Rome: Total War screenshots thread.

[Axyon]

I noticed you guys have more than the default number of soldiers in a group. How do you do that, I can only merge units when they've taken casualties for some reason.

If you go into Video options and change the unit size from 'large' to 'huge', they'll double. Great for epic battles.

 

[snark^]

They came at my mob with 9 phalanxes, 4 light horse and 1-2 peltasts. Thought this army was dead where it stood because I just didn't have enough cavalry to flankses the phalanxes -- they'd just roll forward to kill off my lone phalanx and principes and slaughter the archers.

What happened was the scorpions and catapults pounded the hell out of them as they drew close and the archers killed so many when they charged that their morale just fell through the grass and they routed... two general units caught their cavalry and it was just a long slaughter of a chase after that. Having a general with level 10 command (Gaius 'Victor') at this point might have helped also. Note the archers and arty are all out of ammo... Final casualty ratio was over 20:1 and my crack archer unit got their 3rd silver chevron.

 

[The Monkey]

If you go into Video options and change the unit size from 'large' to 'huge', they'll double. Great for epic battles.

That's not an option. All I see is quality details.

 

[Dedalus]

That's not an option. All I see is quality details.

should be something called 'Unit Size' or something. it's a slide bar. there should be 'small, default, normal, huge' or something similar. it'll be under the Performance Menu.

 

[Kyorisu]

Unit scale I believe.

Heres the beggining of one of the large battles I've endured. As you can see my CPU isn't powerfull enough to engage in massive scale battles so my squads are very small in size.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

I retired most of my old troops once the system was changed. I still have some Hastati and Principes in a fringe town and a fort but thats all.

I should remember to take screenshots, I've had some big battles Like the time I slaughtered over 3000 Britons with about 900 men. Oh and the times my cities have been invaded...Each man stood deffiantly on the wall, watching as the enemy war machine slowly draws near. Dozens of ladders, a multitude of towers and the slow rolling ram.


The towns are really easy to defend once you get real stone walls. So long as you burn the ram, the walls are relatively easy to defend. I usaually place my archers in the middle near the gate and then Heavy infantry along either side. I tell my archers to launch a few fire vollies, and then set them about the task of picking off the enemy with normal arrows. My town gaurd stand ready either side of the general(Usaually with wardogs as they are the best unit for clearing up routing enemy troops) who is poised to charge out of the gate as soon as the enemy admits defeat. My Legionaires stand either side of the archers, ready for the onslaught. I hold their pilum read for the enemy to get close enough to get the main bulk of the force. Then, as the ladders are about to be put up I let them release which usaually sends the troops into disaray. As for towers...I usaually hold the barrage of pila untilthe door swings open and the enemy attempt to jump out onto the wall.

 

[The Monkey]

OK, than you(bout the size thing).
I got another problem. Me and the Germans(I was Julii) had an alliance and together we covered most of present Europe, and I was advancing south. Then the bloody germans betrayed me and attacked my settlements, with all my armies in Turkey or Spain, I had a hard time defending myself. When my reinforcements finally arrived, I relized something: My Hoursebased armies are useless to the german spearmen. I've tried many units, but none are good agains those spearmen, please help me, how do you handle the germans?

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Uh...I just killed them.

You really need a combined effort with spearmen though. You can do it with cavalry if you want to be you have to juggle things around a little. For instance, long walk a group of cavalry round towards the rear and use another group to run around and dance infront of the spearmen. Then, once you have their attention use the cavalry at the rear to charge. The spearmen my try to turn around, at which point you break off and charge the cavalry at the front (Now the rear).

As for other tactics...Well, use archers basically Arcani are always good as well. Keep them hidden until the spearmen are practically on top of them, and then jump out. Back them up with a group of Legionaries.

 

[The Monkey]

Uh...I just killed them.

You really need a combined effort with spearmen though. You can do it with cavalry if you want to be you have to juggle things around a little. For instance, long walk a group of cavalry round towards the rear and use another group to run around and dance infront of the spearmen. Then, once you have their attention use the cavalry at the rear to charge. The spearmen my try to turn around, at which point you break off and charge the cavalry at the front (Now the rear).

As for other tactics...Well, use archers basically Arcani are always good as well. Keep them hidden until the spearmen are practically on top of them, and then jump out. Back them up with a group of Legionaries.

OK, thanks I lost one of my finest army nad a fully skilled general due to some hundred sprearmen.

 

[Axyon]

Phalanx-able troops are only powerful in a large combined group - split them up and they're much, much weaker. Try to distract individual units away from the main group and overpower them, then repeat the process. As Farrow said, flanking works wonders as well.

 

[Bait]

Even flanking spearmen with cavalry is a horribly, HORRIBLY dangerous thing to do. Make sure that your heavy infantry lobs lots of pila at them first. Make sure you stop them from charging, then throw another pila. When thats done, if you want to do a cavalry charge, make sure they only stay in there for a short amount of time. Even from a flank or rear, phalanx troops always seem to masacre my horsemen.

