[Discussion Time] Campaigns where you got beaten to the last city

**Konig91** · May 12, 2016, 12:07 PM

Mine was whilst playing as Pergamon. I grew as an important power in the Aegean Sea and the Western part of Asia Minor.

I defeated Bithynia in a revanchism-like war, I secured a long lasting alliance with Macedon who was keeping the Balkans in check, and my trade routes were reaching as far as Egypt, Rome and Carthage.

Eventually as prophecized by the Sybil of Delphi a former great power of the east, our brothers, would rise and expand Westwards. The followers of Seleukos had reached our gates.

Pontus was reduced to ashes as they marched on, and the Ptolemaic client states of Asia Minor were easy prey as they hadn't fielded a standing army.

I decided to use the Radovid tactic (Witcher 3 fans will know) and annex my neighbors, Ptolemy's client cities and Rhodos. But it was too late. The Seleucids had already sent their armies and elephants against me. Valley after valley, field after field, brother against brother.

Greek blood had been spilt, but that wasn't the end of it. The Kingdom of Bosphoros had decided to invade me in my most dire hour.

Macedon was soon overwhelmed when a joint invasion of Sparta and Dacia was slowly grinding their armies away. My friends bowed to their new masters and were forced to renounce their alliance with me.

My fate was decided, but my last Oligarch wanted to face it on the field of battle. His brother on the other hand decided to flee to Rhodos where he wanted to establish a new dynasty, who would enact revenge and take back Pergamon.

It was a dream short lived as the citizens of Rhodos rebelled and slaughtered their foreign masters. Some say that there are other surviving members of the Pergamese Royal Dynasty, but they watch helplessly as history unfolds under their eyes with old and new borders being disputed, maps getting redrawn and rulers rising and falling.

TL;DR: I

ing hate elephants.

**Quintillius** · May 12, 2016, 12:46 PM

Didn't know one could actually be beaten to last city

.

**Grimbold** · May 12, 2016, 12:58 PM

Never.

This would only happen in the early stages of the campaign and if you're playing a faction that's surrounded.

If am at a point where i have insufficient means to deal with several attacking factions, then i just restart.

**Konig91** · May 12, 2016, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by Quintillius

Didn't know one could actually be beaten to last city

.

It can happen if you underestimate the fact that the AI sends multiple stacks against you when you might think "yeah I'll just beat them with two armies". The Seleucids had a better economy and consequently, better and bigger armies.

I should've prepared beforehand, like invading the Ptolemaic settlements surrounding me, and put an end to the Greek city states that were near me. I mean

ing hell they saw me fighting with those guys and immediately sent two stacks against me.

I played nice and slow and it all caught up to me.

**Alavaria** · May 12, 2016, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by Konig91

It can happen if you underestimate the fact that the AI sends multiple stacks against you when you might think "yeah I'll just beat them with two armies". The Seleucids had a better economy and consequently, better and bigger armies.

You can accomplish a lot by using forts "all over the place" in good locations. You get a lot more done by also just dodging around armies carefully and constantly taking settlements (to destroy the barracks). Back-capping settlements in particular hampers the AI due to the way it cannot bypass front-lines if you're constantly jabbing them in the back.

Elephants are a lot less dangerous to you (and a lot more dangerous to the enemy) when trapped in a settlement or fort. Of course, this *is* RTW, so if you just throw some peltasts at it, even super elephants just collapse...

I actually remember in RS2, having a stupid duel where 1 army was facing off against like 5 Seleucid stacks and the Seleucids kept adding new ones. I was killing a stack a turn as they all just blundered around in trap forts. It's funny to think that it only took about 5 units of slingers (and a ton of bait hoplites) to liquidate 10 or so stacks.

**Aguscanzani** · May 12, 2016, 08:37 PM

I remember this campaign with Armenia, I just quit after I was left with just Cabalaca and -4000g. Going after the Seleucids, the Parthians and Pontus simultaneously just bankrupted me. I hadn't improved the barracks/armor enough, and once they got the advantage I got steamrolled.
Funny thing is I enjoyed the whole process. For a change the AI sensed my vulnerabilty and went all in. They aren't that daring, usually.

**dvk901** · May 13, 2016, 10:18 AM

I am currently playing, off and on when I have an hour or so, a Roman campaign...0-turn of course

....and at first things went very well. I took Carthage, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Northern Italy, most of Greece up to Dacian territory, Massalia and a couple regions from the Arverni. Macedon had succumbed to the Dacians early, so they were out of the picture....but now things are getting dicey. I had to abandon Carthaginian territories because the Gauls were pressing me too hard in the north. Then Dacia decided to jump in and raid Greece, and I was surprised that my Polybian Legions just got massacred by them.....their horse archers are really pissing me off, and I seem to have no good counter for them.

