Faction Guides

[Zekey]

Hello, I had written these guides for UF with the help of an old player called Kiwi and thought they might be enjoyed here. I'll post one now and you guys can tell me what you think of it, if you like it I will post more. These are for 15k cwb...enjoy.

ROME
This guide to Rome is purely based on my experiences in the past, and may not suit all playing styles and various players.

Rome is a fairly reliable faction, however it does have some major weaknesses.

Strengths

-Generally very high morale.
-Well equipped vs spear factions (urbans and stronger cavalry).
-Quite balanced (strong infantry, strong cavalry, strong archers).
-Easy to use effectively.

Weaknesses

-Extremely vulnerable to cataphracts or chariots (no spear units or chariots/cataphracts to counter).
-Relatively expensive units.
-Predictability in army choice.

Armies

Against another Roman army, or some other factions (eg barbarians), this is a well balanced army to use-
4 g/g Urban Cohorts
4 g/g Praetorian Cavalry
6 g/g Roman Archers
2 Archer Auxilia with gold sword only.

Facing a spear faction, it is often useful to increase the number of Urban Cohorts

eg. 6 g/g Urban Cohorts
2 g/g Praetorian cavalry
6 g/g Roman Archers
2 g/- Archer Auxilia

Theory

Rome is certainly not a faction for use in every situation. While balanced, it has no real counter to factions that are a strong in cavalry.

It is often critical when using Rome to make sure you use all the pila (spears) that the Urbans carry. These can inflict massive casualties on infantry in particular, and can win the melee in an urban vs sacred band fight, for example.

Once your urbans are engaged, use any cavalry you have to either destroy the enemy cavalry, or flank the enemy infantry and charge a weak point.

This is a guide under development, any suggestions are welcome, and please point out any mistakes I may have made.

[MaceMan]

Nice and accurate guide. Should definitely help out the newer players around here.

Urban/Praetorian armies can get a little bland, though, but they're no doubt the best Rome has to offer. Only thing I'd add is that taking triarii or auxilia can be helpful if you really feel inclined to take Rome against a faction with superior cavalry.

[Zekey]

Yeah the armies I put into these are some basic ones, I have tons more that I might update into the guides. Thanks for the feedback.

[Taruthin]

Nice guide so far, what factions are on the way?

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Looks good to me. If you can get a few other factions included in there, I'll sticky this.

[Selifator]

And if other people have MP guides, we can just stick them all together.

[thedcode]

And if other people have MP guides, we can just stick them all together.

Hi, this is a faction guide for Carthage.

Intro: Carthage is a pretty limited faction because it has very weak missile units; it thus has very good cavalry and infantry.

Carthage’s army:

Missile: Carthage doesn’t have any archers thus is pretty weak in missiles.

-Balearic Slingers are pretty expensive slingers that could be very weak in certain situations, because if you want to fire at the enemy’s archers but they are behind his infantry, the infantry will absorb most of the missiles and in the same time, the archers will finish u off.
-The regular slingers are less expensive and they could draw the attention of the enemy’s archers.

Infantry:
-Sacred Band Hoplites are the best infantry that the Carthaginians could have because of their very good stats.
-Libyan spearmen could be used to take down the enemy’s cavalry; with some upgrades they could be very useful. These spearmen are also deadly because they are pretty cheap wich will allow you to make more of them or to put more upgrades.
-Poeni infantry are phalanxes that are cheap and could make a good reserve unit, and a pretty good backup for your army.

Cavalry:

-Sacred band cavalry are the best cavalry that Carthage has and one of the best cavalry in the game. They are an excellent cavalry to protect your back, to attack enemy’s cavalry or the hammer & anvil your opponent’s troops.
-Long shield cavalry are cheap cavalry that could be a good unit to complete envelopment on the enemy’s cavalry when your Sacred band cavalry need help.
-Round shield cavalry are weak cavalry that are EXCELLENT to take down fleeing enemy’s units or archers because of their big speed. They are extremely cheap only, 330 denarii and are really worth it.

