Egypt – The Rich Empire of the Desert

By ustedloco

This guide was written while playing on the hard difficulty level. It applies to all levels of play, however.

After conquering pesky Rome from the old Senate men, you l probably just want to play as a completely different faction rather then be one of the mediocre Roman factions. Here your chance to command the exciting chariots of the deserts with a mix of infantry tied in an archer bow. The faction to play is Egypt.

Still with me? Good. I here to show you the heart and all the other organs of Egypt. I am still quite new to Rome: Total War when writing this. Deal with it.

Without a demanding Senate to pull you around the Mediterranean, you feel leaderless. Not true. Your objective is clear still, conquer Rome and 50 territories. To help you do this, you e got two great wonders, the Lighthouse near Alexandria and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Read each of these wonders to find out how to maximize the effects.

Take a tour of you cities. You have 6 territories, 4 more than Rome has. You l have a diplomat and a spy located somewhere on the board. You could get some trade rights with the neighboring countries, but it is not needed. You l find a small army above Memphis. Those units placed on the board are not mentioned in this guide; however you may still use them (and should!).

Egypt technology tree is noticeably different then the past faction you played with. The main difference is you have five temples to construct in your empire cities.

Every shrine is dedicated to a god and then the last religious upgrade, they add a little to their basic effects. Here are the five religious buildings and what their effect is:

 ShrineTempleLarge TempleAwesome TempleTemple City
Horus5% Happy
5% Law
10% Happy
10% Law
15% Happy
15% Law
20% Happy
20% Law
25% Happy
25% Law
+1 Armor, Light, Heavy Weapons
Set5% Happy
5% Law
10% Happy
10% Law
15% Happy
15% Law
20% Happy
20% Law
35% Happy
25% Law
1% Growth
10% Health
Imhotep5% Happy
5% Health
10% Happy
10% Health
15% Happy
15% Health
20% Happy
20% Health
25% Happy
25% Health
Trade Goods Increased
+2 Experience to Troops
Osiris10% Happy20% Happy30% Happy40% Happy50% Happy
10% Law
1% Growth
Isis

5% Happy
0.5% Growth

10% Happy
1% Growth
15% Happy
1.5% Growth
20% Happy
2% Growth
35% Happy
10% Law
2.5% Growth

The temples to Horus are identical to Set, until the temple city is built. It is much better to accompany smiths. Set temples are good, especially at the last upgrade, which is good for captured enemy cities. Imhotep is good for troop processing cities. Osiris is good for overall happiness, but has no real strengths. Isis is good for places where population growth is limited for some reason. (constant plague for example)

So, what does Egypt have to offer in its royal armies? The main advantage is chariots, which are more controllable than elephants or war dogs, but stronger than javelineers and faster too! Having a unit or two of chariots in the army can turn the tide of the battle in your way. In Egypt, it is easy to control rebellions because your units are meant to fight in the desert! Egypt archers are good for picking on the general bodyguard or loosen enemy phalanx positions. It has good starting units too!

Anyways, I want to show you how I started the game as the Egyptians. It a fast move by move to capture Antioch and build your home economy.

1st Turn

  • Sidon- Build Stable and recruit three Nubian Spearman
  • Jerusalem- Build Stable, 1 Slinger, 2 Peasants
  • Salamis- Build Road
  • Alexandria- Set Tax Rate to the maximum as long as it does not go below 105% public order
  • Memphis- Build Port and set Tax Rate to the maximum as long as it does not go below 105% public order
  • Move two Chariot Archers in Alexandria to Sidon.

2nd Turn

  • Salamis- Build Mines
  • Thebes- Build Paved Roads

3rd Turn

  • Memphis- Build Paved Roads
  • Move Ahmose from Memphis to Thebes and set Tax Rate in Alexandria to the maximum as long as it does not go below 105% public order

4th Turn

  • Salamis- Build Land Clearance
  • Jerusalem- Build Paved Roads and recruit two Desert Cavalry
  • Sidon- Build Paved Roads and recruit two Desert Cavalry

5th Turn

  • Thebes- Build Mine
  • Check all cities to make sure public order is good.

6th Turn

  • Memphis-Build Communal Farming
  • Salamis-Build Trader
  • Move two bowmen, one slinger, two peasants, and two desert cavalry from Jerusalem barely outside the city.
  • Move three Nubian spearman, two desert cavalry, and Egyptian chariot archers from Sidon to the other units.
  • Check to make sure both cities are still in good public order.

After that, use your army to demolish Antioch. Here a simple strategy I used to sack Antioch using only two rams:

  • P=Peasants (Holding two rams.)
  • B=Bowmen
  • N=Nubian Spearman
  • D=Desert Cavalry
  • S=Slinger
  • C=Egyptian Chariot Archers

When taking Antioch, I experienced a fight with a small garrison. You may find yourself against a better army, but strategy is the key to victory. Use the Peasants to knock down the gate and a key wall place and march your Nubian Spearman through while your bowmen soften the enemy phalanx. Once you control both parts of the wall, charge you cavalry and chariots through and secure the town square and fight of the leftover garrison.

Now relax, you deserve it!

Retrain your troops and start building up in your captured settlement. I suggest enslaving the population, but it your decision. Your next target could be the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, or make peace with the enemy and build up a franchise economy. Reach for the stars! Or at least Rome!

No chickens were harmed in the making of this article (except the eggs I ate for breakfast).