Hardest faction

[damnmap]

I would say the indian guys... I actually lost that campaign. I had all my generals in a single group for conquest, then those northern yellow s used javelin units and massacred them all with ease. It is very tough because you are always in the red (due to the huge generals guard cost... the rajput costs nearly 3k alone)

also the other factions attack you ruthlessly... usually the ai is pretty apathetic for most factions but the chauhan and ghorids attacked me early

[Thadius p.]

i would say Makuria becuase of their lack of amour, horse archers and the only way to expand is through ayyubid controlled egypt or yemen wich is normally contested between the ayyubids or oman. also if koj is steam rolled early on there is a very chance egypt will turn it large armies to the south.

[crazyguy1916]

I think that Sindh is the hardest, due to the fact they are surrounded by enemies and the only rebel settlements that you can conquer are nearly full stacks. When you play as Makuria you only have to worry about fighting a war on one front.

[Kavhan Isbul]

I tried Sindh and found them to be not too hard, and actually very well positioned to conquer all of India. They have rich ports and troops that may be nothing spectacular, but get the job done. Once the Rajputs are defeated, which is not too difficult, then Sindh has a safe back and a strong economy, plus enough good units.

I actually am finding the Kypchaks to be harder than most other factions because their access to units is absolutely horrible - nobles apart, in most settlements they cannot train anything, and in the rest, the units they get are pretty crappy. Talk about fighting Monaspas and Agulani horsemen with a mixture of Slavic spearmen, Northern militia and HAs. The reward for uniting the steppes gives some better units, but I find myself forced to get rid of them in battles as otherwise they threaten to put me in the red too quickly. The only real advantage is the huge movement points of the generals, but the large distances it takes to move troops negates that.

[San]

I
I actually am finding the Kypchaks to be harder than most other factions because their access to units is absolutely horrible - nobles apart, in most settlements they cannot train anything, and in the rest, the units they get are pretty crappy. Talk about fighting Monaspas and Agulani horsemen with a mixture of Slavic spearmen, Northern militia and HAs. The reward for uniting the steppes gives some better units, but I find myself forced to get rid of them in battles as otherwise they threaten to put me in the red too quickly. The only real advantage is the huge movement points of the generals, but the large distances it takes to move troops negates that.

Personally I found them to be one of the easiest factions (if not the easiest... well maybe Abbasids). You just need to abuse the troops you have at the start to quickly conquer the area, and as soon as you get the two huge stacks you can pretty much either crush the Romans or overwhelm the Georgians (your economy should be fine quickly). My armies usually consist of only (mostly light) HAs and heavy cavalry, though some infantry can be useful at times. I admit that getting new heavy cav can be hard at first, so if you run out you'll have to rely on family members or other heavy HAs to get the job done.
And the increased movement points of your generals are a nice advantage as soon as you get out of the steppes.

I haven't played all factions extensivly, but I guess my vote for hardest goes to the Armenians. I just found them awkward to play, your position is pretty bad, your starting troops are rather mediocre... I guess if you get a good start and don't go to war with anyone you don't want to, you'll be fine, but that's true for all factions. >_>

[damnmap]

actually sindh is pretty easy, you just have to think outside the box. Apart from that nearby city all the other rebel settlements are well garrisoned especially the two full stacks to the west. If you run past those settlements there are plenty of easy to take areas beyond including that omani fort. There are ALOT of reb settlements in this area hoover them all up and then take those annoying full stack regions. Also the full stacks may be bugged... when playing as makuria I can take Axum easily if I lay siege with a small force and the ai sallys. Once I take it the full stack nearby does not attack, this may also work for those two full stack settlements west of sindh

San the armenians are an interesting faction, I like them as they feel so pressed in by nieghbouring powers. The key is antioch, taking it quickly and developing it's roads and port give great wealth over time. Quickly get an alliance with koj before sacking antioch (important as in one campaign koj declared war on me the ers) in case they refuse after this act... do not take the rebel forts near your heartlands they will keep the ai busy awhile. after taking antioch (I would recommend attacking form the southern city wall as there is a nice slope to place your infantry on right by you!) run past that heavily defended fort to the north and cross the river... beyond edessa are some easy to take regions that will enable you to push into what would be georgian territory... don't get too greedy ensure there are buffer reb settlements between you and other factions. After you get stronger take edessa and the other well garrisoned town near it. Now it's time to drive the ayyubids out of the levant. build a ballista workshop and exploit the ai attacking poorly defended regions... I would recommend a horse archer army, easy to get as there are plenty of mercs lying around. Their main stack will hopefully break itself against that fort with the full stack and be weakened.

[cupoftea]

actually sindh is pretty easy, you just have to think outside the box. Apart from that nearby city all the other rebel settlements are well garrisoned especially the two full stacks to the west. If you run past those settlements there are plenty of easy to take areas beyond including that omani fort. There are ALOT of reb settlements in this area hoover them all up and then take those annoying full stack regions. Also the full stacks may be bugged... when playing as makuria I can take Axum easily if I lay siege with a small force and the ai sallys. Once I take it the full stack nearby does not attack, this may also work for those two full stack settlements west of sindh

San the armenians are an interesting faction, I like them as they feel so pressed in by nieghbouring powers. The key is antioch, taking it quickly and developing it's roads and port give great wealth over time. Quickly get an alliance with koj before sacking antioch (important as in one campaign koj declared war on me the ers) in case they refuse after this act... do not take the rebel forts near your heartlands they will keep the ai busy awhile. after taking antioch (I would recommend attacking form the southern city wall as there is a nice slope to place your infantry on right by you!) run past that heavily defended fort to the north and cross the river... beyond edessa are some easy to take regions that will enable you to push into what would be georgian territory... don't get too greedy ensure there are buffer reb settlements between you and other factions. After you get stronger take edessa and the other well garrisoned town near it. Now it's time to drive the ayyubids out of the levant. build a ballista workshop and exploit the ai attacking poorly defended regions... I would recommend a horse archer army, easy to get as there are plenty of mercs lying around. Their main stack will hopefully break itself against that fort with the full stack and be weakened.

