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If you haven't been completely oblivious lately, you will know that Slitherine Games has released the best PC game of ancient warfare to date, Field of Glory II. This was followed by its first DLC, Immortal Fire. FOG II has been updated on a regular basis to add even more features and to enhance this already great game. FOG I had a ton of DLCs released, from ancient to medieval warfare.





I will list here the new things that come with Legions Triumphant:





10 new factions: Alans, Anglo-Saxons, Caledonians, Goths, Hephthalites, Huns, Palmyrans, Picts, Romano-British and Sassanid Persians.

17 new units: Early Imperial Legionaries, Early Imperial Auxiliaries, Auxiliary Archers, Veteran auxiliary cavalry, Roman Lancers, Late Roman Lancers, Legio Palatina, Legio Comitatensis, Auxilia Palatina, Limitanei, Armoured Horse Archers, Expert Armoured Horse Archers, Fierce Nomad Horse Archers (Huns), Fierce Nomad Light Horse Archers (Huns), Irregular Foot (trousered), Pictish Spearmen and Jewish Zealots. Also the following that were available in the base game, but not used: Roman auxiliary cavalry, Sassanid levy spearmen.

22 new army lists (which together with 2 in the free patch, expands the total number of army lists to 132).

o Alan 25-476 AD

o Anglo-Saxon 449-476 AD

o Armenian 253-476 AD

o Bosporan 11-375 AD

o Caledonian 50-225 AD

o Germanic/Gothic Foot Tribes 260-476 AD (Franks, Alamanni, Visigoths, early Vandals etc.)

o Germanic/Gothic Horse Tribes 260-476 AD (Ostrogoths, Gepids, later Vandals etc.)

o Hephthalite 350-476 AD

o Hunnic 250-375 AD

o Hunnic 376-476 AD

o Indian 320-476 AD

o Jewish Revolt 66-135 AD

o Palmyran 258-273 AD

o Pictish 210-476 AD

o Roman 24 BC – 196 AD

o Roman 197-284 AD

o Roman 285-378 AD

o Roman 379-424 AD

o Roman 425-476 AD

o Romano-British 407-476 AD

o Sarmatian 25-375 AD

o Sassanid Persian 224-476 AD

10 new Epic Battles: Watling Street 61 AD, Adamclisi 102 AD, Hormozdgan 224 AD, Emesa 272 AD, Argentoratum 357 AD, Maranga 363 AD, Adrianople 378 AD, Frigidus 394 AD, Chalons 451 AD, Nedao 454 AD (each playable from either side).

36 new Quick Battles (each playable from either side).

With Legions Triumphant (together with the base game and Immortal Fire) the Custom Battles and the Sandbox Campaigns modules now include 132 army lists.

4 new historically-based campaigns:

o Third Century Crisis

o King of Kings (Sassanid Persia)

o Stilicho

o Empire of the Huns The free patch accompanying the release of Legions Triumphant includes major improvements to the campaign system.



Ability to fight on after a lost battle.

Ability to name your campaign units.

Maximum number of battles in sandbox campaigns increased, with more decision points and new possible decisions and events.

Additional enemies in sandbox campaigns. You will need to fend off attacks by other enemies as well as advancing the campaign against your primary opponent.

Units not only increase in quality following victories, but will upgrade to higher quality unit types when they reach the required quality. (e.g. Raw Pikemen > Pikemen > Veteran Pikemen).

Anachronistic what if campaigns – by turning off the date and geographical filters you can set up sandbox campaigns between any two nations covered by the game from 550 BC to 476 AD. Additional enemies in the campaign will fit the date of the main enemy – so that it will be as if your army had been transported in time to a new era. Other major changes in the free patch:



o Improved AI.

o Evaders may suffer casualties even if they escape their pursuers.

o Chargers will now follow normal pursuit rules if their opponents break on contact. i.e. Infantry (apart from warbands and raw troops) will not pursue.

As I mentioned, one of the best things about this game is the fact that it is continually being upgraded, and you do not even have to buy DLCs to get the enhancements to the core game.











I do not like one thing about the new DLC, and that is the choice of the 'Epic Battles' that come with it. I am not a sandbox type player that likes to pit X against Y army in different circumstances. I like to play historical battles. I can deal with plausible 'what if' situations, but that is about it. The choice of battles to include is highly subjective so it is possible that many other gamers will like the included choices. The modding and scenario creating community for FOG II is amazing and very large. So I have no doubt that the battles that I want to re-fight will be along shortly.











Speaking of the modding community, there are now mods for all of the following wars/eras to play:





The American Revolution





The Age of Reason





Napoleonic Wars





This is just a taste of the modding done for the game. These mods push the envelope for the game. There are also tons of mods of redone Epic Battles and completely new ones during ancient times. There are also many full campaigns that have been uploaded for ancient times.











This is an AAR of my replay of the battle of Chalons that comes with the Legions triumphant DLC. The Roman general Aetius has collected what is left of the Western Roman Empire's Army. Added to this are Franks, Alans, and Visigoths to turn back a Hun invasion of Gaul by Attila. Historically the battle was a loss for the Huns, but the winning Allies did not try to destroy the Huns and their allies. So Attila lived to fight another day until dying of a nose bleed, of all things. I am playing the Huns and trying to change history. The Huns also have allies in this battle, among them the Ostrogoths, and Gepids. The Hunnish cavalry is the typical horse archer from the steppes of Eurasia, and fought in the same way the older Scythians did, and the Mongols in another 700 years. they will ride close and blot out the sun with arrows until you break formation and try to come to grips with them. Historically they were placed in the center of the Hunnish Army at Chalons. I wonder if a better placement would have been to put them on a flank of the Roman/Allied Army instead.











The first two turns are more a a meet and greet between the enemies. I believe I am going to hold back my right from the Roman Army and try to crush their allies in the center and their right. On turn three my Hunnish cavalry has already disrupted some of the Alan units in the center. Unfortunately, my Gepid lancers on my right flank are not nearly a match to the Roman horse there. On my left flank, my Ostrogoths and the enemy's Visigoths seem to be equally matched. On turn four my Hunnish archers are still taking a large toll of the Alans. Turn five is much the same, although I do have my archers on both flanks trying to envelop the enemy. I know that one enemy cavalry charge can disperse my archers to the winds, so I will not really rely on them too much. By turn six, it looks like I am fighting three separate battles. The Huns are decimating the Alans in the center, while the Romans are smashing up my Gepids on my right. The fight on my left could go either way. I have chased off some Visigoths, but my Ostrogoths are taking a beating in the center of the conflict. So it is turn eight, and my Hunnish archers have blown a hole through the middle of the Roman/Allied line. I have lost a lot of troops, but my Huns will now be able to sweep either right or left to destroy either the Romans themselves or the Visigoths. Fighting the battle from Roman side, it will be tough to come up with a strategy to keep the Huns at bay.























This is an excellent game by Slitherine, and will only get better. This DLC Legions Triumphant is another great add on to the base game. I just wish they had asked me which Epic Battles to include; just kidding.



Robert