Cromag's DeI 1.X Strategy Tips

[HernanU]

The cruel ancient world. For one century Rome fear and suffer the cartaginians shadow. The solution? Raze the city, salt the land, kill or sell the inhabitants. The aftermath? Silence until Rome himself rebuild the city with romans and become again one of the gratest trade city in the mediterranean sea.
Total war was invented in the second punic war and the romans learn the lesson. "Make a desert and call it peace" (Tacitus).

[loony]

the guide definitely makes a lot of sense.

I think it needs a dedicated city capture guide

Early game for ROME (rich major faction)

Occupy: same culture, decent buildings.
Raze: need to move quickly (to capture the next city), wrong culture, no spare army capacity to deal with public order, enough cash to rebuild immediately, will be left to rebel and intend not to hold.
Loot: last 3 cities of an enemy in a war theater, no PO problems factionwide, no hurry to re-deploy troops (can deal with PO), need cash
Liberate: creat a buffer between you and your potential enemies, NOT NEXT TO ANOTHER CLIENT/ALLY, etc.

For a small faction (Sparta anyone), the early game rules should be:
a) occupy if possible, never raze, your culture is everywhere
b) loot, use money to recruit and keep the cities smoking. they will repair themselves
c) use sack&Loot+destroy buildings in cities you cannot hold to max your gains and hurt the enemy. it might make sense even if you lose your army next turn (depending upon your recruitment options)

[Krixux]

at OP ( that sweet and kinky Cromag )

1 BRILIANT guide !!!

2 still waiting for updates !

lol

[Richard III]

at OP ( that sweet and kinky Cromag )

1 BRILIANT guide !!!

2 still waiting for updates !

lol

I find myself coming back here every other day to check if anything has been added!

[ASPGolan]

The guide really makes me want to blitzkrieg in early game . But in my 2 attempts so far, with 2 different factions, I get hindered by public order, culture penalties and so forth. I'm pretty happy that I can't find a big loophole, it makes me study the game.

Is there anything specific about the generals that impacts overall strategy, like in EB2?

[Drowsy]

Sweet, very helpful!

edit;

Any more province suggestion builds coming? Very curious how u build Corsica/Sardinia, Baetica, Aquitania and Asia.

[Paladin247]

Terrific guide, thanks. Wish I'd read it before starting my campaign; now in 255BC and struggling with Carthage as Rome. We've got Italy, Sicily, Carthage and Sardinia, but unrest has been a challenge and $$$ hard to come by. +rep.

[Richard III]

Sweet, very helpful!

edit;

Any more province suggestion builds coming? Very curious how u build Corsica/Sardinia, Baetica, Aquitania and Asia.

Hi Drowsy.

Just a couple of things; I'm no expert by any means. Just saw your question and hoped I could add to the spreading of ideas this thread is doing such a good job at. Also, I play my campaign at least moderately realistic. Among other things, I don't min/max provinces. Aside from the AI not being able to do it, it's not realistic from a role-play perspective. That being said, on to the meat and potatoes!

I assign each province two tasks - a primary and secondary one. These tasks can be as general as food production or military production, or as specific as Livestock, Culture, Mining, etc. I also, in some ways, integrate what the Roman Republic/Empire actually did gain from holding that specific province. Admittedly it's just from reading Wikipedia articles on the provinces, but it helps me immerse just a tad more.

Italia: Military/Culture. Obviously, I train both my Legionaries and Auxiliary Legionaries here. It also contain a military training field (The one that adds +Experience, specifically) as well as a temple to Mars. The Culture focus is a great way to make cash, allows you to build one of the Epic Public building Chains, and you can build the Lvl 4 Entertainment centers in minor towns as well (Which, in my opinion, have a great Food/Income ratio. Maybe even TOO good, Dresden). Round out with Farms in the beginning (representing a rural italia), and then as your empire expands (And subsequently, you can build more farms/herding grounds/fishing ports) I could knock them down and replace them with something else. (Yes, I know it's not cost efficient, but it slows the game down!)

