Different factions and playstyles

**Kye** · August 06, 2014, 06:31 AM

Hey,

I bought Rome 2 last week, threw on DEI and off I went! Enjoying the game so far, and still learning the ropes.

With all the units each faction get, look over some of them its easy to see the distinct differences between them, but I think im missing some nuances which would help me pick a faction and really enjoy it. Is there an overview of the faction in DEI that explain this? RTR for Rome 1 had something similar on their forum many years ago and it was great reading the history behind their styles and mimicking it on the game.

Nuances such as the different play-styles via units of factions such as Macedon and Athens (and other Greek states), or the central European "barbarian" tribes etc.

**Mihail** · August 06, 2014, 07:15 AM

For the Greeks they are all about the same, factional and regional bonuses apply, Egypt has access to African Elephants, Syria has access to Indian Elephants, Athens was a naval power, the differences between them are minor and mostly a choice of starting position and starting power.

I can't speak too much about the other factions since I don't play much of them I rather play as my Greek Brothers, but with that said Barbarians get good elite units longsword men, Carthage gets a good mix of Iberian swordmen and Greek hoplites as well as access to a huge pool of great mercenaries, to the east there are some really fun but limited selection of units namely horse archers and rome is well, rome good all around infantry from spear to sword.

**Zaar** · August 06, 2014, 07:31 AM

hmm Mihail, aren´t there different reformtimes under the greek regiments?

**Summary** · August 06, 2014, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by Kye

Hey,

I bought Rome 2 last week, threw on DEI and off I went! Enjoying the game so far, and still learning the ropes.

With all the units each faction get, look over some of them its easy to see the distinct differences between them, but I think im missing some nuances which would help me pick a faction and really enjoy it. Is there an overview of the faction in DEI that explain this? RTR for Rome 1 had something similar on their forum many years ago and it was great reading the history behind their styles and mimicking it on the game.

Nuances such as the different play-styles via units of factions such as Macedon and Athens (and other Greek states), or the central European "barbarian" tribes etc.

I would love to explain to you the different play-styles of factions. Of course you have to variate these play-styles depending on your opposition.
Firstly, you will have to know the on a broader level the different unit types available in the game. They are:

Melee Infantry (Sword/Axe/Mace/Club/Falx)
Spear Infantry (Hoplites/Spearmen)
Pike Infantry (Phalangites/Pikemen)
Missile Infantry (Slingers/Archers/Javelinmen in decreasing order of their range)
Melee Cavalry (usually equipped with swords)
Shock Cavalry (usually equipped with spears)
Missile Cavalry
Siege equipment
Special Units (including but not limited to Elephants, Chariots, etc.)

ROME:

Intro:
Very balanced overall, they have a wide variety of units to select from, one of the biggest rosters in the game. But their main strength lies in their melee infantry. Melee infantry are usually good against other infantry, but the Roman melee infantry are good with morale, amour and attack. They work well in an organized form of attack. They are quick on their feet and therefore, quite responsive and therefore, easier to micromanage.

Rome has a good selection of early and late game missile infantry that serve as auxiliary (support) troops to the core infantry units. Rome also have decent cavalry that isn't the best in game but certainly above the average cavalry units. Rome have access to certain special units and good access to siege equipment which is good when considering a siege battle (quite obviously).

Using the Roman Army:
Very organised very balanced. Need melee, missile and cavalry to thrive well. When fighting on a battle field, use the Manipular formation. This means you break your melee units into three rows of units (each unit is called a maniple). Each maniple is about a maniple distance apart from their adjacent maniples. Therefore, your melee infantry formation would resemble that of a checkers' board. Your first line is always your weakest line, followed by the medium quality troops, and finally the elites. This means that the most casualties will be suffered by the weakest units while your medium and elites are free to move about and support or flank and cause maximum damage.

In front of your first line, place javelinmen and keep them on skirmish mode. The minute the enemy formation advances to close in on the distance, control your second row to move up the formation and close the gaps in the first line. In the meantime, your javelinmen should be able to retreat through the gaps easily. It is very hard for the enemy to land a kill on your javelinmen because the manipular formation gives them enough room to retreat behind your line without having to run through your line. Now the first two lines are merge into a single line. Order the charge to make use of your pilum throw and engage the enemy. Your elites and last line are still available to perform any command you deem fit.

Once your javelinmen retreat behind the line move, them around and flank the enemy to throw javelins in their backs and inflict massive casualties. If you have archers they should be off skirmish mode and occupying the gaps in between your last line of elite troops to protect them from enemy cavalry.

Use your own cavalry to prevent enemy flanking, or better still use them to kill off enemy missile infantry and then charge the rear of the enemy lines that are engaged with your main line.

GREEK CITY STATES:

Intro:
These include Sparta, Athens, Syracuse, and other "one-city" Hellenic factions. Their rosters are not so well balanced as the Romans, but they compensate for this by having a wide range of spearmen (hoplites) that are an incredibly slow and defensive unit. They have a special ability called phalanx formation which increases their defensive capabilities greatly.

Using Hellenic armies:
Again to be victorious you need very balanced and very organized method of warfare. You need to pick your battle terrains carefully so that there are no slopes and irregularities in the topography. Hellenic armies are one of the best at fighting on plains and flat lands, because their weakness which is mobility is concealed under these circumstances. Use javelinmen early game and when you get the chance to recruit archers, usually from building a naval dock in a provincial capital, invest in archers. The reason being that hoplites are not so mobile as Roman infantry and even though Manipular formation is quite use-able, it is harder to micromanage. The easiest way to use hoplite troops is to create a single front line with a couple of units to position in the rear as a reserve. But the best formation to use them in is Manipular formation (although not historically accurate).

