Rome 2 has gone from a game that was poorly optimized yet received critical acclaim to a game that is pretty nice, even though it took a complete year to fully patch it. Nevertheless, the mechanics that Rome 2 brings is different than its predecessor, Shogun 2. After a few patches, the game speed was returned to normal. When the game was released, weapon damage was introduced.

I was very skeptical about investing so much time into Rome 2 at first, but when Emperor Edition came out, I enjoyed the fully optimized game and quickly took this opportunity to learn the most I could about the game. 2.5k hours into the game later and I have been able to take a lot from this game and now I want to share my knowledge with you.



As stated in the description, this is not my first Total War game. The very first one I had was Napoleon, and I brought my experience from that game over to Shogun 2, then that experience (which was pretty bad because of the game speed) over to Rome 2, where I found out that I could not always have the same approach. Nevertheless, with every Total War game, you learn just a bit more, and after a while I bought Attila and the tactics that I used in Rome 2 worked quite well in Attila for a while.

I hope you guys enjoy this guide because I enjoyed writing it.

Not revised as of May 23, 2016.
Update - Sparta to Lusitani - May 4, 2016.
Update - The Iceni to Roxolani - May 5, 2016.
Update - Etruscan League, guide finished but may be revised - May 23, 2016.
Update - Started adding pictures to factions that didn't have them - September 28, 2016.
Update - 1k views, 18 favourites - November 19, 2016.

Rome
Rome is the faction that the game is based off of. As is the tradition with all factions that are the main focus of a game, Rome is very strong and does not have a lot of noticeable drawbacks. Rome is the perfect faction for new players; even if you’re not new to the Total War series, start off with Rome to learn how the game works. The Romans’ main strength comes from their very heavy, armoured melee units, especially the Legionnaires who will most likely make up the bulk of your army. Because they rely on very heavy units, it may be a good idea to invest in lighter units in other places, such as skirmishers or cavalry. Rome’s auxiliaries do this for them. Auxiliary cav are heavy but are quite useful and better than Legionary cav. The Balearic slingers and Syrian archers enable Rome to engage at longer ranges. Numidian cav are great for harassing enemy cav or elephants and perhaps making them run amok into their own lines.
Of course, Rome does have its drawbacks. Relying too much on very heavy infantry makes you much more immobile than the barbarians who can use this as an opportunity to flank and hit your rear. Relying too much on auxiliaries or lighter units makes your army less able to hold off enemy attacks, something that the Hellenic factions will use to their advantage. Also, one must take into consideration their melee defence. Overall, it is average, but unlike other factions, Rome cannot boost it using abilities (unless you have purchased the Caesar in Gaul DLC). Their biggest disadvantage is when they get separated; you will see why mainly if you play the historical battle Teutoburg Forest. Rome works best as an army, but when they are separated, the “Divide and conquer” principle comes into effect. Rome is less likely to capitulate if their enemies can be kept at the front (with the exception of pikemen), but when you try to charge a unit that is not in front of you, your line starts to break and that unit that most likely has bad melee defence will get hit a lot.
To summarize, a pro Roman player is a danger to all, but somebody that knows Rome’s weakness can beat someone that does not.
Beats: Ardiaei, Pontus, Epirus
Loses to: Parthia, Nomads, Seleucids

Carthage
Arguably my most favourite faction because of what they bring to the table; versatility. Unlike Rome, Carthage relies heavily on their mercenaries. Without them, you would have a faction that mimics Rome but has stronger spears and better javelinmen. Carthage has access to, in my opinion, the best mid-tier medium melee unit in the game (Scutarii) which allows them to have potent second line infantry that can be used for flanking maneuvers should they see fit, a deadly high-tier melee unit (Noble Fighters), and great cavalry (Numidian Noble Cavalry or Scutarii Cavalry). Carthage is a Hellenic faction that is in Africa (like Egypt), so they have access to African elephants, which can be useful if you use them right, but they aren’t always necessary. Carthage also has access to a handful of barbaric units, meaning they can keep you guessing even before the battle begins. Because they are a hybrid faction (they have all culture types), Carthage has a unit or units that can answer enemy units.
With this versatility, however, you have to be smart. Rome can out-specialize you in the heavy infantry game, the barbarians can be more offensive than you in certain circumstances, the eastern factions can bring heavier cavalry, and the Hellenic factions can bring better spear units. Most of the time, you will be outdone in certain areas, so you have to try to find a way around it. Rome has better heavy melee infantry, but not spears. Rome can tank melee engagements, but they are not as flexible as most of Carthage’s melee units. The Hellenic factions overall have access to better hoplites (the exception being regular hoplites) but hoplites rely on the phalanx to win engagements, especially against melee units, and they don’t have precursors (javelins). The Successors in general rely on a mixture of pikemen and shock cavalry, but their mid-tier melee cav can still be beaten by Carthage’s. The eastern factions will be able to hit hard with their shock cav but their melee infantry are lackluster, meaning you can bring Scutarii and still expect to beat 3-4 units from most armies.
To summarize, be smart but be cautious; to excel with Carthage, you must know the game and other factions’ strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, I do not recommend playing as Carthage if you are new to Rome 2, unless you feel the need to try them out.
Beats: All (slightly)
Loses to: none (slightly)

Gauls:
Overall, the Gauls are your basic barbaric factions; they have higher weapon damage, better charge bonuses, and better melee defence than the Romans, but they do not have the melee attack or armour. The Gauls rely on their melee infantry, although they range from medium-very heavy. All of the Gallic factions have an anti-infantry unit (Naked Warriors/Swords). The Gauls also have a nice selection of spears, who also have the Counter-Cavalry Tactics which boosts your bonus vs cav by 20 (or by 50 if you use Nervii Naked Spears). The Gauls are dangerous initially but over the course of a battle they will lose their ferocity and can lose to factions that are not as hard-hitting, like the Greek City-states. Although they have great melee stats, some of which are better than the Hellenic factions’ own units, if their general dies in the heat of battle, their units take a morale hit of -30 because they are not disciplined, meaning you will want to kill their general as quickly as possible. If you’re trying to learn how to be offensive, you might want to play as the following factions.

Arverni
The Arverni are my go-to Gallic faction. They are perhaps the most reliable of the Gauls, although I don’t use them too much anymore. They are your basic Gallic faction, and therefore the standard barbaric faction overall. The Arverni are offensive with good defensive stats. Whenever you’re calculating whether or not their melee or spear units can beat an enemy unit, it usually comes down to weapon damage, and all of their melee units can one-hit either a low-tier or medium-tier unit on the charge. Of course, this is model-wise, not an entire unit; only shock cavalry are devastating enough to do such damage. They also have a special unit; Gallic hunters. Gallic hunters have 150 range, but can deploy anywhere and are great for stealthy kills, especially against good archers or other high targets. They are also the only faction in the base game that have Oathsworn; every other faction that has it are DLC factions.
Their weakness is apparent when you’re fighting Rome. In a prolonged fight with no damage done prior to engagements, their core unit (Chosen Swordsmen) will lose to Rome’s post-marian core unit (Legionaries) unless you use shieldwall, which occasionally glitches if you don’t have a good charge or if you get charged by cavalry and then infantry. They also lack the flexibility of the Iberians, who have less armour but better melee stats and do not require shieldwall. Of course, cavalry are less likely to charge you frontally if you have spears there because pulling out of braced spears hurts cavalry a lot, thanks to the hidden bonus vs rear mechanic.
To summarize, the Arverni are most likely the most straightforward barbaric faction in the game. Give them a try; you may or may not like their units and/or game plan, but they can do quite well for themselves.
Beats: Seleucids
Loses to: Arevaci

