Latest / Start the game already! / [ENG] Civilizations #03: Romans

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[ENG] Civilizations #03: Romans · Start the game already!

0:18
The Roman civilization is a milestone in human history whose
0:23
influence extends far beyond the fall of the Western Roman Empire
0:27
in the 5th century AD. From a small town on the Tiber
0:31
founded as a Kingdom in the 8th century BC, Rome developed into
0:35
an empire that spanned 3 continents, Europe, North Africa
0:39
and even parts of. Asia and for over 500 years
0:42
shaped the political, legal, cultural and technological
0:46
foundations of many later societies, including some of
0:51
those we can play in Age of Empires too.
0:53
Because in fact, the Romans don't quite fit into the games
0:57
rather medieval setting. Because in fact, the Romans
1:01
don't quite fit into the game's rather medieval setting.
1:05
And for good reason. Since the Romans only existed in
1:08
antiquity, it's no coincidence that they were a civilization in
1:12
Age of Empires One which is set in the ancient world.
1:17
Now. Since the Return of Rome DLC
1:19
from May 2023, which in many ways was a fusion of Age of
1:23
Empires 1 and 2, the Romans have entered the game as a stand
1:27
alone civilization, not just as a copy of their Age of 1
1:31
version, but as a completely new civilization.
1:35
While the Romans in Age of Empires One are an aggressively
1:39
oriented sieve with exclusively military bonuses, the Romans in
1:44
Age of Empires 2 are primarily a strong economic civilization.
1:49
What they share, however, is their powerful infantry, but
1:53
we'll get to that later. When deciding which civilization
1:57
to cover in the podcast, I usually go by whether I think a
2:00
civilization is likely to undergo major changes in the
2:04
future, so that the episode stays relevant as long as
2:08
possible. In this case, though, it was
2:11
inspired by something completely different, the demo of ANO 118,
2:17
the historical city building strategy game that in its
2:21
upcoming version will take place in ancient Rome.
2:25
The demo only lasts an hour though you can replay it as
2:28
often as you want, But that single hour made me want to
2:32
divedeeperintotheromansitactuallystartedwheniwalkedpasttheanobooth@games.com And after playing the demo at
2:40
home, I really got excited about ANO in a Roman setting and.
2:45
Here we are now talking. About the Romans in this
2:48
podcast. But before we dive in in a bit
2:51
of housekeeping matters. The podcast is slowly gaining
2:55
traction, which makes me really happy.
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The follower account on Spotify is growing, and if you haven't
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followed the podcast on Spotify yet, I'd be grateful if you did.
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It doesn't cost you anything and it ensures you're notified
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Spotify. If you enjoy listening to the
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Visibility and recognition within the community are the
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versions of these very podcasts, like this episode you're
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listening to right now. You'll find links to all of this
4:02
in the show notes of this and every other episode I publish.
4:06
All right, let's get started with the Romans.
4:09
What makes the Roman legacy especially remarkable is its
4:13
complexity and the extent to which so much of what the Romans
4:17
built remains relevant today. Roman law laid the foundation
4:21
for many modern legal systems, while their sophisticated
4:25
administrative network with provinces and governor systems
4:29
and taxation makes territorial control and integration
4:33
possible. Aqueducts, roads, bridges.
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And the complex system of harbours and warehouses enabled
4:39
trade and mobility, and some of them are still in use today.
4:44
Latin, the Romans language, evolved into the precursors of
4:47
languages like modern Spanish or Italian and remained the lingua
4:52
franca of science, the church and diplomacy for centuries.
4:57
Even in my studies, I still had to.
4:59
Learn the Latin terms for the anatomy of the brain.
5:03
Roman art, literature and mythology created a cultural
5:06
heritage that has inspired authors, painters and architects
5:10
right up to the present day. Yet the Romans were far from a
5:14
peaceful people they. Were a military superpower
5:17
throughout the Mediterranean, their legions logistics and
5:21
tactics set standards that later armies would emulate.
5:25
A lot of this carries over into Age of Empires too.
5:29
Alongside their strong infantry, the Romans mainly shine with
5:32
their economy, and with their cheap scorpions and unique
5:35
technologies, they field a very powerful Castle Age army.
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This can consist of both infantry and Knights, units that
5:44
all benefit directly from their economy.
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In the Imperial Age, however, their options become much
5:50
weaker, especially due to the lack of gunpowder units.
5:54
And poor range troops. That's a little ironic
5:57
considering that the Romans were once a massive empire, but
6:01
compared to the great empires of the late Middle Ages, the Romans
6:05
of. Late antiquity couldn't really
6:07
keep up, which raises an interesting question.
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Who? Exactly.
6:12
Are the Romans we're playing in the game?
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After all, the Roman Empire didn't exactly exist for just a
6:18
short period of time. Still, I'm confident.
6:21
I found an answer. The Roman history can be roughly
6:25
divided into four faces. First the Roman Kingdom until
6:30
around 500 BC, then the Roman Republic lasting until 27 BC.
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This was followed by the Roman Empire, beginning with Augustus
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and including the Pax Romana, a 200 year long period of relative
6:47
peace lasting until 285AD, the final period of Roman history's
6:52
late antiquity, when the Empire was divided into East and West
6:57
and eventually collapsed in the 7th century AD.
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Looking at this timeline and the setting of Age of Empires Two,
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I've assumed for the purpose of this podcast that the Romans in
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the game come from late antiquity.
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The division of the Empire in 395 AD into East and West raises
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the question of which of the two realms the in game civilization
7:20
represents. Technically though they weren't
7:24
really independent states, they were still 1 indivisible empire
7:30
just with two emperors. Roman citizenship, for example,
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was valid across. Both halves, but if I had to
7:37
choose, I'd lean toward the Western Roman Empire, especially
7:41
since we already have the Byzantines in the game
7:44
representing the Eastern Romans and their successors.
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And of course, the Byzantines outlived the Western Romans by
7:52
almost 1000 years until Constantinople finally fell to
7:57
the Ottomans in 1450. Three, there's another clue in
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the AI names used for the Romans.
8:04
Every civilization has a pool of names the AI can draw from, and
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in the case of the Romans, most of them are Western emperors
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like Altemios Valentinian the Third, or Rome Los Augustos.
