The Complete guide to ROME

[Capta1n0bvious3]

Another helpful thread, thanks all who helped out!

This table is so FRUSTRATING!!!! The right ramp screws me over time and time again. Everytime the ball gets to the top, it comes back down SdtM. *screams*

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This pretty much sums up what I thought about this table.


However, I'm trying to play this table again and Cloda's advice is absolutely fantastic, especially on the Western Garrison misson. I still struggle with it, but not as much. Also holding 2 balls and the quick flick around the right orbit is great too. I know some here do it, but I never had luck with it until this table. It should help my multiball skills a lot.

I didn't see it posted anywhere here but I might have missed it, on the Western Garrison if you hit the Romulus hole before 3 million it resets to 0. I didn't realize this and couldn't figure out why sometimes it took a long time to light up the hole and sometimes it was pretty quick.

Also, on Northern like posted you need to make 5 ramps/orbits to complete each wave. However where ever your 4th hit goes, you must hit the same ramp again to finish the wave. This matters to me because many times hitting the orbits is best for me so I don't get any drains from going up either of the 2 Conquer ramps. After hitting the right ramp I always try for the Jupiter ramp and most times I miss it. If I happen to hit it on the 4th time that means I have to hit it again to complete the round.

I know this is an old thread, but there's a lot of great info here for anyone playing this table like I am right not.

I also found it from Cloda's self indulgent/vain thread. I don't think it's either actually. It's hugely valuable at least for me.

Thanks again all!

[OriginalEther]

Yeah, I actually had a great run last night and completed the Southern Garrison for what I think was 6 times, but didn't get the frenzy.
Did hit my first Romulus jackpot for a cool 69 million.

Tried again this morning, giving myself 10 balls and Very Easy settings. Did the South 7 times and nothing, so yeah, it looks like you have to do each one.
Probably give it one or two more go's just to see the frenzy, then I'm probably done with the table. Way too irritating. If I were to play again, I'd just be trying to spam the Southern Garrision and Romulus.
Even on very easy, the right ramp is still a pain. Plus, I want to shatter Janus every time I hear that cursed shoot the ramp due to a misplaced shot.

Thanks.

Edit: Managed to get all 6 activated - took a few tries on Western - to see the frenzy with the adjusted settings. Got about 96 million on it.

Few quick details on the scoring (Keeping in mind on Very Easy some of the requirements are lowered, so the scores may not be completely accurate).

Northern - seems to be the least rewarding. Makes sense as there is no time limit. Got about 1.5 million for it.

Eastern - I think I got a 12.5 million completion bonus. Didn't notice how much I made per shot.

Western - Sorry, didn't pay close attention. As Cloda implied, this was the hardest. I would assume you get the "jackpot" points for hitting the Romulus hole each time.

Southern - each shot provides 250,000 (Center) 500,000 (Romulus) or 1 million (Scale). After the 5th is hit, you get those points again (i.e. hit the Scale hole 5 times and you get 10 million total). To finish you get 1 million for hitting the center hole or 2 million for the Jupiter orbit. So you can get up to 12 million for this.

Central - only noticed the 5 million completion bonus.

Coastal - each target hit was 100,000 points. The subsequent right ramp shot was 150,000 points. Completion gives another 5 million points.

Frenzy - it looks like each shot was either 2.5 million or 3 million points.

[MightyIronHead]

Question:
Do you have to complete all 6 separate garrisons to activate the final mode, or just 6 missions period (whether it's 1 of each, or the same mission 6 times)?
The chat here implies all 6, but STTC's guide makes it sound like you could repeat missions.
Haven't been able to find out for myself; most I've done in one game is four.

It's been over a year since I played the table so my info may be a little suspect, but here goes:

There is an achievement called Legatus Legionis which requires you to either reach FRENZY(final mode) or complete any 7 garrisions. Doing 7 of the same garrision gave me the achievement, but I don't think it started the final mode.

[OriginalEther]

A note and a question

Something frustrating I'll add (that I didn't see mentioned earlier) is that you have to hit the center (Janus) hole to collect the extra ball. But, it won't activate if you are ready to start a mission (i.e. CONQUER is lit up) or during a mission (or at least during a mission where the center hole plays a role). Worse, should you drain the ball before you collect the extra ball, bye bye extra ball.

Lost 3 extra balls in the past 48 hours this way. Grrrrr!
Lesson learned: pick the Eastern mission when this occurs, and just wait the 15 or so seconds, collect, and start over.


Question:
Do you have to complete all 6 separate garrisons to activate the final mode, or just 6 missions period (whether it's 1 of each, or the same mission 6 times)?
The chat here implies all 6, but STTC's guide makes it sound like you could repeat missions.
Haven't been able to find out for myself; most I've done in one game is four.