Nervii
The Nervii are a hard-hitting but anticlimactic faction. They sacrifice some defensive powers to be more offensive, and it works well for them to a certain extent. The biggest difference between the Nervii and other Gallic tribes is the fact that they have partial Germanic ferocity in them. They also have a pretty good Germanic unit (Spear Brothers) and a mercenary Germanic unit (Germanic Scout Cav). The Nervii’s core unit has more melee attack than any other Gallic unit, but does not have the same armour, meaning you’ll have to do enough damage initially to tip the balance in your favour. They also have Gallic hunters which helps provoke an enemy into attacking you.
The Nervii’s weakness is the same as the Arverni’s except it is more extreme. The Nervii must get a decisive charge or else they will lose in the middle of combat. The core unit dies faster than the Arverni’s, and although they do have a guerilla melee unit, this unit lacks more armour, although it does have more defence, making it useful for flanking and hitting rears rather than frontal engagements. Do not be mislead if you are winning a fight early on because a lot of factors can take battles from you. If a unit has formation attack ON, they will survive the charge longer, meaning that it is possible for said unit to make a comeback later on. If your opponent has archers, they will hurt most of your units before, during, and after combat.
To summarize, try to use this faction’s great charge, great weapon damage to full extent, whether it be by using frenzy before a charge, or by suiciding a cavalry unit to focus an enemy’s precursors on it so your melee units can charge in without taking precursors damage (although they can still get counter charged). Don’t charge from a far distance. Get into about 60-75 meters of your enemy before making the attempt, as anything farther than that will most likely hurt you. I’d recommend playing as these guys after winning a few battles as the Arverni.
Beats: Arevaci
Loses to: Pontus

Boii
When I first played as the Boii, I liked the fact that they were more one-sided than the Arverni. The Boii now are slightly different but still have that characteristic. Although they have a better core unit and a slightly better spear unit, they don’t have a high-tier spear unit nor do they have Gallic hunters. Their core unit also has less melee defence than the Arverni’s, yet this isn’t a big deal because it does not go below the lowest possible hit chance. Their cavalry component is the same as the Arverni, so spears are essential to tip fights in your favour. The Boii have the best selection of melee infantry out of all the Gauls; they no longer have short swords (a similar unit was given to the Suebi) but now they have axe warriors who have the armour piercing ability. They are best used on the flanks or as second line infantry against armoured opponents.
The Boii’s core unit does cost 50 more talents than the Arverni’s, which might hurt you when you’re looking to get other units, so be weary of that. Also, the lack of Gallic hunters kinda hurts the Boii because they don’t have any other high-tier skirmishing unit. You could be unorthodox and bring Celtic bows but I’d only recommend those when you’re going up against a Hellenic faction that can bring good pikemen (Successors, Epirus). The Boii need shieldwall more than the Arverni do because their melee defence is low already. Axe warriors can be sturdy flanking units, but they don’t do well against cavalry, so it is advisable to avoid them if you can. Be careful when you’re fighting the Iceni as they have chariots which can hurt you if you don’t have a second line of infantry.
To summarize, the Boii are a step up from the Arverni in the melee infantry game but a step down in the skirmisher game. Try to close the distance ASAP against factions with better skirmishers. Always look for opportunities to flank, which is always possible with cavalry. If you’re good with the Arverni, give these guys a try.
Beats: Macedon
Loses to: Iceni

Galatia
The Galatians are renowned throughout the Eastern world (as well as in Egypt) as great mercenaries and hardy warriors. This is most likely because the Eastern factions had no contact with the northern barbarians but only with the Nomads (who are also great mercenaries). The Galatians are different from any other barbaric faction. They are the only faction that has a barbaric unit with formation attack, and said barbaric unit works in the exact same way the Rome’s core units work, except it is better. Galatian Legionaries are your core unit. At a staggering 800 talents, you have a unit that has high attack and weapon damage, great melee defence, and average armour. They also have shieldwall and the option to turn off formation attack, making the way you approach opponents different. Galatia relies on these units, so its advisable to bring a good amount of them. They also have access to the great Cappadocian cavalry, albeit as mercenaries. Cappadocian cav are the best heavy (not very heavy) cavalry in the game. They also have great javelin cav which are mainly used to do a substantial amount of damage to the rear of opponents or chase down light skirmishers or even heavy horse archers and can harass elephants.
Galatia does not have Oathsworn, something that the other Gallic factions have. Also, they have the most expensive core unit out of all of the Gauls. They do not have Celtic warriors, although they do have Galatian swordsmen which are different from their Egyptian counterpart. Galatia can hold for a while, but they don’t have great flanking options of their own, meaning that like Rome, they will rely on their very heavy units to win the day. Galatia does have access to Syrian archers as mercenaries, but be careful with how much you invest in them as you can bring slingers and still be effective.
To summarize, when flanking is not an option, push. When flanking is an option, consider how it would help your core units, if it can at all. Galatia is a faction worth trying, but it would be best to learn Rome’s gameplay first.
Beats:
Loses to: Tylis (possibly)

Balkans
The Balkan factions (Modern day Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey), are much more diverse than the Gauls. They are much more specialized than the Gauls are and pose a threat in all phases of a battle. They are also a bit harder to play as due to the fact that it isn’t easy to tell what their true strengths are right off the bat. However, with a bit of testing and a lot of patience, I was able to use each faction better than I had initially used them to. The Balkan factions’ main strength in my opinion is the fact that you can do a lot of weird things with them and still win a battle. You can charge and hold with spears while you use cavalry to hammer and anvil opponents or you can banzai low tier spears into a fight to allow unshielded melee units to get in unopposed. In all cases, learn each faction’s strength and weakness and you should do just fine.

Getae
The Getae are the only free Balkan faction. Their core consists of spear unit but they do have a high-tier melee unit. Their biggest strength is the fact that they are the only barbaric faction (excluding the Nomads) that have shock cavalry. Their shock cavalry unit is quite dangerous when you think about the cost of their spear units. Although they do not have good melee attack on average, with a decisive hammer and anvil tactic, the spear units can hold long enough for a nice rear charge. Their specialist unit is the Falxmen; a two-handed melee unit that has an absurdly high charge bonus but terrible melee defence and cloth as armour. They also have a hidden bonus vs 15 against cavalry, so using them as supporting infantry isn’t a bad idea.
Do not rely on the Falxmen or spearmen too much because they are low tier and won’t last forever. Cycle charging with falxmen into infantry is a good idea, but you have to have a holding unit or else medium infantry units will decimate you. You will also have a hard time dealing with Sparta because their core units are very sturdy and last a very long time themselves, meaning it is possible that rear charges are your only option to defeat them. Even then you would have to cycle charge. Not bringing shock cavalry is practically a death wish if you’re going up against a good player. If you want to be offensive, bring the high-tier swords that they can bring, as well as the mercenary axes that they have if you can.
To summarize, Getae is quirky but a nice challenge to play as. I’d recommend you play as them once you feel confident in your ability to hold a unit and rear charge it. Just be careful when you’re going up against the Greek city-states. Although their cultural description makes it seem that the Greeks were afraid of them, this is not true in game.
Beats: Colchis (possibly)
Loses to: Sparta

Ardiaei
The Ardiaei are kind of like pirates in the sense that the liked to raid the Mediterranean sea a lot and were a problem for the Romans who had dominated it for years. In naval battles, the Ardiaei excel at missile warfare. On land, they have a bunch of good units that might suffer against high attack and armour units. Their core unit is most likely going to be the Illyrian hoplites because although they have bad melee defence and below average melee attack, their armour makes up for this, and while in phalanx they can beat Chosen Swordsmen. Illyrian Hoplites are also the only mid-tier unit that has Expert Charge Defence, an abilitiy that helps spears fend off shock cav charges (as long as they’re braced). Their specialist unit is without a doubt the Illyrian Marines. These guys are like Thureos spears because they can throw up to five low tier javelins per model and they have great melee stats. People rarely use Illyrian raiders because they are a bit too expensive for what they can do. The Ardiaei can hold for a while, especially against low armour piercing units like some Gallic units.
The Ardiaei work best against factions that have a hard charge like the Nervii but you have to be careful of factions that work well without a decisive charge, like Rome. Rome’s melee infantry don’t have a great charge, so expert charge defence won’t be very effective against them. Furthermore, their mid-tier units can possibly beat even the Noble Hoplites. The Ardiaei don’t have good cav, and therefore it would be recommended to stay close to your spear units for support. Be careful when you’re going offensive because the Ardiaei sometimes benefits from staying in one place and defending it. Charging the hoplites might not be a good idea either, especially against factions that rely on their charge to win engagements.
To summarize, the use of Illyrian Marines to support the hoplites is somewhat vital, but the hoplites do well on their own, too. It's just 1v1 engagements that you have to be careful of. If you like the Greeks, you may like this faction, too.
Beats: Nervii
Loses to: Rome, Arevaci (possibly)

