Roman overview (AoE2)

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1:05 Scorpion minimum range reduced
1:40 Villagers work 5% faster
3:01 Galley-line and Dromon +1/+1 armor
4:28 Infantry upgrades have double the effect
6:30 Scorpions -60% cost and benefit from ballistics
7:53 Legionary
8:50 Centurion
11:35 Unique techs
TECH TREE
12:15 Archers C
12:44 Infantry A
13:15 Cavalry B
13:50 Siege B+
14:15 Navy B
14:45 Monks B+
15:13 Defenses B
15:43 Trash units B-
16:05 Strategies and final thoughts
17:15 Sponsor
___________________________________________________________
Patreon: / spiritofthelaw
Background music from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive Edition

[@janosv5401]

Romans have an unpopular real-life gold cost affecting their play rate.

[@that_one_momo_guy]

real life trade cogs take a month making a round trip and are very micro intensive :'(

[@Mythestopheles]

thinking on it, the +5 charge attack pretty effectively represents the pilum, which was commonly thrown while entering battle by roman soldiers

[@raulpetrascu2696]

I hoped it would be an ability you could choose to throw with right click, but you only get a couple or it has a cooldown

[@MrProthall]

Should slow down infantry with shields though, it was designed to stay stuck in shields so they couldn't be used effectively!

[@kangosjarvi97gmail]

Worth noting that the Romans as we see them in Age 2 didn't use pila. Pila as a weapon were discontinued in the second century and while they (or similar thrown weapons, i.e. the spiculum or the foreign angon spears) may have seen limited use in the very start of the Age 2 timeline, Roman infantry were almost exclusively armed with a Hasta spear and Spatha sword until the fall of Rome.

[@PablitoAndCo]

​@@kangosjarvi97gmail Late Romans did actually use throwing weapons, in the form of darts (plumbatae). And although the pila had a greater damage effect, a legionary could carry only 1 or 2, while a late legionary could carry 6-12 darts to fire at enemy formations.

[@124085]

The late romans had long since abandoned the Pilum. War darts on the other hand...

[@budwyzer77]

We really need an Aetius or Majorian campaign to bring the faction into the AoE2 timeline.

[@dov6341]

Stilicho could be a good choice as well.

[@erkocab]

There are custom campaigns for both

[@the_andrewest_andrew]

a Majorian campaign so it could be a roman tragedy 😂

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Would love to see them infight, not to mention battling the Byzantines.

[@llSuperSnivyll]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Rather than battle each other, have the Byzantines as Allies but them not bothering to help you the slightest, and getting most of the Gold in the map.

[@doomer704]

I think it's correct decision to add late roman empire as they already had Huns from conqueror, and also weird why they don't add them earlier.

[@slungellife]

Also much of the goths design space is based on gothic tribs during /before the fall of the western Roman empire

[@Thought_Criminal]

The back of my age of kings CD has "ROME HAS FALLEN AND THE WORLD IS UP FOR GRABS" along the top of it. The dark age represents right after the fall of the Roman empire.

[@wwanimator]

@@Thought_Criminalyeah and the in the conquerors expansion you already have the huns campaign where you fight the Roman Empire so timeline expands to Rome already there

[@notevenclown9304]

what are you saying burh. the byzantine are the late roman empire

[@Zeredek]

@@slungellife which makes it kinda funny that they have Hand Cannoneers and Bombard Cannons

[@imonlysleeping4491]

The term "locked behind overpriced dlc", could apply here also

[@xxXTwiTchyMcGeeXxx]

I suck at the intended game play but I still love playing this. Fulfills the nostalgia box quite nicely.

[@mattender8323]

Isn’t that all it’s about?

[@BasileusHorus]

I would love to see a comparation between Western Romans ( Romans) and the Eastern Romans (byzantines) and how one could be better against them and compare with other civs and see if they can work together to rule over all other civilizations, as the unitec Roman Empire once did. ❤

[@angryhippo2910]

Never been happier to see a KZbin get a sponsorship deal. SotL has been breaking down and explaining AoE2 mechanics and filling an important niche for this community for years. Well deserved!

[@Wobbuffet0]

I always appreciate the extra effort into the puns. Good stuff!

