Getting Started, Background, First Turn, Army Basics
The Roman factions have it so easy that playing on the Very Hard level is like training. After playing and winning as all three Roman factions in the long campaign, I decided that for a challenge I would have to play as Carthage on Very Hard. That is the subject of this article.
The enemy game mechanics are simplistic: the other factions just make a huge amount of armies and have them sitting around waiting to fight (see screenshots). When you attack them, all the armies stream toward the fight, and you can get overwhelmed easily. More about that later.
Carthage starts out with a whopping six cities: Corduba in Spain, the island of Palma, Caralis in Sardina, Carthage, Thapsus, and Lilybaeum. The city of Carthage is advanced, and so is Thapsus. The Carthage faction also has higher growth rates than the Roman factions. This growth rate means that cities can upgrade faster if taxes are kept low, because lowering taxes increases the growth rate, which can go to 5% and even higher in some cases. The key is to remember that the whole economy has to grow, not just the city of Carthage's. The growth advantage needs to be exploited to win the game and keep ahead of Roman technology. The Urban Cohort is stronger than any infantry Carthage has, so ideally all the Roman factions must be destroyed before an urban barracks is constructed or Urban Cohorts are produced.
My first goal for defeating Rome: defeat all the Roman factions early and as quickly. The fastest I could do that was by Turn 153, invading from Sicily with Iberian infantry and mostly Libyan spearmen, which are really crappy troops but they can handle hastati. Then on Turn 176 my ally Spain turned on me, and the stream of a dozen or so Spanish armies rolled in and took all of Italy in the blink of an eye. Spain had been taking Roman cities from the west and we were taking Roman cities from Italy, and we met in the northern Italy. They had more armies, so Carthage was crushed. The early game troops were too weak to fight the invading Spanish Bull Warriors and folded. Spain was also aligned with Britannia, so Carthage became the next politically correct target. For best results, Spain and Britannia need to fight, and the Julii need to destroy Gaul and then fight Spain and Britannia. I defeated Rome too fast and got killed. Please do not make that mistake.
Lesson learned, I played again, and this time I did not attack the Julii or the Brutii right away. I waited until Turn 230 to destroy the Roman factions so they could have resources to fight the barbarians. That worked much better, and the Julii held northern Italy and pushed into Gaul and toward Spain. I eventually attacked Spain from Tingi to Corduba. The extra pressure caused Spain and Britannia to fight, which meant there were two streams of enemy armies piling in against each other and wearing each other out. It was a bit scary because it allowed Rome time to get the reforms of Gaius Marius, which really makes them stronger, but it was worth it. The gambit worked, and Carthage won the long campaign while fighting the stream of armies from Britannia, but the others killed each other. That's the big-picture strategy, keep it in mind.
Back to the first turn, Carthage starts with those 6 cities, and a good chunk of cash to get things going. You can buy buildings and troops at first, no problem. After a few turns, the neighbors attack. Spain takes Corduba and Palma, the Julii take Caralis, the Scipii take Lilybaeum, and last of all Nubia comes for Carthage and Thapsus. There are not enough troops to defend all the cities, and there is not enough time to build up an economy that can support the troops required to fend off the attacks. To resist this series of early game attacks, I found only one solution: ditch three cities and protect the other three. I take the troops and family members from Corduba out of the city and march them toward the southeastern coast of Spain. If I let the enemy conquor a city I occupy, then the economy suffers greatly, much more than a civil revolt. Abandoning them early and getting over the economic impact seems the best option.
I send some ships (3 if possible) to the Spanish coast from Carthage to pick them up and also the troops at Palma. I jack up the taxes so the cities will revolt in a few turns. The reason for doing this is to avoid war with Spain and the Julii (they attack the rebel cities), and to have enough troops to protect the most important cities. I bring the troops to Lilybaeum so they can intimidate the Scipii and Greek Cities. With a show of strength at Lilybaeum, the Scipii army will turn and attack Syracuse instead. Park a spy or diplomat over there, and when they have weakened each other, strike and take Messana or Syracuse. Focus on money-making buildings and as few troops as needed to protect these three cities.
The goal now is to hold Carthage, Thapsus, and Lilybaeum, and upgrade the buildings until they produce the infantry unit that Carthage uses to win the game: the Sacred Band. This troop is made by the Awesome Temple of Baal. It is as strong as the Pratorian Cohort, but is made of phalanx spearmen. The Sacred Band takes 2 turns to recruit. You also need time to upgrade the city to build the Awesome Temple of Baal, and then more time to recruit the troops. That takes a long time. To save time, have all three cities recruit 5 Sacred Band each at the same time, and in 10 turns, there are 15 units, enough for an army. Repeat and in 20 turns you have the troops you need to invade southern Italy when you are ready.