Seeing my ineffectiveness against the Dacians, the Arverni decided it was time to go on the offensive as well...slamming into my guard armies and forts with wild abandon. I can beat them....but at so great a cost. My lines are thinning out, and I have no money. Much of my empire is undefended....so I fear if these too enemies break through it's going to be over. Even a resurgent Carthage is knocking on my door down south now.....yeah, I love it!

**Alavaria** · May 13, 2016, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by dvk901

their horse archers are really pissing me off, and I seem to have no good counter for them.

Did you already prevent yourself from using the amazing pike and slingers, if so then you'll have to make do with catching them in settlements and forts and just using your legionaries to soak arrows then shooting them with those archers you get. Spam a lot of archers.

**Quintillius** · May 13, 2016, 01:47 PM

Wait the developer of the mod is being beaten as Rome?

There is no hope for us.

**Alavaria** · May 13, 2016, 01:53 PM

It's what happens when you're fighting horse and more with little swords

**Iskandar** · May 13, 2016, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by dvk901

.....their horse archers are really pissing me off, and I seem to have no good counter for them.

You should consult the examples set by Ventidius, Arrian and Alexander himself, citizen.

On topic - I've actually managed to lose two campaigns - one with the Boii and one with the Armenians (the second was due to some really dumb overextending on my part). The Boii have probably the most difficult starting position. It is worth mentioning that I play 1-turn though. I suspect the 0-turn might be more forgiving.

**Alavaria** · May 13, 2016, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by Iskandar

On topic - I've actually managed to lose two campaigns - one with the Boii and one with the Armenians (the second was due to some really dumb overextending on my part). The Boii have probably the most difficult starting position. It is worth mentioning that I play 1-turn though. I suspect the 0-turn might be more forgiving.

Did you lose lots of people to swordfighting and not retraining?

**Grimbold** · May 14, 2016, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by Iskandar

You should consult the examples set by Ventidius, Arrian and Alexander himself, citizen.

On topic - I've actually managed to lose two campaigns - one with the Boii and one with the Armenians (the second was due to some really dumb overextending on my part). The Boii have probably the most difficult starting position. It is worth mentioning that I play 1-turn though. I suspect the 0-turn might be more forgiving.

The only thing that makes for a hard Boii campaign is the almost inevitable roman expansion towards your capital. Besides that, the campaign is pretty smooth, specially if you expand westwards.

**Iskandar** · May 14, 2016, 09:43 AM

IIRC, I expanded too fast north and south and got in war with both the Cimbri and the Romans, which is when, of course, the Dacians stabbed me in the back. I had several other campaigns, where I just gave up Bononia to Carthage on turn 2 and it was smooth sailing from there. The problem was that I was able to produce higher quality troops only from my capital and I got overwhelmed.

The Armenian one was similar - I expanded unwisely and got simultaneously attacked by Parthians, Seleucids and Pontiacs, while my best army was being bled dry repulsing the Sarmatians in the north.

Blitz hard or don't blitz at all.

**Alavaria** · May 14, 2016, 10:05 AM

Critical elements of killing factions is dodging stacks if you can (conserves strength) and chasing their treasury city (Romans don't have this though) and nuking their barracks.

Factions without artillery also have to deal with garrison script and annoying things like that, being able to just walk in and snipe settlements with a single general in it is pretty handy.

Originally Posted by Iskandar

The problem was that I was able to produce higher quality troops only from my capital and I got overwhelmed.

The other problem is the higher quality troops can be less cost-effective which means spreading yourself even thinner than necessary. Be it 0-turn but even more in 1-turn, using tons of lower-tier units can be useful.

**Grimbold** · May 14, 2016, 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by Iskandar

IIRC, I expanded too fast north and south and got in war with both the Cimbri and the Romans, which is when, of course, the Dacians stabbed me in the back. I had several other campaigns, where I just gave up Bononia to Carthage on turn 2 and it was smooth sailing from there. The problem was that I was able to produce higher quality troops only from my capital and I got overwhelmed.

The Armenian one was similar - I expanded unwisely and got simultaneously attacked by Parthians, Seleucids and Pontiacs, while my best army was being bled dry repulsing the Sarmatians in the north.

Blitz hard or don't blitz at all.

Giving Bononia over to Carthage or Rome is just a short term solution. It's almost as if the AI is set to behave in certain manners depending on the faction you play with. In this case, 9 times out of time, Rome will come north for you.

Best one can do is grab a few of the nearby towns, get one or two stacks to veteran experience and hold off the Romans and maybe even the Dacians. The easy way is west, since there's quite a few towns that share the same barracks, so you don't need to worry about building that up or going back to replenish troops.

Armenia though is a whole another ball game. Quite hard if you ask me. I don't even know how i managed to recreate the persian empire once.