Damn Macedonians! Any advice?

[Black Francis]

I have played 3 campaigns as the Romans in the last few weeks and every time Macedon has extended like a plague (especially into the German north). Its not having a tough Macedon that bothers me, its having a Macedon ruling a German empire beyond the Danube.

I think a part of the Problem is that as the Romans I end up helping them by fighting the Greeks in the Italian peninsular.

Anybody have any strategies for weakening them and thus restrict their growth?

Can anybody advise an easy way to mod the game a little so I can "nerf" them?

[AngryTitusPullo]

Their main problem is that they have good units but cheap cost and upkeep. Raise the upkeep and cost and they don't spread as quickly as usual.

[[bsArmy]-Shark]

I'm glad to see that some people face the same probs that I do.

I started to own the Greek cities and once you only have one border to the North it becomes pretty easy.
what you do is, create a big army, attack and destroy the city, leave nothing but corpse. I destroyed every city, I slaughter and I make it difficult for them to attack my homeland.

In the end what helps is the Seleucid Emipre attacking the Macedonians and strong, well euqipped Legions with a good General and good reinforcements.

[Gipsom]

That is funny cause is my campain the Macedonians were destroyed by the Greeks. Possibly because I left the Greeks alone and just played defensive after taking all of Italy.

[Turk]

give them in descr_strat 0 money and spawn some rebel armies then they would not be so strong

[joerd9]

Why is it that they almost always go north? I thought their victory condition was recreating Alexanders empire!? But the AI doesn't seem to be aware of this. Instead they go for the "immensely rich" german and baltic provinces asap.
Same applies to the Seleucids: They are supposed to take out the easterners and ptolemies, which they usually do with ease. But then they lurk around, leaving mainland Greece be. Only if the roman player has conquered Greece they attack in horde strength.
Looks all quite imba to me...

[marcvs agrippa]

It is in fact a bit confusing to fight macedonians in the north. IF they survive the greeks, they nearly always turn north fighting germans and sarmatians.

There are only a few conditions for the macedonian strategy:

hold_regions Macedonia Syria Nile_Delta Babylonia Attica Rhodos

in descr_win_conditions.txt and

core_attitudes	macedon,		0		dacia
core_attitudes	macedon,		0		britons
core_attitudes	macedon,		600		seleucid
core_attitudes	macedon,		600		greek_cities
core_attitudes	macedon,		600		egypt

in descr_strat.txt.
Where 600 means war and 0 means Alliance.

IF the AI would strictly follow this conditions, the macedonians shouldn't turn north. But this is probably all that can be done by the modders to "guide" the AI's expansion. And I guess the thing when it comes to "artificial intelligence" is, that it must not follow the rules, but it could.
That's why it's called an intelligence...

[FMvonKleist]

If you want to stop them without a cheat to halt their growth, become involved early in the balkans. Take Apollonia from the greeks in your initial campaigns against the greeks. Holding Apollonia will distract the Macedonians from expanding, and drain them of precious early resources.

[Maximus Lazero]

The accursed Macedonians forced me to give up my German campaign. I figured I really would go this time without using any money cheats (unless I wanted a map and someone demanded a ridiculous price for it).....alas, I couldn't fight off 4 Macedonian armies with only 2 of my own and maintain the money flow....even after I got the Gauls off my back >_<

I actually have only faced them once in RTR, and that was as the Romans...they didn't expand like crazy that time. In my Bactrian campaign (which I quit out of boredom, as I had conquered the East), Macedonia had become a major power, but were slowly being devoured by a two Roman offensives....the world was gearing up for a massive war between the Bactrian East and the Roman West....
But now I'm Carthage ^_^

[Black Francis]

In the end I decided to not mess with the files and intervene without "cheating".

I gave Illyria (allied with Macedon) a lot of cash in the beginning and they managed to expand a great deal Eastwards. I also gave cash to Dacia.

Once I had cleared out the Italian peninsular (I took the Northern settlements first to buy the Greeks some time) I led a lightning amphibious assault on Sparta and Elis (assaulting before they could react rather than waiting out the siege).

I executed the civilians and I smashed everything (ahh the Roman way of war!).
I left a unit or two of mercenaries in each city and allowed the Macedonians to take them back (I have no need to open up another front, Gaul and Carthage are enough atm).

This should set them back a few 100 years.

