Total War Rome 2 Army Selection Tips

In this video I give tips for beginners to Total War Rome 2 online battles on unit types and army selection Enjoy!
If you have your own tips or questions leave them in the comments.

[@KarstenOkk]

2:49 "No one in their right minds is gonna charge straight into [pikes]" 18:05 ...

[@humza4808]

true

[@highdelta3561]

Lol

[@adrianrafaelmagana804]

Bwahahaha

[@yakumoyukari4405]

😂😂😂

[@couldbeanybody2508]

He wasnt in his right mind

[@MothMan-jl3qh]

*Gives detailed descriptions* "Artillery is what it is" lol. Loved the video, Heir!

[@k3x7z]

Hope you like bee catapults

[@yogoagogo]

Very helpful heir. I must say throughout all the total war games I've always looked to you for help. From Spartan corner-campers in Rome 1 to using matchlocks in the right way in Shogun 2, you've always been great. Thanks!

[@HeirofCarthage]

Well I am still learning a lot in Rome 2 but wanted to just explain through a few basics here. I will try to do more.

[@Hunter-we8ve]

Helpful indeed hats off

[@ika7tbilisi]

HeirofCarthage did you figure out how to move army with formation?

[@victuz]

Corner-campers can be demolished by ranged units or artillery. Well, campers in general.

[@tophholland]

I just logged in over 400 hours into Rome II this weekend, and I just now know what pikes and spears are used for. I always thought hoplites were used as a defensive line. Same with javelins and slings, I always stuck with archers. This literally changes things.

[@lv.99mastermind45]

lol What if your opponent was in the middle of making a tutorial on how you shouldn't stack one OP unit?

[@bravozero6]

He would have brough praetorians

[@yakumoyukari4405]

Is not OP is accurate (becouse they was OP in real life, as less you a bad general your pikes gonna suck...)

[@skeletonrowdie1768]

win win

[@crusader7659]

@@bravozero6 No, eastern spearmen

[@arthas640]

@@crusader7659 I did pretty well spamming weak infantry against elites before, if the enemy overly focuses on having fewer powerful elites and you have a horde of infantry (preferably melee infantry) by surrounding the enemy and hitting them from the rear. It can be fun to try and pull a China and try and drown them in your blood.

[@UDUDUD23]

I really wish you would do a video similar to this with warhammer, it actually helped me learn about how some of the units should be used in warhammer

[@silversmoke9530]

huge fan this is one one your best videos i love your play by play and tactical logic you bring to the table awesome video congrats on your w

[@GymShu69]

Good video for beginners. Quick to the point explanations of unit types and pros/cons. One more thing I’d like to see more of on this franchise is mechanic breakdowns. Like videos showing “archer shots” here’s normal shot vs X and heavy vs X etc to see the difference and when to use/not to use. With cav, shock, bracing, unbraced, just all the little things that make a difference after you learn the Rock Paper Scissors of the unit types. Not too much in depth mechanic analysis of these games.

[@Kasaaz]

I know I'm years late to the video, but still immensely helpful.

[@TheDeadWinterDead]

Solid tips, you mentioned this in your video; the things you touch on might seem like no-brainers but many new players would find this a gold mine of fresh info. You should do more how-to vids on the TW Series. Good work.

[@CERBERUSCLH]

When I was new I was spamming triarili in campaign because they were the most expensive unit from the barracks tier 2.

[@arthas640]

i still find videos like this useful because sometimes you can discover features to a game you never knew about or as a refresher on the basics. For example, i sometimes also let me cavalry get spread to far out or charge to early when they're scattered and it lessens the impact.

[@thracianwarrior6747]

I'm glad to have finally found some videos for (tips/strategy/tactics) for RTW2 so I wanted to say thanks for posting. I'm just going to be honest and say that I really enjoy your channel and Alex's as well. In comparison to others you two explain the game very well. As one strategist to another, I hope we can one day meet on the battlefield so to speak.

[@davidkumar9216]

Thanks, I'm getting Rome II for Christmas and I'm super excited and already know how to play the game from watching so many videos of it

[@tjames4874]

Thank you, I have used and expanded this army, it works really well!