My standard Carthaginian army build: 10 Sacred Band (or other infantry), two long shield cavalry, three slingers (or skirmishers if not available), two onagers (or skirmishers if not available), 1 General or another cavalry to act as general, and 2 flex positions for either more infantry, cavalry, or elephants. Substitute Libyan spearmen, or Iberian or Poeni infantry until the Sacred Band is available. Elephants make a difference, even little elephants. Add them when you can, but don't bankrupt yourself with them. Poeni infantry are good filler troops for late-game, but they are too weak to bring home the victories you need. It's all about the Sacred Band.
You will build the Temple of Baal everywhere except for two cities: Dimmidi (they get the trade deity) and Nepte (they get the population growth deity); and in some conquered cities that have temples that produce troops with higher levels. Tarentum's Temple of Mars added three ranks to troops made there; Numidia also had a temple that gives one rank to recruited troops. I keep one or two of these level-increasing foreign temples, and recruit all of the non-Sacred Band troops for the armies here, like slingers, long shield cavalry, Libyan spearmen, Poeni infantry, and skirmishers. Upgrade the barracks, practice ranges, and cavalry stables in these cities and your armies will have an edge.
Taking Sicily And Africa, Troops To Recruit And Movements
As soon as you conquer a city, if it is not above 100% content then you will have to exterminate it to keep order. After you take the city, destroy its temple and build the Shrine to Baal. Then make the temple the priority upgrade in the city until you get the Awesome Temple of Baal (Huge City). Drop the taxes to low to spike the growth rate, and upgrade the city center until you can build the awesome temple, then raise the taxes as high as you can. Once you have the awesome temple, you can retrain Sacred Band and invade the next city. If it will be a while, then send the Sacred Band back to where they can retrain and then bring them back. This is awkward, but it is better than having weakened forces in a battle. Or, if you have the troops, bring fresh replacements to the city and swap them out for the weakend ones to keep up the city's strength.
Upgrading exterminated cities to build the Awesome Temple of Baal takes time, like 20+ turns depending on the size of the city, so plan for it. If you can, first conquer larger cities that can upgrade faster and use it as a hub to invade other areas. While the exterminated city is being repaired from the fighting and after retrains are complete, recruit a baby-sitter force to stay there while you move your army to the next city. Four infantry, either Town Watch or Libyan Spearmen, is the minimum, plus two Onagers when you can build them. I use Poeni Infantry as babysitters later in the game. Onagers can smash siege towers, so it's good to keep a couple in your frontier cities at least in case you are attacked. You can also pre-recruit the babysitter forces in other cities and march them in. Repeat this pattern each time you take a city.
I wait to make the move on the rest of Sicily until I have the Sacred Band. Until I grow and can build the Awesome Temple, I focus on economy to get the funds rolling in. I drop the taxes to low if possible, and build money-makers like markets, roads, and ports. This is a good time to build up the navy with triremes. The Scipii can build special boats later in the game, so that Roman faction has the biggest target on it's back. Messana will be the first Roman cities you take, taking the first step to destroy the Scipii and those special boats they build. Remember that it is tough to retrain armies at a cities across water. Those extra turns on the boats to move from Carthage to Lilybaeum could cost you the city, so to take Sicily, get the awesome temple built even if you skip the barracks upgrade. Once you have Messana, go get Syracuse. Break a treaty if you have to, or better yet don't make one in the first place. Just be sure when you attack you can actually take the city. Once all three cities are yours, then spend your extra cash on money-making buildings and ships.
While you are moving on Messana and Syracuse, begin the conquest of Africa. Numidia will attack as soon as you move troops from Africa to Sicily, so be ready. In Africa it takes a long time to walk to the next city, so conquest takes way longer than when cities are close together like Italy and Europe. First get Cirta and Lepcis Magna.
