Epeiros the unsung Hellenic powerhouse! Who is your powerhouse?

[Jesu_follower]

So, ive played all the classic factions; Rome, Gaul, Greece, Macedon, Baktria, etc. But i havent heard of anyone talk about the eporites...Well I love them, they start off in what i think is a great place...I end all my wars and set up trade. Trade, trade, trade trade! i send out my diplomats all over and i get all the factions to trade with me, no allies whatsoever...When i have a strong army i attack Rhegion, and start to conquer southern italy and sicily. Once i have a foot hold i destroy rome...NOW I HAVE ITALY!!! yay! but i still have greece and macedon...easy, now with italy and trade comin in everywhere i attack kionen and then macedon. right now i control all of italy, greece, and have started advancing into northern africa, asai minor, the getai, and the gauls. ITS HARD!!! but i just keep winning. the difficulty is on very hard. So All i wanted to do is applaud Epeiros.

[Paul d]

what i do:" you would take over Pella on the first turn, and the Thessalian city(forgot name) by turn 2. If you work steadily, you can generally take 1-2 settlements every other turn."

[Zenith Darksea]

I like Epeiros, but unfortunately their unit recruitment in Italy is screwed up. I first of all took Pella and Demetrias, then moved against Rhegion. I then sailed Pyrrhus over to Italy and conquered it. Then I started as a different faction. But I agree, Epeiros is really interesting.

[Mulattothrasher]

I have not had extensive playing time with the Epiroits. They could indeed be the unsung powerhouse of the greek factions. In most of my games thought, they start out strong, but end up getting threewayed by the Romans, Dacians and or Macedonians.
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I have never really tangled with their armies, seeing as how I am usually playing my powerhouse faction of choice...the Arverni!

[Jesu_follower]

I also have had the pleasure, well actually I AM having the pleasure, of the Arverni. GREAT!! the aduei are kind lame.

[TWoxy]

I like Epeiros, but unfortunately their unit recruitment in Italy is screwed up. I first of all took Pella and Demetrias, then moved against Rhegion. I then sailed Pyrrhus over to Italy and conquered it. Then I started as a different faction. But I agree, Epeiros is really interesting.

I have to agree with you there; I trying to recruit the excellent Tarantine Light Cavalry from Taras but I don't seem to be able to .

[dutch81]

In my campaign as Rome I have seen them kicked out of Italy with my help ofcourse, and go on to mount a very strong campaign across Greece. They captured Pella but did not go south so Greece proper is still being fought over by HK and the Mak's but Epiros has gone all the way across and now up the black sea taking all the Hellenic Black sea ports. When I eventually start my Illyrian campaign I will face very strong opposition from them. I have also seen them build very strong and suprisingly balanced armies ... there will be a great deal of Roman blood shed because of this.

[African Zulu Warrior]

There unique units are pretty nifty, too.

[TWoxy]

In my campaign as Rome I have seen them kicked out of Italy with my help ofcourse, and go on to mount a very strong campaign across Greece. They captured Pella but did not go south so Greece proper is still being fought over by HK and the Mak's but Epiros has gone all the way across and now up the black sea taking all the Hellenic Black sea ports. When I eventually start my Illyrian campaign I will face very strong opposition from them. I have also seen them build very strong and suprisingly balanced armies ... there will be a great deal of Roman blood shed because of this.

Who are the HK, Hoinon Kellenon?

[konny]

If one is looking for a game of much action right from the start, Greece, Makedonia or Epeiros are the best choices. There is a "one major battle per turn guarantee" in it.

Of those three the Hellens are the easyest faction to play because they are only at war with Makedonia. Once you allow the Maks to withdraw their army from Athens to defend Pella you are free to take Korinth and Chalkis. By the time the Epirotes and Makedons will hopefully have butchered each other, so resitance will be much weaker when you head north for Demetrias(?) and Pella.

Starting with the Makedons is way harder: You have Pyrrhos nocking at your door in Pella and an indefencable position on the Peleponnes. Heading north will open the way for the Hellens to take Korinth, staying in the south will lead to the loss of your capital. I would sugguest to take most of the garrison out of Pella and build a stronger line of defence further south. Athens is by means of economy far more interessting than Pella, so you are not making a bad deal after all. Takeing Sparta as well will actually knock Hellas out of this war. But then you shall not rest until all of Makedonia is under your crown again and the Epirotes are badly punished for their misbehavoir.


Epeiros is the most interessting faction in this war. Your army is ready to lay siege on Pella put you are still tied up by your recent Italian adventure. Pyrrhos army is very strong, not his economy. So, you must be aware that every soldier you have from the start and every one you raise in the first turn will be the last one you gonna raise for a long time to come.

In Greece you will sooner or later be fighting both factions. At least when the Greeks are not able to take Korinth and Chalkis you have to do it by yourself - and this will lead to a war with the Hellens in most of the games (thanks to the AI diplomacy).

