u/HungryFarm2266

In Rome Total War, morale is the true health bar. Basic factors that provide a steady boost or penalty include the presence of a general for encouragement and ensuring proper flank security. Tactical pressures like being under missile fire, enduring fire arrows, or facing artillery and cavalry charges also play a significant role. Additionally, fighting from a higher elevation provides a clear advantage for your troops.

The most significant drains on morale come from high casualties and extreme fatigue. Taking heavy losses in a short period or letting your soldiers become exhausted will almost certainly lead to a rout. Having a clear numerical advantage also helps break the enemy, although this can be more difficult to achieve in balanced engagements.

I have been playing as Numidia lately and found that Numidian Cavalry is a great unit. If I had to choose just one unit for a simple solo win it would definitely be Numidian Cavalry.

The skirmish mode attribute that automatically avoids melee lets you ignore heavy micro management. Because they have high morale they rarely break in battle. They are easy to recruit across the entire map so you never have to worry about casualties and they level up at a fast pace.

Whether it is fighting elephants or chariots or pikes or other horse archers they have a way to win. They might struggle against large numbers of elite late game infantry but theoretically speaking if you push fast enough the computer will never have the chance to recruit those advanced city units.

I have been playing a Byzantine campaign recently and finally recruited some Greek Fire throwers. Their power in the game is absolutely mind blowing. It feels like deploying a flamethrower from centuries in the future, and they absolutely melt enemy infantry formations.

I did some light reading afterwards and most historical sources state that Greek Fire was primarily a naval weapon used to burn enemy ships. In Medieval 2, however, we use them as land infantry.

Does anyone here know if Greek Fire was ever actually deployed by land armies on the battlefield? Was there a portable version for foot soldiers, or is this just creative freedom by the game developers? Also, how devastating was it in real life compared to the game?

Thanks in advance for any history buffs who can shed some light on this.