Province development: army | General tips TW: Rome II - Caesar in Gaul Guide

Military development of a province is much easier. The inner provinces which lay far from enemies may entirely focus on generating food and money, whereas the frontier locations should contain all the buildings that are necessary for recruiting at least basic types of warriors. In the case of barbaric tribes, you will need Bronze Workshop, which gives access to most types of basic infantry units. Later in game, if you have enough money, you may replace it (with rebuild option) with Ironsmith, which allows you to build elite heavy armoured infantry. Additionally, this building also makes it possible to improve weapon and armour of soldiers, thus increasing their effectiveness in combat.

A model province focused on army recruitment.

Another building worth keeping near the frontline is the Stables. The Celts are horsemasters, their cavalry is a mighty weapon against other barbarians as well as the Romans. Initially, the Suebi have only light armoured riders - to unlock more advanced troops, you will need a Horse Corral. However, it is still true that weak cavalry is better than none - charging on troops which are already engaged in combat may sway the result of any battle.

The last building that is worth mentioning is Woodworker. This provides access to archers - who are excellent ranged fighters - as well as to war machines.

Apart from that, it is a good idea to buy a Mead Hall (Meeting Hall/Commons development path for the Suebi), which enables recruitment of berserkers, or a Great Hall (Chieftain's Hold/ Commons for the Arverni), which unlocks spear nobles.

A Greek colony is a source of hoplites and citizen cavalry.

In the case of Rome the situation is a little bit more complicated. Whereas the key building here is Field of Mars, which can be further developed into Manipular Barracks (heavy infantry and cavalry) or an Auxiliary Camp (light infantry and ranged cavalry), the units availability depends on the region. And so: in most cases you will have an access to legionaries and Celtic troops, however, when you take Massalia under control (a Greek colony), building the Field of Mars there gives an access to citizen cavalry and, in future, even hoplites.

Depending on your favourite type of units you may build a corresponding Training Field, so the recruits started off with a higher experience level, and at least one Workshop of each type, which later can be visited by your legions in order to improve their weapons and armour. The best solution is to have a Blacksmith and a Shieldmaker in one of the provinces located in the central frontier - this way the armies stationing at subsidiary locations will be able to spare one turn to refine their equipment.