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1. Preface
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- 1.1 Notes
- 1.2 Credits and Legal
- 1.3 Version
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2. Introduction
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- 2.1 What is Praetorians?
- 2.2 Who developed the game?
- 2.3 What are the minimum requirements?
- 2.4 Where can I get demos and patches?
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3. Gameplay
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3.1 Setup and Interface
- 3.1.1 Can I play as Barbarians or Egyptians?
- 3.1.2 What do the difficulty settings change?
- 3.1.3 Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts?
- 3.1.4 Can the map view be zoomed or rotated?
- 3.1.5 Can the game speed be changed?
- 3.1.6 How do I group troops?
- 3.1.7 How do I change the width of formations?
3.2 Unit Training
- 3.2.1 How can I replenish loses?
- 3.2.2 What is the difference between a village and barracks, and how do I
use them?
- 3.2.3 How do I train a Centurion or commanding officer?
- 3.2.4 What limits the number of units? What are Unit and Troop Control
Points?
- 3.2.5 What limits troop recruitment? Why can't I train a certain unit?
- 3.2.6 How do I gain Honour points?
3.3 Unit Usage
- 3.3.1 How do Stamina and Health work?
- 3.3.2 How do I treat poison?
- 3.3.3 What is the advantage of commanders?
- 3.3.4 Can I kill my own troops?
- 3.3.5 Can I stop my troops 'doing their own thing'?
- 3.3.6 Why don't troops retreat from battle?
- 3.3.7 Can I set multi-point patrols?
- 3.3.8 Does weather make a difference?
- 3.3.9 How does the hunters' ambush work?
- 3.3.10 Why won't my catapults attack?
- 3.3.11 Can I extinguish fires on war machines?
3.4 Buildings and Structures
- 3.4.1 Can I destroy bridges?
- 3.4.2 How do I rebuild bridges without infantry?
- 3.4.3 How do I move troops into towers?
- 3.4.4 Can the fortress's gate be repaired?
- 3.4.5 Can I build a fortress or village?
- 3.4.6 Can the protect command be used for buildings or areas of ground?
3.5 Multiplayer
- 3.5.1 How do I chat in multiplayer games?
- 3.5.2 Do any multiplayer maps feature fortifications and castles?
- 3.5.3 What's inferiority?
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4. Strategies
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4.1 Introduction
- 4.1.1 Tactics
- 4.1.2 Campaign vs Skirmish
4.2 General Tactics
- 4.2.1 Movement and formations
- 4.2.2 Leaders and heroes
- 4.2.3 Healers
- 4.2.4 Spearmen
- 4.2.5 Luring
- 4.2.6 Towers
- 4.2.7 War machines
- 4.2.8 Sieges
- 4.2.9 Bridges
4.3 Romans
- 4.3.1 General
- 4.3.2 Formations and tactics
- 4.3.3 Turtle formation
- 4.3.4 Praetorians
4.4 Barbarians
- 4.4.1 General
- 4.4.2 Melee Infantry
- 4.4.3 Cavalry
- 4.4.4 Hunters
4.5 Egyptians
- 4.5.1 General
- 4.5.2 Slut Rape
4.6 Skirmish and Multiplayer
- 4.6.1 Skirmish
- 4.6.2 Online
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5. Campaign
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5.1 Tutorial I
- 5.1.1 Overview
- 5.1.2 Strategy
5.2 Tutorial II
- 5.2.1 Overview
- 5.2.2 Strategy
5.3 Tutorial III
- 5.3.1 Overview
- 5.3.2 Strategy
5.4 Tutorial IV
- 5.4.1 Overview
- 5.4.2 Strategy
5.5 Crossing the River Arar
- 5.5.1 Overview
- 5.5.2 Strategy
5.6 Escort to Bibracte
- 5.6.1 Overview
- 5.6.2 Strategy
5.7 Of All the Gallic Tribes
- 5.7.1 Overview
- 5.7.2 Strategy
5.8 Divide and Conquer
- 5.8.1 Overview
- 5.8.2 Strategy
- 5.8.3 Why does the mission not finish?
5.9 The Everlasting Frontier
- 5.9.1 Overview
- 5.9.2 Resist the German Onslaught
- 5.9.3 Capture Mainz
5.10 A Land Lost in the Mist
- 5.10.1 Overview
- 5.10.2 Bridgehead
- 5.10.3 Alliance strategy
- 5.10.4 Independent strategy
- 5.10.5 Rescue
5.11 Greed
- 5.11.1 Overview
- 5.11.2 Strategy
5.12 Fear the Eagles
- 5.12.1 Overview
- 5.12.2 Strategy
5.13 Cold Treason
- 5.13.1 Overview
- 5.13.2 Relieve the siege
- 5.13.3 Defend the fortress
- 5.13.4 Conquer enemy villages
5.14 When All Hell Breaks Loose
- 5.14.1 Overview
- 5.14.2 Strategy
5.15 He Who Dares...
- 5.15.1 Overview
- 5.15.2 Introduction
- 5.15.3 Gathering an army
- 5.15.4 Defeating the horde
- 5.15.5 Dealing with villages
- 5.15.6 When I get attacked by Hunters my troops freeze. Why?
5.16 Homecoming
- 5.16.1 Overview
- 5.16.2 Strategy
5.17 War of Attrition
- 5.17.1 Overview
- 5.17.2 Strategy
5.18 Alea Iacta Est
- 5.18.1 Overview
- 5.18.2 Crossing the southern river
- 5.18.3 Pisaurus and Fanum
- 5.18.4 Ancona
5.19 War Within the Mountains
- 5.19.1 Overview
- 5.19.2 Introduction
- 5.19.3 Defense
- 5.19.4 Offense
5.20 Let the Hunt Begin
- 5.20.1 Overview
- 5.20.2 Defend the fortress
- 5.20.3 Reinforcements
5.21 The End of the Republic
- 5.21.1 Overview
- 5.21.2 Strategy
5.22 The Battle for Alexandria
- 5.22.1 Overview
- 5.22.2 Defend the fortress
- 5.22.3 Port and boats
5.23 Friends and Allies
- 5.23.1 Overview
- 5.23.2 Strategy
5.24 Just One... More... Fight
- 5.24.1 Overview
- 5.24.2 Mercenaries
- 5.24.3 River, Osuna and fortress
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6. Editing and Technical Issues
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- 6.1 Are there any cheats or trainers? Can I skip a level?
- 6.2 Where are game save files stored?
- 6.3 Can the resolution be changed?
- 6.4 How can I take screenshots?
- 6.5 Are there any custom or multiplayer siege maps?
- 6.6 Can I play as Greeks?
- 6.7 Is there a map editor?
- 6.8 Are there any guides to modifying the game?
- 6.9 Can I open .pak files?
- 6.10 Can I extract music from the game?
- 6.11 I can't connect to an online game. Any suggestions?
- 6.12 I have video/display problems. Any suggestions?
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Appendices
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- A. Unit Abilities
- B. Unit Training
- C. Terrain
This FAQ/guide is based on the United Kingdom release of Praetorians, patched
to v1.04. It contains comments and strategies based on other versions. I am
not aware of any differences between versions released in different countries.
Parts of the FAQ will be appropriate to demo versions, although I believe
certain balancing changes occurred between the demo and release version, so
use with caution. Praetorians was one of those games that tried to break out
of an established real time strategy formula (resource gathering - production
- battle), was received quite favourably by many that played it, but
ultimately sunk without trace soon after it was released - particularly in the
English speaking world.
Praetorians is a relatively easy game to start playing but includes many tough
missions likely to send players looking for a walkthrough or hints. It also
has scope for various different strategies, not all of which are immediately
apparent. Prima have published an official strategy guide (
http://www.primagames.com/strategy/book/5682/ ) - it has not been used
directly in the creation of this document. Praetorians is not well documented
in English on the internet, with only one fan-site of note, and only one
regularly used English forum. The later, http://forums.eidosgames.com/ ,
contains a wealth of strategies and mission tips, which I have edited down and
integrated into this guide. This guide also draws on material originally
written in Spanish or German.
This document is aimed at newer players, not multiplayer veterans. Both
multiplayer and singleplayer strategies have been included, but this text is
biased towards singleplayer, specifically the campaign. This reflects my
personal experience of the game, the overall level of forum discussion, and
what I think is needed most in a guide such as this. This FAQ was awarded the
title "FAQ of the Month" for August 2003 by GameFAQs. Cool.
This FAQ was written by Tim Howgego (also known as timski), copyright 2003-
2004, unless otherwise stated. Errors and suggestions should be reported to
tim (at) capsu (dot) org. Please put "Praetorians" somewhere in the email
subject field. This FAQ includes ideas and strategies posted on forums,
primarily http://forums.eidosgames.com/ , and fan sites including Nitroace30
(now closed), http://praetorianzone.gamigo.de/ (in German) and
http://www.geocities.com/vent40k/ (in Spanish) - contributors are noted with
the relevant text.
You may save and print this document for your own personal use only. You may
copy and repost this FAQ, but the content of the document, including the
credits, must remain unchanged. You must not charge for it, sell, rent, or
otherwise profit from it. Informing the author that you are hosting it is
appreciated, but not mandatory. Ensuring you host the most recent version is
also appreciated, but not mandatory. If converting from text to HTML, please
note the use of fixed width text in diagrams and greater/less-than characters.
Praetorians copyright Pyro Studios SL 2003. Praetorians is a registered
trademark of Pyro Studios 99 SL. Eidos and Eidos Interactive are trademarks of
the Eidos Group of companies. All rights reserved. Other trademarks and
copyright are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. This
is not an official FAQ. It is not endorsed by the game's developer or
publisher. The author is not affiliated to the game's developer or publisher.
Praetorians is a real time strategy game for PC/Windows, set in Roman Europe
around the time of Julius Caesar. The game involves almost no resource
management and is focused on tactical battle with a ability to capture
villages and recruit additional troops. Praetorians includes three
civilizations - Romans, Barbarians and Egyptians - the later often take the
role of other 'Arab' tribes. The main campaign is based on Romans. The game's
name is inspired by the Praetoriani (Praetoriae Cohortes), an elite cohort
formed to protect the general of the Roman army. Units in the game reflect
those that existed, but there are many concessions to gameplay balance, such
as the equal availability of war machines to all civilizations. Similarly,
while the storyline is set against a backdrop of events circa 50BC, the actual
missions and battles are somewhat contrived. Praetorians is not intended to be
a perfect historical re-creation. It should be regarded as a Roman themed real
time strategy game, rather than a traditional historical war-game. A summary
of the game's features can be found at http://www.praetoriansgame.com/ .
Pyro Studios ( http://www.pyrostudios.com/ ), based in Madrid, Spain, wrote
the game. They are better known for developing the Commandos series of games.
Praetorians was published by Eidos Interactive. Originally intended to be
released in 2002, the game finally appeared in February/March 2003.
The absolute minimums are: Pentium III 500MHz, 128MB RAM (256MB for Windows
2000/XP), 16MB graphics card (DirectX 8.1 compatible, 32MB recommended),
display resolution 1024x768, 600MB free hard drive space, Windows 98/2000/XP,
quad-speed CD-ROM drive, keyboard and mouse. Multiplayer requires a slightly
faster processor (at least 700MHz) with at least a 56k modem connection
(broadband recommended).
Two demo versions are available - a single player version (which I believe
features the campaign mission Crossing the River Arar) and a multiplayer
version (which features a single multiplayer/skirmish map). Demos can be found
at http://www.eidosinteractive.com/downloads/search.html?gmid=124 and several
other gaming sites. Installing both the demo and the full game on the same
machine may cause to video glitches.
The most recent official patch at the time of writing is v1.04, 24 April 2003.
It can be found at several locations, including
http://ftp.eidos.com/pub/patches/praetorians/patchinstaller.exe ,
http://www.fileplanet.com/section.aspx?s=93629 and http://www.pyrostudios.com/
. The patch is 2.7MB. However Jare, one of the game's developers, released an
unofficial (unsupported) patch v1.05, 22 October 2004. This patch "fixes the
bug with troops becoming invulnerable after splitting them". It can be
downloaded from http://www.fileplanet.com/files/140000/146941.shtml . There is
no need to apply earlier patches first - v1.05 can be applied to a freshly
installed game. The game's current version number is displayed in the bottom
left corner of game's main menu screen.
This section contains answers to commonly asked gameplay questions. It does
not specifically replace the manual. The manual explains the basic interface,
concepts and abilities. To be honest, even if you do not have the manual it is
possible to learn most of the game's features from a combination of the
tutorials and the readme file on the CD.
3.1 Setup and Interface
______________________________________________________________________________
3.1.1 Can I play as Barbarians or Egyptians?
You can in multiplayer/skirmish mode. There is only one campaign, which is
based on Romans. There are a few opportunities during the campaign to use or
train non-Roman troops, however there are no missions that use entirely non-
Roman forces.
Difficulty influences the size and makeup of your initial forces. For example,
the first non-tutorial mission, Crossing the River Arar (see below), includes
two units of Auxiliary Infantry and three Legionaries on "easy", one less
Auxiliary Infantry on "Normal", and one less unit of Legionaries on "Hard".
The enemy generally has additional units on harder settings. RogueImpaler
notes: "Enemy villages will produce lots more troops on hard also." Less
obviously, on harder settings the enemy's AI (Artificial Intelligence) is
better. Centurion, on harder difficulties: "The AI was employing better
tactics such as flanking my archers by moving through woods, but the blatant
change was that I had less troops starting and there seemed to be more enemy
troops. I thought arrows from enemy archers/mounted archers inflicted a little
more damage."
The camera height can be changed _slightly_ by altering the slider found under
game options. This can also be achieved by rolling the mouse wheel or pressing
Page-Up/Page-Down. The map cannot be rotated. It is not clear why the
developers decided to lock the camera.
Select the required units, assign a group by pressing CRTL+1-9, then 1-9 to
recall the group, and 1-9 again to jump to them. Rufus adds: "You can add
units to an already existing group by selecting the new troops, then holding
shift and pressing the number of your existing group and finally once again
assign a group number. It is possible to have troops belong to several groups.
To activate this you need to go to the Game Options panel and click the
'Troops in Multiple Groups' button."
The width of individual units cannot be changed, except by changing the facing
or (for certain units) adopting a special formation. Facing can be changed by
selecting the unit, then either: (1) right clicking at the destination,
holding down with the mouse and moving it in the direction desired to face, or
(2) by selecting the 'facing' icon from actions menu in the bottom right of
the screen, and then clicking at a point you wish the unit to face. Multiple
units can be set into a formation of variable width. Gaius Julius writes:
"After you've selected your troops, right-click where you want them to go;
don't let go of the right mouse button yet, then either use the mouse's scroll
wheel to set the width of the formation, or you can use the Page up, or Page
down buttons on the keyboard." There is no direct way of ensuring certain
units take certain positions in the formation. However, Shamaani writes: "In
order to get spearmen in the front, standard army corps in the middle, and
archer behind I do like this: Select army corps and set them to 'Defend' the
pikemen. Select archers and set them to 'Defend' the army corps. For moving
the whole army, just move the pikemen." Alternatively assign groups to
different sets of units and order them separately.
3.2 Unit Training
______________________________________________________________________________
3.2.1 How can I replenish loses?
New squads can be trained using a village or barracks. Sometimes during
campaign missions additional reinforcements will join your army during the
mission. Injured troops can be healed with a healer such as a Physician. The
Physician can be ordered to heal a specific unit. Alternatively units within
the Physician's area of influence will slowly be healed. Where an existing
squad is missing men, squads can be joined. Select the units to be joined and
press the join button (or J). For example, two half-strength (15 man) legions
can be joined to form one full strength (30 man) legion. No one squad can ever
exceed full strength.
3.2.2 What is the difference between a village and barracks, and how do I use
them?
Villages must first be captured by destroying any existing garrison, building
your own garrison next to the village using infantry, and then assigning a
commander (Centurion or similar) to recruit at the village. Barracks have
fixed ownership and cannot be captured, only destroyed. Barracks do not
require a commander. Barracks are only ever found inside fortresses. Both
barracks and villages can be destroyed. Destroyed villages or barracks cannot
be rebuilt or captured; they are permanently removed from the map for the rest
of the mission.
Both villages and barracks function in the same way: Assuming you have
completed the steps above, left-click on the building, then select units to
train from the menu in the bottom-right of the screen. Up to seven units may
be queued for training. Training will automatically stop if there is
insufficient population, honour points or unit control points (see below).
3.2.3 How do I train a Centurion or commanding officer?
You don't. Instead commanders are promoted from other units. Select a unit and
then press Promote on the actions menu in the bottom right of the screen. A
small tent will appear momentarily. One member of the unit will become a level
0 commander and the remainder of the unit will be unchanged. The civilization
of the commander is determined by the civilization of the promoted unit. For
example, if you want a Chieftain rather than a Centurion, you must promote a
Barbarian unit (in most circumstances you will only control one civilization,
and so will not have this choice). Prior combat experience or unit type is not
transferred to the promoted unit: There is no advantage to promoting battle-
hardened Praetorians instead of Auxiliary Infantry. Commanders instead gain
experience from combat within their area of influence. Any regular or special
unit can be promoted. Characters, single man units such as scouts, and siege
engines cannot be promoted.
There is a limit to the number of commanders you may promote. This limit is
not entirely understood. It seems that you may have one commander per 1-100
troops. For example if you have 30 troops, one commander; 190 troops, two
commanders; 210 troops three commanders. You may never have more than five
commanders in total. There are some oddities, particularly in campaign
missions where this may not hold true. For example, certain named character
commanders may not count towards the five-commander limit. If you are already
at the limit and additional commanders join your army, you automatically keep
all the commanders and exceed the limit.
3.2.4 What limits the number of units? What are Unit and Troop Control Points?
Overall army size is limited by Unit Control Points (UCPs) and Troop Control
Points (TCPs). These are specified by the mission and cannot be changed.
Typically UCPs range from 500 to 1000, TCPs from 50 to 75. To display the
current values, press and hold down Shift to show the Battle Status Panel.
Gaius Julius adds: "If you enabled it in the 'Game Options' section, it should
be visible on screen." Unit Control Points refer to the total number of men
you may command, so a unit of Legionaries might count as 30 men, a scout as
one man. Troop Control Points refer to the total number of units that may be
commanded as separate entities (yes I know that sounds the wrong way round),
for example a unit of Legionaries counts as one TCP, as does a scout.
Commanders, healers and scouts are exceptions to this rule. Commanders are
described above (see How do I train a Centurion or commanding officer? above).
Healers are restricted to two. Scouts are restricted to five. These levels can
sometimes be exceeded during the campaign when additional troops join your
army. For example, if the UCP limit is 500, your starting army accounts for
400, and 200 points worth of reinforcements join you, you can still keep the
total 600 points worth. You will not however be able to train any new units at
a village or barracks until the total drops below 500.
3.2.5 What limits troop recruitment? Why can't I train a certain unit?
The village or barracks recruiting the unit must have the pre-requisite
population available. Most villages grow population slowly over time, although
there are occasional campaign reports of villages where population does not
re-grow. Any honour point requirement must be met (see How do I gain Honour
points? below). There must be enough space remaining in your army for the
units (see What limits the number of units? What are Unit and Troop Control
Points? above). Full troop requirements are shown in the Unit Training
appendix. Not all units are immediately available in the campaign. This varies
by mission and is listed at the start of the walkthrough for each mission.
Generally, special units are not freely available until later in the campaign.
The only mission where absolutely every unit from every civilization is
available is the final mission, Just One... More... Fight (see below).
Honour Points (or "Honor Points" for Americans) are required in order to
recruit certain units types, notably cavalry (1 point per unit) and special
units (2 points per unit). Honour points are gained from battle. They
accumulate slowly as your troops gain experience from fighting. The precise
relationship between combat experience and honour points is unknown. Gaius
Julius notes: "The number of HPs you accumulate varies by troop type." The
current honour point total is displayed on the Battle Status Panel (press and
hold down Shift). Gaius Julius continues: "You'll see an icon of a star with a
wreath around it, next to it you'll see a number. This number is the number of
HP's you have. To the right of this you'll see a bar, when it fills up
completely, you've earned another HP."
Health reflects the overall life and damage of the unit. Single-man units will
survive until their health reaches zero. For multi-man units, health is an
average across the unit. Such units typically start losing men once the unit's
health declines below about 50%. Health can be recovered using a healer such
as a Physician. Stamina is used when running or (in certain cases) when using
special abilities. Stamina declines at different rates. For example,
Legionaries' stamina will decline fast when running because all that armor is
heavy - try it ;-) . Stamina recovers over time once the unit stops trying to
use it. Certain abilities such as Extra Energy Regeneration and Prayer can be
used to recover stamina more quickly. Steal Energy Effect drains stamina from
enemy.
Commanders (Centurions, Chieftains or Barbarians) are required to recruit at
villages. They also have advantages in the field. Troops within their area of
influence gain bonuses to attack and defense. These bonuses vary by
civilization and experience/level - as shown in the Unit Abilities appendix
below. Bonuses do not stack, however it is thought that where two commanders
of different civilizations are present, the highest bonus available applies.
This would mean that a level 4 Centurion and a level 4 Chieftain collectively
give a 30% bonus to both attack and defense. This is only relevant to a few
campaign missions, since in most only one civilization is available. The area
of influence is shown by a faint blue circle around the commander.
RogueImpaler adds: "You can tell if your troops are affected by their leader
when they have a little extra eagle in their flag." Combat that takes place
within a commander's area of influence increases the commander's experience
and level. Higher ranking commanders can make a significant difference to the
outcome of a battle, so ensuring they gain experience is useful.
There is no command to do this, however there are tricks to destroy your own
units. From no_pulse: "Build a tower and garrison it with the units you want
destroyed. Then send a battering ram in to destroy the tower, and it will not
only destroy the tower, but also the units inside." Athos suggests: "You can
also position your troops between a ballista and the ballista's target."
Mercurypitt writes: "I like to hide them in grass and then burn the grass
while forcing my troops to run through the flames." Kmorg74 adds: "I just
break them up into small groups and send them to probe or decoy enemy troops."
3.3.5 Can I stop my troops 'doing their own thing'?
Yes. Assign them 'Hold Position' orders (press H). Stationary formations may
also be used, although these generally have a more specific purpose than
simply telling your troops to remain still. Troops will still react to the
enemy when holding. This reaction can be modified by setting them to
'Aggressive' or 'Defensive' mode. In 'Aggressive' mode units will engage the
enemy as soon as they come into view/range. In 'Defensive' mode units will
wait until they come under attack or the enemy comes very close before
responding.
Troops cannot be retreated once they have been engaged in melee. This is
considered realistic. Troops can retreat from ranged attacks, however they may
sustain heavy casualties doing so.
By default patrols are set between the starting point of the unit and the
location you set the patrol. By holding Shift down while setting the patrol
route, multiple patrol points can be set. Similarly, if CTRL is held down
while setting a patrol point, the unit will run that part of the route.
Andrex Aurelius writes: "Place your Hunters in a forest and wait until their
Stamina regenerates to full. When it has, the Hunters will automatically go
into Ambush mode and will attack enemies that walk over their position. When
in Ambush mode Hunters become invisible to the enemy (except to Wolves) and
deal much higher damage."
