Rome Total Realism: Roma Imperium Surrectum Starter Guide
by moscaflaca

Originally posted by you:

bOOHoO!!!1 "X" fAcTtIONn is 2 hARD!!!!!1 pLZ bUFf!!!1

Is this you? Do you think a certain faction is too hard? Do you suck at this game? If so, look no further! Every faction in this game is viable! However, your decisions early on in your campaign will influence the rest of your play time. This short guide will give you tips on how you should start off your campaign in order to dominate the Mediterranean and create your empire!

Note: this guide has been written at an early stage of RTR: RIS’ development. The tips in this guide are only written for an early version of the mod, and the mod is subject to substantial changes in the near future.

General tips: these apply to all factions and Rome: Total War in general!

• Spend every coin you have on turn one. Your economy is almost guaranteed to go into the red on turn 2, so you have to make sure none of that money you have is wasted paying debts.
  
• Going into debt early in the campaign is normal. It doesn’t have any negative effects on your empire except that you can’t build or recruit new units. As long as you have an army and are able to expand, your economy will recover. Focus on expansion instead of money.
  
• The game is called “Total War”, you must be aggressive, you must not hesitate, you must kill your enemies or you will be killed! Aggression is the way of the most successful generals. Hannibal, Alexander and Caesar, were relentless and merciless, you must be as well!
  
• If you lose a city it isn’t the end of the world. Sometimes it’s wiser to sacrifice one of your cities and keep an army intact rather than sacrifice an army to protect a city. Armies are time consuming and expensive to build. Cities grow naturally over time.
  
• Always go on the offensive, besiege enemy settlements as soon as possible. Attacking AI cities causes them to react defensively. Defeat their armies in the field as well. But recognize the limits of your own army and when you cannot win. If defeat is certain, try to withdraw!
  
• Roads make armies move faster!
  
• Ships can transport armies faster as well, but beware of pirates!
  
• Prioritize fighting enemy factions instead of rebels.
  
• Rebel cities are frequently better defended and less economically valuable!Focus on capturing rival faction’s cities instead and eliminating your neighbors.
  
• Some buildings unlock extra recruitment. Check the building browser!
  
• Use agents. Spies in particular are extremely useful. Sun Tzu says if you know your enemy and know yourself, you will win 1000 times.
  
• Upgrade your city’s walls. These provide excellent defenses.

Faction tips: if you’re struggling with a specific faction, read this! Every faction is viable, but your early turns are crucial in order to develop a strong and wealthy empire.

Romans:
Initial difficulty: easy
Probably one of the easiest factions. You can go in any direction, I advise splitting your armies in two directions: Send one army north towards Cisalpine Gaul and clear out the rebels and the Gauls. It’s actually probably best to defeat the Gauls at Mediolanum before the rebels because the rebel garrisons are stronger than you’d expect! In the south I advise rushing Sicily and taking Syracuse as soon as possible. Once Sicily and Cisalpine Gaul are secured, you can expand in any direction!
Strengths: Strong infantry

Antigonids:
Initial difficulty: medium
You can either try to secure Greece or defeat the barbarians to the east and north. I recommend focusing on defeating the Greek City States as soon as possible as their cities are by far the most valuable. You can probably even conquer Sparta on turn one if you’re cunning and daring enough!
Strengths: Strong pikemen and heavy cavalry.

Ptolemaics:
Initial difficulty: easy
At the start of this campaign, you own several wealthy lands and have a relatively large, but spread out army. Invest in your settlements and consolidate your armies. You can send an army into Asia minor and take the settlements there, but I advise you concentrate your forces and take the fight to the Seleucids! Secure Syria, it is a wealthy and densely populated region. With Syria and Egypt under your control, the world is your oyster.
Strengths: Strong flexible army with diverse units and good economy

Seleucids:
Initial difficulty: medium
You rule an expansive and spread out empire. You have threats on all sides. Concentrating one army to defeat the Egyptians to the south is wise, as Egypt is extremely rich. Using another army to eliminate the single city factions such as Parthia, Armenia and Pontus will also secure your borders from attack. You have very wealthy lands and fielding a large, powerful army shouldn’t be difficult.
Strengths: Strong flexible army with diverse units.

Carthage:
Initial difficulty: medium
Your domain is essentially fractured in two halves. Your lands in North West Africa are safe. Use a boat to cross Gibraltar and unite with your army in Cordoba. Capture Iberian rebel settlements, they are valuable. Your armies in Hadrumentum and Carthage itself should be united and used to squash the Massylii. You can eliminate their faction by turn 2 if you’re clever. Lastly in Sicily, again, I advise attacking Syracuse first. Messana may seem tempting, but their garrison is strong and stubborn. Syracuse is less well defended and wealthier! Once North Africa and Sicily are secure, you can prepare to destroy the Romans!
Strengths: strong cavalry and missile units.

Parthians:
Initial difficulty: medium
You must expand aggressively to secure your position! Take the fight to the Seleucids. Their lands are rich. Move your armies south and take their land. As the Parthians your army will consist mostly of horse archers and missile units. You will need to be patient when fighting the Seleucids’ hoplites and pikemen in battle.
Strengths: Strong cavalry and horse archers, good missile units too.