[MikeV]

Anybody have any strategies for weakening them and thus restrict their growth?

I use Biological:Total War

I send older Spy characters to a city with the Plague. Once infected, I send them to each Mac city.

[Preskinn]

I use Biological:Total War

I send older Spy characters to a city with the Plague. Once infected, I send them to each Mac city.

I have heard of people doing this, does it work? I mean, does it really hinder them much?

[ramsesii]

I have heard of people doing this, does it work? I mean, does it really hinder them much?

I also do it offten but no it doesnt really work The only thing that really works is nerfing them in e_d_b an descr_strat

[pseudocaesar]

why hasnt this issue been adressed by the rtr team? surely to god they know that every single RTR campaign ever played by anyone has the macedonians exploding and it would not be that hard to control in all honesty

[DaveOz]

Yeah spreading the plague can slow them down, as Carthage, i did that to Rome once when i got the plague early on. Using four spys going around from city to city so all there citys always had the plague, i got all there settlements down to to around 1000 people.

Greece wiped them out pretty quick after that, i guess it drastically lowers there tax revenue and recruitment.

[Marcus Camillus]

why hasnt this issue been adressed by the rtr team? surely to god they know that every single RTR campaign ever played by anyone has the macedonians exploding and it would not be that hard to control in all honesty

RTR Platinum is just RTR Gold converted to use the RTW v1.5 game engine. Rebalancing issues such as the Macedonians will be addressed by RTR7. You may also try any of the mods based on RTR Platinum that play to your preferences, or trying modifying the game to suit your wishes. Sharing any info on the results of modifying the files to get a better game experience would be appreciated by other RTR Platinum fans, including myself.

[ramsesii]

My annalasys is that the Macedonians go north because they are locked in to the east. Iff thrace conqueres thrace (rebel settlement with gallic wariors) the macs are surounde. Iff mac conqueres this settlement before thrace they DO go east atleast in my campain. The reason for this is that they go for Byzantium because they are att war with greece. From Byszantium they go to Nicomedea(sp) because this settlement is rebel. The ai prefers to attack rebels before It goes for real factions. After that they go for bordering erebnel settlement ass Heraculea Ancyra. Iff this is done they have a foothold in the east and war there will follow (often with Pontus).

Macedon always goes for Thrace whoever ownes it Iff they conquer it from the thracians then they are at war and the macs go north to kill the Thracians because the AI often only makes war with one faction.

This is my annalyses. One question. I dont understand . Why do the macs never go for Maronia, the egyptian settlement in europe??

[Roman-Byzantium]

The Macedonians are a disease alright, Jeeze!

I'm playing as Rome, just as I finish conquering Italy, Carthage attacks me. No surprise. I saved up, and I bought the remains of Northern Italy from Gaul shortly there after, and conquered the islands Carthage held, no need for a huge land invasion, I figured, at least not yet. Allied myself with Spain as I started to bulk up.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Illyarians, my allies, disappear, and I get this Mac border. Well, I trade maps, and find Macedonia goes from the Middle Sea, through to Germany. I mean seriously, what the hell? Then suddenly Macedonia comes crashing down on my like a thousand bombs.

Since then, outnumbered and outclassed, I fought on, and on, and on. I've finally just finished conquering Greece, very often outnumbered 2, or 3 to 1. All that is left that the Macs have there is Sparta (Greece the faction, is just Crete now.) as well as Macedonia.

But guess what? Macedonia has extended so far north, I'm still stuck in constant wars, with these stupid bloody Phalanxes all day around, and now mixed with crappy Barbarian rabble too.

I've come to hate those bloody Macedonians.

[morteduzionism]

Anybody have any strategies for weakening them and thus restrict their growth?

A strategy I am planning to use in my next campaign is: early military intervention in the Balkans and Peloponneses.

Station a spy/diplomat in the region to keep an eye on Macedonian/Greek expansion.

At the earliest chance possible get an army in the area to keep the Makedonians on their side of those mountains(Rhodope Mts, I think) and prevent them from getting into the north(Thrace and Illyria)

*In my last campaign I did this(although it was too late) and it worked pretty well. I've noticed that Maks take cities with armies consisting of two(2) units...simply destroy all of these small "armies" as they come...

[Darth Caesar]

take the peloponese early, gives you the cash needed for large armies and it slows macedon right down