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All of these AI personas came from the 5th century AD at the
8:22
end of the Western Roman Empire, firmly within late antiquity.
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Personally, that makes me almost want to rename the civilization
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to the Western Romans instead of just Romans.
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When I think about the Romans in Age of Empires Two, the first
8:38
thing that comes to mind is their economy.
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The villages working 5% faster across the board is one of the
8:46
most practical eco bonuses in the game, no matter what
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strategy or unit composition you go for.
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That bonus helps. It doesn't just affect resource
8:55
gathering either. The villages also build and
8:57
repair buildings 5% faster. Taken together, this global
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economic bonus means that you can comfortably play any of the
9:07
usual openings. While even low eco strategies
9:10
yield more resources, and of course in the late game, the
9:14
stronger your economy grows, the more powerful this bonus
9:17
becomes. It enables the Romans to go for
9:21
a strong night all in, but also to pull off excellent booms.
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After all, more resources means more reinvestment, which
9:29
snowballs into even more resources later on.
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Basically, whatever you do with the Romans just happens a little
9:35
faster. They reach the next age sooner,
9:39
their economy stabilizes sooner. They've got a castle in your
9:42
face sooner if they want 5. Percent might not sound like
9:46
much, but as long as you're playing reasonably cleanly and
9:49
not floating resources it simply means you always have more
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resources available than a non Roman player in the same.
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Amount of time, The faster building and repairing part of
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the bonus really shines when it comes to castles.
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Often whether a castle goes up in time or whether it falls
10:07
later on depends on exactly these kind of small advantages.
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Overall, I think this is a fantastic bonus, no questions
10:16
about it. Every time I play the Romans I
10:18
feel like I'm playing both Franks and Burmese rolled into
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one single civilization. The Vikings give off a somewhat
10:25
similar vibe, but the Romans already feel like they've got an
10:29
extra villager in the dark age, and once they research
10:32
wheelbarrow and handcart, they can even edge out the Vikings in
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eco. Power.
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Of course, one might wonder why the Romans of all civilizations
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get such a strong global economic bonus, considering that
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they come from antiquity and should in theory.
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Be far behind medieval civilizations.
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But human history and human development, even within the
10:57
same geographic region, isn't linear.
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It doesn't always just move forward.
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In some ways, the Middle Ages were actually a step backwards
11:05
compared to antiquity. Actually, in a lot of ways it's
11:09
no coincidence that in the game we start in the Dark Age, since
11:13
the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages is sometimes
11:17
literally called the Dark Centuries, and that label comes
11:21
especially from the lack of written sources we have from
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that time. Even more than that, at least in
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Europe, the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th
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century AD led to the collapse of much of civilization itself.
11:35
The darkness of the period is often contrasted with the light
11:39
of classical antiquity, an image that wasn't invented by modern
11:44
historians, but one that was already used in the late Middle
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Ages to describe the time after the Roman collapse.
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The Romans, with their complex social structures, their
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standards of hygiene, and their fortified Rd. networks were far
12:00
more advanced than anything that followed in Europe for the next
12:03
500 years. It's striking, but we actually
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have far more written sources from Ancient Rome than from the
12:10
1st 500 years of the European Middle Ages.
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The Huns, something I cover in the episodes on the Huns get
12:16
across it played a role in this, as did the Goths.
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So in this light, the Romans global 5% efficiency bonus in
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Age of Empires 2 makes perfect sense.
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And this perspective on Roman advancement also gives us the
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perfect Segway into the next civilization bonus.
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The Romans are world famous for their legions and their
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infantry. Anyone who's read an Asterix
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comic will recall Asterix and Obelix taking on Roman soldiers
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disciplined, well armored troops who just kept coming.
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The entire comic series is based on the idea that the Romans were
12:57
otherwise unstoppable conquerors of Europe with only one small
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Gallic village resisting them thanks to their druids magic
13:06
potion. Only magic could stop the Romans
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in Age of Empires 2. They are not quite that
13:13
invincible, but their infantry is still absolutely their
13:17
greatest strength. One particularly feared bonus is
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that their infantry armour upgrades have double effect.
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Because of this, the Romans are missing the final infantry
13:28
armour upgrade in the imperial age, but they don't need it in
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the end. Roman infantry not only saves an
13:35
upgrade, but effectively ends up with one more mini armour point
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than other civilizations with full upgrades.
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In that sense, the Romans are literally ahead of their time,
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since their double armour bonus lets them fuel troops with
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future armour a whole age earlier.
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And that fits perfectly with the idea of Roman progressiveness in
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the Feudal Age. This bonus makes a Minute Arms
14:00
opening especially threatening. It's basically always worth
14:05
getting the armor technology, even if you're going for a tower
14:09
rush. You should absolutely combine it
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with Minute Arms, since Roman infantry can fight relatively
14:15
well under tower fire thanks to their extra armor.
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Whatever you do with Minute Arms, here's the beauty of it.
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The armor upgrade only costs you 100 food and with your boosted
14:26
economy you can easily afford it.
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And it doesn't stop there. In the imperial age the Romans
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save a little bit of resources once again since instead of
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needing both 200 swordsman and champion upgrades, they only
14:40
need one upgrade for their long swordsman, the legionary.
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Stat wise, the legionary is comparable to the Champion unit,
14:48
but with slightly different trade-offs compared to
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champions. Legionaries have +2 melee armour
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plus five health points and four points of bonus damage against
15:01
infantry, but they come with -2 attack.
15:05
That means Legionaries should always beat champions in
15:09
straight fights, though against other unit types they perform
15:12
just a bit worse than champions do their peers.
15:16
Armour is identical to a fully upgraded champion since the
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Romans can't research gambisons against buildings.
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They are also a little weaker because they lack arson.
15:27
Alongside the Goths, the Romans are one of only two
15:30
civilizations in the game without arson.
15:33
Overall, legionaries serve as a very reliable counter to
15:37
infantry. Even against samurai.
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They perform extremely well, since the samurai's bonus damage
15:43
against unique units doesn't apply to the legionaries.
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So let's talk a little about the legionaries themselves.
