Easiest Faction for Campaign?

[shinderhizzle84]

I posted this over at totalwar.org as well, but I figured I may as well post it here for more efficiency, haha!

So, the other day I got bored of Rome Total War, and decided to download this mod for it (I have version 1.1). My only problem is that I'm really not the best of players and am having a lot of trouble winning in both battles and on the campaign map.

What would be, in all of your opinion, the easiest faction for me to start out with, just to get myself much more associated with this entirely new game??! To give you an idea, when I fight my battles I tend to utilize heavy infantry and/or phalanx units over cavalry...I mainly use cavalry to flank and run over my enemy's infantry...

any thoughts/suggestions?! Thanks!!

[Mediolanicus]

1. Update to 1.2 + fixes
2. Read the FAQ
3. Play SPQR, Qarth-Hadast, Casse or Ptolemaioi. I think those are the easiest factions.

[malidros]

Romani might be a good place to start. If you look at the descriptions of each will give you a heads up on the difficulty level. If I remember correctly there are only 2 factions with "moderate" difficulty. The rest label as "challenging", or "very challenging", and a couple "nigh impossibles".

In the end a challenge is more engaging, but getting steamrolled , is less than fun. So good luck to ya in your adventures!

[Brapbrapbap]

Definitely get 1.2 first and foremost.


Afterwards, play with Rome or the Ptolemoi (Egypt).

Any other faction is pretty much set to HARD MODE unless you have some experience with the mechanics of this mod.


Comic option: Saba.

[Faramir D'Andunie]

As suggested do get 1.2 and its fixes. It's not as heavy as the previous versions.

As for factions I would say Romani and Qart hadast. Neither of these have any threat to really worry about so you can play along and get used to the mod feel.

Ptolemaioi while not the hardest campaign out there could turn bad if Seleukeia decides to roll you over and were not prepared for em.

You can also just play any faction on medium campaign difficulty to start as well,

[CamilleBonparte]

I don't think Epieros or the Hellen Koinon are very difficult despite their "Challenging" status. They have kind of crappy economies but once you take a couple settlements at the beginning, trim down your forces and get the economy buildings going it's pretty smooth sailing.

The thing that makes the Romani so easy beside their better troops is that unlike most factions you shouldn't ever go into debt, which is a big part of the "challenge" for the other factions.

[The Almohad]

Epeiros is pretty easy while still being a lot of fun. Rome and Carthage are easiest as others have said. I'm playing as the Saba right now for the first time and honestly the start of the campaign is quite easy, there are no other factions to compete with on your peninsula so you have some time to get acclamated. The same argument can be made for the Casse. The Sweboz can also just steamroll some "rebels" at the beginning for a while too.

[Hakomar]

I have to say the Romans and Carthaginians are quite easy, they were my first two campaigns before they both got corrupted. With Rome, you can just take control of the Peninsula, and when you deal with Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the settlements up north (Mediolanium, Bononia, Patavium, Segesta), you can develop and just build a lot of armies, and slowly take whoever you want. The carthaginians have a good enough military, and have no real immediate threat, so once you build up the world is yours

[Boriak]

I would say Romani is best to start with. While Kart Hadast is still easy you have way too much stuff to think about at the beginning. With the Romani, you have very little threats in the beginning and you can experiment without losing too much.

[ERE_Friend]

I actually want a good challenge but picked to play as the Romani for my first campaign just because Rome is so awesome and I wanted to play through history. If I perhaps slow down my conquering will any of the other factions present a challenge? Is there any hope of anyone putting up a good fight? I don't want it to get boring too fast.

[athanaric]

I actually want a good challenge but picked to play as the Romani for my first campaign just because Rome is so awesome and I wanted to play through history. If I perhaps slow down my conquering will any of the other factions present a challenge? Is there any hope of anyone putting up a good fight? I don't want it to get boring too fast.

Barbarian factions in EB are at least twice as strong as in Vanilla RTW. In Vanilla, the Gauls were ridiculous pushovers. In EB, they're basically civilized factions, with some of the strongest infantry units in the game. Unfortunately they've got a civil war going from the start which means you're not going to encounter the fiercest of onsaughts from there (unless the Aedui manage to eliminate the Arverni or vice versa, and concentrate on you).
The Lusotannan, Getai, and Swêboz have much weaker infrastructure than the Gauls, but a better position. They will most likely bombard you with armies at some point. Campaigning in Iberia can turn very ugly as you face endless Lusitanian skirmisher hordes, augmented by the odd cataphract or elite infantry unit. Fighting the Getai tends to become a veritable nightmare as they can field armies that are superior in quality to yours, having access to all tactical options. They even have elite HAs.
Fighting the Suebi I tend to avoid (I buy them instead, or keep a distance). They have good units as well, essentially combining the worst (from your perspective) elements of Gauls (everyone has a javelin) and Getai (badass morale).

As Romani, I tend to leave the Gauls alone for a long time (until around 200 BC), and tackle Carthage first. This will make your northern neighbours more of a challenge.

[ERE_Friend]

Hmm very interesting, thanks for the info. I'm new to EB so I'm unfamiliar with the typical pacing of the campaign. As I'm already fighting Carthage I'll finish them off to give other people time to get stronger. I'm sure other factions are strong, it's just a matter of them not utilizing their strength. I fought one stack from Carthage in Sicily, and that's all the resistance I've faced from them so far even though I'm about to take the lightly defended capital city.