How is EB2?

[Pherion]

Hey. I've been looking for a Roman Era based Total war mod for a bit. I have Rome 1: Total War and Medieval 2 but I've been looking at some mods now.

Mods I've been considering giving a go for this:

-Roma Surrectum 2
-De Bello Mundi
-SPQR
-Europa Barbororum 1 and 2

Since EB 2 seems to be the most recent one out, I considered this one first but I've heard some bad things about it. Namely the AI being really bad and cavalry charges not working. And saves aren't compatible with future updates as well!
I come from playing Stainless Steel 6.4 with ReallyBadAI on VH/VH and I was wondering if I can expect a challenge and the factions behaving with some intelligence instead of sending out squads of peasants at me.

Would you recommend me to start a few campaigns with this mod? Or should I go for any of the other ones?

[PlPs]

Europa Barbarorum 1 is one of the best Total War mod ever. I tried EB2 as well but still love EB1 more.

[CanOmer]

Both EB1 and EB2 are great. I didn't play Medieval 2 vanilla, because I like RTW more. But EB2 forced me to play Medieval 2 then I get used to this new game (to me). I bought Medieval 2 for EB2 and playing for EB2.

[Pherion]

Okay. I guess I'll have a go at this one first then.

[ooji]

Notice that EB2 is still under development. It has lots of great features that EB1 doesn't possess, but the current battles are rather..cumbersome. EB1, on the other hand, is well refined and a much more stable option if that's what you're looking for.

[Hummer]

I second ooji. EB2 is under development. It's great to play but there are a lot of features missing. So be prepared for that. This is only a first release. For example, there are only about 1/2 the units actually in game that will be in the finished version.

[CanOmer]

Notice that EB2 is still under development. It has lots of great features that EB1 doesn't possess, but the current battles are rather..cumbersome. EB1, on the other hand, is well refined and a much more stable option if that's what you're looking for.

Can you give some examples about cumbersome battles? I am relatively new to M2TW and I thought slowness of battles is M2TW engine's fault. How will it be different when it is fixed? Like EB1?

[Klierowski]

Didn't EB II get any update from a month's ? if yes then don't play it , i did play the EBII on vacations and it wan't even good, download the EB I or Deuv Volt for MTW II if u need the mtw 2 mod .

[Thuycidides]

Can you give some examples about cumbersome battles? I am relatively new to M2TW and I thought slowness of battles is M2TW engine's fault. How will it be different when it is fixed? Like EB1?

No, it's not slowness. It's the way the units lack cohesion, only 10 men out of 160 charge into battle while the rest hang back, etc.

[Dago Red]

EB II needs an urgent siege AI hotfix (AI blobs into center after walls breached 100% of the time, making for a long, tedius grind battle to the death, 100% of the time) and then it will be fully playable.

It will still need a lot of work on general battle mechanics, unit cohesion and other basics that fully released mods have long ago achieved, but it's already far ahead of many other games in historical details and campaign features. It makes Rome II look like someone had bad gas when they were designing its campaign features on a tablet with crayons in this regard (not that it ever looked good on its own).

Another unofficial but widely supported hotfix for the cavalry is already out and easily found in the submod page.

[Ἀπολλόδοτος Α΄ ὁ Σωτήρ]

Would you recommend me to start a few campaigns with this mod? Or should I go for any of the other ones?

Firstly, if you strongly intend to play as Rome don't downoad EB2, Rome is lacking most of its units. Second, the mod is not yet finished, there are still many tweaks that need to be made as well as many features that are currently missing and will be added later. Other than this EB2 is a great mod even at this state.

If you inted to play as some of the Hellenistic factions, or Carthage then definitely download EB2, those factions are almost finished, of course some units and features are yet to be added, some tweaks need to made but with those factions you're guaranteed to have a good campaign. I haven't played any eastern factions or gallic tribes yet, but they seem to be relatively complete as well, only Roman faction is unplayable, unless you don't mind conquering the whole mediterranean with Camillian era units.

[Achilles Lacedaemon]

EB 2 is still somewhat barebones.

[browning]

Still I like the EBII battles much more than EBI battles. The latter ones were so predictible... The AI would always charge upon you, be it uphill, get slaughtered by your long-range weapons, get tired before contact, and then get slaughtered. This worked 99/100. The enemy phalanx would get messed up, as left flank unit would charge your left flank unit and their right flank unit would charge your right flank unit and thus display their side to your charge.

Battles in EUII are much better (sieges aside), as the AI knows when and how to defend. I have yet to see phalanx warfare, though, as my Carthago lacks phalanx somehow.

[Dago Red]

Battles in EUII are much better (sieges aside), as the AI knows when and how to defend.

This should be highlighted for everyone. The regular field battles (once patched with the skirmishing hotfix) are actually quite fine, even though much is unfinished and hoplites do not function properly. I can see them working well once cohesion and the overhand attack animations are properly addressed (though there is growing concern since no one is responding about it).

The sieges are what are the most broken at the moment because the AI will not defend the walls or breaches. This really needs a hotfix, it's awful gameplay. Watching a blob of thousands of overlapping models spazm in the central courtyard on 6x speed several times a night is not fun. And there's no other way to resolve sieges except for auto-resolve.

[browning]

T And there's no other way to resolve sieges except for auto-resolve.

Which is what I do (autoresolve sieges), but then I wonder why so many of my slingers die.

[Satapatiš]

Sieges are a bit tedious at this moment, but I do play them without auto-resolving. But then, a large part of my Eastern armies are missile troops, so I'm just softening enemy with massed archery when they are conveniently waiting at the town square.

But I can imagine it could be very tedious to play with a more melee-oriented factions.

[Sint]

Ever sieged a Epirus City with a full stack of Phalangites in the town square?That's tedious.

[+Marius+]

EB II needs an urgent siege AI hotfix (AI blobs into center after walls breached 100% of the time, making for a long, tedius grind battle to the death, 100% of the time)

I don't get why you guys are complaining about this.

It makes sieges actually harder and results in far more casualties than in usual total war sieges for the player since routing besieged armies or ninjacapping the town square is basically impossible.

God forbid actually loosing some troops to capture a city...

[Dago Red]

Are you serious? The AI does not defend its walls or gate, there's rarely an attempt to block of streets or maneuver, or anything at all but piling everything into a GIANT BLOB in the city center. Most of the time, the giant blob retreats to the city center way before you're even capable of reaching it -- giving you an opportunity to arrange forces in the outer streets at your leisure, beneath abandoned towers. Ai units stuck on the walls when this happens just freeze up, and you can effectively ignore them.

That's not making it harder on the player or more challenging -- it's certainly not more realistic, which is what most people playing EB probably want.

It's just a tedious grind, with a foregone conclusion.

[Satapatiš]

Actually, AI just standing there on the city square doing nearly nothing is only making things easier, depending of your army composition. Get enough missile unit and javelins and you can murder enemy with minimal losses, it only takes longer than usual.

That's not exactly a challenge.