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Historically, Roman legions existed from the 5th century BC
15:55
all. The way into the early 7th
15:57
century AD. Nearly 1200 years long of that
16:03
time, they went through significant changes in
16:06
strengths, composition, equipment, even their names and
16:09
tactics. Early on, they were basically
16:12
the army of a single. City, but later they developed
16:15
into a fully professional military unit.
16:18
Legionaries were career soldiers who either conquered new lands
16:22
for Rome or were called to defend it.
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They were relatively well provided for received.
16:28
Pay and were equipped with some of the best weapons available.
16:33
Most of them were produced in or around Rome.
16:37
I found sources suggesting that some legionaries were recruited
16:40
for specific campaigns, while others served for as long as 25.
16:45
Years. Legionaries were always Roman
16:48
citizens, and they rarely fought alone.
16:51
They were supported by many auxiliary troops, Archers and
16:55
slingers and cavalry and more. And what made them so feared was
16:59
their. Discipline and training.
17:01
They fought in tight formations, often groups of eight.
17:05
But honestly what impressed me the most wasn't even their
17:08
battlefield tactics, it was just how insanely well organized the
17:12
Roman military machine was as a whole.
17:15
Going into that would probably take us too far off track here,
17:20
but let me just say I fell down a massive rabbit hole reading
17:24
one source after another until I felt a bit like Asterix and
17:28
Obelix running around looking for permit.
17:30
A 38. Eventually, I snapped back to
17:33
reality and reminded myself I had a podcast episode to finish.
17:36
So let's wrap up our chapter on the Legionaries for now.
17:41
We'll come back to them later when we talk about the unique
17:44
unit and the unique technologies.
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The Roman scorpions are also among the strongest in the
17:50
entire game. To start with, they cost only
17:54
half the usual amount of gold, a massive discount.
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Usually a scorpion costs 75 gold, but for the Romans it's
18:03
just a bit over 30. That difference is.
18:06
Huge. I recently played a game as the
18:08
Romans. And I often run into the problem
18:11
in early Castle age that I can't quite get siege onto the field,
18:15
usually because I just don't have enough gold.
18:18
The most frustrating moment is when I can barely afford 1
18:21
scorpion, but what I really want is a manganel.
18:24
But in that Roman game, not only was I able to actually afford a
18:27
Manganel at the beginning of Castle Age because of my 5% eco
18:31
bonus, no, I was even able to build not one, but two scorpions
18:37
right away. It was a wild, actually a very
18:41
empowering feeling. After a while, I even built a
18:44
second siege workshop just so I could pump them out fast, simply
18:48
because I could afford it. And again, it's not just that
18:52
scorpions are cheaper. The Romans effectively have 5%
18:56
more gold to work with thanks to their eco bonus, and that really
19:00
adds up. My typical Roman build is to
19:04
drop a siege workshop as soon as possible, start producing your
19:08
scorpions and get to university for Ballistics, and later add a
19:12
second siege workshop before just spamming scorpions like
19:16
there is no tomorrow. As Romans it's not unusual to
19:20
face crossbows or cavalry arches, which makes scorpions
19:24
almost always useful, especially when combined with infantry or
19:28
Knights. Honesty, you can't really overdo
19:32
it with scorpion production since they can also be upgraded
19:35
to Heavy Scorpions in the Imperial Age.
19:38
And then there's the fact that they fire 33% faster thanks to
19:42
their unique technology, Ballistas, which you can
19:45
research already in the castle. Age.
19:48
Back when the Romans were released, this technology also
19:51
gave them Ballistics, so they would benefit from the
19:54
Ballistics technology in the university.
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But since all civilizations scorpions now benefit from
20:01
Ballistics, that effect was made global.
20:03
Chances are we actually have the Romans to thank for that.
20:07
But even that's not all. The team bonus reduces the
20:10
scorpions minimum range from from the usual 2 down to 1, same
20:15
as a skirmisher. As a team bonus, it's probably
20:19
largely irrelevant because it's rare for anyone other than the
20:23
Romans themselves to go heavy scorpions.
20:26
But the other bonuses make Roman scorpions, especially when
20:30
shielded by Roman infantry, a truly versatile weapon.
20:34
They really only hit their limits in the Imperial age when
20:37
gunpowder comes into play thanks to their firing speed, Roman
20:41
scorpions dish out. Huge.
20:43
Amounts of damage and with Ballistics they can reliably hit
20:47
moving units that would otherwise counter them.
20:50
And because of the reduced minimum range, they're not
20:53
totally helpless if a few nights slip through to engage them in
20:56
Malay. And also a pro tip, put your
20:59
mass of scorpions into stagger found formation.
21:03
That helps to always have enough scorpions outside of the minimum
21:08
range and also. If the enemy reaches Imperial
21:11
age and wants to kill your scorpions with onages or bombard
21:16
cannons, you'll lose a lot less scorpions at once.
21:20
But honestly, does it even matter if you lose scorpions in
21:23
the late game when you can reproduce them so cheaply?
21:27
I honestly don't think so, and I've seen some crazy games being
21:31
played by some pro pros with more than 40 or 50 scorpions on
21:36
the field. The Ballista's unique technology
21:40
doesn't just improve scorpions, either.
21:42
It also boosts. Galleys, giving them +2 attack,
21:45
and together with fire galleys it adds plus 1 + 1 armor to the
21:49
dromans as well. These bonuses are mostly useful
21:53
in big ship battles where there's not much room for micro,
21:56
but when micromanagement becomes a factor, the Romans run into a
22:00
little bit of problems. They lack both dry dock and
22:04
bracer, meaning their ships have less range and are a little
22:07
slower. Overall, even with this unique
22:10
technology, I don't consider the Romans be to be particularly
22:15
strong on water maps. At first it was a little.
22:18
Different though, when the Romans were first released, the
22:22
Ballistas technology didn't give the galleys +2 attack, it gave
22:25
them 33% faster fire rate instead, which in my opinion was
22:30
much stronger. Diving into this technology gave
22:34
me an excuse to do some reading about the history of scorpions
22:38
as weapons. I learnt that even the ancient
22:41
Greeks had siege weapons called scorpions.
22:43
The Romans later adopted and developed these weapons further,
22:47
but they called it a ballista. For example, Caesar used
22:51
ballistas during his campaign in Britain.
22:54
These weapons were highly accurate, but they could also be
22:57
fired less precisely at distances.