[@PeterFendrich]

I think it'd be interesting as unique buildings are becoming more a thing, if the Romans could eventually build a building called the fortress or something which wouldn't fire arrows, but would allow for the production of their snowball units (legionnaire, centurion, scorpion) from one building. Maybe also have it so that scorpions could garrison within the building and fire from it. Personally I would take that over the unique tech allowing for the charge attack... Maybe it's too powerful, or too weak, I don't pretend to be a numbers master lol.

[@parkerbond9400]

Maybe a fortified church then

[@smrrebrd5913]

I think, that would be too overpowered. The scorpions weakness is Cavalry and Eagles. Put it in a Building(built 5% faster than usual), and let it shoot... protect hills, gold, fire at the enemy's Base. Idk :D

[@jussi3378]

@@smrrebrd5913 just use palisades to build your own fortress, lore appropriate

[@henrywilliams4781]

Got my show ran by the Romans today. Started as soon as I (Slavs) tried taking an even 5 on 5 with fully upgraded men-at-arms. The game was over before Romans player even got to mass their fancy unique units. Romans are quite OP enough (not to mention paywalled)

[@hallamhal]

Loved the Daft Punk reference at 9:45

[@yiyoascen]

You should include the most useful allies as a part of these videos

[@simonmonto]

Thats a good idea, nice for AI chumps like me who need all the bonus' I can get

[@ChrisZukowski88]

Goths would not be on the "useful ally" list lol

[@danielmunsaka2051]

​@@ChrisZukowski88they just might with the faster working barracks

[@Deaglan753]

@@danielmunsaka2051 ive tried it and ngl i can't tell if the faster working barracks works especially for the Post imperial age

[@ChrisSeltzer]

We desperately need a single player Romans campaign

[@IamRayson]

That’s in AoE I. 😁

[@ChrisSeltzer]

@@IamRayson haha well AOE1 desperately needs a bunch more campaigns!

[@prometheangaming2112]

You do in the AoE 1 campaigns under Julius Caesar but I'm assuming your talking about in AoE 2

[@sugoi9680]

FLAVIUS AETIUS STILICHO AURELIAN UNTAPPED GOLDMINE!!!!!!!!!!

[@zacariasdelalcazar8873]

On it. ... After the others I'm developing.

[@Stelphy876]

8:49 yesterday during Nac5 we saw Romans vs Japanese and the legionry went toe to toe with samurai because of their infantry bonus.

[@Davtwan]

They have one of the most dangerous death balls in the game. Just like in history though, facing strong raids is their biggest weakness. (Good luck if you’re facing the Romans on a closed map though.)

[@thomasjoshua3499]

Romans are gaining recognition in pro scene recently, as the spearmen and pikemen are super tanky in a typical scout opening mirror in open maps like land madness. The extra melee armor really gives Romans a clear edge in scout war, that you can swarm other player's spearmen or pikemen with large number of scouts, while your opponent can't, or with much heavier prices.

[@no1ofconsequence936]

Now that we've gotten our mandatory thinking about the Roman Empire out of the way, I would like to say I enjoy Romans. Their unique game plan is just solid where another infantry civ feels like it needs something more. It feels odd to play, but smooth. Worth the price? Probably not on its own. But since I already own it, I might as well get some enjoyment out of it when I play.

[@xRnChrisx]

9:47 Nobody expects the Roman Daft Punk

[@yeshuae11]

Nice harder, better, faster, stronger reference out there 9:47

[@allradMuelleimer]

Just came to the comments to see if someone else noticed

[@elonwhatever]

I think what also plays into roman's pick rates: Their DLC is not that well regarded. It only adds the romans and the "AoE1 playset". I skipped this DLC as it didn't provide value for money to me. I doubt I'm alone...

[@Thought_Criminal]

This

[@DCdabest]

I guess I bought it for the AoE1 content too and quite enjoyed it. For anyone who wasn't an AoE1 player, I guess it doesn't have the same appeal.

[@briannaherrington949]

AoE1 is a bit of nostalgia for me, and the Romans in AoE2 from the dlc are cool too

[@roguebanshee]

The DLC price as well as it only offering the Roman civilization (for AoE2 players) is _the_ reason they aren't played more in all AoE2 modes.

