It’s been a few weeks since I went to the Total War: Arena North America Event and met the developers and major YouTube stars for the Total War franchise. It was a great experience and that alone got me hooked into playing the game even more. I’ve been playing the game pretty religiously since then and have played enough to unlock most of the commanders to Tier 5 (in the event we were playing Tier 6).
The game is still currently in Beta and another commander will be released soon for the Barbarians, which are lacking in commanders. This will be their second, compared to four for the Greeks and three for the Romans. They have also added a lot of new units including: Archer Cavalry, Ballistae, Heavy Catapults and Axemen. Steam is currently saying that at peak play times there are constantly around 1000 people online.
What does this say about the current state of a game in beta? Not much. Most of the time betas are still restricting how many people get to play by handing out codes, which you can still apply for on the game’s website. I for one say you should get one. It’s a fun, fast pace game that can frustrate you, but it balances out with potential for awesome plays from your teammates and yourself. I mean, you get 9 teammates to cheer on after you lose all your units anyways. Additionally, you can still type in chat and help your team to victory by using the drawing tool and ping notifications.
After playing all the commanders to at least Tier 5, I say you can definitely figure out what you like to play by Tier 3. I’m a Greek player. My favorite commander so far is Cynane, followed closely by Miltiades and Leonidas. Ironically, they all have 3 totally different roles in combat, but I can play any of them depending on my mood.
Historically, Cynane was the half-sister to Alexander the Great. After two failed marriages (they both died) she continued on unwed. She was one of the few female commanders in history for the Greeks. In Total War: Arena, she is a huge influence on missile units and cavalry. I mainly use her with archers and just rain death unto my enemy with her Barrage Skill. She is my highest commander at Tier 6.
The other two commanders, Miltiades and Leonidas are very popular in the history books, so I won’t go into so much detail. Miltiades is an Assault/Disruptor commander who’s heavy infantry and cavalry charge the enemy with their spears and shields, which takes a toll on the enemy army’s morale. Leonidas is the opposite. His abilities, like Hold the Line and Fight in the Shade, are made to bolster his already heavy defenses and survive most charges and barrages. When he does get close the Shield Bash and Battle Cry skills help him turn the tide in his favor.
The last Greek Commander is Alexander the Great, who is very popular right now with the Cavalry players. His skills are all for the horse-riders with the Wedge Formation into a Hammer and Anvil combo that just sticks the enemy where they are. With Rapid Advance he can quickly get behind and smash into you.
I have had fun with the other commanders. Arminius for example, the only Barbarian commander available currently, has an amazing skill called Infiltration where it marks you as an ally to the enemy. With his light cavalry, he’s able to charge into unexpected missile or artillery units who aren’t paying attention. He’s also the only one with units that gain a bonus for fighting in the forested areas. As heavy and medium armored units lose attack damage, his units gain damage and defense. My highest score so far is a 6,000 point game as Arminius with Tier 4 Light Cavalry just destroying artillery and archers with hit and run tactics. Since Artillery gives you the most points for destroying them, it was easy to get behind them with the Infiltration ability and just run them over with a charge.
I haven’t had good luck with the Romans other than Scipio Africanus. As the defeater of Hannibal, Scipio is well known in Roman history classes. As an assault commander, he is very similar to Alexander the Great from the Greeks. He just has a more overall appeal and can be used for Infantry as well with his Wrath of Mars skill and Quick March. Germanicus is similar to Leonidas. Two stances for defense and a heavy infantry charge. The only one with a different play style is Julius Caesar. As a Support/Engineer commander, his abilities help infantry and artillery. His abilities, Veni, Vidi, Vici all help you deploy faster and do a bit more damage. Divide and Conquer stops any other commander orders from being used as well. I would play him more,but he seems to be bugged. Being Tier 5 and having to carry around a Tier 3 Javelineer unit kinda dampens the feel of an artillery guy.
Well, I would like to see more Barbarian commanders. With only Arminius and Vercingetorix , I would like to see at least 4 at the end of the beta to match the Greeks. Which also means we should get one more Roman commander. I would also like to see other groups such as Syrian or Asian commanders. Something from the Far East flavors that we know they have the models for thanks to Shogun. More maps are always good too, and every time I see Salernum I’m excited. It’s my favorite map, but the small map rotation currently is kind of lackluster.
Overall the game is in a good state for a game in beta. It has constant fixes and updates, and the Creative Assembly guys play it daily. As I’m writing this I’m in a loading screen with CA_Jamie who I met at the North American Event and is in the Vercingetorix reveal. If you like games like Starcraft or really any RTS style game, this one is a definitely must try.