Odrysian Kingdom
Rome 2 is the first game I’ve played to feature a faction that relies on glass cannons. A glass cannon is a unit that can dish out an insane amount of damage in a short time, but cannot deal with said damage themselves. The Odrysian Kingdom is like that. Their specialist unit is the Thracian Warriors, a unit that is similar to Falxmen but is slightly better overall, although they have 2 more melee defence. They also have a hidden bonus vs 20 against cavalry so again it might be useful to use them to support cav engagements. They now have basic Dacian spears which they had as mercenaries before, allowing you to bring as many as you want. Their mercenaries consist of regular and veteran hoplites (something that Athens and Syracuse have) so you can have units that hold the line while you use your specialists to deal a lot of damage. They have good javelin cav and a good high-tier melee cav, allowing you to stop other melee cav from hurting your lightly armoured specialists. Their peltasts are fairly good at skirmishing, but they can also damage low tier spears in melee.
Like Getae, having your Thracian Warriors get charged at by cavalry is detrimental. Unlike the Getae, your options are limited to cavalry, as even spears will take a beating when being charged at. Of course, you do have the option to use mercenaries, however you might have to rely on them more than you’d like to because Thracian Warriors are technically low-tier units that won’t stand up to mid-tier swords past the charge. Thracian Nobles are dangerous but they can be checked by a unit with expert charge defence, followed up by a solid mid-tier sword unit. Skirmisher-wise, they fair better than the Ardiaei as they have a good javelin unit, but these skirmishers are best used to make sure the opponent doesn’t hurt your specialists.
To summarize, the Odrysian Kingdom is strictly offensive. They cannot form a battle line effectively because of their limited spear roster. The Odrysians are always a challenge, so I’d recommend that you play as the other 3 Balkan factions before you try these guys.
Beats: Massalia (possibly)
Loses to: Pontus

Tylis
The Celts are travellers, but who would’ve expected them to go as far as Turkey. Tylis is a Celtic faction (like the Gauls) that is weird but really fun to play as. Their specialists are also Thracian Warriors but their core unit tends to be Gallo-Thracian infantry. If you play Rome 2 and you look at their roster, you might be wondering why I didn’t say both they and Tribal Warriors are core units. Tylis brings the best of both worlds to the battlefield. You have Gallic ferocity and weapon damage combined with the speed that the Thracian peltasts were known for. Tribal Warriors are also fast but not as fast as these guys. They sometimes don’t work well in a Tylis army too because bringing too many Tribal Warriors is a disaster when you’re going up against multiple mid-tier sword units. Gallo-Thracian infantry cost 90 less talents and are quite offensive, while still having a solid amount of armour. Tylis’ skirmishing game is decent, yet their javelin cav is quite noteworthy as you’ll be relying on them for your cavalry component. If you decide to use Tribal Warriors, use them as a fixing force while you use Thracian Warriors to cycle charge or flank charge.
Don’t use a core of Tribal Warriors if you’re going up against a faction that can bring similarly priced units with higher attack unless you’re going for hammer and anvil tactics, as these guys will work well for that. Don’t use a core of Gallo-Thracian infantry unless you want them to do most of the killing. Be careful when you’re going up against factions with good shock cavalry because Tylis suffers from a lack of high-tier spear units, so shock cavalry may survive longer depending on how good your opponent is. Macedon players are known to bring Thessalians, so it would be a good idea to keep them as far away from your main line as possible.
To summarize, Tylis can be offensive with Gallo-Thracian infantry or defensive with Tribal Warriors. Having a mix of both is good but you do lose the option to be specialized in one or the other. Tylis is a nice faction to play as, so if you don’t want to try a faction such as the Getae but want to know how the Balkan factions work, try this faction.
Beats: Galatia (possibly)
Loses to: Macedon

Greek City-states
Greece is nothing but a shadow of what it used to be in classical antiquity. The Greeks were the best of traders, and for a time they had the best fighters in the civilized world. Their tactics won them many battles, and they even won against the Persians. The DLC that is associated with them was a bonus if you preordered the game. The Greeks prefer spears over swords, making them more defensive than other factions, but do not make the mistake of attacking them head on. The Greeks tend to last longer than the Romans although they do not have the same options as them. The Greeks rely heavily on hoplites, however I am not sure if they can work in a similar fashion to the Romans. In any case, the Greeks will struggle against factions that are good initially especially if they get flanked. However, they are very fun to play as once you learn abilities and being disciplined. Speaking of which, because they are civilized, most, if not all Greek units, are disciplined. This means that they ignore the -30 morale penalty when the general dies that lasts for about 30 seconds and go straight to the permanent -15 morale penalty. Overall, each faction can bring a very good spear unit that makes their game plans slightly different from the other.

Massalia
This Greek faction is located in modern day Marseilles, Provence, France. Massalia is a dangerous faction. They were released with the Black Sea Colonies pack free of charge, although they aren’t located near the Black Sea. Massalia has been a faction that has intrigued me even before it was released because it was the only faction where you had barbaric units and Greek units in one roster. This didn’t change when the faction was released. Massalia is a hybrid faction; part Gallic, part Greek. This means that they have units that are ferocious and can do a lot of damage on the charge and have holding units that are very sturdy and very reliable, making them a very diverse faction. They also have access to Gallic hunters as mercenaries.
Massalia is the only Greek city state that doesn’t have pikemen. Although this does not hurt them a lot, it does put them at a disadvantage when they’re fighting the Odrysian Kingdom because it allows their specialists to be able to attack frontally. Of course, you can still bring good skirmishers and good cavalry to counter this. Also, you don’t have access to mid-tier barbaric units which is unfortunate. You still have access to the often-overlooked Thorax Swordsmen.
To summarize, its hard to say what a standard Massalian army would look like because they are a hybrid faction with a good selection of units from both cultures. There isn’t too much to talk about when it comes to this faction, so give them a try and see if you like it.
Beats: Pergammon (possibly)
Loses to: Odrysian Kingdom (possibly)

Athens
The capital of Greece itself, Athens is home to Athena, a Greek god. Athens doesn’t get played a whole lot because their mercenaries are similar to that of Macedon and their gameplay is identical to Syracuse’s, although the latter is a DLC faction. Athens, however, has access to Thorax Hoplites, a hoplite unit that is the spear version of the Thorax Swordsmen. Although they cost the exact same, in most cases Thorax Hoplites will beat Thorax Swordsmen with the use of hoplite phalanx because it gives your unit a +5 bonus vs infantry. This gives the hoplites 35 weapon damage, and they wield the elite hoplite spear meaning that they already have 8 armour piercing, allowing you to hit all units pretty hard. In most cases, Thorax Hoplites are your core. If you’re going up against a faction that might not have the best armour but has low health or low weapon damage, Thorax Swordsmen are an option. Just remember that the Greeks rely on their hoplites more than their swords. Athens also has veteran hoplites which come as mercenaries. Although it is hard to make them cost effective, it is quite possible.
Athens does suffer from a lack of melee choices even though they have mercenary Thracian Warriors. They suffer in melee cav engagements because Citizen Cavalry are pretty bad. This is mainly because of their armour value rather than their statistics. Don’t rely on pikemen, especially if you’re going up against the Successors. Also be careful when you’re going up against the Boii as they can hit harder than you can while having the same hit chance.
To summarize, spears are usually the way to go with this faction. I’d recommend trying them out if you don’t like the Massalian roster. Try to be offensive with the hoplites unless you are outnumbered.
Beats: Tylis (circumstantial), Colchis
Loses to: Boii

