First Mod Attempt

[Hrothgar Óhreinsaður]

Howdy!

This is my first time trying a mod for Rome: Total War, though I've been playing the game since 2004. I have yet to actually begin a campaign, as, after having a glance at the starting positions, forces, and treasuries of the factions, this mod seems overwhelming! I opened the campaign for almost every faction, just to have an idea what is different about this mod, and I was not surprised to see it is almost a total makeover of the original game. The Greeks and Carthage are my two favourite factions, followed by the Germans and Britons, so I will more than likely try my first campaign with one of the former two.

I'm looking for any pointers concerning this mod, whether it's related to the factions mentioned above or not. Like I said, at first glance, the mod appears to be quite overwhelming and much more difficult than the vanilla game, so I think I'm going to need some advice to succeed at what appears to be an incredible mod.

I look forward to your contributions.

[JrvUnleashed]

Don't play Greeks. Worst faction, as there trophy units are weak and broken, and they have essentially no warrior class cavalry, just mopping up units. As Carthaginians, don't buy sacred bands. The Poeni, which are 3x's cheaper, are more deadly and effective, as they've taken away the phalanx from elite hoplites in this game, making them completely obsolete. Also, don't buy elephants. Either send them to there death or disband them as soon as possible, as they have a ridiculous upkeep and can't defeat any infantry 1v1. Don't have too much cavalry in your army for either of those factions, as cavarly have almost trippled in upkeep and recruitment cost, and are twice as weak as the vanilla game. The weakest infantry unit in the game will defeat the strongest cavalry unit. Do not ever engage cavalry in prolonged melee, as they're more valuable and in lesser number. If you must hammer in anvil, do not do it to a troop that is "eager". Cavalry have weakened in melee ability, but there charge bonus has tripled. They are the ultimate shock troops. If you see an exposed unit with "steady" or "shaken", charge. Even a head on charge with heavy cavalry will break a unit if they are in these mindsets. Basically what I'm saying is save your cavalry towards the end of the fight. If they are fresh and eager, and the enemy is exhausted and shaken from fighting, your cavalry will be way more effective. Chain routs are especially common now, if you get a good final charge into an exhausted unit, as was realistic of classical warfare. Vanilla has put you into the mindset of quick and desicive Alexander the Great style battles, but you have to drop that. RTR is based on gritty infantry warfare for the most part, so get good with infantry manuvering.