[@SuperCompany007]

This was so informative yet hilarious! Good job!

[@JimRFF]

Hey Heir, nice video. Something you might consider doing to help out newer people: make a series going through different factions one at a time (or in groups, like all the nomad factions at once) so you can show off their roster and explain what some of their strengths and weaknesses are. That way, new players can get a better idea of what specifically they should be looking to get out of any particular faction and what other types of armies it will be good or bad against. Just a thought; keep up the great videos!

[@danielhilliard5335]

That was really cool. I like how you approached the tutorial and explained the units. maybe differences in factions, like what to expect from rome players, or carthage or babarian and middle eastern factions.

[@maverick4900]

J D bruh. Stfu

[@Ninjaonfoot]

You are extremely helpful as for I am a new Total War player and I will learn as I go. Plus 1 subscriber just in case I need more tips. Your my #1 man to go to now! Thanks alot once again!

[@tomgee4926]

Really enjoy your videos keep it up man !

[@ChuckDarwin1909]

I've got about a thousand hours in old Total War games up to Shogun 2 but for some reason I wasn't picking up on the Rome 2 units. So, thanks for this, helpful video

[@Majora1988]

Always great to wake up on my off day to 3 heir vids. If I could make a request heir, could you do more of these live commentary battles? I loved you doing this in Shogun 2, and would really enjoy more of that in Rome II.

[@Blueguy85]

Found this video to be suuper useful. Thanks a bunch!

[@LetsSeeYourKungFu]

Yo HoC! Long time fan. I was heavily involved in Rome online, but I'm admittedly full on noob with Rome 2. This and your other content helps alot. Thanks bud. Keep up the good work

[@kurtk7521]

Cwb? Lol haha. Loved me some cwb

[@selkirk57]

These tips are great for a new player like myself. Thanks for these and all the other videos you post.

[@HeirofCarthage]

Glad to hear it. I will try to make more.

[@angelfire1987]

This is a great video, thanks Heir!

[@jacobvaetoe1332]

This video helped out a lot, thanks:)

[@FatSack0fCrap]

As someone who's almost always lazy and predictable with my army composition in these games, I'm glad I watched this cause I learned a lot. Will definitely be more mindful of the units types I pick and how I use them. I don't want to play like your opponent forever haha.

[@colestonebraker4539]

Surprised I haven't seen you before. Very helpful! Thanks a bunch. (Roman guy needs to listen to you hahaha) Consider yourself one up on subs. Looks forward to watching more.

[@joshnanyabiz6668]

I've just started up and I loved the tut thanks :)

[@allosaurus5415]

This is great. Also, I have a request: could you do a video showing some basic formations, like what you did in the Rome Focus video? I'm new so I don't know much about these games and units. If you already have a video about this let me know.

[@Mopbrain]

I'd love to see something like this!

[@oleholtetaalmen4990]

have 400 hours played and this guide is extremely helpful, didnt fully understand the battle mechanics in the game

[@marcusgodioso277]

Ole Holtet Aalmen heir's army formation and units sucks actually.u can easely flank his army with faster units in the flank

[@ChapStick1891]

As a beginner i really enjoyed this video. I can "play" the game, but don't understand the subtleties yet. This will help with my knowledge of the game to create a more fun experience. Thank you.

[@theuncannycharlatan3980]

*charges pikes head on* Alan: That’s a bad idea! Ellie: What? Alan: I said that’s a bad idea! Ellie what’s a bad idea! *cavalry charges in the rear*

[@DrR0mer0]

What kind of Roman commander just sits there and takes it? Lousy general :(

[@HeirofCarthage]

lol not very Roman indeed

[@yukiisenpai5424]

A smart one Many battles were lost maybe not in total war but for example scotland and england fight scot general was in thick meele fight and couldnt see what was happening much while english general could thats why he won

[@teresaratana4777]

Crassus

[@arthas640]

@sum body you mean watching the video or the guy fighting against HeirofCarthage? Either they're probably newbies, or it could have been an experienced gamer just goofing around (I sometimes do an army of nothing but peltasts or hopilites just to mess around with). I did something like this myself once, formed an army of almost nothing but pikes and arranged them in a semi-circle using a mountain to protect the open part of the circle so my enemy had almost no choice but to charge the pikes. i still lost becuase it was a _super_ thin wall in order to cover the whole area but it can be fun to surprise someone with something like that.

