The triumvirs decided that Lepidus would remain in Italy, while the two main partners of the triumvirate (Antony and Octavian) moved to Northern Greece with their best troops (a total of 28 legions).
The Liberators did not wish to engage in a decisive battle, but rather to attain a good defensive position and then use their naval superiority to block the triumvirs' communications with their supply base in Italy.