Beginner's MP Strategikon

[Demetrios of Messene]

Beginner’s Strategikon for on-line RTW battles.
By Demetrios.

EDITED on 23rd January 2008 in order to accommodate feedback from community (my thanks to: Njord, MaceMan, Xavier Dragnesi, Lucullus, Doctor and king-nord).

I’ve been meaning to write a beginner’s guide for playing multiplayer (MP) battles on RTW for such a long time... I can see that a most interesting guide by Roshak already exists, but it can’t hurt to post this one, as well. I just wrote this from the top of my head. I’ll refine and expand the guide if and after I see any feedback/ interest.

First of all, let me point out that I favor the so-called civilised factions over the barabarian ones. Therefore, I might be biased towards civilised factions. My bias, however, is derived from my personal experience in which I find civilised factions generally more effective than barbarians. In any case it is up to the individual player to decide what factions are more suited to his playstyle. I would still recommend civilised factions for a beginner, as their playstyle is more straightforward. In order for barbarians to be effective, which they can certainly be, it takes a bit more skill and experience.

Money:
In terms of available money MP games can generally be divided in the following categories:
- low money (10k or less): almost any faction can have its uses
- medium (usually 12.5k or 15k): norm for most MP games. This guide is based on this category
- high money (20k or more): allows for a full compliment of elite units
- insane (50k or more): few factions can fully spend such amounts. Tempting as it may seem, better avoid such battles if you are a beginner; there’s little to learn.

Unit selection:
- Always try to spend all your money.
- Definitely spend money on weapon upgrades. For start always go for gold sword/shield for all your units.
- Experience upgrades are not worth their money.
- Favour your faction’s elite units. Even in low money have at least a couple of your faction’s elite units.
- Don’t spend money on artillery (ballistae, onagers). They are ineffective.
IMO the most important criterion for unit selection is value for money. Only by practice, will you’ll learn how to assess units with that criterion. For example, common archers have excellent value for money; Spanish bull warriors have an awful value for money.
- It’s a good idea to have some army selections of your favorite factions stored (preset).
- When selecting your units, try to form a battle plan. Any battle plan should do for starters. But for crying out loud, don’t start a game without any plan at all and expect to win! Of course, during the course of the battle you'll most probably have to adapt, sometimes even change your initial plan, but this is another thing. First, learn to formulate a battle-plan, then as you get more experienced you'll learn how to effectively adapt it during gameplay.

Unit deployment:
- Archers and slingers should be in loose formation.
- If using a phalanx army, do not create a “fort”! Human players are nothing like CPU AI and even an average player should be able to defeat your fort.
- For the rest, just apply common sense. Normally, heavy infantry at the centre, missile units right behind them and cavalry at the rear or flanks. When you become an experienced player, you’ll learn more refined deployment tactics.

Tips for the battlefield:
- If using a phalanx army, learn to move in standard formation and switch to phalanx formation just prior to engaging the enemy.
- Contrary to what other experienced players may suggest, I always keep my phalanxes out of guard mode. When fighting equal or superior units with guard mode on, your phalanxes will last longer, but they will also cause significantly less casualties. Anyway, this is up to you.
- When facing a phalanx army, try to attack the flanks of the phalanx. Of course, this is applicable when facing any unit, but it’s easier and safer to execute vs phalanx units.
- If you have heavy infantry with high defense value, e.g. armoured hoplites, do not fear to frontally expose them to archer fire. They’ll suffer negligible casualties and the enemy will waste his ammunition.
- If possible, save some arrows for the critical fighting towards the end of the battle. A timely volley of fire arrows can cause the enemy to rout and turn the tide of the battle.
- Remember to use fire arrows vs chariots and elephants. Burning pigs are also cheap and excellent anti-elephant weapon; plus they make excellent barbecue for your hungry victorious soldiers at the end of the battle!!

Romans:
Best faction overall – you cannot go wrong by selecting them. Rome can boast excellent infantry (urban cohorts), excellent cavalry (praetorian cavalry) and great archers. Only weakness is some vulnerability to chariots. Most advantageous vs phalanx armies.

Seleucids:
The most versatile faction. Main weakness is the lack of long range missile troops. With Seleucid you can adapt you army selection to counter any other faction, but you’ll have to rely on solid tactics to win, as the Seleucids do not have any battle-dominating unit (cataphracts are excellent cavalry, but with average value-for-money).