[@nanderlizernanderlizer684]

crassus and new players.

[@gooffey81]

I found this really helpful thanks

[@daSKAn]

Great stuff. Hope to see more videos like this, maybe a videos about all factions, what are they good at and bad, and at the end example on the battlefield.

[@HeirofCarthage]

I could probably make a video about the strengths and short comings of each faction.

[@89tonstar]

I find these videos facinating! its like watching history unfold right in front of your eyes! Hey heir is it okay if i use one of your videos in a history presentation i have to do next week? I am doing a presentation on ancient battles and i need some kind of visual representation wihtout using some cheesy movie.

[@Torag55]

Well this video was helpful. I really need the tips to make tactical decisions with the cost of armies.

[@TamaHawkLive]

Your commentary is hilarious man 10/10

[@kevaimm1700]

nice video heir very helpful, been playing for few months and had question, so basically there are no such things as dominant unit is it? like i thought greek states would use hoplite as their primary backbone of their army

[@kingslaphappy1533]

Great vid! 👍

[@javierseseballester3444]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@ramareddy]

As you were saying, "Tri-a-rii" is actually the right pronunciation

[@atomicLord97]

this vid was very helpful thanks for posting it...

[@arcturus9397]

Thanks man, this helps.

[@kodyandkara]

Thank you. Helpful as. I've just been throwing them all my units in battle without any plan or strategy :/ cost me a lotttttt of soldiers.

[@madmanmania7171]

2020 and this is still helpful to new players like me👌

[@popeyesmith3044]

im new just bought it today , 29/07/2015 )). this is an important video tks for the upload

[@Strash_]

Hey! This was awesome... If you dont mind then could you do a basic rundown of all the factions strenghts and weaknesses in your opinioun...thx a lot :)

[@HeirofCarthage]

Yea I can probably do something like that.

[@luisfck2119]

I know this video is 5 years old but I loved it. I've never played online battles, I always go for the campaign on TW games but this seems it can actually be a lot more fun. I really enjoyed the video! What TW game would you recommend me at this point for online battles: Rome II, Attila or Warhammer? (I'm a bigger fan of history than fantasy)

[@SuperCesarlopes]

ty for the info about the armies and types. Im one of the new players you talk about and it really helped me choosing an army. Im 20 hours just in the game and I was wondering why if I go with 1000 men and hes with 200 men, why I win but loose 350 men, looked like much loss, now I know why. Cause I was not informed of the difference between the same types of units, for me there were just 3 types horses, range and melee. Its clearly that the guy in this video is just trying something or hes bored, I do this also in others games ,I just take something and see where it goes, or take all low pieces or cards or whatever I play. He's clearly not there to serious win, Im noob, but its clear even for me, that sacrificing you arrows like that can't be someone who serious wants to win. I think was just a bored move and than he logged out and went to another game.

[@WyattCStaggers]

2016 and I have never played this game but man I really want to now after watching all of these videos

[@hawktheslayer438]

It is definitely worth it. There are still plenty of people playing Multiplayer, and the game goes as low as £7.50 in the Steam sales. There are a lot of negative reviews, but those are mostly from nostalgic players of the original Rome and Medieval 2 that are upset about the fact that this game isn't a direct copy of it, and people that are still salty about the buggy release 3 years ago. The game has been patched since then, and it is now a very good game.

[@NefashusLP]

Same, however going to buy in the next sale on Steam :D

[@lindleytrueblood5413]

Nefashus same here

[@camiloparada9529]

Great video, ty

[@stevenparker3595]

Helped a lot thanks

[@ramonandvero]

Awesome vid!!!

[@HeirofCarthage]

Thanks. I will be trying to make more of these.

