Rome II Total War - 51 hours in and extremely frustrated

[Kenny Works]

I bought the game a few weeks ago based on some recommendations in this forum. I bought it at a Steam sale so I didn't spend too much, thank God. I know mods are supposed to improve it but I decided to play one game as Rome in vanilla to get the experience. I played two games, one as Rome/Julia and one as Rome/Junia, both on hard.

It's not difficult; land battles, to be sure, can be steamrolled. It's the mechanics. Naval battles make me want to punch my computer. I've read a couple of helpful posts and watched some videos, but mostly what I'm hearing is their broken and you have to use some gamey tactics to win.

The way it takes me three years to sail to Corsica as Rome. The lack of depth but then random annoying difficulty events just thrown at you for no reason (hey, one of your family members is an idiot - pick one of the three possible outcomes and watch as your influence plummets!) Diplomatic events that don't even make sense (my favorite? Sparta declares war on Rome one turn, and in the next turn, offers me peace and 1600 gold ... and we never fought a single engagement!)

I really like the way game looks, and I really want to like the game. I've wanted to like it for years, but I kept hearing what garbage it was. So I've owned it for a few weeks and I'm ready to never play it again. Is there a mod that can make this game more enjoyable (and hopefully fix some of this stuff?)

Thanks for help - I do appreciate it.

KGG

P.S. Oh, and again with the wardogs. Yeah. Six units of hastati, four units of velites, and four units of wardogs. Yeah. Why raise cohorts when you have these beasts?

[Ultra123]

Divide Et Impera is what your looking for, its not for everyone but i think from your comments its what you seek.

[PointOfViewGun]

You played 51 hours?

[douglas]

Once the Emperor edition came out I really enjoyed it. From the looks of the announcements I think I'll like the Empire Divided update also.

[Fridericus Rex]

I just read that "TWR2 - Attila" seems to compensate for the shortcomings of the original version. Has anybody played this edition?
BTW, I do not have RTW 2, but like to start and buy the game - which version is the most advanced? Emperor Edition, or which specific version?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[LestaT]

I just read that "TWR2 - Attila" seems to compensate for the shortcomings of the original version. Has anybody played this edition?
BTW, I do not have RTW 2, but like to start and buy the game - which version is the most advanced? Emperor Edition, or which specific version?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

There is only Emperor Edition. Now on sale I believe.