I'll give a quick rundown of the one's I'm using or have used. It creates a game unlike any Rome you’ve played before but still relatable to the ‘vanilla’ feeling.I've almost exclusively played Rome 2 modded in some way since launch week.
NOW ENJOY! I apologize for the many mods but this is worth it.
The blood mod is added since I felt that it could be improved as well as keeping the blood on the battlefield even after the fight. I also like when 1vs1 group clash and after some time there is no line anymore, just pure mix of fighting between each soldier. WHY: I love a more animated battle as you can finally see how some of your brave soldiers fight in to the enemy and it just feels more authentic. The shield wall is great to finally use if you’re trying to hold a line. Testudo was the ancient ‘tank’, it should be hard to route with arches & slingers. WHY: With focus on that the romans were hard to fight. One thing I like about it is the auxiliary cavalry & infantry blockade until later in the game. And the last with corrections is to add some more alternatives to the factions. Garrison because as the city grows, so should its defenders and keepers of the peace. And as I mention before, I like the freedom so if I want my capital to be somewhere… the it should be… I AM THE EMPEROR! WHY: There are other cultures in this world and I like to see egyptians in egypt! And if the campaign couldn’t get any better, add more towns for a more alive environment… I actually place my armies close ‘towns’ now thinking they can relax in the inns after all that marching. The season effects is a no-brainer, it is needed to keep that feeling of nature actually affecting your army. Rome wasn’t built in a day, aye? The wonders is a great addition, gives some factions bonuses and I like to read about them ones in a while as they pop up. WHY: I like long games and where you have to think about your choices rather than ‘1 turn and fixed!’. With the new outcomes I started to use it more for the benefits rather than just keeping the other houses happy. When it comes to the diplomatic things, I like to have the possiblity to choose what I want to happen. It’s also frustrating to see the plague sweep across your lands and moving your armies away so you don’t loose half of the troops. Because it adds something of an random event so the world doesn’t feel so static.
A big plus is the included of 4 turns per year! It creates some interesting scenarios that didn’t happen on the old/original one. And as a last touch, lets just increase that ‘other income’ so that they get an extra bump to afford it. And you don’t want them to send some stacks of levies at you, nooo, some real trained warriors. And you want them, as big empires, to have massive armies. The big guys are the ones you want to fight, like Cartage and Egypt. It just gives the world a more immersive feeling, you know what I mean? The last one is important though: It fixes the bug with having 40 units in your army. I prefer ‘real’ images instead of those 2D art ones. WHY: Some nice touch to the cities and the unit cards. It’s a must for that clash of your 40 armies as you zoom in and look at them have at it. WHY: It’s one thing to have the campaign map looking good. Who doesn’t want it good looking after all these years? And it is not heavy for my 960 GTX card either! Win-Win! WHY: I love the way the changes this does to how the game looks. Even better when you see ‘your equal’ on the AI side standing at your borders ready for you.
WHY: Nice touch to see your generals and their wifes age and change over the course of all that playtime. I want to see some gauls or germanic tribes seize a moment while my armies were fighting of Carthage in the Iberian peninsula.
WHY: I wanted the AI to not just sit idle and wait for me to attack.