In case you missed it: Total War: ROME II is returning to Mac on May 29th!

This timeless entry in the Total War series wasn’t built in a day: its final updates and DLC were released on Windows almost five years after the original game launched!

With a number of ROME II’s Campaign Packs, Culture Packs and free feature updates heading to macOS for the very first time, the time is ripe for a refresher — for prospective Imperators and returning Romans alike.

Existing players will retain their previously purchased packs, while newcomers have the option of picking and choosing what DLC speaks to them, or buying all the DLC in one great value bundle for a very serious saving!

So, without further ado, let’s get into the upcoming release of Total War: ROME II on macOS.

Jump to:

• Free Updates
• Campaign Packs
• Culture Packs
• Unit Packs
• Other

Up To Date

Let’s start with the major, free post-release updates, which will be included in the upcoming Mac release from day one:

The Politics & Power Update — New on macOS

Political intrigue is as much a part of Roman history as straight roads and Russell Crowe. The Politics and Power Update revamps the game’s political system, introducing a new Government Type system and giving greater importance to a ruler’s interactions with the different parties in government. The loyalty of these parties and their leaders must be bought or fought for, lest the state suffer a secession and descend into civil war!

On the other hand, loyalty earns Influence, a currency that can be spent to arrange marriages, sway rivals, purge malcontents, and perform other political manoeuvres.

Imperator Augustus Campaign

Speaking of civil war, this massive free Campaign Pack takes place in the immediate aftermath of Julius Ceasar’s assassination and the formation of the Second Triumvirate. The great Republic has fragmented into three as its great statesmen seek to remake it to their own ends.

Walk in the footsteps of Gaius Octavian (later Augustus), Marc Antony, Lepidus or the treacherous Pompey and spill some Roman blood in the name of, well, Rome — replaying the events which led to the dissolution of the Republic and the proclaiming of the first Emperor.

With territorial borders drawn to match the realities of the 41 BC setting, there are a total of 10 factions to choose from, including non-Roman heavyweights like Parthia, Egypt and the Iceni of the British Isles.

The Ancestral Update — New on macOS

The Ancestral Update casts the hierarchy of your faction in a whole new light with the introduction of the Family Tree, ushering a fan-favourite mechanic of the Total War series into ROME II.

On the Family Tree, members of your ruling dynasty and those of your political counterparts are born, live their lives and die over the course of a campaign. It is not just a visual representation of a web of social and family relationships, but also a powerful tool to help players forge strong alliances through marriage, and shape the rise and fall of individuals through Intrigues such as assassinations, bribes and adoptions.

Also included in this update is a comprehensive reworking of the Traits and Ancillaries system, most notably for Agents. Together these changes breathe new life into the campaigns’ casts of characters, bringing the player along for every twist and turn in their stories.

The Female Leaders Update — New on macOS

Following in the Syrian Queen Zenobia’s footsteps, Cleopatra and Teuta are fully playable as faction leaders and generals, along with custom visuals and voice-overs. Other important women have been added to all campaigns, with some serving in political posts and others as Generals — depending on culture.

The update also introduces new dilemmas which portray the trials and tribulations of women coming to power in the classical world — with traditions and prejudice to overcome.

On Campaign Packs

Completing Total War: ROME II’s Grand Campaign will make you feel like you possess the greatest military mind the world has ever known. But unlike Alexander, you needn’t weep — the many Campaign Packs on offer ensure there are plenty more worlds to conquer.

Each one transports you to a new flashpoint in ancient history, often refocusing the map to smaller geographical areas, adding more settlements and greater detail to the lands in the spotlight. Many introduce entirely new factions, mechanics and units across all of ROME II’s campaigns.

Caesar in Gaul

A wise man once said: “Gods, I hate Gauls.” We hear his grandfather wasn’t too keen on them either. The Caesar in Gaul Campaign Pack offers a chance to put that sentiment into effect, rewind the clocks to 58 BC and focus on Northern Italy and the lands of the Gauls. Historical characters of the time become playable generals and leaders, with Mark Anthony and others making their presence felt.

Fight the Gallic Wars from the perspective of Gaius Julius Caesar, or from that of his great foes: the Gaulic Averni, Germanian Suebi or the Nervii of Belgae.

Caesar in Gaul also adds new playable factions to the base game’s Grand Campaign, as well as new units to multiple faction rosters.

