Meta Review: Heir's Battle Basics

Merry Christmas!

Let's celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace with another helping of Total War: Rome II goodness:

In terms of beginnings, Heir of Carthage has a couple of good videos specifically aimed toward newcomers to Total War: Rome II that I wanted to discuss. Of course, you can pick up a significant amount of knowledge en passant by simply watching his online battles and such, but these videos approach the subject in a more systematic manner.  The first covers Army Selection Tips:

This video is designed for people who are beginners in the truest sense of the word, but Messr Heir does his typical excellent job of clearly and comprehensively explaining how to put together an army in Total War: Rome II.  He also prefaces the video by stating, "There is no one good army and there is no one good faction."  Messr Heir breaks down the various unit types, their different statistics, and comparative strengths.  He also briefly discusses how you might use certain units to your advantage in different situations.  Included is a quick battle where he attempts to illustrate these points.


As a companion to the first video, Heir of Carthage also put out another video covering Battle Basics, the basic mechanical issues for running a battle in Total War: Rome II:

In addition to expounding on some details from the first video (such as explaining various unit special abilities), here Messr Heir clearly explains the various screens, panels and buttons in the game interface, and also discusses information that might come up, and how to group, manage and maneuver your army in during battles.  Included once more is a quick battle where he illustrates these points.

So, for investing less than an hour, someone can watch these videos to pick up a basic overview of the mechanics Total War: Rome II.  These tutorials are an excellent springboard to better understanding how the game works and what you're actually seeing on screen.

Joyeux Noël!

SC's Parting Shot: 9 of 10

Meta Review: Heir's Faction Focus

I'm calling this a "Meta Review," since it's my $0.02 on Heir of Carthage's review of the playable factions in Total War: Rome II.

In terms of Total War: Rome II itself, I think it's a fun and great looking game: actually, the visuals are one of the inspirations for my homebrew Olde School Dungeons & Dragons, and part of the reason that I shifted the campaign setting from medieval to iron age.  Another thing that I like about the game is the ability for players to use some real tactics, such as Hammer and Anvil strikes.

While there are many folks doing video commentaries of Total War: Rome II, I particularly like Heir of Carthage's body of work because he is quite humble (he freely admits that he's not the best player, though he is still quite skilled).    Here is a review, of the Nervii, where he does a good job of reacting quickly to a changing situation:

Though Heir's Nervii army build was intended to be defensive, when he sees an opportunity, he pushes his infantry forward.  Then, after getting his light cavalry around the flank to slow down the  retreating enemy infantry, Heir is able to destroy his opponent's center in detail.

Another big point is the learning aspect for the viewer: Messr Heir takes the time to explain what he's doing and why, and what he could have done better.  Moreover, he also freely points out where he makes other mistakes and he's not afraid to experiment with unconventional army builds for fun.

Another thing that I really like is how Heir is gracious in both victory and defeat, as you can see here where he plays as the Selecuids against Egypt:

In terms of Heir's review of the factions, Messr Heir has a pretty thorough knowledge of the stats, capabilities and relative economic costs of the various unit types and he goes through the ins-and-outs of each unit of each faction, doing a pretty comphrensive job for each faction.  After a quick battle where he attempts to illustrate these points, he also does a rundown of the faction's relative advantages and disadvantages vis-à-vis the other factions.

So, I think watching Heir's Faction Focus might be helpful to someone who already has a basic knowledge of Total War: Rome II and who wants some advanced knowledge and a quick but fairly comprehensive rundown of a  specific faction.

SC's Parting Shot: 10 of 10