[The Albin0 Rhin0]

This table is so FRUSTRATING!!!! The right ramp screws me over time and time again. Everytime the ball gets to the top, it comes back down SdtM. *screams*

[Alipan]

So I wizarded this at the weekend for the first time - my memory of the last few events is a bit hazy though.

I remember that after completing the last garrison the mini orbit lamp was flashing and my first reaction was that I need to hit that. That didnt do anything but then I noticed the right ramp was flashing and a shot up there activated the wizard multiball.

I cant remember if they were both flashing at the same time. Maybe I didnt need to hit the orbit first?

Anyhow I was wondering if its possible to start 'Blessed' before the wizard mode? 2 x score on that would be amazing.

Great table Rome - its a bit like Blade where you get the majority of your points from the Wizard mode (apart from Romulus that is which isnt a good design decision imo).

You have to bring your 'A' game to this table. Even a successful game is over quite quickly. To my mind this is much more fun than some of the recent grindathons (although there should be place for both in FX2).

[Cloda]

Garrison Missions and Trick Shot videos

I made some videos for the Rome Garrison Missions and also a video of a couple of trick shots and mini-games. OzVoyager1 made great videos playing through all the missions and the Wizard mode in one game, but I thought these could go with Logic_FTW's guide as a description for the Garrison Missions is still needed.

I don't have proper video equipment so I just use a video camera so the image and sound is not that great. The videos also don't display full screen when you watch it on youtube so I must have done something wrong when it was pulled in. My usual pride disclaimer... it is not easy playing and recording, so it didn't always come out as I hoped. Ah well... you can still see what is going on.

Northern Garrison Mission

"Shoot the flashing lanes, avoid the targets and the holes"

You are required to defeat 3 waves of the attacking enemy by shooting 5 flashing lanes for each wave. The mission is not timed.

Eastern Garrison Mission

"Shoot the flashing lanes to defeat the attacking hordes!"

This mission is quite tough because you have to complete a sequence of (initially 3) flashing lane shots to defeat waves of enemies in quite short time. You start off with around 30 seconds but with each wave defeated the amount of time you are allowed, get less between shots. I only completed 2 out of 5 waves in this clip but it was enough to complete the mission. Completing more waves awards you with a higher score for the mission

Western Garrison Mission

"Shoot the flashing lanes to raise the power! Shoot the left hole to swing the Ram!"

In this difficult 2 ball multi-ball mission you have to raise your points value to 3 million by shooting flashing lanes. Once it is raised you need to hit the Romulus hole. This then needs to be repeated a second time before the mission is complete. You can raise the points to higher than 3 million before hitting the Romulus hole for a higher mission score. This was definitely not my cleanest effort... but I made it!

Western Garrison Mission - Failed Attempt

"Shoot the flashing lanes to raise the power! Shoot the left hole to swing the Ram!".

I included this close failed attempt as well because it is played better than my successful attempt and shows the most effective way to raise the points to 3 million - shoot the mini-orbit repeatedly. Just had a brain freeze moment and messed up right at the end

Southern Garrison Mission

"Shoot the flashing lanes to gain control over the scale!"

You have a minute each time to shoot the ball into one of 3 holes - Janus, Romulus or the hole where the Soldier stands - this needs to be repeated 5 times. The soldier hole scores the most points (1 million per shot). After the 5 shots you need to hit either the mini-orbit (for 2 million points) or the Janus hole turned to the left for (1 million points) to complete the mission.

Central Garrison Mission

"Shoot the flashing lanes to destroy the enemy posts!"

To complete this mission you must destroy 4 enemy posts by hitting 4 of the flashing lanes twice each. The first time you hit a flashing lane, it will start flashing faster to indicate that you need to hit it a second time. You start with 30 seconds and each time you hit a flashing lane it is reset to 30 seconds again. If the time runs out you fail the mission.

Coastal Garrison Mission

"Shoot the flashing lanes to destroy the enemy galley!"

For this mission you have to hit 1 of 4 holes/targets (Romulus hole, hole below soldier, Janus hole and captured ball) in 60 seconds (per hole/target) before shooting the ball up the right ramp to load it for a shot on the enemy galley. This has to be completed for each of the 4 targets. After the 4th right ramp shot sequence hitting the galley you have to hit the right ramp a 5th time to sink the enemy galley and complete the mission

Trick Shots and Mini-games

Skill Shot - The Skill shot is quite straight forward... just shoot the ball into the Janus head turned to the left. Just press the A button, don't pull back on the right stick to launch the ball.

Spell Conquer/light combo extra ball - In this section of the video I managed to spell conquer while completing 7 combo shots. The extra ball is lit for the 6 combo shots. The crazy thing about this table is that you first have to complete a mission if the Conquer lights are lit before you will be awarded the extra ball by hitting the Janus hole.