MACEDON, SUCCESSOR KINGDOMS:

Intro:
Like the Greek city states they are also suffer from a lop-sided roster, which is compensated with a wide variety of pikemen (phalangites) and cavalry units (companion cavalry, elephants, etc.). Phalangites are even slower than hoplites and cannot fare well against melee infantry unlike hoplites. Currently they are decent at surviving and holding a line long enough for your cavalry to take the initiative.

Using Successor Kingdoms' armies:
All phalangites are to be arranged in a straight single line formation and then their file is to be increased by one so that each adjacent unit intersect each other leaving no gaps between units. Activate phalanx mode just before the enemy engages to prevent taking massive missile damage. A unit of hoplites can be used to protect one flank each as the flanks of a phalangite is very easy to exploit due to their slow movement and response time.

Any missile infantry are to be position behind your phalangites and if they are javelinmen, try to maneuver them around the lines when the enemy is engaged with your phalangites, the same way as you would in a Greek city-state army. Successor Kingdoms fight in a similar fashion to Hellenic city states, but lay more emphasis on "Hammer and Anvil" techniques. In which your pikemen pin down the enemy line therefore, acting like the anvil, and your high quality shock cavalry, elephants, chariots charge the enemy rear to create maximum damage behaving like the hammer. Synchronize your generals demoralizing abilities with a charge to inflict massive demoralization penalties on the enemies. Pikemen historically should be able to hold their own in a head-to-head, face-to-face confrontation (so long as no flanking occurs) however, unfortunately this is not the case in this game and they really depend on the effectiveness of your shock cavalry to rout the enemy as quickly as possible. For this reason I would place a strong emphasis on higher quality cavalry units than high quality phalangites should the scenario demand you have a choice to make.

BARBARIAN FACTIONS:

Intro:
Quite balanced like the Romans, but are best used in ambush tactics and fighting in numbers. They have a good variety of spear infantry and melee infantry and good cavalry. But they do not have good defense ratings and therefore, a stretched out battle/skirmish can work against them. They need to utilize their superior charge ratings and use surprise tactics to create maximum demoralization to the enemy. They are quite simply the best at ambush.

Using Barbarian armies:
Unlike the former three armies this army is not at its best on open fields. They are better at night in a forest, where they excel at stealth. Use your troops to create a local numerical superiority and your cavalry should have no difficulty dealing with enemy cavalry in most cases. Demoralizing is the best way to go for a Barbarian faction.

NOMADIC FACTIONS:

Intro:
Very very lop-sided roster. Mostly cavalry melee, shock and missile. Very few infantry units and even then those infantry units are not up to speed with the infantry units of other factions. They are for this reason on of the best to use in open space, and one of the worst when it comes to defending a city or taking a city.

Using Nomadic armies:
Use missile cavalry to maintain distance and shoot down enemy units. Try to lure the enemy units out of formation to isolate and focus fire once, they begin to waver save your missiles and order your shock or melee cavalry to perform a charge. I usually like to perform a chain charge, I do not know if it is historically accurate, but it works quite fine in TW:RomeII. What I do is that I order one shock cavalry to charge in first basically they will charge head-on into the enemy as the enemy will orient properly to brace for impact. This cavalry is usually of poorer quality intended to take the brunt of the enemy's brace or cavalry repel. In the meantime I use other shock or melee cavalry of higher quality to charge the exposed areas from as many directions as possible left, right, then rear all one after the other. This maintains the demoralizing debuff experience from shock damage and the enemy quickly breakdowns and begins to rout.

**Augustusng** · August 06, 2014, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by Summary

I would love to explain to you the different play-styles of factions. Of course you have to variate these play-styles depending on your opposition.
Firstly, you will have to know the on a broader level the different unit types available in the game. They are:

Melee Infantry (Sword/Axe/Mace/Club/Falx)
Spear Infantry (Hoplites/Spearmen)
Pike Infantry (Phalangites/Pikemen)
Missile Infantry (Slingers/Archers/Javelinmen in decreasing order of their range)
Melee Cavalry (usually equipped with swords)
Shock Cavalry (usually equipped with spears)
Missile Cavalry
Siege equipment
Special Units (including but not limited to Elephants, Chariots, etc.)

Nice guide, Summary! I don't think there are any comprehensive guides like this for DeI tactics... Edit: Nevermind. See Dresden's post below. I completely forgot that thread existed, and didn't bother looking for it.

**quaz601** · August 06, 2014, 09:09 AM

Eastern factions meaning Parthia and Armenia are similar to Nomads focused mostly on cav but have more variety of infantry. Best tactic is to have a mix of spear and melee troops back by missile units. Have your infantry hit the front and hit flanks and rear with shock cav and horse archers units loose more morale than in vanilla, when they are being flanked and surrounded.

**Alu10** · August 06, 2014, 09:39 AM

When you play as Rome, get yourself war dogs, every roman army of mine has 2 war dog units. depending on territory, getting elephants is also good for african roman legions. for nomad factions there are 2 ways how you can play them, full horsemen armies with alot of horse archers and some melee cavalry. or you play (my style): after you conquered a settlement with decent AOR infantry units, you get 8-12 of them, then the rest are horse archers (many dont know that they are decent in melee combat for the nomads) so you use them as support unit flanking around the battle line firing your arrows in their backs and depending on your mood, you let them charge into the backs of the enemy infantry. if the enemy has alot of cav units you may concentrate your fire on them, maybe taking 1-3 horse archers to attack the infantry from behind.