[@TrueMokael]

Omg, did that guy confused Rome and Sparta? Lolz

[@HeirofCarthage]

Yea his spam was pretty unexpected and funny.

[@TrueMokael]

HeirofCarthage

[@taher9358]

@@HeirofCarthage Hannibal > Caesar

[@TheJOEkool34]

You should make army guides for Rome, Carthage, Hellenic factions, Parthia and Barbaric factions because you're awesome : )

[@HeirofCarthage]

Eventually I may be able to make a video showing some of my favorite builds for certain factions. Though right now I am still learning just what I like to use in patch 9 games.

[@jamesrietz5354]

Hey Heir been a fan for years, love watching your content. I'm not a new total war player but I'm not great either, I love playing the successor factions in Rome 2. I run into horse archer spam a lot, do you have any tips on how to counter this?

[@nichitamihai682]

It would be nice is you would use shock infantry more. Please make the next bbattle with the Odrysian Kingdom, they have the strongest shok infantry units that could even managed to defeat the oathsworn... though that was before patch 9.

[@HeirofCarthage]

Odrysian Kingdom isn't playable without mods, and it is harder to get online games as the person has to have the same mod as you. If I get a chance I will.

[@owainwilliams3468]

Thanks for that very new to online games so a big help thanks hopefully will win some battles now

[@HeirofCarthage]

I will show more soon, but at least understanding the basic unit types and their functions is a good start.

[@owainwilliams3468]

I won first battle Galatia v Egypt thanks to that Galatia got good shock infantry for a low cost

[@TheMrCue]

sadly i never end up bringing archers because they just end up getting mowed down by slingers and javelins can run elephants amuck or just straight kill them and other high armor units in a more efficient manner then archers

[@HeirofCarthage]

Yea archers are sometimes tough to use. If you can get them to late game they can be deadly, but I agree with your comment in general.

[@TakedownO44]

heavy syrian archers are ridiculous. with heavy shot then can shred legionaries

[@RoboticsBay]

Hi, thanks for your video which was very instructive yet simple in its type. How do you lock the entire army pattern as you do in the beginning of the fight?

[@clarkc9710]

Thanks for the video Heir.

[@HeirofCarthage]

You are welcome. Hope it helps.

[@MrDoombull]

brilliant vid I especialy like the break down of missile troops realy didn't get the main target difference just the stats

[@lukezuzga6460]

Humble victory, respect... I had it b4 but you know what I mean...

[@TheEvilclown73]

Great Guide video's...

[@dutchrjen]

Pikemen don't work right when in locked formation when units are close behind (which is incredibly stupid because that's often where missile support was in real pike armies). When I make a pike army I just have the second line further back and move it up to push enemy skirmishers off when they attack. The units put behind pikes have to be like 20 yards behind the pikes for the locked group function to work. Pikes are the only unit that does this and ALL of them do it.

[@cabinessenceking]

Most interesting battle I've seen played in Rome 2! Good fight, Heir!

[@HeirofCarthage]

Certainly not an army I expected.

[@cabinessenceking]

HeirofCarthage Haha, sorry I commented on the wrong video. Your "Online Battle Video 20 Epirus Vs Seleucids" was the battle I intended to comment on. That was a tense battle on a knife edge. (/watch?v=miieaQR56G4)

[@vendetta1306]

Thanks man

[@Owlr4ider]

In case anyone is still watching these videos I have to disagree with Heir's view on shock and melee cavalry. Shock cavalry is the anti infantry cavalry meant to be the hammer to your infantry's anvil whereas the melee cavalry are meant to counter enemy cavalry in prolonged combat and win the cavalry fight. Why do I say this? Because cavalry is much harder to charge than infantry and nearly impossible to cycle charge so the massive charge of the shock cavalry is rather wasted against other cavalry(unless they're already pinned down by something else) and will fall off fast in prolonged combat, so they won't win you any cavalry battles. Melee cavalry on the other hand are less useful as a hammer due to their reduced charge bonus but their superior staying power makes them ideal to win the cavalry battle.

