Campaign Development Diary #2 - The Factions news - Age of Bronze mod for Total War: Rome II

Hi everyone, we hope you are all staying safe and well during these extraordinary times. I'm pleased to let you all know that the Age of Bronze team is all alive and well, and though there as been some disruption, we are all still on our feet and progressing with mod development

In this post we'd like to talk a bit more about our plans for the campaign, in particular the playable factions which will be available when the campaign mode first releases, and the complete set we will be ramping up to with future updates. You may remember how our first ever playable release for Age of Bronze featured the Hittites and Egyptians as the first two playable factions, and this theme will be continuing with the first release of the campaign, where our first two playable factions will be Egypt and the Hittites.

At the campaign's first release the other factions on the map will be unplayable and likely content incomplete, however in the months following launch we hope to bring the remaining major factions of the era up to playable status. At the very least we aim to have the following factions playable in campaign over time: Egypt; The Hittites; Assyria; Babylon; Mycenae; Knossos.

Let's talk a bit more about Egypt and The Hittites. In custom battle mode the Hittites presented a large and versatile roster of sword, spear, and axe infantry, accompanied by solid (if slow) chariots. To contrast this, Egypt took to the field with little in the way of close-quarters infantry, but compensated with very strong archery and highly mobile chariot archers.

Campaign mode will add a new dimension to how these factions play. Beginning in 1500BC we see the Egyptian New Kingdom start to flex its military might under Pharaoh Thutmose I, who will be your faction leader at the start of the campaign. The Kush Nubians to the south have recently rebelled, and though this rebellion has been comfortably suppressed they may seek to challenge Egyptian rule again when the time is right. Egypt on the campaign map will benefit from a healthy starting territory, benefitting from food settlements along the Nile, and a comfortable faction bonus to wealth from industry on account of their exceptional artisans. War, however, may soon become a regular fact of life, as Egypt also suffers a moderate diplomatic penalty with all other factions.

The Hittites on the other hand start their campaign in less of an ideal position: sat in the dead centre of the Anatolian peninsula they are straddled by possible enemies - indeed, at this point in the timeline the Hittite Middle Kingdom suffered constant attack from their neighbours. The start of a Hittite campaign will therefore be tenuous, with victory or defeat hanging on your handling of your many nearby enemies. Your infantry, being amongst the most disciplined in the known world, gain a healthy bonus to their morale for land units. However you may also be able to offer the olive branch to some of your would-be-conquerors, with a minor bonus to diplomacy being another card in your hand.

We hope this gives a nice teaser of what's to come with the campaign, stay tuned for more news and previews!

- The Age of Bronze Team