Help Me Choose my Next Celtic Faction

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

So, I've been undecided about which faction to play following a lull. I've been fairly advanced on my Romani campaign, but now I'm planning my next steps for this weekend.

1- Pritanoi seem an interesting faction, aesthetically speaking. Plus they have their rather neat and secure homeland in Britannia.

The only problem is that Pritanoi seems to have the weakest Keltoi roster of all, with only light troops and inferior line spearmen and troops. Chariots also don't seem very useful, but I've used Seguorina and they seem to be rather good medium cavalry, if not outstanding. Of course mercenary Kurepos are always available.

2 - Arvernoi also seem a good choice, with a strong continental Gallic roster and all. BUT their starting position is rather delicate (same with Boioi).

3 - Finally, there is Boioi. But they seem to be rather poor, being landlocked, and face quite a challenge. But both Arvernoi and Boioi rosters are consistenly strong.

So what should be my next faction? I'm leaning towards Pritanoi, but discussion is welcome.

[Genghis Skahn]

Finally, there is Boioi. But they seem to be rather poor, being landlocked, and face quite a challenge. But both Arvernoi and Boioi rosters are consistenly strong.

The biggest problem for the Boii is the Sweboz early on. They move south pretty damn fast and then, unless you have an alliance with them(TBH it feels like cheating to ally with them), they take a strong liking to your lands, and it's often true that by that point your main army is a bit weakened from trying to climb out of debt via conquest of the local territories. Being a Central European faction, the Boii have no shortage of peoples who want to invade them.

Pritanoi are probably the easiest Celtic faciton campaign-wise(but with the weakest units) due to the isolation they enjoy. Aruernoi are easier than the Boii, due to geographic concerns and also the fact that they start off with a small granary in their capital(to represent the thousands of Aruernoi silos found in S. France IIRC), meaning you can crank your taxes up to very high while still enjoying pop. growth.

Campaign wise, there are some major governmental differences between the three:

1. Pritanoi have a very unique Kingdom reform for Britannia which opens up new gov options over time(Britannia only).
2. Aruernoi have a unique top government called the "Uergorix" which is buildable only in their starting capital and I think one other place close by.
3. Boii have a colony system, to represent their migratory nature as a people, meaning you get lots of cool regional troops in Eastern Europe for eg.

The Boii also have a unique event for when the Romans besiege Felsina/Bona--they receive a yes/no option asking whether you'd like to assist the Cisalpine Boii against the Romans.

The Boii have always been my favorite, so obviously I'm a bit biased on the subject.

[LusitanianWolf]

Why not the Aedui?
I don't have much experience with the (non-iberian) Celtic factions as I never did a serious campaign with any of them (been delaying that since EB1)...
But if I were to start one now, there's what I would take to account:

After a Romani campaign you could see the fact of the Pritanoi having a lighter roster and depending on unreliable chariots as an opportunity to learn new tactics and to have some more challenging battles.

In the other hand the Boii might have the more interesting campaign due to the more central position meaning you got to face a greater diversity of enemies.
And you can always migrate them to Galatia.

Both the gaulic factions might make for a very intense campaign, being surrounded by enemies and nursing Rome so you can have them as your late nemesis... That might be fun!

Damn EB2, having so many factions and every one of them so interesting

[QuintusSertorius]

Boii can horde. You can trigger this by deliberately losing your starting provinces, and going walkabout to find a new home.

[Genava]

Boii can horde. You can trigger this by deliberately losing your starting provinces, and going walkabout to find a new home.

I did this two times. One time to build a Galatian kingdom and one time to build a Belgian one. The latter was clearly the easiest.

[BailianSteel]

So what should be my next faction? I'm leaning towards Pritanoi, but discussion is welcome.

Britannia may not be as secure as you believe. It's true you don't initially share ground with other large factions, but the Sweboz tendency to form large empires early also means you might be seeing Germanic migrations early. Also, if you play on Hard Campaign then the Eleutheroi can besiege your settlements; I can easily see that becoming a nightmare scenario with the Pritanoi being backed to the sea in their start.

It's true that Pritanoi have a weak (in terms of power) roster. Their only saving grace (aside from a unique aesthetic) might be that they have the best long-range game in their corner of the world thanks to a large number of slingers.

I can't speak for the Gauls. I haven't put in much time for the Aruernoi or Aedui.

