Best Nomadic Faction?

[Populus Romanus]

What is the best nomadic faction to play? I recently decided that I would try my hand on the steppe, but I can't resolve on a faction. The Saka sound most interesting, but I am noob and certainly will fall flat on my face playing as them. I cannot choose between the Pahlava and the Sauromatae. Who should I play as?

[Orontid]

I think the Pahlava are more interesting than the Sauromatae. The Pahlava can develop to the highest level, get great reforms allowing more buildings and heavier troops (like the Grivpanvar cataphracts) and fight hard opponents (AS, Baktria, Saka). The reforms are tricky to get but are worth it.

The Sauromatae don't get any reforms and can only develop to minor city (I think). They don't suck though - great bodyguards, recruitment of horse archers in any region, great mobility (like all nomadic factions). Best thing though, is if you expand west, chances are your enemies will mostly be light infantry - fodder for your arrows.

As ever with most factions in EB, best strategy is blitzing at the start.

Hope this helps.

[bobbin]

I've always had a soft spot for the Saka, I usually make their late bodyguards a recruitable unit too, because of their plain awesomeness. Plus the get access to some real nice heavy infantry later on.

But as things go the Pahlava are the most developed of the steppe factions, gameplay wise.

[Spike]

but to the contrary of most steppe factions, teh pahlvas can't train most of their units outside their historical home...

yep, with Sauro and Saka, you can migrate to Iberia or Ireland and still train the uber pwnage horse archers, but not with Pahlava

[Populus Romanus]

I am not going to do Sakas because I suck and they are nigh-impossible on the EB scale. So I am left with the Pahlavas and Sauromatae.

[Turtle Hammer]

I'd say the scale's a little skewed, I've found the Sauromatae campaign I'm doing harder than the Saka one I did. With the Saka's starting position, you're free to disband most of your army except for garrisons, mob all your FMs together and blitz out of your corner, ideally smashing Pahlava as early as possible. I found myself attacked by rebels a lot more as Sauromatae too, especially when I headed west, there's an eleutheroi army that respawns constatly which is frustrating...

[Spike]

I'd say the scale's a little skewed, I've found the Sauromatae campaign I'm doing harder than the Saka one I did. With the Saka's starting position, you're free to disband most of your army except for garrisons, mob all your FMs together and blitz out of your corner, ideally smashing Pahlava as early as possible. I found myself attacked by rebels a lot more as Sauromatae too, especially when I headed west, there's an eleutheroi army that respawns constatly which is frustrating...

sauro is definitely easier mid to late campaign wise, they can just expand west and shot the poor sweboz and baltic lands, despite not that rich, offers nice income, nonetheless. Getai is similarly vulnerable to missiles anyway, and saka/pahlava rarely enroach west too much (they have their own problems at the south). If you're luckier, as Sauromatae, you'll found gauls and their vulnerable infantry instead of sweboz, and had the cities upgraded.

What Saka had is against AS argyraspidai Spam, Baktrian Phalangite spam, and fellow nomadic-pahlava spam. And Yuezhi invasion is scripted, make you regret if you turtle too long

[Ferdiad]

Sauromatae; cos they have pwnage bodyguards.

[Populus Romanus]

I started as the Sauromatae, but only got one turn in before I realized it was a mistake. I don't like their starting position at all. So I switched to Pahlava. Hilariously, I have conquered three Seleukid cities without declaring war by using the massive amount of spies you start with to get their cities to rebel.

[Arthur, king of the Britons]

I started as the Sauromatae, but only got one turn in before I realized it was a mistake. I don't like their starting position at all. So I switched to Pahlava. Hilariously, I have conquered three Seleukid cities without declaring war by using the massive amount of spies you start with to get their cities to rebel.