23:00
Of several 100 meters. They were mostly used at shorter
23:04
ranges though, which makes it historically fitting that now in
23:07
the game they do benefit from Ballistics.
23:10
Their biggest advantage was being able to Pierce heavy
23:14
armor. By the Middle Ages, scorpions or
23:17
ballistas were hardly used anymore since more effective
23:20
siege weapons like onages and trebuchets had taken over.
23:24
Instead, they were mostly repurposed for static defenses,
23:28
mounted and fortress walls or towers.
23:31
So the Romans having a scorpion bonus in the game makes perfect
23:35
sense. They were probably the only
23:38
civilization, or at least one of the few civilizations in Age of
23:41
Empires 2. That actually made widespread
23:44
use of them. Fittingly, in Age of Empires
23:47
One, Scorpions are actually called ballistas, though in that
23:52
game siege weapons other than the stone thrower can only be
23:56
built starting in the Iron Age, which is equivalent to the
23:59
Imperial Age, so the Final Age. I've already mentioned a few
24:03
times that the Roman army was astonishingly well organized and
24:08
well managed. Part of that of course was a
24:10
clear military hierarchy. And while I've also said this is
24:15
a deeply fascinating topic you can easily get lost in, I'll try
24:18
to keep it short here and explain why the Romans unique
24:22
eunist is the Centurion. The Centurion was an officer who
24:27
commanded a so-called century of the Roman Legion.
24:31
Which ironically rarely consisted of 100 men, but
24:36
usually about 80 legionaries. The Latin centum means 100.
24:40
That's where the name centurion comes from.
24:42
Any Roman citizen could become a centurion either by being chosen
24:46
from within the legion. Itself, or by working their way
24:50
up to the officer rank through service.
24:53
The Centurion's tasks were to command the troops, maintain
24:58
discipline and just keep general order.
25:01
His pay was much higher than that of the ordinary legion
25:04
legionaries, sometimes 5 to 20 times as high.
25:09
Now if I wanted to go into more detail, I could tell you about
25:13
the. Fascinating hierarchy among
25:15
centurions because don't think for a second that every
25:18
centurion was equal. There were hastati, principes,
25:23
pili, there were centuries of different ranks and and well, no
25:27
stop. I promise not to get carried
25:29
away, I'm sorry. In Age of Empires 2, the
25:32
Centurion is one of the most expensive gold units in the
25:35
entire game, costing 75 food and a hefty 85 gold.
25:41
It's elite upgrade is also quite something, costing 1100 food and
25:45
900 gold, so 2000 resources in total.
25:50
But the Centurion more than makes up for it.
25:53
It's a heavily armoured cavalry unit, essentially a stronger
25:57
knight with higher Pierce armour.
25:59
Unfortunately they are not really suitable as a replacement
26:02
for Knights since they are so expensive and can only be
26:06
created from castles. So when is it worth?
26:10
Going for the centurions? Well, here's where we circle
26:14
back to the legionaries. Interestingly enough, centurions
26:18
are always worthwhile when you're going for legionaries
26:21
because the centurion has a passive ability.
26:24
That buffs militia line units, militia minute arms, long
26:28
swordsman, and of course legionaries.
26:30
This aura has a radius of 10 tiles, and for the elite version
26:34
it's 12 infantry within that radius gained plus 20% attack
26:39
speed and plus 10% movement speed, or even plus 15% for the
26:44
elite version. You only need one centurion for
26:47
this. Multiple centurions don't stack
26:50
the effect. From a design standpoint, this
26:53
is a really cool way to represent the Roman military
26:57
system in the game. Another neat detail is that in a
27:00
formation with legionaries, the Centurion is always positioned
27:04
behind them, a change made in an update shortly after the Roman
27:08
DLC released, since at first centurions insisted on standing
27:12
in front of the army. Which is quite bad because you
27:15
don't want the Centurion to be killed even more so I'd argue
27:20
you don't even want him to fight, you just want him to
27:23
stand safe and boost the the stats of your legionaries.
27:27
But be careful. If your opponent is also going
27:31
infantry and manages to convert your centurion, they will
27:35
benefit from the aura as well. So what I like to do?
27:39
Is basically have not just one but two or three centurions with
27:46
my army and this is a topic on its own.
27:50
But the way I have my control group set up is usually I have
27:54
the same unit types in one control group and don't like to
27:58
mix different kind of units in the same control.
28:02
Groups even with arches and skirmishes because they feel a
28:06
little different. So what I would usually do is
28:10
have my Legionnaires in one control group and my centurions
28:14
in another, but in this and this only case.
28:18
I would put both my legionaries and my two or three centurions
28:22
into one giant control group and have them move together.
28:28
It doesn't matter that the centurions get much slower
28:31
because of the legionaries because I don't want them to
28:34
fight but to. Stay with the legionaries.
28:37
So for me this is the best solution to get the most out of
28:42
their buff, even though the Centurion is a very strong unit
28:47
on its own. I personally still prefer
28:50
Knights when playing cavalry focused Romans because
28:53
centurions are just too expensive, but in infantry games
28:57
I always try to have at least a few centurions alongside my
29:00
legionaries to buff them. And Speaking of infantry buffs,
29:04
the Romans have another one up their sleeve.
29:07
In the Imperial age, Roman infantry becomes stronger, even
29:11
stronger, thanks to the unique technology Komitatensis.
29:15
This tech gives the Militia, Line Knights and Centurions a
29:19
charged attack that deals +5 damage every 20 seconds on top
29:25
of that. These three unit types are
29:27
created 50% faster. The way I see it, this is a very
29:32
powerful military technology, especially when combined with
29:36
the Centurions aura. It makes legionaries an
29:39
extremely dangerous unit. Think about it this way, the
29:43
Franks with Chivalry get stables that work 40% faster.
29:47
This Roman bonus or technology on the other hand gives your
29:51
units an extra attack every 20 seconds and makes them train 50%
29:56
faster. Of course it's not easy to get
29:59
there, we're talking late post Imperial here with very resource
30:03
and especially gold intensive units and technologies.
30:06
But if you manage it, you end up with one of the most fun armies
30:11
in the game. Naturally.
30:13
Komitatensis is expensive. 700 food and a whooping 800 gold.