Egypt:
Excellent archers and the chariots can protect your troops vs enemy cavalry. Average infantry. A lot of players choose Egypt for team matches (2vs2 or larger). I do not like their play-style, so I am far from expect, but I consider them at an advantage vs non-phalanx armies and factions without long range missiles; they are at a disadvantage in other instances (e.g. vs Macedon with strong phalanxes and long range archers available).

Carthage:
Excellent infantry. Great cavalry. Major disadvantage is their poor missile troops: only slingers are available. Other than that, they actually stand a good chance vs any other faction.

Macedon:
Very good all around phalanx-based faction, which means that they can take on any enemy faction (no striking advantage or disadvantage). Like with Seleucids, you’ll need tactics to win as they like a battle dominating unit.

Greek Cities:
Excellent infantry and missile troops. Cavalry could not be worse! They are my favorite faction and I could go on and on about them. I consider myself an expert with them; when facing a player with the same experience as mine, I consider myself at overwhelming disadvantage vs Rome, at serious disadvantage vs Seleucids, roughly on par vs Macedon and Carthage and at serious advantage vs any other faction. Anyway, most experienced players do not suffer from addiction with them like myself, so they make the simple and sensible choice to avoid them for MP battles, due to their poor cavalry. Therefore, I would not recommend them for a beginner.

Pontus:
They have some fans among the experienced gamers. Main disadvantage is average infantry and low range archers. Not recommended for a beginner.

Armenia:
Armenia, also, have some fans among the experienced gamers. Their cataphract horse archers are their main advantage, but at a very high price. Other than that average infantry and archers. Not recommended for a beginner.

Numidia:
Much time ago when I was regularly on-line, Numidia was catching up in player’s preferences. Their main advantage is cheap units. You can have a large decent army, but nothing impressive. Your main bet is to catch your opponent by surprise (few people expect to face Numidia) and beat him with solid tactics.

Parthia, Britons:
There is a specialized tactic for these factions, but it’s not for a beginner, so I won’t go into details. You’ll learn it by time. After some more time you’ll also learn how to counter it, as well. They can be somewhat more useful in team matches

Scythia:
Even though my personal opinion of Scythia is rather low, they seem to have several supporters in the MP community.Their main strengths are cavalry and archers, but infantry is of very low quality. Played properly they can be quite effective, but this requires skill and experience, so I would not recommend them for a beginner. They can also be useful in large team matches.

Germans:
You won’t see many good players playing with them; unless of course they are germans and just want to play for fun! Under certain circumstances they can be highly effective with their demorilising attributes being their main advantage. I must also point out that berserkers are usually not allowed by the host’s rules or their number must be limited. Infantry is has valuable armour piercing attributes, but it's too vulnerable to missile fire. Archers are too expensive. Cavalry is great.

Dacians, Thrace:
You’ll rarely see them chosen for MP battles. Infantry is ok, but vulnerable to missile fire. Archers and cavalry (for Dacia only) are ok. They can stand a chance vs non-phalanx factions, but don’t expect much. Definitely, not recommended for a beginner.

Gauls, Spain:
No player in his right state of mind will select them for MP games. Especially, Spain is the most underpowered faction. Gauls could have been playable if their units were cheaper.

Slave:
Yes, you’ll be surprised to find out that Slaves (rebel faction from single player campaign) can sometimes be available for MP. Never mind about them for now.

There are so much more to learn for MP battles, but this is intended for beginners only. Besides, nothing is a good substitute for practice!
Good Luck and Have Fun!

[Njord]

I disagree with your barbarian choices. Scythia is extremely competitive, it merely lacks against chariot nations.

Germania can also be competitive, it's solid infantry combined with armor piercing and fear inducing infantry is fantastic. Their downfall is armor, extremely weak to missiles and morale has to be steadily managed. Not for beginners, however to say that no good players use them is an exaggeration.

[MaceMan]

I'd like to point out that getting gold/gold on every unit as you suggest isn't a great idea, since you'll be able to afford very few troops. You should always try to upgrade, but finding a balance between upgrades and number of units is ideal.

Also, though it is always important to have an initial plan, it is paramount to be able to adapt and change the plan as new opportunities or inconveniences arise. Stubbornly sticking to a failing plan, no matter how well it looks on paper, is a sure way to lose.