[@matthewpopow6647]

​@@DCdabestfor AoE 1and the Roman, it's great. But most if the player base isn't here for aoe 1

[@bjarkiorleifsson6100]

Glad to finally get an overview of a civ that's so obscure no one's heard of it before this game

[@albertodezotti762]

Love the aoe2 romans, they are well designed overall. I hope that you'll do the Italians overview next, as the one present is very old and basically now they are almost a new civilization.

[@navinkumarpk86]

They should have added the Vandals as a civilisation at the same time as the Romans.

[@J4R0D]

Then we could have had a Belisarius campaign

[@WodkaEclair]

​@@J4R0Dnah, the classical/late Roman army was thoroughly over by then, still better represented by Byz

[@J4R0D]

@@WodkaEclair I wasn't saying the Romans would be the campaign, I was just commenting on how Vandals would fit with a Belisarius campaign. Besides, we still don't have a proper Byzantine campaign

[@ryannathaniel9296]

​@@J4R0DI also propose a Majorian campaign for the Romans

[@arcomegis9999]

Then they would have to add a bunch more Germanic civs namely the Saxons, Lombards, Suebi, Alemanni, Marcomanni, Cherusci, Frisii… They won’t as these examples are likely to be represented by existing civs. Saxons can be Britons, Celts or Vikings. The rest either the Franks or Teutons. Or they could all be like the Goths. If they did attempt to split them like the Indians, I’d be interested.

[@blakenielson1455]

Lol I was looking all over for this video the other day! 😢 Finally! ❤

[@De-nu3nb]

hey sotl any chance of you leaving your old civ overviews as public? It’d be real nice to look at some of the old civs from time to time imo

[@SpiritOfTheLaw]

I try to remember to link the old ones in the description when I update them, and I think I've been better about remembering to do that lately. The trouble with leaving old ones public is they've had so much more time to get views they tend to show up above remakes on searches.

[@Broken_robot1986]

Can't you update their title instead of privately privating

[@De-nu3nb]

@@SpiritOfTheLaw ahh okay i see why now, if it messes with your viewership then ig is fine no need to bother with it, thanks anyways tho :))

[@CromulentEmbiggening]

@@SpiritOfTheLaw What if there were an unlisted playlist of them, as an archive?

[@maxotaur6267]

Every time I hear the intro song I get hit with nostalgia. Feels like I've been watching your content for a decade. Happy holidays, folks!

[@ryankaiser2702]

Pretty hard to tell with the narration going on and the fighting in the background, but you can see the superb villager pathing in this video as well 12:12

[@YossarianVanDriver]

I wonder if their 5% bonus would feel a bit less "generic Are Just Better" if it only applied to repairing buildings and building defenses (walls etc), which would have a solid use in tense quickwall/raiding situations, focus more in on what I assume to be part of the historical source for the bonus (the rapid military engineering Roman armies could perform), and wouldn't feel like it was nerfing them too much since they're performing so strongly at the moment. (If it was too insignificant then, it could be bumped up to 10%, I dunno)

[@sigilbreaker2628]

Would be very thematic that they're better at repairing the old than building the new

[@TheRckiller]

As a Roman's main thank you for the video!!!

[@landonchilders8041]

100 win grind baby!

[@5cmain207]

I think you have missed that in a large fight many charge attacks will hit the same unit taking out the first enemy units significantly faster than without it, snowballing the fight afterwards.

[@squatlebherz4434]

Spirit of the Flaw - at 8:07 as the legionary has +2 Melee armour I've been watching his videos for 4 years and don't think I've ever noticed a mistake before

[@AC-hj9tv]

Bro wrecked his shit

[@chocomilkfps1264]

Even when I don’t have time to watch a full video I click just hoping to hear that intro

[@ElArto95]

I think the lack of demolition ship in the Roman tech tree is not because their "no-powder" rule, but instead because the Battle at Cape Bon, in which the Western and Eastern Roman navies made one last ditch attempt to reconquer Carthage from the Vandals but failed because the latter used demolition ships to obliterate the Western fleet.

[@andrewberrocal2281]

Roman scorpions: You’ve yeed your last haw

[@SuperCrazf]

I thought you had already made a civ overview on the Romans? Anyway nice video as always

[@joshuanavin4735]

Can you add a link for Spirit of the Outlaw? I would go out of my way to visit that establishment!