30:18
I remember struggling a lot to afford it when going into the
30:21
late game with legionaries as Romans.
30:24
When I was playing a more cavalry plus scorpion style
30:27
though, I often felt like the tech wasn't really worth it and
30:31
that I'd rather spend the resources on trips.
30:34
Maybe that's just my playstyle, but as strong as I think the
30:38
technology is, I rarely manage to get it researched, and if I
30:43
do, it's usually from a position where I'm already so far ahead
30:47
that I probably didn't really need it anymore.
30:50
Historically, the commutatenses were nothing other than the
30:54
mobile field troops of the late Roman Empire, basically the
30:58
successors to the Roman legions. The word itself means companions
31:02
or followers, and these troops were deployed flexibly across
31:07
the empire under Emperor Constantine the First, the same
31:12
Constantine who gave his name to Constantinople.
31:15
The commuter tenses were especially important for
31:18
maintaining control over the vast Roman realm.
31:21
They were often stationed at strategically important points,
31:25
usually inland, so that they could be mobilized quickly.
31:29
They were essentially a rapid response force, which is
31:32
probably the inspiration behind the game's unique technology and
31:36
its speed bonus. Commuter tenses typically
31:40
consisted of both infantry and cavalry, though infantry made-up
31:44
the bulk. I interpret the name of the
31:47
technology as suggesting that the Romans, legionaries and
31:51
Knights in the game represent this new military structure,
31:54
even though historically speaking.
31:57
Legionaries and medieval Knights didn't really coexist.
32:00
But those are just the details, the key point in my eyes, and
32:05
much more important than that little detail.
32:08
Is that this technology reflects the shift in Roman military
32:11
organization during late antiquity from the big,
32:15
relatively static legions to the more mobile and flexible
32:19
comitatenses. Historically, comitatenses
32:22
weren't a technology so much as a structural transformation of
32:25
the military. But I like to see it as an
32:29
administrative or logistical development or technology.
32:33
And honestly, I can't think of a better way to represent the
32:36
Romans. Late military evolution in Age
32:39
of Empires 2. Now that we've.
32:41
Covered all the. Civilization bonuses, unique
32:44
technologies, and the unique units.
32:46
It's time to take a look at how the Romans actually play out.
33:03
When it comes to late game army compositions, the Romans are
33:06
pretty heavily limited to some form of melee unit, ideally
33:11
backed up by scorpions. Without access to bracer or
33:14
gunpowder, the civilization really doesn't have any other
33:18
viable options. The only real alternative to
33:21
infantry is cavalry, and while Roman cavalry does get full
33:25
upgrades. They can't research Hassa or
33:28
Paladin, so I think it's fair to say that Romans are an infantry
33:32
civilization with their power spike either in the castle age
33:36
or in post imperial age, provided they still have access
33:40
to lots of gold. Knights and skirmishes is of
33:44
course a classic composition that you can rarely go wrong
33:47
with if your economy is solid, but for Romans that setup really
33:52
only works in the castle age. The problem is that skirmishes
33:55
fall off hard in Imperial age because they don't have bracer,
33:59
so as Romans you'll almost always prefer to transition to
34:04
Scorpions. The army composition with
34:06
skirmishes mainly comes up if you've survived fuel age with
34:10
mass skirmishes and still have enough leftover that the castle
34:14
age upgrades are worth investing in.
34:17
Most of the time though you'll want to use the Romans strong
34:20
economy to crank out Knights, then back them up with a handful
34:24
of scorpions. Ideally with Ballistics
34:27
researched. That combo quickly turns into a
34:30
deadly army. And don't forget in imperial age
34:33
you can keep scaling it up. Make sure to grab the heavy
34:37
scorpion upgrade and then just don't stop making scorpions.
34:41
I had a game once where I had 25 scorpions next to the base of my
34:45
opponent and and I also might have had another 15 to 20
34:49
scorpions at home to defend myself.
34:52
Trust me, that was a glorious game.
34:55
The same logic applies to infantry, except here massing up
34:59
matters even more than with Knights.
35:01
Normally infantry blobs are counted by arranged units, but
35:05
Romans flip the script thanks to double armor upgrades, faster
35:11
moving militia since the April update, and also improved melee
35:16
pathing and additionally cheaper scorpions.
35:19
This composition can already be dangerous in Castle A.
35:23
Once you hit a critical mass of scorpions, your opponent will
35:26
think twice before trying to deal with your infantry with
35:30
Archers. There aren't many civilization
35:32
that can really counter this. The best bets are civilizations
35:35
with strong gunpowder units, like the Bohemians or the
35:39
Portuguese. From these compositions, the
35:42
Romans general strategies follow naturally.
35:45
They are very merely focused. Sure, in theory you could open
35:50
with Archers, but in practice that's pretty rare and for good
35:53
reason. It almost always comes down to
35:56
melee units, whether mounted or on foot, which can later combine
36:00
with scorpions. Technically Romans do have
36:03
access to cave Archers and castle Age, but without thumb
36:07
ring and without braces in Imperial age, they're just not
36:11
viable. Plus they also lack path in
36:13
tactics. If a Roman player is going Cav
36:16
Archers, it's either because of some very unusual circumstances
36:21
or because something has gone horribly wrong.
36:24
But all right, back to strategies.
36:27
At the start of Castle Age, Romans almost always have an
36:30
economy that outpaces most of the civilizations thanks to
36:34
their more efficient villages that lets them afford to mass
36:38
Knights and overwhelm an opponent early.
36:41
This approach works whether you come out of a scout rush or a
36:44
more defensive fuel age. And thanks to their economy and
36:47
sheep scorpions, Romans also have an easier time than most
36:51
civilizations in dealing with counters to Knights.
36:55
Economic bonuses like the Romans always make.
36:57
Food heavy unit comps feel especially good since they
37:01
usually require big economy anyway.
37:04
That's naturally points Romans towards scouts and Knights.
37:07
The extra food they gather can either fuel more units or get
37:11
you to a stronger castle age power spike earlier.
37:14
Romans can all in from one TC with Knights more effectively
37:18
than many other civilizations, but they also scale very well
37:23
with booming, so it's worth thinking carefully.
37:26
About your wind condition in each matchup.
