First impression after transitioning from EB

**ooji** · April 11, 2014, 07:25 PM

So I've recently decided to switch to RS2 as my EB constantly crashes before or after battles. Some of the most noticeable things I noticed are that units in RS2 die sooooooo slowly. Even with surround from all sides, it took me like 5 minutes to kill 70 levy spearmen with my Polybian legions. Elephants seemingly just don't die no matter what. In EB, javelins counter elephants. But it seems like RS2 elephants can literally take on an entire army and still survive. Anyone felt the same when they transitioned into RS2? How do I increase lethality or fix this ridiculously long battle issue? I went through export_descr_unit list to see RS2 units' stats and they don't seem too different from EB units' stats. What's causing them to survive so long? They don't have extra HP, they have about the same stats, so what is it then?
On the upside note, I do like the construction and recruitment system, and the new economy model.

**romanius24** · April 11, 2014, 08:07 PM

There is a submod that makes battles a little faster.I suggest you try it.
Without it battles are insane.

I dont think i had any problems with elephants.I lost plenty with Carthage and i also killed a few.
Javelins definitely are the best way too kill them but perhaps its easier to scare them with flaming arrows.

**century x** · April 11, 2014, 11:07 PM

Glad you are enjoying it. EB is a great mod but to slow pace for me.
Roma Surrectum is a different universe in itself, their is alot yet to experience that you will be seeing.

**ooji** · April 11, 2014, 11:47 PM

I would say that RS2 battles are definitely more challenging. RS2 AI seems to be a little smarter in that they don't leave gaps between their ranks and they keep reserves. They also keep formations too, which is always plus.
As far as recruitment goes, cavalry seems little too easy to acquire. Compared to my polybian legions that have about 760 upkeep, cavalry units of half the size have just about 140 upkeep. Compared to EB cavalry, they seem a little stronger vs infantry. They can literally charge into my front lines and have the staying power to keep fighting there for a long time. Anyone know the rationale behind that? I mean, even cataphracts shouldn't engage in a prolonged battle vs infantry. Infantry units have tighter formations and should have advantage vs cavalry in a prolonged fight. But man, these cavalry units are cheap and strong.

**ur-Lord Tedric** · April 12, 2014, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by ooji

..........Some of the most noticeable things I noticed are that units in RS2 die sooooooo slowly.................

Originally Posted by ooji

I would say that RS2 battles are definitely more challenging. RS2 AI seems to be a little smarter in that they don't leave gaps between their ranks and they keep reserves. They also keep formations too, which is always plus. .................

There is no change to the AI - it's hard coded. Those longer battles lead directly to them being more challenging and giving the BAI time to be 'better'. Change at your peril.

Don't 'surround' units and then they'll have somewhere to go. Surrounded units tend to fight to the death - because you've given them no choice!

**Alavaria** · April 12, 2014, 12:52 AM

I admit, it has occurred to me that one could ultra-cheaply make stacks of horse, even elite horse, that cost less than hoplites, pikemen, swordsmen...

**romanius24** · April 12, 2014, 06:41 AM

Oh yeah.You could definitely make some crazy Rohirrim armies.
But i dont see the AI doing that.Even though cavalry is cheap they seem to use a normal amount 3-4 hundred.

**Alavaria** · April 12, 2014, 06:55 AM

Oh yeah, the reason they are that cheap is so that the AI does that.

Otherwise you will not see a "nice" amount of horse in the AI army, I think (it will prefer infantry, due to their much larger unit sizes)

**dvk901** · April 12, 2014, 07:40 AM

That is correct.

**MacBlain** · April 12, 2014, 05:08 PM

Battles were tedious for me at first.

In total war, one is accustomed to using attrition as the primary way to demoralize the enemy. But the engine gives you many ways to do this.

Also, many "civilized" units have high defense and low attack. Hoplites/spearmen/legions trying to kill each other therefore takes quite a while. And, worse, fatigue causes the men to wait longer in between attacks so these melees can become absurdly drawn-out.

Once you become more intimately familiar with the variables in play and learn to manipulate them, you can clean up fairly quickly.

**ooji** · April 13, 2014, 03:29 AM

I am finding slingers very good at cleaning enemy forces, especially phalanx units. Place them on top of a hill from the back of an enemy force and within 5 volleys, 70% of the enemy unit will be dead. For some reason though, my game keeps crashing after I conquer Syracuse. Is this bug specific to version 2.5?

**dvk901** · April 13, 2014, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by ooji

I am finding slingers very good at cleaning enemy forces, especially phalanx units. Place them on top of a hill from the back of an enemy force and within 5 volleys, 70% of the enemy unit will be dead. For some reason though, my game keeps crashing after I conquer Syracuse. Is this bug specific to version 2.5?

Multiple reasons for crashes that all non-related to RS2. Don't use autosave or quick save. Turn off anti-virus programs. Don't install RTW in the Program Files folder or ANY default Windows folders. Make sure the full path to RTW\RS2 is less than 128 characters. Anyway, check out the thread stickied here:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-on-newer-PC-s

Many tips for preventing these crashes.