Never played a TOTAL WAR game before, where do I start?

>>385801907
Just pick which setting appeals to you most. I'd maybe avoid the first few (Shogun 1/Medieval 1/Rome 1) as they're a bit rough compared to later entries in the franchise.

>>385802430
There's no modern warfare or caveman battles

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>>385801907
If you want to focus on battles - Total Warhammer.
If you want to focus on empire management - Shogun 2.
If you like line infantry tactics and artillery - Napoopan or Empire.

>>385802562
>modern warfare
You know they should totally make that and I'm kind of surprised they haven't yet.

>>385802720
TW is all about formations. Any time period that does not rely on formations in battle has no place in the TW franchise.

Pirate Rome total war
After that whichever one you like

>>385802782
Armies have formations too , brainlet. . .

>>385802813
Modern warfare has nothing to do with total war gameplay, brainlet.
not him btw

>>385802813
>Armies have formations too
Modern infantry tactics do not rely on formations, dumbfuck, and the range of modern artillery is so great, you would need maps of thrice the size to be anywhere near a realistic representation.

Shogun 2 is the most barebones and polished one, it's probably the best point to start from, then move on to Fall of the Samurai, that's a lot closer to the other ones.
From there on just pick the settting you like the most, tho Rome II is still bad.

Medieval 2, Atilla and Warhammer are the best games in the franchise.

>>385802932
>Rome II is still bad.
Why is it bad, though? Warhammer is the only TW game I've played seriously, how does Rome compare to it?

>>385802932
my bf (best friend) bought me shogun 2 but it's the fall of the samurai version, is that good? he bought it to make fun of me for being a weeab

>>385802623
>If you want to focus on empire management - Shogun 2.
Shogun 2 was the last nail in the coffin for TW management mechanics, they ripped out half the content which was present in Empire and further limited you to one worthwhile way to expand.

>>385801907
Try out Med 2 first, it's the smoothest of the older games, and if you like it then you'll probably like Rome TW too, which is better in some areas but worse in others.
Avoid Napoleon and Rome 2, the rest are decent but would not recommend them.

>>385803063
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXkWfEIALxM

>>385803063
AI is worse than Empire
Phalanx is broken
Roman don't hold a proper formation in battle
Sea to Land Battles are neat in that they finally made it past developer promises and were actually in the game but they were terrible.
Faction diversity is much worse than Rome I because they didn't forget that Hellenization was actually a thing this time around.
UI looks like a placeholder some intern threw together.

>>385803285
It's really good. Shogun 2 suffered hard from homogenized Factions and not much going on on the strategy map apart from Sea Trade Routes and the Emperor becoming wary of you.
Fall of the Samurai addresses both of those issues and adds a lot more interesting mechanics / unit types and management.

>>385803640
That video was on point at release, but now Rome 2 with Divide et Impera overhaul is imo the best Total War after Europa Barbarorum.

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>>385803537
Didn't help that it was the worst offender for unit copy/paste
Warhammer is the best in regard to unit and army diversity

>>385802430
>avoid Rome Total War
Fucking idiot. The game is amazing with mods.

>>385804132
Rome 1 was a good game for its day but the diplomacy is fundamentally broken and it crashes all the damn time. Medieval 2 was a lot better with diplomacy and stability but AI suicidal backstab wars are still common.

>>385804597
>diplomacy is broken
True, that's why I said mods.

>it crashes
My pc doesn't and it's a shitbox.

Med2 is better, I never said it wasn't.

>>385804597
>it crashes all the damn time.
shitdose 10?

I'm not the OP (but also a complete noob to the series), but from looking at this thread I've decided to play Medieval 2. Are there any mods you guys would say make the game much better?

I've seen that there is a game of thrones conversion but from looking at their twcenter page, it's riddled with drama. Is it any good?

>>385804683
Moss can't fix it, diplomacy is broken on the engine level. For example I was playing EB, I had a huge empire but Illyria declared war on me anyway with their 5 provinces. Also I forgot about the broken squalor system of Rome 1 where in the endgame you regularly have to let cities rebel then exterminate them to keep public order.

>>385804825
I guess vanilla is stable enough but mods make it crash a lot.

>>385801907
Pick Stone Throwers and watch as you decimate entire units in 2-3 seconds across the map

>>385802720
That's what Wargame is for kid.

>>385804864
Rome total war has literally never crashed on me, and I leave it running in the background for long periods of time.
Who cares about diplomacy? It's not civ, just kill kill kill

>>385804132
Too bad the siege battles are still broken garbage, almost as bad as Medi2's.

>>385802896
I am in the Army Reserves and we use formations all the time, shit for brains.

>>385802932
>Atilla and Warhammer

no

>>385803936
rolling for the beastmen

>>385805936

I was in the army too and we used 12 man formations. Still that doesn't sound very fun Total War game when your 10,000 army consist of 12 man formations. Fucking moron.

>>385806014
>shit taste

yeah

>>385803936
not chaos pls

Help me understand something, the games seem really intent on making sure you run down every last fleeing man and practically get cranky at you for letting some get away.

What is all that about?