But the real problem lies in Italy. The Romans will refuse to make peace with you and will sooner or later (more sooner) throw stack after stack at Taras. You will be able to fight off one of these for sure, a second also; haveing strengthend the garrison and built stonewalls with the few money you start with, there might be a third victory as well, but at this point the garrison is so weakend that is evidently only a matter of time until Taras falls. So you can either abandon the city and withdraw the garrison to Greece (raising taxes to very high will make the town revolt so that there is at least an Eleutheroi garrison waiting for the next Romans). Or you will have to bring the main army to Italy, regardless of how iyour war in Greece is going.

Considering all this ahead (or having played two campaigns as Pyrrhos that ended in a desaster), you will have to decide on the first turn were you will engage: Either bring the boys home from Italy now or kiss your dreams of becoming king of Makedonia goodbye, cross the Adriatic and finish what you have left undone over there.


I would prefer Italy for a simple reason: money. The Greeks and Makedons will start emptying their towns to feed the army, leaving you mere villages to conquer. The Romans don't see any urgent danger arising so far and will more or less stick to the army they have from the start. If you are fast enough - and speed is essential because you are making about 5,000 mn minus per turn - you may sit in Capua before they are actually realizing what is going on. And from Capua there is only a short march to Rome itself, which is the largest city in Europe. With Taras, Rome, Capua and anything else you conquer on the way you will have a good base to appeace Greece.

[HistoryProf]

I usually buy 4 slingers in Taras before anything else. Buy roads in Ambrakia and Epidamnos, and also some more troops those cities, shipping all of the garrison of those two cities to Taras, leaving them empty, then immediately disbanding my fleet in the harbor there. Take Pellas, build a diplomat and then take Demetrias on the second turn: disband the Elephants there.

Then I wait and build trade/make peace. Send out diplomat to Carthage in Sicily, then up to Gaul. Send one to Getai, then Germany. Make peace in Greece with the third, then send him to Anatolia and beyond. Pretty soon the Macedonians are reduced and the Greeks come after me, but by then I usually have walls in Taras, and a pretty balanced force in Demetrias.

[Leão magno]

has anyone developed a Epirote tactic that does not include blitz actions against Rome and/or Macedon?

[Slaxx Hatmen]

Who are the HK, Hoinon Kellenon?

I have a league named after me?

Anyway my preferred powerhouse is the Arverni. I've played them so many times they've become like a second skin to me. My best campaign with EB was with them way back in 8.2 I think.

I had gotten all the way to the second reforms trigger and by then I controlled Gaul, Belgium, east Spain, Illyria, all of Italy and Sicily plus some N.African provinces. I quite eventually due to an unbendable war with Carthage that kept stalemating. Plus in that campaign the Gray Death was on the march in the east and I didn't want to have to finish Carthage only to face that monster.

But I've always had to do an Arverni campaign every once and awhile to see if I can ever get that far again. Uniting Gaul is nowhere as smooth a process in 1.0 as before. Those Eleuthuroi towns tend to wear my armies out more than anything the Aedui or Romani can throw at me.

[IndianPrince]

When playing the epirotes i conquer all of macedonia and greece first, then byzantion and estabilish myself firmly (economically and then military wise)

Then i send 2 armies ... one to italy and one to pergamom. Then the conquest begin ..

Prince

[konny]

has anyone developed a Epirote tactic that does not include blitz actions against Rome and/or Macedon?

I don't think that it is possible because the AI (Rome and Makedonia) will refuse to make peace with you. So, you might not blitz them, but you have to fight them - and can't therefore disband the army.

A sollution could be to change the settings in descr_strat from "war" to "neutral" or use forced diplomacy. Then, I would think, you'll get an interessting game expanding slowly along the Adriatic coast and in Southern Italy and Sicily.

[Leão magno]

I believe that if the Ilirian cities were better developed you could postpone the war against Macedon and role play a little more before taking Pella! The question is that when you take Pella, Macedon is dead, they loose all acces to their best units, not fun!

[Hax]

That's not true.

I'm in 249 BC, playing as Epeiros, it's probably one of my favourite factions. I took Pella in 271 BC, but I'm still waging war against the Macedonians, who took Athens.

I'm still making a bit of money. I actually took Capua, Rome, Arpi and Arretium, but the Romans took three of them back (Capua, Roma and Arretium).

It's pretty hard to break, but I'm winning lot's of battles against the Macedonians, though they keep sending full stacks to me.

My complete empire now exists of
-Messana
-Rhegion
-Taras
-Arpi

-Ambrakia
-Epidamnos
-Pella
-Byzantion

[Leão magno]

That is exactly what I said, either you blitz in Greece (Macedon included) or you blitz in Italy! should not there be another option???? Perhaps if Illirian had their mines running from turn one, or if the army was a payble one...

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

At the start date, the Eporites were in control of the majority of Makedonia but since we can't have half provinces, it was choosen to be in Antigonos' hands for the start.

There is no reason you shouldn't just take the last step and gain full control of the region in the first few turns. Not taking control of Pella would actually be giving up territory, in a way.

[Leão magno]

Yep, but territory that could be taken later, after Macedon had raised a real army! When Macedon lose Pella they lose the Pezhetairoi possiblity, the Hipapistas and their heavy cavalry, withou them the AI starts rellying in the taxeis hoplitai, hoplitai, and missiles, so they get realy weak, and do not estimulate the palyer in battle , just my opinion, I preffer fighting it later against what I call a real army