Lepcis Magna will need military upgrades to fend off Egypt until you can get Cyrene. Make those upgrades after the economic buildings are constructed. At some point, Egypt will send a stream of armies to fight your eastern-most frontier city. Have at least 1 army building up there to repel them. Three armies is ideal; one to retrain, one to fight, and one waiting to fight the next enemy army. Two armies will work if the enemy streams in slowly. It is best if your armies all retrain in the city and don't have to travel to retrain. That is a good formula for fending off the stream of armies from an enemy, 2-3 armies and a retraining city. I used this strategy constantly for many turns fighting Britannia at Massilia later in the game, as well as at Lepcis Magna and Cyrene against the Egyptians. It is the best way I found to handle the stream of enemy armies. If you need heavier troops, recruit Sacred Band in Thapsus and send them down to Lepcis Magna. They help a lot, but you can take much of Africa without them. They are essential against Rome and Spain.
After you take Sicily but before you take Capua, the Scipii send ships with armies from Capua to Messana. You have to sink them. This is key to holding Sicily. Also send a spy to Capua. Keep an eye on them as you build up your armies and economy. During that time I build the two armies that went to Capua, one of which had the 3 Sacred Band. The rest were Iberian infantry and Libyan Spearmen in the standard army build described above. Once they were ready, I boated them over and took Capua. When you fight Romans or any tough enemy, build lots of siege equipment. Build one ram or siege tower for each infantry troop at least. Take Capua, and then don't invade any other Roman cities. Build up Capua with money-making buildings and big wall. Leave the rest of Rome alone so they can fight barbarians while you build Sacred Band and Awesome Temples of Baal. Offer peace treaties to Rome, and trade with everyone. Align with Britannia if possible.
By Turn 89 (see screenshot), Carthage and Thapsus have Awesome Temples of Baal and all of Sicily was taken as well as Capua. Only 6 Sacred Band were made by then: 3 guarded Sicily from invasion and 3 went to Cirta to fight Numidia. The Sacred Band are still very expensive to build and maintain at this stage, but they really do the job so it pays to bite the bullet and get some going. It may be tough to spare the coin, but make it work because it takes so long. That's why it is wise to build out the market, roads, and ports right after the temple to make sure you have enough money to recruit Sacred Band. Capua had a Temple of Vulcan that gave some troop bonus, so I kept it for retrains for a couple of turns, then demolished it and built the Shrine to Baal, with upgrades from there.
Sicily is an army-building factory. You can make infantry, missle troops, and cavalry each in one city. Move them to a common spot on the island until the full army is assembled. Put the army on an Ambush spot for secrecy if you like. This is how to recruit the armies for the invasion of Southern Italy. Continue to prioritize economic buildings in construction.
Back in Africa, after you take Cirta, it becomes a hub to invade Palma, Tingi, and Dimmidi. Build what armies you need in Cirta. Carthage will probably be retraining armies from Sicily, and Thapsus is too far away. From Cirta you can also launch a naval raid north and take Palma. Leave Caralis for the Julii for now. By Turn 125 I conquered all of Africa west of Cyrene (see screenshot). Take Cyrene either from Numidia or from Egypt later after you beat them back from Lepcis Magna. When Egypt stops attacking you at Cyrene, bring two navies of 5 or 6 Quinquiremes each to Cyrene. Load 2 of the 3 armies and go invade Lower Egypt and take Alexandria. Send a spy or two over first. Do not march on Siwa from Cyrene. After you take Alexandria, take Memphis and Thebes, then go for Siwa from Thebes along the bottom of the board. I had to bring in 5 armies, 2 at first and 3 more to finish the Egyptian armies near Siwa. I shipped them in from Carthage and Greece. Get the Sacred Band temples as usual, but sometimes you can recruit Sacred Band at the Egyptian temple if it is the right one, so check before you demolish. Once you have the Pyramids, there are no culture penalties for taking Egyptian cities. You don't have to exterminate them because they are content, which means you can make more money and build cooler stuff faster.
Taking Italy And Greece; Invading Spain; Pincer Movement Finish
While all that is going on in Africa, build up in Sicily and Capua and prepare to attack the Brutii. After you take Capua, the Romans will attack you for a bit and then stop. Ceasefires may occur and then war will be declared again but they won't attack. Attack the rebel armies that pop up to give your troops some experience, but don't attack any Romans until you have the troops built up. The Brutii are strong, and have taken Greece by now. The Julii lost Patavium to Gaul, and the Brutii took it back. Be ready for the Julii to get whipped by the barbarians. In games I played as the other Roman factions, the Julii always got beaten and required help. They are the wimps of the Roman factions when it comes to fighting Spain and Britannia. The Brutii are the rich ones, so plan to destroy them before the Julii. Leave the city of Rome alone while you fight the Brutii.