37:29
Against strong gunpowder civilizations, for example, I'd
37:32
lean toward focusing the game on castle age aggression rather
37:36
than trying to drag it out. And since the Romans economy is
37:40
so good, they can really choose any opening that fits the map or
37:44
match up. But the scariest Roman opener
37:46
has to be the full men at arms rush.
37:50
This works similarly to the classic men at arms into Archers
37:53
play. You drop your barracks.
37:54
Early and start training militia before you even hit fuel age.
37:58
Once you're there, you research the men at arms upgrade and
38:02
instead of going for an archery range you add a.
38:05
Blacksmith and immediately grab the infantry armor upgrade.
38:08
Meanwhile you keep pumping out militia for as long as you see
38:13
fit with their boosted armor. These units barely take damage
38:17
from villages or enemy military, so they can apply a ton of
38:21
pressure. As your economy allows you.
38:24
Can add a second barracks or if enemy Archers start becoming a
38:28
real threat, mix in an Archer range for skirmishes.
38:32
Forward buildings near your opponent are also a good idea if
38:37
you want to apply even more pressure.
38:39
Skirmishes are especially useful here, since they can threaten
38:42
enemy villages hiding behind small walls without going on
38:45
gold. Make no mistake though, this is
38:48
an all in strategy. But ever since the big infantry
38:52
patch back in April this year, this rush has become especially
38:56
deadly. Everyone expects men at arms
38:59
from the Romans, but if you keep investing into men at arms, it
39:03
may come unexpectedly. And if you spawn.
39:06
Relatively close to your opponent.
39:08
It can completely overwhelm them.
39:10
I myself have not played this all in kind of men at arms rush
39:14
with the Romans yet, but. I am the proud owner of three
39:19
losses dying to these rushes. In team games, the Romans are
39:24
almost always locked into the cavalry role.
39:27
Their strong economy pushes them in that direction, and their
39:30
lack of range upgrades leaves them with little choice anyway
39:35
on close maps. Their biggest contribution in
39:37
the late game will be their scorpions, but they'll need help
39:41
from their team mates to deal with siege orages or bombard
39:44
cannons. If you want to get a bit off
39:47
matter with them, Romans can make some flank place.
39:51
Things like armoured men at arms, tower rushes, or even
39:54
castle drops, all of which are a little easier to pull off thanks
39:58
to the global 5% efficiency bonus on water based team maps.
40:02
They can also be picked as a landing civilization while the
40:06
rest of the team fights for water control.
40:08
Overall, though, Romans are fairly predictable in both 1V1
40:12
and team games. Their strengths and weaknesses
40:15
are clearly defined so there isn't a ton of strategic
40:19
variety. That's also why you'll only
40:22
really see them picked in tournaments on certain maps.
40:26
When it comes to map specific performances, there are two map
40:30
types where Romans really struggle in closed maps.
40:33
They simply lack the tools in late game to deal with gunpowder
40:37
units and siege onages now ever since siege underders were made
40:42
a much cheaper. There is a potential surprise
40:44
play with a fast castle into a castle drop plus infantry, but
40:48
we have yet to witness that. And if that push doesn't work,
40:52
it's pretty much game over for the Romans.
40:55
Roman monks are fine, but it's not great.
40:57
They don't have any special bonuses and they can't get
41:01
Heresy or Theocracy, and they also lack sanctity.
41:05
Which gives them a bit of extra health.
41:08
Which is a big drawback if you were hoping for monk crush.
41:12
On hybrid maps. Their biggest weakness is that
41:14
they don't get any demos. That hurts a lot in the early
41:18
game when fighting for fish and water control is so important.
41:22
In fact, aside from Koreans, they are the only civilization
41:25
in the game that can't make any demos.
41:29
On pure water maps, things are looking a little bit better.
41:33
Romans do have some useful bonuses and unique technologies.
41:37
Their more efficient economy helps them with those very tight
41:40
build orders you play on. These kind of maps and demos are
41:44
far less important here than on hybrid maps.
41:47
They've also got solid galleys, especially in the castle age.
41:51
Though the extra armor honestly isn't that impressive since most
41:55
ship damage comes from bonus damage anyway as far as I know.
41:59
Still, once you research the Ballista's unique technology,
42:03
their ships do at least get +2 attack.
42:07
Well, they're they're galleys, not their fire ships, which
42:10
becomes basically mandatory since when you hit the pure age
42:14
you can't research bracer. Even so, without bracer and
42:18
without dry dock, which makes your ships move faster.
42:21
They just can't keep up with the top tier water civilizations.
42:26
Romans biggest strength is possibly on semi closed maps
42:30
like hideout. Here they can really leverage
42:33
their castle H power spike and unlike on renal fortress their
42:37
opponents can't just sit back and safely fast track into
42:41
imperial age to exploit the Romans weaknesses.
42:45
This is where the cavalry plus scorpion or infantry plus
42:49
scorpion composition shines. Even a full feudal all in with
42:53
forward barracks can be effective on these kind of maps.
42:57
They are also strong on mid control maps since their economy
43:00
paired with cavalry can secure the middle.
43:03
Early. That way, even if the opponent
43:05
technically has a better late game, it matters less once the
43:09
gold runs out for the enemy. And if the Romans do manage to
43:13
control a lot of gold, their late game can actually feel
43:17
really fun. On open maps, Romans don't face
43:20
any unique challenges, but they also don't particularly stand
43:24
out that minute. Arms opening works well here,
43:27
but they suffer from a lack of late game options.
43:31
At the same time, they also don't have the kind of early
43:34
game power spikes that other weak late game civilizations
43:37
sometimes rely on. The closer they spawn to their
43:41
opponent, the better it is for the Romans.
43:43
So if you're in a tough matchup but you've spawned near the
43:46
enemy, the best play is usually to crank up the pressure,
43:51
unleash everything in Castle Age, and stop them from reaching
43:56
Imperial. Because, and this can't be said
43:59
often enough, Romans simply can't compete with civilizations
44:03
that can get gunpowder units, no matter how good that global 5%
44:08
efficiency bonus might look on paper.
44:11
As a relatively new civilization, only about two
44:14
years old, the Romans don't yet have the kind of storied history
44:19
and competitive play that some other civilizations can claim.
