Favorite Faction(s)- Vote and Argue!

[Ferdiad]

Low cost is meant to simulate Roman manpower IIRC.

[Bladvak]

edit: I wrote a lengthy reply but it got deleted due to some retarded key combination I accidentally hit. They should really stop implementing those.


What I was trying to say is: Roman units are not OP, unless you mean their very low cost, for which there is a strategic explanation. As for the starting position, well some factions are better off than others. Romans have the easiest start by far and Ptolemaioi follow in some distance.

IMHO, Karthadast has an even easier start! If we'd play 1/1, Karthadastim would own the Romani with their huge starting income and safe bases.

[Ferdiad]

Nope! Chuck Testsa, Carthage also has to contend with the Iberians.

[Bladvak]

If you leave the Iberians to their own businesses, then Carthage is not a threat for them, and you don't get attacked. I find that the AI checks (cheats, to be more precise) the size of the total armies before going to war with a faction (this is a thing that started with Shogun, IIRC), and if the AI has easy pickings nearby, places to expand to relatively cheap, then it won't get into a major war. So yes, Karthadastim is the easiest faction to play with, early-game. And if early-game is easy, then the whole game is turns easy. With Rome you don't have an easy way where to expand to. In the south is the might of the Karthadastim and their elephants and in the north the scarcity of money and the forests of the Aedui.

[Artorath]

And if early-game is easy, then the whole game is turns easy.

...ah, Sab'yn?

[Bladvak]

you had to mention them ... ok, they are the exception that proves the rule, happy now?

[athanaric]

you had to mention them ... ok, they are the exception that proves the rule, happy now?

Actually, there are more of those: Suebi (average start; late campaign can get tedious when fighting scripted rebels and endless waves of Lusitanians), and Saka (challenging start, can be easy for EB veterans; late campaign gets more difficult and tedious because of money shortage and public order issues. Also that half-baked Yuezhi script). Probably more.

[Bladvak]

Sweboz is not easy because you do not have the economy to sustain your army. And IMHO, that doesn't qualify as easy (you yourself said it's an average start, average#easy)
Saka is a HA faction, but the start is nowhere near easy. At the least I can say it's a difficult position that can be translated into a good, medium position, but still not an easy one.

And still, you're taking that out of context : if you have an easy start with the Karthadastim, you can roll that over and over and have an easy campaign. Please don't twist my words.

[Entropy Judge]

Almost no one has the economy to sustain their army at the beginning of the game - the Sweboz are hardly unique in that respect. It's also extremely easy to blitz four or five Eleutheroi settlements right at the beginning to pump up your economy. By the time the AI gets around to heading your way, the Sweboz heartland ought to be pretty solid.

[Ferdiad]

I find the AI rarely bothers me whenever I play the Sweboz, the Celts figh each other endlessly, the Sauro dick around in the steppes and the Casses just fail.

[The Kybrothilian]

The Romans will probably attack you first as Sweboz, when they manage to push through the alps.

[athanaric]

Almost no one has the economy to sustain their army at the beginning of the game - the Sweboz are hardly unique in that respect. It's also extremely easy to blitz four or five Eleutheroi settlements right at the beginning to pump up your economy. By the time the AI gets around to heading your way, the Sweboz heartland ought to be pretty solid.

Well to be fair, we should differentiate between "easy for a seasoned RTW player" and "easy for a noob". Because the only campaign start in EB that fits into the latter category is the Roman one.

[bojieh]

Well to be fair, we should differentiate between "easy for a seasoned RTW player" and "easy for a noob". Because the only campaign start in EB that fits into the latter category is the Roman one.

Playing as Carthage and Egypt is also easy.

While I like playing quite a few of the factions, I voted KH, because the Spartan Agoge was the thing that really made me start thinking more about educating my FMs not only in the settlement they are governing, which really opened a whole new world for me.

[smoesville]

As always the Romani are way out in front though i'm surprised Baktria has such a strong following.

[Ferdiad]

Baktria has a sexy roster, thats why.

[smoesville]

I started liking them when i played XGM, they were the hardest faction in it that i could find It just seemed natural to be them again.

