Bactria in PE2

[Faravid]

It seems impossible to play a successful game as Bactria. It's easy to get the economy running, it's easy to build about three full stacks, but no matter what I do I'm always on the defensive against the Seleucids. The AI focuses everything it has on you and even if they are at war with Ptolemaics, the front in Palestine stays static and neither side makes any advances. So that frees Seleucids to slug you with whatever they got.

In my most advanced game it's 252BC and while I've made substantial gains I'm once again in a situation where I have only three-and-a-half stacks of troops against five Seleucid full stacks.


Bactria is my favorite faction (because it's so remote and exotic) but the way Seleucids are so damn powerful in PE2 it just turns into an annoying slugging match.

The biggest problem here seems to be Ptolemaics. Anyone who has played as them knows it's just a matter of rushing Syria to cripple the Seleucids. But when controlled by AI they just stand around and play defensive, maybe capturing a rebel settlement or two.

So anyone got tips for long-term gaming as Bactria? Is the only way to survive to just push into Persia and go on until I reach the Mediterranean? That's not what I want to do. I want a historical Bactria game.
Alternatively, anyone know how to make Seleucid AI more lenient towards human Bactria?

[Archesel]

As far as i have played PE (version 1.9), all "seleucid allied" factions (at the beginning of the campaign), so bactria, pontus, armenia,etc... seems to be betrayed by the superpower early on.

But an interesting tip, Seleucid are not at ease with so many provinces to defend, usually letting small garrisons on their eastern provinces, so you could:

-Ally with parthia and coordinate your attacks with them

-Send spies to seleucid towns in order to make them revolt (it worked in my armenian campaign)

I hope it'll help you

[Faravid]

Thanks for the input.

You are true about spies. In fact, I never even considered such a plan! I will definitely try using them to spark revolt in Persia. Losing the common border with Seleucids would give me the peace I want to expand towards India.
So thanks for that.

If anyone knows a thing or two about AI modding, I'd also still like to know if it's possible to make Seleucids more historically aligned towards Bactria (so Seleucids won't attack Bactria except in self defense as it was historically - it was Bactria that started the rebellion, not the Seleucids).

[Faravid]

Okay I tried the spy thing and while I have failed to bring about any revolts, I did notice that now with their cities full of my spies the Seleucids bind huge armies to their lands to boost public order. Works for me, though it's a temporary solution at best.

[Archesel]

You may have you spies gain experience by spying armies around, then re-infiltrate the cities; let them move their armies, so you should have better results!

[Faravid]

Okay, I'll try that. I've been having one city on the verge of revolt so I see if I can knock it out. That should buy me some time.

I decided to take a more offensive approach while testing the spy thing. I can easily defeat the Seleucids on field and I have expanded my realm all the way down to the Gulf and my realm is somewhat the same size as Bactria was historically at its greatest extent (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...KingdomMap.jpg), but I really, really don't want to take all of Persia. I know that if I supposedly conquered the Empire I'd only find myself betrayed by the Ptolemaics and have to go on another journey of conquest.

Reason I want to stop the constant war is because my population is so low. My capital has only 2,000 people because I constantly need to retrain my exhausted armies. Just five years of peace would be perfect but noooooooooo. Seleucids refuse peace at every attempt to sue for it because their military score is about seven times higher than mine.

[AngryTitusPullo]

If anyone knows a thing or two about AI modding, I'd also still like to know if it's possible to make Seleucids more historically aligned towards Bactria (so Seleucids won't attack Bactria except in self defense as it was historically - it was Bactria that started the rebellion, not the Seleucids).

One can't really mod the AI in any Total War games as they're had coded. However with Alex.exe there's option to try to influence how the AI declare war etc among the AI.

One way is to edit the imperial_campaign.txt and for Seleucid entry and look for the ai_do_not_attack_faction line. I'm not sure what I have put there originally but you can put Thrace there (Thrace is the engine name for Bactria) so that AI Seleucid will not attack Bactria unless Bactria attack them first.

This however will need a new campaign start.

[Faravid]

Cheers.

[Faravid]

I went to descr_strat and noticed something strange. Both Ptolemaics and Seleucids are set not to attack each other. I suppose this explains why Seleucids always ram at Parthia and Bactria with full force while Egypt just stands by.
Indeed in all my saves Egypt musters two-and-a-half stacks of troops and just throws them to the Seleucid border and does nothing with them. Antioch is in one turn's range but they never go for it, even more so important as Seleucids don't station any forces in Syria besides town guards. It's a shame because I'd love to watch the two giants rail at each other, even if I'm not playing as Bactria/Parthia.

In my current Bactria game (the one I short-sightedly declared unwinnable in OP) is going surprisingly well despite fighting against 90% of the Seleucid army. But I will probably start a new game with my new settings on Hard/Hard soon.

[AngryTitusPullo]

I did it that way only from the Roman point of view since I only play as Rome and I would love those 2 bug factions still exist by the time I send my legions east.

It's fairly easy enough to change them anyway though so you may try other settings that will suit your gameplay better.

[Nautillus]

I went to descr_strat and noticed something strange. Both Ptolemaics and Seleucids are set not to attack each other. I suppose this explains why Seleucids always ram at Parthia and Bactria with full force while Egypt just stands by.
Indeed in all my saves Egypt musters two-and-a-half stacks of troops and just throws them to the Seleucid border and does nothing with them. Antioch is in one turn's range but they never go for it, even more so important as Seleucids don't station any forces in Syria besides town guards. It's a shame because I'd love to watch the two giants rail at each other, even if I'm not playing as Bactria/Parthia.

In my current Bactria game (the one I short-sightedly declared unwinnable in OP) is going surprisingly well despite fighting against 90% of the Seleucid army. But I will probably start a new game with my new settings on Hard/Hard soon.

What should I do to change the file descr_strat works (in imperial campaign folder)? Delete map.rwm before starting new campaign??? I changed the file descr_strat but seleucids atack me and they do not want to fight with Ptolemy even if change ai_do_not_attack_faction in faction entry for this factions)) I want to start a war between the Seleucids and Ptolemies and protect Bactria against attacks of the Seleucids)

[Nautillus]

Please help!

[ahowl11]

Try deleting the map.rwm and starting a new campaign

[Nautillus]

Try deleting the map.rwm and starting a new campaign

Hello ahow) I tried it. Factions behavior does not change. Heroic war of Bactria and so many heroic deaths. Ptolemy do not want fight with Seleucids. For example in AEE mod Limes has changed it and seleucids not behave themselves so aggressively. But AEE is another mod.)
It remains to show the wonders of generalship and grind hordes Seleucid one after the other

[ahowl11]

We will look into it with our current mod in development. Faction behaviors are a key!

[Nautillus]

Sounds great) Where i can find info about your mod?

[Archesel]

Somewhere like... there: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...v0-5-Released!