Trouble beating the Prologue, please advise!

[Blanchflower]

OK, I am having trouble beating and completing the prologue. I really want to conquer all the 50 cities and complete the prologue but after conquering 2 cities, the Gauls keep attacking me and I am destroyed.

How do I manage to have a head start in the first few turns? My economy is always a mess and am having a hard time keeping a positive balance.

Mind you, I have not even started the campaign yet and intend to play the campaign only after completing the whole prologue by conquering 50 cities. This would give me a good feel about the game and allows me to be prepared for the campaign.

But right now, I am having a tough time even going beyond conquering 2 cities and any advise or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Bringer Of Storms]

Are you losing in the battle aspect? Or the campaign aspect? Play some custom battles, do some sieges, some siege defenses. Get the feel of fighting.

[Blanchflower]

Well it is kind of both. I mean I have no trouble beating the battle aspects IF I have a superior number of troops but when the odds are stacked against me, like 1:2 or 1:3 in favour of the enemy, I am totally crushed and lost. Is it possible to win in a battle if the size of the enemy's army is twice or even three times as mine?

Also in the campaign aspect, I am having a hard time getting my economy going. Despite building roads and mines as quickly as possible, Should I train diplomats and propose trade with my allies to quickly come out of debt? I always find myself in debt after a couple of turns. Is this due to the size and upkeep of my army? But if I disband some army units, my military strength would be weak so this is a double edged sword. Also, should I listen to Victoria's advise on what to build next? Is the advise of the AI any good?

Also, if I play some custom battle, will it be wise to increase the size of the enemy's army so that I would get good practice from the battle?

I have only limited experience in playing the Total War games. I bought Total War Shogun 2 way back in March 2011 and only beat the easiest campaign on the easiest level of difficulty after quite a number of tries. Besides this, I have virtually no experience at all in this game but I really like this series and would like to be a better player.

Thanks for the kind reply by the way!

[CelticWarlord]

Well it is kind of both. I mean I have no trouble beating the battle aspects IF I have a superior number of troops but when the odds are stacked against me, like 1:2 or 1:3 in favour of the enemy, I am totally crushed and lost. Is it possible to win in a battle if the size of the enemy's army is twice or even three times as mine?

Also in the campaign aspect, I am having a hard time getting my economy going. Despite building roads and mines as quickly as possible, Should I train diplomats and propose trade with my allies to quickly come out of debt? I always find myself in debt after a couple of turns. Is this due to the size and upkeep of my army? But if I disband some army units, my military strength would be weak so this is a double edged sword. Also, should I listen to Victoria's advise on what to build next? Is the advise of the AI any good?

Also, if I play some custom battle, will it be wise to increase the size of the enemy's army so that I would get good practice from the battle?

I have only limited experience in playing the Total War games. I bought Total War Shogun 2 way back in March 2011 and only beat the easiest campaign on the easiest level of difficulty after quite a number of tries. Besides this, I have virtually no experience at all in this game but I really like this series and would like to be a better player.

Thanks for the kind reply by the way!

Your just starting out, Most of us where like this we we started playing. With battle try different strategies, Flank phalanxes with Cavalry, Use missiles effectively etc, And yes play plenty of reasonably hard custom battles and it will help ALOT. The economy control gets easier the more you play the Game and eventually becomes incredibly simple, Just dont rush in and build huge armies at the start, Build plenty of Farms, Roads, Traders, Mines and Ports and get plenty of Trade rights

[The_Valiant]

I didn't play the Prologue, but I bet it's no different than any Roman Campaign. I would take Bringer and CelticWarlord's advice. Play lots of custom battles; get the feel of fighting. To paraphrase Sun Tzu, victory is not killing all of the enemy, but rather to break their morale. In addition, you want to win with as few casualties as possible. This means you must, usually, break their morale quickly and rout them. Therefore, the most important part of the battle is the rout.

As a Roman faction, use your infantry to pin the enemy infantry and some equites to flank and chase down skirmishers. I assume you're having problems against the Gauls...you can beat their infantry on a scale on 1 hastati to 1.5 spear warbands if you're new to the game (when you get more experienced, you could beat them 1:3 or more...). A good army composition for you would be 1 or more generals (depending on how many family members, leave one in every city), 1 or 2 equites, 6 units of infantry (hastati are fine, but one or two principes would be very helpful), and 2 Roman archers. Recruit some barbarian spearmen if you can.

Finally, in the overall campaign, build roads, ports, farms, and traders in that order. If you need troops or you have an inland city, your order should be roads, farms, barracks, traders, then anything else (sewers, blacksmiths, walls).

