what difficulty should i play on ?

[gingerbill]

Let me first say i never use cheap tactics at all , or anything that expliots the AI weakness. XGM on my first campaign seemed harder than vanilla RTW , and i'm grateful for that , but i was just playing on M/M as carthage ,.

I played MTW2 on VH/VH after awhile and it becomes too easy with any major faction (after alot of practice) but can be quite a challenge now and then with a minor faction .

XGM has greatly altered faction balance (for the better) from my first experience with it so not sure if VH/VH will be too hard . On m/m as carthage it was a challenge at the start with 4 factions attacking me , but once i was rich it became a bit too easy . Is H/H alot harder than m/m ? .

Also as carthage on m/m i could slaughter armies from iberia , gaul , germania , eastern kingdons etc , losing 50 men to there 700 , but when fighting the romans it was always a tough battle simply because there troops man for man are alot better . Would it be very difficult on VH/VH fighting romans as carthage or another faction with similar troops?

My worry is at the start its hard to get going with some faction's but them beomes alot easier , will i find the start really difficult on vh/vh? Remembering no cheesy tactics.

i waffled on a bit but any advice be good .

[Andy1984]

Do you have AI-bonusses on or off? That really makes a huge difference at the start of the game, since the AI gets extra population, more troops and some buildings to start with. This limits your expansion early on, and might give other factions the time to build up against you.

I thought Carthage had one of the easiest campaigns to start with (they're not entirely hopeless like some other factions), and you get a nice economy. If you want a higher difficulty, you could either take another faction or change the difficulty settings.

[CaesarVincens]

Basic breakdown of difficulty:

Battle:

easy: player units get plus 4 to all stats, AI may not use full tactical capability
medium: no changes that I know of
hard: AI units get plus 4 to all stats
very hard: AI units get plus 7 to all stats, certainly uses full tactical capability

Campaign:
easy: AI factions won't do much, don't recruit many units or build buildings, possible economic bonuses for player, or penalties for AI
medium: no changes
hard: AI factions will make player priority over other AI if at war, recruits and builds more efficiently, may get economic bonuses
very hard: AI factions will make player (if neighboring) priority over any neighboring faction, gets "infinite" money, recruits more or less constantly

Basically, the AI doesn't get better so much as gets more bonuses.

[TM Is Back]

First you do this:

Ai Bonusses ON
Fatique OFF

That way you create a much stronger AI.

Second you play on H/H.

Third, try a faction like GCS and then move to more difficult ones.

[gingerbill]

i think when i installed XGM i turned off the extra AI bonuses , might turn it on but didnt like the sounds off it . I have fatigue off as i was aware of the AI's weakness regarding fatigue.

Think i'll start my new campaign as gaul on H/H . Maybe Vh battles and hard campaign . I dont like everyone ganging up on me at start although it does make it challenging .

But i find the game more enjoyable and its seems more realistic when the world goes on around you and the AI fights each other , seems better than them all just attacking me for no reason , sometimes that gets out of hand and becomes quite silly .

[TM Is Back]

You should really turn those extra bonusses on.

[Double X]

Medium/Medium is quite easy once you get used to it so I start there and for you I would go to H/H. Starting with GCS is good but a little too intense for some people at the beginning.

I also lowered the cost of all the bottom of the barrel 'garrison' units (Vigiles, Militia, Dophyporoi, Spear Warband, etc.) from 400/200 to 200/100.

[DimeBagHo]

I also lowered the cost of all the bottom of the barrel 'garrison' units (Vigiles, Militia, Dophyporoi, Spear Warband, etc.) from 400/200 to 200/100.

Just keep in mind that if you lower the cost the AI will recruit a lot more of them. At that price the AI might not recruit anything else.

[Double X]

Just keep in mind that if you lower the cost the AI will recruit a lot more of them. At that price the AI might not recruit anything else.

Hmm, I haven't noticed that. The only faction that does recruit a lot of those units are Gallic/Germanic.

If I lowered their stats would the AI be less likely to recruit them? :hmmm:

[htismaqe]

I've been toying with the idea of playing on VH/VH but not until we come to some kind of agreement on tweaking the rebels. I hate fighting them every turn the way it is...

[Roman Warlord]

I've been toying with the idea of playing on VH/VH but not until we come to some kind of agreement on tweaking the rebels. I hate fighting them every turn the way it is...

I don't find them too bad, just end up ignoring them for the most part unless they are directly in the way of my armies.

[Scutarii]

I play on H/H. Reduced bonuses. VH just seems so unbalanced for me... When hastati slaughter Sacred Band, its time to rethink what you're doing.

For you, try a much harder campaign on M/M. Carthage is the easiest imo, while trying out Thrace/Pontus (awesome and hard)/Armenia might be more challenging.

[atraps]

I play on Very Hard/Medium, without reduced AI bonuses. I am currently playing a campaign as Armenia and I have to say it's not easy.

When hastati slaughter Sacred Band, its time to rethink what you're doing.

I agree, that's why I don't like playing with a Battlefield difficulty that's higher then medium. It's not that it's too hard, I just hate to see my elite units die against some crappy units.

[Space Wolves]

Vh, cause real men play on VH

[Herr Lindstrom]

Vh, cause real men play on VH

Well said. VH/VH is the only true way to become a warrior! Odin should be proud of you Space Wolves

[gaunty14]

Well said. VH/VH is the only true way to become a warrior! Odin should be proud of you Space Wolves

long live the god emperor of the imperium

yeah play on vh but playing on h is also quite good

[atraps]

Vh, cause real men play on VH

Real men play against real men, not against AI. So in other words multiplayer.

[aznflea]

no VH is just ridiculous. (battle)vh/(campaign)h has optimum difficulty to fun ratio

[htismaqe]

I don't think playing on VH campaign is much harder than H. It's just more tedious.

[Barend]

I always play on M/M (I know, whimpy ) But for some reason I always find it quite hard, especially compared to vanilla. There I could wipe out the Romans with one Gallic stack Things are certainly more balanced, and more fun. Only thing I don't like, is al those small stacks blocking my progress. I hate to fight six battles in one turn against doryphoroi just to be able to move my army a little further.