How to Be Great at Rome Total War

Enjoy playing Rome but overwhelmed by all the different aspects to manage? Follow this guide and you'll make Caesar look like a Gallic catamite!

Part 1

Part 1 of 7:

Getting funds

Download Article

If, however, you want that that city to grow and don't mind making a little bit less every turn, move it to the lowest tax rate until you upgrade it.

Part 2

Part 2 of 7:

Building structures

Download Article

As long as you have the money, try to make sure that all of your settlements have at least one building being produced on the construction panel.
If you have conquered a city and it already has a religious structure from a different culture, destroy it and build your own. The only exception to this is when that city's happiness rating is too low to last a turn without that building without revolting.
However, if you have the ability to upgrade the city and the citizens are becoming too restless, delay whichever current structure you are building with the new one that will advance your city.

Part 3

Part 3 of 7:

Forming links

Download Article

It's good to build some strong allies early. Don't ally yourself with a faction though if you plan on waging war on them any time soon.

Part 4

Part 4 of 7:

Building your army

Download Article

Include spearmen to defend against cavalry, heavy infantry to combat the enemy's spearmen and other infantry, cavalry to outmaneuver your enemy or to match theirs, archers or javelin-men to harass your enemy before your melee units engage, and when you have a city advanced enough to build some, siege equipment to attack a town without waiting another turn or more.

Part 5

Part 5 of 7:

Besieging

Download Article

Remember that while besieging an enemy town, make your weakest troops command the siege engines you build at the town (siege towers, rams, etc.) unless they are at risk from being attacked by the outside. You don't want your best unit to be cut down by arrows before even engaging the enemy. When you've brought siege equipment, such as onagers and ballistate, try not to destroy any buildings that appear in the campaign map. When you've finally broken the gate or a section of their wall, you should group the units you plan to send in and press Shift+8 to move them into column formation. This is best for storming a city.
After conquering a city, see what the city's happiness level is before you decide what to do with its citizens by looking at its window through the space between the information scroll and the edge of the screen. If it's red, you should massacre or enslave the citizens. In that situation, massacre them. If it's blue, enslave them. If it's yellow, you could still enslave them just in case. If it's green, neither massacre nor enslavement is necessary, but then again, you are the king, so it's completely up to you.

Part 6

Part 6 of 7:

Responding when under siege

Download Article

It is possible to defend a city with 21 weak Greek Cavaliers against 350 Macedonian spearmen and archers and win with 15 men remaining and your general still alive. When you're the one whose city is about to be stormed, place the troops with the strongest defence near the place where the enemy has penetrated your city, and put them into guard mode. There are all types of different methods you can attempt to try to save your city. Something that often works is to put some spearmen a few yards back from wherever the enemy has come in and let them advance. Then, order any swordsmen, no matter how strong or weak, to attack it's now unprotected flanks since it is trapped between your defending army and the gate.
Always try to place your army on a hilltop when it's about to be attacked. This hill will be on the battle map as well, and the slope could be the difference between defeat and victory.
Leaving your ranged units on fire-at-will can cause them to fire and hit your own men if they are close to the enemy.
Put yourself into win-win situations.
Chariots on the run can still cause casualties to you by the blades on their wheels.
Morale is as much a weapon as any conventional one, don't overlook it.

Part 7

Part 7 of 7:

Expansion

Download Article

The first is military, take over a settlement to make defending your empire easier, or to weaken an enemy. The second, and most important, is economics. Your main drive in attacking a settlement is to make more money, either by opening up new trade routes or merely adding more people to tax.
Use forts, they can be priceless in their ability to keep enemies out of your territory, to seal mountain passes and shut down bridges. Only family members (Generals with portraits) can build forts. These forts must be manned by at least one unit at all times, or they will fall into disrepair, and disappear. Forts can be used to prevent war, and they also makes sure you'll be calling the shots once it starts.

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Tips

In battle, use every opportunity you can to conceal your troops in a forest (some can hide in long grass too), even if you already have an advantage. Place your visible troops behind where the forest is and then have the hidden troops ambush the enemy when the come near, sandwiching them between your two forces.
Thanks
Helpful5 Not Helpful0
If one of your cities ever catches the plague, don't move any men inside of that city into another one, as it will spread the disease. However, one thing you can do to spread it to your enemy is to build a spy in that city and then move that spy into an enemy settlement. Since it is the only unit that can penetrate a town without taking it over, it will infect that town.
Thanks
Helpful6 Not Helpful1
Remember that foreign (not your own faction) temples cannot be upgraded. If you have a shrine in a Huge city, your first action should be to build a new temple.
Thanks
Helpful2 Not Helpful3

Show More Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Warnings

Attack the city of Carthage,Patavium, or Thapsus without a strong economy may have you spending thousands of denarii trying to keep the people happy. On the contrary, taking over Carthage early in the campaign can give you a lot of advantages. The city of Carthage is usually more advanced than the other settlements you start with. This gives you the advantage of being able to train more advanced units. It may be your first settlement to make it to "Huge" status. Also, Carthage can be a huge money maker. It's also a relatively safe place to raise up armies which you can export to Rome, Greece, and other places.
Thanks
Helpful2 Not Helpful0