Scale of Justice Mini-game - During normal game play if you hit the scale of justice (soldier hole) 3 times the wooden lane changer on the left ramp change position. When you hit the ball up the left lane the Janus head turns to the left and you then have one chance to hit the ball into the Janus head to score initially 200 points (it increases with 200 points each time) before the lane changer, change back again. In this section of the video I complete the last scale of justice shot and then complete the side Janus head shot... with a little flair, by first going around the mini-orbit (not intentionally off course).

Janus Says Mini-game - During normal game play if you hit the Janus head a countdown timer starts from a million points. You then have to hit the left ramp then the right ramp and finally the left orbit to complete the Mini-game. I try to avoid starting this as little as possible because you can't build combo's or light the Conquer letters while this mission is active.

Backhand Shots - Practice these shots as they often come in handy on this table.

Backhand Flick - With the right ramp the backhand flick works quite often and quite efficiently. I avoided it initially as it felt risky but eventually I realised that it works more often than not.

Nudge / Slap Save Combo - When you first start playing this table the right ramp is a deaf trap. By practising a well timed nudge / slap save for a ball going three quarters or higher up the right ramp and then speeding down the ramp again you can avoid a high proportion of the balls going straight down the middle. It is essential to get it right because it will happen and also quite often on this table.

[Cloda]

Tips for Rome

It would have been very interesting to see how many people would have been able to get the achievement if you had to get to Wizard mode to get it - I think it would have been the hardest achievement next to Ultimo. I managed it again yesterday... it is a beast

You can actually get to it very quickly - less than half an hour as it is only 6 missions that you need to complete so my advice to anybody that wants to beat the table... put it on your daily roster for at least one decent game and practice something specific e.g. for me it was the Western Garrison multi-ball mission which I first had to get right first before I knew I had any chance of getting to the Wizard mode (see my earlier post for a technique that worked for me)...

This table makes you concentrate much more than any of the other tables because each miss hit gets punished severely. To do well, your accuracy must be spot on so I definitely recommend giving this table a spin every now and then as it will definitely improve your general play. When you first play the table again after a while, do not be discouraged when it feels like your aim has completely gone to the pits... the table is on a steep playing angle and the ramps are ridiculously steep so you first need to adjust your aim by playing around a bit before you will feel more in control (especially after playing a table like Ms. Splosion man where it feels like all your shots find a ramp or orbit without even trying!!!).

The combo shots extra ball is an attractive proposition but be warned that a rushed miss hit will more likely end in a lost ball rather than an extra ball. Focus only on safe shots and get the ball under control if it isn't before continuing again. Remember that the Right Orbit shots stay lit longer than the ramps for a combo.

Remember an appropriately timed nudge and slap save for a ball speeding down the right ramp can save most of the balls from draining - it is an essential skill to master if you want to survive on this table.

Also practice the backhand shot into both ramps and also the flick backhand shot into the right ramp - it happens quite often on this table and is quite an efficient shot.

Make the decision to not specifically go for the Romulus multi-ball or the Mock-warfare multi-ball when you go for the Wizard mode... you will activate it as the game continues so rather just focus on the modes.

Thanks Logic for the Edits in your guide.. you clarified quite a few things since I last read it.

[Cloda]

I just felt the overwhelming urge to dote upon your exceptional literary/writing skills
Especially since English is your second language

My hat's off to you, sir

+, Logic, I for one really enjoyed your Romanian tidbits and whatnot. Knowing a bit of background information on the table can become useful when you have no idea what the DMD is referring to.

DMD: "Shoot the Legerdemain Effigy!"
Me: "...what's a Legedomain Ettipy?"

Welcome to the forum... sounds like this game has also taken over your gaming life. Thanks for the compliment... glad you enjoyed it

[julietecho2]

OK - the Western Garrison mission used to be the thorn in my flesh or to use a more era appropriate analogy - the sword in my side!!!!

After trying over, and over, and over and...... you get the picture - loads of times I finally found an approach that works better for me and give me a more realistic chance of completing it successfully.

As soon as the mission start I catch the first ball on my right flipper by holding it up as the ball gets ejected from the janus head straight onto it. The second ball gets launched and then I focus on using the left top flipper to complete the Jupiter orbit. If you miss, let is fall straight through as ball saved is still active for a while and the ball will be relaunched. Each time you complete it you get a million points added - thus, by completing it three times you can then shoot the first ball from the right flipper into the active romulus hole (if you complete it say 10x before hitting the romulus hole, you will get 10 million!!). If you still have "ball saved" activated (which is quite possible, because you can achieve three orbits very quickly after the missions starts) work on catching the one ball again on the right flipper (easiest to shoot the ball into the janus hole because it will drop down safely onto the flipper) and allow the second ball to fall straight through so that it can be relaunched again. In this way you can complete the 3x (or more for more points) jupiter orbits quickly again and end the mission with a final activated romulus hole shot with the held ball on the right flipper.

