Faction Guide: Rome (Brutii, Julii, Scipii)

In depth guide to the great Roman Houses detailing unit rosters, starting positions and general campaign strategies

Introduction

Hello Everyone,
Welcome to the Roman campaign guide featuring the main factions of the game. Be prepared to march and conquer the known world with legions of heavy infantry, assimilating all those in your wake. The three playable (without file editing) Roman factions are listed here and makes for a very large guide, I'll be happy to split it down if there is a popular demand to do so.

Please leave your comments as to what your own experiences are, what I may have gotten wrong and how I can further improve the guide. Please remember that this guide is simply anecdotal, everyone's experiences may be different and don't take the given time frames for campaign goals too seriously.

Enjoy, and may Jupiter give you strength!

Starting Locations

Settlements
All three Roman factions start on different parts of Italy with only two settlements. The Brutii's capital is Tarentum and second city is Croton, he Julii have capital Arretium and secondary settlement of Ariminium and the Scipii have Capua as their capital and Messana as their other settlement. All of these starting settlements are quite rich and tend to be the largest and most profitable in the campaign. Brutii begin the game in the south, Julii in the north and Scipii in Central Italy and Sicily. The Brutii are the only faction to lack adjacent regions that are not another Roman faction (Excluding SPQR). This means that they are forced to use ships or take long land routes to attack anyone.

Geopolitical Situation
All Roman factions begin the game as allies and whenever you declare war the other Roman factions will also be at war with said faction. The Roman factions also have a lack of nearby rebel settlements.
Brutii
The Brutii's neighbours are both the Julii and Scipii in a north-westerly direction. To the east lie the rich cities of Macedon and the Greek Cities. These should be considered the Brutii's natural enemies and expansion.
Julii
The Julii have the most basic goal in mind. Move north. They are bordered by some Gallic towns and then a ring of rebel settlements separate civilisation from the barbarian hordes.
Scipii
The Scipii have the most interesting situation. They border both the Greek Cities and Carthage, on Sicily. Their split settlements means that dominance of the seas is required for Scipii to succeed

Unit Roster

The Romans feature the most extensive and powerful units roster in the game, based around having a flexible rotation of units to suit any opponent they come up against. The only difference in unit roster is the unique gladiator unit they can recruit. Another difference is that different types of mercenaries can be recruited in the natural expansion paths to each faction. It likely won't decide the campaign for you but it's something to keep in mind.
There is an event in campaign known as the Marian Reforms. These reforms were a historical event which were instituted by Gaius Marius in 107BCE. It drastically transformed the structure of the Roman military, allowing for the poorer classes to seek employment in a professional army. In game, these reforms happen once any settlement on the Italian Peninsula builds an Imperial Palace. The unit roster is thus split into pre and post Marian reforms.
The Roman Factions have access to Cohorts and Legions, the most powerful heavy infantry selection in the game. Playing as Rome will require a focus on heavy infantry as cavalry and ranged units perform a supporting role.
PRE-MARIAN REFORMS
Infantry
Peasants, Town Watch, Hastati, Principes, Triarii
I'll give the standard description for peasants, they suck. Only used for public order or transferring populations. The Roman peasant is the worst of all the peasants with only 1 attack, defence and charge.
Town Watch are a slightly better alternative to peasants but are nnot worth it except for a role-play aspect. Their improved stats are barely noticeable compared to the peasant due to the peasants larger unit size. They also have awful morale, often fleeing far too quickly.
Hastati is a unit you will want to know well. They will make up the bulk of your pre-Marian armies and are thankfully a quite powerful unit. Tactic wise quite simple, either wait for the enemy to come to you or you go to them. The javelin thrown before melee combat is very powerful and should not be ignored, it can cause some quite severe damage and break an opponent's formation. The only, quite minor, issue is that isolated Hastati units left fighting against larger numbers will rout, although they hold in there longer than most other infantry in the game. Just use them en-masse and you'll be right as rain.
Principes are a straight up defence, and model, upgrade on the Hastati. I would recommend trying to pump these out to replace the Hastati. Although I can't confirm it, Principes might have a higher morale than Hastati, experience has taught that they tend to rout less often but that might just be due to more well rounded armies as time goes on.Use them in the same way you would Hastati
Triarii are one of two Roman anti-cav units and fulfil the role excellently. However, they arrive too close to the Marian reforms to be properly integrated into your armies, grab a few if you want but I wouldn't waste my denarii. In battle try to pin down opposing cavalry units with your own and then follow it up with some Triarii to watch the cavalry melt away. Triarii are able to take the brunt of a cavalry charge and come out on top but it isn't preferable.

