How much is Attila an improvement over Rome II

[SKSlave]

I don't find Rome II very entertaining. I find the campaign map rather dull, the AI nonsensical and the battles a blobfest. Whoever has the biggest blob wins. The politics is trivial and may as well not exist, factions will refuse to trade with you for no apparent reason despite their being no downsides and AI factions like to declare war on me and then offer me money for peace.

In what areas is Attila superior to Rome II? I am very interested in its time period.

Regards

[RakeinWaiting]

Hello SKSlave,

Im guessing you dont have Attila or you wouldnt be asking.

Well you are right in saying Rome II is boring. Like a spouse who wont learn, i keep going back to it and keep being abused.

That said, Attila is a good step in the right direction and is definetly better over Rome II.

The BAI seems more on the ball and will try moves that will generally leave you struggling. Its nice to see cavalry doing what it was made to do (flanking). The CAI can be a bit weird at times (throwing lucrative trade deals back in your face, rejecting peace when a war is obviously lost) but usually is solid and I like it how a faction leaders personality can impact negotiations. Battles are better too and ive noticed alot less blobbing (siege battles can be frustrating at times though).

The politics is probably the biggest change for factions and there are a number of choices you can (sometimes have to) make that can impact a game. Basically, gravitas (influence) can be 'spent' to make political decisions. A leader must earn influence by winning battles and maitaining power. Its fun because sometimes you have to decide wether to take action now, or watch a political situation as it unfolds. All this, and a family tree, which adds so much to the game. It baffles me they cut it in Rome II.

Anyway, if you are deciding wether to but it or not, i recommend it, but you might want to wait a bit: Im sure they will release a special pack soon with all DLC included.

Regards,

Rake

[SKSlave]

Many thanks for the response RakeinWaiting. As it happens I am waiting for a Steam sale before purchasing. It's great to hear the BAI improved, politics being made useful and it actually being entertaining.

Regards

[Basileos Leandros I]

Attila is a different ballpark compared to Rome - it's grittier, it's in a time period where you have tons of hordes and wandering armies, and when esentially the only working empires are the Eastern Romans and the Sassanids. Climate change takes it's toll as well on prosperity and food production, so there's plenty on to deal with.

That being said, there's plenty of battles to be had and to be enjoyed, and some new features such as politics and family tree.

[sgz]

I agree with all the above and have played ~380 hr on Attila BUT it's still not as good a game as the best modded versions of M2TW. ie Broken Crescent, EB2 and SSHIP. I'm back playing them again. At least until the full campaign of Medival 1212 AD comes out for Attila.

[Lucem Mundum]

I have to say that it rivals Med 2 in many ways. For me it is the best TW game ever. Ever since I started playing Attila I couldn't get back to Med 2 (which I spent almost 300+ hours on) for some reason, no matter how hard I try...I just cant do it. I even tried playing SS and Broken Crescent to get back to it but to no avail....This is how good Attila is.

[damnboy10]

i like this thread very exciting and deserves to be read..

[LinusLinothorax]

Attila is superior to Rome 2 in pretty much every aspect, EXCEPT of the fact that there are no more post-battle kill counts. And concerning them I am still confused: Why the did CA deleted them? What was the purpose? Why they don't readded them via a patch? Fact is I feel much less satisfied after a battle, when i cant even see how many enemies I killed without counting and summarizing the kills of every single unit.

[Gronndar]

The worst thing are the victory conditions, since they are just about survive x ammount of turns. Minor victory is ok, but it takes too much time to get that military/cultural victory. I like cutscenes, but they take too long to be "unlocked." but at least you can forget conquering and just build your and improve your empire.
Still, its better than Rome 2 where you need to conquer the whole map and for your trouble, you get generic victory video. Thats just boring.

[Basileos Leandros I]

One thing you might want to consider - Attila grows on you, it becomes more and more exciting as you play it.

[Lugotorix]

I suggest you look into my review on the Eagle Standard blog. Covers just about everything about the game's features except for custom battles and system specs. The game is in my opinion the best TW. I've certainly played more of it than any other title.