[@nishthedude]

I actually watch his videos while working out , helps me pass the time

[@hansoskar1911]

in case someone is wondering: the correct ratio is 1 Centurion to 40 Legionaires (the optio is the other officer for every century of 80 men)

[@Snipergod1024]

Other way around. The Centurion had 80 men, while the optio had 40.

[@oyuyuy]

@@Snipergod1024 Optios didn't have any men at all, they were simply second in line after the centurions. And if the centurion fell, the optio would of course be in charge of all of the 80-100 men in the centuria.

[@Snipergod1024]

@@oyuyuy Apologies, my brain switched off. Thanks for the correction.

[@MrMarinus18]

@@Snipergod1024 To me that's kinda weird, I would think that a centurion would have had 100 men. Centuri means 100 in Latin. It's where the word Century comes from as well.

[@the_andrewest_andrew]

at first i didnt like the idea of romans being here at the AoE2 time frame but after learning about all the pockets of roman resistance sprinkled among the fallen western empire i can be at peace with this but i definitely love the subtle wink at the 3rd century crisis by the legionary looks and making them peak at castle age but fell behind at imperial age 😂 what i dont like is them being good at sea... i'd prefer the skrim becoming velites or have the light cav upgrade to equites

[@BSideWasTaken]

The way I see Commitatenses is that the main benefit is in the training speed, the charge attack being a bonus. When you compare it to Chivalry for the Franks it is only slightly more expensive but giving a better training speed buff for your most essential units :)

[@Jondiceful]

Your Squarespace websites are very cleverly named. Bravo

[@malikshabazz2065]

great stuff! :-)

[@niklasw.1297]

I just remembered how the early Romans used elephants during a few battles. I don't know how well it would balance out but it would have been fun for the Romans to have un-upgraded Battle Elephants

[@yoms9259]

Ayyy when did you start including the intro again? Love it

[@kelp5557]

I believe that their low popularity is due to the fact that Return of Rome is not the best DLC and many players are skipping it, therefore resulting in a low usage rate

[@realsteventalvinzvestial420]

It's so good to see an old legend again.

[@Tailix]

Hope you don't start an web site for a dental practice. Spirit of the jaw. Lol love those ads btw.

[@doe6974]

The 5% eco bonus is less of am advamtage. And more of an abiloty thay covers up the mistakes one makes when ecoing.

[@adamgarbaczewski]

Charge attack synergizes well with the Scorpions - Scorpions will deal a bit of damage to a lot of units, which ends up with charge attack actually decreasing the amount of hits needed to kill enemy units.

[@Izandaia]

Spanish: "My villagers are just better than everyone else's!" Romans: "That's cute."

[@goodmusic4673]

Romans lacking treadmill crane despite them beeing one of the first to use them is a massive oversight in my book they were great builders so why not double down on that

[@matthewsteele99]

like with Chinese missing block printing lol

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

Cos they already build faster by default.

[@goodmusic4673]

@@ArawnOfAnnwn are you mental they a have 5 % that is nothing compared to the crane

[@goodmusic4673]

@@matthewsteele99 like if they would be op because of that

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@goodmusic4673 You didn't suggest giving them the crane and taking away the bonus. You wanted to 'double down'. If you think that's such a great idea, go ahead and make a poll for it on the subreddit. I know how I expect it to go down...

[@MajesticOak]

They're not played much because a lot of players haven't bought the DLC, nor do they have any intentions to do so anytime soon (for various reasons).

[@nomcognom2332]

Ad arrrmaaa!!

[@briannaherrington949]

Salve

[@DanBray1991]

Another thing with Droman, at least at low ELO, they act almost like a Naval Mangonel. Good at taking out groups of land units and also bunched up ships. This means they mass easier, have more usaage than cannon galleons and can often wipe a poorly mirco'd group of galleys and fire ships.

[@JacoDeltaco]

the fact roman dont have supply is a flavor fail.

[@lazthegreat10]

You can't help but feel ROMANtic about the two units I see what did you there

[@mightylubu1826]

Great video! Can you do a 2023 update for the Japanese, Teutons, and Celts?

