As a consequence of small unit size, players often use tactics such as placing phalanx units in a tight box, something that caught on especially well with multiplayer battles.Ī second notable deviation from realism is the strength of cavalry in battles. In actual battles, the phalanx lines could be miles long – making i t much more difficult to surround. However, due to the limitations on battle size, phalanxes are less effective because they can be easily outmaneuvered and outflanked, especially with cavalry. In Rome: Total War, phalanx units are ubiquitous across several armies. The reduction in the amount of men has dramatic consequences on the tactics employed in battle. In actual history, most battles were on the magnitude of tens of thousands of men.

While it is possible to have battles with over ten thousand soldiers in custom games or multiplayer mode, most battles in single player or practical multiplayer are fought with less than six thousand men. While battles in Rome are nothing short of spectacular, at least for its time, they lack crucial realism in terms of army size due to technical. In Rome: Total War, such barriers are not accurately implemented, thus allowing the player to create empires of very unusual boundaries. For example, the Romans were unable to continue their conquest of Germania due to overextension logistical difficulties.

In actuality, conquest of foreign territory could be very slow and difficult due to supply lines natural defenses. In Rome: Total War, armies attacking foreign provinces suffer no actual logistical disadvantages. Another element of unrealism is that the travel rate of armies is not realistic.Īnother key shortcoming in realism is that regional defenses and logistics are not properly implemented. In actual history, however, warfare was often sporadic and continuous warfare was not possible to wage due to the amount of resources required.

For a skilled player, it is possible to sweep the entire map, controlling every single province within a period of seventy years by continuously waging war. In a typical game, the player often continuously waged war against opponent factions. First, the timescale of the campaign does not represent actual war and peace times in the ancient world. While Rome’s campaign map offered greater precision for agents and armies to travel on the map than its predecessor, the campaign concept has a number of elements that stray from realism.

Rome total war starting map