Need Advice and Suggestions for a new faction to play as.

[Chris P. Bacon]

Hey everybody, thanks for reading this. I've recently finished a long Macedon campaign and I was thinking of starting a Seleucid one after. However, I find myself bored with the phalanx/Greek factions and basically being able to line up my pikes, start the battle and not even have to be at the computer to win. So, here I am writing this, any of you guys have a recommendation for a faction it would be greatly greatly greatly appreciated. I love TW and DeI but I always get hung up and indecisive about what faction to play as so I start like 10 campaigns but get bored with them quickly .

Thanks

[KAM 2150]

Saka Rauka It will turn your world around xD

[TheRazaman]

Saka Rauka It will turn your world around xD

This. Any HA faction will be a complete 180 for battles. Micro becomes far more important. Saka is probably the best HA faction; Chorasmi has warhorse, early access to +ammo techs, bonuses for HA upon recruitment, unit roster etc... Parthia is also incredible. The only unit you need for the first ~80-100 turns (depending on difficulty) is the Parthian light horse archer, which you start with. Upkeep is lower than Rome's pre-Polybian hastati and they have great stamina.
You might get bored simply because the BAI is even worse at fighting HA hordes than melee armies. You'll fight full stacks and lose 20-30 men with most of those being to random friendly fire.

My suggestion would be to play on H or VH using the BDR submod while playing as a "faction out of place." Meaning, any faction surrounded by others of dissimilar culture i.e. Massilia, Arche Bosphorus, Galatia etc. Then follow the house rules of no reloading saves, no pausing during battles and other diplomacy shenanigans.
Also try the Barcid Dynasty on VH using BDR and the house rules. Its rough.

[PhiX]

Seconded. Or any horse archer focused faction. I'm currently playing a Parthian campaign and it is a refreshing change of pace from the Greek factions I normally play. Carthage was also a fun campaign, the variety of units you can field and the ability to actually maintain mercenaries in your army is delightful, but not nearly as mind-blowing as playing a nomadic faction.

[zombieflanders]

My next campaign is going to be a nomadic tribe, but I'd also suggest trying one of the barbarians. My first 1.0 game was as the Lusitani, and like you I was coming from a series of games playing as Greek/Successor factions. Playing without formations (at least until you get higher-tier units), no archers, and a ton of units with precursor javelins caught me off-guard at first, and adapting to the new fighting style took some getting used to.

[Alexandre Lange]

Getae. I haven't even noticed they exists before, but it is a grateful experience; good roster, hard start. Also Lusitani (damn hard start now!) or Cantabri (less hard, but also good). Besides, I liked to play a little with Parthia, but I am not a horse archer fan, so my parthians were on foot. Not much sense, right? So I gave up. I liked Armenia too. For the classics, my favorites were Rome, Suebi and Epirus.

[Menulo]

have to agree with the Getae, one of the most overlooked faction in game.
their roster is superb though. (elite)horse archers, great melee cav, armoured pikes (germanic pikes are all without armor) and good infantry.

i also really like the nervii, great mix of german longbows, british chariots, 2 handed berzerkers (i love 2 handers :>) and great cavalry. with the solid infantry units of the celts.

the galatians are a mixed bag, i love their starting pos. and their roster is fine too, esp the galatian legionnaires with the gallic cav is a great combo. but they really need an update, they dont have updated textures atm. and some more greco-celtic units would be cool, some pikes for example.

[GourmetGorilla]

Switch up your play style and army composition when you go back to the Successors. I was bored of them because I was bogged down using the same tactics over and over, same as you. Even on the offense, I was using my pikes as a defensive line. Then I learned to use pikes on the march, and in smaller numbers. After working on that, I started developing more specialized armies for whatever the current situation may be. Few battles feel repetitive now that I rotate my armies around. Sometimes a strong center with a couple pikes spaced out horizontally, sometimes I use a weak center that will have quick attack/retreat potential in order to initiate opportunities for double-envelopment, like with Carthage I would often use Gallic mercenaries in this role. I use the attack command with my pikes in phalanx now, and I use them more offensively than defensively. Most importantly I don't use the same unit-proportions forever. I've even started using paired armies to great effect. Try using one army of slow and heavy units, backed up by another army of all cavalry, or mostly cav with fast infantry. Use lights, heavies, even elephants in differing proportions. These battles are nothing like an ordinary 40-unit double phalanx. An army with one elephant plays differently than an army with four. An army with nothing but elephants is on my list of late-game diversionary Hail-Mary tactics. No two battles will be the same if you shake up your play style radically and consistently. Before you know it, units that bored you before will become your favorite and most flexible fighting force when used as a contingent of a larger force of combined arms. An example for me is javelin-cavalry. I went from never using them, to using six or more in one army to great effect, and this was just two weeks ago that I started doing that. If I group them all together they're devastating with focus fire. I played this game for several hundred hours before I learned how to use my army as a mobile force of combined arms, but I'm having a blast again now that I have. I'm still coming up with new ideas, and surprisingly, now that some time has gone by and I've refined my tactics, I actually want to start up a Successor campaign again, and I know how to go about it properly this time around.

