XGM Romans are tough!

[Boriak]

I play with Macedonia on easy/medium (I know, I'm a weakling). After conquering Greece and the Greek cities in Asia I have started an invasion against Rome. I took two full stacks across the Adriatic, took Tarentum and went besieging two Roman cities while they were fighting Syracuse and Carthage. Only they realized I am their biggest threat now and their armies are coming towards me.

I had some minor battles with Romans. I lost one, then won two but in one of them they ran because I put their general in flight. Casualties were small on both sides.

Bottom line, I realized Roman troops are incredibly tough. Even their skirmishers can make mince out of my cavalry. I've not been in full battle with them but suddenly I am dreading it. Which is fun since this is what this game is all about.

What are the ways one usually tackles Romans? Must I simply use superior numbers and overwhelm them or is there a way to counter their toughness with Greek (in this case, Macedonian) troops?

[magraev]

A strong phalanx line should be hard for the romans to beat, but you have to keep a strong force in reserve for when they flank you (and they probably will). Thorakitai or hoplites can do the job - else use more phalanxes. Leave the archers at home though - almost useless against the better roman troops. Cav on the other hand is very useful, as long as you keep them away from the triarii.

[Boriak]

Damn! I just made a batch of archers to be sent to Italy. Do the fire arrows effect the Roman morale at all or are they too well disciplined?

What about slingers? Slingers have a bonus against armor and Macedonians have some extra slingers, I believe. Should I use slingers against them?

[Grimbold]

In my opinion it depends on what kind of roman units you're talking about. Are you still refering to the late republican army (hastati, principes, triarii)? They're beatable and even when they get legionarie cohorts they're still beatable.

Roman armies are annoying and predictable (as i said in another thread). They will always go for one of your flanks, so , obviously, you gotta make sure to have strong units at your flanks.

This is coming from someone who plays as GCS, even if they share similarities with Macedon

[Boriak]

Um... Not sure if this is the right place (should probably go to bugs) but since the topics are similar, I will post it here.

In my campaign against Rome, I have braced myself for a large onslaught: my full stack against their 1.5 stacks. I hit the 'Next turn' button and no one attacked. I check the Roman forces and they went from 27 units in the vicinity into 16. There are no foes other than me around (I toggled FOW and loaded an old save.) I even checked all the Roman fleets in case they got on but they are all empty. They are simply gone.

Unless the units are on ships and I cannot see them this must be a bug. I mean this will make my victory easier but still... Could it be that I do not see the units even with FOW disabled if they are on ships?

[Total Roach]

Um... Not sure if this is the right place (should probably go to bugs) but since the topics are similar, I will post it here.

In my campaign against Rome, I have braced myself for a large onslaught: my full stack against their 1.5 stacks. I hit the 'Next turn' button and no one attacked. I check the Roman forces and they went from 27 units in the vicinity into 16. There are no foes other than me around (I toggled FOW and loaded an old save.) I even checked all the Roman fleets in case they got on but they are all empty. They are simply gone.

Unless the units are on ships and I cannot see them this must be a bug. I mean this will make my victory easier but still... Could it be that I do not see the units even with FOW disabled if they are on ships?

Might it have been an earthquake or volcanic eruption? Those natural disasters can wipe out most of a stack.

[EnoDarkHand]

Damn! I just made a batch of archers to be sent to Italy. Do the fire arrows effect the Roman morale at all or are they too well disciplined?

What about slingers? Slingers have a bonus against armor and Macedonians have some extra slingers, I believe. Should I use slingers against them?

I for one never even considered using the slingers but now it makes sense. I would, however, advise you against giving up on the archers. sure regular archers may be somewhat a waste against them but the Cretans can hold their own against skirmishers and their arrows are probably the best in the game. And if you ever run into a Generaless army, which you often do with Rome, they often try to reposition themselves right in front of you. This gives your cretans plenty of time to expend their quivers and it actually racks up quite a lot of death. In one of my current stacks i have 4 units of them and i haven't been dissapointed. And since the earlier romans don't really use archers then you've got an advantage already.

[Boriak]

I didn't give up on the archers. I just used a bunch of them and their fire arrows worked wonders on the Romans. Most of the units routed on contact with my front phalanx, mostly because I was showering them with fire.

And I believe archers may do very well in a siege, since you actually have no choice but to kill the foe to the last man and routing doesn't work in the end. Killing the foe from afar seems the best choice.

[Publius Quirinus]

Slingers are good, as (I think) slingers are armor-piercing-- making them ideal against the Romans.

[Spartan198]

Yeah, Romans are tough. But they still die on my spears just as easily as everyone else.

[magraev]

I'm not saying archers are useless, but if I had to choose between a phalanx and an archer unit I do believe you'll get more bang for your buck with a phalangite than an archer-unit (same upkeep btw). I play 2hp and that does make archers worth less than with 1hp. This might explain why our experiences vary. Cretans are another story - clearly a better unit and worth more.

I find that most archers run out of arrows kinda fast, and that does detract from their worth.