Armenia is hard in the beginning, but when you pull trough that they are easily one of the best factions around.

I would say Oman, having to expand on two differnt fronts, and lots of enemys and bad troops.

[C.Maximus]

Personally I found them to be one of the easiest factions (if not the easiest... well maybe Abbasids). You just need to abuse the troops you have at the start to quickly conquer the area, and as soon as you get the two huge stacks you can pretty much either crush the Romans or overwhelm the Georgians (your economy should be fine quickly). My armies usually consist of only (mostly light) HAs and heavy cavalry, though some infantry can be useful at times. I admit that getting new heavy cav can be hard at first, so if you run out you'll have to rely on family members or other heavy HAs to get the job done.
And the increased movement points of your generals are a nice advantage as soon as you get out of the steppes.

I haven't played all factions extensivly, but I guess my vote for hardest goes to the Armenians. I just found them awkward to play, your position is pretty bad, your starting troops are rather mediocre... I guess if you get a good start and don't go to war with anyone you don't want to, you'll be fine, but that's true for all factions. >_>

Agreed

[ShulaVya]

For me Makuria is the hardest, like someone said above you start off and pretty much continue the husk of the campaign with no "real" armor and many other techs. Beyond this your position is less than advantageous, the Ayuubid to the north are usually far less than willing to be allies and they often take control of territories you need for victory.
I tried once to expand out into what is modern day Yemen and Oman, only to be met with resistance from the Ayuubid and the Oman. If I ever manage to get past the Ayuubid, I think I did once, I had to attempt to crush the KOJ which isn't as easy as Ayuubid always makes it look.

I think for me the easiest time I had of it was when I played as Khawarezm, they start off with little around them and only face a real challenge from warriors on the steppes and the Mongols (if/when they show up).

[Jaytee]

Unlike some peoples experience for me Makuria was a piece of p*ss, to be honest. My armenian campaign although I never finished it went pretty well, expanding into the Turks territory and taking land to the East. It is Georgia who I just can not survive with, I would love to have a good campaign with them but I just can't build up my barracks in time to have a number of strong units available to hold of the Turks and Seljuks, when I play as another faction it seems that the Georgian AI has access to strong units pretty early on whereas I just can't manage it.

[wudang_clown]

That's because AI gets many bonuses.

[Jaytee]

That's because AI gets many bonuses.

Well there's my answer. I've been chasing after rainbows the entire time.

[vityazb]

Yep! Playing as Georgia. I have not even constructed a single fortress, so as my enemy, but he, the Armenia, already has all kinds of fancy infantry and heavy cavalry. Good thing we are allies:-)

[wudang_clown]

Still, Georgian campaign isn't impossible to win, I believe. But we will rework it in a way.

[Shadowfax]

Still, Georgian campaign isn't impossible to win, I believe. But we will rework it in a way.

oh dont ,
I love it the way it is , it is challenging that what maks it so much fun to play
i hope u make BC.3 alot of challenge (or at least 2 factions as challenging as Georgian campaign )
couz if it isn't it will be boring just to blitz ur way

[Silesian_Noble]

oh dont ,
I love it the way it is , it is challenging that what maks it so much fun to play
i hope u make BC.3 alot of challenge (or at least 2 factions as challenging as Georgian campaign )
couz if it isn't it will be boring just to blitz ur way

Goergia in B.C. 3.0 will have some more provinces at start (we know that in 1174 it was around the begining of the Georgian 'Golden Era'), but also some new rival factions around...

[Captain_Aramsham]

Yeah, I just started a Solanki campaign, I was in debt for the first 25 turns because of the upkeep on all those ele bodyguards (which as you say die frustratingly quickly to javelin attacks)

[EarendilElenthol]

I'm in a Georgian campaign, somewhere in the 1190ies. The Cumans have been brought back to 2 cities (thats necessary if you want to live, otherwise selsjuks and cumans attack at the same time). Have had a small scale war with the selsjuks and got jerevan from them, gave them kursk and ryazan for peace . Now the turks are attacking me, its quite fun in the southern causcasus: trebizonde (romans), erzurum (turks), van (abbasids), tabriz and that eastern castle (selsjuks). All have wanted to attack me, but I am able to fight one at a time. I play VH/VH of couse, and it is hard but not impossible.

[Dead*Man*Wilson]

Georgia. Stuck in between two horsearcher giants (Kypchaks & Seljuks). Very tough, I could never get into the swing of things. Georgia makes the ERE camp seem easy.

[EarendilElenthol]

ERE is quite easy, too close to the edge of the map, although I admit it is pretty hard to beat the 4th crusade before the CTD occurs (Frustrating, but I had them killed in time after some tries). I find the abbasids more fun, bordering many factions and with the allmighty Seldsjuks as the main enemy.