Epirus
Pyrrhic victories tend to happen a lot when you play as this faction. Epirus is a hard faction to play as, let alone win. Epirus basically steals 4 units from the Macedonian roster (1 of which is actually shared with all the Successors) and one unit from the Ardiaei roster. With Epirus you have Royal Peltasts, Thessalians, Aspis Companions, and Agrianian Axemen. Aspis companions usually aren’t used because it's hard to make them cost effective. I have used them in certain situations where they have become cost effective. The same goes for Agrianian axemen; just like axe warriors, flanking with them seems to be the way to go. As Epirus is a Greek city-state, you should be looking at their spear roster for your core. Epirus, however, doesn’t have the most diverse or reliable spear roster, and you may need to use regular hoplites often. Still, their roster is really nice.
Epirus’ best hoplite unit is the Etruscan Hoplites, which are as tanky as Spartan hoplites and have good melee defence but lack the melee attack. Epirus as a whole can rely on the mercenary elephants that they can bring, too, but an inexperienced player might get too cocky with them and run them into a trap. Epirus struggles to hold the line against Rome. In most cases, you will want to be offensive against Rome by wearing down each unit one by one by having 2v1s happen on the flanks, either by charging a unit of cav then following up with a melee unit or just having two melee units.
To summarize, Epirus is a risk and reward faction. There is almost no point of mastering Epirus without being unorthodox in your approach. Of course, don’t risk something if there is no reward, like charging elephants into slingers. Try to have an artistic view of the battlefield and then dominate it.
Beats: Nervii (possibly)
Loses to: Rome, Sparta

Sparta
300 fanboys are not going to like Rome 2’s Sparta because it is historically accurate. Sparta is perhaps the most favoured Greek city-state because of their fame as the toughest of hoplites and their heroic last stand at the battle of Thermopylae. In game they operate very well, especially in phalanx where they get the biggest defence buff in the game (excluding shield screen). The Spartans are also special because they have super heavy units. What this means is that they do not get an increase to mass but they do have increased health. This makes them the most durable, toughest hoplites in the game, and arguably the best spear units in the game. Sparta can dominate the battlefield if they are well protected by skirmishers, but don’t spend too much in skirmishing. Sparta does have problems when it comes to flexibility, but Sparta is not meant to be a flexible faction; Sparta is supposed to represent a brick wall in front of the enemy and hope that their skill can win them the day.
Of course, if you’ve played Rome 2 a lot, you’ll know that inflexibility is problematic when you’re in multiplayer. Sparta can be pinned down by factions that use horse archers and good skirmishers such as Bactria and Armenia (although the tactic is frowned upon). The biggest downfall to Sparta is what happens when they have missile inferiority. Sparta can hold for a long time in melee but not against skirmishers. Against the Lusitani, missile inferiority is almost guaranteed, leaving your vulnerable and slow hoplites to deal with the very flexible, 1-on-1 specialists, Veteran Shield Warriors. Citizen Cav is not good enough to win most melee engagements, so you truly rely on your hoplites only.
To summarize, Sparta may be slow, but it's hard to get past them. They are hard to learn and master, but anything is possible. Just keep your men in a tight formation for the best outcome. I don’t really recommend new players to play as this faction until they can play the other Greek city-states because Sparta truly is difficult to learn and some people still don’t know how to play as them, but if you suffer from laconophilia, give them a try.
Beats: Getae, Epirus
Loses to: Lusitani

Syracuse
Athens and Syracuse have nearly identical tactics, so there isn’t much to say about the faction as a whole. Syracuse is interesting however because they are one of the 3 factions that have access to Samnite warriors, a high-armoured, mid-tier unit that allows the factions to have Roman-like tactics in their armies. Syracuse also has access to Italian cav which are much better than Citizen cav. Although Campanian cav don’t get used a lot, a professional player may use them for frontal charges into high-tier melee units (not spears).
Syracuse can be beaten by the Boii if you match certain units to theirs. Sword followers might take a while to defeat Samnite warriors or Veteran hoplites, but the added option to field axes makes killing them a bit faster. Syracuse also struggles when it comes to supporting cavalry engagements effectively; of course you could use a hoplite unit to support but most are heavy or very heavy. Thracian Warriors are more effective at killing cav as long as they do not get charged.
Of course both factions do have light hoplites which are useful on the flanks, but their use frontally against mid-tier units is questionable.
To summarize, Syracuse and Athens are almost carbon copies. Syracuse does benefit more overall but they don’t have specialists like Athens does (Thracian Warriors/Peltasts). If you like Athens, you’ll like Syracuse.
Beats: Colchis, Cimmeria (possibly)
Loses to: Boii

Successors
When Alexander died, his kingdom was divided into four smaller states. Before he died, he was asked who would inherit his kingdom. His response? “To the strongest!”. Because of this, his generals have created states to reclaim the full kingdom. Each state tries to outdo the other while claiming to be the true heir of Alexander. The Successors’ battle tactics are the same ones that Alexander used to great effect; hammer and anvil strikes for maximum damage. However, this usually doesn’t happen in Rome 2 because most people just pikebox and hope that victory will come their way. Each Successor state has access to the venerable Thorax Pikemen, which makes them stand out in pike warfare against other Hellenic factions and most of the time will be your core pike unit. All Successors also have access to high-tier shock cavalry so you can mimic Alexander. If you like Alexander the Great and are looking for factions that have options to be nearly invincible frontally, check out the following four Successor states.

Macedon
Although the other Successor states are somewhat hybrid-like, Macedon stays true to its roots. The birthplace of Alexander, Macedon can still reclaim its former glory through thoughtful tactics and cunning strategies. Overall, Macedon is dangerous defensively. Besides formidable foot companions, their shock companions used to be second to none in their class (until the Seleucids came out). Foot companions will lose to Silver Shield Pikemen, but they are still very useful as frontline pikes as they can resist more missiles than Thorax Pikemen but they are elite. Cavalry-wise, they have Citizen cav but also Aspis Companions. The reason they are called Aspis is because of the shield they wield, similar to how hoplites got their name from the hoplon or how Thorax units got their name because of their linothorax. Macedon and the Seleucids have Shield Bearers which are a high-tier hoplite unit with the exact same melee defence as regular hoplites but have the most armour in the game (115) making them extremely resilient to low armour-piercing, low melee attack units.
Macedon isn’t like the Seleucids when it comes to diversity or having the best of both worlds; they are strictly Hellenic. I won’t say Greek because their hoplite roster is poor offensively. Macedon’s main tactic is the Hammer and Anvil approach; holding a unit in place (pikes) then smashing them from behind (shock cav) so they go into the pikes and casualties are maximized. This only works if you can actually keep a unit in place and get your shock cav behind them, but this doesn’t happen a lot when your opponent has good cav and solid, flexible infantry.
To summarize, Macedon is not diverse but their main tactic is very straightforward. The other Successors can do it, too, but they do not have mid-tier heavy shock cavalry, and therefore rely on the slower very heavy shock cav to do it. Use Macedon if you are new to the Successors or want to try Hammer and Anvil tactics for yourself. Just remember that you don’t have to do hammer and anvil strikes on everyone. They are mainly useful for causing a lot of damage and therefore a bigger morale penalty.
Beats: Tylis (possibly)
Loses to: Boii

Seleucids
The largest of the Successor states and also the state with the biggest roster choices, the Seleucid Empire is very intimidating. They have access to some eastern units while having a mainly Hellenic build which makes them a tough faction to counter. With this huge roster, the Seleucids also have a lot of choices when it comes to strategies, but as a Successor faction, you should stick to the hammer and anvil tactic most of the time. Again, that's what the Successors excel at; too many times have I seen a person pikebox with them hoping that you won’t be able to get through and defeat it, yet time and time again I have been able to because I have the experience. The Seleucids have Cataphracts, elephants, and chariots, meaning you have a choice of 3 deadly units that you can rely on to get the most kills in your army. I’d never recommend bringing all 3, though. This is because you’d be overspending. You still need to focus on either a pike core or a sword core.
This strength is also the downfall for the Seleucids. With so many units to choose from, you don’t have any simplicity, like the barbarians. Take the Arverni, for example. The Arverni don’t have elephants, chariots, cataphracts, or a huge selection of skirmishers, but they have what they need to get the job done. With the Seleucids, it’s not that easy. Using only Thorax Swordsmen makes them a copycat of Macedon, while using a main line of Persian hoplites makes them a copycat of Parthia. A mixture of both may be a good idea, but it depends on who you’re up against. With the Arverni, if they need spears, they have Levy Freemen and spear warriors that can do just fine. Most of the time they don’t, so spears aren’t a big deal for them. Cavalry-wise, the Seleucids’ best mid-tier unit, Median cav, will lose to Heavy Horse and other barbaric cav.
To summarize, having a diverse roster works well sometimes but not all the time. Mix up your Thorax Swordsmen with some eastern slingers or Thorax Pikemen with eastern archers. Persian hoplites are useful against enemy chariots to a certain degree. I would recommend new players to play as this faction if they want to try a Successor faction and are interested in eastern tactics.
Beats: Rome, Armenia (possibly)
Loses to: Arverni, Suebi (extreme micro)