[@HeirofCarthage]

You are right to in the right cases for sure. Spear armed melee cav belongs in anti cav. Sword armed melee cav not so much. Shock cavalry can deliver a powerful blow on the charge to other cav, but as you state, they don't need to stay there. Agree that shock cav is very good vs infantry.

[@sebasnow100]

Last word in the in the video "even thought the battle wasn't that decisive" at the of the screen it says DECISIVE Victory

[@Bismark129]

great vid

[@HeirofCarthage]

Thanks.

[@TheRozeeey]

Heir what mods do you use or would recommend for campaign in Rome 2?

[@DaMastah1]

I noticed that sometimes when deploying before battle, you group your units and you click beyond your area of deployment, the grouping breaks.

[@sirBonz32]

Nice, you should do more of these tips and tricks seen as their are many new players thanks to Rome 2

[@HeirofCarthage]

Yea I will do more. Hopefully I will get some good feedback from this on what else folks want me to talk about.

[@sirBonz32]

HeirofCarthage maybe do a video on those nomadic factions, I find them hard to use because their all horse

[@themanwithnoname9828]

Can u make a vid aboud each factions strength?

[@tomgee4926]

He already done that. Ill break it down for you. Celtic factions have extremely weak units apart from their "shock melee" and the Oathsworn types which can easily tear down a praetorian. Rome has a host of different Sword units which are good against the majority of other factions but is lacking in melee cav and a strong skirmisher component although Velites are rather good Javelins. All successor factions (Macedon, Bactria, Egypt and so on) have very good pike and mostly good spear units. Epirus has the best cavalry in the game. Spartans have amazing spear units. Most african and eastern factions also have good sword units although they are quite expensive compared to what they are capable of. Selucids have indian elephants and an all round infantry and cavalry section. Ive missed plenty of stuff please fill in the rest and correct me on any mistakes.

[@themanwithnoname9828]

Tom Gee ok thanks

[@Symmonso96]

Christian Edwall yeah i wouldnt recommend using sparta and athens in anything but defensive battles with fortification likes forts and settlements, due to the fact they are heavily spear based and their main defense depends on the hoplite or pike wall they arent flexible and can be outflanked easily due to their cav being pretty average (although they have cretan archers so thats good)

[@papadim8601]

***** actually Oathsworn loses to sword masters

[@papadim8601]

***** yeah but germanic melee and gallic melee units cant face pikemen

[@alexsitaras6508]

i haven't played an online battle since the day after launch and that was with sparta vs gladiator spam, i might need to jump in it

[@HeirofCarthage]

So Sparta is still not real great in this patch. I would recommend that if you use them you take advantage of the cheap pikes and bring loads of their cheap skirmishers.

[@lostbladder]

Playing as Rome in the campaign what army should you raise to get a better edge on Seleucid? Sword heavy, Cavalry heavy, spear heavy, etc or generally balanced?

[@jasonmcclellen4520]

Heir could you do one of these only on Shogun 2? I've been planing to get the game for a while but still don't know good army techniques yet...

[@TemplerOO7]

Have you checked out field artillery? 2 of them are quite powerful, some enemy units flee before the battle even starts. Especially against how the opponent played here it would have been devastating

[@Devinci297]

This problem with the video being black, is happening these last few days on youtube. Anyway this is just what I needed as I got back today to playing Rome2 after few months, thinking my older army setup would work but I got crushing defeats.

[@HeirofCarthage]

Yea the video will show up black while still processing. It can be temporarily fixed by switching the video quality and then switching it back. Hope the video helped. I will make more soon.

[@juliadomna2400]

I have no idea what the strengths and weaknesses are of chariots. Anyway, I love your new vids and keep it up ! Lol you do not endorse the use of coke.

[@joke_d]

Nice video. I have to say I don't play a whole lot of multiplayer in Rome II, but I might start playing some, I focus more on the single player campaign which I really love, and to play against bots who charges your pikes it pretty easy to defeat lol.

[@SnprMk7]

The fun part is managing to get the pikes to pull up their pikes as the enemy unit is within the usual pike range. Watch half or more of their unit just explode on 'contact' as they're within the pikes hitbox, and thus count as having run into a pike (which is a universal kill)

[@OnyxTheDV]

Subbed as soon as I heard "Buy yall coke".