Examples of armies for cwb 15k:

6 g/s sacred band hoplites
5 g/g sacred band cavalry
5 g/- regular slingers

6 s/s sacred band hoplites
4 g/s sacred band cavalry
4 g/- slingers ( regular)
2 g/g libyan spearmen

Has this is a rush armies you will in most cases have to atack the ennemy, because your missile units aren't strong enough to kill ennemy's archers. Remember its very rare that your oponent's army has missile unitse that you could beat so you missiles will be there to draw the attention of the ennemy's archers while your infantry and cavalry advance forward to engage the ennemy.

PLS! Comment on this guide. I'll make more if the comments are good and positive.

[Uthred001]

Hey wow thanks for the selecuid guide, it defiantly got me into the mp gaming. I tend to switch militia cav for 2 greeks one with bronze weapons but semantics . anyway i always have huge troubles against british and egyptian chariots. Ive tried replacing 3 g/g archers with peltasts to no avail.. any advice? thanks!

[Zekey]

Hey wow thanks for the selecuid guide, it defiantly got me into the mp gaming. I tend to switch militia cav for 2 greeks one with bronze weapons but semantics . anyway i always have huge troubles against british and egyptian chariots. Ive tried replacing 3 g/g archers with peltasts to no avail.. any advice? thanks!

The best way to counter egypt and brits with sele is to do a rush with something like 5 pikes, 5 chaz, 2 militia cav, 1 cata or comp cav, 6 arch. You have to get some of your pikes into the chariot fight. It's easier beating brits than egypt because egypt can amok your chaz so you have to be fast.

[Teo]

Good guild.

[|Sith| Max]

Good to see AoE has a similar training programme.

[Zekey]

I've got quite a few coming...here is Egypt.

EGYPT

This is a short intro into playing Egypt. It has to be pointed out that Egypt is about the only faction in RTW that can be played, with a reasonable chance of success, versus all other factions. Hence I would suggest to any newcomer to familiarize himself with it as fast as possible. The intro is not complete, and I am sure not everyone agrees with my opinions. Its sole intention is to provide help to newcomers to the faction.


Faction strengths and weaknesses:


CAVALRY: Egypt has chariots, chariot archers, and a variety of good skirmishing cavalry units.

-> Egyptian chariots have somewhat weaker base stats than scythed chariots, however, they do not go amok when shot at with fire. This in turn means that, when used properly, they are far more useful. It also should be pointed out that any chariot unit almost always beats any other cavalry unit. So do never try to beat chariots with kataphracts. On the other hand, do try to engage the opponent into a cavalry fight if you have chariots and he has not.

-> Egyptian chariot archers are quite decent, and it can never be forgotten that chariot archers are always a big boon to a faction, because they allow you to have two extra archer units under cwb rules.

-> Egypt has a variety of smaller cavalry units, that can be highly effective in skirmishing at archers, in charging into an engaged enemy infantries back, and even in doing damage vs armoured units (one of desert cavalry has a 'bonus against armour' which means that the armour value of the opposing unit is halfed).


INFANTRY:

-> Egypts infantry is the factions weakest point. It ranks maybe at about place 10 of all faction's main infantry. It has the further disadvantage, that the spearmen do not have shields, which makes them very vulnerable to missiles. One should always make sure that the opponent does not start shooting down your infantry with his archers

MISSILES:

Egypt is very well positioned with missile units. Not only does it have the already mentioned chariot archers, it also has two kinds of footarchers. CWB rules allow for up to 8 footarchers. Factions like Pontus or Seleucid for instance however can take at most 6, because CWB rules also allow for a maximum of 6 of any unit type. As a result, Egypt should always win the missile war versus those factions. Be careful not to take too many pharaoh's bowmen. While they are one of the best archers in the game (and also have a longer range than regular archers), they are very expensive, and in most instances two (plus 6 regular archers) is all you need.


Suggested armies:

As in other cases, so also here the army must be adjusted to the opponent. One possible army that should work versus a range of setups is as follows.

4 Pharaoh's Guard g/g
2 Pharaoh's Bowmen g/b
6 Archers g/g
4 Egyptian Chariots g/-
2 Chariot Archers g/-
2 Desert Cavalry g/g

This army is precisely 15k.