War machines are generally the least likely to respond to an approaching
enemy. This partly reflects the time taken to load and fire them. To make them
more responsive set them to 'Aggressive' mode. The main danger with auto-
firing siege engines is the risk your troops will get caught by them. This is
particularly true of Ballistas, which fire straight at the target, rather than
over the heads of your own troops. Alternatively, assign attack targets
yourself.
Wooden bridges can be destroyed using archers or Catapults. Simply order them
to attack the bridge and after a short time the bridge will start burning and
then collapse. Stone bridges cannot be destroyed.
Demote an existing regular or special unit. Click on the unit, select demote
from the bottom-right menu and confirm the demotion. The unit will put up a
tent for a few seconds, and then reappear as infantry. The infantry can then
be used to rebuild the bridge. Demoted units cannot return to their former
unit type.
Select the unit and then right-click on the tower. From Random: "It's
important to click the base of the tower. I was clicking the top of it, but it
wasn't registering." Cicero notes: "Make sure that the towers are in good or
perfect condition. They get damaged by attacks, in which case your archers may
not get in. If there's damage to towers, simply get your auxiliary troops to
repair them." Only foot troops can enter towers - not cavalry or siege
engines.
Yes, so long as it is your fortress and the gate has not been completely
destroyed. Assign Auxiliary Infantry (or similar) to repair the gate, by
selecting them and then clicking on the gate. The unit will attempt to repair
the gate to full health and then stop repairs. They will not attend to
subsequent damage and must be reassigned each time new repairs are required.
Once the gate has been destroyed it cannot be repaired.
3.5.2 Do any multiplayer maps feature fortifications and castles?
Officially no. Jare writes: "The plans for fortress sieges in skirmish and
multiplayer had to be put on hold in order to make the release date we had
committed to." However existing siege maps have been hacked to make them
playable in multiplayer or skirmish mode - see Are there any custom or
multiplayer siege maps? below.
This feature is designed to make it easy to finish a multiplayer game without
having to search for every last enemy unit. When the enemy no longer has any
villages, or their force is 10% the size of your force, inferiority is
enabled. This starts a 60 second timer. Once the timer has run out the
location of all the enemy's remaining units can be seen.
Gaius Julius writes: "This game forces you to use the 'right' unit for the
'right' task, for example, don't use archers for melee combat." While this is
partly true of many similar games, in Praetorians it is far more noticeable.
Use the wrong unit and you may suffer 100% casualties for no loss by the
enemy. Use the right unit and it is often possible to do the reverse.
Athos writes: "There is actually a good amount of strategy in this game.
Primarily in the match-up of units and how you move around the map. If you
just move your troops toward an objective they will get murdered; have a scout
and know everything about where they are about to move..." Ah, scouting - more
about that later; it is perhaps the most important tactic of all.
LordJohnDrinksalot: "I'm not saying tactics don't matter. They matter - I've
seen enemy archers cut to pieces in melee combat without a loss to friendly
Legionaries and ballistas decimate an advancing legion company - but they pale
in significance to the same old Real Time Strategy 'recruit troops quicker
than the enemy' tactic. This is obviously less true for the campaigns (you
have to employ tactics), but very true for the skirmish battles (you have to
capture villages quicker)." There are many times during the campaign when
careful scouting and tactical positioning of units is the only way to win. In
skirmish mode this is not true. "While I'm trying to cleverly ambush the AI
[Artificial Intelligence], the AI is grabbing another village. Frankly,
grabbing villages quicker than your enemy seems to be 80% of the game, and
everything else is a distant second place consideration."
While some of this strategy section is applicable to both campaign and
skirmish modes, it is likely to be more useful in a campaign context.
Scouting is crucial in Praetorians. This applies to extending the effective
range of units such as archers, but most importantly it prevents your troops
walking into an ambush. From Athos: "You should always know what stands
between you and the place where you want your troops, and what is there
waiting for you. Do these through proper scouting and planning, and you'll be
able to take out the ambushes before they ambush you. ... Scout as much as
possible and know what you're facing, and plan how to get around it before
bull rushing into anything and everything." From loki: "Although I can
understand the need to have basic formations/patterns while the troops are
stationary, I don't have the slightest idea why I would need complicated
formations while moving. Here's why: you should always know where you are
going, that's what scouts are for."
Combat in Praetorians is relatively fast once it starts, but often during the
campaign there is plenty of time to prepare. One can march a 'perfect'
formation into a pitch battle, but once the battle has started almost all hope
of control has been lost when additional enemy troops are drawn in. By
planning battles, you opt to control the battle by the terms on which you
fight it, not by a 'click-fest' of orders to units that often cannot respond
because they are busy fighting off an enemy that happens to have engaged them
already.
Latbat writes: "The basics are to put your infantry ahead and archers behind,
but this tactic isn't enough to win against a good player. You have to have
your hand on the pulse of battle, and do what's the best for current
situation, not to just blindly attack if the forces are equal." Mark OHearn
writes: "Clearly archers are far too weak to be at the front so keep them back
behind melee troops. In most missions I just hotkey my important units -
special unit, healers, centurion, and scouts. Make sure you make these units
auto-stay [hold] or your healers will go into the melee attacks and die."
From Random: "Tell your archers to protect your infantry and manually control
the horses. Tell your chief units and priests to 'protect' the infantry too,
so they'll give you the good benefits while not exposing themselves. Keep your
groups under easy control by assigning group numbers, so if you tell your
archers to attack something else, it's easy to make them 'protect' the
infantry again after the battle." Quintus writes: "When building up formations
for all out assaults, place stationary spearmen, stationary archers behind,
and all the heavy infantry behind them. Any attacks from the front the
Legionaries will skirmish." Cavalry can be used to charge down poorly defended
units such as archers. Once other enemy units are engaged in skirmish cavalry
will be able to ride through their lines.
Finally, remember that your troops can run (assign orders while holding down
the CTRL key). They cannot run forever, since their stamina decreases. Also
consider that if their stamina declines, they may not be able to use a special
ability.
Heroes are only found during the campaign. They are named characters. They
always have the abilities of other single units - typically Centurions, but
sometimes healers or scouts. Their main advantage is a higher than average hit
point total. Unfortunately they are almost always mission critical - should
they die the mission will be failed. Mark OHearn writes: "In certain missions
I was able to leave a hero at or near the starting position in the woods. In
other missions, you need them to recruit troops, so just always keep them back
from the action with a troop to protect. Hotkey them is the best way to move
them around." Sometimes it is possible to use a hero to take the brunt of an
enemy attack: Their above average hit point total allows them to survive while
other troops do the damage. But avoid baiting Hunters with them - if unlucky,
it's an instant 'game over' moment.
Commanders gain considerable bonuses at higher levels. If the commander
survives long enough, these bonuses can make a significant difference to the
performance of troops, both offensively and defensively. Commanders also have
special abilities. From RogueImpaler: "Your troops are much more capable with
their leader in the vicinity. Image your Legionaries have just thrown their
pilums - now they are exhausted. With their Centurion close by they regenerate
much faster." This particular trick is specific to the Roman army, because
only their Centurion has the ability to provide extra energy regeneration, but
it is a good example of using commanders' special abilities. From bond0bhave:
"Using this way I killed 2 squads of Praetorians and one Gladiator in the
campaign. I had a group of Nubian Archers, a Barbarian Chieftain and a
Centurion. Use the Barbarian Chieftain to sap the stamina, and then use the
Nubians to poison the gladiators. Retreat them when the enemy gets close and
then attack with more poison, using the Centurion to refill stamina."
RogueImpaler continues: "The Centurion is willing to sacrifice himself in
order to let his troops escape if that time has come. Troops can't get out of
a rumble once they've been attacked or have attacked themselves. You can send
in your Centurion at this time. He will give the troops the opportunity to
break loose and run for it." This particular trick is unconfirmed.
Healers are particularly important when you cannot afford to take heavy
casualties - specifically when you have no village at which to recruit
replacement troops. This occurs quite frequently during the campaign. Healers
will attempt to heal wounded soldiers automatically. Mark OHearn writes: "It
is not unusual for them to go to the frontlines, and if your fighting troops
are killed, so goes the medic. Therefore, consider putting him on hold (you
can auto-hold) to keep him from doing this. After the battle, un-select the
hold so he can go heal the remaining troops." Jare writes: "I would suggest
using the 'protect' command, so the medics follow your lead troops without
getting ahead of them. Protecting troops helps a lot when managing a large
group in battle." By default healers automatically use their abilities to heal
injured troops, in addition to slow healing within their area of influence.
This ability appears to extend to every unit except the healer himself, so
occasionally intervene and 'manually' heal your healer.
Spearmen (including Guards and Pikemen) have a special formation called
'Stationary'. Stationary spearmen are particularly effective against charging
cavalry. Athos adds: "Spearmen are perfect for stopping those charges, only
problem is you have to protect them from archers or they get torn apart." A
common strategy is to place archers behind stationary Spearmen. This entices
the cavalry to try and attack the archers, but in doing so generally forces
them onto the stationary line of Spearmen (see Luring below).
RogueImpaler writes: "Use spearmen at the last moment to counter mass attack -
they can be very, very deadly indeed." Rather than luring, this tactic
involves advancing Spearmen forward with other troops, and just before the
enemy cavalry engage in melee switching the Spearmen to stationary.
ShadowFiend writes: "A nasty strategy is to place pikemen in stationary form
in front of the village entrance of the enemy if you don't have enough forces
to swiftly destroy the village. Everything comes out dying quickly."
The lure is a classic technique, primarily relying on the other players' units
stupidity to drag them into an ambush. One unit is sent close to an enemy
unit, then once the enemy unit gives chase, the friendly unit retreats back to
where other friendly units are waiting to pounce. Luring only partly works in
Praetorians - enemy units cannot be dragged far, and should the initial lure
fail subsequent lures are progressively less likely to succeed. From Athos: "I
have the archers right behind the spearmen in stationary to lure enemies onto
my troops, and the Legionaries to sweep onto the attacking forces (though they
don't necessarily need to, the spearmen should handle them) and to protect the
flank should it be threatened... and don't forget a good ballista on the right
or left to cut through the troops."
On performing the lure itself, Loki writes: "Archer-cavalry is the right unit
for this, because you can attack the defending cavalry from a long range and
force them to chase you. As you are about as fast as them, you can retreat
behind your pikemen and let the enemy cavalry crash into your impaling
polearms." Egyptian Parthian Cavalry is the ultimate unit to use to lure
enemies, since it can both fire and ride at the same time. If cavalry are not
available Centurions may be used effectively. They can also generally sustain
more damage before suffering loses, although sustained luring is still likely
to require a healer to be available. Avoid luring with low-hit point troops,
since they tend to die in the attempt.
From Mark OHearn: "Towers are an interesting aspect of the game. They provide
your weak archers with a 10,000-point defence bonus, making it almost
impossible for a small group of melee troops to successfully overcome." Andrex
Aurelius writes: "If you put archers in they cause a lot of damage to
approaching troops but they die quickly once the tower is destroyed. If you
put weak troops like Auxiliary Infantry in then you have a cheap rock dropping
defence, which is useless against archers and siege weapons, but good against
other units attacking the base of the tower. Also, if you have Auxiliary
Infantry in towers they are very useful for putting out fires during an attack
but they have to be covered by other units." Ranged troops will also drop
rocks from towers if the enemy gets close enough. Towers can be repaired
conventionally by assigning infantry to repair them, much like damaged
fortress gates and seige engines. From plastikman: "The best units to put in
the towers are the Nubian Archers, if you can spare the unit cost. They have
the longest range of all the archers in the game and the height of the tower
can provide a little boost too. If you want to be really evil, set them to
poison arrows before you place them in the tower."
Mark OHearn continues: "Beware, however, that you do not build towers near
your village and then not occupy them immediately. There's nothing quite like
watching your opponent build a tower next to his village and then sneaking
your own archers into it and start attacking. Depending on the map, a forest
nearby might make the tower an easy attack by archers unless you also occupy
the said forest with melee units."
From Latbat: "Those towers with archers in them you can knock down with rams
easily. ... I usually use two rams, because they destroy a tower quicker and
with all archers in it. But it can take some time before you can get to those
towers if facing strong opposition on ground, so I'm considering using
catapults more, set on flaming stones of course." Nitroace30 notes: "Catapults
are very effective against towers. Defend them with spearman/pikeman and they
will work very well." Archers can also be used to set towers on fire. Normally
once the towers become 50% damaged the occupants will spill out onto the
ground and melee ensues. Rams have the advantage of eliminating the defending
units along with the tower.
Significant tower building comes with its own problems. Mark OHearn again:
"Firstly, it will limit how many troops you can send into battle. Secondly, if
you do need to empty troops from their towers, the enemy will have the
opportunity to sneak into your village and take over these towers." Instead
consider building towers only on regularly contended or particularly strategic
parts of the map.
Many war machines and siege engines are highly effective outside of a strict
siege environment. War machines require careful use because there is a high
risk of damaging your own troops. The combination of slow reload-time and
apparent unwillingness to fire until enemy units come close can be in part
off-set by setting them to 'Aggressive' mode.
As mentioned above, rams are effective against Towers. Chronoshift notes that
they are also effective at destroying village garrisons. Of course their main
purpose is destroying the gates to fortresses (see below).
Athos writes: "Ballistas are incredible useful when it comes to defense. You
know those annoying turtles, and how arrows can't really pick them apart?
Ballistas slice right through them. Perfect for disrupting those advancing
troops as it can kill 7-10 troops at once. Or more." The main disadvantage
with Ballistas is a tendency to murder ones own troops. Positioning of the
Ballista is clearly important, with many favouring higher ground or a position
on the flank of an army. Ballistas are generally better than Catapults when
used against close formations of troops, however they need much closer
supervision or better tactical placement than Catapults if friendly fire is to
be avoided.
From loki: "While catapults are not very effective, they can be devastating
when used to defend an elevated position. Four catapults on barrage can wipe
marching troops when combined with archers." Multiple Catapults can indeed be
highly effective when defending a position against infantry attack,
particularly when they have a range advantage over the attacking troops.
Although Catapults have a numerical range advantage, they need to be able to
use that range by setting them to 'Aggressive' mode and having some form of
scout or nearby tower coverage. AI players very rarely use scouts.
Consequently, AI units often cannot see any further than their normal units
are capable of seeing. AI controlled infantry have a tendency to retreat
slightly once they have come under heavy barrage attack from enemies they
cannot see. This can result in the AI units making several false advances,
each one of which damages them. From chronoshift: "You can easily burn down
garrisons/towers/villages from far away distances if you can setup a few
catapults on hills just outside of main bases. You may need to send a hawk in
for your catapults to fire."
Officially fortresses only exist in the campaign. Consequently, the majority
of strategies for dealing with sieges can be found in the walkthrough.
Consider the following when defending a fortress:
- Move fast. This is one aspect of the game you cannot take at your own pace.
- Hold the gate(s). Repair them whenever possible using infantry. Generally
once the gates have been destroyed, long term defense of a fortress becomes
impossible unless the enemy is very weak.
- Place ranged troops on the walls, particularly in the fortified towers where
they are better defended. Switch these troops to 'Aggressive' mode so they
fire at enemies sooner. Use special ranged troops if available (Slingers are
great against siege engines).
- Keep support units such as commanders and healers close to the walls, but
not on them.
- Use cavalry sparingly to ride out against dangerous, but poorly defended
threats, such as siege engines and ladders.
- Use heavy infantry to counter any enemy that climb the walls. Ideally the
enemy should not get this close.
- Use stationary Spearmen to guard the gate, to give a final line of defense
in case the gate should be destroyed.
- Use Catapults to fire over the walls (again, set on 'Aggressive').
- Use your barracks to replace loses.
When attacking a fortress, many more options are available. From loki: "Attack
the fortress from both sides at the same time, which is, I gather, one of the
most useful tactics against _any_ computer."
Generally computer based fortresses' defenses are predictable. First lure out
any enemy cavalry, conventionally done by starting to attack wall defenders
with a Catapult. Cavalry are normally lured into a stationary Spearman ambush.
The next threat are defenders on the walls. For Roman players, Dramaticus
writes: "Use turtle formation to divert defenders while you roll up your siege
items." Enemy archers generally fire on the nearest target, at least until an
alternative target starts to hurt them. Since Legionaries are almost immune to
arrow fire, they make excellent decoys. With a healer behind them they can
survive several minutes of attack. Dramaticus continues: "You can load up to a
couple of troops into siege towers before you roll them up to walls. The risk
is that the tower may burn down before the offload, but the advantage is
immediate deployment, rather than having your troops catch up with the tower
and then attacking."
Rather than assaulting the walls with siege engines and troops, consider
either ramming the fortress gate with a Battering Ram, or using Catapults to
bombard the defenders on the walls. BadGuysAlwaysWin writes: "To eliminate
archers on walls, use 2-3 catapults for maximum result. Set 2 to 'spread' and
1 to 'normal' (neither fireball nor spread). Now, march forward with 2-4
legions in turtle formation. Bring up your catapults and get rid of the
archers one group at a time." Catapults normally have a range advantage over
archers, so with careful use of scouts catapults can be very effective at
range. However, walls give a range advantage to archers manning those walls,
so it is not possible to completely eliminate the chance of enemy archers
setting your Catapults on fire. If they do so Catapults can always be
retreated and infantry set to work repairing them immediately. Rams are the
most effective way to break down gates, but Catapults can also be used.
BadGuysAlwaysWin continues: "Set 1 [Catapult] to 'fireball' and 2 to 'normal'.
With no archers on the walls, it's very simple. Set pikemen in stationary in
front, Legionaries on flanks, destroy the door, then advance."
Mark OHearn writes: "Often you need to repair broken bridges. Instead of doing
so and attacking the enemy on the other side, I now build a tower or two, and
more importantly, some siege weapons and lure my enemies towards the bridge.
You need scouts and a way to start the battle - usually siege with hawk can do
this. Since the bridge is not built there is no melee combat, and usually they
cannot engage in range attack (or at least not effectively)." Also remember
that bridges make good ambush spots when built.
Roman units are characterised by organisation and defense. Entity comments:
"Romans have strong defence so, with a healer, your men survive a bunch more
battles." They are well suited to many of the campaign missions where the
player initially starts without a base or any means of recruiting additional
troops. In many campaign scenarios there is no particular need to rush, which
allows short sharp battles to be followed by a period of healing. The same
time can also be used for scouting.
From nitroace30: "I think the Legionaries are the best standard fighting unit
in the game - their turtle formation looks so good." Turtle formation is
discussed below. From xtend13: "The Romans are the most balanced, and the
square formations are easy to control." From Centurion: "Slingers are great
for destroying siege weapons and wearing down the enemy so they can't charge.
And don't forget the 30 troops to a unit either - makes their spearmen the
best in my eyes." Basic regular Roman units generally have about twice as many
men as other civilizations. In the case of Spearmen this is clearly an
advantage, since the more Spearmen one has, the easier it is to hold a line
with them. Having more men per unit should logically make the unit more combat
effective. This is in part true - Romans are certainly better than most
Egyptians man for man. However, the same logic does not always follow when
compared to Barbarians - in offensive combat a smaller total number of
Barbarian warriors can be quite effective, as discussed further below.
Shadow_Praetorian writes: "The Romans are the exact opposite to the Egyptians:
They have awesome infantry but they lack in the cavalry department." FV
Constantinus writes: "I love the speed of the Equites, very good for speeding
to the aid of a failing attack." Superdroideka adds: "Never use them [Equites]
for frontal assaults. They are best used to attack archers when your infantry
are fighting enemy infantry." The minor speed advantage of the Equites is
about their only advantage, especially when compared to the special cavalry of
other civilizations (German Cavalry, Parthian Cavalry and War Chariots). The
Roman commander must use native cavalry very carefully. From nitroace30:
"Sure, the Romans ain't got the best cavalry, but what they lack in mounted
units they make up for in infantry." Centurion writes: "Problems with the
Romans are that their Legionaries are slow, and man for man they can't take
Barbarians."
While the game punishes those who, for example, put archers in front of heavy
infantry when entering battle, there is no single correct formation. Often
formations need to be adapted for particular terrain or circumstances. Galen's
suggested Roman formation:
"- (a) Skirmishers in the front of the pack, expendables who can absorb the
first hit and reduce the ranks, for this Auxiliary Infantry.
- (b) Spearmen, with archers assigned to protect them.
- (c) Legionaries, assigned to protect Spearman.
- (d) Second wave of two units of archers moving together, with a right or
left flank Spearman unit protecting them.
- (e) 2-4 Legionaire groups.
- (f) The rear guard, auxiliary fighters and Spearman."
Telemach's suggestion is particularly useful when defending or ambushing:
"- Spearmen (kneeling [stationary] if taking an assault).
- Legions (holding position, or they'll rush the enemy).
- Archers (definitely kneeling).
- Cavalry (ready to rush lone groups of archers/catapults)."
RogueImpaler writes: "Have 9 sets of Legionaries stand in a cube form. Send
sets of archers in that cube and line them up nicely. Have your Centurion and
medics in the middle and line them up. Spearmen can form in the cube too. Now
give all of these troops a CTRL key assignment... It's awesome to see what
happens if you get rushed with this mega formation and you go to turtle
formation."
Centurion writes: "When I'm moving to engage the enemy on open ground I have 2
Legionaries at the front and 2 archers behind them with a slight space so they
don't get drawn into the melee. Then I have at the back another Legionaire
unit to be thrown into the fight as reinforcements. Protecting the rear of the
archers I have Auxillary Infantry."
From Athos: "I think the best use of formations in this game is when it comes
to luring the enemy upon your stationary army. Three spearmen troops up front,
with 2 ballistas on each flank. Then legionaries behind in standard formation,
with archers in front of the Legionaries and behind the spearmen in stationary
position. Then catapults behind all that with medics and leader. Cavalry to
the right or left to sweep behind the enemy assault for archers or artillery
(so they don't take out your stationary spearmen)."
Loki writes: "Don't move all your units at the same time. If you suspect an
archer ambush in the woods along the roads, send your legions in turtle mode -
they can't harm you much. When you encounter the enemy, use your legions to
block enemy pikemen, then send your cavalry (which you had previously hot-
keyed) to slaughter enemy archers who stand behind the pikemen. You really
need to master the turtle/archers/cavalry routines if you want to travel with
minimal damage. If the enemy archers are in the forest, your best bet is to
send a turtled legion to attack them or 'deturtle' a legion and RUN to attack
them. It's a lot bloodier, but archers are very nasty and can wipe
cavalry/pikemen in no time when protected by forests. Of course, the same
tactics apply to you when you are attacked - put your archers in forests, but
ALWAYS leave a legion with them to protect them."
Centurion writes: "Turtle formation makes your Legionaries practically
invulnerable to a small amount of missile fire (even Balaeric Slingers). When
in turtle formation advance towards the archers. When near, come out of the
turtle formation and charge. In turtle formation Legionaries' fighting
capacity is severely lessened than in standard formation, so if an enemy is
coming at you stay in standard formation. It's also a good idea to have a
medic to accompany them, in case there is much missile fire." With modest
arrow-fire, a healer can keep alive a few turtled Legionaries for several
minutes. The healer is gerenally not fired upon, so long as he remains behind
the Legionaries.
From Random: "I use turtle formation whenever possible. Use standard formation
when walking across the map or it will take forever, but in combat it's best
to use turtle formation. Especially if the enemy has archers, since the turtle
is almost invincible against arrows." Loki adds: "Send a turtled legion if you
suspect an archer ambush. Using the scouts, you send a turtled legion because
you KNOW there is an archer ambush."
