Any tips for Macedon?

[PunchDrunk]

Ok I started up a Macedon campaign on VH thinking it would be easy. Well I was wrong lol. I go to attack Epirus with a little over 1,000 troops only to get stomped. Not once, but twice. I fought 2 battles within 8 turns and lost, but it was very close. Then I decided to start a new one on Hard. I captured Larissa with no problem at all. After that all hell broke loose. Within 10 turns 5 nations declared war on me and I lost my northen-most region, Pulpadeva. For those that have played as Macedon, what should I do?

[craziii]

macedon have one of the best unit rosters. I don't understand how you are losing battles. practice with custom battles. that is the only advice I will give.

[Agorix]

Yea, I also don't understand how you lost. I found it very easy, even on legendary. Just build an army, conquer Epirus and march in any direction to spread death and destruction. To defeat epirus just build a 15+ unit army and march on them. I don't think even that is really necessary since usually Sparta will send an army to go fight them also. I personally went N.E then N. Then, N.W then W. Essentially conquering Thrace and Yugoslavia areas first. I left sparta and Athens alive as vassals. Then, I marched east into turkey.

[PunchDrunk]

At the start, my army was pretty much hoplites, a couple calvary and a few slingers. Epirus pretty much marched toward me on the battlefield and destroyed my infantry line...and I had them in phalanx, too. I guess I just need to practice and get better at battles.

[Jihada]

Get the all factions playable mod and play Odryssian Kingdom instead. I smash Macedon with them on vh campaign.

[The Juggernaut]

I go north first, let Epirus grind itself against Sparta and Athens, see if you can get the Greeks to pay you to fight. If you can secure the Macedonian and Thracian provinces you should be able to issue 2 edicts which will greatly enhance your economic power. From there, Hellas is yours, or Illyria, or Asia, or... I think you get my point.

EDIT: In terms of battles, make sure you utilize Macedon's cavalry to effect. Macedon's entire battle plan is to pin and smash: fix your enemy using the pike phalanx on the front, then hit the weakest flank with cavalry. Hit them hard, preferably with multiple units of cavalry you can cycle. Support your cavalry with spearmen or peltasts and you're golden. Remember, Alexander never sent in the cavalry alone. I'd secure your flanks with hoplites as they are more flexible, but otherwise your line should be a single line of pike phalanxes.

If you have a few elite units, I'd recommend an oblique advance. Put your elites on one flank, and while maintaining a solid line let them hit first. That way you allow your elite units a chance to break through while protecting your weaker units.

I'd also recommend mods, I uses Silven Total Improvement and I've enjoyed it A LOT. Hope this helps you out, and please forgive me if I've ranted.

[acm_no1]

you need to learn battles first, Macedon is very easy even in Legendary mode, their early setup is uber strong, their mid game roster is quite good and their late game units are unstoppable. 1st Tribalii, Epirus or Tylis, i found Tylis extremely easy since they cant sally out, you can sneak on their back with 2 Companion cavs and finish them easily. I always attack Tribalii and finish them on turn 2, Legendary mode

[Outlaw]

Hold off fighting with Epirus until you take Tylis. Stall Athens and Sparta by any means then crush them.

[♠ Thomas Cochrane ♠]

I went straight for Epirus, as I knew that Sparta/Athens would take their lands otherwise. Declare on them 2nd turn to give athens a chance to join you, then wait for a reinforcing greek army to come up and you can overwhelm them and barely have to use your own troops. That way you can charge onto Apollonia, then back to defend Pulpudeva against Tylis. Defend against them from the start, and ally with one of the other Thracians (who you can turn on later). Then smash through to Bythinia. I tried to stay allied with Illyria for as long as possible, but then Daorsi attacked me, so I put them down. Had to annex Greece... because I wanted their lands. Then it's a steamroll through Asia. I got all the way to Jerusalem before a civil war erupted, but now I'm screwed at home, as my Odyssirian subjects are my only ally back there and I only half destroyed the greatly expanded Selucid Empire.

[Americanus Supremus]

I got all the way to Jerusalem before a civil war erupted, but now I'm screwed at home, as my Odyssirian subjects are my only ally back there and I only half destroyed the greatly expanded Selucid Empire.

