Next Campaign??

[Stath's]

I am finishing the Seleucid campaign (vh/h) in a few days and i 'd like to hear some suggestions about which faction to play next.

If you want, state the reason of your suggestion.

Already played with Baktria, Arvernii and Macedonia in the past but i haven't finished them (i intend to..).

It's a tremendous achievement of the EB team that i can't exclude any faction of my preferences, cos they all are really unique.

[Entropy Judge]

Sweboz - They're fun and awesome, with a pretty secure starting position and lots of room to expand. Rather low quality of the units compared to other factions' more powerful units means battles are never an easy stomp, although there are ways to give yourself the advantage.

Casse - Virtually impossible to lose, with great Elite units. Also: Chariots (even if I can't use them properly).

Macedonia - Fun because of the great unit mix, but once you control Greece you simply have more money than you need. If you take the lower Balkans and Asia Minor as well, you have more money than the gods.

Aedui - Like the Arverni, but better, and cooler looking.

[Xerrop]

If you want a true challenge try the Sab'yn. Some easy expansion in the beginning, but once you face the Egyptians you have hard fights to endure.

I have not tried them so far, but the Sauromatae seem also an interesting faction. With all those rebell areas around them it must be quite funny to expand your realm first without much diplomatic problems and then led invasions either to Europe, the Caucasus or Central Asia. The Saka-Rauka on the other hand can only expand against their two neighbours Parthia and Baktria. You have much less enemies with them so it might get more boring.

Oh and one of the best smaller factions is Armenia/Hayasdan. Very detailed researched by the EB team. You have even two reforms to gain, are fighting against the mighty seleucids and can recreate the Achaemenid Empire with all their buildings and family member traits.

[Cyclops]

If you want a true challenge try the Sab'yn. Some easy expansion in the beginning, but once you face the Egyptians you have hard fights to endure. ...

Sab'yn are one of my favourites. I play with General cam on to make it harder, so the Sab'yn foot generals come into their own (its really hard to storm a city with high walls when your cav general can't look pover them properly). The duel with Egypt and AS is harsh and unforgiving, both time the Ptolemaioi buckled first before my campaigns crashed out (my old PC was woeful). Its a game of careful force allocation, as you need fairly powerfuil forces when the silver and gold phalanxes start rolling. You really appreciate the endurance of the desert units as they dodge heavier forces, and you wear them down until the fairly meagre cavalry do their thing. A bit like Numidia in vanilla only much sexier (they also make an awesome migration campaign as Numidia).

Similarly Lussotannan make for a fascinating campaign and I have won on this. You mix ambushes (heaps of gun light forces and masses of trees and hills to hide in) with some very powerful armoured elites for when you want to smash something hard (like a mid game Roman legion). Its a much more mixed bag of opponents: barbarian Gauls to the North, hellinic/barbarian Carthaginians in the south and (well romanish I guess) Romans from the sea.

Baktria is my all time fav of course, but Carthage was probably the best single campaign I've played. They get barbarians in Spain, Hellenic elites at home, desert auxillaries in Africa, you have tro use Italian and Greek AOR's in Italy and Sicily, seriously its the most diverse set of challenges of any factions. I roleplay regional governors (with mostly mercenary and few AOR troops) and the Home Army that the FL/FH brings from Carthage if things get out of hand. Elephants and Sacred Band and African Assalt Inf, Oh My!

[Stath's]

Thanks for replying, i would consider all those (especially Sweboz).

What do you think about Sauromatae or Saka-Rauka?

[Entropy Judge]

What do you think about Sauromatae or Saka-Rauka?

Haven't played either one enough to get more than a (very) basic grasp of the factions. Extremely abusable Bodyguards, though. Sarmatian BG have excellent Bows, massive Charge, AP Lance, and great Armour. Saka BG have slightly better Bows and slightly worse melee capabilities. It's still entirely possible to slaughter entire armies using a handful of BG units.

[Team Sleep]

Casse have always been a favorite of mine: Expand generally unharrassed by other factions in the begining. Build up trade as you start allied to rebel states or expand to cover all of the Tin Isles. Either way by the time you're ready for the mainland all the major powers are embroilled in war, so carve your own foothold. Interesting units and depending upon your play style and expansion you'll surely come into conflict w/ Gauls/Iberians/Romans. Expect some pushback while trying to hold onto your foothold in Europe. Also as stated above, awesome unique units w/ all types of combat bonuses.

Pontus: Great mix of units and somewhat challanging starting position. Come into conflict early & often and possibly throughout the game against the Ptolemy & Selucid empires. This will take some diplomatic shiftiness on your part. Their position begs to be brushing shoulders w/ different types of cultures. A good mix of Eastern & Hellenic style units. Find a balance of power in Asia Minor & when you're ready prepare for awesome invasion of the Greek peninsula. Challanging at first as early game requires a balance between survival & expansion & political inginuity.

Lusotan: Good starting position, tons of resources (mines), decent units and great regionals. Start off at your own speed. Challange a major power early on(Carthage) & face decent amount of growing pains with Gauls, Germans, & Romans trying to keep you hemmed up in Iberia. Truddging your way through the whole of Europe starting from the extreme west of the map can be quite an uphill challange if you don't plan properly. Slow start and the campaign becomes more challanging as it progresses.

These are my top 3 choices of the handful of factions that I have played. But I'm sure that all the other suggested are just as fun.

Good luck on the new campaign.

Did you start one yet?

[Stath's]

Thanks for the answers, they are what i was looking for, details for every faction that play an important role.

I haven't started yet, there are some things to do with the Seleucids first (and enjoy the empire).

I will play Hayasdan and Pontus at a later time, because they are "nigh-impossible", and i'd like to play them towards the end.

Saka and Sarmatians. because of their BG importance, look like an excellent choice, because of i tend to use BG all the time on the battlefield. But I am not so sure if i could use Horse Archers so much (without being tired), after what i have been through dealing with the "accursed" Pahlava.

Lusotannan, Sweboz and Casse are also strong contenders because of their big differences with the Hellenic and Roman world (in every way).

I will put a lot of thought on it. Anybody who would like to add something is welcome.