From superdroideka: "How to counter turtle formation? Move your archers to
water or attack the turtle with melee warriors." Ballistas are also rather
effective against turtled Legionaries - the target is slow moving, so easy to
hit, and the troops are close together so casualties will be high.
From superdroideka: "Praetorians are extremely powerful melee troops. Use them
to aid Legionaries against melee warriors. The only thing they are afraid of
are archers using hit and run attacks." Athos writes: "The Romans may be
boring, but when you see a unit of Praetorians fight their way out of
overwhelming odds because of their immense defense, well, that is amazing."
From Centurion: "The Praetorian unit pretty much destroys anything in its
path. I use Praetorians to burst through stationary spearmen lines followed
with Legionaries and my own spearmen."
Prefect comments: "Praetorians are easily defeated by Berserkers, and
Chariots." Mark OHearn writes: "There is no single unit capable of destroying
a Praetorian troop. German Calvary are great but won't kill the troop, even
with a charge. And the Bersekers simply don't have enough defence to last.
Ranged attacks are great while melee troops engage. A troop of Praetorians
with a medic is very difficult to stop. While I still love the fast-pace and
aggressive nature of the Barbarians, and can certainly appreciate War Chariots
and Nubian Archers, there is a good reason why the game was named after the
Praetorian unit - they are the best single unit."
Barbarian units are characterised by a strong offensive attack, generally
slightly faster infantry, and overall more power per man. Centurion writes:
"They are the strongest fighters in the game, man for man they will always
win, unfortunately they are the slowest to build (72 seconds for 16 warriors)
and are usually swamped by enemy forces that out-number them. But with a
Chieftain at a high level the Barbarians get an insane offensive bonus, and
they can steal enemy mana/stamina." Barbarians are perhaps the most difficult
army to use effectively: In my experience they are not as easy to keep alive
as Romans, but lack the rapid replacement abilities of Egyptians. While their
special units are excellent, some are very hard to use effectively, notably
Hunters.
Shadow_Praetorian writes: "Barbarians have the best attacking infantry.
Beserkers and Warriors throw rocks." From Lt_Kerensky: "Infantry are tough,
but expensive and, due to throwing axes being slightly worse than Pilum, not
as combat effective as Roman Auxiliary Infantry. As catapults and other siege
engines use the same number of infantry to man them, this actually means that
siege machines are more expensive for the Barbarians." Of course the
'cheapest' war machines and siege engines are produced by the Egyptians, by
virtue of the low 'cost' of their slave units. Lt_Kerensky continues:
"Warriors are the toughest standard infantry. In large numbers they are the
masters of the open battle due their speed and power. Throwing stones can be a
treat when pursuing a fleeing enemy. ... Berserkers excel when fighting large
masses of foot enemies. They are 'mob' killers, and will dispatch, with ease,
up to 2 Legionaire troops or 4 Soldier troops. Bad choice when fighting
cavalry, Gladiators, Praetorians and ranged troops." Neoendofday adds: "Try
Berserkers and pair them with slingers."
FV Constantinus writes: "The Noblemen are awesome. They are great fighters. I
can send them to the front of the attack many times before they start to take
big loses." From Lt_Kerensky: "Noblemen are the best standard cavalry. They
are not as quick as the Equites, and are as vulnerable to spears and arrows.
[But] They can defeat almost any unit on their own."
From Athos: "The Barbarians are great for the sheer power they have with their
units, and how German Cavalry can dominate the field when put to good use. The
fact that they can ride into the woods does make them almost uber units."
Centurion notes: "They [German Cavalry] get severely kicked by Praetorians."
German Cavalry are highly effective against the majority of single targets,
particularly when they charge them. I find they perform less well when swamped
by several enemy and are forced to fight their way out.
Hunters have the ability to hide, almost unseen in woodland, and pounce on
passing enemy, causing huge amounts of damage. This ability sounds
particularly dangerous, but in practice it is hard to make effective use of.
From Kmorg74: "The ambush is a great leveller for the Barbarians. Best way is
to avoid that wood area if you can do so. They cannot hurt you if you do not
need control of that area. And if they come after you, cavalry slaughters
them." Centurion writes: "I send Legionaries just outside their position. Then
send a cheap unit such as a scout to the forest very close to were they are.
When hunters use ambush tactics, they just kill the scout leaving me free to
charge with Legionaries."
LordJohnDrinksalot writes: "If I have the time, I always send a scout's wolf
ahead into the forests. I avoid attacking Hunters in forests with melee units,
if I can help it. I have archers hit them. If the Hunters attack, they're
easily wiped out in the open. When I've used Hunters in multiplayer, my
opponents run them down with Germanic cavalry (which operate in forests) with
no losses to them. One guy I played had three Hunter units in grasslands when
my Wolf Scout found them: lucky I had some archers and flaming arrows... When
I've used Hunters against the AI skirmish, I've found it was a time-waster:
One good ambush isn't too important when the AI is capturing more villages
than me."
Basic Egyptian units are quick to build, but generally very fragile. Their
special cavalry is excellent. Prefect writes: "Can't beat their
cavalry/chariots. Soldiers are way underpowered though. Guards have nice
defense, and Nubian Archers rule. Everything is built quickly, and rushes
well." They are favoured for those seeking to win a game rapidly, using a
Slave rush tactic called Slut Rape (see below). Entity writes: "Egyptians can
pump out units fast, not to mention having archers that can actually replace
the basic ones totally. However, if you can't organize mass units well in
battle, prepare to get your butt kicked." Egyptians perform poorly man for
man, however with good tactics they can still be effective and inflict
disproportionately heavy loses on the enemy.
From Centurion: "Their units are so fragile, even Guards set to stationary can
be obliterated with ease, however War Chariots are great at decimating
standard infantry types, Nubian Archers are excellent at harassing the enemy
[using poison]. And Parthian Cavalry is good for leading troops away and
wearing them down gradually, however if fighting the Romans you have to be
careful of Equities, which are really fast and can run Parthian Cavalry down.
Also the Egyptians have balanced officials for their armies. Their infantry
can 'pray' to regain stamina and are cheap to produce so you can get more
troops out of a village than any other group in the game, so you can have
superiority in numbers."
From superdroideka: "Build lots and lots of troops because you'll lose many of
them. The backbone of your army will be Soldiers, supported with many archers.
Double click on the location where you want your soldiers to go to: they don't
have a special attack so don't save their stamina. If you have honour points,
create Camel Riders and War Chariots first, build expensive missile warriors
when you have enough powerful melee cavalry to support you shock infantry. A
few Ballistas are always welcome: they kill any unit in their path so use them
on approaching powerful soldiers like Praetorians, Berserkers or German
Cavalry." ShadowFiend describes a non-rush tactic for Egyptians: "Basically
amassing Soldiers and basic archers. Barbarians fall like flies from arrows so
they are easy prey. Furthermore with numbers I can easily match the better
quality troops and overcome them."
From DTRY: "Nubian Archers can fire poison arrows - a real pain to the enemy."
Me$$iaH writes: "Nubian Archers aren't that strong. Their only strong point is
the poison, but that doesn't do extraordinary damage. I believe Hunters are
stronger." With a Physician nearby, Nubian Archers are not effective. However,
in most games there is a limit of two on the number of healers allowed.
Without healers nearby, poison is very effective, especially if the Nubian
Archers can fire one volley of poison darts, then flee, leaving their prey to
slowly die.
Superdroideka writes: "[War] Chariots have more hit points than German Cavalry
but one squad contains only 8 chariots. Use them to assist your melee infantry
during the battle. Try to attack archers first and when the enemy archers are
dead, attack the rear of the enemy infantry."
From Mark OHearn: "A neat trick with the Egyptians is the mirage ability of
their leader." The mirage creates what appears to be an extra unit. It can be
moved and will draw fire until engaged in melee combat.
From Athos: "The whole 'slut rape' tactic makes me think of anyone who plays
as an Egyptian a rusher." This tactic involves a 'rush' of slave units early
in the game. "Nubian Archers and their poison, do rock, and the Parthian
Cavalry is amazing, but mostly you see them being used for their super rush
capabilities."
Athos continues: "Here's a picture of the infamous slut rape strategy that
many newbie Egyptian players employ to win the game in under 3 minutes:
Essentially once your Egyptian enemy has greater than two cities taken, and
are whipping out Slaves like no tomorrow the game is already over. The worst
part is, you can't counter-rush because you know more Slaves are on the way.
... It doesn't take 3000 Slaves to take out a legion, more like 500 who
swiftly sweep onto their opponents who only have 2 maybe 3 legions, some
spearmen and some archers. Slaves = 12 seconds. Legionaries = 75 seconds. That
means you can get out 6 Slave units by the time it takes your opponent to get
out one legion troop."
ShadowFiend writes: "With Barbarian spearmen I can block any kind of rush. 1
Barbarian spearmen = 2 1/4 Slaves in strength. One tower with 1 archer can
block slut rape quite easily. ... The basic of blocking rush is to always
stick to fortified places and where you can exploit the terrain to your
advantage... and have spearmen. 4-5 of them in the row. The first unit you
should train is a healer."
4.6 Skirmish and Multiplayer
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4.6.1 Skirmish
Skirmishes against computer players undoubtedly benefit from simply capturing
villages as fast as possible. This gives a greater troop production capacity,
so in any war of attrition the player with the most villages wins. From
Outcast_Rebel: "I tend to grab at least 3 settlements as soon as possible, and
start pumping out units as fast as the settlements will allow. I go for my
tower defences as I am pumping out units. You tend to get a jump on the enemy
quicker this way." Shamaani writes: "[I send] my first Auxiliary Infantry to
the first village with its Centurion. I demote my Pikemen and get 1 or 2 new
Auxiliary Infantry and Centurion to get 1 or 2 villages in the first minute of
play. Then, for each village, I build a tower and get archers first (for the
tower). Only after that do I start developing my army."
Random writes: "I usually recruit, alternately, Legionaries and archers to
begin with. You can build up an army fairly quickly. The important thing, I
think, is to protect your towns with towers and keep attacking the enemy.
Don't let them build too many troops without a challenge. Don't worry if you
lose some troops too, because your towers will protect you from whatever
forces the computer has left. Capturing one village with a high population is
a good idea, like the centre town in the demo's map. Some of the best battles
can be fought over that centre town. My games usually last around 20 minutes,
so the troops I usually recruit are archers and Legionaries and maybe some
Equites later. Praetorians and such take too long to recruit in a 20 minute
game. Make sure you recruit some priests and have them 'protect' your
infantry; that'll give you a big advantage when fighting. Also, don't
underestimate the power of a levelled-up Centurion. Just keep attacking and
don't let up. After a few battles you'll get on top."
This section is based heavily on the writings of Mark OHearn, and owes little
or nothing to the experience of this author. Basic concepts like understanding
the strengths and weaknesses of troops and formations are still important.
However, most players find that the online multiplayer game is not like the
campaign. Tactics applicable to the campaign, or even the AI player in a
skirmish, do not always work well in multiplayer. From Mark OHearn: "For the
most part forget about thinking - do. What I mean is that if at the start of
the game you have to think what your plan of attack will be, you're certainly
at a significant disadvantage, so much so that you may have already lost."
Before playing online, practice. Mark OHearn again: "You are going to learn
the computer's strategy, but more importantly, you are going to learn the map
terrain." The learning process extends into multiplayer itself. OHearn
suggests saving each game sequence (this options is available at the end of
the game) and replaying them to learn from your opponent.
Me$$iaH writes: "I choose a race based on the race my opponent chooses. If my
opponent is Roman, I choose Barbarians because Barbarians can take on Romans
easily with a big army. If my opponent is Barbarian, I choose Egyptians - with
a large number of soldiers, 2 priests and a few pharaohs [officials?], Egypt
takes on Barbarians easily. When my opponent is playing Egyptians, I choose
Romans - Egyptians often build large groups of archers, so turtle formation
gives you an advantage, and Soldiers are no match for Legionaries."
Mark OHearn writes: "After studying countless openings from very skilful
players, I have concluded that there is NO ultimate best start, so stop
searching for it. My only advice is to keep your units together so they are
harder to destroy. A general opening includes building immediately at the
closest base and moving my soldiders (spearmen and archers) to the next
village with the largest population. This may be closest to me or to my enemy.
Scouting should be established right away, before your opponent spreads out
and kills your scouts as they try to get into place. ... I was very successful
in most of my earlier games at destroying the villages closer to my enemy and
winning with superior population. Later, people became better players and
realized this and either protected them better (spread out quicker), or
attacked/took over 'my' bases."
Athos writes: "Don't avoid contact with your opponents. The more you fight
them (and hopefully the more casualties you inflict) and the more you move on,
the harder it gets for them. Plus, more honor points, which means better units
like Praetorians or German Cavalry." This can work against you if your attacks
are effectively repelled by the enemy - losing you a lot of troops and giving
the enemy Honour Points. This particularly applies to attacking villages -
attack with everything you can to ensure success. RogueImpaler comments: "I
try to build an army really quickly and then go all out leaving only one set
behind for little defense."
From Mark OHearn: "Understand whether you should takeover a certain village or
destroy it. Usually, unless your plan says otherwise, first destroy the
garrison. Then you can later decide whether to: (a) burn it; (b) control it;
(c) leave it alone for later use. ... Early in the game if you do decide to
burn a village close to your opponent's starting position, consider demoting
your archers after you set the village on fire to slow down and possibly
prevent your opponent's workers from killing your archers and saving the
village."
Athos again: "One thing I've noticed is to keep pressing the attack. Expand
and fast, keep building units, but don't sit still. Just keep moving,
attacking. Don't settle on 3 villages and then decide to build up, because the
enemy is building up more on the villages you decided not to capture.
Basically the more you attack and the more you push your opponent back, the
more difficult it is for them." Mark OHearn adds: "Never give up, if you are
being cornered start building towers and setting up a strong defence. ... At
the end of a game, if your enemy is cornered and has setup a strong defence,
re-create (demote) your army into a siege assault force."
OHearn continues: "Always start training better troops when you have the
honour points. Always ensure your villages have troops waiting to be trained.
Try to limit access to your base of operation by the least number of paths,
and build up your forces in these areas. And always have another plan of
attack when your enemy defeats your initial assault plan, including falling
back to regroup instead of losing too many troops in a hopeless cause."
RogueImpaler writes: "Most of the time the people you team up with don't
really play as a team, while your enemies do. This is because either your
allies want to build up defense first or they don't even care to help you
out." From Mark OHearn: "When playing multiplayer games, you absolutely have
to work together. Clans easily win games when playing non-clan players who
rather protect themselves then help their allies. Same principal applies in
multiplayer games - assemble a mass of troops together and attack one village
at a time. The trick, of course, is to have your other allies work together on
this strategy. Imagine your chances against the troops of three armies against
your own, while either your allies are staying at their home base or are too
far away to help in time. Destroy or take over large populated villages -
again, as a team."
This section provides a 'walkthrough' for the single-player campaign. This is
not a blow by blow account of precisely how to fight battles, rather a guide
to possible strategies for meeting objectives. It is likely that personal
preference for defensive or offensive styles or different troop deployments
will affect how battles are fought. Where specific battles are particularly
tough I have included some possible tactics. These may not be the only viable
tactics; they are intended to help players that might otherwise regard the
battle or mission as impossible to win.
The 'walkthrough' assumes 'normal' difficulty, except for the first two
tutorial levels which can only be played as 'easy'. Difficulty settings affect
a number of factors, including starting army, and overall intelligence and
tactical ability of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) players. Some of the
strategies presented may not be as effective at the 'hard' difficulty setting.
Likewise, other options may be viable when playing 'easy'. All the strategies
presented have been tested on 'normal' difficulty, so do work; although player
inexperience with basic game concepts and troop usage may make some missions
seem impossible regardless of strategy:
Many missions are tough. Even die-hard strategy fans or war-gamers will find
themselves replaying some missions a few times before they are successful.
This document will hopefully help, but cannot entirely replace the process of
learning by trial and error. Don't be afraid to restart a few times when
things go wrong: Although frustrating, you will get much better at playing. If
you cannot get past a certain mission, even on 'easy', it is possible to edit
the game to allow you to play subsequent missions - see Are there any cheats
or trainers? Can I skip a level? below.
Basic maps have been provided in ASCII. They show important paths, rivers,
bridges, villages and fortifications. They omit elevations and terrain types
completely. These maps are not intended to show every detail, rather as a
guide to the approximate position of mission critical elements such as
villages or objectives. They should be used in conjunction with the in-game
maps. Note that one can see all terrain once the mission starts - 'fog of war'
only applies to hostile units. Compass point directions given in the text
assume north is at the top of the page/screen, south at the bottom.
Missions last until all the objectives have been completed. Current objective
status can be seen in-game by pressing F9, or Esc and selecting objectives
from the menu. Some objectives simply need to be maintained throughout the
mission, for example keeping a certain character alive. Other objectives can
be completed during a mission and then forgotten about - such objectives
appear as green on the in-game list. Objectives often change during a mission.
They are shown in a format such as:
Objectives:
- Starting objective.
- + New objective once that starting objective is complete.
- Another starting objective.
+ Objective added during the mission (triggered by something other than
another objective being met).
The starting units shown are those under your control at the outset; not
allies or future reinforcements. The starting units listed are those on
'normal' difficulty, and may not be relevant to 'easy' or 'hard' (see What do
the difficulty settings change? above). 'Available units' are troops types
that may be trained, often later in the mission once a village has been
gained. 'Available construction' indicates what infantry may build.
5.1 Tutorial I
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5.1.1 Overview
Location: Province of Cisalpine Gaul, Northern Italy.
Date: February 17, 58 BC.
Objectives:
- Meet your guide at the river.
- + Agrado of Talagatta must survive.
- + Escort Agrado of Talagatta to the end of the valley.
- Destroy all enemy forces.
Unit Control Points: 84/500.
Troop Control Points: 4/50.
Starting units: Auxiliary Archers (30), Auxiliary Infantry (30), 2x Spearmen
(12).
You can opt not to play the four tutorial levels, and jump straight to
Crossing the River Arar. I strongly recommend you work through the tutorials.
Even if you have played a few skirmish games, some features such as siege
techniques may be new.
As with all the tutorials, follow the instructions that appear in the top
right hand side of the screen. Take some time to become familiar with your new
units and their special formations and attacks. Remember Auxiliary Infantry
have a limited combat ability: They are primarily engineers used for building
and repairing (and in true Roman style, making the army look bigger).
Practice troop selection and basic movement. Running decreases troops'
stamina. Stamina recovers naturally over time. Make use of key-based troop
groups (CTRL+1-9, then 1-9 to recall). I tend to assign keys based on unit
type, or at the very least assign ranged, melee, and special units to
different key groups. While such groups may seem excessive in this mission
they are almost essential when fighting with ten or twenty units, so using
them is a good habit to get into. You will then be asked to march to the river
(2 on the map above). When you arrive, Agrado of Talagatta, a Scout, will join
your forces. Use his hawk to scout out the area close to the bridge (3 on the
map above), revealing a small enemy force of Gaul Bandits. Use your spearmen
and archers to kill these enemies, and in doing so, secure the bridge. (There
is no formal way to capture a bridge, just destroy enemy units nearby.)
Battles here are quite easy because you generally out-number the enemy. Try to
experiment with tactics that play to your troops' strengths. Archers work best
in a stationary formation protected by a line of melee troops. In particular,
ranged troops gain an advantage from good scouting. Very often scouts (in this
case via the hawk) will be able to spot targets that are within archers'
range, but which those archers cannot see. This becomes more important later
when attacking enemy positioned on higher ground or hidden in vegetation.
Spearmen can also be highly effective in a stationary formation when the enemy
is forced to attack them. While spearmen will be successful here in a direct
assault and melee, you may wish to try luring enemy melee troops into an
ambush. For example, position your Spearmen in a line on the southern side of
the bridge. Move your archers up behind the Spearmen and set them to the
stationary position. Your archers should have the enemy in their range, luring
those enemy into the line of Spearmen. Where possible, plan your attacks - you
cannot retreat troops that have been engaged in battle, so try to get all your
fighting troops into battle at the same time. Keep your Auxiliary Infantry out
of the battle at this stage.
After the battle, join your two Spearmen units into one unit. Head west until
you see the enemy unit hiding in the trees (4 on the map above). Spearmen
cannot enter dense woodland, so you will need deal with this enemy using a
combination of archers and Auxiliary Infantry, or lure the enemy out into the
open (harder because this enemy has a ranged attack). Your Hawk Scout cannot
spot units hidden in woodland (for this you would need a Wolf Scout, not
available in this mission).
Scout the elevated area just to the north (5 on the map above) to reveal enemy
infantry and bowmen. On the road just north of the elevated area there is a
further enemy army. Try to take the elevated area quickly, and then position
your archers upon it. Your archers will gain a range and visibility advantage
over the enemy, while the ridge affords them some protection. Position your
remaining troops on the approach to the elevated area. Once the battle is
over, move Agrado of Talagatta to the far north of the map (6 on the map
above) to complete the mission.
5.2 Tutorial II
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5.2.1 Overview
Location: Province of Transalpine Gaul, Southern Gaul.
Date: March 2, 58 BC.
Objectives:
- Capture the village of Talagatta.
- Eliminate all enemy forces.
- Cnaeus Gabinus must survive.
- Caius Titus must survive.
- Agrado must survive.
Unit Control Points: 123/500.
Troop Control Points: 7/50.
Starting units: Agrado of Talagatta (Scout), 2x Auxiliary Archers (30), Caius
Titus Rudus (Centurion, level 1), Cnaeus Gabinus Illyricus (Physician), 2x
Spearmen (30).
Available units: Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry, Spearmen.
Available construction: Defensive Tower (after first troop trained), repair.
At the start of the mission you will be attacked from the north. Quickly
switch your Spearmen and archers to stationary position and you should be able
to kill the attackers without taking any loses. The mission starts with two
new units - Centurion and Physician. The Centurion is a commanding officer and
gives troops in his area of influence (blue circle) combat bonuses. These
bonuses increase the more battles he commands. The Physician automatically
heals injured troops within his area of influence (green circle), and can also
be instructed to heal specific units. Physicians cannot bring troops back from
the dead.
March north up the road to Talagatta. As you approach you will be attacked by
enemy infantry and bowmen. Once the defenders have been killed, attack the
garrison building on the north-west side of the village. Do not attack the
village itself. Once the garrison has been destroyed, the village chieftain
will be evicted from the village, so be ready to fight him. Demote one unit
(either spearmen or archers) to form a unit of Auxiliary Infantry, with which
to build a new garrison. Finally, move your Centurion into the village to
allow troops to be recruited.
Each village has a population pool from which troops may be recruited. In
Talagatta's case, the total population is 200. Each of the three recruitment
options available in this mission decreases the population by 30. While
population recovers slowly over time, initially you will only be able to train
six new units. There are further limitations on current army size, neither of
which is immediately relevant: Unit Control Points (total head-count limit for
the mission, currently 500) and Troop Control Points (total unit-count limit
for the mission, currently 50). Feel free to keep pumping out new archers and
spearmen; at least until you need your Centurion again to command the battle.