[florin87]

OK, I am having trouble beating and completing the prologue.

i'm having trouble figuring out if you actually mean the prologue or are just confusing it with the imperial campaign.

concerning the prologue: you can't win. there aren't enough cities and your economy is . after you stop getting advice you can leave it be.

for the imperial campaign here are a few things i learned over the years.
- when you play the imperial campaign for the first time play as the brutii. they are the easiest faction. they're roman so they've got the best military and after you conquer greece your money problems will be gone.
- each city should have a minimal garrison, except the cities on the front line and cities with bad public order. garrison cities with peasants and militia only, anything else is a waste of money and a perfectly good unit.
- build trading and order/health (ports, roads, sewers, etc.) bonus buildings first
- go to the financial scroll, see the profits down there? until you get accustomed with the economy don't go more than a few hundred denarii over it.
- if you are desperately strapped for cash disband unnecessary units (starting with those with higher upkeep), sell maps and exchange trade rights with other factions.
- don't charge the enemy as soon as battle begins. let your ranged units wear them out a bit. only charge when they are close you
- use cavalry to crush ranged units.
- use hastati/princeps/legionaries to crush most infantry.
- don't use cavalry against any form of spear armed infantry. if it says spearmen in the brackets your cavalry should avoid them like the plague.
- don't use light infantry against heavy infantry.
- don't use infantry against chariots/elephants. use javelin/spear throwing cavalry.
- when besieging build as much siege equipment you can in one turn, no matter how many units the enemy has garrisoned. better safe than sorry.
- use cavalry to chase down routing units. the more you kill now the less you'll face in the future.
- if you have 2+ units of cavalry send them after the enemy general. after they make contact send in your general as well. don't bother sending them against captains.
- watch let's plays and walkthroughs on youtube to learn new tactics. then practice them in custom battles.

[Blanchflower]

i'm having trouble figuring out if you actually mean the prologue or are just confusing it with the imperial campaign.

I meant the prologue. I haven't even started on the proper campaign yet (don't dare yet! )

Anyway, I read somewhere that there are people who managed to complete the whole prologue. Is this true or possible? Besides, I can conquer the first 2 cities (the second one needed some retries) and managed to save the prologue.

But after a few turns, the Gauls were attacking me from the north when I was concentrating on completing the Senate's request to attack a southern city. That was when my military resources got stretched out and I was in a pretty bad shape, so I quit.

So is it possible to complete the whole prologue?

Thanks!

[mesor]

Mate simple idea for that.

Take your initial army to capture the enemy city's but besiege and wait make them come out to you then as there leaving i just mob them from both flanks and head on with infantry trap them and my infantry hack them to shreds cavalry chases them down through the town and its over.

As for the gaul issue.
4-5 units of hastati can hold a city against an entire gaul stack without much problem just form up around the plaza defend the streets and the enemy has to throw light infantry head on against heavy.
Yours will rip them apart and once you see where there attacking and where there not you can take the 2 reserve units ( if you have 5 units theres 3 streets u need to defend ) and put them in behind the main battle let them toss there pila into the enemy then charge there morale will brake fast.

[ccgr1121]

Well it is kind of both. I mean I have no trouble beating the battle aspects IF I have a superior number of troops but when the odds are stacked against me, like 1:2 or 1:3 in favour of the enemy, I am totally crushed and lost. Is it possible to win in a battle if the size of the enemy's army is twice or even three times as mine?

Yes. As you play more and more, you will learn how :wub the AI really is. Also, as the Romans, your troops are far superior to anyone elses.

Also in the campaign aspect, I am having a hard time getting my economy going. Despite building roads and mines as quickly as possible, Should I train diplomats and propose trade with my allies to quickly come out of debt? I always find myself in debt after a couple of turns. Is this due to the size and upkeep of my army? But if I disband some army units, my military strength would be weak so this is a double edged sword. Also, should I listen to Victoria's advise on what to build next? Is the advise of the AI any good?

Roads, ports, markets, ports, mines and most of all PORTS are key. Seriously, ports are your friend. Also, get trade rights and sell maps to everyone you can. Even if you will attack them soon, you will still get money in the short term. As everyone else has said, minimal garrisons and cheap units are the way to. Furthermore, Victoria's advice is a load of :wub . Never ask for it. Ever.

Also, if I play some custom battle, will it be wise to increase the size of the enemy's army so that I would get good practice from the battle?

Very much so. Practise is the only way you will learn.