Ok I am totally jealous, I am on campaign #5 with the Ptolemies in which my only goal is to nurture the Seleucid Empire so I can have a massive fight later. 30 turns into this recent try and my spies have just reported that the Mighty Seleucid Empire is Down to Edessa because RHODES has taken every one of their provinces. I am beginning to think this game knows what I want and is deliberately not giving it to me to further my disgust and anger.... I don't get it, I even edit their starting units giving them several units of Silver Shield pike and sword plus over 100k starting cash. They are still an EPIC FAIL..

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but as to what the OP asks, tighten up your battle skills. Macedon is a truly awesome combined arms fighting machine from the start of the game. Main Pike line pins enemy in place while Cavalry smashes all ranged units and crashes in the flanks and rear of the enemy. They truly are an easy faction to play with, even on Legendary (which is another cruel joke in this game)

[PunchDrunk]

How can I defend my empire when I'm being attacked from 2 different sides? I'm currently being attack from the north and south. My army can't be in 2 places at once at the moment.

[Americanus Supremus]

alright depends on what turn you are on here...

starting up a new campaign with Macedon, to your south you have the Greek States. Epirus which your NOT at war with shouldn't be a problem for you at all. Only declare on them when you have your Northern and Eastern Flanks secure. My first move Always with Macedon is to Attack the Tribilli in the second move in their region of Navissos. Your at war with Tylis to begin with but their starting army is small and depending on what mod or edit your playing can only build 3-4 units a turn. So in essence you have 2-3 turns to play with before you have to defend or move on them. Up to this point you should not be spending to much on anything other than your immediate needs; defense versus Tylis and amassing troops for further expansion. But keep in mind upkeep costs as you cannot overextend your economy, especially early game. After smacking down that poor Barbarian horde in Navisos at the beginning of turn 2, which should be done with minimal loss of troops on your part, move both stacks toward their respective provincial capital cities but sending more, if not all of your troops east to prepare for the attack/defense of Tylis. In the next few turns either build your forces or move into Tylisian territory and try and provoke a field battle before they amass to big an army. Again if your not at war with any factions to your South or West, then you don't need to defend Pella right now. If this is the case move one stack, the bigger one, just behind the bridge in pulpedeva, and the other stack at the Pella/Pulpudeva border to take advantage of both provinces recruiting. Being behind that bridge allows you a defensive advantage should Tylis attack before you are totally ready for them. Either fight there if you can win an easy clean victory or pull back. They will recognize your other army and usually will not pursue. When you do manage to attack the city of Athenea (Tylis region) Try to do so only against their garrison. There are many ways to make sure this happens, to many to explain unless needed.

As long as you haven't done anything else to provoke people they shouldn't declare war on you until around turn 10 or more. Athens doesn't like you being their overlord and Sparta is begrudgingly in a defensive alliance with you. Both of which will be broken sooner or later. Again don't provoke either because if worked correctly the will wear down Epirus without you, and once your done with Tylis you can swoop in and take one or both of Epirus's starting regions. If you can manage it you can sign enough non aggression pacts with surrounding factions to nullify any ill will from the Greeks. As this games seems to have a gang up factor on either factions about to die or factions that most others don't like, if you happened to fall in either category everyone will declare war on you.

This brings me back to your battle tactics. I personally almost always fight in an aggressive defensive posture. Maneuvering for best possible advantage for my troops while putting the enemy at the greatest disadvantage. You start with a complete, though small army with Macedon. Cavalry, Infantry and ranged units. You have to use each effectively to both win but also to minimize casualties. Never RUN anywhere with your troops to get into a battle, walk where ever possible. Not only to reduce exhaustion, but also to maintain battle line order and overall command of the battlefield. Once you get out of position, one of the few good things I have found in the AI, they will try and exploit it.

Sorry if that is no help... What turn are you in? Who are you at war with? Is Epirus still around?

[PunchDrunk]

I'm on turn 10 and I'm at war with Epirus, Sparta, Tylis and 3 other factions in western Asia. I was just about to destroy Epirus when I was attacked by Tylis ( I didn't destroy them because I didn't think they would be a problem ).