[seleucid empire]

I hate the Casse with a passion, most useless faction with terribe generals.

am I the only one who thinks they are the best generals ever?

Using them I can unite Britain and Ireland with starting army.

272BC, send your 4 units of starting infantry and your 2 starting bg units to the nearest rebel town. Que as many units as you can in capital. Besisge rebel town, end turn.

The Rebel army outnumbers you and they have champions so the ratio is 1:2 in their favour so they will always sally out at end of turn. Form your infantry into a thin line with guard mode. Let the enemy swarm your position. Take your chariots off skirmish mode. Send them around flank and attack. The trick is not to clcik on their units but to keep clicking on the ground behind the enemy so they keep their momentum. Your chariots will run through their entire army and they will rout INSTANTLY.

They are crazy BGs and rout units quicker than elephants. and Im not exaggerating

With Casse Generals, 1:3 odds against you are a walk in the park

[Petite Wolf]

am I the only one who thinks they are the best generals ever?

Using them I can unite Britain and Ireland with starting army.

272BC, send your 4 units of starting infantry and your 2 starting bg units to the nearest rebel town. Que as many units as you can in capital. Besisge rebel town, end turn.

The Rebel army outnumbers you and they have champions so the ratio is 1:2 in their favour so they will always sally out at end of turn. Form your infantry into a thin line with guard mode. Let the enemy swarm your position. Take your chariots off skirmish mode. Send them around flank and attack. The trick is not to clcik on their units but to keep clicking on the ground behind the enemy so they keep their momentum. Your chariots will run through their entire army and they will rout INSTANTLY.

They are crazy BGs and rout units quicker than elephants. and Im not exaggerating

With Casse Generals, 1:3 odds against you are a walk in the park

I completely agree. I LOVE the Casse. Their BGs have allowed me to win battles against enemies that I have no right to win. The problem with a lot of people is they try and use them like ordinary cavalry, which they aren't. A lot of the time I actually just use them for the fear effect they have on enemy infantry and don't even have them attack. But when they do attack, you're dead on. If chariots lose their momentum, enemy infantry will bog them down and they'll just die. If you can keep them moving, they destroy armies.

And yeah, the army you begin with as the Casse is easily enough to take all of the British Isles. If you know how to use chariots correctly, the Casse are extremely deadly. One of my favourite things to do with them is get them on one side of the enemy infantry line - while they're engaged with my own - and drive the chariots through their whole line. It quite often causes a mass route.

[seleucid empire]

I completely agree. I LOVE the Casse. Their BGs have allowed me to win battles against enemies that I have no right to win. The problem with a lot of people is they try and use them like ordinary cavalry, which they aren't. A lot of the time I actually just use them for the fear effect they have on enemy infantry and don't even have them attack. But when they do attack, you're dead on. If chariots lose their momentum, enemy infantry will bog them down and they'll just die. If you can keep them moving, they destroy armies.

And yeah, the army you begin with as the Casse is easily enough to take all of the British Isles. If you know how to use chariots correctly, the Casse are extremely deadly. One of my favourite things to do with them is get them on one side of the enemy infantry line - while they're engaged with my own - and drive the chariots through their whole line. It quite often causes a mass route.

yeah the fear is crazy. I was so shocked to see 1200+ troops routing at the same time against my 600 men and 2 chariot BGs. This was in one of my very first Casse experiences

What I do find tho is their javelins are quite weak so I never skirmish with them. Also I havent found them to be as great cavalry killers as everyone else seems to say. What I do find is that they are great mass routers, better even than elephants at routing units. I will never forget the sight of druids and midlander champions instant routing as soon as my chariots touch them

[Petite Wolf]

They don't kill heavy cavalry quite as easily, but they absolutely murder light cavalry. I'd think the same rule applies for cavalry as it does for infantry. Just keep them moving. My first experience with the Casse was holding off twice my number of Eleutheroi, who were coming from two directions, all because of my two FMs in my army. But I've also had bad experiences with them where I've misused them and they've just died horribly. I learned rather quickly from those.

But yeah their javelins aren't the best in the world. I generally only keep skirmishers in my army to go on defensive mode in front of my front line to tire the enemy out before they face my actual warriors. I do love the Slingers though, especially against Rome.