You can opt not to play the four
tutorial levels, and jump straight to
Crossing the River Arar.
I strongly recommend you work through
the tutorials. Even if you have
played a few skirmish games, some
features such as siege techniques may
be new.
As with all the tutorials, follow the
instructions that appear in the top
right hand side of the screen. Take
some time to become familiar with
your new units and their special
formations and attacks. Remember
Auxiliary Infantry have a limited
combat ability: They are primarily
engineers used for building and
repairing (and in true Roman style,
making the army look bigger).
Practice troop selection and basic
movement. Running decreases troops'
stamina. Stamina recovers naturally
over time. Make use of key-based
troop groups (CTRL+1-9, then 1-9 to
recall). I tend to assign keys based
on unit type, or at the very least
assign ranged, melee, and special
units to different key groups. While
such groups may seem excessive in
this mission they are almost
essential when fighting with ten or
twenty units, so using them is a good
habit to get into. You will then be
asked to march to the river (2 on the
map above). When you arrive, Agrado
of Talagatta, a Scout, will join your
forces. Use his hawk to scout out the
area close to the bridge (3 on the
map above), revealing a small enemy
force of Gaul Bandits. Use your
spearmen and archers to kill these
enemies, and in doing so, secure the
bridge. (There is no formal way to
capture a bridge, just destroy enemy
units nearby.)
Battles here are quite easy because
you generally out-number the enemy.
Try to experiment with tactics that
play to your troops' strengths.
Archers work best in a stationary
formation protected by a line of
melee troops. In particular, ranged
troops gain an advantage from good
scouting. Very often scouts (in this
case via the hawk) will be able to
spot targets that are within archers'
range, but which those archers cannot
see. This becomes more important
later when attacking enemy positioned
on higher ground or hidden in
vegetation. Spearmen can also be
highly effective in a stationary
formation when the enemy is forced to
attack them. While spearmen will be
successful here in a direct assault
and melee, you may wish to try luring
enemy melee troops into an ambush.
For example, position your Spearmen
in a line on the southern side of the
bridge. Move your archers up behind
the Spearmen and set them to the
stationary position. Your archers
should have the enemy in their range,
luring those enemy into the line of
Spearmen. Where possible, plan your
attacks - you cannot retreat troops
that have been engaged in battle, so
try to get all your fighting troops
into battle at the same time. Keep
your Auxiliary Infantry out of the
battle at this stage.
After the battle, join your two
Spearmen units into one unit. Head
west until you see the enemy unit
hiding in the trees (4 on the map
above). Spearmen cannot enter dense
woodland, so you will need deal with
this enemy using a combination of
archers and Auxiliary Infantry, or
lure the enemy out into the open
(harder because this enemy has a
ranged attack). Your Hawk Scout
cannot spot units hidden in woodland
(for this you would need a Wolf
Scout, not available in this
mission).
Scout the elevated area just to the
north (5 on the map above) to reveal
enemy infantry and bowmen. On the
road just north of the elevated area
there is a further enemy army. Try to
take the elevated area quickly, and
then position your archers upon it.
Your archers will gain a range and
visibility advantage over the enemy,
while the ridge affords them some
protection. Position your remaining
troops on the approach to the
elevated area. Once the battle is
over, move Agrado of Talagatta to the
far north of the map (6 on the map
above) to complete the mission.