Construct a defensive tower just to the east of the village, and place some
archers in it. Shortly afterwards two waves of light enemy troops will attack
from the east. Once their attack is over build additional troops - you will
struggle with only 3 or 4 units, but 10 will be plenty :-) . Once training is
complete, order your Centurion to return to commanding the troops. Now attack
the enemy tower (3 on the map above).
There are two alternative approaches to the tower. The direct road via the
stone bridge (4 on the map above) forces your troops to march directly below
the tower and then loop back onto elevated ground before they can assault it.
The alternative ford crossing (5 on the map above) avoids fighting close to
the tower. There are additional enemy troops lurking in the woods, both on the
route to the tower and just to the south of the tower. The tower itself is
guarded by a small enemy force. Attack the tower using archers, who will set
it alight. Melee attacks against towers tend to do less damage, and inflict
greater casualties on your troops. If you have trained some additional troops
the battle should be quite straightforward.
5.3 Tutorial III
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5.3.1 Overview
Location: Near the City of Matisco, Gaul Kingdom of Aeduii.
Date: March 25, 58 BC.
Objectives:
- Capture the village of Matisco.
- Eliminate all enemy forces.
- Caius Titus must survive.
- Cnaeus Gabinus must survive.
- Agrado of Talagatta must survive.
Unit Control Points: 158/500.
Troop Control Points: 9/50.
Starting units: Agrado of Talagatta (Scout), Auxiliary Archers (30), Auxiliary
Infantry (30), Caius Titus Rudus (Centurion, level 0), Cnaeus Gabinus
Illyricus (Physician), 2x Legionaries (30), Spearmen (30), Wolf Scout.
Available units: Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry, Hawk Scout,
Legionaries, Spearmen, Wolf Scout.
Available construction: Assault Ladder (once Fortress reached), Catapult (once
ladders complete), Defensive Tower, repair.
This mission starts with two new units - Legionaries and the Wolf Scout. The
later allows dense woodland and grassland to be scouted, and you should use
the wolf to find the enemy troops hidden in the woodland just to the east of
your start location. Use your Legionaries and archers to kill them. Unlike
Spearmen, Legionaries are capable of fighting in woodland.
Capture Matisco (2 on the map above) by using your Auxiliary Infantry to build
a new garrison next to the village. This village is neutral at the outset, so
there is no need to destroy anything. A group of enemy troops will attack from
the north. As you engage them you may be fired at by enemy bowmen positioned
on the ridged area on the far west side. Recruit the two additional Auxiliary
Infantry as instructed, plus a range of other combat units: Archers,
Legionaries and Spearmen are all potentially useful in the coming battle. If
you are patient, you can produce as many troops as the mission Unit/Troop
Control Points (500/50) allow. Ensure you bring your Centurion to the front
line before commencing battle.
March towards the fortress (3 on the map above), but do not get too close.
Select a unit of Auxiliary Infantry and construct some ladders. Follow these
by a few Catapults. Construction should take place behind your lines - these
units can be moved to the front at the appropriate time. Reform the remaining
Auxiliary Infantry once construction is complete.
As you approach the fortress enemy cavalry will ride out and attack you.
Stationary Spearmen are very effective against cavalry. Set them up in a line,
and send a fast unit (such as your Centurion) towards the fortress to lure the
cavalry into an ambush.
The final assault on the fortress benefits from similar decoy tactics. Siege
weapons such as ladders and Catapults are very vulnerable to attack. For
example, Catapults firing stones are very effective against stationary troops
(such as those enemy units on the walls), however it only takes a few fire
arrows to set a Catapult alight. While burning Catapults can be repaired
(order spare Auxiliary Infantry to repair them), conducting repairs mid-battle
is somewhat inconvenient. The main threat while outside the fortress is from
enemy bowmen on the walls. Rather than letting them fire at vulnerable units,
use Legionaries in 'Turtle' formation. In this formation, very little damage
will be taken from arrows. Your Legionaries can safely soak enemy fire while
you advance those units you intend to assault the fortress walls with, such as
Catapults, archers and ladders.
There are two ways into the fortress. Either move ladders up to the walls, and
then let melee troops climb onto the walls; or break down the gate. The
easiest way to break down a gate is to use a battering ram; but those are not
available in this mission. While regular melee troops or Catapults can attack
the gate, this will take a long time. I think it is preferable to try and
advance by climbing the walls. When using ladders, try to ensure all enemy on
the walls have been killed, then move the ladder into position and quickly
order melee troops (Legionaries are ideal) up onto the walls to deal with
enemy melee troops that will attempt to repel your attack. Defeat all the
enemy defenders, including the Chieftain, to complete the mission.
This tutorial is a good introduction to the idea of using the right unit for
right job. Randomly throwing units at the fortress will result in huge loses,
while careful tactics can reduce loses to almost nothing.
5.4 Tutorial IV
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5.4.1 Overview
Location: Near the City of Carilocus, Gaul Kingdom of the Aeduii.
Date: April 1, 58 BC [ok, where's the joke...?].
Objectives:
- Dubalix must be stopped.
- Caius Titus Rudus must survive.
- Cnaeus Gabinus Illyricus must survive.
+ Agrado of Talagatta must survive (new objective after reinforcements
arrive).
Unit Control Points: 296/500.
Troop Control Points: 13/50.
Starting units: 2x Auxiliary Archers (30), Caius Titus Rudus (Centurion, level
0), Cnaeus Gabinus Illyricus (Physician), 2x Equites (12), 4x Legionaries
(30), 2x Spearmen (30), Wolf Scout.
Available units: Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry, Equites, Hawk Scout,
Legionaries, Physician, Spearmen, Wolf Scout.
Available construction: Catapult, Defensive Tower, repair.
Again the mission introduces a new unit, Equite cavalry. These are fast, with
a poor defense, and cannot enter woodland. They are best used to race towards
an otherwise poorly defended unit, such as the bowmen found to the north of
your start location (5 on the map above). If you take the most direct route,
your Legionaries will not be able to follow, since they cannot cross the
shallow water.
Once the bowmen have been killed, move your main force towards the next enemy
group (6 on the map above). As you approach the enemy infantry and bowmen,
cavalry will attack from the south-east. The cavalry are best repelled using
stationary Spearmen. Let your Legionaries handle the main enemy force, only
using Equites to pick off vulnerable bowmen. This will be easier if you give
certain troops hold orders before the battle commences.
Dubalix retreats and destroys the bridge marked 7 on the map above. Place
archers on the opposite bank of the river (in stationary position to gain
range), and let them fire on the enemy Catapults.
Demote one unit to create an Auxiliary Infantry unit (I think Spearmen are the
least useful here, so I would demote one unit of them) and repair the bridge.
Wooden bridges can be repaired in this way. Stone bridges cannot be destroyed
or repaired. Now cross the bridge and engage the enemy army on the other side.
Try to lead with your Legionaries and Spearmen, position archers near the
bridge where they can fire at most targets from safety, and use Equites to
chase down vulnerable enemy units. If you wish to use some of your Auxiliary
Infantry to construct a Catapult or two, do so before any unit crosses the
river.
After the battle, Agrado of Talagatta arrives with reinforcements (at location
8 on the map above). This force contains Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary
Infantry, level 0 Centurion, Equites, and two units of Legionaries. Gather
your forces together and scout ahead. Gaius Julius notes: "It's important to
use scouts in this game; they're your eyes, and ears. You'll hear this over,
and over." ...and this is one of many missions without time pressure, so a
minute or two spent scouting ahead has no obvious disadvantage. Also learn to
advance in a defensive style - notably 'turtle' your Legionaries to protect
them from enemy arrows as they slowly advance. Be prepared to lock your
Legionaries into melee combat (de-turtle them beforehand), then send your
Equites through the line to deal with enemy bowmen and Catapults.
I suggest you capture Balia first (2 on the map above), and produce additional
troops before advancing further. Equites require Honour Points, in addition to
population. Honour Points are gained from battles - you should have more than
enough by this stage of the mission. Lopodunus writes: "I built three towers
at the first village and let the Gauls run into my Auxiliary Archers. That way
they lost lots of men while I was beefing up my forces through recruiting."
Just placing your troops on the ridge the village is built on, pointing east,
with hold orders, and waiting for enemy patrols to walk past is remarkably
effective too.
Lancre (3 on the map above) can be approach by pathway, but the route runs
close to the tower (marked 9 on the map above). One option is to send troops
through the woodland and attack the village from the south. This is the
easiest attack route, but Equites and Spearmen will not pass through the wood.
You may be able to skirt around the enemy tower, but the tower has an annoying
habit of firing at your troops on nearby paths, so you may end up attacking it
anyway. From Lopodunus: "I ran two legions up the hill (moving west first and
then east towards the tower) and let them go ballistic on the tower." If your
loses have been modest, you may not need to take a second settlement in order
to produce enough troops.
Prepare for the final assault on Carilocus (4 on the map above) by taking the
high ground just to the east of the approach road. Consider building some
Catapults to deal with the two towers protecting the village. Once ready, draw
the main enemy army out of the village into an ambush. Then attack the towers
- turtled Legionaries as a decoy for Catapults and archers work well, but
watch out for reserve enemy cavalry. Lastly kill Dubalix to complete the
mission: There is no need to take all the villages or destroy every last enemy
unit.
Dubis (2 on the map above) is not heavily defended and can potentially be
taken almost immediately. However, I suggest that you meet with the allied
Noblemen (4 on the map above first), since this provides you with additional
troops - including Divitiacus himself, who is a Druid. Druids function in a
similar way to Physicians, but also have the ability to blind enemy troops.
Noblemen are similar to Equites, albeit slightly slower and better in combat.
Divitiacus is just to the north of the Noblemen, next to the western bridge (5
on the map above). Once you find Divitiacus and he joins your forces, retreat
to the south immediately - there are various enemy ranged troops on the
opposite side of the river, many of which you cannot see, let alone
effectively fight.
Now head towards Dubis (2 on the map above). I suggest you skirt round the
southern side of the map, picking off small groups of enemy as you go. Avoid
attacking from the north-west: You would come into the range of a group of
enemy bowmen who are hiding in a ridged area of woodland - point 7 on the map
above. With Dubis under your control deal with any remaining enemy on the
southern side of the river and crank out extra troops. Remember you can
promote a unit or two to create additional Centurions. You will also be able
to recruit Archer Cavalry for the first time. Archer Cavalry make good escorts
for melee cavalry and are an excellent unit to use when attempting to lure the
enemy into an ambush. You can only recruit Roman troops - not additional
Druids or Noblemen.
If you wish to attack Pons (3 on the map above) using Legionaries you must
secure the western bridge (5 on the map above). Legionaries can cross the
eastern bridge (6 on the map above) but they cannot then cross the shallow
water and advance further onto the northern side of the map. Of the two
bridges, the eastern is the most lightly defended. MaLiCe425 writes: "Set up
archers (about 2 full divisions) in stationary slightly behind the bridge
while your builders [Auxiliary Infantry] repair the bridge. This way the enemy
forces will be eliminated before the bridge is fixed."
A direct assault on the western bridge is possible. From Caius Vinceus XXI:
"Place some catapults before you repair the bridge. When you have repaired the
bridge, build a defensive tower as fast as possible and garrison it with
archers." The main difficulty with such an assault is that the bridge is both
guarded by Catapults on the path behind it, and bowmen in a wooded ridged area
just above the bridge (8 on the map above). Heavy casualties are likely while
you attempt to repair the bridge. Maximus Dominicus asks: "Why not try the
right bridge first, send equites (2 groups should do the trick) to eliminate
the archers waiting by the hill? In doing so your Auxiliary Infantry can
repair and cross the left bridge without any casualties." Take the eastern
bridge, then attack the defenders of the western bridge from behind their own
lines using cavalry. Take care not to stray too close to Pons, or you risk
luring the village's defenders out to attack your cavalry. Once the eastern
bridge has been cleared, repair it and move your Legionaries across.
Pons is defended by enemy troops on the main approach road and surrounding
woodland, and by troops on the ridged area to the north. A direct assault on
one or both of these is possible, but it is likely that an attack on one will
also cause the other group to join the battle. Maximus Dominicus suggests
moving your troops through woodland on to the ridged area just to the south-
east of the village, and leaving cavalry by the eastern bridge. "Try
positioning your archers behind that village. Two legions to the north and
send one over the hill hiding by the trees. Don't forget to build a tower as
well. ... Send your Auxiliary [Infantry] to taunt the enemy using their Pilums
and quickly retreat behind your archers. The enemy will follow and they will
be greeted by raining arrows and your catapults. As soon as you see that you
are outnumbered bring in the Legionaries." Finish the confused enemy off with
cavalry. Personally I found it was difficult to get troops into position
without being spotted by the enemy, which lessened the effectiveness of this
tactic. Capture the village by building a new garrison next to it to complete
the mission.
At the start of the mission, your forces will come under moderately heavy
attack. Fortunately the start location is easily defended. Rapidly reposition
your units so that the Auxiliary Archers are on the ridged area overlooking
both main approaches, along with non-combat units such as the Physician and at
least one scout. Set the archers to 'Aggressive' mode so they fire at the
enemy as early as possible, and stationary mode so that their range is
maximised. Split your melee troops into two groups, one to guard each
approach. Place slightly more units on the eastern side. Assign a Centurion to
each group. Try to keep your troops where archers can give covering fire.
Unless you are very skilled, you will need to capture at least one village to
enable the creation of enough units to reach Bibracte. You have the option to
capture up to two villages. Attacking Boxum (2 on the map above) is entirely
optional, but it is quite lightly defended. Centurion writes: "After taking
the town prepare some defence (put archers in stationary mode on high ground,
have Legionaries in forests, and defend when the Barbarians attack)." From
xtend13: "Set up a garrison and make troops until the population is gone. You
should have enough honor points to build a strong cavalry. Create a mass of
Legionaries and back them up with archers." When ready, advance towards
Sidolacum (3 on the map above).
An alternative is to ignore Boxum, and use your starting force to capture
Sidolacum. This is a moderately tough battle, but can be won. As you approach
Sidolacum, use Legionaries in turtle formation to soak fire from enemy bowmen
hiding on higher ground at point 5 on the map above. Other units can avoid
this ambush by crossing the shallow water to the north of Sidolacum, however
this entails splitting your forces and attacking from different angles, which
may not be ideal. If you need additional troops, capture Sidolacum - its 700
population will allow you to more than rebuild your entire army if required.
The final approach to Bibracte (4 on the map above) is relatively well
guarded. Various cunning tactics are possible, for example, to sneak troops up
onto the ridge on the southern side of the road (marked 6 on the map above),
destroy the enemy Ballista, and then fire on waiting enemy soldiers below; or
to circle through woodland and engage the enemy from the north. However, one
can recruit so many troops that almost any rational tactic will succeed by
weight of numbers. Rush the two Centurions into Bibracte to complete the
mission: There is no need to 'mop up' every last enemy.
Multiple waves of enemy will attack your fortress from the north throughout
the 20 minute mission duration. Initially they will come over the eastern
stone bridge (4 on the map above), but after a few minutes they will repair
and use the western bridge too (3 on the map above). You are massively
outnumbered, so you must use your starting units and location wisely. From
Rasm: "The only reason I died the first time was that I didn't know all the
stuff you could do, like move soldiers on the walls and repair the gate."
There is no one way to survive, but a combination of the strategies below will
result in success. Gaius Julius writes: "I think the one thing you have to
remember to beat this level, is to stay calm. It's easy to get frustrated,
when all those enemy units are coming at you from every side. Especially, when
you're informed that there is 1 minute left; it's the longest 1 minute you'll
encounter."
The fortress includes a barracks. This functions much like a village, except
no garrison or Centurion is required to recruit new units. Immediately recruit
a few Physicians and place them close to the walls to help heal defenders.
Build additional troops throughout the mission - you can never have enough.
Precisely what troop type depends on wider strategies. Remember recruitment
orders can be made in advance.
Make use of your Centurions' command bonuses. Position them close to the
action and they will gain a lot of experience during the first few attacks.
Towards the end of the mission troops in their area of influence will get a
significant defensive bonus. Consider creating (by promoting another unit)
additional Centurions at the start so that all your units are covered.
The fortified towers built into the walls offer greater protection to units
than placing units directly on the walls. Try to keep the fortified towers
filled with Auxiliary Archers, and place any excess archers nearby on walls.
Gatt notes: "Remember to set all of them as 'aggressive'." The aggressive
setting results in archers engaging enemy units as soon as they come into
range. This gains you a valuable few extra shots. Wall based archers will not
be able to deal with everything. They are very vulnerable to attack from enemy
siege engines such as Catapult. Enemy archers also tend to sneak into woodland
and fire upon your archers. Should the enemy manage to reach the walls with
ladders or Assault Towers, archers die rapidly in melee.
Legionaries (and less so Spearmen) can be placed on the walls to deal with
enemy attempts to climb the walls. This allows you to concentrate on other
aspects of the battle. However, until enemy arrive on the walls, melee troops
are simply targets for enemy ranged attacks, particularly from siege engines.
Consequently it may be preferable to keep melee troops off the walls until you
see the enemy are about to climb the wall.
BobC writes: "Use catapults (make sure they're set on barrage) to take out
archers and enemy cavalry outside the walls when they stop moving. I usually
have 2 pairs of catapults to do this, hotkeyed so I can quickly select
targets. One pair by the right wall and one in the middle just behind the
door. Two Catapults with barrage can pretty much take down an archer troop
with one volley." Setting Catapults to 'aggressive' mode often removes the
need to fire them manually. RogueImpaler adds: "Divide your auxiliary troops
before you make catapults, or else half of them will take a break." Each
Catapult requires only 7 men.
Wall based archers are quite effective against enemy melee troops that cannot
find a way over the walls. Certain types of enemy units are more of a threat.
Siege engines are, as their name suggests, a potent force in this situation.
Battering Rams will rapidly break down your gates, Catapults will wipe whole
units off the walls in an instant, Assault Towers will deliver a small enemy
army onto a tiny section of wall. Battering Rams are probably the biggest
threat, since once your fortress's gates have been destroyed you will suddenly
find yourself flooded with melee troops that would otherwise have died quietly
outside to your archers' arrows. Gates can (and should) be repaired using
Auxiliary Infantry, but repairs are far slower than a Battering Ram can do
damage.
Waiting for enemy siege engines to be set alight is not a good strategy -
whilst they are burning they are still doing damage. The most common way to
deal with approaching siege engines is to charge them with cavalry. The
mission introduction suggests using the Noblemen that start outside the gate
to attack the first wave. Cicero comments: "Don't sacrifice them there, they
can't delay the rush that much. Bring them in, and beef them up with new
cavalry recruits." Augment the initial Noblemen with fresh Equites and Archer
Cavalry. "When the catapults [or Batter Rams or similar] appear near the
bridge to your side, ride out to destroy them. ... Then get your cavalry back
to camp at once after the attack." Between attacks using Physicians to heal
the cavalry. LordJohnDrinksalot notes that the cavalry do not always need to
be brought back into the fortress: "Use the east gap at times to hide cavalry
from direct attack and then sally forth and hit catapults while their
supporting infantry are attacking the fort." Timing is critical. If the
cavalry are positioned outside the fortress permanently they will be swamped
by other enemy troops.
Sentient Cheese highlights a problem with the strategy of riding out each time
a new siege engine appears: "The siege engines have a much large escort than
you seem to realize. The troops always rush the gates first, well ahead of the
slow moving rams. My troops can't just ignore the initial escort forces and
run past them to the ram." To some extent this depends on timing.
LordJohnDrinksalot writes: "Danger is in clashing with enemy melee units; if
you do then you're out-of-luck. Be conservative: retreat into the fort often."
One strategy relies on archers and friendly Catapults dealing with enemy melee
troops before riding out with cavalry, however this risks allowing the enemy
siege engines to get _too_ close.
Other approaches leave less to chance by giving the enemy melee troops
something else to attack first. Rasm writes: "Move a group of pikemen right in
front of your gate. Then shift all your archers on the platform directly above
the gate opening. Get them really crammed together. The next wave should come
then. If you have about 10 groups of archers on the wall then you should start
seeing most of the ground soldiers get wasted." While cramming troops together
in this way does effectively focus firepower on the enemy, care needs to be
taken to ensure the group does not get hit by fire from enemy Catapults.
Sentient Cheese considers: "In between waves, I will station a single legion
troop in the center forest and have them hold ground there, on Defensive mode.
Then, as the rams roll by and their escort is already hacking away at my
gates, I'll have the Legionaries kamikaze the rams."
An alternative to charging siege engines with cavalry, from RogueImpaler:
"Roll 3 sets Legionaries and 3 sets archer out to the north forest to hide.
Put the Legionaries in front of the archers and the whole bunch on
turtle/stationary and then hold. You can take out the rams with the archers
while the Legionaries cover. You might want to have a medic with those."
Archers can be positioned in the forest close to the western (wooden) bridge.
"Wait till new troops come to build the wooden bridge. When they finished and
the new troops advance to cross it, quickly set it on fire." Sneaking about in
forests also prevents enemy archers hiding in them. Bond0bhave suggests
placing Wolf Scouts in woodland to gather such intelligence and provide
advanced warning of approaching Catapults.
Rasm has a tactic for dealing with Battering Rams that are at the gate: "Have
a group of legions handy right on the other side of it. When the ram starts to
bash the door, have the legions walk through it. This causes the ram to stop
(since the doors are open). Just walk your legions into the ram. Make sure NOT
to do this when there are swarms of enemy infantry around the ram." Once the
gate has been broken down, it cannot be repaired. While it is preferable to
keep the gate up as long as possible, a few tactics can be used to stem the
tide once the gate has been destroyed. WhiteSkull writes: "I stuck 3 spearmen
in stationary formation behind the gate 4 legions behind them. Replace
spearmen as needed at the gate." From malleus1: "I put one group of archers at
the bottom edge of the map facing the gate in stationary position and the
catapults beside them, firing 'out the gate', so anything that got through the
gate could be held there by a legion or two and bombarded."
The final enemy assault (in the last minute of the mission) is quite tough.
From Cicero: "Ready all your legions in open formation and let them attack
everything that's outside the fort. Commit all pikemen, auxiliaries and
cavalries too." There is a reasonable chance that the enemy will breach the
walls right at the end. Keep them engaged with whatever troops you have, but
make sure the two (mission critical) Centurions survive and the barracks are
not destroyed.
5.8 Divide and Conquer
______________________________________________________________________________
5.8.1 Overview
Location: German Frontier, Belgian Kingdom of the Menapii.
Date: May 18, 55 BC.
Objectives:
- Publius Licinius Crassus must survive.
- Titus Labienus must survive.
- Divitiacus must survive.
- Capture or destroy the four German Villages.
- Eliminate the four German chiefs.
Unit Control Points: 449/700.
Troop Control Points: 18/75.
Starting units:
- Northern army: 3x Auxiliary Archers (30), 2x Auxiliary Infantry (30), 3x
Legionaries (30), Publius Licinius Crassus (Centurion, level 1).
- Southern army: 2x Archer Cavalry (16), Divitiacus (Druid), 2x Noblemen (12),
3x Spearmen (30), Titus Labienus (Centurion, level 1).
Available units: Archer Cavalry, Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry,
Equites, Hawk Scout, Legionaries, Physician, Spearmen, Wolf Scout.
Available construction: Ballista, Battering Ram, Catapult, Defensive Tower,
repair.
