About Rome

[Artough]

Hello there, everyone. For an unknown reason I can't post in the paradox interactive forums, so I'll ask here. Be warned that this is a long post for people used to EU : Rome and it may seem boring to other readers...

I started playing EU with the Rome version that i just discovered (as you can guess by my presence, I'm quite fond of the roman empire). And I'm having so much trouble having a right game...

I started a game (with Rome) to try, I did fairly well, except that I was making armies too powerful, and in no time I had a civil war against my 34,000 army, with only little armies spread everywhere to counter it. Once the pax had been restored, I had no more manpower and could'nt pursue, with the Gallic tribes becoming too powerful and posing a threat against my empire. Also, I lost thousands of men trying to reach Carthage ; I noticed that from the beginning, Carthage has a far superior navy than anybody. The equivalent of 4 legions lost at sea...

My second game was a bit better. I started having "real" legions ; armies of 6,000 men with a single general, composed of 4,000 principes and 2,000 archers, so none would overpower the other. It started getting a bit rough when i tried to take Corsica and Sardania, as there is a spot when the far-too-powerful carthaginian navy could strop my legions (four of them) to get from one island to the other. At one point, a succeded in having two legions on each island, only to see them slaughtered by the 35,000 men of Carthage's army and lose both islands. Once I had enough ships I sent them across the sea with four fresh legions to rush Carthage, as the mission was close to expiring and I needed the stability point. I took Carthage, and became too greedy ; I launched one legion on each adjacent city, having them easily destroyed one by one by the enemy. I had no manpower once again, and 9 half-dead legions from constant barbarian attacks from the north and some I managed to have back from Corsica and Africa. I needed 35,000 men to reform completely my army, and was having 800 a month. On top of all, the populists were getting quite agitated, and i could only execute their best generals before a civil war broke out. I could contain it at a very high cost. The coup de grâce came when a massive 40,000 barbarian army started attacking my northern frontier.

On my third game, I tried to get rid of Epirus atr once ; once magna graecia and Syracuse were conquered, I had a navy with 14 ships (could transport roughly 2 legions) and six legions on land. My plan was to have Epirus' army leave its territory ; I could'nt face it with two legions (it was 18,000 men strong), and land instead on the neighboring Acheon (where there was 9,000 men). Illyria declared war on Epirus ; the army left Epirus, my two legions landed on Acheon, and while it was fighting, I took two more lefions aboard my ships and landed them on Acheon, breaking the siege there and rushing to Epirus. My 24,000 men got rid of their army, and started sieging Epirus. But then , I noticed that Epirus got a new territory in Illyria ; I wanted them off the world ! So guess what ? Too greedy. I sent two legions to retake the region, they got butchered, and the last two did'nt stand a chance.

My question here is simple ; what am I doing wrong in the way I plan my wars ? Any general tips or advice ? Th AARs are'nt quite useful most of the time, as they focus more on the narrative than on the gameplay.

[Poach]

My guess is you have no idea how to fight a war, to be frank.

Stop splitting your armies up and letting the stronger enemy armies butcher them all one at a time: keep them concentrated and destroy the enemy armies, then start taking lands.

Also, stop sending your armies to sea if the Carthaginian Navy wipes them out all the time. Build a Navy powerful enough to fight them at sea.

[Sevasti]

Expanding the Roman Glory for Filthy Populists Dummies
While we acknowledge and celebrate your wisdom and leadership, we cannot help but notice your background is not within the generals faction. Therefore we have compiled this handy checklist should push come to shove.

Regarding Neptune

• If sea dominance is a necessity - Build a navy.
• If a navy is a necessity but sea dominance is impossible - Build a navy, split into smaller groups. Use several groups for reconnaissance, back up and transport.
• If there's a traversable strait - Amass your navies to protect it whilst marching your army.
• If your enemies navies dominate - Flee in the event of a battle. Alternatively, sacrifice only a small portion of it should you need to defend a strait. It won't give you victory but it will buy you time.

Regarding Mars

• If one of the following is true:
  Enemy has an army, enemy doesn't have an army, enemy has a bigger army than you - Build an army.
  
• In the event of war, assess your strength and weaknesses. Do the same for your enemy.
  Considering the above facts, assess whether offense or defense would gain the upper hand.

Regarding Terra

• If defense - Make a qualified guess where the enemy would most likely appear.
• If multiple entry points - Spread your armies accordingly but within reach of one another. The point is not catch up with your enemy, but to be able to get reinforcements as soon as possible.
• If single entry point - Assess whether you can afford to split you army for both defense and offense.
  
• If offense - Investigate if there are choke points in enemy territory and if they share military access with their neighbours. Search for an entry point that minimize your front, point being to drive your enemies forward with no option to flank. Split and scale army accordingly with an optional spare group (or two) waiting to intervene/defend should your main army begin to lose.

Regarding Copia

• If you need a swift campaign - Disregard sieging enemy territory and focus only on obliterating the enemy main army. Once destroyed mop up minor armies and stragglers while sieging.
• If you can't afford a swift campaign - Focus your forces on the entry point, siege and secure it. This way you have a base of operations in enemy territory where you can let damaged armies rest to strength again. Slowly move your front while sieging any region behind it, that the enemy cannot (conveniently) reach. Should their main army appear, strengthen you front, dropping the sieges if necessary.

While there's nothing inherently wrong with splitting your army into several groups (I prefer it myself) they need to be able to assist each other at all cost. It doesn't matter that you have an army thrice the size of your enemy, if they're divided and your enemy can easily pick the off one by one. Furthermore I think the populists should be hunted down and exterminated like the vermin they really are.