[SKSlave]

I would very much be interested could you send me a link please.

Regards

[Basileos Leandros I]

I also suggest looking at gameplays from popular YouTubers, like Legend of Total War and Prince of Macedon, they played Attila extensively and can give you an idea.

[Lugotorix]

I would very much be interested could you send me a link please.

Regards

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/conte...tal-war-Attila - link

[geala]

I was not very interested in the history of late antiquity (a mistake) and hesitated to play TW:Attila, and with for example DeI there are excellent mods for R2TW which increase the pleasure to play it considerably. In the end I gave Attila a try and I'm rather pleased. For me it's the best TW game I know; I started with MTW and played all (except NTW). With some mods, FotE and EP for example, it's even better. BTW any TW game is unplayable for me without a battle speed mod (except MTW), so I don't talk about vanilla.

Better than R2TW in Attila are for example the politics, external and faction internal, the 2D art, the civil war mechanic, the sea battles (still not very entertaining), a family tree is there. Worse are only some features, collapsing towers and no kill count come to mind.

[SKSlave]

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/conte...tal-war-Attila - link

That's a great read thanks for that.

Regards.

[Imperator Artorius]

Atilla is a good game robbed of greatness by CA not adhering to history as much as they could have done and imbalanced "BADASS" (cheers for that Darios!) elements such as the ridiculously weak Roman units, infinite Huns that want to destroy the world and OP Sassanids and their vassals, plus the arbitrary mechanics carried over from Rome 2 such as Imperium. Some of these can be modded out, or at least mitigated through mods. A lot of the time in the mid-late game it just ends up being really tedious for me.

However, it is leagues above Rome 2. For me even with DeI a Rome 2 campaign is so bland its unplayable, whereas Atilla is definitely very enjoyable for me (when modded).

[FrozenmenSS]

Attila is superior to Rome 2 in pretty much every aspect, EXCEPT of the fact that there are no more post-battle kill counts. And concerning them I am still confused: Why the did CA deleted them? What was the purpose? Why they don't readded them via a patch? Fact is I feel much less satisfied after a battle, when i cant even see how many enemies I killed without counting and summarizing the kills of every single unit.

I have to say that it rivals Med 2 in many ways. For me it is the best TW game ever. Ever since I started playing Attila I couldn't get back to Med 2 (which I spent almost 300+ hours on) for some reason, no matter how hard I try...I just cant do it. I even tried playing SS and Broken Crescent to get back to it but to no avail....This is how good Attila is.

This

Remember also the Rome 2 DEI poreted mod For Attila,that starts in 200BC after the Second Punic war. Also Rise of Mordor is a must mod to play also in the future. Im already in love with the mod Medieval Kingdoms 1212ad.

[Darios]

I concur with Mr. Artorius, once you get over the fact that Attila is a very BADASS! game, and really get into the artistic storytelling, one would find that Attila is arguably (I'd only put Shogun 2 higher) Total War game out there. It took CA over a year but they finally gave the game some excellent factional/cultural diversity. It is far more engaging and immersive than anything one would ever find in Rome 2 (which might be the worst Total War game ever released) and it tells a wonderful story.

I don't like some things like the fact that the Roman units look so depressed and emo or that most Roman cities are mudforts, but it's a very good game that will keep you engaged for a long time. I honestly think that Attila is another patch or two + another DLC away from becoming something special.

[SharpEyed]

I see (too) many positive comments here..
Well you might like it, or you might not like it, depends on your playing style and the historical Era/s you like.
And of course you being casual player or not.

My summary for Attila:
If you are after gameplay depth, less repetitiveness, the soul of a game, don't bother. None of the past-Shogun II titles have those, including Warhammer.

Yes it is better than Rome II in many ways but just a polished version of it in my opinion.

Some says it's better than M2TW, lol good luck with that.
Thou sure if you are after graphics and stuff.

I've forced myself to play it but always got bored after a while, even with mods (including mine) and now playing Rome TW once again, except this time with a mod (RTH) , and having more fun.