You'll have to march through well-defended territory in the Appenines to get there. The Senones historically sacked Rome in 386 B.C., but getting to Rome isn't as easy as it looks. You'll need to fight quite a bit in the early-game, but you can use this faction for a methodical mid-game strategy very easily. However, this faction also has the powerful (and non-playable) Carthaginians to deal with. Syracuse has a strong starting position and is great for a player who combines naval prowess with a good ability to build and consolidate. This is the faction for the more settled, “ civilized”, methodical Total War player who likes limited wars and consolidating conquests. The Tarchuna start with control of a big chunk of territory and a southern flank ripe for conquest, as the Romans do battle with Veii and the Volsci. If you're fairly adept at naval conquest, you can strike anywhere at any time with this faction, either expanding your empire or making big money raiding and sacking. Likewise, the Veneti have the northeastern corner of the map at their back, giving a similar advantage to a player that only has to look in one direction. If you like systemic conquest and simplified strategic goals, this is the faction to pick. The Insubres start safely nestled up against the top of the map, meaning you'll only be fighting in one direction: southward into Italy. Choosing A FactionĪs with Rome II's base game, this DLC helpfully lets you know which factions are going to be relatively easy to handle and which ones are going to be early-game nightmares.

And while the main draw here is to take control of the Romans when they're still just a minor player in a region of central Italy still dominated by the Etruscans, there's nothing stopping the player from giving history one heck of a rewrite.īut when looking at Rise of the Republic for the first time, it's easy to get overwhelmed, so here's a quick guide to picking a faction and getting to grips with the new mechanics that Rise of the Republic introduces.

Total war rome 2 rise of the republic