Rome Total War: Battle Strategy Guide

A. Formationsexecutes them.
It's pretty much common sense to come up with aArchers are very effective against light troops and
good formation formounted archers are a good way to harass enemy
troops. Always keep archers them away from the
B. Flanks and Rearinfantry and cavalry. Put them behind your infantry
The flanks and rear of any army are its mostwhen the enemy is close and protect them with your
vulnerable points. By placing cavalry on the side youcavalrywhen necessary. If you have the opportunity
can help protect your flanks. When facing an enemy,to flank the enemy using archers,make sure you
always try to attack its flanks or rear with yourtake off skirmish mode and attack, you will catch the
army, especially your cavalry. A cavalry charge to theenemy off guard. When the enemy is far away put
rear can devastate any unit and lower its morale.the archers in the front to shoot arrows as the
When facing an army unit such as Greek hopliteenemy approaches then bring them behind.
phalanx, you must use the slow speed of the enemyE. Fatigue
to your advantage to flank the opponent. TheYour units will slowly or quickly get fatigued based on
Phalanx is particularly vulnerable anywhere except thetheir actions. Use this to your advantage by forcing
front. One tactic that seems to work is to slowlyattacking armies to march to you and by running only
flank the enemy is to form your troops in a slightwhen necessary.
half circle so you can slowly surround your enemy.F. Terrain
Never let your infantry become isolated, try to keepUse the terrain to your advantage. When fighting
them in formation in a line so they dont feel like theynear or in a forest, lure the enemy and launch
are being surrounded.surprise attacks. Place one or two units out in the
C. Moraleopen while you hide the rest of your army in the
The morale of your troops is the most importantforests. However, remember that archers perform
aspect of a battle. If your troops are surroundedpoorly near trees. Also, remember that generals are
they will lose morale and try to escape in a rout. Trynot hidden in forests. When you are fighting on a
to prevent this and use this to your advantage bymap with a slope, try to control thehigher ground and
surrounding troops whenever possible. Showeringavoid an uphill battle. Units move very slowly when
arrows on the enemy army lowers its morale Also,marching uphill and attack much less effectively; the
launching a surprise attack on an unprotected sideopposite is true downhill. If you have the option to
has the same effect. Having enemy generals nearwait out the battle and the weather doesn't suit your
your troops lowers their morale slightly, this is alsoarmy, wait until the weather changes. Some units are
true of your general and enemy troops. Keep in mindbetter suited to certain weather condtions than
that more experienced troops have higher morale.others. Read unit descriptions to find outmore details
New troops will most likely rout ifyour general flees.about each units ideal figting conditions. Some terrain
All units on the battlefield know who is winning thesuch as mountains is impassible to your armies. Try
battle by observing their surroundings. If they seeto find an alternate route. Certain choke points such
any unit or a general fleeing, they are more likely toas bridges are important strategic locations.
flee. Use this to your advantage; if you have a unitDefending a bridge is much easier than defending on
surrounded and they are routing, let them flee ratheran open plain. You can also hide your whole army on
than let them fight their hardest to get out of theirthe campaign map in a wooded area to launch
situation. Once other enemyunits have seen them,surprise attacks on an enemy army.
mow them down with your cavalry to show theG. After they flee
otherarmy who is the boss.When the enemy starts to flee, continue the battle
D. Unit strengthsrather than end it so you can use your cavalry and
Each of the different unit types is vulnerable toattack dogs to run over the fleeing enemies. You can
another type. Cavalry is vulnerable to frontal speargain more experience for your units this way. Using
attacks. Light Infantry is vulnerable to cavalry andyour general's cavalry to run over routing units is a
Heavy infantry is also vulnerable to side attacks fromquick way to gain experience and skills for the
cavalry but is effective in hand to hand combat.general.
Artillery is good offensively against almost any unitH. Attacking with multiple armies
but is extremely weak defensively and dies quicklyWhenever possible, try to attack with multiple armies
after a head on attack.by surrounding the terrain around the enemy with
Elephants are a great unit against infantry and loweryour forces. When one of your armies is adjacent,
the morale of enemy troops. They can be supressedthe AI is in control of the army and helps in the fight.
by a large number of ranged units and scare tacticsAny type of reinforcement usually helps win the
such as incendiary pigs. Your Elephants may also turnbattle but be wary of the AI poorly managing your
and attack your own troops in which case you havevaluable Generals and armies.
the option of using the special ability where your rider