Buy

Hannibal at the Gates

The Second Punic War is the stage for a titanic clash of ancient Superpowers: Rome against Carthage, Scipio against Hannibal, with supremacy over the Mediterranean as the prize.

The Hannibal at the Gates Campaign pack offers a tightly focused map of the Italian peninsula, North Africa and Iberia, with two great powers poised to plunge the region into conflict. This theme is further developed by a new diplomacy-focussed technology tree, allowing each side to undermine the other’s network of allies and client states, using subterfuge to sow discord and suspicion.

In contrast to the Grand Campaign's one turn-per-year approach, each in-game turn represents a month of real-time, with seasons shifting throughout the campaign — complete with bountiful harvests and wintertime attrition effects. While the campaign covers a shorter period of history the playtime remains lengthy and, with time’s march slowed, the drama of individual characters is given sharper focus and greater weight.

And, for those who require further convincing, yes, it’s also totally possible to take war elephants over the Alps!

Buy

Wrath of Sparta

Since the collapse of the Hellenic League, Athens has become the jewel of the Aegean, and its arrogance chafes the surrounding powers. Wrath of Sparta transports players to 432 BC, and the events of the Peloponnesian Wars, where the militaristic Spartans struggle to wrest Greek hegemony from the grasp of their powerful neighbours.

Meanwhile, in the east, the Persians are watching. Should any Greek state aspire to challenge them, the sons of Cyrus will bring the might of their gargantuan empire to bear…

Featuring the earliest start date in any of ROME II’s campaigns, and a beautiful map of the Aegean and Ionian coast, Wrath of Sparta introduces yearly Panhellenic Games and Festival event chains, new technology trees and unique units suited to this largely maritime theatre of war.

Buy

Empire Divided — New on macOS

Fractured and on the brink of collapse, the greatest empire the world has yet known faces a time of reckoning. With Rome beset by barbarians, civil war, pestilence and economic ruin, the Crisis of the Third Century is aptly named.

Amidst this chaos, a new Emperor ascends, charged with reforging Roman hegemony, reuniting the realm and stabilising it against all threats.

Will you lead the true sons of Rome as Emperor Aurelian? Or will you take the reigns of the Gallic or eastern Palmyrene successionists in a bid to establish a new heart for the Empire in your homelands?

Empire Divided brings the Grand Campaign’s gigantic map into a new age— introducing plagues, banditry and cult mechanics to showcase the instability of the era. Five of the campaign’s ten playable factions bear the ‘Heroic’ mantle, offering campaigns studded with flavourful event chains, led by unique historical leaders, towards the game’s grandest victory conditions yet.

Buy

Rise of the Republic — New on macOS

In 399 BC the Italian peninsula is fragmented and heavily contested by warring factions. The Rise of the Republic campaign begins in the aftermath of the Roman defeat at the Battle of Allia and the resulting sack of Rome by the Gallic Senones tribe.

Answering the call of destiny, Marcus Fabius Ambustus returns from exile to rekindle the embers of Roman greatness from the ashes of the fallen city. His struggles play out on a tightly focused map of Italy, populated by the playable Senones, Syracuse and Taras factions.

Whether you choose to foster or frustrate the ambitions of the fledgeling Rome, Rise of the Republic allows you to faithfully recreate or completely rewrite a pivotal chapter in the annals of history.

Buy

The Cultures Club

Next, we turn our attention to Culture Packs; each adds new and distinct factions to ROME II’s Grand Campaign, offering a unique perspective and direction for your next conquest.

Greek States

If the idea of uniting the Aegean appeals, and you love a good phalanx, the Greek States Culture Pack is a must.

It unlocks the cultural powerhouse of Athens, the Alexandrian Epirus and the fiercely militaristic Sparta for use in the Grand Campaign. Each faction brings its own roster of units and has access to several new buildings.

The Athenian pursuit of enlightenment grants them technological and cultural bonuses. Sparta’s economy is buoyed by a large slave population; and Epirus enjoys bonuses to settlement exploitation stemming from its origins as a confederation of villages.

Buy

Nomadic Tribes

Trample the ancient world under hoof with three new factions. The Roxolani, Massagetae and Royal Scythians all gallop out of the steppe: powerful mounted forces unmatched in battle on the open field.

The Roxolani live from their skills as traders, and as committed conquerors who fight hard in enemy territory. The Royal Scythians are experts with the bow, and make their living through expert craftsmanship. The fiercely independent Massagetae are tenacious defenders of their own territory, while their skill in animal husbandry brings substantial income from raising livestock.