Ranged Infantry
Velites, Roman Archers
Velites are a standard skirmisher units which is relatively irrelevant to the Roman unit roster. Since the majority of Roman infantry units are able to throw javelins, the role of Velites is rather obsolete. Granted, they have higher ammunition and a nifty bonus vs elephants and chariots but the longer range of the Roman Archers results in a better damage output over the long term. The bonus melee attack and defence of the Velites feels useless as they melt away against anything other than a fellow skirmisher unit, and in very few situations would you need to win.

Cavalry
Equites
Equites are the only pre-Marian cavalry option for the Romans and they are quite a poor choice. Do not expect any heroics from these units. They have quite a good charge bonus for their price but it never seems to materialise. They drop like flies in prolonged melee and flee incredibly quickly. Useful for flanking and charging into the rear only if the opposing army has no cavalry of their own, otherwise they should be used in an anti skirmisher/ranged unit role along with mopping up fleeing units.

Ranged Cavalry
Cavalry Auxilia
Cavalry Auxilia are very similar to Equites, lower defence, higher attack, lower charge with the added bonus of throwing javelins. One on one Equites will edge out a win the majority of the time, so it's a personal preference which one to use. If you can't really decide, Auxilia are the more versatile unit and thus are recommended over Equites.

POST-MARIAN REFORMS
Infantry
Peasants, Auxilia, Early Legionary Cohort, Legionary Cohort, Praetorian Cohort, Urban Cohort
Peasants - Already Covered
Auxilia are an incredible upgrade on Town Watch, if anything they are a slight Triarii downgrade. Useful in a support role to tie up weaker enemy units while your Legionary Cohorts deal with the main forces. Auxilia are also great when assisting your cavalry in combat with other cavalry.
Early Legionary Cohort are the first of the most powerful infantry in the game. Fill the majority of your armies with this unit and just throw then at the opposition. A large unit size and very respectable stats means you will just crush all opposition easily.
Legionary Cohort are an upgraded version of the Early Legionary Cohort with an insane 22 defence statistic. Use them in the same manner.
Praetorian Cohort are incredibly good but there is more to come. 2nd best infantry in the game. Use them as you would the other legionary units. Downsides are the price and 2 turn recruitment time. Price isn't much of an issue by this stage however.
Urban Cohort are a unit fit for being bodyguards to the Gods. Beat all other infantry and most cavalry in a 1 on 1 situation. With an army of these you don't even have to watch the battle, just go an do something else for 15 minutes, the battle will have been won by the time you come back. Downsides are the price and 2 turn recruitment time. Price isn't much of an issue by this stage however.

Ranged Infantry
Light Auxilia, Archer Auxilia
Light Auxilia are simply a reskin of Velites along with a stamina boost. Ignore or use them as you would Velites
Archer Auxilia are a solid upgrade on Roman Archers. Having four or five of these in an army can do quite significant ranged damage. Well worth having.

Ranged Cavalry
See Cavalry Auxilia above

Cavalry
Roman Cavalry, Legionary Cavalry, Praetorian Cavalry
All of these cavalry are better than Equites so use them however it pleases you.
Roman Cavalry are a Roman cavalry unit (it's in the name) which can actually compete head-on with the standard cavalry of other factions. It fulfils both the light cavalry role of hunting down skirmishers and fleeing units while also being able to act as shock cavalry to a small extent.
Legionary Cavalry function more as a form of shock cavalry than light cavalry. They are probably the best mix in terms of price and accessibility to use in large numbers.
Praetorian Cavalry are an elite shock cavalry unit which crush all opposition. As the name suggests, they are essentially mounted Praetorian Cohorts. Charge them at just about anything and they will come out on top.

Unique Units
Arcani, Samnite Gladiators, Mirmillo Gladiators, Velite Gladiators
I have hardly ever used these units, they don't fill any role that other infantry units can't do better. They are essentially units you can use if you want points for style or a role-playing a campaign. I can't really be bothered writing anything about them, this guide is long enough as it is.

Expansion

Each of these starting locations poise the individual factions to campaign in a certain direction. The Brutii head east into the rich cities of Greece and Macedon, the Julii forge victories against the countless Barbarian tribes such as the Gauls, Germans and Britons to the north and the Scipii must contend with Rome's ancient enemy, Carthage.

If one was to describe the expansion tactics of the Romans it would be an unending march of conquest. Their diverse and powerful unit roster allows for all factions to be taken head on, with little need for careful diplomacy or strategising. They do not need to act overly aggressive in rushing to defeat opponents since the strong Roman economy allows for a constant supply and replenishment, outpacing that of all others. Turtling is a viable strategy but will not be described here. The Roman factions allow for a comfortable strategy of one's own choosing as long as the basis is heavy infantry armies.

