Seleucid Empire problem

[Drachos]

Hi,

I have a problem with the Seleucid Empire. When I'm in an open war with Egypt, suddenly in ONE turn:
Armenia
Pontius
Greek cities and
Parthians

Siege my cities. I can barely hold off the Egyptians. That made me lose my campaign.
Can anyone PLEASE give me some advices?
Thanks

Edit: I wrote loose instead of lose XD

[Pounders]

Spam militia hoplites in all settlments until egypt is finished. Early game that's really your only hope. Tech up your barracks in antioch quickly as well. Phalanx pikes are a godsend that early in the campaign

[vlad06]

Hi,

I have a problem with the Seleucid Empire. When I'm in an open war with Egypt, suddenly in ONE turn:
Armenia
Pontius
Greek cities and
Parthians

Siege my cities. I can barely hold off the Egyptians. That made me lose my campaign.
Can anyone PLEASE give me some advices?
Thanks

Edit: I wrote loose instead of lose XD

If you have the money, diplomats can be used to bribe the smaller armies while you build your forces. You may even recruit a few turncoat enemy generals to your side too.

[Veliky Kaiser Theos]

It's nothing too unusual. Early in the game, you should attack them first. The Parthians in particular should be attacked, because of how close they are to Seleucia.

[Willowran]

It's nothing too unusual. Early in the game, you should attack them first. The Parthians in particular should be attacked, because of how close they are to Seleucia.

i respectfully disagree. Parthia and Armenia rely entirely on infantry and HA's (horse archers) early game. In a def seige, both are annhilated. They are not a threat (at any time) against the phalanx. Attacking them proves more fruitful in the long run, yes, but early game (if youre having difficulty with egypt) i wouldn't suggest expending the resources.

As you know (from your other thread), Drachos, i suggest a defensive pose, for the most part. Pikes really do tear enemy ai to shreds in a def seige...

If you prefer a more offensive pose, i suggest relying heavily on your general cav units. Generals are easily the most powerful units early game (on the battlemap). Hit and run with a couple generals can rake up billions of dead egyptians. Just don't run headfirst into their pikes

[Vindictus]

i respectfully disagree. Parthia and Armenia rely entirely on infantry and HA's (horse archers) early game. In a def seige, both are annhilated. They are not a threat (at any time) against the phalanx. Attacking them proves more fruitful in the long run, yes, but early game (if youre having difficulty with egypt) i wouldn't suggest expending the resources.

As you know (from your other thread), Drachos, i suggest a defensive pose, for the most part. Pikes really do tear enemy ai to shreds in a def seige...

If you prefer a more offensive pose, i suggest relying heavily on your general cav units. Generals are easily the most powerful units early game (on the battlemap). Hit and run with a couple generals can rake up billions of dead egyptians. Just don't run headfirst into their pikes

:O Generals are horrible units. What in heaven's name? ... It's all about those peasants... you can take Egypt with that fodder.

OT: I believe Willowran speaks a more logical plan for the success of your empire. The Parthians will not be able to take your cities if you have at least 3 militia hoplites camping in them. Focus your resources on the Egyptians because their cities will yield a great amount of income. Strike their heart. Don't let the Egyptians grow. Your pikemen advantage only upholds the plan. Hit Egypt, then divert your attention to expanding Westward. Take out a few Parthian settlements if you need to, but Armenia and Pontus shouldn't cause too many problems. If needed, eliminate Pontus. Armenia isn't very strong early game, so you can hit the Macedonians hard, then finish the Armenians off.

[Genius of the Restoration]

Just don't run headfirst into their pikes

Or generals!

[Tidybeard]

I've had awful trouble as the Seleucid Empire, even on M/M.

Shame, as they're my favourite faction, what with their top-notch unit roster. And obviously I don't want to cheat my way to a good start, that would be pointless.

[Basil II the B.S]

Uh, I really love the faction and I played the campaign so many times..
some tips, generally useful when playing on VH/VH

-send the diplomat you have at the beginning towards Pergamum, as soon as Rome declares war on Greece, offer Greece alliance+trade rights+ map info for the city, works most of the time and you get a quite important (in terms of growth and richness) city without a fight

-ally with Egypt and Pontus, although they will betray you quite soon, you can gain a couple of turns to deal with Armenia and Parthia.

-build a second level barracks in Seleucia, asap, don't build anything else from the beginning until you can train levy pikes, then get at least 4. By that time, Parthia will besiege you with cataphracts, horse archers and some infantry, let them come in, and fight in the plaza where your troops can't rout. Kill the caths, retrain the army and go for Susa immediately, after they lose it, Parthians won't be much of a threat.

-Armenia is generally the first to attack me, and I'm always late to fight them back. Sometimes I lose Hatra for a couple of turns, then I take it back and defend on the river in the North of the region (it's actually in Armenia)

-barracks in Pergamum and stables in Sardis+ the amazing mercenaries you can get in the area ( Cretan Archers on top), to take down Pontus

-Egypt early on is a bit annoying. It's always better to take Sidon asap, then you can do whatever you want. I personally like fighting them, because they get their best troops fast enough, and I love filling the map with Heroic victories. Salamis is the other city you want to take asap.