I've found the most accessible Total War and easiest to understand would be Shogun 2.

Do you actually enjoy managing the battle /v/?

>>385808756
No it's not, go play the game then come back with informed opinions.

>>385801907
I really liked Medieval 1 because of the hand-drawn map of Europe and the soundtrack. Made it max comfy. Haven't played it in ages though so I don't know how well it'll hold up, although I've been playing a fair bit of Knights of Honor lately and it's pretty good, though the battles could've been so much better

>>385808965
Well that's what TW is all about, if you don't like that then you don't the the genre.
It's like saying that you don't like shooting in a first person shooter.

>>385808965

No. I autoresolve everything besides those epic battles where you just know that autoresolve will fuck you over.

>>385804861
You HAVE to install Stainless Steel.
I doesn't completely fix the game, but it's basically vanilla plus and does it's best to patch it up

>>385808817
This

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i played like a few TWs and what the fuck is TW arena?
free to play? is it good?

>>385809232
So basically you just play a dumbed down version of hearts of iron and victoria

>>385803936
SUMMON

>>385809510

Yes. Total War has actual manoeuvering and army compositions though. And the map doesn't look like ass.

>>385809725

DA WAAAAGH

>>385801907
You start with either Shogun 2 or Rome 2 plus mods, or wait 2-3 years for Warhmmer to be completed, be able to buy it for less than 5 bucks because the jew tactics of CA don't deserve anything more, and for great mods to be made and polished.

>>385809510
Why he wouldn't? Auto unit replenishment is there for that.

>>385809854
IS 'ERE

>>385801907
Don't. CA are fucking hacks.

>>385801907
>early access 'f2p'
>still no stamina
>only 2 units to command
>removed from steam "BETA CLOSED" ""alpha""
I guess they paused their TW:MOBA while making hilarious profit from TW:WH1/3

OP YOU FUCKING NIGGER.

GET MEDIEVAL 2. GET THE LOTR MOD. ENJOY.

>>385803936
loll

>>385802720
It's called wargame faggot

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>>385809510
I have 700+ hours in both of those games so some total war once in a while is a nice change.
But I only really autoresolve battles if it's so lopsided there's absolutely no chance.

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Rome 2 with Divide et Impera is fun

>>385811589
WINRAR

Literally best M:TW is literally the best LOTR game ever made.

Shogun 2 is the best place to start. Any of them are good though. Except Warhammer, avoid that garbage.

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Shogun 2 is probably the best beginner total war to get into, then go where ever you want from there on historical stage. They are pretty much all good games.

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>>385812389
>They are pretty much all good games
lol

SUMMON
THE
ELECTOR
COUNTS

>>385803936
ayy

>>385812626
tell me what total war game is bad?

>>385802430
>avoiding Rome 1
>not playing shogun one for the agent cinematics and the bullshit Op that is the kensei

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>>385813350
You have such shit taste in vidya that having any kind of rational discussion is impossible.

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>>385813438
Not him but at least he tries to discuss unlike you.

>>385811589
LOTR is for people with shit taste, download Stainless Steel instead

>>385812102
what does it change ?

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>>385813524
Ok buddy.
Whatever makes you feel better about yourself.

>>385803936
rollin`

>>385813623
gtfo fag.

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>>385801907
Warhammer of course

>>385813524
anime faggot in total war thread you cant expect too much

>>385813670
>fighting dorfs as empire

MUH LORE

>>385803936
rollerrooooo

>>385813623
dumb anime poster

>>385813730
>complaining about anime on an imageboard founded to discuss anime

are you autistic?

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>>385813709
Fuck your lore

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>>385813667
>>385813730
>getting this mad because you have shit taste in video games

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>>385813438
>>385813623
>rational discussion is impossible
>just keeps posting anime smug face
We'll see about that buddy.

>>385813784
>using the most common pleb-tier newfag arguement

are you?

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>>385813784
>>385813835
>>>/a/

>>385813806
>>385813670
you have literally nothing to win since you cant capture their cities
BRAVO CA lazy british cunts

>>385813896
/a/ and /b/ were literally the only boards on 4chan when it started. Are you implying that's not the case?

If so, >>>/plebbit/ might be more your speed

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>>385813835
I'm not mad, but you're just an asshole. He just asked you something, but your shitty brain can't communicate.

>>385813987
You have to fight to survive, otherwise they just raze your shit

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>>385813605
lot of things, it's an overhaul, from gameplay mechanics to graphical changes.
Here's link for you to look at
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?2024-Divide-et-Impera-(DeI)

>>385813987
They're fixing that in the second game + combined map

It was kind of dumb but its part of the Lore so

Anyone else army formation is a single line? I'm really suck at formation.

>>385814041
that's a good reason i suppose
they have never attacked me though

>>385814143
Keep your infantry as a line, put your ranged units behind (Crossbows) or in front (Gunners) and put cavalry at the sides. Bam, perfect formation.

>>385803936
Pls no elves

>>385803936
SUMMON

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>>385814023
>>385813912
Never ever fucking reply to me again unless you're contributing to the thread.

