What is your favorite Roman recruitment province?

[kpagcha]

Many people in R2 like to set up a recruiment province to get buffed up and experienced soldiers. The obvious answer would be Latium because there's where legions were traditionally raised (if I am not mistaken). I am going to break down the pros and cons:

Pros:
- historical authenticity
- 4 regions, so more Temple of Mars boni can stack up
- your core regions becomes extremely defensible
- it is the center of your territory, so your new legions can get to any of your regions in your empire as fast as possible, on average

Cons:
- it is my core economic province. Most income is commercial, which I am stacking up with the % to commercial yellow building and raising taxes via agents and generals. In short: I make a ton of money. It would be fun to see how much I make at level IV. The good part is that I have made up so much money from this province (5 million in the treasury as of now) I don't need it anymore. So converting it to a recruitment province is viable, it's just that it would make me a bit sad
- it has no "cool" Auxiliaries, so all elite infantry I would be producing would be "just" legionaries. Which I guess is historically accurate too, but it is a bit lackluster in the game, compared to the huge variety of units I could be getting elsewhere.

So what is your favorite recruiment province when playing as Rome? Why?

Bonus question: this would be my first time building up a recruitment province in DEI. Is there anything I should consider population-wise? Any specific building chain I should build to support recruitment?

[Standard Nerd]

Provinces with Iron or Copper are ideal because you can build shield (armor?) makers/weapon smiths there for armor/weapon damage bonuses respectively. Also for awesome cavalry Aquitania is great because of the warhorse resource building at Lemonum.

[kpagcha]

But the weapon and armor variants are global, you don't need to recruit in those specific provinces. And yeah, Aquitania is already in the process of turning into a horse factory

[PietrolEremita]

Latium is too wealthy to make it a recruitment province.

Italia is good, Sicily even better if you don't need money too badly (it has better auxiliaries but it's pretty wealthy).
Cisalpina is also ok, although I rarely conquer it before turn 200 so I have never really used it as a recruitment base.

Later in the game Thracia, Syria, Belgica, Aquitania and Cappadocia are all great recruitment centers due to their position and great auxilia. Unfortunately Thacia and Syria are very wealthy provinces as well, but by the midgame money should not be a concern

[Standard Nerd]

But the weapon and armor variants are global, you don't need to recruit in those specific provinces. And yeah, Aquitania is already in the process of turning into a horse factory

Whoah really? If I build the weapon smith in say Egypt, it’ll upgrade the damage of troops I recruit in any province on the map? I don’t remember seeing that in the building effect.

[PietrolEremita]

Yes, you need to manually upgrade the unit (and pay money) but every unit in your empire will benefit from the opportunity to upgrade.
Recruiting the unit in the province with the blacksmith only saves you the upgrade money

[kpagcha]

Latium is too wealthy to make it a recruitment province.

Italia is good, Sicily even better if you don't need money too badly (it has better auxiliaries but it's pretty wealthy).
Cisalpina is also ok, although I rarely conquer it before turn 200 so I have never really used it as a recruitment base.

Later in the game Thracia, Syria, Belgica, Aquitania and Cappadocia are all great recruitment centers due to their position and great auxilia. Unfortunately Thacia and Syria are very wealthy provinces as well, but by the midgame money should not be a concern

What are your reasons for Sicily or Italia? They only have 3 regions. Also they kind of are two of my main food baskets. As of their wealth: why do you say they are pretty good? I didn't really identify a big potential in them.

I am currently turning Aquitania into a cavalry recruitment province, but I don't own any of the other regions you mentioned yet. Belgica will be the one I conquer first, as I am undertaking the Gallic Wars.

What do you think about Illyria? Or perhaps Makedonia or Hellas?

Oh and I'm curious about your reason for not conquering Cisalpina before T200.

[Epanastatis]

What are your reasons for Sicily or Italia? They only have 3 regions. Also they kind of are two of my main food baskets. As of their wealth: why do you say they are pretty good? I didn't really identify a big potential in them.

I am currently turning Aquitania into a cavalry recruitment province, but I don't own any of the other regions you mentioned yet. Belgica will be the one I conquer first, as I am undertaking the Gallic Wars.

What do you think about Illyria? Or perhaps Makedonia or Hellas?

Oh and I'm curious about your reason for not conquering Cisalpina before T200.

Makedonia and Hellas are both better as commercial provinces. Illyria is a good choice since it doesn't excel at anything else. I typically use Aquitania, Cisalpina, Illyria and Dacia in Europe. Once you have Aquitania you can build Horse Trainers in the other provinces too so you get the cav bonuses.

[kpagcha]

Why so many recruitment provinces?

[Epanastatis]

Why so many recruitment provinces?

I have a weird play style that mixes min-maxing with roleplay. I like to think each major "region" would have a recruitment centre nearby, so that's how I play. If a region has innate military boni (e.g. heavy horses), or doesn't have any particular strength, it is a good candidate.