It's enormously rich and you don't have to defend it. I generally bribe it before starting the war against Egypt.

I generally try not to get involved in Greece too soon, I've seen people doing it, but I invade generally when Rome is about to take over.

early army: levy pikes+greek cavalry+archers (if you take Susa early you can start mass production there)+ Eleph or chariots (better the former)
mid: archers+phalanx pikes+caths+ elephs
late:whatever you want, that's why I love Seleucids

[Tidybeard]

Thanks for that - got 2 weeks off work so I'll give it a go at some point.

[Alexanderos]

The Seleucids start spread out , most of the time i take all of my armies from the lame settlements and i put them in Antioch , to make it impenetrable. Afterwars , i let most of my cities rebel or get conquered and i keep only 1 besides Antioch , to get some trade. Then , i conquer Salamis , that little island from the egyptians , and for like 70 turns i keep turtling till i get nice units and i make 2 stacks , one for the egyptians and the other one for the northen bastards like pontics , parthians etc.

[Thrillology]

The Seleucid Empire starts powerful and big early in the game, so most surrounding factions have a hostile demeanor towards you. You can see the Seleucid Empire's neighbors feelings about them in the descr_strat file, found near the bottom of the file. You'll notice nobody likes the Seleucid Empire. =P

[Drachos]

Thanks Basil!!
I love the Seleucids cuz of Legionaires(spell), Strong pikemen, cataphracts + Elephants ( I don't use them as much)

[vlad06]

Thanks Basil!!
I love the Seleucids cuz of Legionaires(spell), Strong pikemen, cataphracts + Elephants ( I don't use them as much)

The exact same reasons I love them. I just wish they had better archers.

[Basil II the B.S]

The exact same reasons I love them. I just wish they had better archers.

You get Cretan Archers as mercenaries in the Sardis/Halicarnassus region. Try not to lose them until you can get another couple and retrain them in a city with developed blacksmiths. Then just sit on a hilltop, phalanx in the front, 4 Cretan Archers in the back, and the battle will be over without even fighting. If the enemy is able to get close, they will have your silver shields to deal with. And just in case, Cataphracts are waiting for them. And War Elephants.

[Drachos]

LOL!

Look what I did (1 hour and I conquered all of Asia Minor): I did as Basil said, and started fighting Egypt before they could fight me. What I did is, I demanded them settlements and in exchange, I give them some money. I don't cheat, but I have 200.000 Denarii. So when I captured Sidon and Salamis, I "bought" Jerusalem (NOT BRIBING!), and the rest was easy, I captured Alexandria and Thebes and the other settlement turned rebel. Same with Pontus, Byzantium turned rebel!

[vlad06]

LOL!

Look what I did (1 hour and I conquered all of Asia Minor): I did as Basil said, and started fighting Egypt before they could fight me. What I did is, I demanded them settlements and in exchange, I give them some money. I don't cheat, but I have 200.000 Denarii. So when I captured Sidon and Salamis, I "bought" Jerusalem (NOT BRIBING!), and the rest was easy, I captured Alexandria and Thebes and the other settlement turned rebel. Same with Pontus, Byzantium turned rebel!

That's perfect. I hate Egypt so I may try this next time.

You get Cretan Archers as mercenaries in the Sardis/Halicarnassus region. Try not to lose them until you can get another couple and retrain them in a city with developed blacksmiths. Then just sit on a hilltop, phalanx in the front, 4 Cretan Archers in the back, and the battle will be over without even fighting. If the enemy is able to get close, they will have your silver shields to deal with. And just in case, Cataphracts are waiting for them. And War Elephants.

Are Cretan Archers the best in the game?

[Basil II the B.S]

Are Cretan Archers the best in the game?

Haven't played in a long while so I don't remember the exact stats.
Some archers are better in melee, but in general Cretan Archers are a top archer unit. You will not be disappointed.
More or less at the same level you'll find Archer Auxilia, Forrester Warband, Pharaoh's bowmen and maybe someone else.

[Tidybeard]

LOL!

Look what I did (1 hour and I conquered all of Asia Minor): I did as Basil said, and started fighting Egypt before they could fight me. What I did is, I demanded them settlements and in exchange, I give them some money. I don't cheat, but I have 200.000 Denarii. So when I captured Sidon and Salamis, I "bought" Jerusalem (NOT BRIBING!), and the rest was easy, I captured Alexandria and Thebes and the other settlement turned rebel. Same with Pontus, Byzantium turned rebel!

Can I just ask....how exactly did you manage to obtain 200,000 denarii so quickly?

[Alexanderos]

Yes , the best archers. Archer auxilia only has better armour and a little more melee , but when it comes to range and firepower the Cretans outclass them. The only archers that can withstand , but not win against Cretans ,are pharaoh's bowmen.