Pontus:
Initial difficulty: hard
A tough faction! I advise you to try to secure Asia minor first. You will need to attack the Gauls, the Selucids, and the Egyptians to complete this ambition, but you will have well defended land protected by the sea in the west and mountains to the east. With Asia minor secured you will be free to expand in any direction. Syria, Greece and the Aegean islands are all great targets.
Strengths: good all around units

Gauls:
Initial difficulty: hard
As the Gauls you rule a vast and disjointed empire. You have cities in France, Cisalpine Gaul, and Anatolia. Recruit armies everywhere! You will initially go into debt. The only way to overcome and survive is through conquest. Send armies to capture Massilia and Vienna. Use your army in Mediolanum to capture rebel cities, but don’t underestimate them. With Massilia and Cisalpine Gaul secured, you can move against the Romans. Consolidate your forces because their army will be stronger than yours. You need to rely on numbers and good tactics to win. In Anatolia you must go on a warpath, conquer any city from any faction. I recommend attacking Mazaka to the east first, but moving toward the Aegean sea to fight the Seleucids and Egyptians might be better. In Anatolia you will need to rely on mercenaries if you wish to secure the region.
Strengths: cheap early units, powerful late infantry and cavalry.

Suebi:
Initial difficulty: medium
Not much to say here, just take all the enemy rebel cities as fast as you can. They’re not worth much but you have no neighbors to worry about. With Germania secured you can move towards Gaul or Britannia. Their temples unlock military units!
Strengths: strong infantry and uncontested starting position.

Iceni:
Initial difficulty: medium
Secure Britain, the AI seldom uses naval invasions. With the isles secure you can begin expanding into Europe. Not a very exciting faction. The blacksmith tree unlocks chariots.
Strengths: Strong infantry and chariots and well defended starting position


Armenians:
Initial difficulty: hard
Capture Kotais to the north west of Armavir as soon as possible. Afterwards attacking the Seleucids to the south can provide easy targets. Alternatively you can try to defeat Pontus early on and remove a neighboring rival.
Strengths: Strong cavalry and horse archers. Good all around units.


Getae:
Initial difficulty: medium
Defeat the Odrysian Kingdom ASAP. Use an army to conquer Olbia to the North of Tyras. Afterwards you can either expand south into Macedon and Greece, or attack rebel cities to the west.
Strengths: strong infantry, good all around roster.

Greek City States:
Initial difficulty: hard
A tough faction. You rule a fragmented realm with strong enemies everywhere. Using your starting armies in Athens and Sparta can allow you to capture Corinth, but war with the Macedonians will be difficult. In Massilia you must prepare defenses against the Gauls, and in Sicily one of your neighbors will eventually want to steal Syracuse. Your cities are wealthy so you need to invest in them and protect them. The Greeks are probably the only faction I recommend turtling with at the start. But don’t turtle for too long.
Strengths: valuable cities and strong infantry, good navy.

Massylii:
Initial difficulty: hard
Your only real option is to fight Carthage. Build up your army with your starting resources and attack Carthage itself as soon as possible. Afterwards secure Hadrumentum. With that border secured you can either continue fighting the Carthaginians in Africa or attempt to capture Lilybaeum. Carthage is a formidable opponent, but by capturing their capital you severely weaken them.
Strengths: Strong cavalry and missile units, good infantry too.

Sarmatians:
Initial difficulty: hard
Probably the hardest faction in the game. They have good units but their starting cities aren’t great. Their biggest weakness is how far they are from any other cities. The nearest settlements are 6, 7 or even 8 turns away and are all low value towns, but at least they don’t have strong garrisons. You can also use ships to transport troops across the Caspian sea! You could attack Parthia and the Seleucids through here. Playing as the Sarmatians you will go into debt, and you won’t be able to expand quickly, but your cavalry are extremely strong. Having a full stack of cavalry will allow your army to move further per turn, but you will need infantry to assault walled settlements.
Strengths: Strong cavalry and horse archers. Almost impossible to invade due to distance to any enemies.

Celtiberians:
Initial difficulty: medium
Consolidate your army and secure Iberia, take Cordoba from Carthage as soon as possible. Olisipio to the west is the strongest rebel city, but the rest are not particularly well defended. You will probably have to race against Carthage to secure Iberia which is why you should eliminate their stronghold in Cordoba as soon as possible. Iberia is valuable and easy to defend. With Iberia secure you are free to expand north into Gaul or south into Africa.
Strengths: powerful infantry, and land protected by many natural barriers.

Odrysian Kingdom:
Initial difficulty: medium
Your first priority should be to eliminate the Getae to the north. Olbia north of Tyras is lightly defended and should be an easy target as well. Afterwards you will need a strong army to invade Macedon and Greece. Byzantium is heavily defended, and not recommended to attack early on. The Macedonians are likely to capture rebel cities near your land. You must defeat the Macedonians to secure your position.
Strengths: strong roster in general