My Parthian Guide:Getting a foothold in Darthmod 7.0

**Byzantium** · April 20, 2006, 06:07 AM

The very informative woad wearing and axe twirling Germania guide created by The Grand Duke Vytautas has spurred me to write a guide based on my own favourite faction Parthia.
Nowhere on the RTW map will you find such a clash of different fighting styles and mentality as in this region.Ok lets get started.

Geographical location

Parthia begins the game with a huge tract of land in the East.This brings it's own advantages and disadvantages as we'll see.It's main cities Susa and Arsakia are situated in the far East safe from immediate attack from our enemies.Palmyra and Bostra lie in close proximity to Selucid and Egyptian territory and will be where the early battles will be fought.
The distance from our capital and main population centres to the 'frontline' so to speak means that newer troops and reinforcements will take some time to get there.Our frontier towns dont have the population to create large armies on their own but facilities should be built there to retrain our weakened units and supplement our armies when possible.

Early forces at our disposal

Eastern Infantry I've fought against them before and they are the weakest unit in the game.Wrong!!
Cheap to build and maintain the Eastern Infantry will be your most versatile unit and the backbone of your early armies and because of how much longer battles last in Darthmod 7.0 over vanilla coupled with the mobile tactics we will be adopting their speed and stamina will be invaluable.Great bonus fighting in deserts and superb as garrison troops due to their numbers.

The Horse Archer The Jewel in our crown and the biggest Phalanx killers in the game in my opinion.Four units of these in a medium sized army will have Phalanx armies sweating like a Scotsman in a spelling test.No other units are better at turning or breaking up enemy formations than the horse archer.Deployed correctly they will be the key to victory in your campaigns early on and beyond.Should be used with 'fire at will' turned off to conserve ammo unless chasing routing enemies and targets should be chosen selectively.

Archers Another unit that has 240 men per unit on huge and used in conjunction with the horse archers can be devastating.I recommend turning 'fire at will' off and deploying them in skirmish order in front of the infantry unless faced with large contingents of cavalry,though you wont face this early on against the Selucids and Egyptians.Avoid firing at the shields of incoming Phalanx units but concentrate on units such as this that have turned to face your horse archers.At 240 men per unit they will decimate such units in a short space of time.Against lighter troops and cavalry they will be your biggest killers.

Early Moves

DIPLOMACY - Love thy Neighbour? Forget it.Selucia and Egypt will sign a treaty early on and that can only mean one thing,their eyes are looking East.Selucia must be your first target if you are to expand anyway and the sooner the better while their forces are dispersed.Egypt will attack you eventually no matter how nice you are to them but dont attack them first.Play for time while you attack Selucia but be ready to defend against them.You are allied to Armenia at the beginning and they will pose no threat and may even help you against Selucia.They will be mindful of Pontus and may even war with them and will generally only build up near you if you do.

Early military build up

Your long term goal must be to create 3 large field armies.This is financially possible early on due to your units low upkeep.Quantity over quality is key to securing your borders early in the game.I would say 4-6 units of Eastern infantry and 4 units of horse archers plus an heir if possible will be enough for offensive and defensive operations.These can be supplemented with cheap mercenaries if needs be.

ARMY 1 - Onto Selucia !! Strip Arsakia of as many troops as possible and move them with your heir South in the first turn of the game.These will rendevoux with the Eastern infantry you should create in Susa.Four units of Eastern Infantry should be enough with that Heir to take Selucia from its weak garrison.As soon as Selucia is taken you must create more units for that army and move on as soon as possible toward Hatra.This will draw their army toward Hatra to defend it and leave space for army 2 to threaten Damascus.The long term goal for Army 1 after Hatra will be Antioch itself.

ARMY 2 - Muster at Palmyra This army will be headed by your Heir at Susa Bagabigna.He should head toward Palmyra with four units of Horse archers from the Susa garrison straight away.He should meet up there with the units of Eastern infantry you should begin building there in turn 1.This army will both protect Palmyra and threaten Damascus.If Army 1 is successful in threatening Hatra then the Selucids will leave them alone.This will leave them free to aid army 3 against Egypt if required.Army 2's long term goal will be to take Damascus and then the Egyptian cities of Sidon and Jerusalem when war breaks out.

ARMY 3 - Checking the Egyptians Egypt will not war with you immediately.You may even have longer to prepare if they war with Numidia but eventually they will come and Bostra will be their target.Army 2's role here is important as they should play a holding role around Palmyra until such a time as army 3 is strong enough to hold its own.The Mercenaries in your city East of Bostra should be rushed there in turn 1 and Eastern infantry should be created here and in that Eastern City plus Palmyra as soon as possible and moved to the Bostra Region.Early on there will be no spare Heirs for this army so the next one available should move down to command it.This armies role will be to defeat the Egyptian armies moving up to reinforce Sidon and Jerusalem which should give Army 2 time to take both cities.Eventually when the situation in the North looks Secure it should move to threaten Egypts 3 main cities around the Nile Delta.