[@MastaChafa]

I would change the team bonus for scorpions (and maybe trebuchets) to move faster to keep up with infantry. It's much better, without being an op bonus.

[@ITzzHamaX]

His voice literally calms me down😂❤

[@The_Room_2_Doggys_Revenge]

what's the music playing in the background of the squarespace shoutout?

[@fitzgeraldht]

You might want to include a working link to your newest venture since the name leads to the various songs with the same name

[@igorrozasgimeno5044]

Actually watching this from ROME! Just flew here this morning. What were the possibilities? 😅

[@lucianojose69]

Romans teaming up with Byzantines in 2v2 are a strong combo: romans provide cavalier with charge attack and byz have fully upgraded arbalest something that roman empires lovers should try

[@Hoopsnake]

True, but it annoys me to no end in this combo that the Byzantines don't have heavy scorpion

[@resonantmelon7915]

Seems like the Romans will be a hidden gem no longer, thanks Spirit of the Law, lol.

[@prometheangaming2112]

Can you do a AoE 1 civilisation break down that comes with the Rise of Rome DLC or at least a quick check of which civ does what good and bad? Along with showing off what the AoE 1 does now that it never did in the past?

[@Unormalism]

Your squarespace ads are amazing

[@Zwijger]

8:07 I see 1/1 base armor difference and 2/0 armor difference when factoring in upgrades, so that +1/0 armor yellow text is wrong either way right?

[@renehei2352]

I am assuming Samurai deal bonus damage to Legionaris as they count as unique unit?

[@leonst.7471]

Aetius would be proud

[@Felix_EN]

I would suggest bringing on a top player to comment on the dromons. Their utility is much much more and stronger than you are suggesting here.

[@tomascostanzo3673]

They could have got a special tech called "Pilum" and make infantry's first attack be from a short distance

[@joshs5500]

They should've put one of your videos on the Voyager golden record.

[@vitorpimentel2145]

I kinda love the fact they added Romans

[@joelining]

Hell yeah

[@lollylegsgruff]

Do the fishing ships benefit from the Romans 5% bonus ?

[@JaKorsarz]

What about some series about AoE2 Editor?

[@seltin1988]

could you do a playthroug of the roman map you made?

[@frank3p088]

The farm basket generates food faster! So if I stole farms from a Roman player could that benefit my gather rate since the farm basket is always full form my Vils to gather from?

[@natogfg]

I've always asked myself "Why not add Romans?". For 20 years. When I'm finally at peace with their absence, they are added...

[@tankofnova9022]

You mentioned the lack of bracer almost as much as Persians

[@alexmatel33]

They missed a good opportunity to make this civ unique in playstyle. Roman start strong in the early game then weaker as time goes on ( starting in castle age) compared to other civs. This would give the feel they are falling behind the times ( they are an ancient civ after all)and give the player a sense of urgency to attack early and cover ground. Dark age model buildings like they are in castle as well. Maybe in imperial -- Romans could have had an expensive tech called "reforms" for example where their units can be competitive with other civ imperial units. Or maybe that tech can turn them into byzantines or something.

[@LegioXXI]

Good idea history wise, horrible idea balance wise. Its still a game after all and not even a *very* accurate historical game. Gameplay should come first, and good gameplay is always fair.

[@simon-piermartineau7218]

I wish their game plan was not so locked into a single strategy. Very little flexibility outside of a slow moving mass of legionarries and scorpions. At least they have decent light cav for raiding...

[@torri776]

As a lifelong fan of both Fire Emblem and the Aztecs civ, I find Romans to be exceedingly fun to play, mainly because of their nontraditional playstyle and actually making Scorpions feel useful outside of Khmer. Also the Late Roman Empire aesthetics mounted atop their Centurions and Legionaries look REALLY fantastic. Ballistas is a very cool tech that reminds me of the amount of Scorpions used in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 intent on causing frustration. Comitatenses is essentially a reworked Garland Wars in much the same way the Legionary is analogous to a Jaguar Warrior, so in some way, I can forgive the Aztecs being a pro only civ after they were nerfed into the ground (favorite civ since The Conquerors).