Other than that and what Njord pointed out above me, nice guide, there are a lot of good tips in there for beginners.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Overall, a rather good guide, and I can see quite some effort has been put into it. However, on some points I believe you are somewhat biased, especially because you seem to favour civilised factions over barbarian ones.

[Demetrios of Messene]

Thank you for your comments!

Njord: From my experience Scythia and Germany are very low in expert players' preferences. Especially Scythia is not competitive for games with common ryles (like max 6 same, 2 HA, 8 cav). Their archers and cav cannot hope to dominate the battlefield alone; their infantry are hopeless. I agree with all your comments about Germany, perhaps I will include similar comments to the guide; still I don't think they can be competitve vs factions like rome, carthage, macedonia, egypt at middle money or higher, especially when most people don't allow zerks (i never disallow them, but most do).

Maceman: Gold/gold is always a good idea for beginners and average players; they will shred non-upgraded caounterparts unless outnumbered 2-to-1. You need a bit more experience before you can learn to play around with upgrades and this is aimed for beginners. I fully agree with your comments about the plan and I will include some comments in the guide. My intention was to stress the importance of having an initial plan.

Xavier: I guess I have to agree! Indeed I favour civilised factions, so I am probably biased. I think I should write this somewhere on the top of the guide. After all, this is called a strategicon after the byzantine military textbooks who considered pretty much everyone else "barbarian" in a way

[Lucullus]

Especially Scythia is not competitive for games with common ryles (like max 6 same, 2 HA, 8 cav). Their archers and cav cannot hope to dominate the battlefield alone

You are deadly wrong here. It needs skill to play them properly but in fact they are a very strong faction, capable of facing nearly every other (except charriots) faction due to their archer expertise, very good horsearchers and great cav. If used correctly the maidens slay through cataphracts in no time. Their infantry is not needed at all for this tactic and still the army is cwb conform. And its even not impossible to win vs charriotfactions like pontus if you are able to shoot their charriots amok. (up to 15k)

Spain:
No player in his right state of mind will select them for MP games. Especially, Spain is the most underpowered faction. Gauls could have been playable if their units were cheaper.

Don`t underestimate spain. Its no good faction indeed but used properly it can be ok. (up to 15k)



I like the guide. It`s well written and gives a nice overview for starters. Nevertheless even beginners should try to experiment with all factions as you can play them nearly all on low and medium money with good fun and chances. The higher the money however the less factions are playable (eg rome, greece, mace, seleucids, carthage) and only their eliteunits are used. It can be good fun to play all kind of games, money and rules but for a starter I would recommend to start on low money and learn the high diversity of factions and units. Its easier to learn higher money later then vice versa. Playing rtw on high money is like playing chess only with peasants.

[Demetrios of Messene]

Lucullus, thanks for the feedback!

For the sake of conversation imagine yourself with Scythia against yourself with Rome or Macedonia (no chariots for them) at 12.5k cwb! Which side has more chances to win? If you say that it's 50%, then we can agree that we disagree!

Spain is underestimated by CA, not myself. When two players with the same experience meet for battle and one of them selects spain and the other one of the "mainstream" factions, then IMO Spain will probably lose.

In any case, we seem to agree that neither Scythia nor Spain are suitable for beginners. We also agree that at low money almost all factions can be useful and that high money games are not useful for learning the game (excellent simile with chess!) I somewhat disagree that starters should go for diversity because they might not be able to absorb all the information. IMHO they should start with a few favourie factions at 12.5k and 15k in order to get a good grasp of the basics and then move on with diversity. Anyway, this is up to the individual player to decide!

[Doctor]

Lucullus, thanks for the feedback!

For the sake of conversation imagine yourself with Scythia against yourself with Rome or Macedonia (no chariots for them) at 12.5k cwb! Which side has more chances to win? If you say that it's 50%, then we can agree that we disagree!

That sounds exactly like one of my battle replays I have saved... I think...anyways I one the battle. Scythia owns with an army of 6 G/G Head Hunting Maidens and to G/G Horse archers.

[Lucullus]

For the sake of conversation imagine yourself with Scythia against yourself with Rome or Macedonia (no chariots for them) at 12.5k cwb! Which side has more chances to win? If you say that it's 50%, then we can agree that we disagree!