Your forces start divided on different sides of the map. You also lack any of
your own scouting capability, although allied Menapii Explorer Hawk Scouts
provide some intelligence on enemy positions. The northern army (1 on the map
above) will eventually come under light attack if it remains stationary. The
southern army (2 on the map above) is unlikely to be attacked until it moves.
You must capture or destroy the four villages. I recommend capturing
initially, since you will be able to increase your army size by recruiting.
There is no need to attack the Suevii (who start at point 7 on the map above),
however it is quite likely you will run into them at some stage. All four
villages are defended, but their defenders tend to be spread out, allowing
small groups of enemy to be engaged separately. If you are seen to have a
large army the village may surrender before you get close (this is more likely
to happen towards the end). Villages that surrender cannot be used to recruit
troops. Once you start attacking troops around the village, their Chieftains
will flee. They often leave while you are engaging defenders, rather than
waiting for you to actually destroy the garrison or village. The mission
orders hint that the village Chieftains should not be allowed to escape,
suggesting that "things will get a lot worse" if they do. I'm not sure how
much worse - in reality it seems almost impossible to stop one or more
Chieftains from escaping their villages.
It is possible to immediately join your forces. The safest route between
starting positions uses the path to loop round the south-eastern side of
Gelduba (6 on the map above), skirt the grassland on the eastern side of the
inland lake (8 on the map above), and then take the path north. The southern
army is the most mobile, and is just about able to deal with most enemy troops
on the route at the start of the mission. Take particular care with the enemy
troops hiding in the grassland by the lake, and heal between battles. The only
units the southern army cannot attack effectively are those in woodland. After
a few minutes Suevii cavalry will start moving around the centre of the map,
making this route considerably more dangerous. There is no need to join forces
first. With careful use of troops, the southern army can attack Gelduba and
the northern army attack Sublones. In order to capture Gelduba you will need
to demote some Spearmen from the southern army.
Use the captured villages to build the troop types missing from each army. Be
sure to recruit some scouts. Once ready, join your armies and advance on the
remaining villages one at a time. Pay careful attention to the terrain. For
example, around Asciburgium (5 on the map above) consider a two-pronged attack
with Legionaries attacking through the woodland from the north and cavalry
attacking across the shallow water from the east.
Check the objectives (press F9). If you have destroyed or captured all the
villages (or had one or more surrender to you) and the mission remains
incomplete, it is likely that one or more village Chieftain are still on the
run. They can be a real pain to find, but show up eventually if you sweep the
map using troops and scouts.
A few minutes after the start of the mission, the enemy will cross the river
and attack you. They may use all the bridges but favour the central wooden
bridge (6 on the map above). Reinis writes: "The main secret of this mission
is to not defend the bridges. Leave them and fortify your troops on heights on
your side of the river." There are two distinct groups of enemy: (1) the
'onslaught', enemy who will seek out and attack your troops or village
regardless of where you mount a defense, and (2) troops defending the western
side of the river. Fight on the bridges and draw both these groups into the
battle - rapidly one becomes overrun by enemy. By fighting away from the
bridges you only engage the first 'onslaught' group, which is a manageable
battle. This goes against the most obvious (ultimately flawed) strategy, which
involves using Catapults to attack across the river while the enemy are trying
to repair those wooden bridges.
It is possible to mount your defense very close to Mogontiacum, your starting
village. From BobC: "Build 3 towers at your town, 2 just to the west of the
town by the bottom of the ramp, and one at the top of the hill. Stuff them
with your archers and slingers. Pump out a few troops of spearmen first from
the town and set them on stationary to guard the two ramps to the hill and in
front of the towers. I'd also keep one or two troops of Legionaries just
sitting in the forest south of your town, because if you don't guard that the
Barbarians just come in through the forest." Ensure your Legionaries remain in
the forest, and do not get drawn out by bowmen in the shallow water.
WhiteSkull suggests: "Put a scout in the woods to the left and one of the hill
to the north." Loki comments: "I have also used a catapult (put it where the
Gaul cavalry stands at the beginning of the mission) with great effect."
A viable alternative is to take the higher ground closer to the river (3 on
the map above). This tends to allow enemy troops to be targeted earlier and
allows you to use Legionaries effectively in open battle - this is more of a
problem when fighting close to the village, because Legionaries cannot cross
the shallow water. Care must be taken not to advance and start fighting on the
bridge, or else you risk engaging additional enemy. Of the two approaches, the
defense closer to the village seems to be the easiest.
The Noblemen should not be relied upon because they will mutiny once they
start taking casualties. Reinis suggests using them solely to attack enemy war
machines and archers. You can recruit additional Equites. Also recruit a
Physician early on. This is the first mission where Balearic Slingers are
available. These have greater range than archers, better defensive capability,
and do slightly more damage, particularly against targets vulnerable to
stoning such as siege engines. You will not be able to recruit them initially
because each requires two honour points, which you must gain in battle first.
Once the 'onslaught' has finished you will hear "the Germans flee to their
camp, routed". At this point start preparing to attack Mainz. There are three
main routes of approach: (1) the main path straight across the map, (2) skirt
the lakes on the northern side, (3) skirt the woodland on the southern side.
The first (direct) approach engages the majority of the enemy's troops in the
field as a series of battles using melee ground troops supported by
archers/slingers and cavalry. You will end up fighting almost all the enemy's
regular troops, but no one battle is particularly unpleasant. Cross using the
central wooden bridge (4 on the map above) to avoid engaging one of the enemy
Ballistas (7 on the map above).
The second (northern) approach involves the hardest river crossing: the bridge
is guarded by a Ballista, which in turn is supported by enemy cavalry, archers
and a second Ballista. Once the area on the opposite side of the bridge has
been cleared, stick close to the northern side of the map and advance towards
the village (5 on the map above). A further battle occurs close to the lake.
One can use a small ridged area just to the north-east of the village to
launch a massive assault against the village garrison. This avoids the need to
fight troops to the south of the village.
The third (southern) approach evades almost all enemy troops until you arrive
at Mainz. Cross via the southern bridge, and then use the woodland track on
the far western side of the map (6 on the map above). A large army is
positioned on the ridged area just south of Mainz, which poses the main
threat. As you move into the village itself enemy troops will attack you from
the woodland to the east.
5.10 A Land Lost in the Mist
______________________________________________________________________________
5.10.1 Overview
Location: The Cliffs of Dover, Britannia.
Date: September 5, 55 BC.
Objectives:
- Rescue Commius from the Catuvellauni Fortress.
- + Escort Commius back to the beach.
- Quintus Tulius Cicero must survive.
- Caius Crastinus must survive.
Unit Control Points: 327/700.
Troop Control Points: 18/50.
Starting units: 2x Auxiliary Archers (30), Auxiliary Infantry (30), Ballista,
Caius Crastinus (Centurion, level 0), 2x Catapult, 2x Equites (12), Hawk
Scout, 3x Legionaries (30), Physician, Quintus Tulius Cicero (Centurion, level
0), 2x Spearmen (30), Wolf Scout.
Available units (varies by method):
- Roman: Archer Cavalry, Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry, Balearic
Slingers, Equites, Hawk Scout, Legionaries, Physician, Spearmen, Wolf Scout.
- Barbarian: Bowmen, Druid, Hawk Scout, Infantry, Mounted Bowmen, Noblemen,
Pikemen, Warriors, Wolf Scout.
Available construction: Assault Ladder, Assault Tower, Ballista, Battering
Ram, Catapult, Defensive Tower, repair.
Initially you have no way to replenish loses, so it is important to make
landfall without significant casualties. Immediately to the north of your
start position (1 on the map above) is a tower surrounded by enemy troops (5
on the map above). On each of the ridges either side of the tower there are
enemy bowmen. A pair of enemy siege engines are positioned on the small island
just to the west.
My strategy involved coaxing the majority of enemy melee troops into an
ambush, then sending turtled Legionaries towards the towers, with Catapults
and archers behind them. At the same time, the cavalry ran first to destroy
the enemy siege engines on the island to the west, then to attack the enemy
bowmen on each of the ridged areas. Such a strategy relies on good timing, but
can succeed without a single casualty.
On the ridge just to the west of where the tower stood (close to point 5 on
the map above), you will find the Atrebatean Messenger. The messenger offers
an alliance. Initially the alliance makes the Atrebatean tribe neutral,
however if you subsequently follow the Alliance strategy below, full control
over their troops and village can be gained. You can ignore the messenger
completely if you wish and take an Independent strategy. It is also possible
to combine strategies.
It is unlikely that anyone can successfully storm the fortress with only the
starting troops and no base. This strategy gains both a base and extra
Barbarian forces.
Follow the messenger to his village in the west (2 on the map above). Deal
with the various enemy ambushes on the route. The messenger seems immune from
these ambushes - this is not true for you. Do not be concerned when your
ally's village comes under attack - it is well defended at the start, and can
deal with its attackers alone. Rushing your own troops into the defense
exposes them to unnecessary loses.
At this stage the allied village is still effectively neutral - you cannot
recruit troops there or control their units. Once you arrive at the village,
the messenger suggests you follow him north to where the Atrebatean army are
waiting (6 on the map above). From eccehomo: "There are more ambushes
particularly in a patch of long grass [9 on the map above] along the way. So
keep scouts ahead of you and be prepared to move slowly with some troops ready
to clear the ambushes. You don't need to follow the messenger all the time; he
can get you into even more ambushes by taking you the direct way." The worst
ambush is in the grassland at point 9 on the map. A method of dealing with the
grassland ambush is to fire flaming arrows into the grassland from the higher
ground above and let the remaining enemy units lurch up the hill into a line
of your finest Spearmen and Legionaries.
Once your forces have reached the allied army (point 6 on the map above), the
Atrebatean village and all their troops come under your control. The northern
Barbarian army includes Infantry (equivalent of Auxiliary Infantry), Pikemen
(equivalent of Spearmen), and various siege engines - better than nothing, but
not much better ;-) . The village allows you to recruit new Barbarian units.
If you wish to recruit Roman units, you should select the village, order the
Barbarian Chieftain to exit it, and then order a Roman Centurion to recruit at
the village. An alternative is to remove all defenders from the village, then
wait for the enemy to attack and destroy the garrison. Now kill the attackers
and build your own (Roman) garrison, thus capturing the village as a Roman
village, rather than an allied Barbarian village (from Dramaticus and
eccehomo).
Once any new recruitment is complete you have the option of moving all the
village defenders north to help attack the fortress, however the village will
be attacked whilst you are away. Instead of immediately attacking the
fortress, consider using your extra troops to attack Durolitum (3 on the map
above) and follow the Independent strategy below.
Instead of following the allied messenger, attack and capture the village of
Durolitum (3 on the map above). Build your own troops with which to attempt
the final rescue. This is my preferred strategy. Although you may find the
battle for the village tough, it gives more options when conducting the
rescue.
Durolitum is well defended, and a direct frontal assault will probably fail or
involve many friendly casualties. Instead make use of the part-wooded ridged
area to the south-east of the map (marked 10 on the map above). Guard the
southern entrance with stationary Spearmen, and the northern entrance with
Legionaries. Place archers and Catapults towards the centre - the archers can
be placed in woodland for added protection. Athos writes: "Have the archers
assume stationary position and they should start picking off all the troops
stationed outside of the town." Use your scout to locate enemy forces if
needed, and hold your cavalry to the south ready to pounce on any poorly
defended enemy units. Watch out for the two towers guarding the village -
these are probably best taken at range using Catapults. Using this method it
is possible to capture the village with no casualties on your own side. This
is one situation where good tactics turn an 'impossible' battle into an easy
battle.
Capturing Durolitum will allow you to produce additional Roman units. In
particular consider recruiting Balearic Slingers, which are tougher than
archers and so tend to be preferable during attacks against fortifications. Of
course, having captured Durolitum, you can now follow the Alliance strategy if
you wish. Maximise the size of your own army first, then when the Barbarian
units join your total army will be far larger than otherwise possible. This
initially leaves you with two separate forces with which to mount the final
rescue. However, if you clear the enemy Ballistas at point 7 on the map above,
you can march units between different approaches to the Fortress in relative
safety.
To rescue Commius you must storm the Catuvellauni Fortress (4 on the map
above) and kill the fortress's Chieftain. You should expect to kill all the
enemy within the fortress. Once the Chieftain has been killed the majority of
remaining enemy on the map will become active. The reserve cavalry at point 8
on the map will probably attack Durovibrae. The reserve army at point 11 on
the map head towards the coast.
Depending on your intended escape route, you may wish to deal with these enemy
reserves before they become active - before you start to attack the fortress.
The group at point 11 is particularly easy to deal with if you have taken the
Independent strategy - use the high ground to the west of them. Bond0bhave
offers a method of dealing with the reserve at point 12, again assuming the
Independent strategy. It utilises the small wooded island in the lake (8 on
the map above), just to the south-west of Durolitum: "On the island in the
trees there are some enemy archers. Get your archers and some Auxiliary
Infantry to go kill them. Place 2 sets of archers in there. Get a Hawk Scout,
Physician and Centurion into those trees with the archers. Now scout up above
the raised land to the north. Use your Archer Cavalry to fire on some of the
units. Retreat you Archer Cavalry into you base. Now your archers are in range
to pop off a couple of them."
Most strategies for attacking the fortress seek first to draw the enemy
cavalry inside the fortress into some form of ambush. The enemy cavalry
normally ride out as soon as you start attacking the fortress with Catapults.
Kmorg74 writes: "Approach the fort from the east. Send in wolves to have
visibility against a cavalry sally. Build up two rams and five catapults.
Place your archers on defensive on the safe side of the bridge and position a
turtled legion squad on the bridge. Send in one catapult with fire-bombs on
the gate. The enemy will sally with cavalry. Retreat the catapult to the
bridge and intercept the sally with the legion. Hit back on the enemy cavalry
with yours and wipe it out." If attacking from the east, position stationary
Spearmen on the bridge and draw enemy cavalry into them. You may need to be
prepared to accept the loss of a Catapult. An alternative is to position
turtled Legionaries in front of the Catapult to soak enemy archer fire. When
attacking from the west it is somewhat harder to ambush the enemy cavalry,
since the approach is flat and open, providing no way of funnelling the enemy
into an ambush. The enemy cavalry have further to travel to reach your forces,
which gives more time to retreat and position units.
A variation on the previous strategy also allows the fortress to be stormed
immediately. LordJohnDrinksalot writes: "Advance several legion testudos
[turtled] near the East gate and, once there, quickly attack with four or five
catapults against the bowmen on the East wall. The catapults cause the enemy
cavalry to attack (it seems this is scripted and so they always do attack),
the gates open, the legions enter, switch formations, and head for the enemy
bowmen. If the gates close, have a ram or two hit the gates while your archers
move in attack any remaining bowmen on the walls."
Once the enemy cavalry have been killed, you can advance on the fortress with
only its walled defenders to consider. One option is to clear the walls of
troops first. Use Catapults, but try and protect them by placing other troops
in front - turtled Legionaries if you have them (support by a Physician they
should be able to remain under fire for long periods without loss). Telemach
writes: "I never throw away a catapult when I have enemy installations to
attend to. I refer to the hundreds of Barbarian spearmen I found myself in
control of at the North of the map. Dirty, smelly, and improperly trained. I
kept the tower and catapult and sent the spearmen to 'scout' the borders of
the castle."
Rather than methodically clearing wall defenders at range, you may either
storm the gate or climb the walls. The former option is only practical if you
have approached from the east: Bigfuzz19 writes: "Use siege towers and get on
the walls of the fortress. You are going to loose a few troops and a tower or
two but you will eventually make it onto the wall. Have any ranged units you
have concentrate on the archers on the wall and you might not even loose any
towers." This is a particularly useful tactic if the attack is being made only
from the west using Barbarian units. Barbarian units naturally favour offense
over defense, and so are very effective once on the walls, but will tend to
die in droves getting to the walls. Alternatively send in a Battering Ram or
two against the gate. Battering Rams will inevitably be set alight by enemy
archers, but this can be countered initially using the turtled Legionaries
tactic to soak arrow fire. Kmorg74 suggests supporting the Battering Rams with
Catapults in order to maximise damage. If all else fails simply throwing
troops at the problem may solve it. From najapi: "As a last resort I tried a
full on assault, no great strategy just got the siege machines on the bridge,
got all my troops together (selected them all) and double clicked on the
gate... I lost very few men, maybe 2 or 3 units at most."
A two pronged attack can be quite successful. You are most likely to have this
option if you have followed both the Independent and Alliance strategies
above. From bond0bhave: "While my units were fighting in the south, I sent in
an attack of all the Barbarian units I had from the north. These managed to
take care of most of the archers."
Once inside the fortress, kill the remaining defenders - there are very few
melee troops guarding the fortress, so this should be quite straightforward.
Finally, kill the fortress's Chieftain to free Commius.
To complete the mission, get Commius back to the start location (1 on the map
above). As noted above, if you have not dealt with the remaining Catuvellauni
they will now be active, either attacking Durovibrae (2 on the map above) or
moving south from point 11 on the map above towards the start location. This
can be a serious problem if your only village is Durovibrae, you had stripped
most of its defenders to help with the fortress attack, and the fortress
attack went badly and you lost almost all your troops.
Location: Roman Province of Syria, Near East (sic).
Date: March 9, 54 BC.
Objectives:
- Capture Tyre.
- Capture Samaria.
- Capture Jerusalem.
- Capture Petra.
- Publius Licinius Crassus must survive.
- Gaius Cassius Longinus must survive.
Unit Control Points: 324/500.
Troop Control Points: 15/50.
Starting units: 2x Auxiliary Archers (30), Auxiliary Infantry (30), Gaius
Cassius Longinus (Centurion, level 0), Hawk Scout, 4x Legionaries (30), 3x
Noblemen (12), Physician, Publius Licinius Crassus (Centurion, level 0),
Spearmen (30).
Available units: Archer Cavalry, Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry,
Balearic Slingers, Equites, Hawk Scout, Legionaries, Physician, Spearmen, Wolf
Scout.
Available construction: Ballista, Battering Ram, Catapult, Defensive Tower,
repair.
The mission briefing hints at the possibility of diplomacy. Diplomacy makes
this mission straightforward. At the start of the mission, a Samarian
messenger will approach and make an offer: If you attack Judea's garrison they
will ally with you (thus completing the capture of Samaria). In the meantime
the Samarians become neutral - they will not attack you unless provoked.
However, the Judeans are not immediately hostile. When you get close to
Jerusalem, a messenger will make a second offer to you: If you capture Petra
from the Nabatean Arabs, they will ally with you. So capturing Petra completes
the capture of Jerusalem. The Samarians will declare war on Rome in response
to Petra being captured, however this also triggers both the Judean and
Samarian armies to fight one another. This makes capturing Samaria far easier.
The Phoenicians are hostile from the outset. Tyre, their village (4 on the map
above), can be captured quite easily: Use the ridged area to the north-east of
the village to ambush the majority of their army, before assaulting the
village itself. Before securing the ridge, clear the nearby woodland of enemy
units. Tyre can be used to build your army in preparation for attacking Petra.
Watch out for roaming enemy units, notably Camel Archers and Camel Riders,
which can appear 'from nowhere' right behind you lines while you are busy
attacking someone else.
Petra is guarded by two groups of defenders, one at the Oasis (8 on the map
above), one closer to Petra (7 on the map above). The ridge above Petra is
inaccessible, so the battle must be fought in the open approaches. The
Nabatean Arabs are very fond of camel based units. Camel Riders fall quickly
against stationary spearmen. Chase down Camel Archers with cavalry. Lastly,
watch out for the tower on the western side of the village.
Once Petra has been captured, the Judeans should attack Samaria. In my
experience they succeed in destroying the garrison. Feel free to throw some
extra troops into the battle to ensure this happens. Finally build your own
garrison in Samaria to complete the mission.
First and foremost you must guard your encampment (1 on the map above). This
will be attacked at regular intervals. The majority of enemy will approach
along the path from the north-east. However, a small proportion will attack
using the forest path from the north-west (shown 9 on the map above). The
Catuvellauni are the most frequent attackers, typically sending ground troops,
but sometimes Catapults or cavalry. Watch out for German Cavalry approaching
from the north-west - German Cavalry are the only cavalry capable of riding
through woodland.
The mission brief hints at the possibility of destroying temples belonging to
the allied tribes. The three altars are shown 6-8 on the map above. Altars are
destroyed by attacking them, preferably with melee troops. Once the altar has
fallen the relevant tribe becomes neutral. Neutral tribes will not send troops
to attack and allow your troops to march around their villages. It is possible
to attack and capture or destroy the relevant tribe's village, and ignore the
altars completely. Such attacks require more combat and the villages
themselves have little strategic value: You should have no difficulty
recruiting enough troops using the starting encampment.
The Cantiacum altar (8 on the map above) can be taken without engaging nearby
defenders, so long as one approaches directly from the west. The Trinovantes
altar (6 on the map above) is slightly tougher because the woodland
surrounding the path to the altar contains various enemy units, including
Berserkers. It is virtually impossible to attack the Atrebates altar (7 on the
map above) without the village defenders responding. The most effective method
seems to be to attack it with several units, while others hold off the first
few enemy to respond. The altar should be destroyed before most of the
village's defenders reach the battle, and once the altar is destroyed the
tribe turns neutral so the battle ceases.
With all the allied tribes turned neutral, move your forces up to the river in
preparation for the final assault on Cassivellaunus at Verulanium (5 on the
map above). Two groups of troops are able to prevent raiders from slipping
across the river, hence removing the need to defend your encampment directly.
The final attack should be straightforward, just watch out for the War
Chariots - I guess the Catuvellauni hired some Egyptian mercenaries.
Cassivellaunus should be lurking somewhere in the village - kill him to finish
the mission.
Location: Near the City of Namur, Belgian Kingdom of the Nervii.
Date: January 19, 53 BC.
Objectives:
- Relieve the siege.
- + Defend the fortress.
- + Conquer or destroy at least 2 enemy villages.
- Quintus Tulius Cicero must survive.
- Titus Labienus must survive.
Unit Control Points: 240/700.
Troop Control Points: 11/50.
Starting units: 2x Archer Cavalry (16), 3x Equites (12), 2x German Cavalry
(12), Physician, 2x Messenger, Titus Labienus (Centurion, level 1).
Available units: Archer Cavalry, Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry,
Balearic Slingers, Equites, Hawk Scout, Legionaries, Physician, Spearmen, Wolf
Scout.
Available construction: Assault Ladder, Assault Tower, Ballista, Battering
Ram, Catapult, Defensive Tower, repair.
As soon as you start moving your troops a group of Roman Spearmen will appear
on the ridge to the west of the start location. They will head towards the
fortress (5 on the map above), albeit via a route that takes them close to
point 7, thus avoiding the enemy village of Basilia (3 on the map above). Four
further groups of Roman troops appear at different map locations (6-9 on the
map above).
Allied troops behave like this: They remain inactive until one of your units
comes close, at which point they become active. If you are in control of the
fortress, they then come directly under your control. If you are not in
control of the fortress, they will head towards the fortress, sometimes
stopping to attack enemy units that get in their way.
The mission starts with two new unit types, neither of which can be recruited
at the fortress's barracks. German Cavalry function like normal melee cavalry,
except they can enter woodland and have a special Impale Charge ability.
Messengers conserve stamina when running, so they can run further than other
units.
