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Master Total War: Rome II unit types like infantry, cavalry, and siege units. Learn about special abilities like Wedge, Testudo, and Phalanx formations to dominate the battlefield.

Alright, let's break down the different kinds of troops you'll be using in Total War: Rome II. Understanding what each unit does is key to building a winning army and crushing your enemies. This section covers how units are categorized and the special tricks they can pull off.

Unit Categories:

• Infantry: These are your bread and butter. They fight on foot, can operate siege equipment, and many can hold the line for a long time. Think swordsmen, spearmen, skirmishers, and archers.
• Cavalry: Fast and mobile, cavalry are great for flanking charges, chasing down routing enemies, or harassing archers. However, they're usually weaker in a head-on fight and can get destroyed if they stay in melee too long. They come as heavy, light, or skirmishers.
• Siege: These units are built to smash down walls and fortifications during sieges. While they can fight regular troops, they're often inaccurate against smaller targets. Some are specialized for taking out enemy infantry from afar.

Special Abilities:

• Wedge Formation: Used by most light and heavy cavalry. They form a triangle, giving their charge a small but noticeable damage boost. Great for breaking enemy lines!
• Cantabrian Circle: For Horse Archers and skirmishing cavalry. Your units ride in a circle, firing as they go. This makes them harder to hit with enemy missiles and keeps a steady stream of arrows flying, but it tires your troops out fast and can lead to fewer direct kills over time.
• Testudo Formation: Available to most post-Marian reform infantry with square shields. Soldiers lock shields to create a defensive shell, making them nearly immune to missiles. The downside? They move super slow (one-fourth speed) and are very vulnerable to cavalry or infantry charges. Honestly, most players find it a bit useless since Roman troops are already pretty tough against arrows.
• Flaming Ammunition: Archers (but not Horse Archers) can use this. Arrows are set ablaze! It makes them less accurate but hits enemy morale much harder.
• Kill Raging Elephant: Only for Elephant units when they're out of control ('running amok'). The driver stabs the elephant in the brain. This kills the elephant and everyone on it after a 5-6 second delay.
• Phalanx Formation: Most spearmen can use this. They form a solid wall of spears, facing only one direction. It's an unstoppable force from the front, but units in phalanx can't run and can only face one way. You'll need to carefully reposition them if the enemy attacks your flanks.
• Warcry: Most barbarian infantry can do this. They let out a shout to boost their attack by 1.5x for a short period. Definitely use this right before you charge into the enemy!
• Berserker Mode: Specific to Berserker units. They unleash a war cry that sends them into a frenzy. This is like Warcry but more extreme – they ignore all orders and just attack anything nearby until they're dead or the battle ends. Use with caution!
• Run Amok: This isn't so much an ability as a status for Elephants and Chariots. When triggered by damage, being surrounded, or near fire, they go wild and attack anything, friend or foe.
• Chant: Druids can use this. They start chanting, which boosts the morale of nearby friendly units. Handy for keeping your troops steady!

Understanding these categories and abilities will help you build armies that counter your enemies and exploit their weaknesses. Don't be afraid to experiment!