Scythia vs Rome on 15k or even 12,5k >50% imho... (;

Edit: Only vs a "standard" roman army, not vs a specific no infantry one.

[Demetrios of Messene]

At 15k my "standard" Roman army would consist of 4 praet cav, 4-5 urban cohorts and 6 archers. If I had to face Scythia, I would choose an entirely different unit selection maximizing archer power, then focus on cavalry, and lastly infantry (a couple of urban coghorts and triarii should be enough). It's wrong to assume that people would use standard armies vs Scythia.

Anyway, I respect your appreciation of Scythia and since you are the second poster to bring this up, I consider updating my guide with some positive comments about Scythia.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Here's a battle I recently played which features strong Scythian cavalry defeating Britons. Not the best example, but still, there you go.

[Demetrios of Messene]

Here's a battle I recently played which features strong Scythian cavalry defeating Britons. Not the best example, but still, there you go.

I watched the video throughout. The image is rather blurry, but your "direction" of the movie helps a lot to understand what's going on. Well, actually yes it is not the best example. The other guy engaged his infantry vs your cavalry, while his chariots were just watching? Come on! It's seems that his skills are not on par with yours. Once I defeated a trashtalker from the lobby with Spain vs Rome; this doesn't prove anything about the effectiveness of Spain; it only proves that the other guy was a noob.

So, I'll ask you the same question I asked Lucullus. If you were to face yourself in 1vs1 at 12.5k cwb, Mac or Rome vs Scythia, who do you think would win? Another question: if you were to enter a 1vs1 tournament forcing you to have a pool of max 5 different factions to choose from during the tourney, would Scythia be in your top 5 list?

I already updated my guide including some positive comments about Scythia out of respect for all the favourable posts towards them. However, for myself I will consider Scythia weak unless proven otherwise on the battlefield. I remember playing very few games (as few as 5-10 vs Scythia), but a couple of them vs very good clan players. In no game was I ever close to defeat. Of course, this is proof of nothing but it is the basis my own low opinion of Scythia.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

I watched the video throughout. The image is rather blurry, but your "direction" of the movie helps a lot to understand what's going on.

You'd need to go onto the Youtube website itself, and watch the battle in High Quality for less blurriness

So, I'll ask you the same question I asked Lucullus. If you were to face yourself in 1vs1 at 12.5k cwb, Mac or Rome vs Scythia, who do you think would win? Another question: if you were to enter a 1vs1 tournament forcing you to have a pool of max 5 different factions to choose from during the tourney, would Scythia be in your top 5 list?

For your first question, it would definitely be rather equal I'd say. However, for the second, probably not, but it would depend on the rules. We're not trying to force you to say Scythia is excellent, but just that you shouldn't deter people from trying them out.

[ELITEOFKINGWARMAN8]

Good Guide. Scythia is a good faction, but if you got a faction like Egypt or Armenia or Brittania that got chariots, then you will have a tough time then using Scythia.

Do you wish for me to sticky this?

[Demetrios of Messene]

Do you wish for me to sticky this?

Well, I would like to see this get stickied, but I would not mind at all if it didn't. I just wrote it because I felt like it and found the time to do it. It's up to you.


Warlord, thanks for the comments. Your post would have been much easier to read without quoting the whole guide! Regarding your comments about:
Gauls, Spain: the guide is for beginners; I don't think beginners are looking for a challenge! Every match will be most likely be a challenge for them at first!
Numidia: Yes! I should add that eles are a good asset, even though I would not encourage beginners to use expensive eles.
Greek cities: this double line tactic... I may be old school, but I do not see how this could possibly work. You cannot defend archers this way (u need som cavalry to try pin the enemy flanking cav and hopefully engage them with your hoplites, as well) and if you do not get archers you are doomed
Pigs: yes, it takes skill and some luck to control, but they are cheap and if they work, your opponent will get pissed off! This is really up to the individual to decide upon his playstyle.
Loose/ tight formation, guard on/off, phalanx on/off, auto fire on/off are attributes that expert players change not only during deployment phase, but also during gameplay. For beginners I chose to encourage the use of what will usually be effective.

