Originally Posted by
Double A
All the units are incredibly alien. I'm not just talking about the names - while I can appreciate the work that went into all these authentic names they don't lend themselves well to me understand what they do on the battlefield - but the stats too. ~20 missile damage for melee infantry javelins and 13 for dedicated skirmishers seems to be standard. Won't this just absolutely mow down everything? How do I deal with this? Let leves and the like soak the javelins? How does a hoplite with 8 attack measure up to a hastati? Are toxotes with their 4 attack just completely useless against anyone with a shield or minimal armor? Even cretans, with 5 attack, sound trashy. I'll note now I haven't played a battle yet because I'm facing heaps of decision paralysis.
There seem to be multiple government building chains? And some buildings seem to have a purpose that is not obvious. Also, some building chains trade out recruitable troops. I don't really know how to plan around all this.
Rebels seem to be overwhelming. I understand that they're more akin to minor factions but some of them look like they could seriously kick my ass - looking at Syracuse in particular. How is their behavior governed so they don't annihilate everything? How am I supposed to handle them?
The economy seems nuts. Units and buildings cost obscenely more than they do in any other mod I can think of except maybe Rusichi (it's been awhile) but their impact hasn't been scaled up to match. How do I account for this? Smash end turn without building anything until I have a sizable war chest, a new city, and fewer living soldiers in need of payment? Also, I can't seem to see predicted income changes in a city econ tab, which makes this difference even harder to take into account.
Traits are just buck wild. I don't know what's important and what's fluff. Gens, aptitude, temperament, elected office, even biography all seem to apply I should be doing very specific things with FMs. I just can't figure out what, exactly, it all means when taken together.
The timescale of this seems to be much more drawn out than vanilla. Marian reforms in 500-600 turns? I don't think I've ever made it past turn 150 in any TW game, averaging around 30 turns for short or unfinished campaigns and 80 for longer ones. Is this... really how people play this mod? How do you endure anything for that long? When I snowball past the point of challenge, I get bored and start a new game. But, if I could force myself to play that long, I can't see how I wouldn't have conquered the whole map by then.
There's just so much I seem to have to know and read that it's really turning me off the idea of playing. I'm willing to put in some effort, but part of me is anxiously freaking out because this looks ridiculously demanding.