Magna Graecia: Trade/Farmland. With Ports in 3 towns, this province seems built to send ships 'round the world. So trade is the choice here. Farmland also provides your first real breadbasket province. Picking farmland as a 'specialization' instead of simply 'food production' not only allows you to build cool buildings (Like a granary, or water tank), but also helps me remember that Brundisium will get the Major City Dock Military Chain (Can't remember the name ), and Syracuse will get the other military one - instead of fishing ports. Not only was Brundisium a major military port (Though MUCH later in the empire, if memory serves), it gives you a major naval base of operations on the side where you have a lot of ocean!

Cisalpina: Slavery/military. I picked slavery to simulate this province being an obvious spot where barbarians as far west as spain, to as far north as the Nervii and Suebi, would funnel into Italia to become slaves or Gladiators. This makes it an ideal industrial province, that is often the 2nd or 3rd highest income province (Rome being 1st, always). The Military specialization usually includes building a military training field (I have the mod that enables building it in minor towns. This specific choice is combat posts) as well as an auxiliary barracks. This breeds some fierce barbarians who are romanized! Patavium usually gets a mine (A shout out to the original Rome total war, I could swear you could build a gold mine there). Genua will get the Stone quarry. More Industry income, plus increase in % earned from slaves? Yes Please!

Corsica Et Sardinia: Food/Commerce. Admittedly, the isles never are a terribly high priority for me. I capture them (Or try to) near their historical conquering date, so usually my focus is on mainland province development. Historically though, it was a major grain supply for Caesar. So it gets farms, and fishing ports. Later in game, Karalis willy usually have it's fisherman's wharf converted to a trade port.


You might've been able to tell, but this is just one mini "Group" in a larger layout of the Roman Empire. I hope this wasn't a bore to read... I'd happy to share more if anyone had interest!

[airborne guy]

Richard...nice job, how do I get archers as early as possible as the Romans?

[Richard III]

Richard...nice job, how do I get archers as early as possible as the Romans?

Thanks airborne guy. As to your question:

Corsica Et Sardinia is one of two options. I'm not sure if it's specifically one of the two islands, but you can recruit Sardinian Archers from the island. "Kasatim Shardanim" is the unit name. According to roman build chains, they're available with a tier 2 main city building.

Other option is conquering syracuse and building a level 3 auxiliary barracks that unlocks Cretan Archers,

[Barune]

Thanks airborne guy. As to your question:

Corsica Et Sardinia is one of two options. I'm not sure if it's specifically one of the two islands, but you can recruit Sardinian Archers from the island. "Kasatim Shardanim" is the unit name. According to roman build chains, they're available with a tier 2 main city building.

Other option is conquering syracuse and building a level 3 auxiliary barracks that unlocks Cretan Archers,

I got cretans with a level 2 aux barracks in syracuse. :o

[Richard III]

I got cretans with a level 2 aux barracks in syracuse. :o

100% correct. You can get them with a level two barracks, thanks! But on the other hands, I believe the level 2 barracks requires the polybian reforms, so technically Corsica Et Sardinia is still probably your best and quickest way to go.

[Richard III]

Hey Guys!

So, with some free time I've decided to continue my little province suggestion list. I've already covered The Italian Peninsula and surrounding provinces a couple posts up. Seeing as semi-historically, the next group of provinces to be conquered/developed is in Hispania, this is where we will go next!

NOTE: I have a semi house rule of building farmlands when I'm undecided on what to build in a region. It slows down how fast you develop, provides an extra cushion of food (almost gaurenteeing you will be caught by suprise by a food shortage), and in some cases describes rome's conquering strategy.

Tarraconensis: Mining/Horses. Spain was an Economical boon for the Roman Republic/Empire. The minerals mined from the mountains made a Roman general famous for saying "The War will pay for itself!". Capturing that spirit, Tarrconensis is an industrial province with a primary interest in mining. If your playing historically, this province will contain the last tribes still unconquered in Spain. Horses were chosen as the second focus because; a) there are many horse models on the map within the province, b) in honor of the Cantabri, the famed horse skirmishers and C) you can build a Warhorse Stable (Public Building line) that not only nets money, but buffs the cavalry units trained here. P.S This attached Sea Region is my naval base for the Western Sea (While Brundisium is the East.)

