Yeah it’s amazing I run with macedon a lot and the pikes from the royal pikes and flanking 4 shield bearers keep anything from encircling my 12ft sarissa wall about 6- 8 units of pike wide and then having like 4 agrarians or cretans/Thracians are even better just something about them not even able to make a dent in 125 shield bearers armor or 12 ft of spear and then to just watch my cav either slam them or more satisfyingly; the javelin inf give me the biggest thrill seeing them clear right over your pikemen doing minimal if not any friendly fire and it’s amazing just to see the ‘butchery’ as you well put it xD love it also if you ever use pikes and conquer Rome USE gladiatrices 2 to flank your pikes it’s THE best unit for screening between your flanking shield bearers then the pike men they are there to protect. It’s awesome cause they are loose formation ( it’s plus for arrow and projectile fire and also it stops any units in a larger radius from even getting around to pikes compared to a regular screening Thureos/hoplite or “formation toggle on/off” unit) plus they have amazing attack morale and armor for what their light inf purpose is also the two offensive damage and melee attack abilities are a amazing plus with their run speed. I’ve found with the gladiatrices and pikes, shield bearers and right skirmishers no one can defeat it on total war
6:40 slight problem with what you say here, shooting at walls can be extremely effective, especially with javelins. While yes, you will waste ton of ammo, you can also liquidate an entire row of enemy soldiers. Best use when your infantry is just finished climbing, and it starting to hack at the enemy. The enemy faces your infantry, and your javelin downstairs can start hacking them. It works wonders. You can use your skirmishers for meat shield later on, or to support any kind of melee units. Make sure to send the skirmishers to fight first, to tire the enemy and then send your proper infantry.
I disagree with your execution of tactics. I try to save my men from friendly fire whenever possible. Instead I would suggest whipping your javelins to the rear or expending their ammo first and then recalling them until openings are made. Have them attack from the enemy rear.
i like using archers or slingers against walls, but mainly to soften up the enemy before my men climb the wall or to offer some fire suppression on ranged enemies. With the wall defence it's pointless against armored infantry but useful against enemy archers.
I love the part where he says, “don’t waste your javelins on a wolf unit when some oathsworn are coming to kick your fucking head in” I’ve experienced oathsworn kicking my head in and I can sympathize with this. Also I was eating cereal and was drinking the milk and I heard him say that and nearly spat out my milk. Great video man good job
Great guide, although it seems you have left out "Heavy" and "Precision" shot. Would have enjoyed a quick explanation/example of those as well. Regardless, thanks for sharing!
War dogs are great for unleashing on skirmishers on the front. Skirmishers don't retreat behind the enemy line when attacked by dogs. They just stand there and die.
To be fair that's about what most People armed with inaccurate javalines when face with rapidly charging rottweilers (they can outrun german Shepard in a straight dash)
Wow, what a great teaching video! I took notes on all tactics, so I have em handy in heat of battle, and instantly became a superior player. So much better than watching an hour of often fumbling gameplay. You are the man, thank you!!!
Excellent video. You mention several times about saving ammo for the late game, but you do not ever explicitly discuss why this is so advantageous (maybe a worthwhile topic for a video in and of itself). Also, worth mentioning that slingers/archers are one of the best defenses against horse archers and that ammo should be saved if you find yourself up against a steppe faction. Look forward to your other videos!
I've used slingers to destroy Chosen Swordsmen generals by getting them to the rear. The heavy infantry can never catch up and you can completely surround them in a circle as they chase you right into your own killing fields. I also love just cutting down light infantry like butter with some javelins. They dont even have to be particularly good javelins either.
What the fuck am I supposed to do with these shitters later in the battle? I skirmirsh with the enemy, the second I command my archers to attack, their infantry begins charging. So I pull them back, have them sit in center while trying to flank with cav. Then I totally forget about them and they just sit there, fire at will open. What is the point of having them behind infantry if there is such a deadly thing called friendly fire? Why not get rid of them all together and replace them with cav? I also have ZERO IDEA on what to do with cavalry archers.
hiding them in woods and bringing them out when all infantry are fully engaged.. behind their back of course. any missile unit is best attacking from rear. I try to create cul-de-sacs when defending cities and when the enemy is in there, packed.. boom! missiles fly in.