[Dardo21]

Latinum for my regular legio's at first, magna graecia or sicily for auxiliaries, as well as transalpina/cisalpina. Aquitania and germania for cav and elite infantry. If I expand towards the East, I also try to get as many aux barracks as suitable to add flavor to my legions.

[Standard Nerd]

Why so many recruitment provinces?

I have a weird play style that mixes min-maxing with roleplay. I like to think each major "region" would have a recruitment centre nearby, so that's how I play. If a region has innate military boni (e.g. heavy horses), or doesn't have any particular strength, it is a good candidate.

To add to what's already been said, recruitment centers aren't very helpful if you don't have the population in a province to take advantage of it. Being able to recruit troops from nearly everywhere can alleviate this(like the empire historically did, due to it's perennial manpower shortages), granted this is only a problem for Rome pre-Marian and if you want to recruit auxiliaries in DeI.

[Garbad]

Latium is too wealthy to make it a recruitment province.

Italia is good, Sicily even better if you don't need money too badly (it has better auxiliaries but it's pretty wealthy).
Cisalpina is also ok, although I rarely conquer it before turn 200 so I have never really used it as a recruitment base.

Later in the game Thracia, Syria, Belgica, Aquitania and Cappadocia are all great recruitment centers due to their position and great auxilia. Unfortunately Thacia and Syria are very wealthy provinces as well, but by the midgame money should not be a concern

This is the correct answer. Each of these offers lots of places for military buildings, a good strategic location, great auxilia, and good population.

Seriously, ignore everyone else and listen to this dude.

[MoraleBooster]

Latium is a waste to build barracks there. I make Italia a FIGHTING province, Auxiliary barracks in cosentia/Brundisum AND Syracuse to unlock Auxiliary peltasts, Tarantine cavalry, Hoplites, Socii extraordinarii (OP cheap auxiliaries especially when playing cornelia), Socii equites extraordinarii, Socii units are dope and make the legions much more diverse and realistic. I basically make 1 Equites, 4 hastati, 2 principes and 1 Triarii (general) And fill the rest up with Socii auxiliary cavalry, 1/5th Socii elite infantry, 1 socii hastati, and then complemented with a few auxiliary hoplites and auxiliary peltasts and tarantine cavalry. ing OP Greco/Latin legions boi.

[MoraleBooster]

Latium is a waste to build barracks there. I make Italia a FIGHTING province, Auxiliary barracks in cosentia/Brundisum AND Syracuse to unlock Auxiliary peltasts, Tarantine cavalry, Hoplites, Socii extraordinarii (OP cheap auxiliaries especially when playing cornelia), Socii equites extraordinarii, Socii units are dope and make the legions much more diverse and realistic. I basically make 1 Equites, 4 hastati, 2 principes and 1 Triarii (general) And fill the rest up with Socii auxiliary cavalry, 1/5th Socii elite infantry, 1 socii hastati, and then complemented with a few auxiliary hoplites and auxiliary peltasts and tarantine cavalry. ing OP Greco/Latin legions boi.

Oh and don't forget Shrines of Mars and Practice fields. The italian peninsula breeds WARRIORS

[kopasus]

I Build manipular barracks in huge population cities. The rest, build auxiliary barracks in some province like tarraconensis, belgica, galia, germany, thracia, Numidia etc.
My core Legio for authentic history consists 1 Legatus, 4 legionaries, 3 evocati, the rest is auxiliaries ( 2 heavy inf, 4 spear infantry, 4 skirmisher, 2 cavalry ).
For example, auxiliaries in Africa, numidia, most auxillary unit have "heat" traits, so no atrittion penalties in desert area.

[austerlitz]

No need for anything in Latium,best economic province-barracks inbuilt.All the wives stay in latium,have governor and admiral with good economic attachments.All gen and dip upgrades on empire maintainence reduction and research rate trees.Timber and dyes best resources in game and will skyrocket income.
One auxillary barracks in sicily for numidians and gastraphetes.Auxillary barracks in italia for tarantines and archers.Auxillaries will also let you build legionaries.

Usually i go -
Italia- cisalpnia and macedonia - hellas -illyricum first .
Then sicily,corsica and all of african provinces(a grind).
Then into hispania,push thrace if possible without too much committment.
Then gaul - germany-britain -pannonia.

Best economic provinces -
Latium,hispania,africa - commerce.
Numidia industry.Mauretania commerce/industry.Rest food.
Gallia makes a great economic province.

Dedicated lategame military provinces should be -
4 province german region.
Thracia.
Galatia-cappadocia.
Syria if you want.

Rest just build an aux barracks where necessary.Heavy infantry auxilla are unnecessary except batavian auxilla.For missile troops gastraphete crossbows,cretan archers,balearic and rhodian slingers,plus armoured roman archers are good in packs of 4.Molossian hounds can be devastating,as can be elephants from africa if used properly.Numidian light cav is very useful,tarantines are OP earlygame.Of cav auxilla these medium cav are generally very similar in stats,gallic ones are a bit better.Thracian horse archers and heavy cav of the east if you go that direction early.