Regarding Faction Trade/Economy

[Hellas]

One thing I've noticed with RTW again (unmodded version) is that I can never do well with any factions economy besides the Greeks. Back in 2004 when I played I remember making upwards of 30 MILLION denarii while using the Greeks over a long period of time. This is on VH/VH gametype.

What I do is simple

I take over all of Greece and the smaller islands around, build and upgrade docks, then make farms and lastly build mines.

I keep all armies at the top of Greece, with only small garrisons at the bottom as all the attacks usually come from the top left from the Brutii.

I am now playing again and I am doing the exact same thing I did all those years ago and I am now over a little 6 million denarii.

Is it just me or is Greece in some way glitched or is the way trade works just extremely better/lobsided for the Greek mainland and islands then every other available province in the game?

Athens alone provides me with ~8000 denarii, with no governor bonuses. This stuff is absolutely crazy. This hurts me in the long run as when I try playing another faction I just get annoyed and quit because my income isn't anywhere near as it is when I am using Greeks.

[Pimp8426]

Maybe you had trade rights with others before? Or maybe the patch altered something??

[Genius of the Restoration]

Yeah, Greece is ridiculous. You can afford to build units and buildings constantly in every settlement no matter how useless the building would be (even Merchant Quarters ).

As for trade routes, you've chosen the best option in upgrading ports as soon as you can, because sea trade is the killer in RTW. Farming income and taxation can't be abused to anything like the same extent. Small routes also provide the best income, so all the Greek settlements trading with each other is silly. Add routes to Asia Minor and the proximity of the Colossus and Greece can pay for any army you'll ever need, and more. I also feel a lot better when I have the income from Greece and it's always one of my targets in the Imperial Campaign. Once you take it, your ability to recruit high level units (from their population) and support an army of them becomes stupidly powerful.