Attack Croton from Messana and then take Tarentum as fast as possible after that. By Turn 155 Carthage can take Apollonia and northern Greece from the Brutii. The Brutii are really hard to fight, and you will need at least 10 Sacred Band to keep up once they have Legionary Cohorts and Pratorians. They will beat you over and over, so get ready for lots of retrains and reinforcing armies. Once you take Greece, use the multi-city Sacred Band recruiting strategy to make troops faster. Put 5 Sacred Band in the cue in Apollonia, Larissa, Thermon, Athens, and Thesselonica on the same turn and in 10 turns you will have 25 Sacred Band. Do that and then send them north to fight the Brutii and Thracians and south to take Kydonia from Macedon.
Assassins become a great asset at this point. Kill enemy merchants to gain experience, then kill the generals. The Carthaginian generals are kind of pathetic compared to the Roman ones, so you need all the help you can get. If you get a General who is Deranged or Dangerously Mad, send him to march around and build towers. Don't give them cities, but give them an army if they get Command stars (often they don't get any stars). Give each sane army-marching General an assassin and a spy to protect him and strike at other assassins. You need the spy to see assassins. I sent a fleet of assassins and spies into Spain before I invaded. The assassins sabotaged the market in all the Spanish cities, which can cripple their economy and reduce troop recruitment. After 10-20 turns of that, I attack Spain.
The barbarian way is to exterminate a city to get the coin they need to run their faction. They have little technology, so the people get rowdy and rebels take the city when it gets big. Then the barbarians send and army to take back the rebel city and exterminate it again, filling their coffers. This is their economic model. Since they want a city to rebel so they can re-exterminate it for cash, I do not use spies to incite rioting. I put spies in cities to give them experience and help the assassin find targets, but pull them out to settle things down.
From Turn 155 to 180, I attack Spain from Tingi, and finally start in on Rome and the Julii. By Turn 180 (see screenshot) I have Arretium, Ariminium, and Rome, Corduba and Carthago Nova. I take Caralis and Palma as well. Now I'm attacking Spain from the west and the Julii from the east. My own armies will meet in the middle in Narbo Martius after destroying both enemies, then they will fight Britannia to the north. This is the finishing Pincer Movement.
Spain is tough to conquer because Corduba and other Spanish cities revolt like crazy. In Corduba, Scallabis, and Tingi I recruit 20 Town Watch to keep order, and then build all the buildings that maintain public order. Then they behave. I retrain Sacred Band in Tingi and Palma and transport with 5-ship navies until I get the temples up in southern Spain. The Spanish are tough to beat, so make Sacred Band to gain advantage. I was slow to do this and my Libyan Spearmen armies were defeated over and over.
In the later game you can build Armored Elephants in much of Africa. These are the most powerful troops in the game. They are very expensive, and can only be retrained in cities with the little elephant luxury. Send them to wherever you need to kick the most ass. It takes a lot of effort to move them around and back for retraining, but it is worth it if you are losing battles with the Sacred Band and need an edge. I finally stopped Britannia with an army that had 2 units of Armored Elephants. They are great in Asia where there are cities with elephants, like Sidon north of Jerusalem. When taking Greece, Egypt sends boats over from Salamis to harass you. To stop this, I take Salamis. Salamis is a rich city with 5 luxuries. I recruit Sacred Band there, and when I have enough I take Sidon, which has elephants, and Antioch, which is very close. So I can retrain the elephants in Sidon as soon as I build the right cavalry stable. I admit that I didn't use elephants as much as I would have liked because of the logistics. Another technique I use is to set a couple of cities to build fleets constantly, until there are enough ships to go around. I do the same with Sacred Band to make sure they are always a few stacking up somewhere.
By Turn 215 Carthage has conquered all Spain but Asturica and Scallabis, and taken all of Italy, Greece, and part of Thrace, and is fighting the last of the Brutii and the Thracians. I don't like taking the frozen north lands, but if they attack you, go get 'em. That took Carthage up to Segesitca. Taking Greece is a huge money-maker, and it will benefit Carthage and hurt the Brutii to lose it, so take it before going north to finish them. I took the last Roman city on Turn 230, then took the rest of Africa, and won the long campaign on Turn 260 after taking Narbo Martius and finally Lugdunum. The Romans and Spanish are the toughest to beat. That is the strategy for Carthage. Good luck!
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Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3327004628
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