Egypt
Egypt has to be one of my least favourite factions in the game, if not the least. Egypt’s roster is very questionable as a whole; they are the only Hellenic faction that doesn’t have hoplites. Egypt is plagued with a slew of problems but I won’t go in depth. Because they don’t have hoplites, they have to rely on their spear roster to support the rear of Thorax Swordsmen because they can’t hold a line forever. Still, Egypt does have some interesting units, such as the Galatian Royal Guard and even Royal Thorax Swordsmen, an unit identical to one of the Seleucid’s units. As they are an African faction, they have access to African elephants. Egypt, however, has their own units, too. Unfortunately, only the Egyptian cav can prove worthy in an army; Egyptian infantry do not have the stats to stay in a prolonged fight, and their pikemen will get massacred if they are caught without their pikes down. Egypt has access to chariots, which are good for killing infantry that would otherwise massacre Egypt. Their missile infantry selection is quite solid, however. They have Nubian bowmen which have 150 range and they can bring as many as they like, making skirmishing fights quite nice for them.
Egypt and the other Successors tend to rely on high cost units to get the majority of their kills which can be problematic if they can be checked early on. Egypt without elephants or chariots still have shock cav, but as mentioned earlier with Macedon, they only have a high-tier shock cav, not a mid-tier. Egypt suffers immensely against the Suebi because besides Thorax Swordsmen/Pikemen, other units can be very cost ineffective against the fast-moving, hard-hitting units that they can bring. Galatian Royal Guard can check even Sword Masters, but can they catch up to them? Egyptian Cav can beat Riders of the Hunt, but can they beat Noble Riders? It is true that chariots can really hurt the Suebi, but they have options. Their first option is to have spear brothers in front and make them take the initial hit while other units with precursors decimate the chariot. Another tactic is the spear wall unit which can go into shield screen and stop a few chariots in place.
To summarize, Egypt is probably the hardest Successor to win with. Their melee roster tends to rely more on high tier units, their spear roster lacks killing power, and their missile roster is strong. Winning with Egypt, especially if you’re new, is an accomplishment (in the campaign) so give them a go if you like to have a missile advantage.
Beats: Odrysian Kingdom (possibly)
Loses to: Suebi

Bactria
Bactria came out as Free-LC after the Seleucids. To this day, Bactria is a force to be reckoned with if you don’t know their playstyle. Like the Seleucids, they are a hybrid of Hellenic and eastern cultures. Unlike the Seleucids, they have adopted the skirmishing aspect more than melee infantry roster. What this means is against the Seleucids, you’ll want to have superior horse archers, but you don’t have to if you play with them well. The Bactrians have Cataphracts as well, meaning that they can do hammer and anvil tactics of their own. They also have a high-tier shock cav unit. Bactria has Scale Thorax Hoplites, a hoplite unit that has one more melee attack but 5 less armour than the regular hoplite unit. However, they are heavy fast, meaning they have the heavy mass but the move as quickly as medium infantry, which is useful for aggressive gameplay. Their Bactrian horse archers beat eastern armoured horse archers at range or in close combat, so it may be a good idea to bring one or two along with you when fighting those factions.
Bactria is not an eastern faction, so do not treat them as one. Don’t bring a bunch of shock cavalry along with good foot skirmishers and poor melee infantry because they will still beat you. Parthia is known for their cataphracts and they have more options when it comes to shock cavalry than you. Their melee cav also is pretty good. Their infantry is solid but they do not have elite infantry whereas Bactria does; a high-tier hoplite unit. Unfortunately, Bactria is the only Successor that does not have Royal Peltasts, so you may struggle taking down cataphracts quickly, since Thureos spears will get wrecked by a charge from them.
To summarize, Bactria is still Hellenic and a Successor; Thorax Pikemen might be your best friend at times. If flexibility is an issue, Thorax Swordsmen is the way to go. If you need aggressive flanking options, maybe Scale Thorax Hoplites is the way to go. All in all, give this faction a try. They’re fun and you can switch up your gameplay with their nice roster.
Beats: Armenia (possibly)
Loses to: Parthia (possibly)

Iberians
Located in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain), the Iberians are a free and warlike culture. They value their independence, although others want to take that away from them. The Iberians in game value melee attack and defence over armour and abilities, meaning that regardless of the faction you play as, getting into combat as soon as possible is the way to go. Also, doing as much damage with their slingers (because they don’t have archers) before the main engagement starts is a must, since they lack the armour and the only way they can win against a formidable opponent is if they can do a lot of damage initially, so after their charge they can have a constant rate of damage and help other units. The Iberians are arguably the most flexible culture in the game when it comes to infantry, but they lack the armour and weapon damage of the Gauls or the charge and speed of the Suebi, as well as the specialists and unpredictableness of the Balkans and the shock and movement of the Nomads. Still, the Iberians are dangerous in close combat and they can win a lot of 1v1 engagements. If you like units that have good stats and are cost effective in one-on-one situations, try the following factions.

Arevaci
The Arevaci apparently aren’t indigenous Iberians; they came from Gaul and settled in Numantia. This kind of explains why they are different from the Lusitani; their core unit, Scutarii, does not have the shield defence of Iberian units. This may be because they wield a Celtic shield that is supposed to look like a scutarius, which is Latin for shield. Scutarii, however, are still my favourite mid-tier medium melee unit because they get the job done as second line infantry. Scutarii are maneuverable, have the same weapon damage as the Romans, and have decent armour. Their melee attack gives them an edge on the charge versus Chosen Swordsmen, which is always appreciated. They can be good on the flanks, but I wouldn’t recommend that against factions that can win easily on the charge and break your units with ease. The best feature about Scutarii is the fact that if they win an engagement (which they should most of the time), they have the speed and flexibility to join another one and hopefully win it.
The Arevaci’s biggest downfall is probably the reliance of Scutarii to win battles. Scutarii have good armour, but there is the possibility that shield armour is not taken into account in melee; perhaps it is only good for the charge. I say this because Falxmen and Thracian Warriors get decimated on the charge by any cav unit that is heavy or higher, whereas Scutarii and Fierce Swords don’t. This theory might mean that Scutarii, who have less body armour than the average Gallic unit, are vulnerable if they take too much prior damage or they don’t get a good charge. Gallic hunters are good for hitting Scutarii before an engagement, and the Nervii can hit hard on a charge and still have good weapon damage after that. Again, they do excel as second line infantry, but try not to flank if your centre will crumble quickly, as this is a surefire way to lose.
To summarize, flexibility and maneuverability is key. Staying in one spot like the Romans won’t work against other barbaric factions and definitely will not work against eastern factions. Just make most of your gameplay revolve around supporting Scutarii and you should be fine. I definitely recommend this faction to new players, should they have the Hannibal at the Gates DLC.
Beats: Arverni
Loses to: Nervii

