Good Plan For Julii?

[Beans Master]

Hey guys I am expecting my new PC to arrive any day, and when it does, I will jump straight in to a campaign as Julii (I like a challenge). To be honest I want to get it right as I haven't played this game in so long!!

What I am thinking of doing is getting an alliance with Spain so they are not a threat, and then going to war with the Gauls. I am also considering of taking Caralis and then moving on to the mainland Carthage territories at the same time. However I am not sure if I should try to fight both factions at the same time.

Once I have defeated the Gauls which I know will be costly, I'll then break my alliance with Spain and try to defeat them aswell. Once I have done this it seems all I can really do is go for Britannia and Germania although these territories offer very litle in the way of income, I think.

I know the other Roman factions will be at war straight away with Greece and Macedonia which is why I feel I should get in there quickly and take over the Carthiginians before the Scipii get them. What do you reckon about this plan and what other strategies do you use when playing as the Julii?

Thanks

[Drustan]

Get rid of Spain ASAP.


As they cvan get lots of towns close together quickly, they easily become a threat, attacking narbo martius etc., then either marching towards alesia/ lemonum. In my campaign I had an alliance with them, let them get too strong then they screwed me over and they put troops in northen Italy (I got rid of them in the end, though).

[Beans Master]

Hi mate. The thing is, from past experience, I don't think you can trust the Gauls to stay friendly. I could always do it the other way round and sign the treaty with Gaul and head straight for Spain... it's a little risky though.

[Kratos]

Defeat Gaul asap, then turn on Spain. Also take Caralis and Palma. If all goes well you'll have all of western Europe by the time of the Marian Reforms. Then build up your cities and let your legions get experience by beating Briton and German armies. When the civil war begins you will have 3 gold chevron legions to steamroll the other romans with.

You mentioned taking mainland Africa. This can easily be achieved but may cause trouble later due to difficulty to maintain public order. Also, this prevents Scipii to expand as they would normally do, making them a lesser threat in the civil war. Thus I have always considered this cheating and haven't done it. It sounds interesting, though.

[Beans Master]

THIS BIT:

You mentioned taking mainland Africa. This can easily be achieved but may cause trouble later due to difficulty to maintain public order. Also, this prevents Scipii to expand as they would normally do, making them a lesser threat in the civil war. Thus I have always considered this cheating and haven't done it. It sounds interesting, though.

Haha, how is stopping Scipii from expanding too much cheating?

I would have thought it would have been a good idea in that case lol.

[Kratos]

Because the stupid AI will not come up with a new way of expanding and will end up having 7 stacks on Sicily

[Entropy Judge]

If you take the GameFAQs advice (apologies if it isn't you, but the situation is identical) and invade the Balkans, just expand into northern Italy and reinforce your borders. The Britons have a tendency to run roughshod over the Germans and the Britons, and Greece is infinitely richer than Western Europe.

[andriejj]

Get Corsica/Sardinia fast. Develop some military there, and you can go for your first oversea voyage And if you don't want to wage war with Gauls, start with Illyria, before Brutii get's the neutrals there.

Next game I'll play, I think I'll donate Thracians with 100.000 gold from add_money cheat. Poor things never survived in ANY of my games. After Seleucid, Pontus, Parthia or Armenia dies, because someone in that cauldron always dies first, Thracians are the second to die.

[Beans Master]

Hi guys. So, should I go:

Gauls + Carthage
Gauls + Greece
Gauls + Carthage + Greece ?

[General Nuisance esq]

Speaking as someone who has played the campaign since the game came out I will offer my 2 penneth worth

Your first major targets are Patavium and Melodrium (after the small rebel town)
Gauls will offer ceasefire after you get both but move quickly to get them

Major target overall is Gaul but next targets are Segastica and salona to the east (mines = money) The 2 rebel towns to the west and the rebel town up north
Once you have done that you should have 2 - 3 armies
The eastern 1 is looking at Dacia
The Northern 1 is looking at Germania
The Western 1 is looking at Gaul

I also posted a thread called `a simple tip for the Julii` find it and read it for loads of cash to fund your expansion

[Beans Master]

Sorry, Melodrium? I am looking on my map but I can't find that, do you mean Mediolanium? Thanks for the advice I might look at those cities. God I sound like such a newb to this game which I am not really...

[General Nuisance esq]

Sorry, Melodrium? I am looking on my map but I can't find that, do you mean Mediolanium? Thanks for the advice I might look at those cities. God I sound like such a newb to this game which I am not really...

yes my spelling was never that great, but the 2 gaul towns to the north are really a must have for money, expansion and defence reasons

yeah I wouldn't go for corsica/sardinia unless you have too, small town, not much money nowhere else nearby thats viable early on and then there are pirates, stick to the land other than travelling to attack Narbo and Salona

[Flambard]

Yep, take the Po Valley, Mediolanium/ Patavium (Patavium will get to Marian Reform size very quickly with farm and health upgrades so if I was you I would just occupy it and let it grow then let it rebel then sack it.

Fortify the Po Valley, block the bridge to Massilla and fortify the Alpine passes. Ship an army to Spain taking the mediteranean islands on your way. Once you have Spain block the Pyranees passes and build up Spain's potential income to fund armies to take Gaul. Very soon you will have the Reforms.

