Julii (RTW Faction)

House of Julii Faction Symbol.

The Julii are one of the three playable factions in Rome: Total War that are playable from the beginning (the other two, of course, being the other Roman Houses, the Brutii and Scipii).

Gameplay

Being one of the three Roman families, the House of the Julii will receive missions from the Senate, and will be forced to deal with the consequences of not completing them.

At a certain point during the game, the Senate will demand that your faction leader commit suicide. If you accept their demand, the heir will become the faction leader and the process will be renewed several years later. If you refuse, you will initiate the Civil War, a gameplay mechanic unique to the Roman factions. It should be noted that, once your popularity with the people is high enough, you can simply initiate the Civil War by attacking another Roman faction. Also, if you are playing as another faction the Civil War will not take place.

Starting Position

Julii Starting Position (Click to enlarge)

The Julii are originally based in northern Italy. They hold two settlements, Ariminium and Arretium (their capital city).

Victory Conditions

• Long Campaign: Hold 50 provinces including Rome.
• Short Campaign: Hold 15 provinces and outlast or destroy Gauls.

Units

House of Julii General's Bodyguard.

All of the Roman factions share the same unit roster. The Roman factions are unique, however, in that once you construct an Imperial Palace in any of your Italian cities you will receive a message informing you that the Marian reforms have taken place. The Marian Reforms introduce a more powerful roster of heavy infantry units (such as the Legionary Cohort), which replace your older-style legions. Any older units will not be automatically replaced, they will simply continue to exist, but you are not able to train any more.

• Pre-Marian Units
  • Infantry
    • Peasants
    • Town Watch
    • Hastati
    • Principes
    • Triarii
    • Samnite Gladiators
  • Missile
    • Velites
    • Roman Archers
    • Ballistas
    • Scorpions
    • Onagers
    • Heavy Onagers
    • Repeating Ballistas
  • Cavalry
    • Equites
    • Cavalry Auxilia
  • Special Units
    • Arcani
    • Wardogs
    • Incendiary Pigs

• Post-Marian Units
  • Infantry
    • Auxilia
    • Early Legionary Cohort
    • Legionary Cohort
    • Praetorian Guard
    • Urban Cohorts
    • Early Legionary First Cohort
    • Legionary First Cohort
    • Arcani
  • Missile
    • Light Auxilia
    • Archer Auxilia
  • Cavalry
    • Roman Cavalry
    • Legionary Cavalry
    • Praetorian Cavalry
    • Armoured General's Bodyguard

Unique Units

Samnite Gladiators: Every Roman faction has its own unique type of gladiator. Samnite Gladiators are can be recruited once you build an Amphitheatre in a settlement.

Arcani: The Arcani are a unit unique to the Julii. They are able to hide anywhere on the battlefield and can have a frightening effect on enemy units. They are also powerful warriors, though units of Arcani include very few soldiers, as a result.

Urban cohorts: They are the strongest sword unit in the game with great defense and stamina. If you use these for flanking actions you will win against any fhalanx unit. From the front against you dont use their full potential. Urbans are so strong that they dont need many upgrades.

Legionary first cohorts:These cohorts bring more men to the battlefield than the other cohorts and as a result have higher firepower punch than the other cohorts. They also inspire other units to stand firm longer they have also more men this unit is ideal pila fodder in loose formation. The reason they are ideal pila fodder is because they are ordinary legionaries not urbans or preatorian cohort. However the pila is still deadly and you can kill better men with lesser men.

Praetorian cav is the best roman cav availible to the romans they can take on almost any cav unit in the game. When they have infantry cohorts in support they are slmost invinible in a 1 vs 1 cav figt.

Praetorian cohort is almost as strong as urbans with almost the same pila damage as urbans use this unit to kill eagles or use them to exchange pila with urbans saving your own urbans giving you superior infantry quality compared to the other roman player.

Strategy Guides

A campaign strategy guide for the House of Julii written by morble can be found here.

Best roman multiplayer army by Andre Lemgard

Remember that the strength of a roman army is its flexibility and everyone must admit that every faction fights in a diffrent way.

Hellenistic factions like Macedon Selucid empire relies on hammer and anvil strikes.

Babarian factions relies on morale benefits and flanking actions with its infantry being the hammer and cavalry as the anvil on the flanks.

Roman factions has one key advantage and that they have strong archers strong infantry and strong cavalry that is also well protected of course i am talking about the late roman army. And this is what stands out compared with the other factions.

The best infantry in a multiplayer is not Urbans but Legionary first cohorts! Yes 1 on 1 Urbans are better but the fact that legionary first cohort has more men and more firepower than the Urbans and this will be a huge advantage against Hellenistic infantry and these first cohorts will inspire each other to higher deeds of bravery.

Because after the first controlled volley of pila you have numerical superiority. Before you throw the second volley press halt and then control the pila fire once again. The reason is simple once close combat has begun enemy troops will no longer be prepared for missile fire this volley will make gaps that your infantry can exploit.

Best missile unit is Archer Auxillria well protected longer range and a better punch than Cretan archers of the Macedonians and Greek cities.

Let the archers fire at will while your infantry advances but then hold fire and target the enemy cavalry. Hellenistic faction relies on its cavalry to make the enemy rout since the phalanx is inflexible and once you out flank the enemy phalanx unit with an other unit once the target enemy infantry unit is engaged from the front you will win.

As I already said Legionary first cohorts have more men and cover more ground as a result fewer units of infantry can pin more enemy phalanx units if you while you are advancing gradually stretch your infantry to only 3 line deep formation and remember never place infantry melee units behind one another.

Focus on winning the battle from the start and never have reserves because the enemy will use all of his troops at once and he will have more men fighting at once than you if you keep infantry reserves. You don't want that do you?

Best heavy cavalry unit is the Generals bodyguard but they are not meant to fight head on. Your main heavy cavalry should be Legionary cavalry to pin the enemy cavalry from the front while the bodyguard strike at the rear.

Focus your upgrades on the cavalry because they are more mobile than infantry. If you crush the Hellenistic cavalry you will win. Hellenistic infantry are only good from the front where their 5 rows can fight at once. From the front Hellenistic infantry will win against legionaries.

So flank their infantry with a couple of cohorts if you can and support them with cavalry and archers. Use combined arms and never rely on upgraded infantry alone.

Now bring victory and glory to Rome!