you won't
start any wars because it is only a rebel city. Your main enemy will be Dacia,
who is also weak, and your main military production city is placed near the
Dacian capital.

*****

SamuraiZombie says: Ride South
First things first: move south. Scythia's towns are nothing to be impressed
about, with generally poor economies and fertility. In order to build a really
impressive army, better cities are required.

Despite what TheSmartJoker has said, it's my opinion that Scythian units are
actually pretty strong. Their basic cavalry unit is horse archers, which are
quite capable of destroying any infantry formation with practically no effort.
Later Scythian units are almost exclusively cavalry. Their only weakness is
that substandard infantry units and lack of artillery make capturing cities
very difficult. Rather than go against other Eastern factions with comparable
units (Parthia, Pontus, Armenia), begin by invading and conquering Thrace.
Sweep up any rebel town that can be had with minimal effort in the north.
Try to take Campus Sakae from the Parthians, and close off the Northern front.

Once all of Thrace is yours, your money should start to come in quite
nicely. You can either go after Dacia or Macedonia next. You COULD go after
Germania, but the distances your armies must travel to get there, and the poor
economies of the German towns make this a dubious option. Dacia should be
relatively easy to conquer, as they do not have anything comparable to horse
archers and their lightly armored units are particularly vulnerable to arrows.
Macedonia is much harder, with a strong cavalry contingent and spear-armed
infantry. I recommend trying to keep an alliance with Macedon while you
eliminate Dacia, then turning your full attention on Macedon. Conquer all
the way down to the tip of the Grecian penninsula, and Sparta. Now you should
have all the money to you need to finance armies big enough to invade Italia
and Rome.


n. MACEDONIA=====================

mcahill91219 says: Do As Alexander Did
Lots of pikemen (best you can build at any time) and lots of horsemen. I
generally have a general, 9 or 10 phalanx units, the the rest of an army is
cavalry. For cavalry, split it between light and heavy. When fighting,
engage with the phalanxes (if under fire by arrowsm attack with light cavalry
supported by heavy). When you engage the enemy with phalanxes, send heavy
cavalry around the flanks. If they have light or heavy cavalry, send heavy
cavalry after them and flank with light. For territories, kill the Greeks and
keep the Brutii out of Thermon and the other western territories. After
conquering the Greeks in Greece, take Byzantium and take out the Thracians.
All the while keeping Romans out of your land.

o. SPAIN=========================

no strategies yet!

p. PONTUS========================

no strategies yet!

q. ARMENIA=======================

no strategies yet!

r. THRACE========================

no strategies yet!


III. CREDITS AND FINAL NOTES

Contributing authors: Blamat, GeorgeWang, sevenwarlocks, Boris Wizen,
DirtyLarry,SageZhuge234, Heero04, Mastersword7, the silent assasin,
SamuraiZombie, Thrakoth, NameUsedBefore, plantman30, TheSmartJoker,
mcahill91219

Also, big props to Pusiu for starting the forum thread that spawned all
these strategy posts in the first place.

You are viewing proxied material from tilde.pink. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.