I have only limited experience in playing the Total War games. I bought Total War Shogun 2 way back in March 2011 and only beat the easiest campaign on the easiest level of difficulty after quite a number of tries. Besides this, I have virtually no experience at all in this game but I really like this series and would like to be a better player.

S2TW is actually difficult, as the AI gets stupid bonuses. Start here, mate! You will master RTW in no time if you keep at it. Any more questions, you can ask them here!

EDIT: Oh, and skip the prologue. It's buggy as hell, there aren't enough provinces, you will run out of money and the advisor never shuts up. Just start as the Brutii in the main campaign.

[Bringer Of Storms]

Here are a few battles where the odds were stacked hugely in favor of the enemy. But with Roman discipline and some micromanaging skills, these battles are relatively easy for most everyone. Just gotta learn the basic tactics such as a hammer and anvil.

Which basically is attacking the enemy from the front. Then from behind, pounding them with 1 or more cavalry all at once. After the enemy unit routs, you "roll up their flank" and move your cavalry down until their army is running for their lives.

[Vindictus]

Rome doesn't have much of a cavalry fighting force, so using your Family Members is the best way to finish anyone off. What you do is recruit a decent amount of Equites (like 2-3 groups), and have them and your family member charge into one side of the enemy force. At the same time, send your infantry in for numbers bonus. Sweep down flanks with cavalry and it should be over with minimal casualties.

Horses are your friends in this game.

Cavalry are allies.

[Blanchflower]

Here are a few battles where the odds were stacked hugely in favor of the enemy. But with Roman discipline and some micromanaging skills, these battles are relatively easy for most everyone. Just gotta learn the basic tactics such as a hammer and anvil.

Which basically is attacking the enemy from the front. Then from behind, pounding them with 1 or more cavalry all at once. After the enemy unit routs, you "roll up their flank" and move your cavalry down until their army is running for their lives.

These are some impressive battle victories! I am astonished! If you can do that, I believe that I can do that too with practice!

[Blanchflower]

EDIT: Oh, and skip the prologue. It's buggy as hell, there aren't enough provinces, you will run out of money and the advisor never shuts up. Just start as the Brutii in the main campaign.

OK, I think I will follow your advise. But I am wondering how some people have managed to complete the prologue. I mean, as you said, there are not enough provinces so why is the prologue asking you to capture 50 cities? Also as you have mentioned that I would run out of money, then how on earth did some players manage to complete it?

Also, you mentioned that the prologue is buggy but I thought this was fixed in patch 1.5?

I am just curious, that's all.

[ccgr1121]

I would imagine that, to "complete" it, they just conquered the map. As for money, well there's always add_money

[The_Valiant]

I would imagine that, to "complete" it, they just conquered the map. As for money, well there's always add_money

Quiet, the young soul knows nothing of the console yet...let him live in darkness of his true power...

[Halie Satanus]

Well it is kind of both. I mean I have no trouble beating the battle aspects IF I have a superior number of troops but when the odds are stacked against me, like 1:2 or 1:3 in favour of the enemy, I am totally crushed and lost. Is it possible to win in a battle if the size of the enemy's army is twice or even three times as mine?

Yes if your troops have superior Exp levels. Tip; Keep your army near the edge of the battle zone so even if you lose, a fair number of your units can escape, that should help boost the exp levels.. Units with high exp won't route as easily.. Aside from that play on the easy setting until you get used to building an economy..

I also advise skipping the prologue but recommend Britannia as a starting faction. Not being surrounded from the start is an advantage and they have the potential to build a strong economy if played right, and plenty of rebels to boost your units exp levels.... (oh and Gaul are over powered early on any way from what I remember)..

[Blanchflower]

Quiet, the young soul knows nothing of the console yet...let him live in darkness of his true power...

LOL! You are funny. Actually I am aware of the money cheat code but never bothered to use it because it will just ruin my game. I know myself. If I start using cheats, I can never stop and the game would become a bore. In case in point, I played Civilization 4 and used the editor to cheat myself to victory but I don't see the point of it all. It just made the game boring!

[Blanchflower]

I found out that the prologue contains a total of 11 cities only! I nearly conquered every city but still lost. That includes Rome as well.

Did anyone here managed to beat the prologue?

[florin87]

you can't beat the prologue. the victory conditions say you need to conquer 40+ cities. as you said there are only 11.

[Aymer de Valence]

The trick with fighting the Gauls (and any barbarian faction) is to exploit their major weakness - low morale. The Gauls may come at you with HUGE armies, but just a single rear charge with cavalry will rout them, even on hard difficulty i've found