The Britons and/or the Gauls would always stab me in the back at the least opportune time, or the Egyptians and/or Pontus. In both cases, no alliance that I made was safe. Same is true of the Egyptian threat when playing the Parthians.

If you're the Germans, you have to spend so much time worrying about the Gauls and the Britons that you don't have anything left to devote to your victory conditions. In each case, the two factions that you have to take out are not the ones that present you with the greatest threat. I found it very difficult to win with the Parthians and the Germans. I bought 2 Seleucid leaders and 2 Parthian leaders without making much of a dent in my finances.

With the Egyptians, you start out with so many lucrative cities that you can generate a huge cash surplus and buy off enemies with impunity. With the Julii, the one faction you have to take out-the Gauls-is also the one that presents you with the greatest threat, so you can focus on them without much distraction. With the Romans, you know that the Senate and the other Romans have your back (for the short campaign, anyway I know you have to take them out to win the long campaign), so you don't have to worry about them turning on you. It's easiest to win with the Roman factions and the Egyptians. Win with one faction, try the next one, until I've played all of them. I've been busily engaged with Rome: Total War for the last week or so, playing the short campaign over and over again to test the strengths and weaknesses of each faction.

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