Plan of action:

The general battle plan is, to use your archer advantage that you should have versus most factions. This means, eliminate the enemy missile units with yours, then start shooting at other targets. You should try to avoid full infantry battle versus most opponents until the archer battle has been fought. Once you do go into infantry battle, use your chariots to wipe out enemy cavalry, protect your own flank and back from enemy cavalry, and charge into the back of engaged enemy units. Your desert cavalry is used during the archer battle as skirmish units and once the infantry is engaged it also charges into the opponents back.

Be aware that this army must be adjusted, especially in the cavalry department, to changing enemies. If facing for instance a pure horse faction, like Parthia, you would almost exclusively take chariots for cavalry. If facing a mostly pike faction, say Carthage, you would almost exclusively take real cavalry, like desert cavalry or nile cavarly, and maybe only one or two egyptian chariots to counter any cavalry the opponent might bring. In both cases you do take the two chariot archers though.


This is a guide under development. Questions and comments are welcome. I am sure this can be improved further over time.

[Selifator]

I'll post my own army, I think it's good and it is easy to play with.
10k army.
6 Nile Spearmen. Gold attack and bronze defence. The general has an experience upgrade.
6 Archers, gold attack.
6 Desert Cavalry, gold attack and defence.

Cavalry on the flanks, aggressively search and destroy enemy cavalry. Archers draw attention from and weaken enemy archers. Nile Spearmen march forward and hold the enemy infantry. After you have destroyed the enemy cavalry, you can use the Desert Cavalry to strike at the rear of the infantry. Try and rout the archers first, this will weaken the morale of the enemy infantry.

[Seleucid king]

Hey Zeke. It's me, Seleucid. I tried to join AoE, remember?

[Zekey]

Yes, I do.

[Seleucid king]

How come you said I couldn't?

[Zekey]

This is a short guide for playing Macedon. Macedon is a rather well rounded faction, that combines decent infantry, decent cavalry, and decent missile troops. Their main weakness is having nothing to really counter horse archers with. The following intro is not complete, and I am sure not everyone agrees with my opinions. Its sole intention is to provide help to newcomers to the faction.


Faction strengths and weaknesses:

CAVALRY: Macedonia has a range of cavalry units, most important of which are light lancers and the companion cavalry.

-> While the companion cavalry looks a little weak when compared to kataphracts or even roman cavalry, there is something to be said for it when used properly. Companion cavalry is not meant to run into a enemy cavalry or infantry and fight them down 'mano a mano'. Instead they are the most properly used either by utilizing their large charge bonus flanking the enganged enemy infantry or by utilizing their decent defense in conjunction with the light lancers. Hereby one engages the opponents cavalry with a unit or two of companion cavalry, stays in combat, and then charges into the flanks and rear of the engaged cavalry with ones light lancers. This almost certainly causes a rout.

-> Light lancers also have the large charge bonus that companion cavalry gets, which makes them excellent for the tactics outlined above. It makes them also great skirmishing troops, and they are very well suited for flanking enemy infantry.

-> Macedon does not have horse archers, which is a real minus versus a number of factions it is normally used against.

INFANTRY: Macedon has a range of phalanx units.

->Royal pikemen are very decent. They certainly rank in the top 5 of infantry units in the game, and are well suited to fight down most other infantry lines or at least hold them in place until light lancers or companion cavalry can flank them.

MISSILES: Macedon has the advantage of having normal archers plus cretan archers.

-> Cretan archers are nice because they allow you extra archer units under cwb rules. They also have long range missiles, as compared to the middle range missiles of normal archers, and their missiles inflict more damage than those of regular archers. Their downside, at least when compared to other factions 'special archers' is that they do have a rather weak defense, which makes them easy to pick off for the opponent.

Suggested armies:

There are two principal ways to play Macedonia, either infantry or cavalry heavy. Here an army for each option.

6 Royal Pikemen s/g
2 Phalanx Pikemen
4 Light Lancers g/g
6 Archers g/g
2 Cretan Archers g/-


3 Royal Pikemen g/g
4 Companion Cavalry g/g
4 Light Lancers g/-
6 Archers g/g
2 Cretan Archers g/-
1 Peasants

As in other cases, so also here the army must be adjusted to the opponent.


