Saka campaign: pastoralism or nomadism?

[Principe Alessandro]

Greetings
I have begun a new campaign with Saka, I have successfully defeated Baktra but now I am little bugged with what to do with my provinces that have the nomadism type of government. I thought to convert all my provinces to pastoralism because now that I have erased from the map Baktra I'm looking to turtle against Seleukids and Pahlava while going to conquer the Indian rebel provinces. With nomadism I can recruit every kind of cavalry and it is very good if you are looking into an offensive campaign but with the settlements lacking walls and with the lack of a dedicated foot melee soldiers it is very hard to establish a defensive strategy.

They underline two very different strategic concepts, in one case the campaign is an endless blitz of mainly cavalry armies, in the other case you have to take a more balanced and slow approach.

Your thoughts?

[athanaric]

Nomadism implies an absolutely terrible economy; the only good things about it are 1) cavalry recruitment and 2) tier 4 caravans. I'd suggest implementing it in steppe provinces whose capitals are far away from enemy province borders (also, use watchtowers. Unless you fancy losing settlements between turns). There are a few provinces in the Iranian highlands that allow for Nomadism (Gedrosia?), might be worth it so as to shorten your supply lines. In places with an extraordinary selection of local units (e.g. Gandhara): Allied Government. Everywhere else, Pastoralism (farms, roads, walls, and granaries are important).