[King_StuvartiniusIII]

Yep, take the Po Valley, Mediolanium/ Patavium (Patavium will get to Marian Reform size very quickly with farm and health upgrades so if I was you I would just occupy it and let it grow then let it rebel then sack it.

Fortify the Po Valley, block the bridge to Massilla and fortify the Alpine passes. Ship an army to Spain taking the mediteranean islands on your way. Once you have Spain block the Pyranees passes and build up Spain's potential income to fund armies to take Gaul. Very soon you will have the Reforms.

This is a good tactic, but try taking Sardina and Palma too for all the sea trade

[General Nuisance esq]

Yeah everybody has different tactics which is interesting
Personally I use the po valley as an army recruitment camp
Mediolanium for stables, Patavium & Capital for barracks and other town for practice range with segasta for town watch

Wouldn't waste time fortifying the po valley as the surrounding towns are all rebel at the start better to capture them and pump out town watch

It is worth remembering that nearby rebel towns segastica and salona have mines (MONEY !!!) as does Narbo Martius and the first spanish town so they are pretty useful to get

Early on if cash allows mercs are well worth it Illyrian mercs in particular are a superb early game unit but the other barb units may help you to nab Alesia early and as that is a large town it means better troops available to you

[Scarecrow]

I like the sound of your strat.
Ever since I got the game 3 years ago I lvoe to play as the Julii. I tend to follow a historical path. Right now I have northern Ital up to the Alps. I have Lilybium, Carlis, Palma, Sparta and Sadona (sp?). I am allied to the Britons and Germanic tribes. Carthage and I are in the 2nd Punic war and I have laid siege to Cordoba. After I take the settlement I will end the War with Crathage and continue my campaine in Greece. When that Is over, I will go into the 3rd Punic war and end Carthage. Then I will go after Spain.
After Spain I will return to The frontier and build up my economy and my military and then go after Gaul and the Germanic tribes. Then I will go after Briton. Once this is over I return home in time for the civil war with very experienced legions and easily win the civil war. Then I trun my attention to parts of Turkey that the Pontus own and then I go after Egypt.

[Prince_of_Macedon]

Moving to Battle Planning.

[marxist]

What I would do if I played as the Julii would be blitz up to the alps, fight lots of battles and that gives you an increased chance of getting elected to the Senate which is a major plus.

Then consolidate, make sure that your Italian settlements are secure, use spies and watchtowers and keep a defensive force. Build up these settlements to give yourself a good income so that you can have two decent armies. One army should go East taking everything south of the Danube while the other gets shipped over to Spain, taking the islands on the way.

If your two armies do well you should have all of Spain, northern Italy, The majority of the balklands and the Islands in the med. Stop expanding in the west, block the mountain passes and build up Spain, use the funds from Spain to recruit another army in built up northern Italy and send it west to help your first army blitz the Balks.

Always use the land, the Danube is easy to defend, so are mountain passes but the Balklands are even easier to defend. Harass the Brutii and cut their expansion. Leave them access to a few to spice up the Civil War and let the Scipii have full control of Africa as it is useless.

When you are quite ready you can begin the Gallic wars and/or claim Asia Mino and the East as Roman. Hopefully the Scipii will get to Egypt before you to ensure a bloody Civil War.

[Lord Thesaurian]

I have a plan for the Julii I swear is fail-safe. First thing after you capture Segesta, get trade rights and map information with the Gauls (don't worry about Spain for now). Screw the Senate for now. This will put you on a friendly footing with them (the Gauls) without you having to enter an alliance. Then construct forts at the 2 Po River crossings. If you have map info from the Gauls, you will probably see the rebel Greek colony of Massilia. If u still dont see it, then sail the bireme from Arretium to the costal spot just south of Lugdunum, almost due norh of Caralis, and East of Narbo Martius (hope that's clear enough). When you find Massilia, build an army sufficient to hold off several waves of Gaulic attacks. IMPORTANT: Capture Massilia before u declare war on gaul!! Otherwise the Gauls will pour south from northern italy and you will die! After u capture Massilia, attack Mediolanium, as this settlement is now isolated from the rest of gaul. Then capture Patavium. You now own Norhtern Italy and can begin a Gaullic campaign. While in Gaul, ally with Brittania and get trade rights and map info from Germania. Try to get Britannia and Germania to fight each other. After you capture Gaul, attack Spain ASAP and secure and alliance w/ Carthage. Then attack Germania with Brittania, and ally with Dacia. Then u can turn on Britannia and not have to worry about your Eastern Front. Since u now should own central and western europe, u can take Corduba, Palma, and Caralis from Carthage to strengthen your Meditteranian holdings. Then, if you can, try to get a ceasefire with Carthage. Conquer the rest of Europe, but try to stay out of Macedon, Greece, and Thrace (u can, however, try to get these factions to attack the Brutii). That is, as far as I'm concerned, Brutian domain. After this you should own Europe and be pratically invincible. You can now focus less on appeasing the Senate and more on gaining support from the People. This is, after all, the main objective of the game. So I guess this is my mini-guide on the Julli. Of course, no 2 campaigns are exactly alike, and this "guide" may be totally irrelevant to your situation, but I hope the strategy it reveals helps you as much as it did me!