Total War DLC Archives

Wrath of Sparta DLC and Rally Point Episode 23

CA has just announced Wrath of Sparta, a new Rome 2 DLC campaign focusing on the Peloponnesian War. The four playable factions are: Ahtenai(Athens), The Boiotian League, Korinthos(Corinth), and Sparta. Features include new generals, new research trees, new wonders, new buildings, and new units. A new campaign map will be featured with 78 regions, focusing on the Peloponnese area.

One cool feature is that if your faction becomes too strong, instead of a civil war mechanic, it causes the Achaemenid Empire to intervene in the war. Unfortunately, the Achaemenid Empire is not-playable, but that’s nothing a mod can’t solve. Rally Point Episode 23 goes into detail below:

The Rally Point episode also goes into detail on the city of Constantinople and the finer features of the map. I liked the attention detail regarding the Theodosian Walls, including the moat and outer walls. From the look of the defenses, anyone attacking Constantinople in the game would need to employ excellent strategy and planning beforehand, as the city would need to be held under siege for a period of time to make a battle there winnable.

Thoughts on Wrath of Sparta:

While I find the Peloponnesian War an interesting conflict, I can’t help but wonder how a campaign based mostly around hoplites will play out. Unit variety may be pretty weak, as most factions will use hoplites, and variations of hoplite units. If you have played the Grand Campaign as a Greek faction, you know what it’s like to have battles of hoplites versus hoplites: It is a very slow slugfest. They are very strong defensive units with high armor, but low weapon damage and melee attack skill. Hoplites are used as the anvil to the cavalry hammer, but this doesn’t work so well in city sieges and assaults. Sword units excel in taking walls, much better than spear units.

The concern may be minimal, however. CA has added quite a few interesting features into the campaign, which should help make the overall campaign enjoyable. For example, there will be specialist and legendary troops, which I assume will be similar to the hero units of Shogun 2. I don’t really mind them, as I do like units with a more unique feel, and it should help mix up a hoplite-heavy campaign to feel fresh.

Overall, I am very excited for the DLC. Wrath of Sparta will release December 16th, 2014.

Link to the Wrath of Sparta wiki page

Total War: Attila faction reveal, Massilia, and the Black Sea Colonies Culture Pack

Leave a Comment / DLC, Total War: Rome 2 / November 15, 2014 November 15, 2014 / Rome 2 Total War, Total War DLC, Total War: Attila

The Creative Assembly has put out some more information about a new Rome 2 DLC, the Black Sea Colonies Culture Pack, and Total War Attila factions.

Three Factions Revealed for Attila

The Eastern Roman Empire, the Vandals, and the Visigoths now have wiki entries on the Total War website. I usually find myself playing as the Byzantine Empire in other games, so the precursor civilization of the Eastern Roman Empire is appealing to me. However, the barbarian tribes have no starting territory, similar to Barbarian Invasion, so that is very appealing as well. I have enjoyed playing barbarian factions in the Rome 2 Grand Campaign, so I’m looking forward to seeing more information come out before I decide who to play as first.

New DLC: Black Sea Colonies Culture Pack

The new DLC announced today, the Black Sea Colonies Culture Pack, unlocks Pergamon, Colchis, and Cimmeria as playable factions in the Grand Campaign. The free faction is Massilia, a favorite of Total War fans. I’ll admit, I too would like to play Massilia, mostly due to it’s interesting, but precarious, start position. This DLC and Free-LC will release November 20th, so a week or so from now. Below is the information taken from the page:

Black Sea Colonies Cultural traits:

Greek Knowledge: +5% to research rate
Far from Home: +2 cultural conversion

Cimmeria

Background:

The Cimmerian Bosporus has been fought over for its resources and strategic importance for millennia. The adventurous Greeks of Miletus, in Asia Minor, formed several colonies around the Black Sea coast during the 6th and 7th centuries BC in order to exploit its resources for trade with the wider Greek world. By the beginning of the 5th century BC their government had gravitated from classical Greek democracy to control by a single family. The current ruler, Satyrus, conquered nearby Greek cities, heralding the birth of the Cimmerian Kingdom, and a dynasty of rulers that endures to this day. Despite this strength, Cimmeria remains under threat from the surrounding nomadic tribes, and from the avaricious gaze of nearby Pontus, whose military strength may yet prove its undoing.

