ROME: TOTAL WAR (CAMPAIGN UPDATES)

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Well, I've currently got up to episode 74 in my run through Rome: Total War on Medium/Medium done. At this point in the game I control 44 territories and am at war with 7 different factions. A good chunk of them being Roman seeing as how I decided to kick off the start of the Roman Civil War near the end of the updates I've got recorded through July.

Enemies Stats
Scipii: 7 Territories (Though their current Capital is Under Siege)
Julii: 15 Territories (Probably the only rival of real note)
Carthage: 3 Territories (Final port in Africa is under Siege)
Egypt: 5 Territories (Most of their available armies have been wiped out)
Pontus: 1 Territory (I'm currently preparing to take their capital)
Thrace: 1 Territory (I'll probably let them go broke at the moment)
SQPR: 1 Territory (I'll probably leave the Roman Senate for Last)

Yeah, I'm really not expecting much out of the Scipii at this point. I managed to beat them to Syracuse and Carthage. So they were forced to eventually invade southern France and work their way into Spain. As it stands they've just begun to wage war on the Spanish, but I kicked off the civil war by targeting three of their cities at the same time. So, I suspect their economy is going to take a massive hit from me taking two or their major ports as well as their capital in the same turn.

As for the Julii they've turned most of their attention to the far north. So, I suspect it will take them a while to bring the bulk of their forces to bear. And by then I should be able to take their capital and weaken their grip in Northern Italy. Though, I suppose I shouldn't count them out just yet.

As I already mentioned I'm willing to leave Thrace alone for the moment. In fact, the only forces they have left that I'm mildly interested in is a small detachment near the city of Tylis. A force I'll probably try to ride down with a bunch of cavalry in a couple of turns.

I'm still plotting for additional battles in Egypt, but I'll probably focus on some of their less guarded territories for the most part. That way their large garrisons in Siwa and Petra will act as a massive sink of their remaining funds.

As for Pontus, I'm expecting the final few battles to be a bit of a pain. While the kingdom of Pontus is probably pretty poor at this point. They still have a full stack worth of troops. So, I may have to take my time in order to capture their final city. It may be to my benefit to knock the small army they have the area back and see if I can battle them outside of the city itself in order to reduce how many enemies I need to deal with inside the walls of Mazaka.

Honestly, I'll probably slow down my campaign against Carthage after I take Cirta. After all, the only other city they have in Africa is largely filled with town militias and peasants. So, I'm guessing I've basically wrecked their economy enough at this point to keep them off my back for a while. Though, I may send a small force to Dimmidi at some point. After all, it really won't take that much effort to capture a place full of useless rabble.
Well, I just got done recording episodes 88 - 100 for September. I have to admit I'm starting to feel a bit bored with the game in some regards because I've become so unstoppable that the AI's attempts to launch counter offensives against me seem rather laughable. Especially when you consider I'm probably more powerful than all of the remaining empires on the map combined. I suppose the only real downside I'm facing is that my massive military is expensive to maintain, but I'm still bringing in way more money then I'm spending on it. The only real hang up from such a massive army is that I don't have as many coins as I'd like for building up my cities. Though, a lot of the military buildings are of little concern at this point. The only cities that really need them are the ones closer to the edge of the areas where I'm trying to actively train troops at this point. So I may start dismantling some of that infrastructure in the future in order to get a little money back.

Enemies
Julii: 9 Territories (2 Cities Currently under Siege)
Scipii: 6 Territories
Parthia: 5 Territories
Scythia: 4 Territories
Carthage: 3 Territories
Egypt: 2 Territories
SQPR: 1 Territory

Allies
Armenia: 3 Territories

Other Remaining Powers
British: 6 Territories
Spain: 2 Territories

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Julii
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While the Julii still hold onto over half of their territory. They've already been stripped of their most valuable lands. To make matters worse they've suffered numerous defeats in the field that have left their once great armies in ruins. At this point in time the Julii's military strength is probably a third of what it once was. As it stands I imagine the Julii will soon be on a level comparable to that of Egypt by the time I get done with the episodes for October.

I wish I could offer them a sliver of hope but the sheer amount of heroic victories that Oppius Brutus has scored against them at this point makes the faction seem hopeless weak. After all, Oppius Brutus has scored all of those great victories while leading an army comprised entirely of cavalry.