Plan of action:

The plan of action for the cavalry heavy army was described above in the cavalry section already. Engage the enemy, either with infantry or with companion cavalry, then charge into its side and back with the rest of your cavalry, utilizing to the fullest the large charge bonus of both cavalry units. Cycle charges in and out, do not stay in combat longer than needed. This setup can be played very aggressively versus some enemy setups, with you pushing your infantry forward fast and furious.

For the infantry heavy version the plan is a little different. Here you try to patiently take out as many enemy archers as possible with your own archers and with skirmishing at them with your lancers, while at the same time making sure you protect your own archers at all times. If you manage to get out of that archer exchange with an opponent like Scythia (which has 2 additional horse archers plus better long range archers) with the opponent not having too many archers left, you stand a good chance in the final showdown, when your opponent will be forced to storm your spear-castle.

This is a guide under development. Questions and comments are welcome. I am sure this can be improved further over time.

[Zekey]

PARTHIA
This is a brief guide to playing Parthia. Parthia is not a well balanced faction, but relies entirely on its cavalry and archers to win the battle. The following intro is not complete, and I am sure not everyone agrees with my opinions. Its sole intention is to provide help to newcomers to the faction.

Faction strengths and weaknesses:


CAVALRY: Parthia has cataphracts, camel cataphracts, horse archers, and skirmish cavalry.

-> Cataphracts are, all in all, the best cavalry unit in the game. They can, if must be, even charge into spear units awaiting them and then fight them down in man to man combat. This is best attempted with 2 or 3 cataphract units ganging up on a phalanx unit, but it can work in a variety of situations. Ideally, of course, the are used to charge in the flanks or back of engaged infantry units (they get a large charge bonus), or to fight down enemy cavalry. They must be kept away at all costs from enemy chariots of any kind, as those will decimate them quickly.

-> Camel cataphracts are more or less like normal cataphracts, however, only more or less. The differences are, that camels are slower, that they are harder to maneuver and that they do not deliver as precise a punch (due to their somewhat loose formation) as horse cataphracts do. On the upside, they get a morale bonus when fighting enemy cavalry, which means that a camel cataphract will always beat a normal cataphract when both units are upgraded the same.

-> Parthia gets three kinds of horse archers (one of which actually uses camels). Horse archers give you 2 extra archer units, which is absolutely essential for Parthia. You will mostly use the cheapest kind, which are just standard horse archers.

-> Parthia has some skirmish cavalry, which however rarely plays a big role. Some players take a unit or two of arab cavalry to chase down archers, especially at 12.5k games.


INFANTRY: For all practical purposes, nonexistent. If anything, take a few peasants.


MISSILES: Parthia has standard archers and standard slingers. This allows you to have 8 footarcher units under cwb rules, which is a big benefit.


Suggested armies:

6 Cataphracts g/g
6 Archers g/g
2 Slingers g/g
2 Horse archers g/-
4 Peasants g/g

NOTE: The kind of kataphract units you take depends on the opponent. Facing Armenia, you would take at least 3 camel units, facing Greece, none. In other words, if you expect the enemy to have lots of cavalry himself, bring camels. If you do not expect much cavalry, bring no camels or at most maybe 1.

Plan of action:

The plan of action for Parthia is pretty easy. 1. Take out enemy missiles with your own missiles 2. Try to skirmish some of the opponents missiles with your cavalry, while protecting your own missile troops at all times 3. Once the missile war is won, shoot at the enemy infantry 4. Once your archers are about to run out of arrows, surround the remainder of the opponent and charge them down with your cataphracts 5. During the entire game make sure you gang up on, and take out, any isolated enemy units.

This is a guide under development. Questions and comments are welcome. I am sure this can be improved further over time.

[Selifator]

Hahahahahahahahaha

[HeroSK]

Nice guides Zeke, pls keep them coming

Another good Roman army for skirmishing while facing another roman ;
6 g/g Praetorian Cavalry
2 g/s Legionary Cavalry
6 g/g Roman Archers
2 Archer Auxilia with gold sword only.
and some other units of player choice.