NOTE: Do not feel like you must field full flag armies all the time, the most efficient way to play is to have an army that is just better than your opponents, that sliver of advantage is all you need. Some players are not so comfortable with tighter margins, which is completely understandable, play at your own pace. I'd just like to disclaim that I rarely use armies with more than 15 units early on, they are easier to manage and can be used to win against full stack armies 90% of the time.

Brutii

Brutii
Brutii expansion is both the most frustrating and rewarding. They must contend with the soon
to be collapsing Greek Cities. The Greek Cities are the most powerful of the initial factions the Roman can go to war with (although some may argue that Carthage could be equal). The Greek Cities have powerful, rich home regions as well as access to hoplite units. Although early hoplite units are awful due to low morale, and the AI do not know how to use them effectively, in the hands of the right player they can tank through just about anything. Although not difficult to defeat battles are often time consuming with large numbers of hoplites involved.

Attempt to eliminate the Greek Cities sooner rather than later so that they do not gain access to more powerful units. Begin this conquest by taking the rebel held settlement of Apollonia. Be aware that ferrying troops between the Italian Peninsula and Greece will be required early on, since it takes time to build up the smaller towns. Keep on good terms with Macedonia, they will help in taking out the Greeks. Simply continue pushing south into Greece with a large main army and create some smaller expeditionary forces northward, capturing any rebel settlements (Segestica, Salona and Aquincum). I also recommend taking the islands of Crete and Rhodes. The sea trade is a nice income boost, especially with the Colossus of Rhodes bonus.

After defeating the Greeks, or just forcing them off the mainland you should be making enough money from all that sea trade to field multiple armies on multiple fronts, (around 3-5). Now is the time to turn your attention to Macedonia, securing incredible levels of income and the powerful Statue of Zeus wonder. Ideally this would take 20-30 turns.

If you have been lucky, the Scipii and Carthaginians have been fighting wars of attrition and neither side has been making gains. This is a perfect opportunity to win the war for yourself by sending an army to take the weakened Carthaginian towns. If this is not the case, prepare invasions of Egypt and Thrace. An invasion of Egypt can be quite difficult so make sure to have one or two full stack armies. Hopefully the Egyptians will be busy with conquests in Syria and Mesopotamia and have left their heartlands undefended. However, the large armies aren't wasted if that is the case. They can be used as garrisons against a potential counterattack. The ideal situation is to leave the as few units garrisoning as possible and using the rest to drive north into the rest of the Egyptian lands. Thankfully the Egyptian cities should be developed enough so that you can retrain and reinforce from Egypt as continually reinforcing from Greece would be nigh impossible. As for Thrace, they are generally quite weak and can be taken out whenever you can spare the armies. At this point the steamroll really kicks in, you'll field enough armies to simply attack whomever you want, just don't forget to build up for the civil war.

Julii

Julii
The Julii have the most simple and obvious early expansion strategy, attack the Gallic settlements to the north, take Caralis and then expand into the ring of rebel settlements containing Massalia, Iuvavum, Segestica, Aquincum and Lugdunum if possible. This is a very comfortable starting position which comes with a minor downside, barbarian settlements are small in population and can take quite some time to grow. So although weakly defended rebel settlements make easy pickings, small risk equals small reward.

After this, the next goal is to focus on eliminating Gaul before opening up multiple fronts. By this time, several scenarios may have played out; Britannia has successfully invaded either Germania or Northern Gaul (or both), Britannia hasn't done much an allowed Germania to expand eastwards. It is preferable if Britannia has expanded into Germania since although it makes Britannia much more powerful. However, dealing with only a single faction is always easier and the melee units of the Britons are far easier to deal with than that of the Germans.

Either way, the next two targets are Britannia and Spain. For more inexperienced players, only go to war with one of these factions at a time, so that resources are not stretched too thin, Britannia first. Both of these regions are locked away in the corner of the map which allows for an easily defensible economic base. Be prepared for the chariots of the Britons as they can be a nasty unit if ignored. Mercenary spear units or plenty of archers are they key to taking them out with minimal losses. Spain tends to have quite a few powerful armies since they hardly ever go to war with neighbouring factions, and even when they do they don't suffer any serious losses. Chances are that Spain will pre-emptively attack the settlements of Numantia or Narbo Martius while one is distracted with war against the Britons.

Once the regions of Britannia and Hispania have been subjugated the world is one's oyster. Attack wherever you please. Don't forget, of course, to build up for the civil war.

Scipii

I have to admit that the Scipii are my least played faction. I've probably only played one or two short campaigns with them. I don't really understand why I don't like them, perhaps it's the naval focus, perhaps a disinterest in having to fight Carthage. I really do not know.