In fact, the current faction leader has currently fled the lands of Germania for the Easter egg city of Themyscira. Or at least he's trying to flee there. He currently has the city under siege at this point.
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Scipii
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While the Scipii didn't sustain as many losses as the Julii I did in the last series of episodes. They did lose their final island holding and are now concentrated in southern France and Iberia. Though my forces are beginning to spread out from northern Italy into their territories at this point. And several battles have been fought around the city of Segesa. Albeit the Scipii haven't devoted a full army to dealing with me yet. Instead they've been sending small units of three to eight units to gauge my strength. A rather foolish tactic considering my willingness to crush them utterly. As such, the Scipii have merely thrown away the better part of a proper army for no gain.

As it stands, I imagine I won't meet any true resistance from these guys until I've reached Iberia. After all, the Scipii are apparently still trying to crush the Spanish at this point.
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Parthia
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Honestly, I only engaged with Parthia twice over those 13 episodes. I was just to busy dealing with the Julii and the remnants of Egypt to really commit a lot of forces to dealing with Parthia at the moment, but I did eventually send most of the forces in Antioch to take Hatra. Of course, I ran into a small army along the way and took care of it before heading towards my target. After all, I really don't want to let an army get behind me and lay siege to my holdings along the coast.

Of course, Parthia has managed to waste most of its strength in repeated battles with Armenia. So much so, that I readily question how much of a fight they'll really be able to put up. Even so I'm committed to continuing my efforts to capture Parthia's southern holdings. After all, I'd really like to dominate the entire map by the time I'm done with this campaign.
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Scythia
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I'll admit I really didn't have a good reason to go to war with Scythia. After all, the bulk of their lands are rather worthless. In fact, my main reason for going to war with them was merely because I figured I might as well attack them first. After all, it's rarely a good idea to let a potential rival set the pace in a war. Albeit, the combined might of Scythia was barely enough to be worth the fifth spot in terms of overall ranking. Especially when their military strength appears to be almost nonexistent. At least if the garrisons inside their cities are anything to go by. As it stands I'll probably target the cities near the Black Sea first and deal with the outliers later. After all, I'm not really in a rush to capture territories that are vast in terms of scale, but poor in terms of resources.
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Carthage
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In all honesty the war with Carthage has been pretty cold as of late though I'm starting to mobilize a force to deal with their last holding in Africa at this point. Though I imagine their remaining forces in Iberia will get mopped up after I finish off the Scipii at this point.
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Egypt
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In all honesty I'm not in much of a rush to finish off Egypt. This is because their mostly a non-entity at this point. The bulk of their forces are stuck inside of their current cities as garrison forces. As such they won't leave their cities for anything. A decision that's all the more baffling when you realize their readily aware that their starting capital is guarded by an army of peasants at this point. You'd think they would be tempted to at least try and reclaim some of their former lands with their final major army. As it stands, it seems their willing to let me slowly move a large army over to slowly choke the life out of them with multiple sieges. I suppose the big problem for Egypt at this point is that their broke. So sending their army out to make money won't be particularly effective, but at this point the AI has nothing to lose in my opinion. After all, it's already between a rock and hard place. So it might as well go down in a blaze of glory.
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SQPR
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I'm still planning to leave the Senate for last at this point. After all, I'd like to end the civil war before I capture the future jewel of my empire.
Well, I've just finished up episodes 101 - 113 and my feelings of boredom are only getting worse in some ways. While I did manage to run into a few exciting battles where I was outnumbered as I continued my efforts to expand my territory as rapidly as possible. For the most part I was waging war on enemy forces that were vastly smaller than my own. Though my efforts have pushed most of the remaining powers ever closer to the brink if they weren't pushed completely over it.

Enemies
Julii: 6 Territories (1 Under Siege)
British: 6 Territories
Scipii: 4 Territories
Parthia: 3 Territories
Scythia: 3 Territories
Carthage: 2 Territories
SQPR: 1 Territory