Nice video but those peltasts should release a volley at your cav and decimate it in a matter of seconds, not run away because they dot have a reason for it. Javelins are extremely effective against heavy cav but against low armored, it will smash them to pieces and becaue of their armor and shields, slingers wont harm them so much so that will be worth it for them. More skilled player would now that :) 1 unit of cavalary isnt enought to frighten 3 units of peltasts and make them turn their backs at you. Maybe cataphracts due to their armor but would you risk them for it? Or when you stopped your charge, they coud stop running away and release a volley at you before you run away. Its not worth the risk of losing 1 cav unit simply to inflict a little bit more damage on peltasts because most likely this will go wrong and you will lose even companion cavalary for example. I would happily sacrifice half of my peltast unit for a companion cav. But if you really want to do it... you should stop chase them much earlier to be out of their range. If they will run away immediately like in your video, you achieved your goal anyway. On the other side, if your opponent is more aware of his strength you can use more cav, because he will run away only if he will know you can really harm him but 1 cav against 3 peltats is not a danger :D
I mean, what more do you need? The video tells you which targets you should shoot with them, that you should focus fire with them, try to shoot from flanks as much as possible, conserve ammo when the optimal targets are not yet in range and to avoid firing over your troops. If you're unable to put that knowledge into action by mouse clicks, a video is not going to help you anyway. The only things I can think of to add here are that massed foot archers/slingers are the best counter to horse archers and that javelins will butcher pretty much any cavalry if you can get a volley off without getting charged, especially on the back.
@@jimjambananaslam3596 It is historically inaccurate... "Slingers weak against armor" what? Everyone knows that one of the ways to deal with armor in ancient times was with blunt weapons such as maces, warhammes and polearms. Slingers cause blunt force trauma in real life Slinger can produce over 150 J's of force 100 J to 120 J's is enough to knockout baseball batter when you hit him in the helmet and baseball helmets are designed specifically to resist blunt force trauma. We have documents from Spainiards getting killed by slings while getting hit into the plate armor since the impact alone causes irregular hearthbeat which leads to cardiac arrest and ofcourse Romans killing Heavy Calavry (Parthian prince Pacorus and his bodyguards) But instead they made slingers underrated and crossbows overpowered during later periods because we all know crossbows could penetrate armor even when tests using middle age replicas couldn't do jack shit even to a gambenson.
@@greatdude7279 Great points. On the subject of crossbows: They are only useful in close-quarters or against light armor. They have a lot of potential energy, but it all gets transferred innefficiently, and it loses the energy quickly because bolts are so short.
@@leeham6230 Actually its not that the bolts are small its the fact that power stroke (draw lenght) of a crossbow is very short. European/Arabic crossbows have a bad design but Chinese crossbows especially during Qi dynasty were awesome.
Dont use them at all. Use only meele infantry and cav. Be mobile and always attack, encircle. These extra meele which you traded for skrimishers use as a reserve to fill gaps in line.
Why does watching missile units butcher stuff feels so satisfying?
same reason we love guns and very late replys
Yeah it’s amazing I run with macedon a lot and the pikes from the royal pikes and flanking 4 shield bearers keep anything from encircling my 12ft sarissa wall about 6- 8 units of pike wide and then having like 4 agrarians or cretans/Thracians are even better just something about them not even able to make a dent in 125 shield bearers armor or 12 ft of spear and then to just watch my cav either slam them or more satisfyingly; the javelin inf give me the biggest thrill seeing them clear right over your pikemen doing minimal if not any friendly fire and it’s amazing just to see the ‘butchery’ as you well put it xD love it also if you ever use pikes and conquer Rome USE gladiatrices 2 to flank your pikes it’s THE best unit for screening between your flanking shield bearers then the pike men they are there to protect. It’s awesome cause they are loose formation ( it’s plus for arrow and projectile fire and also it stops any units in a larger radius from even getting around to pikes compared to a regular screening Thureos/hoplite or “formation toggle on/off” unit) plus they have amazing attack morale and armor for what their light inf purpose is also the two offensive damage and melee attack abilities are a amazing plus with their run speed. I’ve found with the gladiatrices and pikes, shield bearers and right skirmishers no one can defeat it on total war
because your great great grandfather was a cretan archer
It's in our genetics. Long-range warfare was apparently the first type to appear among humans.