>>385814143
Depending on the size of the army..

Center line, with your tough long lasting troops, those will be the ones taking charge against the others.

Left wind and right wing, flankers and protectors depending on what the enemy does. Could use stronger units to move around and get the enemy while they are busy with your front line, or shock cav, also worth having some troops there to protect against the enemy doing the same, so spears or whatever.

Front line, missile troops that can fall back behind your center line when things get too hot, then move around as needed.

Rear line made up of reserves, don't have your entire army fight at once if you can help it, have some waiting behind to fill gaps or help out in poor match ups.

Artillary line at the back, for obvious reasons.

>>385814049
will try it

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I want to play the Empire but I heard it was shit, is Napoleon any good?

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>>385814370
>I can't communicate so I try to troll to hide it.

gl in life

>>385814495
Napoopan is total trash.

>>385814143
I usually use deeper, near square formation for better maneuverability. But I've haven't played the newer TWs.

>>385802623
>If you want to focus on empire management - Shogun 2.
wat? Shogun has little to no empire management. Attila is the one that you want for that.

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>>385813407
>mfw putting Kensai on bridges

>>385814495
Napoleon was much better than Empire desu

>>385814462
Just put everything in a fucking line you autist.

>>385803640
>hurrr I played Rome 2 when it came out, its bad
t. never played emperor edition

>>385814959
emperor itself is still a bad game
without mod it's terrible

>>385805936
Modern formations don't consist of huge blocks of men. Literally impossible to translate them into total war.

>>385805936
They tried TW formations in the first World War ,and it was an utter disaster.

>>385814213
Don't crossbows have pretty flat arcs? I think it's better to flank with them, else they'll kill your own men.

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>>385814959
I agree, they fixed the game and made it playable and enjoyable surprisingly. Rome 2 had the best BAI yet in total war after patches, but the CAI and the Campaign mechanics made it a little lackluster, also graphics without using a gem/reshader is ugly to look at. I'd say its okay without mods, but excellent with mods like DEI and with GEM to band-aid the bad lightning. One of my pet-peeves with vanilla Rome 2 was the unit models looked bad to me.

>>385815073
Maybe it's not the best Total War but way more than half of the things people bitched about when it came out got fixed, but for some reason people have such hate for the game that they act like they're still valid complaints.
Also I had a lot of fun with it and is a better first total war than Shogun 2 IMO since it's also barebones.

>>385801907
Shogun 1 is a good place to start. It's simple and purest of TWs.
However, it's a very dated graphically and campaing map is risk style.

Rome 1 is other good option if you want something more modern.

What's so bad about the Empire. Bugs?

>>385815673
First game with Warscape engine.

>>385815673
Empire had a bad buggy launch like Rome 2.
It came after Medieval 2, and Empire got a new engine and had a lot of changes that a lot of fans did not like, like the dumbed down and removed Campaign map mechanics.
For a game in it's 18th century historical settings after patched it's still a good game to me since I managed to get 300 hours out of it.

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THANQUOL FUCKING WHEN?!?!

>>385803936

Rollo

>>385815423
Gunners have flat arcs, Crossbowmen can shoot over infantry unless the enemy target is very close.

>>385816007
Did it has any game breaking bug? I've heard the waiting time between turn become too long later in game.

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>>385816298

>Paint miniatures

m pretty new to TW so correct me if I'm wrong but it feels like battles are mostly already decided beforehand by unit composition and there isn't really much you can do to influence the outcome

is it true or do I just need to git gud?

>>385816618
Why repost this when you already asked in the general pleb

>>385816162
There is no way we won't get skaven anon calm your tits.

>>385816618
You get to git gud. TW is about match ups but that isn't the only deciding factor in a battle. Shitty swordsman armed with clubs can still beat some highly trained anti-unit if you flank, buff morale, force the enemy to charge up hill, etc etc. You do want a balanced army though.

How does CA come back from TW:W? After monsters, magic, unit variety and flight its going to be hard to go back to cycling cav into the back of a spear wall for 300 turns.

>>385816978
Victoria: Total War with African Colonization expac

>>385816618
Short answer is no.

You can clearly see this in way AI plays. Because AI rarely takes most out of it's units it's relatively easy to beat it with weaker set.

>>385804597
>but the diplomacy is fundamentally broken
There isn't a single total war game for which this isn't true.

>>385816801
>TW is about match ups but that isn't the only deciding factor in a battle
>Dorfs into beastmeme
?

>>385816784
delet this

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was TOTAL WAR ARENA a decent TW game? i have no experience with previous TW games but i thought this one (alpha) was fun.

>>385815073
Even the EE is literal dogshit compared to atilla gameplay balance and optimisation wise.
Beyond 'muh SPQR" there is no reason to play rome when atilla exists.

>>385817152
It plays like Total War but it's not as fun, the battles are lightning fast

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>>385817250
>atilla
>atilla

>>385816978
Their milking TW:W for all its worth knowing the next game won't be as big

>>385817070
Warhammer has serviceable dilplomacy, and the factions act fairly logically.

>>385801907
with kingdom under fire II ;^(