Cartagenensis: Auxiliary/Commerce More than likely the first province you exert real control over, Cartagensis is your foothold in Hispania. The auxiliary focus contributes not only a barracks and a temple of Mars, but a training field as well (Range) which trains some pretty tough allied troops, including (Now Experienced) Baelaeric Slingers! The Commerce specialization gives you freedom of choice. I personally use the Warhorse Stables and Wine Trader (Both Public Build Chain) Combo. Baetica gets a livestock line as well (After all, herding is how the practiced their skills with a sling!)

Baetica: Food/Culture Ah, the rich farmlands of Southern Spain. Famed for it's Wealth, Farmlands, and the Emperor Hadrian (Fun Fact: The first roman emperor of provincial birth {but still of italian descent}) the province's specialization was pretty easy. Farms represents the agricultural exports the province provided (Specifically Olive oil), but also choosing the fish market represents the regions famed production of Garum, a roman delicacy (and quite possibly one of the most disgusting foods I've ever read). The Culture focus comes from the province's saturation of social freedom, and the fact that the province was so peaceful it went absent of a Legion during the Empire (VII Gemina was stationed in nothern Spain)

Lusitania: Mining/Livestock A province that I've yet to fully conquer, these specialties are also more or less educated guesses. I can't seem to find too much about the area during Roman Times. I chose mining because the province is quite mountainous, while Livestock could represent the lack of urbanization within the farthest western edge of my Roman Republic.




Next on the list is the Continent of Africa. Thanks for reading!

[Barune]

100% correct. You can get them with a level two barracks, thanks! But on the other hands, I believe the level 2 barracks requires the polybian reforms, so technically Corsica Et Sardinia is still probably your best and quickest way to go.

No reform needed. Just the first 2 techs in the military tree. The one to open faction barracks that HAS to be researched for any military techs. And the one that gives aux barracks and champions. Then take syracuse and recuit op archers.

[valky]

No reform needed. Just the first 2 techs in the military tree. The one to open faction barracks that HAS to be researched for any military techs. And the one that gives aux barracks and champions. Then take syracuse and recuit op archers.

ack, damnit! I never noticed, that Syracuse is linked to that AoR-region for romans too
.oO(hit hard, shoot extremely fast - no need to bother with javelin-units anymore)

[Jay the Byzantine]

I've been trying to get into DeI for months but can't. I'm an RTS player, and I can't find anything on the battle system used in this mod. Kudos to devs for making the civil war and seasons guides and all these strategy threads though; and they have been very helpful and will be so when I try again after my exam is over at the end of the month. But I don't understand any of the unit stats, how they tie in or what some of them mean (''weapon deadliness''). Although the few battles I did play were very immersive and beautiful, I cannot get that sense of winning by using tactics and knowledge when I don't know how the battle system and stats work. Anyone got a guide for that? I'd be grateful.

[gilagem]

This ... you ... +rep

[Augustusng]

I've been trying to get into DeI for months but can't. I'm an RTS player, and I can't find anything on the battle system used in this mod. Kudos to devs for making the civil war and seasons guides and all these strategy threads though; and they have been very helpful and will be so when I try again after my exam is over at the end of the month. But I don't understand any of the unit stats, how they tie in or what some of them mean (''weapon deadliness''). Although the few battles I did play were very immersive and beautiful, I cannot get that sense of winning by using tactics and knowledge when I don't know how the battle system and stats work. Anyone got a guide for that? I'd be grateful.

As far as weapon deadliness, there are relatively few units that actually use this stat. The way I understand it, it's like armor-piercing damage - the more deadliness you have, the better chance you have of doing damage regardless of armor. Most units don't have any - for those that do, it gives them an edge in prolonged engagements. Units like legionaries will do better relative to their enemies the longer the fight lasts.

But yeah, a battle guide would be interesting.

Also heh, just noticed how long ago that post was. Sorry it took so long to get a response.

[Lupo]

Hello!
A wonderful guide ..... I would consider upgrading to 1.1 , and the new supply system to me .
With best regards Lupo!

[Krolgosh]

I would also say thank you! Great guide, it helps alot for a newb like me.

Will it be upgraded to the new version of the mod? Like Lupo said, it would be nice to have guide on hand when it comes to the supply system.