But for the Boioi, I can say plenty. Will you come off as poor? Compared to the Romans, definitely, but for being landlocked, you might be surprised. You will definitely face a hefty challenge, as you are in the way of multiple barbarian powerhouses. Yet if you manage your gains correctly, you will have more than enough to meet them, even overwhelm them. The Boioi have the best ability to bring other peoples into the fold, and this made my armies unstoppable after a certain point.

Also if the Short Campaign Victory matters to you then you might be annoyed by Koinon Hellenon, Taksashila, or one of the Iberian factions. The first and last of those stole a Victory from me, and the middle one would have if I hadn't flooded their territory with spies.

Campaign wise, there are some major governmental differences between the three:

1. Pritanoi have a very unique Kingdom reform for Britannia which opens up new gov options over time(Britannia only).
3. Boii have a colony system, to represent their migratory nature as a people, meaning you get lots of cool regional troops in Eastern Europe for eg.

Gonna add a bit of my own notes here...The Kingdom reform for the Pritanoi is a long, long way off from the start. In terms of spending to meet the reform requirements, there's a bare minimum of 50,000 mnai. I wouldn't be surprised if it totaled over 100,000.

The Boioi colonies don't just give you a lot of options for Eastern Europe, the colonies gave me plentiful access to Belgae swordsmen whereas my Pritanoi Allied Govs only gave me their spearmen.

[Frtigern]

Why not the Aedui? Don't forget the Celtiberians, the Areuakoi. Also, don't the Sweboz have access to core Celtic units and even a Celtic tribe option?

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

Thanks @BailianSteel and @Genghis Skahn for your inputs. I'll take that in mind.

Actually, I was thinking of making off for Pritanoi's weaknesses with plenty of Belgae and Allied Government troops. This might help off, but not knowing the new government structure for Celtic factions in EB2, I'm not that sure.

All I know is that with Allied Government as the Romani, I can get plenty of Eporedoi Donnoi and Argoi, which are some of my best auxiliaries overall. I dunno if the same works for Pritanoi, but probably yes.

All in all, still deciding . Any further input is welcome.

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

Also, for someone who still remembers EB1, it looks like the Celtic names got completely overhauled from release to release. Chariots used to be "Cidainh", now they're something else. Also, "Bataroas" became "Batoroi", and so on. Is there a plan to change the voicemod as well, given these revamps? Just curious.

[Genava]

Also, for someone who still remembers EB1, it looks like the Celtic names got completely overhauled from release to release. Chariots used to be "Cidainh", now they're something else. Also, "Bataroas" became "Batoroi", and so on. Is there a plan to change the voicemod as well, given these revamps? Just curious.

EB1 wasn't very accurate in its representation of the Celtic factions. Both in the military design of the units and in their names. I don't know for the voicemod.

[QuintusSertorius]

All I know is that with Allied Government as the Romani, I can get plenty of Eporedoi Donnoi and Argoi, which are some of my best auxiliaries overall. I dunno if the same works for Pritanoi, but probably yes.

Allied Governments are universal, and are the same for everyone.

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

Well, given that the archaeological evidence isn't enough to make linguistic and societal reconstructions of the time, I understand this might be the case. But the only thing I've read about them was Barry Cunliffe's "The Celts", some years ago.

And yes, "Cidainh" became "Carbantoi". We know that "Carrus" was a Keltic word that was filtered into Romance, for instance.

Allied Governments are universal, and are the same for everyone.

Excellent, good to know.

[Genghis Skahn]

Is there a plan to change the voicemod as well, given these revamps? Just curious.

The old EB1 Gallic voicemod(and Celtic linguistics) was mostly gibberish. We have a new one planned with proper Gaulish devised by Elmetiacos and voiced by HoundEFU.

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

... Excellent, great to know!

Is it coming with 2.35?

... Do you still need help voicing it?

Also, in another curiosity, is the Ancient Greek spoken Koine or Attic? Is the pronunciation in the reconstituted form or the mixed modern greek reading that is taught in Greece today?

I know the Latin is top notch, Classical pronunciation, but the others I'm not that much of a scholar to be sure.

[hlidskjalf]

I think the Aedui have the best dress (coolest colors) but the Aruernoi have the best shrines (Sukellos, Cernunnos, Taranis, Belenos..),
or is it the Aedui who have Taranis?

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

... The arvernoi definitely have Taranis. I picked up them.

[LusitanianWolf]

... The arvernoi definitely have Taranis. I picked up them.

How's it going?

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

I'm thinking about writing an AAR. I've already some written material ready .