Faction Traits:

Tyrants: +5% corruption Bosporian
Fertile Lands: +5% wealth from agricultural buildings
Multiculturalism: -25% unhappiness from all foreign cultures in own territories

New units:

Scythian Hoplites: Armed in the Greek style with spear and shield, these medium infantry are solid defenders.
Cimmerian Heavy Archers: A truly multirole unit, these heavily-armoured archers trade their bows for spears when the enemy draws close.
Cimmerian Noble Infantry: Noble Infantry are drilled to a peerless standard in the classic hoplite style.
Picked Peltasts: Accurate and determined, these javelin-armed skirmishers can pack a devastating punch.

Unit roster:

Greek/Scythian hybrid

Unique Buildings:

Prytaneion Rose Marl Building
Sanctuary of Demeter

Pergamon

Background:

Although a minor player up to that point, Pergamon came to prominence during the struggle of Alexander the Great’s Successors for control of his fragmented empire. An ambitious lieutenant named Philetaerus acquired control over the fortress city and led Pergamon into a new golden age of culture and learning, building an impressive acropolis and a temple to Pergamon’s patron goddess, Athena. Not yet a kingdom in the truest sense, the time is right for expansion beyond its current borders. There are also new threats to be faced from Galatia, the duplicitous Pontus and Cappadocia. Pergamon must be strong if it is to meet these challenges and fulfil its destiny as a mighty Successor state.

Faction Traits:

Great Builders: -10% to all building costs
Military Underdogs: +10% non-mercenary recruitment cost
Town Growth: +4 growth in all provinces

New units:

Agema Spears: The cream of Pergamon’s infantry, these elite defenders will hold the line against the odds.
Pergamon Noble Cavalry: Hardy and proud, the lance-wielding Noble Cavalry of Pergamon can execute a devastating charge.
Picked Peltasts: These elite, javelin-armed skirmishers are trained to a superior standard.

Unit roster:

Greek/Hellenic/Galatian hybrid

Unique buildings:

Great Altar of Pergamon
Library of Pergamon
Spring of Asclepius
Baths of Asclepius
Sanctuary of Asclepius

Unique technology:

Pergaminus

Colchis

Background:

Far to the east of the Black Sea, at the very edge of the Greek world, lies Colchis. A place of legend, it is said to have been the final destination on Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece. Around the 6th century BC, Greek traders from Militus arrived to construct a thriving mercantile economy from this former Persian satrapy. Its current ruler controls a powerful Greek trading state with strong Scythian influences and a nobility who extol the finest qualities of both cultures. His warriors fight in the Greek fashion, yet the ferocity of their nomadic past is very much alive. As such, Colchis has set out to conquer much of the land around it – to absorb further Scythian tribes, and as many former-Persian lands as possible, into his burgeoning empire.

Faction traits:

Trade Crossroads: +15% trade income
Golden Legacy: Major diplomatic penalty with Greek factions
Assimilation: +4 happiness from presence of other cultures

New units:

Colchian Nobles: Heavily armoured and drilled to blunt the mightiest charge, Colchian Nobles are a force to be reckoned with.

Unit roster:

Greek/Eastern hybrid

Unique Buildings:

Temple of the Golden Fleece
Trade Centre

I think the Black Sea Colonies Culture Pack will be good. It adds three Greek factions that people have expressed interest in playing, as well as the perennial favorite Massilia as a Free-LC.

Cimmeria looks the most interesting of the three, and I will give it a shot after Massilia. The Cimmerian Heavy Archers sound like the Dacian Heavy Skirmishers, which do alright in melee combat. But archers with spears? That sounds great against cavalry on paper, but we’ll have to see if that is the case.

One annoying thing I am already expecting is that since the surrounding peoples are steppe factions, you’ll be facing a lot of horse archers and melee cavalry. Greek factions typically have excellent spear units to counter melee cavalry, but usually poor ranged units with which to counter horse skirmishers/archers.

While playing as Baktria, I had to mass recruit slingers in order to survive the early game against Parthia and other horse archer-heavy steppe factions nearby. It’s not terribly fun, but it really does push you to improve your playing skill. The Black Seas Greek factions have Picked Peltasts and the Cimmerians have Heavy Archers, so maybe it won’t be too awful.

Green Man Gaming is selling the Black Sea Colonies Culture Pack currently with the -10% due to Pre-Order, but if you use the code NOVEMB-ERGMGX-20XOFF, you’ll get an additional 20% discount if used before November 21st. I paid $5.76 for mine, which isn’t bad at all. The link is here.

Rome 2 Emperor Edition announced!

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

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 / July 29, 2014 September 25, 2014 / Rome 2 Total War, Total War DLC

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)

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.).