Lusitani
Completely indigenous Iberians, the Portuguese Lusitani are quite dangerous and they have a reputation for being good in one-on-one situations. This does not mean that they excel at 1v1s, but their units are quite cost effective should no damage be done prior to engagements. The Lusitani are different from the Arevaci in that they are slower but stronger in everything except cavalry and they have even less armour (which again is an Iberian trait). Cavalry wise, Scutarii cav beat Celtiberian cav, but lose to Noble Horse. Lusitani Nobles beat Noble Fighters, but this is as long as no prior damage has been done. The Lusitani’s core unit is the Veteran Shield Warriors. Although they have only 30 armour, they tend to be very good against similarly priced units thanks to their melee stats and their weapon damage.
Their praise does end there, however. Their core unit does struggle to survive frontal and rear shock cav charges, and it can take about two to actually break them. Remember that if their general dies, that’s a -30 morale penalty off the bat, and melee stats are no good if your unit routs. Lusitani spearmen cost the same as the Veteran Shield Warriors while having less melee stats, but have shield screen and cavalry counter tactics which help screen away cavalry, so be sure to bring a few if you’re going up against a faction known for their shock cav. Tylis’ Tribal Warriors pose a threat to the core unit as well because they’re able to tank the damage that the veterans can give them while having better weapon damage themselves, so be careful when fighting them.
To summarize, close the distance, but be flexible at the same time; sometimes attacking frontally isn’t the best option, so work on the flanks. I like the Lusitani a lot, but sometimes their melee stats go to waste, especially against missile infantry spams. I dislike using Balearic slingers a lot because I prefer to rely on core units more than supporting units, but that's just me. If you don’t like the Arevaci, try the Lusitani; they’re worth it.
Beats: Sparta
Loses to: Tylis

Iceni
The Iceni live on the island of Britannia, north of Gaul. Like the Gauls, they are Celtic, but the Iceni are mysterious. They believed in druids whereas the Gauls believed in bards. In game, the Iceni’s biggest difference from the Gauls is their slingers are identical to eastern slingers meaning they are stronger than the Gallic ones, and they have chariots, although they are lightly armoured and need to be microed carefully. Gameplay wise, you have two units that have a bonus vs infantry. Painted Ones are your anti-infantry specialists; they are stronger than Naked Warriors/Swords. Then you have Ambushers, a unit that has guerilla deployment and is fairly decent against cav but will get massacred on a charge. They don’t get used a lot, but sometimes they can be very effective. Most of your gameplay revolves around making sure your morale is high. The best way to do that is to bring the Druidic Nobles, a unit that has the Chant ability. Chant increase the morale of units around it by 30. This unit is essential when the Iceni are struggling against another faction that has hit them pretty hard but they can still make a comeback. I almost always recommend the Druidic Nobles because not having morale-boosting units makes them similar to the Gauls but different only in two units.
The Iceni’s high tier melee unit does struggle against Oathsworn, and so does their cavalry. This means you may want to consider using chariots against Gallic factions, because although your core unit can hold well against theirs, chances are they will lose. You do not have archers, so supporting infantry engagements is hard. Winning against the Gauls without the use of chariots requires good timing and trying to keep your lines as straight as possible so that they don’t get through. Against Galatia, try to keep your cav away from their raiding horsemen. When you’re up against the Getae, keep in mind that they have a handful of options when it comes to taking down chariots, mainly by getting them stuck on their spears (heavy spears are really good at this) and using archers to whittle them down. You also have to be careful when you’re going up against their Falxmen, as they will massacre Paintes Ones.
To summarize, don’t think of these guys as another Gallic faction because they aren’t. Their main objective is to make sure their morale is high at all times, whether it be from abilities or from winning combats. The Iceni were the first faction I played as in the campaign and they haven’t changed a lot since. I’d recommend new players to give them a shot because they are very interesting.
Beats: Boii
Loses to: Getae

Suebi
If I had to describe the Suebi with one word, it would be nightmare. The Germans are the fiercest of the barbarians and value independence more than the Iberians. The Suebi are another one of my favourite factions, especially after their roster expansion and patch 17 where they benefited a lot. The Suebi are almost the exact opposite of the Iceni; your main objective is to decimate as much of a unit as possible in under a minute and use a lot of fear tactics to make your enemy rout quickly, making the battle end fast. After patch 17, Germanic units became much faster at the cost of their mass. The Suebi is also the only barbaric faction in the game that technically doesn’t have a core but instead relies on a multitude of low-tier units to soften up the enemy and do decisive flank and rear hits so that mid-tier and high-tier units can do the rest. The Suebi’s main units are anti-infantry specialists; this means that in most cases you’ll want to use them on the flanks or rear of opponents. The only exception is the Berserkers, the key unit to the Suebi. Although they cost 840 talents, Berserkers are high-tier shock infantry that are extremely risky to bring because they either get a lot of kills or none. They are the only infantry that can go berserk; once berserk, they become fresh regardless of their stamina before, but they become uncontrollable and they tend to stick to the unit until that unit routs, similar to how dogs work. The Berserkers are best used against high-tier units if you can get a clean charge on them. Keep in mind that Berserkers do not have body armour so missile units can do a number on them and make them ineffective. Wolf warriors are another great shock unit. If you have the Beasts of War DLC, you have access to a unit that relies on mobility and the initial charge to do as much damage as they can to rout the unit they’re facing. They also have the fear trait, which is why they cost what they do. Keep in mind that overall the Suebi are supposed to be more organized than the Gauls.
The Suebi are more charge-dependant and micro-intensive than the Nervii. The biggest downfall to the Suebi is their weapon damage; overall it is below average, with 4 of the 6 melee units having 25 weapon damage. 3 of the 4 actually have 15 but have a bonus of 10 vs infantry, and the 4th one (Berserkers) has a bonus of 15 vs infantry, giving them 40 weapon damage total. Round shield swordsmen have 34 weapon damage. This means that the only unit that has high weapon damage overall is the Sword Masters, your high-tier sword unit. This is problematic frontally against some Gallic factions, but it isn’t a big deal if you can deny them charges and get yours. Because of their lower mass overall. Remember that you want to rout your enemy as soon as possible, so just keep in mind that rear hits, flanking, the fear trait, and getting a lot of kills within the first minute are your biggest priorities. Their mass is a problem when bracing or being defensive, so most of the time you will be countering cavalry and more offensive. No matter what, you will struggle against the Nomads because they don’t have infantry and their shock cavalry is heavy overall.
To summarize, like Epirus, the Suebi are a risk and reward faction. With the right strategies, mindset, and ferocity, the Suebi can be true underdogs. Using them frontally is only useful if you can do enough damage in the first 30 seconds after your unit makes contact with theirs so that you can rout the unit quickly. Most mid-tier units will rout if they have lost half of their unit in a minute and are frightened by an enemy unit; if that isn’t enough, use cav to hit the rear. Keep in mind that the club units get the majority of their kills hitting the rear of non-Expert Charge Defence units. I wouldn’t recommend them if you’re new, but winning as them vs Rome is necessary to understand how the game works.
Beats: Egypt
Loses to:

Eastern Kingdoms
The eastern factions are very one sided. They rely on cavalry more than anything to win them the day. Either cavalry or a tanky expensive unit, of course. There are only 3 eastern factions in the game, one of which is actually a Hellenic state. The eastern factions are interesting in that their cavalry usually gets the most kills in the army because their infantry is below average. Nonetheless, be careful when you’re fighting eastern factions because if you’re not braced and do not take down their strongest units in the middle of battle, you will have a really hard time winning regardless of which culture you are playing as.