Scythians: Now that I've started to play again on-line I'll try to have a some games involving Scythia with experienced players in case I am missing a point here (which I honestly doubt, as I am quite stubborn!!! but I also like to keep an open mind, so I'll try to re-assess Scythia)

[DeerHunter]

Lol Xavier that must be one of the worst Britons army i had seen agaisnt a scythian army and obviously the player u played did not know how to play

[Selifator]

Don't you have anything substantial to add other than demeaning words when it comes to commenting on replays?

[War lord]

Beginner’s Strategikon for on-line RTW battles.
By Demetrios.

EDITED on 23rd January 2008 in order to accommodate feedback from community (my thanks to: Njord, MaceMan, Xavier Dragnesi, Lucullus, Doctor and king-nord).

I’ve been meaning to write a beginner’s guide for playing multiplayer (MP) battles on RTW for such a long time... I can see that a most interesting guide by Roshak already exists, but it can’t hurt to post this one, as well. I just wrote this from the top of my head. I’ll refine and expand the guide if and after I see any feedback/ interest.

First of all, let me point out that I favor the so-called civilised factions over the barabarian ones. Therefore, I might be biased towards civilised factions. My bias, however, is derived from my personal experience in which I find civilised factions generally more effective than barbarians. In any case it is up to the individual player to decide what factions are more suited to his playstyle. I would still recommend civilised factions for a beginner, as their playstyle is more straightforward. In order for barbarians to be effective, which they can certainly be, it takes a bit more skill and experience.

Money:
In terms of available money MP games can generally be divided in the following categories:
- low money (10k or less): almost any faction can have its uses
- medium (usually 12.5k or 15k): norm for most MP games. This guide is based on this category
- high money (20k or more): allows for a full compliment of elite units
- insane (50k or more): few factions can fully spend such amounts. Tempting as it may seem, better avoid such battles if you are a beginner; there’s little to learn.

Unit selection:
- Always try to spend all your money.
- Definitely spend money on weapon upgrades. For start always go for gold sword/shield for all your units.
- Experience upgrades are not worth their money.
- Favour your faction’s elite units. Even in low money have at least a couple of your faction’s elite units.
- Don’t spend money on artillery (ballistae, onagers). They are ineffective.
IMO the most important criterion for unit selection is value for money. Only by practice, will you’ll learn how to assess units with that criterion. For example, common archers have excellent value for money; Spanish bull warriors have an awful value for money.
- It’s a good idea to have some army selections of your favorite factions stored (preset).
- When selecting your units, try to form a battle plan. Any battle plan should do for starters. But for crying out loud, don’t start a game without any plan at all and expect to win! Of course, during the course of the battle you'll most probably have to adapt, sometimes even change your initial plan, but this is another thing. First, learn to formulate a battle-plan, then as you get more experienced you'll learn how to effectively adapt it during gameplay.

Unit deployment:
- Archers and slingers should be in loose formation.
- If using a phalanx army, do not create a “fort”! Human players are nothing like CPU AI and even an average player should be able to defeat your fort.
- For the rest, just apply common sense. Normally, heavy infantry at the centre, missile units right behind them and cavalry at the rear or flanks. When you become an experienced player, you’ll learn more refined deployment tactics.

Tips for the battlefield:
- If using a phalanx army, learn to move in standard formation and switch to phalanx formation just prior to engaging the enemy.
- Contrary to what other experienced players may suggest, I always keep my phalanxes out of guard mode. When fighting equal or superior units with guard mode on, your phalanxes will last longer, but they will also cause significantly less casualties. Anyway, this is up to you.
- When facing a phalanx army, try to attack the flanks of the phalanx. Of course, this is applicable when facing any unit, but it’s easier and safer to execute vs phalanx units.
- If you have heavy infantry with high defense value, e.g. armoured hoplites, do not fear to frontally expose them to archer fire. They’ll suffer negligible casualties and the enemy will waste his ammunition.
- If possible, save some arrows for the critical fighting towards the end of the battle. A timely volley of fire arrows can cause the enemy to rout and turn the tide of the battle.
- Remember to use fire arrows vs chariots and elephants. Burning pigs are also cheap and excellent anti-elephant weapon; plus they make excellent barbecue for your hungry victorious soldiers at the end of the battle!!