[@arkanchristian9298]

OK thanks a lot heir.

[@HeirofCarthage]

You are welcome.

[@bassybgaming3388]

Hello!! I'm one of the ones loving the oversimplified! Lmao

[@The_Renrick]

Normal latin people: Triarii HeirofCarthage: Triariay!!!!

[@amirmansor7492]

Attila guide ? Like this one

[@mago2267]

Yep.. Optimization is a problem.. And cavs in towns.. Slow af

[@thechosenonenumber]

Greetings Mr Carthage Please could you instruct me on some good but not nesseserily balanced builds for the nervii and rome

[@snapper3665]

Proper pronouncation is 'Triaree' not the 'Triareeyay' and in both cases there isn't any 'tsch' diphthong between "T" and "R" consonants. The word comes from Latin language as you know and saying it with English phonetics is wrong. Even those troops say their name when you select them. Despite this small mistake, the video is very helpful and it taught me some new facts about troop types. Keep it up!

[@milkduds1001]

Rome existed for 2,000 years and integrated cultures from Briton to India and North Africa. Latin didn’t have a uniform pronunciation either. I travel 1 hour west from where I live and everyone pronounces things in English differently. Can’t imagine all the pronunciations in Ancient Rome 😂.

[@godsm3dic577]

slingers are so darn OP lol. I always have a problem with them

[@marcusgodioso277]

Gods M3dic it's easy to deal with skirmish superiority

[@joeonitproductions]

Hey man, how about a video to help with siege attack and defense

[@arthas640]

i would love a video on siege warfare, i _suck_ at offensive sieges and i usually either auto-resolve or just massively outnumber/outgun my enemy. I get massacred if I don't have a major edge and I've taken heavy casualties assaulting lightly defended forts.

[@JacobReid]

I bought the Rome 2 emperor edition and I thought it would actually come with Sparta but it didn't I'm so salty right now

[@MrRapidPotato]

+J Reid Should have read the description then :P Also sparta is shit and boring, their roster is dull.

[@JacobReid]

+MrRapidPotato I just figured it's like oh here's the deluxe edition, every other game gives you all the dlc with that type of combo so we will too

[@alonetrooperct7239]

MrRapidPotato Not if you have a Spartan unit pack ;)

[@shanejohns7901]

I think reducing the content somewhat to lower the price is a perfectly good solution. It lets people sample the game for less up-front money, and they can buy the content in the order of their own preference. I put all the DLCs into Steam as being on my 'wishlist', and I get notified whenever the DLCs go on sale. Perfect solution. Also, there are sites like scdkey where you can find people selling legitimate keys for much better prices.

[@ryanwallace7910]

Thanks that was helpful to a n00b like me

[@HeirofCarthage]

Glad I could help. I will try to make more.

[@ptre21]

I feel like he knew it was you heir, so they brought a weird army like that lol

[@nathanieljernigan1147]

Could a triari spam at all have been a counter to the elephants? Which Heir didn't bring, or was it just kind of dumb.

[@horseduck2839]

Chariots

[@dominikhameder629]

Your pronunciation at 17:37 was correct. It's "Triarii", not "Triariai".

[@teargasmuffinz6657]

What does he mean by support infantry? Just infranty that goes on the flank, protects against cav etc?

[@arkanchristian9298]

Hey heir I was wondering if you could use a barbarian faction that had ambushers and use a tactic that centers around your ambushers in order to show how they work also their strengths and weaknesses.

[@HeirofCarthage]

Recently I uploaded a battle of Iceni vs Seleucids where I used 4 ambushers. That should show them in action. Also soon I will upload a video of Suebi vs Rome in which I use night hunters. You may like those.

[@1476ciphey]

could you turn you music down for tutorials like this please. other than that great video, comes more than most other. much more specific. thank you!

[@cerithecat8993]

How do i play online? i just have steam version and when click multiplayer all in red and not comptat.....great videos by the way i have watched probably every video of your rome camaign.

[@jimli3890]

are you using any mods?