Re: Wiki Poll 2: “What is your favourite Hellenic or Punic Culture?”
While I really enjoyed campaigns as Cimmeria and Syracuse, I chose Carthage in the poll.
What gameplay features do you like about the culture you chose (e.g. playstyle, cultural traits, factions, units etc?) This can be playing as them or fighting against them.
I like the challenge of a limited roster combined with the opportunity to compensate for this using Carthage's cheaper mercenaries as well as levy units from client states. I enjoy their powerful selection of faction mercenary units (recruitable in regions you hold) and the ability to recruit different mercenary units from different parts of the map. Their immunity to desert attrition is nice to have, using 'General Summer' against your enemies in the same way that Russia used 'General Winter' against invaders such as Napoleon. I particularly enjoy the challenge of their starting position - having several regions but widely spread and vulnerable to attack, especially when you're in between an expansionist Rome (with their swordsmen who can beat the hoplite and peltasts armies of Carthage) and the fast-moving raiders of the desert kingdoms.
What gameplay features do you dislike about the culture you chose (e.g. playstyle, cultural traits, factions, units etc?) This can be playing as them or fighting against them.
I think it would be interesing if Carthage's starting client states had slightly different rosters, so Carthage could levy units which you can't normally recruit. However, this provides an incentive for Carthage to acquire new client states.
What advice would you give to a new player whose playing as or fighting against this culture?
Playing as Carthage: I'd suggest balancing your early campaign between fighting defensively against Rome and Syracuse, while expanding in Iberia as fast as you can. Don't forget to build temples in regions you capture, because you'll usually suffer a big cultural differences penalty to public order when you expand. If you try to hold all of your starting regions, you may find yourself fighting a losing war of attrition against Rome. You may need to choose which cities to hold. For example, I build a defensive army in Lilybeaum while allowing Karalis to fall to Rome. Not defending Karalis means that I can spend more money on troops to expand in Iberia - it's better to use an army to successfuly capture several regions than to use that army to try to defend one region (Karalis), especially if Rome attacks it with a legion that you can't defeat. Turn some defeated enemies into client states, leave an army in their territory for 10 to 20 turns and check each turn to see which levy units are available. This can be a cheap (cheaper than mercenaries) way to expand your roster.
Fighting Carthage: Attack before they attack you! Carthage has access to some of the most powerful mercenary units in the game, so in turns when they attack, their armies can suddenly become much stronger. Bring the right tools! Carthage's early campaign armies rely on hoplites and peltasts (although they have access to swordsmen mercenaries in their own regions and they can recruit Libyan swordsmen from their barracks in the late campaign). This means that their main infantry line are super-heavy infantry. Super-heavy infantry are vulnerable to artillery because they're slow. They're also vulnerable to ranged fire from the flanks and rear. However, Carthage can bring good-quality cavalry and lots of spearmen, so they can run down your skirmishers with their horsemen and they have plenty of ways to remove your cavalry from the battlefield. If they bring elephants, hit them with ranged fire (if you bring javelin-throwers, be careful not to fire all of your javelins against Carthage's skirmishers or infantry, save them for the elephants).
Last edited by Alwyn; September 21, 2019 at 06:37 AM.