Romans:
Best faction overall – you cannot go wrong by selecting them. Rome can boast excellent infantry (urban cohorts), excellent cavalry (praetorian cavalry) and great archers. Only weakness is some vulnerability to chariots. Most advantageous vs phalanx armies.

Seleucids:
The most versatile faction. Main weakness is the lack of long range missile troops. With Seleucid you can adapt you army selection to counter any other faction, but you’ll have to rely on solid tactics to win, as the Seleucids do not have any battle-dominating unit (cataphracts are excellent cavalry, but with average value-for-money).

Egypt:
Excellent archers and the chariots can protect your troops vs enemy cavalry. Average infantry. A lot of players choose Egypt for team matches (2vs2 or larger). I do not like their play-style, so I am far from expect, but I consider them at an advantage vs non-phalanx armies and factions without long range missiles; they are at a disadvantage in other instances (e.g. vs Macedon with strong phalanxes and long range archers available).

Carthage:
Excellent infantry. Great cavalry. Major disadvantage is their poor missile troops: only slingers are available. Other than that, they actually stand a good chance vs any other faction.

Macedon:
Very good all around phalanx-based faction, which means that they can take on any enemy faction (no striking advantage or disadvantage). Like with Seleucids, you’ll need tactics to win as they like a battle dominating unit.

Greek Cities:
Excellent infantry and missile troops. Cavalry could not be worse! They are my favorite faction and I could go on and on about them. I consider myself an expert with them; when facing a player with the same experience as mine, I consider myself at overwhelming disadvantage vs Rome, at serious disadvantage vs Seleucids, roughly on par vs Macedon and Carthage and at serious advantage vs any other faction. Anyway, most experienced players do not suffer from addiction with them like myself, so they make the simple and sensible choice to avoid them for MP battles, due to their poor cavalry. Therefore, I would not recommend them for a beginner.

Pontus:
They have some fans among the experienced gamers. Main disadvantage is average infantry and low range archers. Not recommended for a beginner.

Armenia:
Armenia, also, have some fans among the experienced gamers. Their cataphract horse archers are their main advantage, but at a very high price. Other than that average infantry and archers. Not recommended for a beginner.

Numidia:
Much time ago when I was regularly on-line, Numidia was catching up in player’s preferences. Their main advantage is cheap units. You can have a large decent army, but nothing impressive. Your main bet is to catch your opponent by surprise (few people expect to face Numidia) and beat him with solid tactics.

Parthia, Britons:
There is a specialized tactic for these factions, but it’s not for a beginner, so I won’t go into details. You’ll learn it by time. After some more time you’ll also learn how to counter it, as well. They can be somewhat more useful in team matches

Scythia:
Even though my personal opinion of Scythia is rather low, they seem to have several supporters in the MP community.Their main strengths are cavalry and archers, but infantry is of very low quality. Played properly they can be quite effective, but this requires skill and experience, so I would not recommend them for a beginner. They can also be useful in large team matches.

Germans:
You won’t see many good players playing with them; unless of course they are germans and just want to play for fun! Under certain circumstances they can be highly effective with their demorilising attributes being their main advantage. I must also point out that berserkers are usually not allowed by the host’s rules or their number must be limited. Infantry is has valuable armour piercing attributes, but it's too vulnerable to missile fire. Archers are too expensive. Cavalry is great.

Dacians, Thrace:
You’ll rarely see them chosen for MP battles. Infantry is ok, but vulnerable to missile fire. Archers and cavalry (for Dacia only) are ok. They can stand a chance vs non-phalanx factions, but don’t expect much. Definitely, not recommended for a beginner.

Gauls, Spain:
No player in his right state of mind will select them for MP games. Especially, Spain is the most underpowered faction. Gauls could have been playable if their units were cheaper.

Slave:
Yes, you’ll be surprised to find out that Slaves (rebel faction from single player campaign) can sometimes be available for MP. Never mind about them for now.

There are so much more to learn for MP battles, but this is intended for beginners only. Besides, nothing is a good substitute for practice!
Good Luck and Have Fun!

"Gauls, Spain:
No player in his right state of mind will select them for MP games. Especially, Spain is the most underpowered faction. Gauls could have been playable if their units were cheaper."

Ehh theres a thing called a challange.