You have a choice of three main strategies for relieving the siege (there are
minor variations on each): (1) Follow the group of Roman Spearmen on their
circuitous route to the fortress, (2) rush some or all of your troops towards
the fortress and ignore the Spearmen, (3) ignore the siege completely at the
start, capture a village, train additional troops, then head for the fortress.
The first group of Roman Spearmen head towards the fortress via a point close
to 7 on the map above. This avoids the enemy village of Basilia (3 on the map
above). Lt_Kerensky warns: "Try not to fight the first Gaul town, they are too
many." If the Spearmen are unaided they will almost certainly die after a few
battles and never reach the fortress. Instead use your cavalry to chase down
attackers and generally help the Spearmen survive. Speed is important. From
Centurion: "When you are at the river with the other troops on the other side
[7 on the map above], send a messenger to run over the bridge to meet them."
Take care because most of the woods contain hostile units capable of killing
your Messenger if he gets too close. If you get the timing right, both the
initial Spearmen and the new group of Spearmen/Legionaries will march up to
the fortress together.
If you wish, send units out to collect other groups of allied troops. For
example, split the German Cavalry into a separate group and send them through
the woodland on the northern side of Basilia (3 on the map above) to the
allied group at point 6 on the map above. This creates two columns of troops
to approach the fortress with, which gives more firepower on the ground, but
can be hard to manage. Lt_Kerensky writes: "You can always try to reach the
fortress with the messenger, evading all enemies. Then you can take command of
the defense forces." The main benefit of sending some troops ahead to the
fortress is that you gain control of the various groups of allied troops
advancing towards the fortress. Remember to re-order these troops once you
gain control, since they have a habit of just stopping in the middle of a
battle.
The second strategy involves rushing one or more units straight to the
fortress. The main advantage is that you gain control of the fortress before
the worst of the enemy attacks start, meaning most of the defenders are still
alive and both gates are in tact. Nixolus writes: "I ignored the first allies,
went directly north toward a watchtower with some more allies [6 on the map
above] and continued straight on to the fort." A group of enemy Pikemen and
Bowmen guard the approaches, but can be killed using your full starting force.
Only single man units (Centurion, Physician, etc) and German Cavalry can
complete the journey because of the need to pass through woodland to reach the
allied troops. However this relatively modest force can still be highly
effective. Stiffler comments: "If you use this method, you can send one of
your messengers to some nearby roman troops." A variation on this approach is
to send a Messenger directly to the fortress and then use only the fortress's
troops for defense. This requires careful use of stamina so as only to run
when enemy are close, but just about works. It gets the fortress under your
control almost immediately.
An example of the third strategy, from FV Constantinus: "Attack the southern-
most village [2 on the map above] and recruit in it for a while. I divided
into two forces then. I just broke one Auxiliary Infantry unit off the rest of
the army at the village and had them pick up the allies on the ridge on the
right side of the map. That force went to the fort." Although the fortress
comes under some fairly heavy attacks, it should just about survive, even if
you do nothing to help save it. After about 15 minutes the siege will quieten
down to nothing. Unfortunately, some of the fortress's most useful defenses
(such as its gates) are likely to be destroyed, making it harder to defend. A
somewhat underhand variation on this method is to invade two villages prior to
relieving the siege. Once you arrive at the fortress the new objectives will
have already been met.
Many of the same techniques used in Of All the Gallic Tribes (see above) can
be used to defend the fortress. In particular, place archers in the fortress's
towers set to 'aggressive' and group up your cavalry into a rapid response
force to deal with enemy siege engines and vulnerable bowmen.
Demote some units to create Auxiliary Infantry with which to repair gates.
Yes, the fortress has two gates - it is easy to miss one of them... Keeping
the gates in tact is very useful, and you should have enough time between
attacks to mend them. If the gates are about to be destroyed, consider opening
them by sending melee troops through them. This saves the gates (which cannot
be replaced once destroyed), even if you take a few casualties (which can be
replaced assuming you survive the battle). From bond0bhave: "I was unlucky. As
I got to my base the gate in the north was destroyed. Just get some spearman
on stationary and have your archers pick off all the enemy archers before they
get in range."
A more offensive defense, from blackwulf: "I also placed units in areas (just
south of the fort on the hill) where the enemy liked to marshal his forces for
an assault - 'cut them off at the pass'."
Use the barracks inside the fortress to replace loses - you can produce new
troops as fast as the enemy, and the enemy should be losing more. In between
attacks consider sending a Messenger out to collect up the remaining allied
troops. Attacks against the fortress never cease, but after about 20 minutes
they become sporadic and easy to repel with a handful of archers and melee
troops.
Once the attacks against the fortress have quieten down, use a proportion of
your forces to capture or destroy two enemy villages. I suggest destroying the
villages since this removes the need to defend a second or third location.
Nastum (4 on the map above) and Ariola (2 on the map above) tend not to be as
well defended as Basilia (3 on the map above), so it is preferable to attack
the former pair and ignore Basilia. None of the villages are particularly well
defended, partly because the tribes send almost all their new units to attack
the fortress. This makes attacking their villages easy.
The most effective way to destroy Nastum (4 on the map above) is to meet up
with the allied troops at point 9 on the map above, place archers on the
ridge, in stationary mode, and let them burn down the village (from Centurion
and bond0bhave). Alternatively, archers on the ridge can be used to damage
enemy troops prior to a ground attack.
5.14 When All Hell Breaks Loose
______________________________________________________________________________
5.14.1 Overview
Location: Fortress City of Carrhae, Mesopotamia, Parthian Kingdom.
Date: May 9, 53 BC.
Objectives:
- Defend yourself.
- + Meet with Crassus at Edessa.
- - + Marcus Licinius Crassus must survive.
- + Meet with Publius at Charax.
- - + Bring Cassius and Crassus to the boats.
- - - + Destroy the catapults blocking the port.
- Gaius Cassius Longinus must survive.
Unit Control Points: 317/500.
Troop Control Points: 16/50.
Starting units: 2x Auxiliary Archers, 4x Auxiliary Infantry, Centurion (level
0), 3x Equites, Gaius Cassius Longinus (Centurion, level 0), Hawk Scout, 2x
Legionaries, Spearmen.
Available units: Archer Cavalry, Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry,
Balearic Slingers, Equites, Hawk Scout, Legionaries, Physician, Spearmen, Wolf
Scout.
Available construction: Ballista, Battering Ram, Catapult, Defensive Tower,
repair.
The key to winning this mission is speed. Forget about time consuming details
like careful unit organisation or detailed advanced scouting. You cannot
expect to hold out against the enemy for long. At the very start of the
mission your village (1 on the map above) comes under attack. Do not try and
defend it. Random suggests: "Use the double-click to select everyone on screen
and get out quick." Try to also gather the odd unit not visible on the screen
at the start. Head towards Edessa (2 on the map above), engaging only those
enemy units that physically block your path. I think the path to the north-
east is slightly easier travelled than the path to the east, but either is
viable. Run where possible. While you are retreating the mission objectives
will change to order you to do what you are already doing. See? You were
already one step ahead of the computer. But don't stop just yet.
When you arrive at Edessa (2 on the map above) its forces will come under your
control. Gather together all the new troops and again, do not try and defend
the village. Random writes: "Take good care of your Praetorians, since they're
your most precious resource toward the end of the mission. Don't worry about
protecting your legions, because they're useless at the end (they can't cross
the river), so feel free to sacrifice them. Keep your archers in the trees to
take out the Parthian Cavalry, and protect them with legions. Don't let your
troops chase the Parthians, because they'll get stuck full of arrows."
Praetorians have exceptional melee combat abilities and can take a lot of
damage. You will not be able to recruit any replacement Praetorians during
this mission. Immediately run for Charax (5 on the map above). Yes, this means
marching straight past one or other of the enemy villages. Since one cannot
hope to avoid all combat, consider sacrificing a few less useful units (such
as Auxiliary Infantry) to keep the enemy busy while the main body of your
force rushes past to the friendly village.
On arrival at Charax additional troops come under you control. At this point
you can attempt to 'dig in' - from Mark OHearn: "Build up a minimal defence
(maybe put some archers in towers - there's already one there to use). Put a
generic general [Centurion] in village and build a force that can cross the
water and go in the trees. Set your rally point to the boat dock [6 on the map
above], and run all your troops to the boat, keeping them along the southern
edge of the map." However, LordJohnDrinksalot comments: "I have the feeling
(after playing this mission two or three times in a conventional manner - you
know, recruiting troops, building towers, etc) that the longer you delay the
more Parthians you have to deal with." The one unit your should train is a
Physician - the ability to heal will make all the difference in the final
stages of the mission.
Fight your way to the boats (6 on the map). Leave some troops by the boats
with your (mission critical) characters. A couple of units of Legionaries or
Equites should be sufficient unless you plan to spend a long time dealing with
the final objective. Then gather together units capable of both crossing water
and entering forests (primarily archers and Praetorians) and destroy the
Catapults on the opposite side of the river (7 on the map above).
LordJohnDrinksalot writes: "Keep moving - the Praetorians and archers are most
important now because you'll need them to cross the river and destroy the
enemy siege units. Stick to the forests and you'll be setting enemy Catapults
on flame before they know what's what." From Mark OHearn: "You can take out
their horse units by staying in the forest, since they can't engage your
archers there." Avoid using cavalry when attacking the Catapults: They cannot
enter woodland and so take a far more circuitous route, engaging more enemies
in the process. Once the Catapults have been destroyed, the mission finishes -
don't worry about the final death, there is nothing you can do to avoid it.
5.15 He Who Dares...
______________________________________________________________________________
5.15.1 Overview
Location: The Cevennes Mountains, Gaul Kingdom of the Avernii.
Date: February 2, 52 BC.
Objectives:
- Capture or destroy Ilanna.
- Capture or destroy Ursoli.
- Titus Labienus must survive.
+ Caius Crastinus must survive (after gaining reinforcements).
Unit Control Points: 234/500.
Troop Control Points: 12/50.
Starting units: 2x Auxiliary Archers (30), 2x Equites (12), Hawk Scout, 2x
Legionaries (30), Physician, 2x Spearmen (25), Titus Labienus (Centurion,
level 0), Wolf Scout.
Available units:
- Roman: Archer Cavalry, Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry, Balearic
Slingers, Equites, Hawk Scout, Legionaries, Physician, Praetorians, Spearmen,
Wolf Scout.
- Barbarian: Bowmen, Druid, Hawk Scout, Infantry, Mounted Bowmen, Noblemen,
Pikemen, Warriors, Wolf Scout.
Available construction: Ballista, Battering Ram, Catapult, Defensive Tower,
repair.
If you haven't used a 'walkthrough' up until now, there is a good chance
you'll be reading now ;-) . This mission seems to be the one most likely to
cause frustration and failure. There are two elements that make it
particularly hard:
- 1. For the majority of the mission you have no villages and so can train no
additional troops. The map however is littered with enemy units, so it is easy
to sustain significant casualties before you even get within range of a
village.
- 2. Once your troops get close to the villages (the northern half of the
map), a huge enemy hoard attacks. The ferosity of this attack can be
overwhelming, even if you are expecting it.
The first half of the mission is spent gathering an army. After that select a
suitable position to fight the horde. Only then can the two enemy villages be
effectively captured or destroyed. The introduction to the mission mentions
Lucan as one of the villages that must be captured or destroyed - this is not
the case, and Lucan's capture is entirely optional.
New recruits cannot be recruited until quite close to the end of the mission.
Your starting force is relatively modest and must be bolstered prior attacking
the villages. There are two sources of extra troops - Caius Crastinus'
reinforcements in the east (5 on the map above) and Gobannitio's tribe (meet
him at point 6 on the map above). The first stage of the mission should be
spent assembling an army.
Caius Crastinus' reinforcements will join you as soon as one of your units
comes within range. Once you meet Gobannitio he will join you. Gobannitio
suggests travelling to Lucan (4 on the map above). Do not do this initially -
it is considered as an option under Defeating the horde (see below). Any of
his troops (shown as G on the map above) that Gobannitio comes close to will
join your army. You should aim to collect as many of Gobannitio's troops as
possible - that is all that are found in the southern half of the map.
Do not go north of the line of three towers that divide the north and south of
the map; at least not until you have a strategy ready for Defeating the horde
(see below).
The map is crawling with enemy units - some hiding in woodland or on high
ground, some patrolling along certain paths. You cannot train replacement
units and you will need all or most of those that can be gathered to fight the
enemy horde later. It is therefore imperative that you keep your loses to a
minimum. Dramaticus writes: "That might seem like a no-brainer, but it is easy
to have them whittled away." Players that favour overtly offensive tactics may
grimace at the thought of trying to prevent every friendly death. However, on
'Normal' difficulty you should expect to kill around 700 enemy during this
initial stage, and this simply cannot be done if each battle results in 20%
casualties. From LordJohnDrinksalot: "Gather your reinforcements carefully.
Scout ahead. Lure the enemy into attacking in small groups. It's possible to
have a ten to one kill ratio or better." [Indeed, I've managed to complete the
first stage with zero loses, although it took about 90 minutes of painfully
slow scouting, positioning, luring and shouting expletives at the screen ;-)
.] Plan attacks carefully. Use woodland and high ground to your advantage. Mr
Frag writes: "Basically step from high ground to high ground with your
archers, and pull the enemy to you with your scouts. Use the leader who steals
stamina [Gobannitio] in the attack to deplete their charge ability."
Dramaticus comments: "Preserve your Physicians and scouts. Their loss,
especially of the scouts, hurt me in many of my early attempts. Keep them back
from the action and then rush the Physicians forward to heal after a battle."
Many battles will be fought in this initial stage. Use these to advance your
Centurions and Chieftain to level 4. Experienced commanders will start to make
a big difference to the outcome of battles. From Mr Frag: "Keep all your
command units in each fight so they gain levels as soon as possible. The bonus
to attack and defence provided to a level 4 unit is fantastic."
Take extra care against special Barbarian units: Berserkers, Hunters and
German Cavalry. You should be familiar with German Cavalry from earlier
missions - they are fairly easily disposed of by luring them into a line of
stationary Spearmen. Berserkers have a powerful melee attack, however they
appear to take a few seconds to 'psych themselves up', so a very rapid,
overpowering attack can sometimes avoid the worst of their damage. Another
tactic that sometimes works is to send a high-health unit such as a character
into the frontline to soak some damage - save before trying this though, since
should their health fail them, you'll fail the mission ;-) . Berserkers may be
found in the woodland just to the east of Gobannitio (6 on the map above) and
on a ridge just to the north-west of Caius Crastinus' reinforcements (5 on the
map above). Hunters lay in ambush in woodland, and can only be found by very
precise wolf scouting - they are not visible to other units. They attack
apparently from nowhere, causing huge amounts of damage - indeed it is
possible for them to eliminate a unit completely if (un)lucky. Hunters may be
found in the woodland at point 7 on the map above. The most effective way to
deal with them in this mission is to ignore them - don't go into the woodland
and they will remain inactive. A more conventional anti-hunter technique is to
sacrifice a cheap unit such as a scout to their ambush; however at this stage
in the game you need ever unit you can get. Alternatively locate them using
the scout's wolf, then attempt to engage them with archers, backed up by melee
troops once the Hunters become active.
I suggest you first advance north and meet with Gobannitio. Deal with enemy
patrols and units in the surrounding woodland before sending a unit to met
him. Then slowly work north to the line of towers, then east, then south,
picking up the majority of his troops and clearing enemy units in the process.
Leave Caius Crastinus' reinforcements until close to the end. I suggest this
because: (1) although Caius Crastinus is relatively easy to reach, he is
surrounded by some quite unpleasant enemy units (notably the Berserkers on the
ridge just to his north-west); (2) Gobannitio's troops cannot join your army
until Gobannitio has joined you, so you will waste more time walking across
the map; and (3) overall Gobannitio has more troops to offer, arguably of the
same or higher quality.
Mr Frag writes: "Don't worry about having a city to recruit [from], as you
will already have far more units then you can actually command." Once your
army has been assembled, consider how best to defeat the horde.
Once your troops enter the northern half of the map, specifically close to any
one of the three villages, several groups of enemy troops attack you. From
LordJohnDrinksalot: "The central village and a broad area around it triggers a
horde of attackers. The friendly village at the top right also seems to
trigger major attacks. The enemy village at the left also triggers waves of
attackers. They will probably wipe you out and leave your head on a pole."
This attack needs to be prepared for. The most common method is to find a
location in or close to the northern half of the map that can be easily
fortified, preferably higher ground, preferably with a single entrance. An
alternative (generally less successful) strategy is to immediately take
control of one of the villages and fortify that. The later is what Gobannitio
suggests you do at Lucan.
The capture and defense of Lucan (4 on the map above) is not recommended, but
I describe it first to highlight some of the problems. When you get close to
Lucan with Gobannitio in your party, the village comes under your control.
From bond0bhave: "The key is to stop the Barbarian leader from getting control
of the village while you use the Barbarian Infantry you get to build lots of
defense towers around the village." The ridge to the south of the village (10
on the map above) contains several enemy units which should be eliminated as
soon as possible. It commands views over two approaches to the village and has
only one entrance, only accessible to units that can enter woodland.
Bond0bhave continues: "When you take the village just mass produce archers,
and stack them into the towers you have built on the ridge, I managed to have
it so that most enemy attack forces had lost most of their strength by the
time they got to the base." The main advantage of capturing Lucan is the
ability to recruit troops, including powerful units such as Praetorians.
Unfortunately if you have gathered an army without taking heavy casualties,
there will be insufficient Unit Control Points to build additional troops
until the first attacks start to do damage, at which point there will only be
enough training time for a handful of units. There are only a few minutes to
build defenses before the attacks start. There are two major disadvantages to
trying to defend Lucan. Firstly the village is inherently difficult to defend,
with three main approaches and a very exposed village garrison. Secondly,
where other locations tend to attract several waves of attackers, Lucan seems
positioned such that many of the attackers appear in one main wave - to quote
Mark OHearn: "It will cause a massive onslaught no one can overcome." While it
is probably feasible to survive at Lucan on the easier difficulties, the
defense of Lucan is not the best overall strategy.
Instead of trying to defend Lucan, find a readily defensible position, fortify
your troops in it, and wait for the horde to attack. The position needs to be
close to the northern half of the map, however if you use a position in the
middle of the map it is possible to set up your defenses, then take a group of
fast moving units such as Archer Cavalry close to one of the villages, but
break off and flee just before the village defenders attack. This seems to be
enough to trigger the horde.
My suggested location is shown as 8 on the map above. Destroy the enemy tower
first. This position is on high ground, with a single narrow approach and
enough space to hide the majority of your forces at the rear. Since it is
closer to one enemy village than the other, the horde will attack in waves,
which allows time between attacks for healing and repairs. Mark OHearn
suggests: "Set up a strong defensive position south of the village, on the
hill near the ruins." This location is marked 9 on the map above. Again it is
on high ground and the enemy will tend to attack in waves. It is not quite as
easy to defend as location 8.
General tactics are the same at each location. Build several towers to allow
archers to fire down onto approaching troops. Catapults and Ballistas can also
be effective. Scouts can be used to gain maximum visibility. Since the enemy
do not use scouts against you, they are blind to the location of your ranged
troops until they reach the same height. So don't let them: Use stationary
Spearmen to block the approach(es). You may lose some, but so long as the line
holds this will not be a problem. Keep Centurions, Chieftains and Physicians
nearby. From blackwulf: "[Keep] allied warriors and legions in reserve. The
mounted horsemen (Equites and Noblemen) were way south. I kept baiting the
enemy against this defense; moved the legions up in turtle formation with
allied warriors." Legionaries in turtle formation act as an effective decoy -
just ensure they do not become swamped by enemy. From LordJohnDrinksalot:
"Hotkey Equites to run down Bowmen and retreat from Pikemen."
A third alternative location is the ridged area immediately to the south of
Lucan (10 on the map above). Random writes: "The access to this ridge is
surrounded by forest. Have some archers set up on the ridge in stationary mode
... and set up your foot troops close by. Then lure some enemy troops into the
forest and ambush them." From loki: "Deploy, legions turtled on the front,
keep your cavalry way behind, keep the warriors behind the legions." Cavalry
will not be able to reach the ridge, since they cannot pass through woodland.
This is the most significant advantage when using this method against the
enemy. Your cavalry can either be used to bait enemy troops or held in reserve
a long way to the south.
Once the attacks die down counter-attack immediately. The enemies throw the
majority of their troops into assaulting your fortified position, leaving
their villages relatively unguarded. They will continue to train additional
units, so there is nothing to be gained from delay. If you survive the horde
with the majority of your troops alive, capturing or destroying the two enemy
villages will be very straightforward. If your survived, but only just,
tactics will be needed.
Both enemy villages have woodland nearby that can be used to sneak attack
enemy defenders or burn the village to the ground - particularly useful when
attacking Ursoli (3 on the map above). Alternatively, when attacking Ilanna (2
on the map above), Publius suggests: "Capture the elevated terrain just on the
south east of the allied village with your Legionaries, send some foot archers
and auxiliary to build a catapult there to harass the enemy troops surrounding
the allied village. Once provoked, they will meet your Legionaries placed
south of the allied village." From LordJohnDrinksalot: "Try and ambush the
enemy troops moving from the top left village by various methods. Your wolf
scouts help a great deal still. I caught a four 16-man bowmen units with a
quick Equite charge and lost no one."
If replacement troops are needed, capture one of the cities. Very capable
units such as Praetorians can be produced - and you _will_ have enough Honour
Points to produce an army of them ;-) . Publius writes: "It's a good idea too
to send the allied chief [Gobannitio] to convert troops in his range."
There is no need to capture Lucan. You can if you wish, but you may have to
fight your way through as many enemy troop to reach Lucan as you would to
capture one of the other villages.
At the very start of the mission, select all your units (including the Wolf
Scout by the river) and run them over the bridge to the north. Since
Legionaries cannot cross water, this route must be used to advance. If you
wait more than a few seconds a large group of enemy cavalry will ride across
the river and take up a position on the bridge. While it is perhaps possible
to defeat the cavalry, such a fight inflicts heavy casualties on your troops -
no Spearmen are available, so there is no 'easy' combat solution. Initially
you have no Physician or village to recruit additional troops, so should try
to avoid as much combat as possible.
Once across the bridge head for the woodland on the western side (marked 5 on
the map above). Try to avoid the enemy units to the north-east. There are far
too many enemy on the main path to Antioch to contemplate using the direct
route. Once you reach the wood, you will see Syrian allies on the ridge to the
north. Race in to help them defeat their attackers. Whatever allied units you
save will join your forces. It is not critical to save them, but very useful.
To the north is a broken bridge (6 on the map above), which can be repaired.
Use your archers to kill enemy archers on the opposite bank first.
Now you have a choice. Sooner or later you must capture the village of Chalcis
(3 on the map above) since additional troops are needed to complete the
mission. If you proceed directly on to Antioch using the path to the north and
then east the additional allied forces at Antioch will join you. Unfortunately
Antioch itself cannot be used to produce new troops, so retreat back and
capture Chalcis. The longer you wait, the better defended Chalcis will be. So
although the first method provides more troops, you will lose more troops
attempting the capture. I therefore suggest you capture Chalcis as soon as
possible and delay moving to Antioch until you have secured the village and
built up your forces.