Allies
Armenia: 2 Territories

Neutral Powers
Spain: 2 Territories

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Julii
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The Julii continue to crumble as I push myself further and further into the northern portions of their holdings. And while the Julii have tried to throw a few roadblocks in my way. The problem is that their remaining armies are increasingly weak in terms of experienced troops as well as small in terms of forces. As it stands, I really don't see that many more field battles remaining with these guys. If anything their only saving grace at this point might be the fact that my forces in the far North are starting to get stretched thin. And while, I do have more armies being built in my two major training areas. Those forces are going to take a while to get where I need them to deliver the killing blow.
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British
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In all honesty, I wasn't planning on attacking the British first, but they managed to piss me off when they countered my offer to exchange map information for map information by saying they would attack if I didn't agree to what I had already offered them. So I responded by agreeing to the deal and then sending a small force of 800 cavalry to crush their 2,000 infantry men that were hanging around near our shared border. Suffice to say I decisively won that battle, but it will probably be a few more turns before I begin seriously trying to remove the British from the continent.
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Scipii
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While the Scipii have somehow managed to lose less territory then the Julii over the course of these 13 episodes. They've definitely had most of their forces sent my way destroyed. As it stands they probably have around enough forces to form three or four full stack armies at this point. So they really don't have enough forces to be considered a viable threat. And the forces they have guarded the two cities closest to the edge of my territory are rather laughable at this point. So, I suspect they'll soon be restricted to holdings within the Iberian Penisula.
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Parthia
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I definitely spent a lot more time on Parthia these last 13 episodes as I engaged with small armies in the field as well as captured several of their cities. Of course, a lot of those field battles involved Augustus Corvus. A man who had to make do with a force largely comprised of mercenaries and onagers. Suffice to say he ran into a few difficult spots, but managed to persevere and gain a reputation as an amazing vanquisher of those that would oppose Brutii rule. Though, I'm hard pressed to continue my attack on them at this point as well. After all, the bulk of my forces in the region are located along the much more valuable coastal cities of Antioch and Sidon. Though those areas are one of my major troop training centers as well. So, I suppose the war with Parthia will continue in a few years when I have enough forces free to deal with them.
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Scythia
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Well, I've managed to capture a few of Scythia's territories along the Black Sea, but I'm a bit hesitant to pursue their remaining cities in the far Northeast of the map. After all, those territories present two major hurdles. For starters their not particularly valuable. So I really don't gain much by capturing them and secondly their so far away from my capital they will be hard to control.

Though, I'm still trying to figure out how they managed to take a city off of the Armenians. At any rate, I'm making a beeline for that city with a small army. After all, I'd like to surround the Black Sea on all sides.
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Carthage
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Oddly enough the war with Carthage actually got a bit lukewarm for a bit. After all, I decided to capture their final holding in Africa and secure my control over that area of the map. Though, I suppose the war with them will get hot in the near future as I work towards moving forces into the Iberian peninsula.
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SQPR
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Yeah, I'm still planning on saving these guys for last. Though, I'm definitely itching to attack some of their forces they have wandering around the Senate's borders.
I suppose I just can't stay away from this one for long. Though, I'm not sure I'm going to last long enough to paint the map my color. At this point it's a real hassle to reach the few remaining territories that I don't control. This is because most of them are out in the boonies. So getting an army up there takes a lot of time and effort. Though, I suppose once I've crushed the few remaining forces in Iberia I'll be able to slowly amass forces to send that way. So, I'm not super worried about it. In fact, my biggest problem right now is growing my newest acquisitions to a point I can get actual use out of them.

As for the curious, I just got done recording episodes 114 - 125. Episodes that won't be available for public viewing until November of 2020.

My Stats
Territories: 90
Battles Won: 417
Battles Lost: 29
Family Members: 135

Wiped Out Enemies
Julii
S.Q.P.R.

Enemies
Briton: 3 Territories
Parthia: 2 Territories
Spain: 2 Territories
Scipii: 1 Territory
Carthage: 1 Territory
Scythia: 1 Territory

Allies
Armenia: 2 Territories

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Julii
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The Julii ultimately made a rather unimpressive last stand at Themiskyra. Yeah, the land of the Amazons is meant to be a bit of an Easter egg in this game and the AI actually managed to reach this city before I did. Sadly, their forces were starved to the point of needing to come out and fight back and were simply overrun by an army comprised of cavalry.

Sadly, I really can't say they put up any major fights before their final stand either. A lot of their forces got spread thin and drawn into ill advised battles on rather open battlefields where my cavalry could easily swarm them.
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SQPR
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Ironically I did intend to leave the Senate for after I finished the civil war, but the Senate made some rather amazing errors that I couldn't help but take advantage of. This error being to surround one of my large cavalry armies with significantly smaller armies comprised only of generals. After a few stabs I was able to push them back to Rome where I was able to draw out their only forces in the city. These forces being another two generals. And since the battle ultimately took place in a rather open plain I was able to swarm the enemy generals with my lighter and faster cavalry units and take them out. And with no one left in the city it was a simple matter to move into the city and bring an end to the Senate.