"Dacians, Thrace:
You’ll rarely see them chosen for MP battles. Infantry is ok, but vulnerable to missile fire. Archers and cavalry (for Dacia only) are ok. They can stand a chance vs non-phalanx factions, but don’t expect much. Definitely, not recommended for a beginner"

That I agree with.

"Numidia:
Much time ago when I was regularly on-line, Numidia was catching up in player’s preferences. Their main advantage is cheap units. You can have a large decent army, but nothing impressive. Your main bet is to catch your opponent by surprise (few people expect to face Numidia) and beat him with solid tactics."

You could have meanchened that they have no Elite units but get merc Eles.

"Greek Cities:
Excellent infantry and missile troops. Cavalry could not be worse! They are my favorite faction and I could go on and on about them. I consider myself an expert with them; when facing a player with the same experience as mine, I consider myself at overwhelming disadvantage vs Rome, at serious disadvantage vs Seleucids, roughly on par vs Macedon and Carthage and at serious advantage vs any other faction. Anyway, most experienced players do not suffer from addiction with them like myself, so they make the simple and sensible choice to avoid them for MP battles, due to their poor cavalry. Therefore, I would not recommend them for a beginner."

Actully if you use a double line you don't need cav.

Unit selection:
- Always try to spend all your money.
- Definitely spend money on weapon upgrades. For start always go for gold sword/shield for all your units.
- Experience upgrades are not worth their money.
- Favour your faction’s elite units. Even in low money have at least a couple of your faction’s elite units.
- Don’t spend money on artillery (ballistae, onagers). They are ineffective.
IMO the most important criterion for unit selection is value for money. Only by practice, will you’ll learn how to assess units with that criterion. For example, common archers have excellent value for money; Spanish bull warriors have an awful value for money.
- It’s a good idea to have some army selections of your favorite factions stored (preset).
- When selecting your units, try to form a battle plan. Any battle plan should do for starters. But for crying out loud, don’t start a game without any plan at all and expect to win! Of course, during the course of the battle you'll most probably have to adapt, sometimes even change your initial plan, but this is another thing. First, learn to formulate a battle-plan, then as you get more experienced you'll learn how to effectively adapt it during gameplay.

Unit deployment:
- Archers and slingers should be in loose formation.
- If using a phalanx army, do not create a “fort”! Human players are nothing like CPU AI and even an average player should be able to defeat your fort.
- For the rest, just apply common sense. Normally, heavy infantry at the centre, missile units right behind them and cavalry at the rear or flanks. When you become an experienced player, you’ll learn more refined deployment tactics.

Tips for the battlefield:
- If using a phalanx army, learn to move in standard formation and switch to phalanx formation just prior to engaging the enemy.
- Contrary to what other experienced players may suggest, I always keep my phalanxes out of guard mode. When fighting equal or superior units with guard mode on, your phalanxes will last longer, but they will also cause significantly less casualties. Anyway, this is up to you.
- When facing a phalanx army, try to attack the flanks of the phalanx. Of course, this is applicable when facing any unit, but it’s easier and safer to execute vs phalanx units.
- If you have heavy infantry with high defense value, e.g. armoured hoplites, do not fear to frontally expose them to archer fire. They’ll suffer negligible casualties and the enemy will waste his ammunition.
- If possible, save some arrows for the critical fighting towards the end of the battle. A timely volley of fire arrows can cause the enemy to rout and turn the tide of the battle.
- Remember to use fire arrows vs chariots and elephants. Burning pigs are also cheap and excellent anti-elephant weapon; plus they make excellent barbecue for your hungry victorious soldiers at the end of the battle!!

Pigs arn't a good idea they waste space in armys you need the enamy too put there eles close the pigs can run back at you not worth it.

And ANY phlax gets killed if missiles go round the side.

The "fort" is called a "N00b box".
and Loose form is not always a good idea.

Hope that helps.

[king-nord]

^ Oh dear long read you ol' tactical genius you.


I think some moderator should sticky this thread but allow discussions to take place to add to it.


As roshaks is very outdatted....

[|Sith| Max]

"Gauls, Spain:
No player in his right state of mind will select them for MP games. Especially, Spain is the most underpowered faction. Gauls could have been playable if their units were cheaper."

Ehh theres a thing called a challange.

"Dacians, Thrace:
You’ll rarely see them chosen for MP battles. Infantry is ok, but vulnerable to missile fire. Archers and cavalry (for Dacia only) are ok. They can stand a chance vs non-phalanx factions, but don’t expect much. Definitely, not recommended for a beginner"

That I agree with.