A good tactic - Cavalry Raiders

Used without Infantry small raiding forces of Horse archers can be used to great effect to attack smaller units of reinforcements moving around the map.They can move far into enemy territory and withdraw to safety if need be.This tactic can be used to good effect by army 2 around Palmyra to attack the small phalanx stacks Selucia will be moving around.

Early building I would recommend building the city upgrades that are required by most cites on turn 1 of the game.This will enable you to build Horse archers in places such as Palmyra for example.Markets are only worth building when money becomes more plentiful and then only for the population growth bonus as the extra revenue generated by them in the beginning is negligable.
Your main revenue will come from farming especially after Army 1 takes Selucia early in the game due to the Revenue increase you will get from the Hanging gardens.
Unlike most other factions you will have no Ports and therefore no huge trade income to rely on.Farming and conquest is the way to go.
The capability to produce archers as early as possible is highly recommended as they will be one of your best units.
Remember it should be units first buildings second where possible.
Roads will also be key for moving reinforcements and higher quality units built in your larger cities up to your frontier towns so build them as soon as possible.

Advanced Military I would resist the temptation to try and build the facilities used to produce more advanced units early on in the game as it's quantity you will be relying on initially.Units like Huvaka while superb are expensive to build and maintain and compared to Horse archers will net you a much lower kill haul in most circumstances.

After your initial objectives are secured.
Once you are in possession of Selucia,Hatra,Damascus,Sidon and Jerusalem Pontus and Armenia may become nervous of your new found wealth and power.It's always a good idea to have a few spies in the Northern regions to see what these factions are up to.Pontus,usually the stronger,will have their eye on Hatra if they decide to attack you so it's always an idea to begin creating a fourth army once your primary objectives are achieved.By this time the creation of a 5th army will be possible which i would place near Arsakia ready to move against the Armenians.Pontus will hit you hard if they have done well in their own campaign and will require a tactical rethink.The creation of your higher quality units should figure heavily in armies 4 and 5 and will be required to take on the Pontic chariots/Armenian Cataphract archers.

Battlefield tactics - Selucia and Egypt - Hold your Nerve

Your early enemies will be the Selucids and Egyptians both of which will be heavily phalanx orientated.Don't be frightened to take on stacks that look much larger than yours.Remember that many of their units such as levy pikemen have 240 men which swells their army size bar.The Phalanx,like other unit types are devastating if used in the right way in the right enviroment.Luckily for us the desert isn't such an enviroment.They can be twisted and turned in all directions by circling Horse archer units and caught in crossfires by fixed and mobile archery.Your main infantry line must be ready to retreat and reform and take up new positions so dont back them up against the edge of the map when you deploy them.Forget offensive and defensive formations and deployments,the strength of the Parthian army lies in its mobilty and speed.Judging when to throw your infantry in to the fray will be key to your success.Eastern infantry are quite capable of destroying tired phalanxes caught out of position.
Egyptian chariot archers will be your most dangerous enemy but luckily they arent deployed in large numbers.Though casualties will be high they must be pinned by your horse archers and threatened with Infantry and engaged if possible.Hillmen are good for this as they are fast and have a good initial impact.

Armenia and Pontus - Fighting people like us.

Fighting these factions,particularly Pontus can be a little harrowing as they will adopt the same mobile tactics as you do.Usually you will fight these later in the campaign and you can create armies fit for purpose.Again your horse archers will be key to breaking up their formation or lureing their chariots away from where they can cause the most damage.
In many battles against these opponents i will hold my horse archers back a little if possible and hope to bring their Horse archers into range of my archers which on ocaision depending on terrain i deploy behind my Infantry line due to them being more mobile and more inclined to rush me.Many of these battles are much more untidy affairs compared to fighting the Egyptians and Selucids.

Siege Warfare Not really an option for a Parthian army unless you have large numbers of infantry and even then you would need to get creative against Phalanx based defenders.The number of men in your Archer units can be key here both for the casualties they can cause and for the ability they have to sting defenders into attacking you or forcing them out of advantageous positions.When fighting in the cities against these units try to attack them on road junctions where you can attack from more than one side.

Obviously there a hundred ways to win with this faction,nothing is set in stone and any grand plan can be undone or enhanced by strokes of luck,misfortune and strokes of genius.
My little guide is intended for people who may be having problems getting started with this faction or who may be considering having a go with them and want a little insight into what it's all about.

Hopefully someone may find it a useful guide to playing this most fascinating of factions.

I'll sign off with a little quote i read made by an English historian when discussing English medieval armies,it may be apt for a Parthian commander.

*The English kings realised that while contingents of longbowmen could damage the enemy,massed ranks of them could destroy an army*