Pontus
South of the Pontic sea, Pontus is actually a Hellenic state that has cheap infantry, hoplites, and the venerable and cost effective Cappadocian cavalry. I’d argue that Cappadocians are the best heavy cavalry in the game stat-wise, although some might argue that Bactrian cavalry is better. Your gameplay should consist of Cappadocians and keeping them alive as long as possible is extremely vital, as your sword core cannot stand up to even Scutarii and hoplites can’t hold well when being flanked. You have access to chariots, so use them if you feel that your army can hold off the enemy long enough and your cavalry component can’t be used for flanking or rear hitting. You have access to Naked Swords as mercenaries, so use them wisely if you can. You also have access to Celtic Warriors as mercenaries. How you use them is up to you, but they can tie down a few units or be used on the flanks for combined arms tactics with your heavy cavalry or shock cavalry. Pontus also has Bronze Shield Pikemen, a pike unit that has less armour than their Silver Shield equivalent but is still quite sturdy. It is also a high-tier pike unit, so bring them if you want to.
Pontus has a lot of options for keeping dangerous enemies at bay, but their infantry can be massacred quickly. Pontic Swordsmen do not have the health or morale to stand up to high charge units, so using peltasts to whittle them down is advisable. When you’re going up against Rome, try your best to hold onto your Cappadocians. Even if you can beat their Auxiliary cav, should Rome send a unit to support in cav engagements, Pontus does not have an effective answer besides Celtic Warriors. As with all pikes, they are vulnerable to flanking, so keep your Bronze pikes well protected.
To summarize, Pontus is a hard faction to win with without good cavalry. You will almost always lose to the barbarians if you try to make your gameplay revolve around your melee and spear infantry. Losing your cavalry is detrimental, and Pontus doesn’t have any high-tier melee units. Pontus is probably the last eastern faction I’d recommend new players to try, but if you feel confident in the Successor factions, Pontus could be a good faction for you.
Beats: Odrysian Kingdom
Loses to: Rome

Parthia
There isn’t much to say about Parthia. When Rome 2 came out, Parthia was your only eastern faction (the Seleucids and Bactria weren’t out yet). Parthia is known for one thing; cataphracts. They also have good skirmishing options, but this is a trait shared with all eastern factions. Because Parthia is an eastern faction, they have access to eastern cataphracts and royal cataphracts. Eastern cataphracts are much cheaper than the royal ones and do the same thing that royal ones do; charge frontally and tank a lot of damage. They are cost effective in the right hands as long as they do not take a lot of fire. Parthia also has access to camel cataphracts (which caused a lot of controversy) but they find little to no use in multiplayer. Parthia’s core unit is similar to Thorax Swordsmen but better defensively. They have access to Persian hoplites as well, which is nice.
Parthia has access to elephants but you will have problems if you’re going up against a faction that brings a lot of anti-elephant units such as Thureos spears. Without cataphracts, relying on your best cav unit is a bad idea against Pontus or Bactria who have better heavy cav. Although their horse archers are great, they aren’t as great as the Nomads. Cimmeria therefore presents a big problem to them because they have the holding power and the units to counter all but the cataphracts. The cataphracts themselves can be picked apart by peltasts under the right circumstances. They can also be kited by Noble Horse Archers.
To summarize, cataphracts are the way to go with this faction. You don’t have the best of infantry, but the infantry can mop up the remnants of what the cataphracts don’t kill. They can also be used for rear charges to really hurt your enemy. Having missile superiority might be a good idea against some factions. Give Parthia a try. You may or may not like their one-sided gameplay, but they are your basic eastern faction.
Beats: Bactria (possibly)
Loses to: Cimmeria

Armenia
This faction came out with Emperor Edition. Armenia is a tough contender vs Parthia. Armenia is very similar when it comes to gameplay but they have noticeable differences. Their core consists of axemen, meaning that if you can get a successful cataphract charge then follow up with the core, you can kill armoured units quicker than Parthia. Armenia also has Persian cavalry; a cheap shock cav unit that is lightly armoured but is faster than the cataphracts. In fact, according to the database, they almost do the same impact damage. Armenia also has a high-tier hoplite unit that can be useful as second line infantry, although it isn’t necessary. You can rely on cataphracts for your main killing power because Armenia doesn’t have elephants, but the infantry are fairly good. Eastern skirmishers are good, so bring a few for missile superiority.
Just keep in mind that your core does lose to Thorax Swordsmen because although they have less melee attack, they have better weapon damage and slightly more melee defence. Armenia can get out-done by the Successors that have Hellenic cataphracts because they have better infantry and the option to bring pikes. Against factions like these, just remember to turn off formation attack and try to defeat any non-pike unit so that they are unsupported.
To summarize, Armenia is a nice faction, quite different from Parthia. Gameplay wise they are similar but you do have the option to bring a cheaper shock cav unit, something that even Pontus can’t do. Give them a try as well.
Beats:
Loses to: Seleucids, Bactria

Black Sea Colonies
I’ve never felt so insulted from buying a game since Rome 2 was released. Its as if it is now normal to give us factions with questionable rosters. The Black Sea Colonies are a good example. One faction is really good, one faction is below average, and one faction is pointless. All are hybrids with a mainly Greek roster. This means that you have the staying power and strong spears of the Greeks with another culture that makes a number of game styles possible. Still, it is good to know both cultures before playing them. Overall, there isn’t much to talk about when it comes to them; just put two and two together and you should be fine. The following factions are dual culture factions.

Cimmeria
Located in modern day Crimea, Cimmeria is a faction that has taken some Nomadic units, including the unrecruitable ones, Cimmeria is unique in that they can have missile superiority against factions that would have to rely on mercenaries. The use of horse archers is essential because you still have bad melee cav. Therefore most of your cavalry engagements is just hitting your opponent with a lot of arrows and then following up with citizen cav for the best impact. Their shock cav is only useful for rear charges or disrupting infantry; a precursor volley will massacre them and they won’t stand strong against arrows.
Cimmeria’s infantry is more defensive than offensive. Their only melee infantry is Young Axes, a low-tier axe unit that loses to hillmen. Your infantry can hold out long enough for rear charges and arrow volleys to go into the backs of your opponents, but this isn’t always easy, especially if your opponent still has cavalry. Therefore, just like the Nomads, you will want to eliminate enemy cavalry as soon as possible to dominate with this faction
To summarize, Cimmeria has the most units from their secondary culture. They are worth a try if you like the Nomads but want infantry.
Beats: Parthia
Loses to: Syracuse (possibly)

Pergamon
I don’t understand why Pergamon isn’t a Successor faction. Historically speaking, they branched off but were loyal to the Seleucids. In fact, their shock cav unit is similar to the Companions with the exception that they don’t have a lot of armour. Nevertheless, Pergamon is influenced by the Galatians and they took 3 units from their roster. Unfortunately, Galatian Legionaries isn’t one of them. Pergamon has a high-tier spear unit that is basically an advanced Thureos spears. They do have access to Galatian swordsmen which gives them some offensive capabilities. Just like the Successors, their main tactic is still the hammer and anvil approach, but thanks to the Galatian units, they can use their hoplites as second line infantry to support the low-tier swords.
Pergamon has very obvious drawbacks when you see their roster. Picked peltasts, a unit that they share with Cimmeria, are cost ineffective at most mainly because of their melee stats and armour. Pergamon’s high-tier spear unit has a medium mass, making it a good flanking unit but not the best unit to brace against heavy cavalry. Their melee cavalry is not good, although light cavalry can be useful to chase down skirmishers.
To summarize, Pergamon is Successor like with a few barbaric units. Try them if you like pikes. Just keep in mind that they are not Successors so they don’t have a high-tier pike unit.
Beats: Athens
Loses to: Massalia (possibly)

Colchis
I don’t know what CA was thinking when they made Colchis’ roster. I don’t like Colchis at all and they’re another faction that I think is one of the worst factions in the game. Colchis is essentially taking Armenia’s axes and horse archers and mixing it with the Greek roster. Colchis does not have access to armoured horse archers, but they do get Noble Blood cav which is nice. The only special unit they have is a high-tier hoplite unit that is almost Spartan-like in melee defence. As a whole, this doesn’t really expand on much. Colchis can be the most offensive with their infantry out of all the Black Sea Colonies, but they can be anti-climatic in a typical multiplayer battle where a person actually out micros you.
Colchis has a lot of downsides in my opinion, but I will only go over a few. First is the lack of special units. With only one unit that is special to the faction itself, not a lot of people are really interested in playing as them. Second, the fact that they don’t have armoured horse archers is a drawback when you’re going up against Armenia and Parthia because you don’t have a mobile archer unit that can move quickly around the battlefield to provide support or attack a vulnerable unit when it is needed, but instead you have to rely on a lighter unit that doesn’t have the same melee stats or shots per minute. Noble Blood cav are great, so there is no complaining there. Like Pontus, you may have to use them more than Citizen cav depending on which faction you are fighting. Athens and Syracuse have Thorax Hoplites, a unit that almost has the armour piercing of the axemen but has the defensive stats of regular hoplites and therefore already are a threat to your core.
To summarize, Colchis is basically a faction that is not liked in general by most people, not just myself. Give them a try to form your own opinion on them.
Beats:
Loses to: Athens, Syracuse

