[Gameplay Guide] The Saka-Rauka

[Der Musikant]

Hey!

I've been searching the forums for a good guide about this faction, but haven't found any which goes deep and that is detailed (screenshots etc).

I've been playing with the Saka-Rauka in EB 1.0 for a while now on Very Hard/Very Hard difficulty, and I've been starting over for like 20.000 times, not really understanding which way to go with them, because of the dept and such.

Expanding early, destroying Baktria as fast as I could worked for a while, but then I ran out of troops and was still in deep dept. So I tried taking my army to Pahlava, thinking that area might be a better starting point, with the sea so close. He pwnd me with his horse-archers, and I didnt have any heavier troops to absorb the missile fire. Also tried plundering alot, not keeping the provinces, but that wont get you out of dept..

So, I finally came up with the best solution (in my mind):

Taking all the troops you start with when you play with the Saka-Rauka, I fled the homelands, traveling to the Indus valley (I sent spies ahead), where I conquered the city of Patala with a goldmine, thinking it was a good income.

Attachment 10068

Many turns after that, I conqured Opiana & Pura. Here is my army:

Attachment 10069

The image above is after I plundered and sacked the city of Persepolis. This caused much content within the Selukid empire, and now they're on their way to butcher me. Dunno if I can withstand them with my small, mercenary army.

Is there any other way to be successful in a Saka-Rauka campaign?

Even now, my small kingdom hangs on a thread. I make about 2+ per turn, which isn't much. Any thoughts? I love this culture, I don't want to play with the Romans, Egyptians or any other "civilized" faction. Not near the Mediteranian sea anyways, because it's so easy even on the toughest difficulty.

If you've going to reply, please be sincere..
I can't get this thing out of my head, I'm obseced with the damn game!!

I will only be able to let it go when I'm playing a smooth, safe campaign with the Saka-Rauka, masters of the bow!

Thanks!

/M

[Gotthard]

Disband any noble cavalry, it's HORRIBLE. NEVER leave any family member in a city, ALWAYS use them in combat (they are AMAZING). Never garrision cities with cavalry, always with foot archers. Let Bakria build up first, kill Pahlava (they have more mounted archers, your enemy). Plus, when they build up and you wail on them, you can destroy all their buildings for more cash. Only have a couple 'HOME' cities where you build, the rest let the computer and you trade so you can pillage more while you build up a power base. Enslave large cities you can't keep to earn more tax income as well... let them do the heavy lifting of getting people and buildings built! Then you take the people and the money for yourself When you can, take another city for good and build it up, rinse and repeat. Dahae mounted archers are the best in your area. I'm on VH/VH myself, and while annoying and time consuming, the computer, especially Baktria, has no shot if you play the battles well.

[Korlon]

Battles are absolutely brutal on VH battles. Especially those horse archers with their +7 missile attacks. Really, I would just suggest dropping down the battle difficulty to H at the most. VH battles is viable for some of the stronger factions, but I don't think Saka Rauka is one of those. If you have restarted so many times, perhaps you should choose to go down this path.

[Watchman]

I'd suggest no more than Hard campaign and Medium combat difficulties. The AI has a distinctly rabid hatred of the human player in VH campaign settings, while the stat bonuses combat diff above Medium gives its units severely skew things - especially for already tricky and difficult factions like the Saka.

[QuintusSertorius]

More importantly, on VH campaign difficulty "economics" are non-existent. Not only to all the AI factions have a script preventing them from going into the red, but they also get 10,000 mnai as a bonus every single turn.

[Irishmafia2020]

Saka is considered the hardest campaign to play, so you might want to look for an EB AAR about Saka for some ideas. I suggest that you go to europabarborum.com and then go to forums, where you will be taken to the .org forums. That seems to be the center for EB fans, and I know that I have seen some Saka AARs in there. That might help, but as a Baktria fan I am enjoying hearing about any difficulties faced by the Saka. Oh, and BTW, you followed a historical course of expansion by going into India, although you did it much to Early in history... The Saka can recruit their best infantry units from India, and they are the ones who destroyed the Indo-Greeks who survived as weak kingdoms until the begining of the common era.

[Der Musikant]

Thanks for the replies guys! I appreciate it, really! Will check out the AAR's at the EB.com. If I fail once more, I will try to turn down the diff a notch. It's just that you want as much challenge as you can, right? When you get too powerful, it's just no fun anymore. But I still have one thing on my mind..does enslaving give you more tax income? I always exterminate for more money.

[QuintusSertorius]

Enslaving is bound to, since it adds taxpayers in governed settlements.

[Korlon]

Exterminating is never good for long term profit. This is probably why you find yourself so low in cash. More people in a settlement also seems to increase trade, but that is a low amount and probably doesn't matter considering the spot you start off with.

I believe I read somewhere that increase of taxes with respect to population decreases as the population increases beyond a specific size. I don't remember the specific amount, but I think it was around 8,000 men, give or take 4,000, but don't quote me on this. But if this is true, then it's much better to keep a bunch of settlements at around 8,000 population rather than one at 20,000 and two at 2,000.

Enslaving also gives a much needed .5% population increase for twenty turns if the neighboring settlement and the settlement you just enslaved are close enough and have at least dirt roads. I generally only occupy and enslave. I hardly ever exterminate, it's just not economically viable, especially in the beginning of the campaign. Later on it may be so you can keep those populated cities happier, easier.

[ThePianist]

Enslaving also gives a much needed .5% population increase for twenty turns if the neighboring settlement and the settlement you just enslaved are close enough and have at least dirt roads. I generally only occupy and enslave. I hardly ever exterminate, it's just not economically viable, especially in the beginning of the campaign. Later on it may be so you can keep those populated cities happier, easier.

Does enslaving increase by 0.5% population growth in all the adjacent provinces, or only the provinces with governors?

[QuintusSertorius]

Truth be told I only ever occupy, I'd rather have trouble in one settlement from overcrowding and unrest than spreading it to every governed one. Cities growing too fast is not a good thing.

[Korlon]

Generally, the only opportunities I really get to enslave are when I'm playing a western civilization. The east really is not populated enough to warrant enslavement. Good thing about the west is that the cities are very close to each other, meaning the distance to capital penalty is fairly low.

I also tend to only stick family members as governors by proximity to my capital. Far away cities never get governors. My governors also tend to be extremely good if I'm playing a "civilized" faction such as the Romani. I stick them in a third-tier school as soon as possible (When I play as the Romani, I make sure to first build the academy line tier of buildings exclusively in Rome until it's fully upgraded). Then I stick new family members in there for a period of, well, till I remember that they are there; usually 5 to 10 years. By then, their management and influence is generally very good (at least 5 is when I send them out to be governors, but usually they have 6 or 7 management scrolls when they are sent out). Even if I do enslave, it hardly makes any sort of dent in the public order due to the closeness to Rome.

Also, I rather like building tons of growth buildings. Makes it "fun" later on.

[Korlon]

I believe it's all adjacent provinces that have roads connecting to the province that you enslaved. There may be a tile distance limit as well.

[johnhughthom]

I was sure the province had to have a governor?