[@Biff11235]

Is the spirit of the outlaw saloon not a real thing? Couldn’t find any info on it

[@sidwoodstock]

I looked too but no dice. I have a feeling he trolled us!

[@ethribin4188]

If i was asked to point to the strongest eco bonus, Id point to the viking's free wheel barrow/handcart bonus and the romans +5%. They are by far the strongest and most flexible at tge same time.

[@Ratciclefan]

Y'know, would be cool if they added a Dromon equivalent for Native American civs as well

[@bluedistortions]

The native Americans had seagoing vessels equipped with catapults? This isn't scifi ya know.

[@PriyamvadRai]

My question is, does a centurion from another player affect the legionary from another player like Red's Centurion gives bonus to Green's Legionary?

[@Deaglan753]

no it doesnt, it only works for your side, that said if you convert a enemy centurion to your side and your not the romans its ability still works

[@GepardenK]

'Spirit of the Outlaw' Dad!

[@Amoth_oth_ras_shash]

first of all , yep thats defo civ tech bonuses made with the balance of other civs in mind since ,considering the romans struggles agenst cartage in part was due to how 'mediocre' their personal naval talents where compared to others hmm though about how much they are played , might it simple be a question of taste in ...era ? while its true rome more or lees is one of very very few powers that existed across the gap from the edge of 'ancient' era into the modern one and in many ways hade more to do with the modern era then the true classical or bronce age and other culture 'defining' tales and idonyms can be traced back to , but the way it often been proped up in peoples minds as 'the personification of ancient era' ..and one of the defining sentences for aoe 2 ( despite how in reality the time period it spans indeed should have hade a not just byzantium but a 'rome remnant' faction ) more or lees is all about 'rome is gone , the ancient era of mighty legions of order and valiant phalanaxes of honour and mythological beasts & magic is over now new powers rises out of the ashes' soo.. it be quite intersting if despite being good , it stays only 'spareingly' played as if peoples minds go more for the '' right i want to win but also ,what factions do i have lingering romantic associations with from school history classes about 'restoring order after rome was destroyed '' XD

[@Gashahn24]

As a teuton main player I can not ignore, that the romans look both like a kinda similar and a worthy opponent civilisation.

[@Captain_Cinnamon]

Good that you spit resemblance between the Roman empire and the holy roman empire. They were trying to mimic a little such to get a claim to that status

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Can we add the legionary to the Byzantines?

[@OlrikMeister]

Would be fun if the byzantines would get legionaries aswell

[@UnDeaDCyBorg]

Ok, something about the armour comparison between Legionaries and Champions in the video confuses me. And damn, the puns are through the roof.

[@sirgodua]

Is it just me, or they changed the icons for guard tower and keep? They seem to be from a lower angle now.

[@WWFanatic0]

The +5 especially on the cav is incredibly useful for sniping siege units both on a single unit and small group basis. Take the centurion which can kill an onager in 1 charge+2 normal attacks when fully upgraded, saving you one attack. Small groups can pick off trebs can attack or two sooner depending on which cav unit, packed/unpacked, etc. Also great for powering down rams and the legionary is great at that too. It's sometimes hard to quantify, but it can mean one less treb gets away or one less siege attack gets off or your units take arrow fire just a bit less and get out with alive/with more HP. Unsuspecting players often underestimate how quickly they can pick off weak units. Centurions can also kill vills in two hits if they have the charge, which can be critical in stopping castle drops and repairs.

[@annakh5212]

pls make video on how to play mangudai madness!!

[@jerejarvinen625]

But do they have bracer?

[@JJBeauregard1]

I wish ballistics would affect Scorpions in general and not just for Romans. They feel infinitely nicer to use when they can track moving targets.

[@mandaloriancrusader6699]

Missed chance to give Romans better spearmen and call them auxilia as historically these troops were anything but support why Rome had a lot of them. They defended the empire while having far more flexibility in how many numbers they would use, terrain they would fight on and down to how they would fight. Legion is a legion and you cannot miss it.

[@Pudrzo]

what is the name of the music int the intro? Or what cords are used there?

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

his

[@gregmonahan4918]

Sounds like Bb minor, Eb minor, and F

[@HasekuraIsuna]

He composed it himself. If yo search for Spirit of the Law Channel Intro Song you should find it.