Discussion on Strategy

[megas scipio]

Hello,

Just wanted to strike up a little discussion on what strategies you have used as the Roman faction for crushing the enemies of Roma. I'd just like to throw it open to other folks before I jumped in with my two cents worth.

[lelouchx99]

For Rome this is usually my plan

1. Conquer Italy

2. Take sicily, corsica, sardinia...

3. Build up armies and extend either eastward or westward...



For the macedonian they're more enjoyable

1. Consume / overlap the Greeks

2. Conquer Crete for Cretan archers and Northeast of the continent, again it's for territorial / new market purpose, but Crete is the most important.

3. Wipe out the Greeks in Italy if you want or you can either expand your territories northward until the River.

4. Wipe out the Illyrians, and move northward in Italy at the same time. If you decide to defend your border for sovereignty then get some fund fend off the Seleucids. Depends if you are an expansionist mind or not

[AqD]

2. Conquer Crete for Cretan archers and Northeast of the continent, again it's for territorial / new market purpose, but Crete is the most important.

You forget the rhodos! It gives 40% boost on naval trade income!

[lelouchx99]

That too lol >.<

My mistakes

Anyways just conquer those islands and you're set to conquer the entire world

[Sextus_Ibericus]

Well indeed a good tactic is to secure ur zone and then proceed to some points of interest / resource .. usually i secure italy then go either by north or to sicily to expand .. also depends if another faction is giving u trouble or u can get them near extiction (one dead enemy is always one less around)

[megas scipio]

Yes, I understand that capturing those areas of map that contain imbalanced access to resources is the easy way to logistically defeat the AI. However, I've modded out this imbalance by eliminating grain resource completely and reducing the mines in all of the Illyrian, Greek and Macedonian regions to one a piece. Also, eliminated all wonders except Hanging Gardens and Pyramids of Egypt. This eliminates the "Black Death" or "Greek Death" from overrunning entire Balkan/ Central Europe regions to fast, if at all. Mostly the three factions battle it out indecisively for a few decades before one starts to become dominant.

Usually what I adopt is a offensive strategy. If a faction attacks me (I'm always Romans) I pull the old Russian slash and burn policy, with a counter offensive to their major production centers, capital city, etc. I always focus on destroying their capacity to fight, not their front line units. Works like a charm every time.

Any thoughts?

[megas scipio]

No one even cares, huh? That is sad for me .

Nah, just kidding! Trust trying to get other folks points of view on how to whip the AI.

Thanks

[hungry]

My strategy is to eliminate the biggest nearby threat ASAP. In RTRPE, that requires me to target at about:
60% enemy settlements and their garrisons
40% enemy troops in the field
Later on when I have enough naval units, enemy boats and ports become low priority targets.
I don't target chokepoints. The much higher number of settlements in RTRPE form their own chokepoints.

I use diplomats to trade maps, get trading rights, and to garrison my settlements (making them more expensive to bribe). I use a lot of spies, including as part of garrisons. I don't use assassins.

The biggest nearby threat to the Romans are the Carthaginians. When playing as the Roman faction, I captured a majority of the Carthaginian cities before tackling the Gauls. When the Gauls were no longer a threat, I turned my attention eastwards.

[Switch]

Usually what I adopt is a offensive strategy. If a faction attacks me (I'm always Romans) I pull the old Russian slash and burn policy, with a counter offensive to their major production centers, capital city, etc. I always focus on destroying their capacity to fight, not their front line units. Works like a charm every time.

Any thoughts?

I remember having to adopt this strategy multiple times when dealing with the Seleukids while playing as Roma. I tend to meet them after establishing myself fairly well as the western Mediterranean power (vanquishing Carthage, conquering Greece, etc), so it's something of a clash of titans. If I try and make headway by foraying across the Hellespont and grinding through Asia Minor I usually find my way hampered by stack after stack of Seleukid armies and it quickly becomes exhausting, so I like to deliver two or three legions to the shores of Egypt and carve a bloody path from there to Babylon (possibly detouring to Antioch as well) in a desperate attempt to cut Seleukid means of production. I simply exterminate cities as I go and raze their buildings to the ground.

Given a few turns it starts to make a dent in their vast hoards of treasure with the added bonus of drawing their armies away from Anatolia, smoothing my advancement there, too.