Creative Assembly introduced mixed naval and land combat for land battles and city sieges for the first time in the company's history. Navies play an even more important role in Total War: Rome II than in its predecessor. Additionally, rather than solely assigning traits to generals and family members as with previous Total War games, the player can now assign traits to armies and navies as they gain combat experience through their years of conquest. These decisions will then affect the way the campaign plays out, such as turning the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. The Creative Assembly is expanding on this mechanic, with each decision leading the player down a particular 'decision path' based on the player's previous decisions. Furthermore, if an army loses its general a new one will be immediately appointed by the player.Īs with Total War: Shogun 2, the player will be prompted with decisions. Skills can be chosen by the player as their general levels up while traits are based on what a general does in game. Generals acquire skills and traits independently from the army they command. When the player creates a general and begins training his troops, the army enters a muster mode and it cannot move while in this stance. Players have the ability to name their armies and navies, and to change their emblems. This system has been implemented to make battles more decisive and for them to have a bigger impact on a war between two factions. A faction can gain more power by conquering more regions and filling its coffers with gold.

There is also a cap on the number of armies and navies a faction can have at any time, based on the faction's power.

Armies and navies in Rome II can be made up of a maximum of 20 units and must have a general or admiral to lead them. These stances are called 'Forced March' which enables an army to march further, but which will also tire out its men and reduce their fighting ability 'Defensive Stance' that enables the player to place stakes and build temporary forts 'Ambush Stance', which enable the army to remain hidden and attack the enemy with traps such as rolling balls of flaming hay and finally 'Raiding Stance' which lowers the range that the army can march but greatly lowers its upkeep cost. These stances determine many things, among them total movement points per turn or the ability to deploy traps for an ambush. Armies and navies also have changeable stances on the campaign map.

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