The Scipii have the most interesting starting expansion options; if they want to consolidate power in the Mediterranean then controlling the island of Sicily is a priority. This, however, brings them into conflict with both the Greek Cities and Carthage.

The Scipii are forced to use naval invasions which frustrates me to no end but breaks up a rather monotonous formula followed by the other Roman factions. The obvious priority is crushing Carthage as quickly as possible. This is relatively simple since Carthage has a central power hub based in Northen Africa. Their other regions are not centralised nor large enough for Carthage to ever threaten dominance over the Mediterranean.

The Scipii also have the option to sail west or east, cutting off the potential expansion options for the Julii and Brutii. The best case scenario would be to quickly overpower Carthage and then rush to Spain and Greece, expanding via land from there. This strategy, however, does stretch resources thinly. My recommendation would be to first expand into Greece, taking the rich lands on offer and cutting of the Brutii's potential for expansion. The settlements in Greece also allow for the financing of multiple campaigns into either Iberia, Anatolia, Gaul or even Egypt. Take your pick. Be aware that the "Mediterranean Empire" style of the Scipii means resources have to be invested into medium sized fleets to maintain your supply lines for reinforcing armies. If you do not then you run the risk of losing naval battles, fleets sinking and then the armies sinking with them.

[ForestVision]

@Mr Knee
You raise an excellent point.
"Useful for flanking and charging into the rear" is my summary for the point you raise. Compared to other cavalry the Equite is a bad unit. This has a historical basis as the Romans were not renowned for their cavalry and often relied upon mercenary or auxilia troops from conquered provinces to make up their cavalry.
However, the difficulty in massing 3 units of your own to charge is that it gives free reign for the opposition cavalry. If you attempt to counter the opposition cavalry with Equites directly then you are likely to lose. I find that by the time you have dealt with the opposition cavalry your heavy infantry have worn down the opposition infantry enough for a final rear charge to rout them. Admittedly the Equites are useful here (I also like to have 4 cavalry units for this purpose (5 including the general) in my army) but the useful work has been performed by the infantry.
Thanks for the comment!

[Mr Knee]

I'm going to have to defend the Equite here as they can be overpowered if used effectively.

I will normally look to have 3-4 equites in my army (including the general's horses if general is present). If the opposition is the sort who has set up their army in such a way to leave archers and skirmishers exposed then obviously you will charge them. Usually I would use one Equites verses each opponent, but will definite make a point of double teaming any superior missile fighters like Cretian Archers - I don't want so much cause them to route as in murder as many of them as possible.

If there are no missile enemies in play then team up your equites into a group of three and use all three in charging a single enemy unit. If you are able to position your equites before charging, space them slightly so that upon charging and hitting the enemy, one will maybe hit more on the side and another more on the side.

[Mr Knee]

I'm not sure if intended, but hitting with three equites at the same time seems to do more damage than hitting three separate times with a single unit. I think there might be something weird with the way hit detection works - not sure though.

Where this sort of use of equites is effective is a single charge with a single unit will do 54 horses v 5 charge attack = 270 total damage. Depending on who you are charging them this might equate to 8 deaths. Obviously if you hit with three units you'd do 810 damage which'll theoretically kill 24 enemies.

This higher level of kills mixed with the enemy unit being surrounded by 2-3 units (plus any Hastati that might be also attacking) means you can usually cause the majority of enemy units to route. If you hit but the enemy doesn't break within a second or two then quickly pull out and do a second charge. This'll often do the trick (assuming they aren't a unit with bonus morale or the close presence of an enemy general).

[Mr Knee]

Obviously this doesn't work taking on Hoplites and variations of...

You wrote:

"They drop like flies in prolonged melee and flee incredibly quickly."

The key to equites is to charge, hit and immediately pull away and repeat. If they are melee-ing against anything but peasants and town guards you are using them wrong.


BUT THEY SUCK POST-MARIAN REFORMS RIGHT?

Not necessarily. Especially since a lot of your enemies are still likely be made up with a proportion of pre-Marian units. As long as you've taken care to not get them easily killed previously then your equates should have good experience by the time you trigger the Marian reforms and will do a load of bonus damage.

[ForestVision]

I really can't help with an issue like that. Sorry. Try posting in the Total War or Steam forums.

[dannycronincwu]

hi, i keep getting error message 5976 whilst the game is running in the background and unable to access the game/

[rowan56]

Good one

[Tom Paris]

i always play Scipii.. i took over rome with them :P

[Levitate]

very helpful guide so far, thanks :)

[hulahoopah]

Oh, ok my bad. Apologies, thought you didn't know :P my bad.