44:23
Compare them, for example, to the Burgundians, Bengalis, or
44:27
Bohemians who are top tier civilizations on arena, the
44:31
Armenians who shine on water, the Georgians who are excellent
44:35
on mid control maps, or the Dravidians who dominate on
44:38
hybrid maps. Those newer civilizations have
44:41
already carved out clear niches for themselves and produced
44:45
plenty of memorable tournament games.
44:48
The Romans by contrast haven't made quite the same impact in
44:53
tournaments. They mostly appear on maps where
44:56
that Men at Arms power spike in Fuel Age really pays off maps
45:00
with close spawns like currently in Sudden Disaster on SKUSA.
45:05
They were also picked on SKUSA in Wall Odds 4, though only in
45:10
the early playoff rounds since they didn't manage to win a
45:13
single series. Later on in that same event, the
45:17
Romans were picked on Land Madness where they actually did
45:20
secure some victories, likely because their strong economy
45:24
makes cavalry play easier and because the scorpion defence is
45:28
so effective. In the 90s Titans league 4
45:31
despite a very diverse map pool, Romans were only drafted 3 times
45:37
across the entire playoffs, all in rocky forest semi closed map.
45:42
Out of those three games they only won once in the Garrison.
45:47
They were picked three times as well during the playoffs and
45:51
they were played once on Arabia and Land Madness and they lost
45:54
both games but they did manage win on golden streams.
45:59
What stands out most in my memory, though, are matches on
46:02
maps like Dune Springs and the Red Bull Event and Fish and.
46:06
Fish. Those are very open maps with
46:08
valuable central fish resources, and they encouraged a lot of
46:13
high risk, high reward strategies.
46:15
Romans thrived there, with men at arms and tower rushes often
46:19
creating absolute chaos. But overall the story seems
46:24
clear. Romans just haven't played a
46:26
particularly standard role in the competitive scene.
46:30
The rank ladder stats tell a kind of similar story.
46:34
The higher the ELO, the lower the Romans win rate.
46:37
At low and mid ELO, their win rate is among the very best, if
46:41
not the best. But at the top levels, they
46:45
perform worse than most other civilizations.
46:47
The reason is pretty straightforward.
46:49
It just seems like for an average player, the economic
46:53
bonus is incredibly strong, and it makes straightforward
46:57
strategies like night all in almost trivial to execute.
47:02
At higher levels, though, skilled players know exactly how
47:05
to punish the Romans week late game, especially with gunpowder
47:09
units, something that's much harder for less experienced
47:12
players to pull off. My grandfather once told me of
47:17
the Age of Augustus, the emperor who found Rome a city of Bric
47:24
and left it one of marble. Guided by his virtue and
47:30
prudence, Augustus's empire reached new bounds.
47:35
A vast constellation of cities spanning the Mediterranean and
47:39
beyond, it's prosperity and happiness were the envy of
47:44
another. To wrap things up, I usually
47:46
like to talk about the campaigns for each civilization, but in
47:50
the case of the Romans, there isn't actually one.
47:53
Even though they were the only new Age of Empires 2
47:57
civilization added in the Return of Rome DLC, they didn't get
48:01
their own campaign. The reason is that the DLC was
48:05
more about merging Age of Empires One and Age of Empires
48:07
2, and so it bundled in the Age of Empires One campaigns
48:12
instead. Personally I think that was a
48:15
questionable choice. Not so much the merging part,
48:18
which I'm fine with, but the fact that the Romans didn't get
48:21
a dedicated campaign of their own.
48:24
At least we do encounter them as factions in other campaigns.
48:29
In the Hunts campaign Attila the Hunt, the Romans show up in the
48:33
last three missions representing the Western Roman Empire.
48:37
I already talked about this one in the Hunts podcast, so you can
48:40
listen back to that for details. What's worth noting here is that
48:45
before the Return of Rome DLC, those missions had the.
48:47
Byzantine standing in for the Western Romans even though the
48:51
faction was already called Western Roman Empire since the
48:55
DLC. That's now been corrected you.
48:58
Actually fight the Romans themselves.
49:01
Which makes much more sense historically.
49:04
The other major campaign where the Romans appear is the Goths
49:08
campaign Alaric. With the exception of mission 2,
49:11
where you've you're fighting the Eastern Romans represented by
49:17
the Byzantines, you're up against the Romans in missions
49:20
134 and. Five This campaign is all about
49:24
the Gothic invasions against both halves of the Roman Empire.
49:28
Just like in the Hunts campaign, the Western Romans used to be
49:32
represented by the Byzantines, but were switched to the Romans
49:35
after the DLC. I'll go over this campaign in
49:39
detail when we eventually. Get to the Goths episode.
49:44
There's also a scenario in the Victors and Vanquish DLC where
49:46
the Romans play a role. In the Gazirik scenario, you
49:50
play as the Vandals under King Gazirik, raiding Roman
49:54
settlements and even Rome itself.
49:56
Just like in 455 AD, that sack of Rome marked the beginning of
50:02
the end of the Western Roman Empire.
50:04
Here the Romans actually appear in two forms.
50:07
One faction, simply called the Romans, controls 17 settlements
50:11
spread across the map, including the city of Rome, and the other
50:15
faction is indeed the Comitat Tenses, stationed in various
50:20
inland cities as mobile field troops exactly as they were
50:24
historically, and they even fight off hundreds.
50:28
It's a beautiful map with Rome built up as a truly massive city
50:32
and a worthy final target. Now technically speaking, there
50:36
is a Roman Age of Vampires 2 campaign, the Tryon campaign
50:41
which comes via Return of Rome. But this is really an Age of
50:45
Empires One style campaign covering the reign of Marcos
50:48
Ulpios Trayanos from 98 to 117 AD.
50:53
It's exclusive to Return of Rome.
50:55
You won't find it in the original Age of Empires One.
50:59
On the flip side, Age of Empires One has three full Roman
51:03
campaigns that Age of Empires 2 doesn't.
51:05
Rise of Rome, Arva Cesar and Pax Romana totalling 15 scenarios.
