Rome 2 Total War

Imperator Augustus Campaign Map Revealed

Leave a Comment / Creative Assembly, Total War: Rome 2 / September 8, 2014 /
Imperator Augustus Campaign Map
Imperator Augustus Campaign Map

The Imperator Augustus Campaign Map has been released. It features the original grand campaign map for Rome 2, but with different playable factions and starting positions.

The (Potential) Playable Factions of Imperator Augustus

The four major Roman factions appear to be:

  • Octavian
  • Lepidus
  • Sextus Pompey
  • Mark Antony

My thoughts are that each Roman faction will feature legionaries as the backbone of the army, but also include regional units as auxiliaries. So for example, Lepidus might have Iberian swordsmen and Libyan infantry, while Octavian might have access to barbarian infantry, and Mark Antony able to recruit perhaps a mix of barbarian and Greek units.

The remaining playable factions appear to be:

  • Iceni
  • Marcomanni – German confederation
  • Dacia
  • Egypt
  • Armenia
  • Parthia

Initial Campaign Analysis

I could see the Iceni probing and pushing Gaul, which would mostly consist of client states to Octavian’s faction. Octavian would have to keep control of the north against barbarian incursions, while dealing with the other Roman factions.

Lepidus would have to contend with local Iberian and African factions, while attempting to join the two parts of his territories together. Pompey is surrounded, but more than likely will have a powerful starting navy while his neighbors have little to none. The Pompey campaign will most likely involve him using his navy to delay an invasion while allowing him free reign to strike at any of the other Roman faction’s coastal territories.

Mark Antony and Egypt will most likely be allied, but he will have to contend with Octavian and Dacia, as well as potential encroachment by Armenia or Parthia from the east. That situation could easily turn into a two front war, which would give Egypt a decision as to whether they focus their armies west towards Lepidus or east to Parthia. As a side note: I think Mark Antony and Egypt would make for a good co-op campaign.

Marcomanni and Dacia will probably be look to confederate with their neighbors before pressing into Roman territory. Armenia and Parthia are at each other’s door, so it would be up to them to cooperate or battle it out for control of the east, before moving west into the Mediterranean.

Overall, the Imperator Augustus Campaign for Rome 2 is looking to be a pretty exciting new campaign. I think this is a great way to use the grand campaign map while creating a new dynamic. While I personally enjoyed the regional dynamic of Caesar in Gaul and Hannibal at the Gates, I missed playing on the grand campaign map.

You can read more about the new Rome 2 Emperor Edition and the Imperator Augustus Campaign here.

Rome 2 Emperor Edition announced!

Leave a Comment / Creative Assembly, DLC, Total War: Rome 2 / August 30, 2014 / ,

Total War: Rome 2 Emperor Edition Teaser
CA has put out some exciting news, Rome 2 Emperor Edition. This is an upgrade to the base game which includes all the free DLC up to this point, as well as a brand new campaign revolving around the civil war and Augustus. As reference in our previous post, it was one of the campaigns I speculated would be in the works. Check out the Rally Point episode below:

 

 

What I like so far about Rome 2 Emperor Edition:

 

  • Rome versus Rome: it wouldn’t be a proper Roman civil war if it there was not an emphasis on Roman unit combat. There will be three Roman factions to choose from. If I were to speculate, I would say Octavian, Marc Anthony, and one other faction.
  • Armenia as a playable faction: New factions are always fun, but we definitely needed more Eastern factions. The two we currently have are Pontus and Parthia. However, before they add Armenia, the faction needs a roster expansion and fix, as it looks almost like Parthia’s roster.
  • Better politics: The politics system in Rome 2 will matter more now. You can sort of ignore politics in the Grand Campaign, but with the changes highlighted by Jack Lusted, it seems as if you will need to be more aware of political developments, as well as strike a balance between the government families/factions.

 

What I am concerned about with Rome 2 Emperor Edition:

 

  • The final battle of the civil war was the Battle of Actium, which was a decisive naval victory for Octavian which led to his ultimate victory over Marc Antony. Most likely this will end up being a historical battle, but as naval combat still has a lot of issues, I may avoid it altogether. The Rally Point episode mentions that they are revamping naval combat, so I will reserve judgement until I try the new naval gameplay.
  • New civil war mechanics: the civil wars themselves are more an annoyance than anything else, but with the new political system, civil wars can now occur any time, not just at max imperium. It may make the campaign more chaotic, but not necessarily fun.

I personally enjoy the DLC mini-campaigns more than the grand campaign, as they’re quicker to finish, and also have a more focused set of objectives and specialized roster. I might try to do a legendary let’s play when the DLC campaign comes out.

Link to the Rome 2 Emperor Edition FAQ

The Creative Assembly’s Future Rome 2 DLC Plans?

1 Comment / Total War: Rome 2 / September 25, 2014 / ,

We have seen some good Rome 2 DLC campaigns so far. Caesar in Gaul was a excellent campaign centered around maneuvering through rough terrain, strong generals, and a resource based research system. Hannibal at the Gates focused heavily on diplomacy and long-term campaign strategy.

Based on this steamdb page, there looks to be plans in place to release another campaign DLC.

But what is in store potentially for the future Rome 2 DLC campaigns? Here are two that I think may be in store:

1. Barbarian Invasion 2.0 (Fall of the Western Roman Empire)

rome 2 dlc
rome 2 dlc

This is the most obvious choice for a DLC campaign. The original Barbarian Invasion expansion for Rome Total War was well received, and introduced new game mechanics that changed the way the game played.

The DLC itself would play differently from the ones released so far. In CiG and HatG, Rome starts small, and is often on equal footing with other factions. The setting of a Barbarian Invasion type DLC would have a vast Roman empire collapsing in on itself, with cities revolting due to low public order, budget deficits, and enemies pressing the borders on all sides.

A player could choose to play as Rome, attempting to save the empire, or as one of the barbarian factions, with the goal of sacking Rome itself. There was talk of a “Sword of Attila” book put out by The Creative Assembly, so it may be that any “Barbarian Invasion 2” style DLC would involve Attila the Hun.

2. Civil Wars during Augustus’ reign

We’ve seen maps focused on the Western Mediterranean, and also Gaul. I think it would be great to see a DLC focused on the Eastern part of the map, particularly the wars Augustus fought after Julius Caesar’s assassination. It could add a new dynamic where multiple Roman factions could vie for support, with other non-Roman factions playing a role in how the civil war plays out.

Final War of the Roman Republic

A Rome 2 DLC focused on Asia and Egypt would be a lot of fun, and I think would be a great area to explore next. Based on the historical record, the DLC could also focus on naval combat as it was integral to Augustus’ final triumph against Marc Antony.

3. Other potential Rome 2 DLC campaigns

I’d like to see a campaign focused on the Eastern Roman Empire as it comes into its own as the Byzantine Empire. However, that may fall outside of the scope of the original game, and fall more into the Medieval Total War series area.

Wars of the Diadochi would also be a great Rome 2 DLC campaign. With Alexander the Great’s death, his empire is split up and wars rage among his successors to grab as much of it as possible. It would feature most of the eastern part of the map, and would be mostly Hellenic units with a few other cultures thrown in (Egyptian, Eastern, etc.).