Consider building a Catapult and positioning it, along with archers, on the
ridge above Chalcis. Use these to support your Legionaries. Once the village
has been captured immediately start producing replacement troops: Consider
Praetorians (you should have amassed enough Honour Points for a handful by
this stage) and of course a Physician. While the army is being built up small
groups of enemy will attack. Watch out for Nubian Archers who fire poisoned
arrows. Poison can be treated by the Roman Physician. Prevent your troops from
advancing too far away from the village, since they will engage the large
group of enemy troops waiting in the centre of the map.
Once Cassius has visited Antioch and a sizable army has been built up, head
towards the enemy village of Batuae (2 on the map above), killing enemy units
as you find them. Take care when approaching the village through grassland -
many enemy units are lurking there; and those enemy archers never miss a
chance to set your troops on fire should your forces enter the grass >:) . FV
Constantinus writes: "After you neutralize this town, the map opens up and you
can see all the enemy forces." To complete the mission, destroy all the
remaining groups of enemy soldiers. There is no need to chase after every last
scout.
5.17 War of Attrition
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5.17.1 Overview
Location: Kingdom of the Avernii, Gaul.
Date: April 9, 52 BC.
Objectives:
- Escort a wagon to the first fortress.
- Escort a wagon to the second fortress.
- Escort a wagon to the third fortress.
- Titus Labienus must survive.
Unit Control Points: 292/500.
Troop Control Points: 12/50.
Starting units (under your control): 3x Auxiliary Archers (30), 2x German
Cavalry (12), 2x Legionaies (30), Spearmen (30), Titus Labienus (Centurion,
level 0), 3x Wolf Scout.
Available construction: Ballista, Battering Ram, Catapult, Defensive Tower,
repair.
Each of the three wagons has an escort of Auxiliary Archers and Spearmen. In
addition, the party is lead by a group of Praetorians and Balearic Slingers.
You cannot control these units. They will only proceed once you start moving,
and only move towards the fortress that you appear to be moving towards. This
gives some flexibility and control over how fast the convoy progresses,
although the lead party will always be ahead of your main army, so try to rest
in a position where it is not under attack - Praetorians and Balearic Slingers
may be good, but they can only take so much.
The fortresses can be visited in any order. I suggest you travel to the
western fortress (2 on the map above) first because once you arrive you will
gain a Physician, without which it will be exceptionally hard to keep your
army alive. The north fortress (3 on the map above) should be the final
destination, since it is the most heavily defended.
A few additional troops can be picked up at fortresses, but no new units may
be trained. Again, care needs to be taken not to take significant casualties
in any one battle. From jiehao85: "I tried to avoid the forests to keep away
from the hunters. Make sure you have your spearmen to guard the back." In
particular there are a few groups of Noblemen that will attempt to attack any
part of the convoy they see is not well defended. LordJohnDrinksalot writes:
"I used my hero and German Cavalry to charge any enemies my scouts found.
Awesome attack: must charge but at end game I had something like 100+ kills
for each German Cavalry troop with zero cavalry losses." Once you get him,
keep your Physician close and your cavalry should last the mission. Without
German Cavalry the mission becomes quite hard.
As you approach the northern fortress (3 on the map above) you will come under
heavy attack. This is survivable if careful use is made of troops,
particularly the Berserkers gained at the East fortress. However, the attack
is tough and can be pre-empted, as Mark OHearn explains: "Instead of engaging
in battle, set-up a strong fortified defence at the crossroads [marked 5 on
the map above]. A couple of towers and siege weapons. Make sure you have
medics and scouts to extend range. There is a small hill at your back that's
great for siege/tower. Hide your legions in woods on hold until overrun. You
will need to bait your enemies out of the woods - Centurions are good for this
use." Finally send Titus Labienus up to the fortress to bait the remaining
enemy before waiting for the final wagon to arrive at the fortress.
5.18 Alea Iacta Est
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5.18.1 Overview
Location: River Rubicon, Italian Frontier.
Date: January 12, 49 BC.
Objectives:
- Capture the village of Pisaurus.
- + Defend the village of Pisaurus.
- Capture the village of Fanum.
- + Defend the village of Fanum.
- Capture the village of Ancona.
- + Defend the village of Ancona.
- Caius Crastinus must survive.
Unit Control Points: 390/500.
Troop Control Points: 13/50.
Starting units: 3x Balearic Slingers (16), Caius Crastinus (Centurion, level
0), 5x Legionaries (30), Physician, 3x Spearmen (30).
Available units: Archer Cavalry, Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry,
Balearic Slingers, Equites, Gladiators, Hawk Scout, Legionaries, Physician,
Praetorians, Spearmen, Wolf Scout.
Available construction: Ballista, Battering Ram, Catapult, Defensive Tower,
repair.
This is the first mission where Romans fight Romans, and you may need to
modify established tactics slightly. Use this mission to become familiar with
Roman vs Roman battles. There are many large groups of Pompeians lurking, any
one of which is capable of doing significant damage to your forces.
The initial advance is frustrated by the lack of a scout. Without adequate
scouting your troops will walk blindly into various ambushes. Fortunately
there is a scout nearby. The scout is on the ridge immediately to the north-
west of your start position. Advance slightly along the north-west path, first
taking a group of Auxiliary Infantry hiding in the trees, then ambushing the
cavalry just ahead using stationary Spearmen, before rushing up onto the ridge
to dispatch the archers. The Hawk Scout on the far corner of the ridge will
join your forces once you come close.
There are two bridging points crossing the south river, east and west (marked
5 and 6 on the map above). The east bridge (5 on the map above) is by far the
easiest way to cross, both in terms of the volume of enemy that need to be
fought to reach the crossing and the ease of making the crossing itself.
The East bridge method is as follows: Immediately north-east of the start
point (1 on the map above) is an area of grassland. This contains a sizable
enemy army of Legionaries, supported by archers on the ridge to the west, and
archers in the shallow water to the north. Once any of these units are
attacked, or your troops travel too far north, the whole army will attack. Use
your new scout to locate the archers on the ridge, and send your troops into
the woodland just to the west of them. Now attack the archers with a legion
and let your slingers bombard the enemy in the grassland below. Keep your
Legionaries in the woodland until the (damaged) enemy come close: Do not let
them head towards the shallow water they cannot enter, or let them wander into
the (surprisingly given all the rain) flammable grassland. Using this method
it is possible to destroy the enemy army with almost no casualties. Surviving
this battle with your army in tact helps greatly once you cross the river.
At the northern end of the path are a group of enemy cavalry. Use a
combination of stationary Spearmen and slingers on the ridge above to kill
them without loss. Demote one unit (probably a Spearmen) to create Auxiliary
Infantry and repair the bridge. There is a large enemy army on the ridge to
the north-east, but it will not respond to you crossing the bridge. Cross and
set up another ambush to deal with the nearby cavalry.
The West bridge method is not recommended, but is still possible. Advance
along the north-east path until your forces reach the point with a ridge on
each side. Take the ridge to the north. This will draw in enemy from the
opposite ridge but gives you the advantage of height when attacking them. Then
use a your slingers to attack enemy units on the opposite side of the river.
You may also wish to demote a unit (probably of Spearmen) and create a
Catapult. The woodland on your side of the bridge (6 on the map above)
contains another army of enemy foot soldiers. Draw them out and then use the
valley between ridges to bombard them from above.
Now repair the bridge (if you have not already done so, demote a unit to
create Auxiliary Infantry). Observe the heavy enemy presence near the tower on
the opposite ridge. The moment you cross the bridge this army will attack. The
only viable tactic seems to be to rush across the bridge into the woodland
opposite and engage the enemy melee troops there. Then quickly advance to the
tower to destroy their ranged troops. This is not an easy fight and will
probably cost a unit or two of Legionaries, even if your army was at full
strength to begin with.
Both Pisaurus (2 on the map above) and Fanum (3 on the map above) will
'surrender' to you as soon as your troops come close. When they do, the
objective to capture the town will change to an objective to defend it. In
each case there are two enemy armies ready to pounce on the village. They are
triggered by the village being captured. The village will defend itself using
its own troops, however these battles are far easier to win if you have
already defeated (or are at the very least busy attacking) one of the enemy
armies when the village is captured.
If you used the east bridge crossing (5 on the map above), it is likely that
Pisaurus will be captured first. Before capture, engage the army on the ridge
immediately north-east of the bridge. It is then possible to use the woodland
close to the northern river to kill some enemy cavalry patrols. The second
enemy army is waiting on a ridge just to the east of the village. Immediately
to the north of this enemy army is a clump of trees. This woodland can be used
very effectively to mount an attack against the enemy army. When capturing
Fanum (3 on the map above), try to take the ridge on the southern side of the
village before capturing it. Otherwise the enemy Catapult will rain down
stones onto the village, rapidly wiping out its defenders. Balearic Slingers
are very effective against Catapults.
Once the relevant enemy armies for each village have been destroyed, the
objective to defend the village will be completed - there are no further
counter-attacks. Whatever remain of the village's own troops join your army.
Any loses can be replaced by training fresh troops. Note the small population
totals for these villages - don't expect to be able to rebuild your entire
army, just train a few essential troops. This is the first mission in which
Gladiators can be trained. Gladiators are elite units similar to Praetorians,
except with worse defense and a slightly better attack, notably including the
ability to throw a net over their victims just before they attack.
Before proceeding across the northern river, move your troops close to the
Militia of Ancona (point 9 on the map above). Initially the militia will
attack, but after taking damage will retreat and declare that they are no
longer with the Pompeians. This makes capturing Ancona far easier because only
the Pompeian troops surrounding the village need to be killed, not the
defenders of the village itself.
Again there is a choice of locations to bridge the river - east and west (7
and 8 on the map above). The east crossing is guarded by a group of enemy
archers. If they remain in the woodland they can be a real pain. It is
possible to lure them into the open by letting them fire on a unit then slowly
retreat the unit to the west; but this can be a frustrating process. Once
across the bridge, a group of Equites guard the path.
The bridge at the west crossing can be repaired in peace. However, when
advancing towards the town your forces will come under attack from enemy on
the ridge by the river. With careful positioning of slingers or Catapults,
combined with Hawk based scouting, these enemy units can be destroyed prior to
crossing the river.
As soon as your troops cross the river, the village will surrender to you. The
Pompeians then attack from all of the ridged areas surrounding the village,
and with archers hidden in woodland. Overwhelming force should win the day
easily, and by now your army will be at least 500 men strong, if not larger,
with a several elite units. Final victory comes once the enemy armies have
been destroyed.
5.19 War Within the Mountains
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5.19.1 Overview
Location: Pyrenees Mountains, Hispania.
Date: June 27, 49 BC.
Objectives:
- Defend the pass across the Pyrenees.
+ Meet Sextus Calpurnius and his men (new objective after 10 minutes).
+ Sextus Calpurnis must survive (new objective after 10 minutes).
+ Meet with Titus Lucius and his men (new objective after 20 minutes).
+ Titus Lucius must survive (new objective after 20 minutes).
Unit Control Points: 391/500.
Troop Control Points: 17/50.
Starting units: 2x Auxiliary Archers (30), 3x Auxiliary Infantry (30),
Centurion (level 3), Centurion (level 0), 2x Equites (12), Hawk Scout, 2x
Legionaries (30), Physician, Praetorians (16), 2x Spearmen (30), Wolf Scout.
Available units: Archer Cavalry, Auxiliary Archers, Auxiliary Infantry,
Balearic Slingers, Equites, Gladiators, Hawk Scout, Legionaries, Physician,
Praetorians, Spearmen, Wolf Scout.
Available construction: Ballista, Battering Ram, Catapult, Defensive Tower,
repair.
The orders imply both your village (1 on the map above) and your ally's
village (2 on the map above) must be defended. However, it is possible to have
your garrison destroyed and not fail the mission. Of course, without a base it
will become increasingly difficult to complete the mission. If your ally's
garrison is destroyed the mission will be failed. Aside from surviving, the
mission lasts until the Pompeians and their provincial allies decide to
retreat. There are two known methods of getting the Pompeians to leave:
The first is to destroy at least one enemy village in a bold offensive
strategy (see below - it is arguably the easiest strategy, but is the least
obvious).
The second (more common) way to complete the mission revolves around the
defecting generals. After 10 minutes of play, Sextus Calpurnius and his men
defect (at location 5 on the map above). After 20 minutes Titus Lucius defects
(at location 6 on the map above). Once the defections occur, send a unit (any
type will do) to meet the defectors and then ensure the officer reaches the
protection of your fortifications. There is no need to ensure the defecting
troops survive, just their officer. LordJohnDrinksalot writes: "I sent Wolf
Scouts to contact the Centurions as they defected." From loki: "I kind of
cheated, I sent two Auxiliary Infantry in the woods where the defections would
be, putting them on hold, and defensive, right at the beginning of the
mission. That way, I was able to reach them as soon as they defect, thus I
could carry them back very quickly to my base without having to spend troops
to reach them." You will need to survive just over 20 minutes, so a strong
defense is suggested.
On normal difficulty, more than 2000 enemy units attack from the south over
the course of about 20 minutes. These are mostly Roman units, so may be
somewhat harder to defeat than the Barbarian and Egyptian regulars found in
most of the previous missions.
My suggested defensive strategy involves fortifying and defending the ridged
area south of your village, overlooking the shallow water (marked 7 on the map
above). The ridge has two approaches, one on the northern side, and another on
the east. At the southern end of the ridge there is woodland, with a small
area of open ground on the southern-most tip. Immediately select all your
troops and run them to the ridge. Leave one Centurion (the level 0 Centurion)
to recruit at the village. Order recruitment of a few Auxiliary Archers,
followed by Praetorians. By the time the Praetorians start training you will
have the required Honour Points ;-) .
Build a Catapult on the southern-most tip of the ridge, and position a Wolf
Scout next to it. Place your initial archers in the woodland, as stationary
and aggressive. The Wolf Scout is important because it extends the reach of
these ranged units out across the shallow water *and* into the nearby
woodland, thus keeping enemy targets in view for as long as possible. On the
northern half of the ridge build two towers, one facing each of the entrances.
Fill these with newly recruited archers as they become available. Place a unit
of stationary Spearmen across the mouth of each entrance. Hotkey cavalry and
melee troops (initially mostly Legionaries, later Praetorians), but keep them
on the ridge with hold orders until you need them. Once the initial
constructions have been completed use the remaining Auxiliary Infantry to
build Catapults. Aim to have half a dozen Catapults in operation by the end.
Set all Catapults to aggressive, and give them the option to fire barrage
shot. Ballistas may be a viable alternative for the careful commander - in my
experience they tend to cause slightly too many friendly casualties in what is
already a fairly chaotic mission to manage.
Around this time the first wave of enemy attackers should arrive. The majority
of attacks come directly from the south. Let your archers and Catapults do as
much damage as possible. LordJohnDrinksalot notes: "The archers really hurt
the enemy the most, with hundreds of kills, especially if they attempt to
cross the river near the hilltop." Only use other troops once the enemy get
close to the ridge entrance(s). Then use the most appropriate group of troops
to deal with whatever enemy units are approaching - let enemy cavalry charge
the Spearmen, use your cavalry to mow down their archers, and send melee
troops out to deal with others. When the enemy attacks from the woodland to
the east, send melee troops out to deal with them - this approach is rarely
used. When the battle is over, pull everyone back up onto the ridge
immediately and let the Physician heal them. Only take your eye off the battle
momentarily to bring newly trained troops to the front-line or to meet with
the defectors: Some groups of enemy such as Gladiators and Praetorians will
reach the ridge and wipe out half of your defenses if you are not ready to
respond with melee troops.
Although not directly protecting either village, this method covers two of the
three possible approaches to both villages, including the only two approaches
that cavalry and Spearmen can use. The main group of archers and Catapult on
the southern-most tip will engage the majority of enemy coming directly from
the south so long as they have the extended range afforded by a nearby Wolf
Scout. Those that get through head towards your allied village, but so few
survive your aerial bombardment that your ally is more than capable of
finishing them off. This is less true on hard difficulty, since the allied
village appears to train fewer new units. However a veteran player should be
able to spare troops to assist their ally in the closing stages of the
mission.
There are several other possible ridges close to the villages that may be used
for defense, shown 8-10 on the map above. Location 10 (the ridge just to the
south of the allied village) will be used by your ally anyway. Location 9
contains a clump of trees that may be used to hide archers and an area behind
suitable for Catapults and other troops. Unfortunately the single access to
the ridge is directly from the south, so the enemy engage your melee troops
far sooner than using the method outlined above. This only protects against
forces coming directly from the south, allowing the enemy to out-flank the
villages' defenses unless alternative defenses are set in place. The ridge to
the east of your village is of little practical use since it only fires down
on troops that have already reached your village - and enemy archers can
happily set fire to the garrison without leaving the shelter of the nearby
woodland.
Instead of defending a ridge, consider defending your village itself. Kmorg74
writes: "The trick here is to keep concentrated and inside the town. Build up
three towers in your village and keep tight. Build catapults next, at least
five. Keep the Praetorian big guys in the middle small wood with a Centurion
and a healer. Build only enough archers to fill towers and Praetorians."
Praetorians are excellent troops for defense, and will very often be the only
troops still standing after a huge enemy onslaught. Random writes: "I built 3
or 4 defense towers close by my town and filled them with archers. My infantry
hid in the trees just south of my town to attack anyone that came close, while
the towers could shoot them easily. I sent my Equites out on hit and run
missions on enemy archers that attacked the allied town." From Shinobi: "I
placed the Praetorians near the towers and let the melee units come to them so
the towers could help them with boulders. When the melee units are eliminated,
I send the Praetorians to the nearby forests to kill hidden archers."
Shorty writes: "But there is one problem: your ally won't hold the village -
therefore send a couple of infantry to his town and start building a couple of
towers." Shinobi writes: "On the ally side I placed 2 archer groups on the
forest/hill just south of the village and placed the 2 spearmen groups on the
pathway to the forest/hill to protect the archers. When the spearmen kill the
melee units, I use the Equites to kill the remaining archers. To protect the
middle portion, I placed the 2 Legionaries groups on the forest with defensive
and hold position commands." From artifax: "I was more successful when I tried
to conserve my troops using my Equites to sally back and forth protecting 'our
allies village'."
FV Constantinus writes: "Defense? Yeah right! I got to thinking, I am 100%
better at attacking than defending and the only way I won the previous defense
missions was by counter attacking. I did the unthinkable under stress and took
my whole force on an offensive. I burnt the garrison of the village in the
bottom left corner while the enemy took out mine. To my surprise they didn't
tell me I had failed, so I kept it up and the Pompeians stopped attacking."
This is the easiest way to win the mission. Immediately run all your troops
south, close to the western enemy village (3 on the map above). Be quick or
else your forces will run into enemy troops coming north from the other
village (4 on the map above). Leave one Centurion hidden in woodland away from
the battle - it is important that one unit survive. Now engage the huge army
by the village with everything except archers. Once the battle has started,
move your archers to within range of the village, and order them to attack the
village (note _village_ not garrison). Everyone in the battle will probably
die. That is not important. Hopefully your archers will have managed to set
the village alight. Keep your remaining Centurion hidden and wait for the
village to burn down. The enemy should logically put out the fire, but they
seem too busy fighting to notice. Once the village is destroyed the Pompeians
retreat and the mission is victorious - total time less than 5 minutes.
5.20 Let the Hunt Begin
______________________________________________________________________________
5.20.1 Overview
Location: Coast of Macedonia, North of Greece.
Date: April 10, 48 BC.
Objectives:
- Defend the fortress.
- + Meet with the reinforcements.
- - + Help the reinforcements reach the fortress (this objective is added
after a period of time, even if the meeting does not occur).
There are two distinct attacks against the fortress. The first tends to target
the west gate, without significant attempts to climb the walls. The second
tends to target the south gate, with multiple attempts to climb the walls.
Set-up your forces in preparation for the first attack on the western side.
LordJohnDrinksalot writes: "Run the slingers to the left side walls, they're
deadly to siege-craft. Instantly create new Centurions by promoting Spearmen
units. Run all leaders near the left side walls so they can level up from all
the kills. Run Physicians underneath units on wall to heal them." Consider
building several Catapults. Set your ranged troops to aggressive. Place
Spearmen on stationary by the gates in case the gate should be breached. Group
up cavalry and use them to ride out to any poorly defended enemy units. As
noted above, Balearic Slingers are very effective against siege engines.
Initially train extra 'cheap' units such archers, Spearmen or Legionaries.
Later, once the fights start, switch to elite units such as Balearic Slingers,
Gladiators and Praetorians in preparation for the final part of the mission.
After the first attack prepare for the second by moving some units round to
the southern side of the fortress and repair any damaged gates. Try to prevent
the enemy from climbing the wall. From LordJohnDrinksalot: "The Equites can
cut ladders to pieces, but don't get very far from the walls because the enemy
archers will turn their attention on the Equites. The Spearmen can be
stationed on the walls now (because the towers and ladders have to be
destroyed) without delay or else the enemies get inside." Try to keep as many
units alive as possible - the second half of the mission requires troops too
;-) . This mission is a rare case where (by accident or design, I'm not sure)
the special character (Caius Crastinus) can be killed without failing the
mission. But after surviving four mission appearances it seems a shame to kill
him off now...
The mission orders hint that reinforcements will be arriving. As soon as the
second attack against the fortress has been defeated start to prepare for the
reinforcements. Shortly afterwards they will arrive, triggering the objective
to meet them on the beach (location 4 on the map above). However, after a few
minutes they become impatient and start fighting their way towards the
fortress, even if you have not yet met with them. Of course there are far too
many enemy for them to succeed alone... The mission will fail when the last of
the reinforcements are killed.
If the two wagons in the fortress can reach the Mercenary Camp (3 on the map
above), additional mercenary cavalry are gained, including some German
Cavalry. LordJohnDrinksalot comments: "Avoid any enemies not on that narrow
path to the mercenary village. You really need these mercenaries, I feel,
because their cavalry and numbers really add a powerful punch." Cavalry are a
useful asset, but gaining them is by no means essential. Indeed it might be
regarded as a diversion from the main objective - instead the time can be used
building up your own army by recruitment. I think the decision to travel to
the Mercenary Camp primarily depends what type of unit best suits your
fighting style. The main advantage of cavalry is speed. This is useful when
running between small groups of enemy stationed on the higher ground in the
centre of the map, however, speed is of little use when assaulting towers or
the enemy village.
From bond0bhave: "I never used the mercenaries. I took a few assaults and then
sent a catapult and an archer group with 2 Legionaries south, straight to the
enemy base [2 on the map above] ... Hit the base nicely, then retreated to my
base." Eliminating the enemy base greatly improves the probability of the
reinforcements making it safely to the fortress, not least because it prevents
additional troops being trained. Also, watch out for further enemy attacks on
your fortress - you may spot a group of Battering Rams circling round to the
east - either take these in the field or leave adequate defenders at the
fortress.
Once the reinforcements start moving they will survive reasonable well until
they reach the enemy village (2 on the map above). By this point they must
have your help, or will die. Once the village and its surrounding towers have
been eliminated, the worst of the fighting should be over. This is achievable
if the first half of the mission was completed with a reasonable number of
troops surviving. It is quite easy if you have subsequently recruited some
additional elite units such as Balearic Slingers or Praetorians. Finally mop
up various small groups of enemy troops on the higher ground either side of
the path from the village to the fortress. The reinforcements will gradually
work their way to towards the fortress, attacking almost every enemy in sight
on the way. Ensure some of them survive and the mission will be completed once
the remaining reinforcements reach the fortress.