[.Achilles.]

Hey there. I'm glad to meet another active player of EU:Rome... I too enjoy the time period although sadly not many still play.

I assume you began a Roman campaign in the earliest scenario.
The main advice I can give you is: baby steps. If you have played total war: Rome, you will know how easy it is just province hop with a medium size army and carve out an empire in 10 years. EU: Rome is very different. There are many mechanics that are in place to prevent such unrealistic conquests. Primarily war-exhaustion and attrition.
From reading your reports I see that you are learning well, and it is basically practise you require to be successful. Nobody conquers the world on their first try.

My advice for your specific scenario is to ensure you get as many trade routes set up as you can, as fast as possible and ensure you can build navies on the western coast of Italy. As soon as you have the ability to build navy, do so - and constantly. This ensures that when you do fight Carthage you will be on even terms or have a slight advantage. Also try and engage them in home waters will all your ships, to force their attrition to hamper their offensive capabilities.

However I would suggest for the time being you turn your mind away from Carthage. If you are building ships you are preparing adequetly. Turn your mind to conquering Southern Italy.
(A quick note on war) Ensure you have just cause - which in this case you do - for war. Also when going to war - ensure you can a) realistically win and b) win fast. War exhaustion and attrition play havoc with your empire and your ability to fight any unforseen wars. If you are stuck in long campaigns it is better to seek peace and rebuild rather than slog it out and crush your own man power. Because there's always a huge barbarian uprising when you least expect it. (when at war I always leave a 20,000 in Rome to guard against large sea assaults or barbarians)

Additionally pick your battles. As a general rule if you can avoid a beach landing do so, you get a huge disadvantage from attempting to do so. Assign good military generals to your legions, and ideally attack weak undermanned provinces. It is always preferable to defend rather than attack when it comes to equal sized armies.
I usually go for 20,000 men stacks when creating a Roman army - 3/4 Heavy Inf. 1/4 Archer units. These can beat almost anything that is not Seleucid/Carthage/sometimes Macedon and if you do face them, two 20,000 stacks should be enough provided good generals are present. The specific number (i.e 20k) doesn't really matter, pick what you like, although composition is important.

A note on Generals now. Be careful when selecting them. You ideally want to promote very loyal people who "want" to be a military commander. Even if they are a 10 military, if they are unloyal it's just a matter of time until they attack you. Additionally soldiers after long campaigns become loyal to their commander and not you. This is fine if the commander is loyal, if not he will refuse to step down and become very aggressive. Make sure you spot this early and remove the general from power, if his loyalty drops. Put him in charge of a tiny army and disperse the large legions into other legions, or rarely disband them to limit damage (if things are very bad).
Other characters you should pick carefully are your advisors, especially military and religion. Military research allows advances that make your armies much better, and religion stops bad omens and keeps the peace.

Finally a mention on the senate and Populists. the populist party are essentially your opposition, and linked to your decisions. When you decline to give them something they gain a senator. This does not mean you should mindlessly give them everything as often their characters are weak and overly ambitious. However concede small defeats to keep their numbers down as your empire will benefit greatly when they have tiny influence.

Sorry for rambling, but if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

[Artough]

Thanks everyone. I guess the lesson to remember here would be "don't be reckless". You're right Prince Helikaon, I play as if I was in RTW... But I get stressed by the impending missions (take Carthage, take Macedonia...) and can't wait to launch an all-out war, even though i'm not fully ready. And I grant the populists what they want whenever it does'nt put them in an important position that would make them threaten me army-wise or senate-wise. And sometimes I execute one or two, it's okay, tyranny does'nt last long.

About the trade roads, I always set them between my own provinces or with Massilia, as no one else wants to trade with me...

Another quick question ; do you fall out of manpower often ? I do, and all the time !

[.Achilles.]

Yes the missions are demanding, but you don't have to complete them, just like you could ignore the Rome Total War Senate. They're essentially to add some historical story incentive.
As for manpower, I rarely hit 0 I always seek peace if it's getting very low. But I have hit 0 a few times when pushing for final victory over Carthage or some early Seleucid armies. If you're going to hit 0 you have to make damn sure your enemy is going to be crushed, and you're unlikely to be attacked soon by others.

@Sevasti, that's a great post +rep. All your own writing or inspired by something?

[Sevasti]

I like to encourage people to play PI games. Also, I was bored.

Thanks for the rep btw.

[Artough]

Forgot to thank you Sevasti, the advice on the entry points especially seems great and one thing I would not have thought of. And I love Gunnm btw.

[Sevasti]

No problems, glad to help.

You can't fight fate - Did I neglect to teach you that? ^^

[Fracchione]

I am playing with Crete and cannot switch away from dictatorship,why??

[Artough]

Fracchione : Lots of parameters, leave your mouse on the "?" next to the name of the type of government you want (in the missions panel).

One last question ; the enemy seems to be able to wipe out my fleeing armies quite easily, while I have to go back and forth, back and forth to fully annilihate even a small barbarian squad... Any tips ?

[Artough]

I up the subject as it is really bugging me...

[Sevasti]

I'm a little stumped myself by this, sometimes I can annihilate them swiftly, sometimes they just keep ping-ponging. It seems that they're out of morale so they flee at first given opportunity so just a handful of them die at each skirmish.

The best tip I can offer is to surround them with additional armies in neighbouring regions.

[Artough]

Thanks