If the ball saved is not active any more, it gets a bit more tricky but by working on first holding a ball on each of the two flippers you can then complete the galley orbit with the ball on the left bottom flipper and complete the jupiter orbit from there.

Another interesting observation is that it happened once or twice that the mission ended very quickly after shooting the ball into the romulus hole, even though I did not score the required 3 million points for a second time. I think it happens when you manage to shoot a ball into the romulus hole a second time very quickly after you have achieved it the first time. I would be grateful if somebody that have a better idea of what is going on there could clarify it for me.

With this all said, I still find the mission difficult, but at least I feel a bit more in control.

I just felt the overwhelming urge to dote upon your exceptional literary/writing skills
Especially since English is your second language

My hat's off to you, sir

+, Logic, I for one really enjoyed your Romanian tidbits and whatnot. Knowing a bit of background information on the table can become useful when you have no idea what the DMD is referring to.

DMD: "Shoot the Legerdemain Effigy!"
Me: "...what's a Legedomain Ettipy?"

[BonbonShizzle]

Romulus hole

Has anyone noticed that at points, shooting the garrision hole sometimes it lights an extra letter for Romulus? I can't seem to pin-point when and why this happens. This would be good info to know as I find that shot far easier than the actual Romulus shot.

[UranusIsBroken]

BLESSED indicates you have activated a universal 2x multiplier that lasts for a short time, as mentioned by Cloda and Heathensauce above. Apparently, it even applies to mission/garrison scores.

The guide refers to this as:
"Hand Of Jupiter: Located on top of the right CONQUER Ramp. Must be unlocked with 2 consecutive Jupiter Orbit shots."

Thank you very much. It would seem that it would be a good idea to light up CONQUER, complete this sequence, then hit Janus in the face and do either the Southern or Coastal garrison for some easy points. I'll have to give that a whirl.

I'd appreciate it if someone would give this table some play and explore the jackpot increase on the Romulus multiball by hitting the captive ball.

[FIREBALL]

BLESSED indicates you have activated a universal 2x multiplier that lasts for a short time, as mentioned by Cloda and Heathensauce above. Apparently, it even applies to mission/garrison scores.

The guide refers to this as:
"Hand Of Jupiter: Located on top of the right CONQUER Ramp. Must be unlocked with 2 consecutive Jupiter Orbit shots."

[UranusIsBroken]

The 5 is a type-o, supposed to be a 3. Sooo-ry geeze. As far as the Romulus thing, thats pretty amazing you where able to get in the 90's, From what I remebered I thought the countdown started at 10m? I'll have to look at it again...

And the garisons are totaly self explinatory, the Dot matrix tells you what you need to do. This is meant to be an explination of everything on the table, not a hand hold on every shot.

I've been getting into this table a bit lately, and I have some questions and comments.

Regarding the Romulus multiball. I'm surprised no one's added this little nugget. The trapped ball on the right, used to start the Galleon Multiball, is a crucial part of the Romulus multiball. Hitting it INCREASES the jackpot. If you pay attention, it is indeed flashing like an objective target when the mode starts. I was able to successfully get the number up to 140M! Not that I completed the mode at that mark, but you can use it to re-raise the level as it progressively decreases...buying you more time and more points.
Now for a question. WTF does it mean when it tells me "BLESSED"?

This seems to happen when I hit the right ramp on occasion. Similar to when you start the Romulus multiball, a door opens at the top of the ramp and eats the pinball. I haven't been able to tell the significance of the matter, or any earth shattering point value. What seems to trigger it, is doing a series of successful shots with the top left flipper. It seems as though whenever you hit the shot the first time, it lights up a white lamp on the table indicating to do it again. Doing it again opens the door at the top of the right ramp. Anyone have any information on this?

Another thing. What's going on when it says "Take heart, the gods are with you."?


Edit: This guide is great, but it desperately needs a section for the garrisons. Whether it's shown on the DMD or not, it would be nice to have a detailed explanation of what's needed to complete the various garrisons...akin to the Excalibur guide which explains the objective of each of the Knight's Tales. It can't possibly take that long. If need be, I'll be more than happy to pitch in where i can, and it can be copied and pasted into the main body of the guide.

[bwhitenb5e]

Same here, I registered just to say thanks for the guide(s)! I totally get the "no official guides" thing as part of the pinball mystique is finding the nuances of the tables yourself. That takes a *lot* of time, though. As one that will never have that much time to devote to the game (or video gaming in general for that matter), these guides increase my enjoyment of the experience immensely.

So, thanks and well done!