About the Seleucid campaign.

**Silver Legionary** · May 24, 2010, 03:44 PM

Do any of you have trouble managing all those fronts at once?

I certainly do. The Indie Greeks in the west are bad enough(sometimes I
crush them, though), but having to deal with factions like Parthia, not to
mention the Seleucid's lack of phalangite units capable of dealing with said threats early game,
makes this campaign almost impossible for me in the long run, even on H/M difficulty.

Any advice on early game strategies, besides the obligatory "take Salamis
from the Ptolemies 1st turn, then prepare for the perfect storm"?

**Kara Kolyo** · May 24, 2010, 04:10 PM

If H/M is hard try on M/M or with reduced bonuses. You don't need good phalangites against Partia, even the militia ones will hold on gates or breaches. Use slingers, thorakitai and archers instead. After taking Salamis don't just sit and wait - gather all your available forces and strike Sidon. You can even leave Salamis and Side for several turns into the game. Getting Sidon and Jerusalem first will make your life much easier

**Silver Legionary** · May 24, 2010, 05:25 PM

Ooh. Yeah, this WAS with unreduced bonuses. So that might be why I'm getting slayed.
But anyway, yah, Militia phalangites are good, but they hate missiles, something Parthia
has a LOT of. But otherwise, archers/thorakitai/slingers I do already, and yeah,
going into Egypt to take pressure off is a big thing.

By the way, in field battles against Egypt, should I auto-resolve, or always take the
battle myself?

**Pinkie Pie** · May 24, 2010, 05:39 PM

never auto resolve, even an idiot can get better results than you get from an auto resolve

**Silver Legionary** · May 24, 2010, 05:42 PM

Yeah. I find facing armies 1.5x or more times larger than my army intimidating, though.

**Unknown Soldier** · May 25, 2010, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by Silver Legionary

Yeah. I find facing armies 1.5x or more times larger than my army intimidating, though.

Dude the starting Egyptian units are only half as good as what yours are at the start...

lower moral, lower attack, lower experience, lower defence.

Even if the AI out numbers you 2 to 1 your force is more than capable of exterminating every last one of the enemy for under 10% casualties to your force...

Get in there and kick crap out of them....

**Silver Legionary** · May 25, 2010, 03:40 PM

Yeah, the starting Ptolemies units are not good, that much is true, but being outnumbered by Parthia and Bactria... that is what I find intimidating.
Too many horsies.

**Zarax** · May 24, 2010, 06:56 PM

Give parthia and baktria a buffer by abandoning your 3 easternmost provinces.
They are undeveloped and will buy you a few turns to better face the challenges you meet west.

**Silver Legionary** · May 24, 2010, 07:34 PM

Yeah, that could work too.

**TM Is Back** · May 26, 2010, 03:34 AM

Do not fear those easterners. Just a few levy phalangites and some peltasts will help you defend the cities. And about the south. Egypt. March south but keep the high ground. That way you'll easily win from those farmers.

**Silver Legionary** · May 26, 2010, 03:22 PM

Yeah, high ground helps archers/skirmishers, etc. I've found
that Egypt is easy to fight if you let them attack, then punish
them for mistakes on the battlefield.

About the Easterners, it not that I fear them, I just don't like facing Parthian
140 men Heavy Cavalry units with 2 or more chevrons and usually weapon/armor
upgrades. It's really annoying. If I had 3rd tier barracks units throughout my empire,
it would be a non-issue. Am working on 3rd tier barracks in Seleucia, so, Parthias
gonna get slayed.

EDIT: I've noticed that if you somehow push the Indie Greeks out of Asia Minor
at the start, things become EASY. As in, absurdly so, at least in the west,
because the IGCS often build 3rd tier barracks in Pergamon and Halicarnassus
very quickly. Anyone else find this to be true?

**Total Roach** · May 29, 2010, 07:16 AM

Originally Posted by TM Is Back

Do not fear those easterners. Just a few levy phalangites and some peltasts will help you defend the cities. And about the south. Egypt. March south but keep the high ground. That way you'll easily win from those farmers.

Problem with the Horse archer factions is that they will lay siege with no infantry, and to sally with the starting militia is suicide.

On the plus side I am having a reasonably successful TSE campaign at the mo after a few aborted tries, never gave up any territory. Only thing I can think of that made it work is dumb luck, what the AI chooses to do and how successful it is in taking the local rebel settlements, which allows you more time to prepare. Will post in the empires thread once i've destroyed bactria and the hated

Parthians.

**Silver Legionary** · May 29, 2010, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Total Roach

Problem with the Horse archer factions is that they will lay siege with no infantry, and to sally with the starting militia is suicide.

On the plus side I am having a reasonably successful TSE campaign at the mo after a few aborted tries, never gave up any territory. Only thing I can think of that made it work is dumb luck, what the AI chooses to do and how successful it is in taking the local rebel settlements, which allows you more time to prepare. Will post in the empires thread once i've destroyed bactria and the hated

Parthians.

Same with me, I've got a pretty successful campaign going, I actually destroyed Armenia by
killing enough of their FMs. Will post in the empires thread as well, once my empire looks presentable.

**Timoleon of Korinthos** · May 29, 2010, 10:48 AM

Cede everything east of Seleukeia to Baktria, which shares your culture. They will develop them for you. Then launch a blitzkrieg campaign in Phoinice and Egypt and become the Ptolemaic Empire in place of the Ptolemaic empire. Wage war of attrition against the Indie Greeks on the western shores of Asia Minor in the meantime. Once you have consolidated your position in Syria, Phoinice and Egypt, you will be rich enough to overwhelm enemies on many fronts. Deal with Pontus and Indie-Greeks, then finally start claiming lands back from the Baktrians, who will have probably stabbed you in the back by that point.

**Silver Legionary** · May 29, 2010, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by Timoleon of Korinthos

Cede everything east of Seleukeia to Baktria, which shares your culture. They will develop them for you. Then launch a blitzkrieg campaign in Phoinice and Egypt and become the Ptolemaic Empire in place of the Ptolemaic empire. Wage war of attrition against the Indie Greeks on the western shores of Asia Minor in the meantime. Once you have consolidated your position in Syria, Phoinice and Egypt, you will be rich enough to overwhelm enemies on many fronts. Deal with Pontus and Indie-Greeks, then finally start claiming lands back from the Baktrians, who will have probably stabbed you in the back by that point.

That looks good, and yeah, the Indie Greeks can be beaten, but I think if you give Baktria too much
land, they might push farther. Otherwise, that looks legitimate.

**St Naffatun** · June 05, 2010, 03:24 PM

I also took salamis sidon jerusalem, during this time I disbanded all but the minimal garrisons for settlements east of seleucia, this had the cash rolling in the first few turns - exploitation baby yeah,what's that? protect my citizens? - pff the poor were invented to suffer and support the powerful

(pay your taxes and shut up and don't expect anything in return - lets call it a cap on my public spending)

with that money I smashed everthing in anatolia. Next steps are probably to finish off the imitation pharaoh, hold off the irritating pontic/armenian border harassment, take rhodes, then start pushing east again to "liberate those people from tyranny" (i.e. slaughter men women and children for profit and personal glory and depose the rulers I allowed and helped to take power in the first place - hmm sounds strangely familiar)