[acm_no1]

I'm on turn 10 and I'm at war with Epirus, Sparta, Tylis and 3 other factions in western Asia. I was just about to destroy Epirus when I was attacked by Tylis ( I didn't destroy them because I didn't think they would be a problem ).

that's how I play on Legendary (completed 1 Legendary Macedon camp, other camp is on 150th turn).


1st turn: disband your navy (they're useless early game, disbanding them gives you more income), merge your 2 armies together, ready to move your armies near Tribalii village, recruit Hoplite and javelin at Pella, research millitary, get spy heading to Tylis.

2nd turn: stay at Tribalii border, set war target on Tylis (if you already set early, it doesnt matter).

3rd turn: attack them, research cavalry building (dont remember its name).

After cavalry building, research oil gate, after that, Pulpudeva is indestructible and it can repel any attack from Tylis, it's your choice to finish Epirus or Tylis first, in my campaign Tylis makes alliance with Odrysian Kingdom so I chose to capture Larrissa. Thracia is very good province for attack and defense, build up your main armies here.

Macedon is quite easy on Legendary, I'll put up some guides on Carthage, Parthia, Averni, Athens, Egypt if anyone needs help, those are campaigns I've finished (or almost finished) on Legendary.

[Americanus Supremus]

Yeah that is the problem, they are designed by CA to be your first main battle target as you start at war with them. You are right they are not a threat, at the start but give them 4 turns unmolested and they will have a stack of sword and spear that will wreck your army if your not careful.

This campaign is sure to be a long hard challenge, which is not a bad thing considering once you get a couple provinces the game becomes a steam roll. Obviously you are on your back foot and its likely to get worse. More factions will likely declare against you, Athens for a start, plus other barbarian factions to the north and west if they think they can score your regions. Defense is the name of your game in this campaign. Fight only when you have advantage or have to. Your battle tactics are about to get seriously tested my friend.

[Inhuman One]

Any tips for Macedon? here is one.

In case you start conquering lots of land, make sure to name a succesor or it will crumble after your death.

[Demetrios of Messene]

Also, what generally helps is the selective use of mercenaries. Your top priority at the beginning of each campaign is to expand your homeland. This means that you may have to sacrifice construction and city growth in favour of your military needs. If you want to attack anyone in the first couple of turns, then hire some mercenaries prior to a critical battle in order to have the edge. Keep on fighting turn after turn until you conquer what you think is enough territory for a solid and defensible homeland, even if your income goes into red. Disband the mercs as soon as you stop your mini conquering rampage. Hint: mercenary veteran hoplites are really mean.

By then you should have researched and constructed the lower level of barracks and you can start producing your own troops. You can then either build cheap defensive armies and focus on boosting your economy or continue expanding or mix it up.

As already mentioned, disbanding your navy to free money for your land army/ recruits can also be an option if you cannot think of an effective way to use it at the early game or you are not comfortable with playing naval battles.

In particular, Macedonia begins the game with 2 walled cities, so you can keep one weak army inside Pupludeva for defense and expand southwest with your strong army or vice versa. In my games, Rome is swift to declare war to whoever owns Apollonia, so keep that in mind.

Try to establish non aggression pacts and/ or trade agreements with factions you do not expect or want to go into war soon; in my experience this will keep these factions out of your way, but sometimes it is really difficult to get them to sign the pact in the first place.

PS: Advising a player to sharpen his battle skills is almost no advice at all... come on guys.

[nomercysniper]

Macedon start with two walled cities? Research the siege tech which unlocks boiling oil asap. That way you can defend with minimal garrisons because of the crap ai, freeing up more toops and funds for attack.

[Thorn777]

I felt like waiting to kill Epirus and them to get stronger before doing so, so I went for Thrace province instead. Pulpudeva or how its called also has a nice economic wonder, and with the industry bonus of Macedon I decided to make Thrace my cashcow raking in 5500 a turn that province alone. Pella was all about military and after killing then Epirus, its just not fun anymore. To much cash coming in from Thrace, and the potential enemies are all small-timers also fighting each other. It would just be about choosing one.