Newbie Questions - I can't beat Easy AI as Romans

[Satevis]

I actually have trouble with Easy AI despite playing other RTS games. My point of reference is Zero-K (Total Annihilation) and War for the Overworld (Dungeon Keeper). I'm a mid-ranked player for ZK's online multiplayer, but it's an extremely different RTS.

So far I'm trying to figure...

1. What is the advantage if any of raising livestock in a Corral vs building more Fields?

2. If I cancel or destroy a building, how much of the cost is recovered?

3. How much better do my units perform given the different formations?

4. How does the Trader unit affect prices on the Market?

I didn't spend any effort building walls while playing as Gauls or Britons.

5. Are walls important for defensive play as Romans?

6. How do I handle extremely long ranged archers (vs Seleucid?)?

Edited yesterday at 11:20 by Satevis

[Gurken Khan]

This game does have a learning curve, don't give up! You could reduce the game speed to ease you into this difficulty. All I'm gonna say is AFAIK, personal opinion and not thoroughly calculated.

5 hours ago, Satevis said:

1. What is the advantage if any of raising livestock in a Corral vs building more Fields?

None. The investment slows my progress and it's additional micro. (Sometimes I keep cattle in my corrals to produce a trickle of food, but I don't know if it's actually worth the effort.)

5 hours ago, Satevis said:

2. If I cancel or destroy a building, how much of the cost is recovered?

The part not build. (Workers didn't start yet = full refund, deleting existing building = all is lost.)

5 hours ago, Satevis said:

3. How much better do my units perform given the different formations?

I hate formations with a passion so I wouldn't know.

5 hours ago, Satevis said:

4. How does the Trader unit affect prices on the Market?

Not at all; only bartering from the players affect the prices.

5 hours ago, Satevis said:

5. Are walls important for defensive play as Romans?

I believe the consensus is that walls largely aren't worth the effort.

5 hours ago, Satevis said:

6. How do I handle extremely long ranged archers (vs Seleucid?)?

Melee cav?

[Deicide4u]

8 hours ago, Satevis said:

What is the advantage if any of raising livestock in a Corral vs building more Fields?

As said, none. Don't even bother, unless you have extreme excess food in the late game. In which case, there is no reason to improve the income, anyway. 

8 hours ago, Satevis said:

How much better do my units perform given the different formations?

Your units can assume better positioning, especially ranged units. It reduces the empty walk time for archers to get into position. It also allows you to better micro the army. Otherwise, no other benefits and formations don't give bonuses in the base game. 

8 hours ago, Satevis said:

Are walls important for defensive play as Romans?

Walls can delay the AI, but they are not good against other players. There are some bugs that need to be fixed, mostly around wall snapping. 

Just practice and try to get familiar with the game. No shame in playing against Sandbox AI in your first matches. 

Edited yesterday at 14:38 by Deicide4u
Typo

[guerringuerrin]

Hi, @Satevis. Welcome to 0 A.D.! I'll try to answer some of your questions.:

1. What is the advantage, if any, of raising livestock in a Corral vs building more Fields?

Economically, Fields are still generally more efficient than Corrals. However, Corrals have a harder-to-measure advantage: they allow you to replace some Civilians with Cavalry, since cavalry gathers food faster while also giving you defensive units in your base that can help protect against raids. In addition, you can garrison livestock inside Corrals and get a small constant food trickle.

At competitive level, the standard is usually around 45 to 60 Civilians distributed across 9 to 12 Fields. A strategy that is becoming increasingly common is replacing around 20–25 of those Civilians with Cavalry.

 

3. How much better do my units perform given the different formations?

The repositioning that @Deicide4u  mentioned is key. An army deployed in a proper formation will have a much better chance of winning than a disorganized army attacking in a straight line or with ranged units (which are weaker) exposed on the front line. Units also run while repositioning, which gives you a mobility advantage that can be enormous if used correctly. In addition, units in formation can overlap slightly more. This allows melee units to attack enemies without needing to move around to find an empty spot.

 

4. How does the Trader unit affect prices on the Market?

Traders are only used to establish trade routes between Markets. Every time a Trader reaches or leaves its destination, you receive some amount of the resource you selected. They are especially useful on maps where certain resources are scarce.

 

5. Are walls important for defensive play as Romans?

Walls are not used very often because of their weakness and high cost. If used properly they can still help with defense, although many players consider them too weak at the moment.

 

6. How do I handle extremely long ranged archers (vs Seleucid?)?

Spear cavalry is probably the best option. They are faster and have a damage multiplier against cavalry. Gaul Naked Fanatics are also an excellent option against all kinds of cavalry.

 

As for struggling against the AI, I recommend watching this video. It explains the basics of economy management while also giving many valuable insights that can help you improve your gameplay.

ValhirAnt is one of the best — if not the best — 0 A.D. players. I highly recommend watching many of his videos, from beginner guides on beating the AI to highly competitive 1v1 matches against top players.

 

 

[Gurken Khan]

34 minutes ago, guerringuerrin said:

6. How do I handle extremely long ranged archers (vs Seleucid?)?

Spear cavalry is probably the best option. They are faster and have a damage multiplier against cavalry. Gaul Naked Fanatics are also an excellent option against all kinds of cavalry.

Methinks you got units mixed up.

[Deicide4u]

11 minutes ago, Gurken Khan said:

Methinks you got units mixed up.

Seleucids have long ranged cavalry archers, but the AI doesn't train many of them.

However, they do train a lot of infantry archer mercenaries.

Best way to counter them is melee cavalry, yes. Make sure you flank the archers from a side where their spearmen and pikemen won't touch you. 

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

18 hours ago, Deicide4u said:

Seleucids have long ranged cavalry archers, but the AI doesn't train many of them.

Methinks it would be interesting if the AI mixed it up a bit and tried different mixes of units in its attacks more than it currently does. Perhaps we can add more personalities to the mix beyond Aggressive, Defensive, Balanced, which try specific types of units for different strategies or tactics.