51:11
But since all of these missions are just talked about or or
51:16
campaigns belong more to Age of Empires One than two, and you'll
51:20
only play with the Age of Empires One Roman civilization,
51:24
I'll leave them aside for now. They're more the kind of thing
51:28
I'd cover in a trivia episode or a dedicated Age of Empires One
51:31
podcast. As so often happens, though, the
51:36
community has stepped in to fill the gaps left by the developers,
51:41
and there are at least two fantastic custom campaigns for
51:45
Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition that lets you play as
51:48
the Romans. The stand out is Julius Caesar
51:51
campaign, which spans a whooping 12 missions split into two major
51:56
arcs that you can download separately from the mod center.
52:00
Just search for Julius Caesar and you'll find both parts.
52:04
Download them in the remastered edition.
52:07
The first part covers the Gallic Wars.
52:10
The second part follows with the Roman Civil.
52:12
War. Both arcs are based directly on
52:15
Caesar's own writings about these conflicts and wars.
52:19
The missions take you across Iberia, Gaul, Gemania, and even
52:25
Britain, with scenarios ranging from repelling migrations to
52:29
rallying local tribes to your side to fighting pitched battles
52:33
like the Battle of Sabis. Later missions recreate the
52:36
Siege of Alessia, the crossing of the Rubicon, Caesar's
52:40
campaigns in Greece, and finally the Battle of Phar Salos against
52:44
Pompeii. The grand finale takes place in
52:47
Egypt, where Caesar attempts to overthrow Pharaoh Ptolemy the
52:51
13th and put Cleopatra on the throne, complete with some role
52:57
play elements as you infiltrate Alexandria, spark an uprising
53:01
and eventually clash in a massive open.
53:04
Field Battle. It's a truly gigantic campaign
53:08
that takes you across half of Europe and into North Africa.
53:12
Honestly, I can't even do justice to how varied and
53:16
ambitious it is. I'd love to dedicate an entire
53:19
series of episodes just to that campaign.
53:22
But that's not even all. There's actually a second Roman
53:26
campaign, Custom campaign. This one tells the story of
53:30
Iguidius, a Western Roman general from the 5th century
53:33
Goal. The campaign was created by
53:35
Manuel La Carpucha and consists of 6 extensive scenarios.
53:41
It's fully voice acted and honestly just impressive
53:45
production value. You begin as a young Igidius
53:48
serving under General Ateus, helping to lift the Frankish
53:52
siege of the Roman city of Tujorum.
53:55
In the second scenario, Igidius must defend the city of ARS
53:59
against the advances of the Visigoths and Burgundians.
54:03
Later you defend it again, this time against Ritzimel, A
54:06
Germanic Western Roman general. After that, Igidius flees N to
54:12
his family's estates in Gaul, where he has to defeat Roman
54:16
rebels who hold the surrounding towns before turning to face the
54:21
Visigoths. The 5th scenario takes place in
54:25
what is modern day France and features a massive battle.
54:29
Igidius meets Theodoric the Goth outside the Wars of Aurelianorm.
54:36
Today's All Leon 2 Great armies clash on a vast battlefield with
54:41
lovingly detailed terrain and excellent voice work.
54:45
This scenario really gives you the feeling of actually fighting
54:50
not on some random terrain, but an actual battleground.
54:55
In the final mission, Iggy's son must carry on his father's
54:58
legacy and secure what remains of the Roman realm in Northern.
55:02
France. If you do enjoy campaign play, I
55:06
really recommend. Both of these.
55:08
Custom campaigns for the Caesar campaign.
55:11
You'll need to set aside plenty of time though.
55:13
I had actually planned to finish it before recording this podcast
55:16
to give you a more detailed rundown, but I only.
55:19
Made it through the first half and had to research the rest.
55:23
The Igidius campaign is shorter but really well voice acted
55:28
overall. Both campaigns are truly
55:31
remarkable, especially given the level of care and attention to
55:34
detail that went into them. And to be honest, they are way
55:40
better than most of the campaigns that the game gives us
55:43
by default. And that's a wrap on the Roman
55:46
campaigns between Caesar's epic conquest across Gaul, the
55:51
Mediterranean, and even Egypt. And Agidius heroic defence of
55:56
the remnants of the Western Roman Empire and Gaul.
55:59
You can really see the depth and historical flavour the community
56:03
has brought to these custom campaigns.
56:05
They also fill in gaps left by the official content in my
56:09
opinion and give you a chance to experience the Romans in action.
56:13
From tactical maneuvering to large scale battles.
56:17
Even with a little bit of role play.
56:19
So with campaigns, units, strategies, and unique
56:23
technologies covered, I hope this episode has given you a
56:26
solid picture of what the Romans bring to Age of Empires 2, from
56:32
their early game men at arms pressure to late game Legion and
56:35
Scorpion combinations. Their clear strengths and
56:38
weaknesses make them both fun and approachable, especially for
56:42
players who enjoy a strong economic foundation with
56:45
flexible military options. There's always more.
56:48
We could dive into, of course, historical trivia, extra unit
56:53
details. Or obscure strategies, but I'll
56:57
save that for a potential future episode.
57:00
For now, take these insights and see how the romance fit your
57:04
play style, whether it's crushing early feudal rushes or
57:07
dominating mid game with Knights and scorpions.
57:11
Before we go, a quick reminder. Please leave a rating and follow
57:15
the podcast on Spotify. It's a simple freeway to support
57:19
the show. Feedback is always welcome
57:22
whether through Discord, e-mail at age of cast@gmail.com that's
57:27
ageofcast@gmail.com or just a Spotify comment.
57:32
I read them all and often feature them in the next
57:35
magazine episode. I'd be glad to do it for this
57:38
episode again. And if you want to help keep the
57:41
podcast running, consider supporting on
57:44
patreonthatspatreon.com/start the Game already.
57:49
I'm heading off on vacation next week, so there won't be a new
57:53
episode next week, but we'll be back at the start of October
57:57
with more Age of Empires content.
58:00
That'll be the magazine. Thank you so much for listening,
58:04
and I hope you enjoyed exploring the Romans in Age of Empires 2
58:06
as much as I enjoyed putting this episode together.
58:10
And if you're a new listener, then while I'm on vacation, just
58:14
go back and listen to all the other episodes that have already
58:18
been published. For example, about the other two
58:21
civilizations I have already covered the Aztecs and the
58:25
hunts. And with that, I'm heading off.
58:29
See you in the next episode.