Nomads*
Barbarians from the steppes of Asia and Russia, the Nomads are the only factions in the game that rely solely on cavalry; they have no infantry in multiplayer and the only infantry unit they can recruit in the campaign is the Young Axes. The Nomads are the most micro-intensive factions in the game and therefore are the hardest to play as, especially in the campaign where you can find yourself losing a lot of battles unless you micro your units effectively and know their tactics. The main tactic of the Nomads is encircling your opponent, but you can’t do that if they have cavalry of their own. That is why eliminating enemy cavalry is a top priority for the nomads, so that they can maneuver themselves freely and without being hassled. The Nomads’ core unit is the same throughout the 3 factions; Armoured horse archers. The Nomadic armoured horse archers are very different from the eastern ones in the sense that they are much better in melee against infantry and have better missile damage. Overall, nomadic archers are better than eastern ones, but the Nomads don’t have slingers. Also, there is little emphasis on melee cavalry, but their use is important for two of the three factions. Their ability, Draco, used to belong to them and the Romans, but after Emperor Edition, it was solely given to the Nomads. Draco is an ability that reduces nearby enemies bonus vs cav by about 10 and reduces their bracing abilities. This ability is a must in all nomadic armies or else you will struggle against the Greeks or Rome. Overall, the following 3 factions are definitely not for new players and you should not even attempt to play as them in multiplayer unless your micro is good.

*You can skip this summary if you’ve played as the Huns or White Huns in Attila.

Royal Scythia
Every nomadic summary is going to be short because there isn’t much to talk about. Royal Scythia is basically a faction that has a multitude of horse archers, including female archers that have 150 range. All Nomads have this unit but only Royal Scythia has two variants and has them as regular units, not mercenaries. Royal Scythia relies on these units to tackle 125 ranged units or javelin skirmishers. Horse archers work differently than foot skirmishers. Most horse archers have the Parthian Shot ability which means they can fire in a 360 degree circle. However, the unit has to move into closer range than foot archer equivalents regardless of range because they won’t fire until they are a bit closer. Keep this in mind when you’re using the female archers.
Royal Scythia does suffer when it comes to the use of Draco because the only unit that has it Draco is a high-tier melee cav unit, meaning that bringing multiple units can drain your money. Also keep in mind that most of your gameplay does revolve around horse archers, so try to make your army revolve around that, too.
To summarize, just remember that they do have good horse archers. You also have access to a high-tier javelin cav unit but their use is questionable against infantry.
Beats: Rome
Loses to:

Massagetae
This faction isn’t related to the Getae, but people back then didn’t know that. Massagetae is the only nomadic faction that doesn’t have melee cav. Instead, they rely on high armoured units and they also have cataphracts. They are the only nomadic faction to have a super heavy cav unit and with their tactics, they can be quite useful. When you play as the Massagetae, having several lines of shock cav might be a good idea, especially if you use your high-tier shock cav first because they have Draco and can soften the front lines before charging with the cavalry behind, creating a morale shock that the Suebi can do. Your best horse archer unit has cataphract armour and is very resistant to slingers (although prolonged exposure will take them down) and you want most of your opponent's missile infantry to focus on them instead of your cataphracts.
No matter what, if heavy or very heavy spear unit goes into a formation besides square, don’t charge it. You can charge squares but you can’t go through them without taking a lot of damage. Do not let meatshields stop your heavy shock cav from going through; it might be a good idea to bait them far away from the main line you are trying to break. Cataphracts usually aren’t the best units to try to get at the rear of your opponents with unless you have a clear path, so make sure your opponent doesn’t have second line infantry or cavalry that can stop you.
To summarize, use your armoured units to punch a hole in your opponent unless there are units that can stop it. Try to eliminate any units that can hurt your cataphracts initially (javelinmen, Thureos spears).
Beats: The Gauls
Loses to:

Roxolani
The Roxolani live in Sarmatia (most likely Ukraine). Their shock cav is similar to the other two factions, with the exception of their high-tier shock cav which has the best charge bonus in the game (without using abilities). Their melee cavalry, however, is their key to winning battles. You have a light melee cav and a heavy melee cav, both of which are good at disrupting main lines while getting as many units affected by Draco as possible before following up with shock cav. Sarmatian horsemen are more useful than the raiders, but both are a good idea. Try to weaken your enemy with horse archers, then follow up with these units so that it's easy for the shock cav to hit hard and drive the nail into the coffin.
You just have to be careful with your melee cav because they don’t last as long as the other factions when it comes to units that have Draco. Losing these units early on makes the late game harder on you, and with the fact that you have to micro a lot a big problem already, playing as this faction just becomes a nightmare. Keep your melee cav in reserve until the time is right.
To summarize, the key to this faction is to tie down a lot of units using Draco and then follow up with shock cav. Yes, Sarmatian horsemen can do a lot of initial damage, but shock cavalry are much better for this role. I’d suggest bringing a maximum of four of either the raiders or the horsemen.
Beats: The Successors
Loses to:

Etruscan League
Although they are not playable, the Etruscans were supposed to be the second Latin faction. In reality, they weren’t Latin but their own culture. The Etruscans dominated Rome up until around 500 BC. In the campaign, they can be overrun by Rome very easily, and only those with good skill should try their campaign on hard or above. The Etruscans are my favourite non-playable faction, especially if you use a mod that gives you Samnite Warriors for proper Roman gameplay. Although they historically aren’t Latin, they do mix Roman swords play and tactics with Greek staunch defence and discipline. No other faction is a hybrid of Latin and Hellenic cultures, which makes me wonder why they weren’t put into the game. The Etruscans also have the best cav unit in the game; Italian Noble Cavalry. Depending on the mod you’re using, they can either be heavy or very heavy, but they still have 10 more attack than Campanian cavalry. Keep in mind that sword cav can stay in a fight longer than spear cav can against infantry but you still have to pull them out. Of course, they have the durable Etruscan Hoplites; this unit as mentioned before is like a unit of Spartan Hoplites except it sacrifices melee attack for better weapon damage and 5 more armour. If you have second line infantry, keeping formation attack on makes these guys last very long and you can use other units to hit your enemy in the rear. Italian cav are fairly sturdy, but they are better than Citizen cav. Italian swordsmen aren’t the most cost effective units, but they are somewhat reliable. They can act as Hastati as well, although they are statistically worse and less cost effective overall. They are quite effective against low tier hoplites such as Militia or Light hoplites.
Because they aren’t playable in multiplayer or in the campaign without a mod, no one really knows what their true strengths would be. In the campaign, they do suffer immensely against the Romans because the Romans are supposed to consolidate northern Italy within the first few turns. All of your infantry units will lose to a similarly-priced Roman unit, and the only cav unit that can beat any of their cavalry is the Italian Noble cav, and even in some circumstances they could lose to Praetorian cav. Your missile infantry choice is bad, to say the least.
To summarize, sic parvis magna; from small things comes greatness. In the campaign, you really have to be good tactic-wise in Rome 2 to pull these guys off in the early stages of a campaign. They work like the Greeks but act like the Romans; a truly civilized faction. Try these guys as well as the desert factions if you have a mod for them.
Beats:
Loses to:

Now if you play mods like me, you would already know a bit about their rosters before buying the DLC. Obviously, the Creative Assembly added new units to make them stand out.

What truly makes them stand out, however, is that they are a mix of their own culture and another. Obviously this isn't the first time that this has happened (Black Sea Colonies).

**Guide coming soon**

If you've read at least one part of this incredibly long guide, thanks. As I stated in the beginning, this is my very first one and I am working on making them better. I hope that people get better with every faction (git gud or else) because its depressing to play a game that you can't improve in.

XoXo

LewtedHoseTW.

https://www.twitch.tv/lewtedhosetw/profile
https://www.youtube.com/user/f3wbs/videos