Diplomacy?

[BenUffindell]

Alright. I'm new to Total War. Absolutely and completely new to it, and I just have a question or two from my first few hours of play that I'd really appreciate some answers to, more or less about the diplomatic side of the game.

1) I was at war with the Greek States, which was going fine until one turn I was informed that my faction and the Greek States had agreed to a ceasefire. Now, here's the thing: I had no knowledge of this; I didn't agree to a ceasefire. What the hell happened here? Is it a glitch of some sort? Anybody?

2) Is there any way to declare war without attacking enemy armies or settlements, and, is there any way to break alliances without declaring war? Try as I might, I can't seem to do any of this stuff.

3) Okay, this has nothing to do with diplomacy, but if my archers or spear throwers suddenly just start meleeing, does this mean they're out of ammo, and if so, how can I tell how much ammo they have?


I know I probably could've found answers to these questions through laborious looking, but I thought it'd be more convenient for my sake if someone was willing to toss me a few answers.

Thanks.

[keebz]

1) You allied yourself with an ally of the Greeks or the Greeks allied themselves to an ally of yours.

2) To cancel an alliance go to them with a diplomat and click cancel alliance.

3) Ranged units have a blue ammo bar at the bottom of their unit card. They will start meleeing if they are attacked by an enemy unit in melee.

[Selifator]

You can declare war upon an enemy by blockading his ports.

[Draugdur]

2) Another way to declare war is to have your assassin fail an assassination mission; if he gets caught (i.e. killed) there is a chance the other faction will declare war on you.

3) Select a ranged unit and move the cursor over an enemy. If it turns to bow+arrow or javelin, they have still some ammo. If it changes to a sword - no ammo left.

[BenUffindell]

Ah, it all makes sense now. Thanks guys.

Just one more question: what happens if I exit battle (instead of withdrawing)? What are the consequences of that? Is it equivalent to withdrawal? Or does it depend on the battle?

[daxypoo]

if you exit a battle before all enemies rout you will lose the battle and retreat to nearest city, out of enemies land, or to a nearby ship

usually i only exit a battle after the screen prompts me that battle has ended and i decide to wipe up stragglers but just get tired of this

it is not same as withdrawing as you lose battle and tons of troops


as for your other questions i would not worry (if you're playing as rome) about declaring or not declaring war just do it!!!!

if you're julii you will get most of your early income from carthage and greeks in the parlay ceasefire agreements that you can get for at least 12.5k denarii a pop so keep declaring war with the factions that keep negotiating a peace in order to keep the pockets full


remember your roman infantry units have missiles to so you want to maximize their mass potential too

put roman infantry on "fire at will" so when enemy gets close they will become a mass pila pin cushion

(note to last... if you play online dont have fire at will on as players will send units to trigger pila throw while keeping important units away)

[Selifator]

There are a number of circumstances where exiting the battle will result in the loss of your entire army and all generals in it. This is when your army is "fighting to the death", shown by the symbol of a skull with a sword through it next to the name of your general or captain.
This happens if you are assaulted in a siege battle, if you are out of movement points, or if you can't retreat (I think). In all of these cases you must fight the battle, and can not withdraw before or during the battle. The same applies to the AI, but they are so thickskulled that they can't think of withdrawing anyway (though they do it sometimes even when they shouldn't be able to do so).

[Rogue]

There are a number of circumstances where exiting the battle will result in the loss of your entire army and all generals in it. This is when your army is "fighting to the death", shown by the symbol of a skull with a sword through it next to the name of your general or captain.
This happens if you are assaulted in a siege battle, if you are out of movement points, or if you can't retreat (I think). In all of these cases you must fight the battle, and can not withdraw before or during the battle. The same applies to the AI, but they are so thickskulled that they can't think of withdrawing anyway (though they do it sometimes even when they shouldn't be able to do so).

Although often, "fighting to the death" armies - or especially navies - that are defeated (most often the AI but even occasionally yours) will be able to retreat. It can get extremely annoying trying to kill an AI fleet.

[Lord Thesaurian]

these r some very basic questions and i would advise u to ask any questions u cant figure out urself in the FAQ thread, especially since ur brand-new to RTW