The Nomadic Tribes Culture Pack also includes a horde of new unique units, buildings and objectives — offering a radically different, cavalry-centric approach to ROME II’s warfare.

Buy

Pirates & Raiders

Why build your own wealth when you can plunder that of others? That’s the question at the heart of the Pirates & Raiders Culture Pack, which introduces the Ardiaei of Illyria, the Thracian tribes of Tylis and the Odrysian Kingdom to the Grand Campaign.

All are accomplished brigands; the Ardiaei favour maritime piracy, the Thracians are excellent archers, while the people of Tylis, descendants of Celtic migrants to Asia Minor, train their melee infantry to an exacting standard.

Each new faction brings its own units, technologies, traits and buildings, which allow them to specialise in pillaging their unfortunate neighbours. A new religion for the Ardiaei and Odrytsians further enhances their merciless playstyle.

Buy

Black Sea Colonies

Originally from the Greek City States, the pioneering peoples of the Black Sea Colonies Culture Pack have settled far from home, blending their customs with those of far-flung societies to create exciting new cultures.

The Cimmerian Bosporus is a land rich in resources, ruled by a dynasty of Greek nobles who have drifted from classical democracy to absolutism. This shift is reflected by higher corruption — a penalty which should be more than offset by the great agricultural wealth reaped from their fertile homelands.

Pergamon is a culture of craftsmen whose great temples solicit Athena’s blessings. This blossoming Alexandrian successor state builds efficiently, grows quickly, and can recruit mercenaries cheaply when danger nears.

Colchis is a Greek trading state carved from the fringes of the former Persian Empire. Its people have drifted far from their Aegean origin, earning them the ire and distrust of ‘true’ Greeks — while the presence of other cultures in their cities improves public order.

Buy

Desert Kingdoms — New on macOS

Kush, Saba, Nabatea and Numidia — great powers of African, Arabian and Numidian origins come to life in the Desert Kingdoms Culture Pack, turning the balance of power in ROME II’s Grand Campaign on its head.

With its wealth of natural resources, the Kushite Kingdom is well-positioned to become a trading powerhouse, while its proximity to Egypt gives Kushites an affinity for the Hellenic pharaohs who rule there.

The Saba are at home in the arid south of Arabia, where a mastery of desert irrigation boosts their agricultural output. Their camel-mounted lancers make for cavalry who are also expert water conservers!

The Nabataeans are superb builders, exemplified by their wondrous capital of Petra. Their cities grow quickly and efficiently, while their diplomatic links to both Rome and the Hellenic world open up avenues for trade.

Formed from the merging of the Massyli and Masaeyli Berber tribes of the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, the Numidians are hardy warriors with a strong focus on cavalry, skirmishers and devastating desert ambushes. Their affinity for both Punic and Latin cultures create opportunities for drastically different campaigns.

Buy

Absolute Unit Packs

This dynamic DLC duo introduces a total of 18 new units across the entirety of the Grand Campaign’s playable factions and mercenary pools — putting yet more tools into the arsenals of creative generals.

The Beasts of War

Common wisdom holds that the dog is man’s best friend. The Beasts of War Unit Pack illustrates that they can also be his worst enemy — introducing ferocious war hounds, as well as scorpion pot-flinging ballistae, camel-mounted cataphracts and more to unit rosters across the Grand Campaign.

Buy

The Daughters of Mars

From coliseum-trained Gladiatrices to deadly Kushite Shieldwomen from the southern Nile, the Daughters of Mars Unit Pack introduces formidable female fighters to unit rosters and mercenary pools. Wise generals will do well to borrow the strength of those who walk in the sandals of Athena, Bellona and Andraste.

Note: To celebrate the rebirth of ROME II on the Mac App Store, we’ll be bundling the Beasts of War and Daughters of Mars Unit Packs into the base game at no extra cost.

Buy

Blood & Gore

War is a grizzly business, and the Blood & Gore pack unleashes a crimson tide of new visual effects, sound effects and animations that bring death very much to life.

Introducing gore-steeped terrain, dismemberment and decapitation death animations, and even a blood-splattered new main menu screen, this is not a DLC for the faint of heart!

Buy

So there you have it — a comprehensive breakdown of all of the pillars of Total War: ROME II’s triumphant return to macOS!

If you think you have what it takes to lead the legions to victory, head to Steam or the Mac App Store when the game is released on May 29th.