Or, you could go with the numbers game. Flank the hell out of the phalanx troop with a few hundred cavalry units and watch the ensuing horror.

Either way is good, but I prefer the "Uber Mega Horsemen Rush".

 

[PvtRyan]

Even flanking spearmen with cavalry is a horribly, HORRIBLY dangerous thing to do. Make sure that your heavy infantry lobs lots of pila at them first. Make sure you stop them from charging, then throw another pila. When thats done, if you want to do a cavalry charge, make sure they only stay in there for a short amount of time. Even from a flank or rear, phalanx troops always seem to masacre my horsemen.

Or, you could go with the numbers game. Flank the hell out of the phalanx troop with a few hundred cavalry units and watch the ensuing horror.

Either way is good, but I prefer the "Uber Mega Horsemen Rush".

When you really charge a line of spearmen from the side with heavy cavalry, they cut through them like a knife through butter, it often makes them rout. Just make sure there are no horses walking in front of the spearmen.

 

[snark^]

When you really charge a line of spearmen from the side with heavy cavalry, they cut through them like a knife through butter, it often makes them rout. Just make sure there are no horses walking in front of the spearmen.

Yeah. The phalanxes can 180 on you really easy, but reforming themselves to defend threats to their flanks is much slower and until they do there's not enough spears there to stop a decent charge.

Where possible I try to lure them out, id which of my units is their target (to get them moving in the direction I want) and then plunge two units of cav (shock tactics) into the rear and flank. If the cav is heavy with a really nasty charge just one into the flank will be enough. It has to be all over ASAP or supporting enemy phalanxes will save them and slaughter your shock troops. If you can't kill them off quickly enough chances are they'll turn and start winning. Another method is to use a cohort and make sure they get deep into the phalanx formation. Not as certain or as fast as heavy cavalry though.

 

[Foxtrot]

I was taking over the Brutii capitol and they attacked me.

 

[Foxtrot]

It was a really sweet victory...someone needs to see this.

 

[snark^]

Trying the Carthaginians out now: crap early infantry; non-existant missile infantry (barring the occassional baleric slinger-mercs); excellent large-mammal cav...

Found a single unit of Hastati lurking in a previously unseen valley. Threw the nearest available unit at them. Super-Hastati! Can leap trees in a single bound.

 

[Axyon]

Yeah, the Carthaginians are pretty much the total opposite of the Romans, who have a well-rounded selection of troops. Their lack of archers and decent non-phalanx infantry is hugely made up by the elephants and sacred band cavalry/infantry.

 

[snark^]

Yeah. Desperately trying to get some awesome temples of Baal up so I can build sacred band infantry. Facing princepes with what I've got is suicide without the heffalump support. The Corduba colony in southern Spain was under constant attack from the Gauls and Spaniards and was barely hanging on before I managed to swing a few units of elephants and a spare mob of Baleric slingers there.

The small shield cav and Iberian infantry just do not cut it against stuff like Roman princepes or Gallic warbands and swordsmen -- I'm trying to avoid battle unless there's 2:1 ratio with the infantry units, or a massive overwhelming cav. advantage.

It's only going to get worse when Marius comes along so I might have to go for the Romans earlier than planned... up through the toe I think rather than along the Barbary Coast/Spain/Alps route like Hannibal did IRL...

The sea battles with all four Roman faction and the Spanish/Numidians is getting horrendous -- everyone's got largish navies with lotsa experience and you can never be too certain if that small group of triremes you spy from far away isn't a small pack of absolute 3-silver-chevron arse-kickers in diguise. I've got two large fleets clearing the seas, lots of single biremes scouting everywhere for the view and three smaller transport groups carrying reinforcement elephants/baleric slingers everywhere. If I lose the seas I'll be limited to Africa and stuck 'doing the Hannibal'.

 

[InsaneCow]

One thing I have noticed is that often with the initial charge against phalanx cavalry doesnt get slaughtered at all. Try it in a custom battle with Armoured Hoplites versus Macedonian Cavalry or a similar cavalry unit. Take command of the Macedonian Cavalry unit and charge headfirst into the hoplites. You will notice that no more than one or two of your cavalry will die on the initial impact, and now the Phalanx units order is disrupted they pull out their swords rather than use their spears. You can win this battle, but usually with heavy casualties (all of which are caused in the melee after the charge)

 

[Reaperman]

playing as the britons, and rome decided to betray the alliance we had, i made them regret it...

i sacked rome!


(SPQR is now nonexistant, Julii is banished from the mainland (they are in sarlano), and brutii is paying me not to attack them

 

[snark^]

What mod is that reaperman? Just noticed your minimap is displaying a lot more britain and a lot less africa...