6:40 slight problem with what you say here, shooting at walls can be extremely effective, especially with javelins. While yes, you will waste ton of ammo, you can also liquidate an entire row of enemy soldiers.
Best use when your infantry is just finished climbing, and it starting to hack at the enemy. The enemy faces your infantry, and your javelin downstairs can start hacking them. It works wonders. You can use your skirmishers for meat shield later on, or to support any kind of melee units. Make sure to send the skirmishers to fight first, to tire the enemy and then send your proper infantry.
I disagree with your execution of tactics. I try to save my men from friendly fire whenever possible. Instead I would suggest whipping your javelins to the rear or expending their ammo first and then recalling them until openings are made. Have them attack from the enemy rear.
i like using archers or slingers against walls, but mainly to soften up the enemy before my men climb the wall or to offer some fire suppression on ranged enemies. With the wall defence it's pointless against armored infantry but useful against enemy archers.
shooting units that are climbed on walls is best done from the side, if you are not inside the city yet.
Love the video. Deserve more views.
Thank you man.
artget1 agree :D
I love the part where he says, “don’t waste your javelins on a wolf unit when some oathsworn are coming to kick your fucking head in” I’ve experienced oathsworn kicking my head in and I can sympathize with this.
Also I was eating cereal and was drinking the milk and I heard him say that and nearly spat out my milk. Great video man good job
3:34. The moment I got sucked in with the thought of "i never use javelins but F*** he's right"
Great guide, although it seems you have left out "Heavy" and "Precision" shot. Would have enjoyed a quick explanation/example of those as well. Regardless, thanks for sharing!
War dogs are great for unleashing on skirmishers on the front. Skirmishers don't retreat behind the enemy line when attacked by dogs. They just stand there and die.
To be fair that's about what most People armed with inaccurate javalines when face with rapidly charging rottweilers (they can outrun german Shepard in a straight dash)
Hmmmph is it a coincidence that I remember a "random horse" from another video?
Wow, what a great teaching video! I took notes on all tactics, so I have em handy in heat of battle, and instantly became a superior player. So much better than watching an hour of often fumbling gameplay. You are the man, thank you!!!
Awesome man. Really improved my game.
Good good! :D Glad this old vid is getting some use.
Excellent video. You mention several times about saving ammo for the late game, but you do not ever explicitly discuss why this is so advantageous (maybe a worthwhile topic for a video in and of itself). Also, worth mentioning that slingers/archers are one of the best defenses against horse archers and that ammo should be saved if you find yourself up against a steppe faction. Look forward to your other videos!
+TheApocalypseShovel Thanks man. Some good points you make. Thanks for the input! I'll keep it in mind.
awesome man, this is what i was looking for
I never even knew friendly fire was a thing in this game... Silly me, thinking my archers would shoot responsibly.
Even tho I’ve played total war games for a long time this video still help LOADS! Thanks for the helpful tips
@7:27 That bro got a jav stuck in his back.. and received another jav. Still living!
Blessings of Athena on you and your hall
Insanely informative and rlly well structured, welldone
I've used slingers to destroy Chosen Swordsmen generals by getting them to the rear. The heavy infantry can never catch up and you can completely surround them in a circle as they chase you right into your own killing fields. I also love just cutting down light infantry like butter with some javelins. They dont even have to be particularly good javelins either.
What the fuck am I supposed to do with these shitters later in the battle? I skirmirsh with the enemy, the second I command my archers to attack, their infantry begins charging. So I pull them back, have them sit in center while trying to flank with cav. Then I totally forget about them and they just sit there, fire at will open. What is the point of having them behind infantry if there is such a deadly thing called friendly fire? Why not get rid of them all together and replace them with cav? I also have ZERO IDEA on what to do with cavalry archers.
Thank you and much appreciation for your videos they have helped out alot.
Wow, Total War watched this, that’s cool I guess.
Probably one of the best guide videos for total war rome 2
Oh, I just used them as bait for enemy fire 😂
Its interesting to see how dated Rome 2 looks after Warhammer 1 + 2
I don't think it's bad at all.
great video for beginners like me, thanks
Thanks for tips im new so this is very help me
hiding them in woods and bringing them out when all infantry are fully engaged.. behind their back of course. any missile unit is best attacking from rear. I try to create cul-de-sacs when defending cities and when the enemy is in there, packed.. boom! missiles fly in.