The main objective is to destroy the barracks in the Pomeian encampment (2 on
the map above). There are three viable opening strategies, some allowing
further variations. The first involves a direct assault on the enemy fortress.
This is not as impossible as it sounds, although care is needed. The remaining
two strategies first capture one or more bases - either the Syrian camp in the
north (3 on the map above), or the Thracian camp to the south of your starting
position (shown 4 on the map above). The Syrian camp is easier to reach but is
likely to force the use a lot of Egyptian units and may prove harder to defend
subsequently. The Thracian camp involves a much tougher fight, but allows the
immediate production of Roman units and is probably easier to defend.
Initially it is not practical to reach the third Macedonian village (5 on the
map above) without fighting your way past either the fortress or one of the
other villages.
In each case, approach the destination with caution, clearing all the ridges
and forests before proceeding. Watch your rear because small groups of enemy
raiders will appear behind you and cause carnage. Don't let the term 'raider'
mislead you - the Macedonian groups typically include Praetorians and Balearic
Slingers. Siege engines and ladders can temporarily be kept in the far western
corner (at the starting point) without apparently attracting the attention of
the enemy.
An immediate fortress attack is not the easiest strategy in my opinion, but
may suit an offensive play style and does complete the mission relatively
quickly. It may not be appropriate to 'hard' difficulty, but can be
accomplished at 'normal'. When approaching the fortress, use the path direct
from the starting position (obviously clearing nearby ridges first). Draw at
least some of the Syrians guarding the western side of the fortress out into
an ambush. Then charge everything except a reserve unit of Auxiliary Infantry
towards the western corner of the fortress. Get an Assault Tower or ladder up
onto the walls and/or order the Battering Ram to remove the south-west gate.
Use your cavalry to kill various groups of enemy archers and siege engines
outside the walls. Let your Praetorians lead the fight on the walls. That's
about it for tactics - a mad battle with huge loses, but it is winnable. It
works because the defenders on the opposite side of the fortress will not
respond if the attack is restricted to one corner/gate of the fortress. I
suggest using the south-west corner because it is easy to get to and slightly
less well defended (significantly, not defended with Praetorians or
Gladiators). Once the south-west corner of the fortress has been secured,
destroy the gate. Now send a Catapult through the gate to attack the barracks.
Build a new one if the original Catapults were destroyed. If the barracks is
attacked at range the enemy units on the eastern side of the fortress will not
respond until it is too late. Once the fortress has been destroyed, victory is
declared.
The best way to capture mercenary villages is to kill the camp's
Centurion/Official and Physician/Priest. Once killed, the village surrenders
and its troops become neutral. When Quintus Tulius Cicero (your Centurion)
comes within range of these neutral troops they will join your army. Killing
the Centurion/Official and Physician/Priest therefore not only removes the
need to fight all the camp's defenders, but also bolsters your army.
The Syrian camp (3 on the map above) is the easiest to capture, but is the
most difficult to subsequently defend. It may ultimately favour players who
excel at defense rather than attack. Use the woodland to the west of the
village to your advantage, and target the Official and Priest as quickly as
possible. It is likely the majority of the village's defenders will join with
you, rather than get killed in the fight. While this gains many troops,
Egyptian units are not renown for their survivability; their main advantage is
a short training time. Basic Egyptian troops can be trained at the village.
Alternatively, order the Official in the village to leave, and send in a Roman
Centurion replacement. This will allow Roman units to be trained.
Capturing the Thracian camp (4 on the map above) involves a tougher fight, but
ultimately the village is easier to defend. There is no easy approach to the
village, and chances are you will be fighting over shallow water or grassland.
The village is primarily defended by Roman units and you may fight most of
them before getting a shot at the Centurion and Physician. From Random: "I
pretty much had to do an all-out attack on the base to occupy their forces,
while I had some horses run down their Centurion and priest. I lost a few men,
but then you get their men back, so it was okay. Then you can start recruiting
your own guys."
As soon as the village has been captured, and nearby troops acquired, heavily
fortify the area. Use your spare Auxiliary Infantry to build towers, Catapults
and Ballistas while fresh troops are being trained. The former Thracian
village is the easiest to defend, as demonstrated by the difficulty in
attacking it ;-) . But still place 6-7 towers and a similar number of war
machines for a robust defense. The former Syrian village may need more
defenses to stem the tide of incoming enemy units.
With a secure base, consider mounting an attack on the fortress - the method
described above may be used, or a more subtle method of your choosing.
Alternatively capture a second or even third base before taking the fortress.
The main advantage of capturing subsequent camps is the overall reduction in
the amount of attacks against your first camp. Clearly the additional troops
help, as does the slight reduction in troops defending the fortress. The
Macedonian camp in the south-east (5 on the map above) may also provide
additional siege engines. (In my experience one of the camp's Centurions fled
to one of the other villages, making capture of these units somewhat harder.)
Attack from the south - there is a small wooded ridged area just to the south-
west of the village that may be used to ambush the camp's defenders, and (once
the broken bridge has been repaired) a back route into the village from the
south. Lastly there are two groups of neutral mercenary Berserkers (marked 6
and 7 on the map above). These units will join your army if your troops come
close.
The Egyptian rebels (which include a mixture of Egyptian and Roman units) will
launch an assault on the fortress soon after the start of the mission. Since
the fortress needs to be defended throughout the mission, keeping the gates up
is essential. Once one of the gates is destroyed the enemy will rush large
numbers of troops at your forces, which is likely to overwhelm the defenders.
If either barracks in the fortress is destroyed, the mission will be failed.
There are three tactics that used together will ensure the gates survive and
your forces suffer minimal casualties:
- 1. Demote three units of Spearmen to Auxiliary Infantry. Have them ready at
the gates for repairs. Throughout the mission keep reassigning these to repair
the gates.
- 2. Position a unit of Balearic Slingers in a tower overlooking each gate,
with two units overlooking the central gate. Slingers are very effective
against siege engines, which represent the biggest threat to the gates and
walls. The heaviest attacks come in at the central gate. Place archers in
other towers.
- 3. Place a unit of melee troops hidden in each of the woods surrounding the
fortress. Use these only to kill enemy archers that creep in there from time
to time and otherwise attack troops in towers without being seen.
Various other 'standard' siege tactics can be used. From bond0bhave: "Promote
your Spearmen and move the Centurions to be by the archers, these [ultimately]
give them a nice 30% bonus on defense and a 10% on attack. Also get your
Physicians under the archers to heal them. ... Get the 2 groups of Equites and
use them to hit any archers or siege engines that look vulnerable."
The rebels have three villages (shown 4-6 on the map above). These are very
heavily defended. With the large army this mission allows for, it might be
possible to destroy the villages. However, there is little time available for
this - the whole mission is unlikely to last more than about 20 minutes. I
think a strong defense is the only viable tactic.
Once the rebel attacks die down, a messenger will approach and instruct you to
defend the port (7 on the map above). In addition, three groups of Egyptian
allies (8-10 on the map above) appear. These will join your army once your
troops come close. Mark OHearn writes: "Send your army out along the western
edge of the map, and place your units with your allies near the harbour when
the action on the fortress dies down a bit. This is very tactical in order to
immediately recruit them." It is still possible to rush your troops south
after the messenger arrives, collecting most of these allies on the way.
Equally, allies are not essential, just useful.
The fortress will still need to be defended, but rebel attacks will become
more sporadic and use fewer siege engines: A combination of slingers and
regular gate repairs should be effective. This allows your melee troops, some
archers and any new recruits to be gathered together to defend the port.
Approach the port using the path to the western side of the map, thus avoiding
rebel units coming to attack the fortress from their villages in the east. Oh;
and avoid the ambush in the grassland...
The port has two piers, either of which makes a reasonable defensive position.
In preparation for the final objective at least one unit of archers should be
placed at the end of each pier. Since the rebels tend to attack the southern-
most pier first, that is where defenders should be positioned.
After a few minutes the objective will change to "burn the boats". Use your
archers to set fire to each of the four boats in the port. Each boat will take
a while to catch fire. Once it has caught fire, attack the next boat. Once all
four boats are on fire they will start to sink. Once they do victory will be
declared. If the boats are not burnt within about 10 minutes the rebels will
capture them and the mission will fail.
At the start of the mission, rush your Roman troops from the central village
(1 on the map above) forward to help the Judeans (around the village marked 5
on the map above). After that, the mission is similar to a regular skirmish
game: There is no one way to win, and different players will wish to adopt
very different strategies. The most important tip is this - keep producing new
units and don't be afraid to get troops killed in action against the enemy.
The allied side has a greater aggregate population than the rebels, so will
tend to win any simple war of attrition. This is the first mission with the
option to train every type of Egyptian unit. Basic Egyptian units can work
well when 'rushing' (overwhelming with troops) an enemy village. The casualty
rate is high, but the training time is short ;-) .
Adopting a primarily offensive style, I found that once the initial Judean
attack had been repelled and one enemy village had been destroyed (the central
one, shown 6 on the map above), the enemy ceased to threaten either of my
allies. They were attacked, but never overwhelmed by the enemy and so never
required any further support. The Judeans were then able to hold most
attackers from the north, while in a totally uncoordinated way my forces and
the Syrians destroyed villages on the eastern side of the map. It is equally
possible to fortify your villages and those of your allies, let the rebel
attacks 'bounce off' while building an army with which to wipe their villages.
There are many possible variations.
The first part of the mission should be spent gathering mercenaries. You will
need as many troops as possible before attempting to cross the river. For each
group of mercenaries destroy the relevant tent (4-6 on the map above). Once
the tent has been destroyed the relevant mercenary commander comes under your
control and all his troops become neutral. When you bring the commander near
to his troops, those troops join your army.
Three aspects need to be considered in gaining mercenaries:
- 1. You have no base, so cannot afford to take heavy casualties in the first
stage of the mission. You do however have scouts and no specific time
pressure.
- 2. The more mercenaries fought while trying to reach or destroy the tent,
the fewer ultimately gained.
- 3. Mercenary commanders that are surrounded by the units of other still
hostile tribes will be attacked as soon as they join with you. If the
commander is killed, his former units cannot be gained.
There is no ideal order in which mercenaries should be collected. The order
may be changed to reflect player preference for certain types of unit. The
only caveat is that the Provincial (Roman) mercenaries should not be gained
first. If you do so, the Provincial commander will be overwhelmed by a mixture
of Nubian Archers and Hunters from other tribes, and is likely to die before
he can be reached.
The Iberian mercenaries' tent (4 on the map above) can be destroyed relatively
easily by taking the ridge immediately to the east of the tent. Three or four
units will need to be destroyed. Let archers set the tent on fire from range.
Centurion writes: "A few green spearmen will move slowly towards you but won't
reach you in time to stop the camp being destroyed." Eos suggests setting your
troops to 'defensive' mode so that they are less likely to fire at soon-to-be-
converted mercenaries. Quickly grab the mercenary Chieftain and surrounding
units (including the archers in the tower) and move them south slightly to
avoid alerting nearby enemy troops. Also try and avoid accidentally firing on
Provincial troops stationed in the woods to the north of the ridge. The
Iberian troops primarily consist of Pikemen and Hunters.
The Provincial mercenaries' tent (6 on the map above) can be destroyed by a
direct frontal assault along the path from the north-west, or by positioning
archers on the opposite side of the ridge to the north-east of the start
location. Although a viable tactic, the first method ends up killing most of
the Provincial units along the route. Centurion writes: "There are enemy
Praetorians near the orange camp so after dealing with the Gladiators [in the
grassland to the north-east] run the Nubian Archers to the tall grass down
from the forest near the orange camp. Now have them fire poison arrows at the
Praetorians, then when the Praetorians are in the tall grass set fire to the
grass in front of their path." The second method (positioning archers on the
opposite side of the ridge) requires several tough enemy units to be engaged
first. From bond0bhave: "There are some Gladiators in most of the long grasses
- use archers to set them on fire first. Then use Nubians to attack
Praetorians and run away." Without Nubian Archers, enemy Praetorians are
slightly harder to deal with. Use woodland as cover from the Provincial
slingers on the ridge above. Once the Provincial commander joins your army,
act quickly to counter any remaining hostile mercenaries on the ridge, and
avoid getting into a fight with a large group of enemy waiting on the southern
side of the ridge.
The most effective way of destroying the Mauretanian mercenaries' tent (5 on
the map above) is to use archers at range. First take the small wooded area on
the top of the hill just north-west of the start location. It contains some
Nubian Archers. Try to avoid dragging any Provincial units into the battle -
this is easier said than done unless the Provincials are already neutral. Once
the Mauretanian Official joins your army there is a chance his tower based
archers will fire at nearby Provincial units if those Provincials are still
hostile.
Just to the north of the bridge is a large enemy army. To the west of them
lies the village of Osuna (2 on the map above). There are a number of
mercenaries on the island in the north-east (7 on the map above).
By carefully guiding your commanders along the northern bank of the river it
is possible to gain the extra mercenaries on the north-east island. Send a few
other troops along too, because there is a unit of enemy Praetorians lurking
in the woodland in the centre of the island. Return to the bridge carefully,
evading the enemy to the north. Rather than gaining these units immediately,
Centurion suggests waiting until after the village has been captured: "Build
troops until your unit limit is 'maxed' out, THEN go and collect the troops."
The aim is to gain a bigger army than would otherwise be possible.
If your forces approach Osuna the village and its militia will join your army.
However, this also causes all the enemy forces just north of the river to
immediately attack, so is not an advisable strategy. From bond0bhave: "I took
all my troops and went to the bridge, built some towers, placed the archers,
Hunters, slingers and Nubians in them. All the rest of the archers were on the
other side of the river and all the melee units on the bridge. I then used
some archers to lure the massive enemy force into range of my units, and
destroyed them all." If towers are built on the southern side of the bridge
Pikemen can be used effectively on the bridge to kill cavalry. However, fewer
enemies can be lured across the bridge. Building towers on the northern side
of the bridge allows more enemy to be lured, but may be slightly more messy.
Of course, since towers just take time to build and do not cost anything, you
can build as many as you wish, slowly working your way north.
With the majority of the enemy army to the north destroyed, taking and holding
Osuna should be straightforward. This is the only mission where it is possible
to produce absolutely every unit type from all three civilizations, simply by
rotating which officer recruits at Osuna. Unfortunately there is unlikely to
be any need to recruit extensively from the village. At this stage there is no
need to defend the village since Labienus appears only to produce new troops
once his fortress is being attacked, and never uses them to patrol outside the
fortress.
The final assault on the fortress is relatively simple, and little different
from earlier fortress-attack missions. LordJohnDrinksalot writes: "I used my
slingers to take out the enemy catapults/ballista on the hills before I went
on the attack." There are many methods of taking the fortress, including the
use of Assault Towers or Battering Rams. Once inside the fortress, kill Titus
Labienus to complete the mission and the campaign. Congratulations. Enjoy your
statue :-) .
In the first instance, direct technical support queries to Eidos - see the
game's readme.htm file, http://support.eidosinteractive.com/ or
http://www.eidosinteractive.co.uk/support/ .
6.1 Are there any cheats or trainers? Can I skip a level?
There are no cheat codes. There are a few trainers available from the
internet, for example iMSDOX produced one to give Honor Points, maximise unit
and troop control points, and increase town population. The file can be found
here, http://www.gamewinners.com/DOSWIN/blpraetorians.htm .
The same site also includes a saved profile with all campaign levels unlocked.
This can be achieved manually. From jaycw2309: "Go to your profile directory
in the /My Documents/Praetorians folder [see Where are game save files stored?
below]. Open up the .USR file [in a text editor such as notepad] (make a copy
of it if you are worried). In there you'll see a section under
'Flags_misiones'. This is where it lists which missions you've done, and on
what difficulty. The top 4 are the tutorials, so only have 1 difficulty, all
you need to do is change the 0 to a 1." For example:
In .../My Documents/Praetorians. On Windows 9x this folder normally resides
directly on the main hard drive. On Windows 2000/XP it can be found within the
user directory, for example "Drive:/Documents and Settings/[Username]/".
Profiles and save games are stored in separate sub-directories. Copy the
contents of both sub-directories when creating a backup.
Print Screen works for most people - simply paste the contents of the
clipboard into an application such as Paint. Random suggests using Fraps (
http://www.fraps.com/ ) which allows a key to be bound in order to capture a
screenshot.
6.5 Are there any custom or multiplayer siege maps?
Officially no. However, campaign siege maps have been hacked to create
multiplayer/skirmish versions, thereby allowing multiplayer sieges. At the
time of writing these are in the early stage of development and replace
existing skirmish maps - read the accompanying documentation carefully. Jason
Novak's original siege map based on Tutorial III can be found at
http://www.merlinsoftware.com/praetorians/fortress_siege.zip . Pauldls's map
collection can be found here, http://home.earthlink.net/~axel44/wl/maps.html .
Others can be found here, http://usuarios.lycos.es/ipklan/ ,
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/toxa/map.html and
http://www.geocities.com/klanpharaoh/dwnloads.html .
Yes. Download and install aWaKeNiNG's Imperial Mod from
http://www.clan-gd.com/modules.php?name=Downloads . The modification adds
Greek units to existing multiplayer and skirmish maps. The campaign remains
unchanged.
Officially no. Pyro wrote one for internal use, but at the time of writing
this has not been released. However, Jare (Praetorians developer) has made
available enough information on the file structure to allow some simple map
editors to be developed. Such an editor and documentation can be found here,
http://clanpharaoh.com/paulus/ .
Yes. Tom Sikking has a comprehensive guide here,
http://home.quicknet.nl/qn/prive/jsikking/Praetorians/Guides/v1.0.doc (also
see http://www.freewebs.com/pyrostudios/guides.htm ), and a guide to changing
the amount of units -
http://home.quicknet.nl/qn/prive/jsikking/Praetorians/Guides/Units.doc . Jason
Novak described the basics of modifying maps, along with an explanation of
file types and terminology. It can be found here,
http://www.merlinsoftware.com/praetorians/tutorial/ . Various modding tools
can be downloaded here, http://clanpharaoh.com/paulus/ , including a 3D Studio
Max plugin for importing PBA files and a PTX converter.
Pak files are the format the game uses to store resources. Jare writes:
"Praetorians pak files are actually ZIP files; however, some of them are
encrypted by XORing each byte with the value 171 (0xAB). Either type will be
recognized automatically, in fact, you can see that the patch datafiles (and
some of the original pak files) are not encrypted. The only important thing is
that sound files are in their own pakfiles, NOT encrypted and NOT compressed."
Jason Novak's utility decrypts encrypted pak files. It is available here,
http://www.pctechzone.com/praetorians/pak.zip .
Yes. Shamaani writies: "Extract the music.pak file into a new folder [see Can
I open .pak files? above], you will get .OGG files. Use Winamp to read the
.OGG files or convert the files with an OGG2MP3 program."
6.11 I can't connect to an online game. Any suggestions?
Ensure you are using the latest patch - all players must be running the same
version. Zeta writes: "You need to configure your router so that it redirects
DirectPlay ports to your computer. Try with ports 2300-2400 and 47624." The
same ports (2300 and 2400 and 47624) apply to firewalls. For help with
firewalls in Windows XP, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 283673 "Enable
or Disable Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP" -
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;283673 . Pauldls
writes: "GameSpy says: Arcade needs the following TCP ports open in order to
function: 6667 (IRC), 3783 (Voice Chat Port), 27900 (Master Server UDP
Heartbeat), 28900 (Master Server List Request), 29900 (GP Connection Manager),
29901 (GP Search Manager), 13139 (Custom UDP Pings), 6515 (Dplay UDP), 6500
(Query Port)."
6.12 I have video/display problems. Any suggestions?
The three most common solutions are: (1) upgrading drivers (often said, but it
does solve many problems), (2) updating DirectX (to at least 8.1), (3)
uninstalling any demo version(s) and then reinstalling the game (the two
versions overlap slightly with negative results).
A. Unit Abilities
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The first appendix is based on the A2 foldout table that accompanies the game,
augmented by observations and data found at http://www.geocities.com/vent40k/
. Data has been reproduced here for ease of comparison between similar types
of unit. Tribe (civilization) is shown R = Roman, B = Barbarian, E = Egyptian,
and All. Health, stamina, speed, attack, defense, range attack, and range have
been assigned numbers based on:
* 1 = Very low
* 2 = Low
* 3 = Medium
* 4 = High (long)
* 5 = Very high (very long)
Do not interpret these numbers as meaning anything other than the higher the
number the better. For example, a "4" is not necessarily twice as 'good' as a
"2", but "4" is better than "3". The number of people is the maximum number of
troops per unit, or in the case of siege engines, the number required to
operate the machine.
Commanders gain bonuses based on rank. Bonuses are applied to troops within
their area of influence. These are shown below (again R = Roman, B =
Barbarian, E = Egyptian):
Special formations are as follows:
* Protecting: Protection from arrows.
* Stationary: Immobile. Archers gain increased range and damage. Spearmen gain
increased damage to enemy, particularly cavalry.
* Turtle: Improved defense, particularly from arrows, but with penalties to
speed and attack.
Special abilities are as follows:
* Ambush: Hide in woodland and later assault passing enemy unit.
* Barrage: Attack with multiple small missiles, suited to groups of enemy.
* Blind Troop: Blind enemy temporarily.
* Building Effect: Work faster, but at cost of health.
* Construct: Build or repair siege engines and fortifications.
* Cure Disease: Cures poison and blindness.
* Dragnet: Thrown net over enemy.
* Extra Energy Regeneration: Troops in area of influence regain stamina
quicker.
* Flaming Stone: For use against flammable targets.
* Frenzy: Undocumented. Appears to give some sort of combat bonus but can only
be used after running.
* Heal: Regenerate lost health.
* Impale Charge: Lanced based charge.
* Mana Aura: As Extra Energy Regeneration, troops in area of influence regain
stamina quicker.
* Mirage Effects: Creates illusion of nearby unit, lasting until melee combat
starts.
* Moving Shot: Fire bows whilst riding.
* Poison: Dart which ignores armor and causes damage over time.
* Pray: Regain stamina quicker.
* Send Hawk: Aerial scouting.
* Send wolf: Ground/woodland scouting.
* Steal Energy Effect: Drain energy from enemy.
* Throw Pilum: Thrown javelin at range, normally used before engaging in
melee.
* Throwing Axes: Thrown axes at range, normally used before engaging in melee.
* Throwing Stones: Thrown stones at range that immobilise enemy temporarily.
All archers will fire flaming arrows at flammable targets by default.
B. Unit Training
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The following table shows the requirements to train different units. It is
based on observations and data found at http://www.geocities.com/vent40k/ .
Tribe (civilization) is shown R = Roman, B = Barbarian, E = Egyptian, and All:
C. Terrain
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This appendix lists the type of terrain different units can access. The same
terrain limitations apply regardless of climate. All unit can use flat terrain
or pathways to elevated terrain. No units can walk up the side of ridges
without such pathways - only scouts' hawks can fly over them. "Yes" means the
unit can enter the terrain, "hide" means it can both enter and actively hide
in the terrain, and "no" means the unit cannot enter the terrain. All units
that can enter woodland become somewhat hard to spot, but only Hunters can
completely disappear in woodland. All units can enter grassland, but only some
can attempt to hide in it.