You could also try starting up a couple of campaigns and alternating between them on different days, so that way things won't get so monotonous over a long campaign. Be creative, think out of the box, take a break and come back if need be. Just don't let yourself get bogged down in repetition for as long as I did lol. If you really want something that will be new and fun, pick a faction that does the majority of its fighting on the move, like one of the Nomads. Or, try Mamlakatin Saba. If you want something to experiment with, try Carthage. Lusitani are also a very interesting suggestion, one that I would back up. Try using mercenaries to change up your armies on the go. Learn to stay flexible and you'll have no problem keeping yourself engaged through a campaign. Take your time, and have fun!

[Chris P. Bacon]

Switch up your play style and army composition when you go back to the Successors. I was bored of them because I was bogged down using the same tactics over and over, same as you. Even on the offense, I was using my pikes as a defensive line. Then I learned to use pikes on the march, and in smaller numbers. After working on that, I started developing more specialized armies for whatever the current situation may be. Few battles feel repetitive now that I rotate my armies around. Sometimes a strong center with a couple pikes spaced out horizontally, sometimes I use a weak center that will have quick attack/retreat potential in order to initiate opportunities for double-envelopment, like with Carthage I would often use Gallic mercenaries in this role. I use the attack command with my pikes in phalanx now, and I use them more offensively than defensively. Most importantly I don't use the same unit-proportions forever. I've even started using paired armies to great effect. Try using one army of slow and heavy units, backed up by another army of all cavalry, or mostly cav with fast infantry. Use lights, heavies, even elephants in differing proportions. These battles are nothing like an ordinary 40-unit double phalanx. An army with one elephant plays differently than an army with four. An army with nothing but elephants is on my list of late-game diversionary Hail-Mary tactics. No two battles will be the same if you shake up your play style radically and consistently. Before you know it, units that bored you before will become your favorite and most flexible fighting force when used as a contingent of a larger force of combined arms. An example for me is javelin-cavalry. I went from never using them, to using six or more in one army to great effect, and this was just two weeks ago that I started doing that. If I group them all together they're devastating with focus fire. I played this game for several hundred hours before I learned how to use my army as a mobile force of combined arms, but I'm having a blast again now that I have. I'm still coming up with new ideas, and surprisingly, now that some time has gone by and I've refined my tactics, I actually want to start up a Successor campaign again, and I know how to go about it properly this time around.

You could also try starting up a couple of campaigns and alternating between them on different days, so that way things won't get so monotonous over a long campaign. Be creative, think out of the box, take a break and come back if need be. Just don't let yourself get bogged down in repetition for as long as I did lol. If you really want something that will be new and fun, pick a faction that does the majority of its fighting on the move, like one of the Nomads. Or, try Mamlakatin Saba. If you want something to experiment with, try Carthage. Lusitani are also a very interesting suggestion, one that I would back up. Try using mercenaries to change up your armies on the go. Learn to stay flexible and you'll have no problem keeping yourself engaged through a campaign. Take your time, and have fun!

Thats sounds awesome dude, what units do you use to spice up your Successor armies? I basically stuck (and got bored) with the 5-6 pikes and 4-6 supporting/flanking infantry in addition to cav and skirmishers.

[GourmetGorilla]

Thats sounds awesome dude, what units do you use to spice up your Successor armies? I basically stuck (and got bored) with the 5-6 pikes and 4-6 supporting/flanking infantry in addition to cav and skirmishers.

Variety is key, not just within an army, but between armies themselves. In my current Carthage campaign, literally no two armies of mine are alike. Only one has pikes, and I'm only using 3. I didn't necessarily plan it this way, but my armies evolved into their current forms as I campaigned. I began to prefer a more mobile and flexible fighting force so that I will have more opportunities for envelopment, especially when outnumbered.

I also like to divide my armies into various roles when fighting a large war. Some are core armies, others fill supporting or hybrid roles. Specializing armies for various types of factions you may encounter is a great suggestion as well, especially when you face missile-oriented factions as a Successor.

As a successor kingdom, I like to switch my units up so that I'm not using a single line of pikes in every army. An alternative army might have a double line with swords in front and spears to the side and in reserve. For cavalry, some of my favorites are jav-cav and heavy lancers. Best if used in tandem.

[Fedual]

Seleucids

Epic challenge & Epic roster, both visually and strategically. Definetley my fav amongst the successor kingdoms

[Meethos]

My current Epirus campaign is a lot of fun. They can recruit just about every type of unit. Also their starting position is a little crazy. Sparta and Athens totally hate you and it's a challenge defeating them since you're going to be slugging it out from the get go. Also you have to watch your relations with the Macedonians during the Sparta/Athens war too because if they declare war on you the game will probably be over by turn 10 lol.