Nice video but those peltasts should release a volley at your cav and decimate it in a matter of seconds, not run away because they dot have a reason for it. Javelins are extremely effective against heavy cav but against low armored, it will smash them to pieces and becaue of their armor and shields, slingers wont harm them so much so that will be worth it for them. More skilled player would now that :) 1 unit of cavalary isnt enought to frighten 3 units of peltasts and make them turn their backs at you. Maybe cataphracts due to their armor but would you risk them for it? Or when you stopped your charge, they coud stop running away and release a volley at you before you run away. Its not worth the risk of losing 1 cav unit simply to inflict a little bit more damage on peltasts because most likely this will go wrong and you will lose even companion cavalary for example. I would happily sacrifice half of my peltast unit for a companion cav. But if you really want to do it... you should stop chase them much earlier to be out of their range. If they will run away immediately like in your video, you achieved your goal anyway. On the other side, if your opponent is more aware of his strength you can use more cav, because he will run away only if he will know you can really harm him but 1 cav against 3 peltats is not a danger :D
Just started playing Rome 2, so drop whatever you're doing Zerk - I'm going to need more tutorial videos from you. 😁
very nice video! Thanks! Does this apply to Rome 1 too?
Very useful, thanks!
I wish all of youtube was as good, thoughtful and useful as this video.
I liked to keep the skirmish lines long and thin to pass back through the lines stupid easy
Dude. This is brilliant
Haha thanks. What an oldie!
Great video!!
But what about them bone giants?
Thank you and well done👍
Really good vid thx
just use heavy arrows
good guide
Muchas gracias.
nice video!
giving us info about them isnt the same as telling us how to use them. The info you did provide about how to use them doesnt even count as barebones.
I mean, what more do you need? The video tells you which targets you should shoot with them, that you should focus fire with them, try to shoot from flanks as much as possible, conserve ammo when the optimal targets are not yet in range and to avoid firing over your troops. If you're unable to put that knowledge into action by mouse clicks, a video is not going to help you anyway.
The only things I can think of to add here are that massed foot archers/slingers are the best counter to horse archers and that javelins will butcher pretty much any cavalry if you can get a volley off without getting charged, especially on the back.
ffs, you didnt do the wall trap right........youre meant to have a phalanx at the bottom, not standard infantry
Adding slingers was the dumbest thing CA has ever done
They are amazing what are you talking about?
It would be really dumb and historically inaccurate not to include them.
@@jimjambananaslam3596
It is historically inaccurate... "Slingers weak against armor" what? Everyone knows that one of the ways to deal with armor in ancient times was with blunt weapons such as maces, warhammes and polearms. Slingers cause blunt force trauma in real life Slinger can produce over 150 J's of force 100 J to 120 J's is enough to knockout baseball batter when you hit him in the helmet and baseball helmets are designed specifically to resist blunt force trauma. We have documents from Spainiards getting killed by slings while getting hit into the plate armor since the impact alone causes irregular hearthbeat which leads to cardiac arrest and ofcourse Romans killing Heavy Calavry (Parthian prince Pacorus and his bodyguards)
But instead they made slingers underrated and crossbows overpowered during later periods because we all know crossbows could penetrate armor even when tests using middle age replicas couldn't do jack shit even to a gambenson.
@@greatdude7279 Great points. On the subject of crossbows: They are only useful in close-quarters or against light armor. They have a lot of potential energy, but it all gets transferred innefficiently, and it loses the energy quickly because bolts are so short.
@@leeham6230
Actually its not that the bolts are small its the fact that power stroke (draw lenght) of a crossbow is very short.
European/Arabic crossbows have a bad design but Chinese crossbows especially during Qi dynasty were awesome.
Dont use them at all.
Use only meele infantry and cav.
Be mobile and always attack, encircle.
These extra meele which you traded for skrimishers use as a reserve to fill gaps in line.
Hey I got problem. My AI just keep throwing slinger to my troops for 25 MINUTES long none stop like WTF? Aren't they has infinite ammos or what?