"Numidia:
Much time ago when I was regularly on-line, Numidia was catching up in player’s preferences. Their main advantage is cheap units. You can have a large decent army, but nothing impressive. Your main bet is to catch your opponent by surprise (few people expect to face Numidia) and beat him with solid tactics."

You could have meanchened that they have no Elite units but get merc Eles.

"Greek Cities:
Excellent infantry and missile troops. Cavalry could not be worse! They are my favorite faction and I could go on and on about them. I consider myself an expert with them; when facing a player with the same experience as mine, I consider myself at overwhelming disadvantage vs Rome, at serious disadvantage vs Seleucids, roughly on par vs Macedon and Carthage and at serious advantage vs any other faction. Anyway, most experienced players do not suffer from addiction with them like myself, so they make the simple and sensible choice to avoid them for MP battles, due to their poor cavalry. Therefore, I would not recommend them for a beginner."

Actully if you use a double line you don't need cav.

Unit selection:
- Always try to spend all your money.
- Definitely spend money on weapon upgrades. For start always go for gold sword/shield for all your units.
- Experience upgrades are not worth their money.
- Favour your faction’s elite units. Even in low money have at least a couple of your faction’s elite units.
- Don’t spend money on artillery (ballistae, onagers). They are ineffective.
IMO the most important criterion for unit selection is value for money. Only by practice, will you’ll learn how to assess units with that criterion. For example, common archers have excellent value for money; Spanish bull warriors have an awful value for money.
- It’s a good idea to have some army selections of your favorite factions stored (preset).
- When selecting your units, try to form a battle plan. Any battle plan should do for starters. But for crying out loud, don’t start a game without any plan at all and expect to win! Of course, during the course of the battle you'll most probably have to adapt, sometimes even change your initial plan, but this is another thing. First, learn to formulate a battle-plan, then as you get more experienced you'll learn how to effectively adapt it during gameplay.

Unit deployment:
- Archers and slingers should be in loose formation.
- If using a phalanx army, do not create a “fort”! Human players are nothing like CPU AI and even an average player should be able to defeat your fort.
- For the rest, just apply common sense. Normally, heavy infantry at the centre, missile units right behind them and cavalry at the rear or flanks. When you become an experienced player, you’ll learn more refined deployment tactics.

Tips for the battlefield:
- If using a phalanx army, learn to move in standard formation and switch to phalanx formation just prior to engaging the enemy.
- Contrary to what other experienced players may suggest, I always keep my phalanxes out of guard mode. When fighting equal or superior units with guard mode on, your phalanxes will last longer, but they will also cause significantly less casualties. Anyway, this is up to you.
- When facing a phalanx army, try to attack the flanks of the phalanx. Of course, this is applicable when facing any unit, but it’s easier and safer to execute vs phalanx units.
- If you have heavy infantry with high defense value, e.g. armoured hoplites, do not fear to frontally expose them to archer fire. They’ll suffer negligible casualties and the enemy will waste his ammunition.
- If possible, save some arrows for the critical fighting towards the end of the battle. A timely volley of fire arrows can cause the enemy to rout and turn the tide of the battle.
- Remember to use fire arrows vs chariots and elephants. Burning pigs are also cheap and excellent anti-elephant weapon; plus they make excellent barbecue for your hungry victorious soldiers at the end of the battle!!

Pigs arn't a good idea they waste space in armys you need the enamy too put there eles close the pigs can run back at you not worth it.

And ANY phlax gets killed if missiles go round the side.

The "fort" is called a "N00b box".
and Loose form is not always a good idea.

Hope that helps.

Since phalanx factionss mostly rely on hammer and anvil tactics all that is expected of the infantry is to hold the line long enough for your cav to kill the enemy cav and charge into the rear of engaged infantry. for self reliant melee against numerically inferior enemy guard mode is not needed.

i also respect your opinions about greece. but carthage has better hoplites and cavalry. they could just rush you and hammer&anvil... but they would probably let u shoot at some cheap slingers in order to draw ammo from cretans should you bring a strong ranged presence. Also if we take a look at all cav i would say praets rank as good on the Excellent-Good-Decent-Mediocre scale...