Greek Cities using alex--too difficult or just me?

[knucles]

first post, hi everyone.

ok, i played rtw 1.5 and i finished with the julii, brutii and de seleuceds the 50prov campaign. everything in hard and i has looking for some fun so i installed alexander and the greek mod e i choose the greek cities but even in normal i got crushed by the macedonians.


every single time they start with far better and far more troops than i do and attack patras right away. i tried to be a aggressive by attacking corinth, i tried staying on defense for initial economic growth but eventually i am crushed when using greek mod+alex .

Just me ? i need so more practice or it's difficult for you too?

[AchillesXX]

There is a big learning curve when coming from vanilla. With a little practice you will do well - believe it or not, I the the Greek campaign is one of the easiest. What most people do with the Greeks is to concentrate their forces, hire as many mercenaries as you can, and attack Corinth (I believe that you have a terrain advantage if you attack from the side of Corinth facing Athens). Then, on the AI's turn it attacks you. Fight defensively with your back to the large hill and make liberal use of your FANTASTIC Spartan Royal Guard. If you win that battle it is all downhill for Macs, and you have so much money you don't know what to do with yourself. Keep trying!

[Scutarii]

XGM is a different story from vanilla. Try playing lower difficulties, or maybe an easier faction (Iberia is easy, Carthage is fairly easy as well if you sell Lilybauem). Its not too difficult (I play a GCS game on VH/VH now and then when I feel masochistic), you just need to learn the ropes.

[Alavaria]

Hmm, you do know that VH campaign is supposedly easier than H campaign due to bugs, right?

Also, some important changes from vanilla are definitely that people can walk though pikes. It's amusing and deadly at the same time.

You can try careful use of forts. With the right chokepoints, you can isolate a single settlement, keeping the enemy stacks away while you siege and take it. Do this enough times, eventually your economy will allow you to kill those stacks...

[Scutarii]

Hmm, you do know that VH campaign is supposedly easier than H campaign due to bugs, right?

Also, some important changes from vanilla are definitely that people can walk though pikes. It's amusing and deadly at the same time.

You can try careful use of forts. With the right chokepoints, you can isolate a single settlement, keeping the enemy stacks away while you siege and take it. Do this enough times, eventually your economy will allow you to kill those stacks...

I've heard that on the RS forums, but the fact that its not talked about much on any other mod forum and from some other threads I've read (one in the general discussion a long time ago compared difficulty levels based on farming income. It's far lower in VH) makes me not read too far into that. I honestly don't think it makes too much of a difference apart from an even more suicidal AI.

The pike-spacing is a big adjustment. Used to be even more severe (I think DBH uses 1.2 for pikes now, it used to be 1.33 as a formation spacing value. It's 1 o something in vanilla).

[magraev]

The AI gets massive advantages in XGM compared to vanilla - it's a different game entirely.

These are the AI's advantages:
- XP-bonus for all units (this is only if installed with bonuses on)
- Trade income bonus
- Tax income bonus
- Build-time bonus
- Build-cost bonus
- Better troops than you at the start
- Better buildings and population than you at the start

There is probably more, but that is what I remember.

So don't be too proud to play on medium... The game will still get easier once you overcome your initial disadvantages.

[gaius_caesar]

The AI gets massive advantages in XGM compared to vanilla - it's a different game entirely.

These are the AI's advantages:
- XP-bonus for all units (this is only if installed with bonuses on)
- Trade income bonus
- Tax income bonus
- Build-time bonus
- Build-cost bonus
- Better troops than you at the start
- Better buildings and population than you at the start

There is probably more, but that is what I remember.

So don't be too proud to play on medium... The game will still get easier once you overcome your initial disadvantages.

exactly!