Though at least the Senate managed to hand me my ass once. So at least they managed to draw some blood and hand me an actual loss. Of course, the AI lost just as much in that battle and had no where near as many resources at its disposal to compensate for the damage. And, I'm willing to accept a minor setback or two.
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Briton
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At this point the British have effectively been kicked off the mainland and reduced to their holdings across the channel. Albeit, getting to this point did result in me getting my butt handed to me at one point. Apparently I had severely under estimated how many men they had wandering around Northern France. This led to me being handed a pretty major defeat. Thankfully the remnants of that force mostly made it back to safety. So, I was able to reinforce those units and send them back for revenge. After I had shattered their main force it was easy to mop up their three territories in France in a few turns. After all, it took me a while to gather enough forces to be able to successfully hold onto their cities after I conquered them.
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Parthia
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Parthia's only saving grace at this point is both of it's remaining cities are so far away from my current holdings that it's going to take me a while to amass an army I can send their way. After all, they've reinforced their two remaining cities with as many units as possible. I'm guessing a lot of them are rather weak infantry units that can be purchased on the cheap, but I'll still want to put together a sold army before I take them on.
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Spain
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Yeah, I decided to attack a few of their weaker units in a bid to reach one of Carthage's final cities and take it before they did. Of course, I also realized they would eventually attack me at some point. After all, Spain is obsessed with controlling all of Iberia. Sadly, I still don't have enough forces in the region to finish off the other three powers in the area. It's the same reason why Carthage and the Scipii haven't been fully wiped out at this point.
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Scipii
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The Scipii have been beaten back to the middle of Iberia at this point. And while they still have enough forces to make one full army stack. I'm not sure those forces are of high enough quality to really deter me from pushing my advantage. Albeit, I still want to gather up a few more units before trying to take their final city. This is because my only army in the area is only a half stack strong at this point.
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Carthage
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At this point the forces of Carthage only control one small town in Spain/Portugal. A target that would probably be pretty easy to take if I wasn't having so much trouble securing my hold over their former city of Corduba. Of course, I'll probably get around that problem by landing more forces in the area. After all, I still need to conquer one more city to turn a certain body of water into a Roman pond.
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Scythia
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At this point the only settlement they have left is near the top corner of the map. And is so far away it's going to take my forces currently on route about another eight turns to get there. This is because their final region is entirely devoid of roads. So getting there is rough. Though my main question at this point is why they have so much of their military strength stationed more then a dozen terms in some cases from their only settlement. I suppose it could be part of a plan to take new territory, but they seem to be really hesitating to engage me. I suppose, I should be thankful about that since their forces will mostly disappear after I take their final town/city.
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Armenia
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Well, I've been annoying the rulers of Armenia at this point by bribing their armies into disbanding. Oddly enough this hasn't result in them breaking off our alliance. Though, I'm guessing that's because they don't have an army to fight back with at this point.
Yeah, I really can't stay away from this game for long, but I finally managed to finish up my campaign. It merely took me 139 episodes to get there, but I finally managed to paint the entire map in my color.

And while I'd like to go on a long diatribe about how I won. About the only aspect of the final push that I found amusing was I how cheesed my way to victory over Britannia by capturing their final city while the rest of their forces were attempting to retake their capital. Yeah, I completely ignored what could of been one of the most difficult bouts of the final 14 episodes. This is because the only units that are left over after you've captured the final city of a rival nation are their surviving family members. All of the rest of their troops disband which leaves you with the option of trying to bribe their remaining generals into working for you. Though generals really don't come cheap in these games. And I was spending so much money on city upgrades near the end of the campaign that I was starting to hate myself for continuing the run after I had conquered all of the lands once held by my fellow Romans.
author=thesacredlobo
Yeah, I really can't stay away from this game for long, but I finally managed to finish up my campaign. It merely took me 139 episodes to get there, but I finally managed to paint the entire map in my color.

And while I'd like to go on a long diatribe about how I won. About the only aspect of the final push that I found amusing was I how cheesed my way to victory over Britannia by capturing their final city while the rest of their forces were attempting to retake their capital. Yeah *RETRACTED SPAM-LINK THAT WASN'T EVEN IN THE OP*, I completely ignored what could of been one of the most difficult bouts of the final 14 episodes. This is because the only units that are left over after you've captured the final city of a rival nation are their surviving family members. All of the rest of their troops disband which leaves you with the option of trying to bribe their remaining generals into working for you. Though generals really don't come cheap in these games. And I was spending so much money on city upgrades near the end of the campaign that I was starting to hate myself for continuing the run after I had conquered all of the lands once held by my fellow Romans.
great experience
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