[ThatWhichThinks]

A campaign as Seleukids or Ptolemies will feel a lot different from Greeks/Makedon.

Seleukids have a very varied roster and it takes a while to unlock in tech and construct buildings for all of the different units, so you will likely find yourself specializing in certain kinds of armies, at least until late game. Also, the Seleukids are at the crossroads of several different kinds of civilizations: they will need to fight successors, Greeks, Easterners, Steppe Nomads, and Arabs all fairly early on, all of which will require very different army compositions.

For example, in my most recent campaign I attempted to fight one of the Arab factions with a lot of heavy infantry/pikes. It did not end very well. Their spear-archers massacred my pikes and hoplites, but were very resilient to cavalry charges. In order to win, I had to recruit more ranged units and some cheap Nizagan meat shields to charge early and absorb their arrows so my heavy infantry could move forward more-or-less unscathed. This was a very different strategy than I used against Greeks/Pontus.

Even different factions of the same "type" can have very different play experiences just based on starting position.

Of course, if you are really tired of all of that, there are always the "barbarian" factions. I find I am pretty good at commanding Romans, Carthaginians, and Greeks, but I cannot get the hang of Celts or Germans.

[Zanze]

A campaign as Seleukids or Ptolemies will feel a lot different from Greeks/Makedon.

Seleukids have a very varied roster and it takes a while to unlock in tech and construct buildings for all of the different units, so you will likely find yourself specializing in certain kinds of armies, at least until late game. Also, the Seleukids are at the crossroads of several different kinds of civilizations: they will need to fight successors, Greeks, Easterners, Steppe Nomads, and Arabs all fairly early on, all of which will require very different army compositions.

For example, in my most recent campaign I attempted to fight one of the Arab factions with a lot of heavy infantry/pikes. It did not end very well. Their spear-archers massacred my pikes and hoplites, but were very resilient to cavalry charges. In order to win, I had to recruit more ranged units and some cheap Nizagan meat shields to charge early and absorb their arrows so my heavy infantry could move forward more-or-less unscathed. This was a very different strategy than I used against Greeks/Pontus.

Even different factions of the same "type" can have very different play experiences just based on starting position.

Of course, if you are really tired of all of that, there are always the "barbarian" factions. I find I am pretty good at commanding Romans, Carthaginians, and Greeks, but I cannot get the hang of Celts or Germans.

I went into the Seleukid campaign with the mindset of using mindless phalanx tactics of Makedon. It only took one fight against an Eastern faction to learn how wrong I was. They just walked up to the phalanx, tossed their javelins and ran off. I send horses after them, they do the same with their horse skirmishers. Very quickly into the fight my main troops (Greek Pikes & Cav) are now dead and I'm stuck with an army of cheap levies. Every army I made after that had only two pikes for a center, with a nizagan each as a meatshield for javelins. The rest of the army was a mixed bag of cheap local axemen, horse skirmishers, and slingers. (Syrian Heavy Archers are WORTH the money. Get 1-2 for each army). Basically, only about 1/4 or less of my army ended up being Greek faction troops(peltasts + pikes + cataphract general). The thureos reform was a godsend with the light spearmen, but until then it was simply a game of having enough armies to cover 4-5 fronts at once and to use cheap troops since expensive troops die to javelins just as fast.

Also, a tip on Barbarians vs "civilized." Focus on the big charge. You want to set up the battle so you can have one big decisive strike and rout the entire enemy army with it. Short battles are your friend.

[Drowsy]

Roma.

When was the last time u did your civic duty and sacked a Carthaginian city or 5?

[shogon]

I certainly think Steppe factions would be a fun treat. I STILL haven't played as them yet, even though I have fond memories as Bactria being cut to shreds by horse archers with an upkeep of like 50 or something so minuscule. Another faction I want to try and win as is Saba. I like the position they have but early on you can be surrounded.

[geala]

I modded a faction to my delight, something you wouldn't want to do but generally I try to use very different armies, a bit similar to GourmetGorilla, although I would never use armies too unrealitically composed like all-elephant armies even if this sounds like fun. I have only one army with core troops due to my background story. I gave campaign cap restrictions to the better or special units. My other armies only have one or the other special faction unit and consist mainly of AOR units and mercenaries.

[GourmetGorilla]

I would never use armies too unrealitically composed like all-elephant armies even if this sounds like fun.

[Mithridates II the Great]

My current campaign is Rome and Ive played around 430 turns .

I have captured the whole Europe except Minor Asia and 3 provinces in Greece area .

I think newer version is harder t play as yo can't have too many armies like past but its fun .

My game might end in 100 or 120 more turns and afer a few weeks I'm going to start as Suebi . I like them because of their nature and planning to use Ambush whenever I can as they're the best in Ambushing for me .

If you haven't played Suebi before , Try them mentioning that Parthia might be cool for you as well .