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Total Yaaar: Rome 2 gets a swashbuckling culture pack

Rome 2 Pirates and Raiders

Total War: Rome 2 is getting smacked with some culture with the Pirates and Raiders DLC. Creative Assembly is tossing the new, Ardiaei, Odrysian Kingdom and Tylis factions, all part of the new Balkan culture group. These guys are the first playable Thracian and Dacian factions in Rome 2 and come with their own specialisations. 

They’ll crop up as mercenaries, too, so you don’t need to play as one of these factions to send their warriors into battle, though you would miss out on their cultural traits. The pack is due out soon, priced at £5.99.

CA says that the new factions are all about kicking arse and taking names. Making peace and lowering taxes won’t appease them if they are riled up, they just want to go to war. The more bloodshed they can cause, the happier they are.

The Ardiaei of Illyria are the seafaring pirate fellas, the Thracian Odeysian’s are the raiders of the bunch, using archers, skirmishers and the like to pester foes, while the warriors of Tylis are boast excellent infantry.

There’s a free update as well, which adds another Thracian tribe, the Getae, also part of the new Balkan culture group, and a new historical battle: the Battle of Pydna, where Rome and Macedon face off. Historically, Rome was victorious and the conflict allowed them to dominate the Near East. But you might be able to change that.

Cheers, Eurogamer.