Is it me or the Antigonids always get smoked?

[The Despondent Mind]

I've been playing this mod for on and off 2-3 years and I think never ever saw this faction survive early to mid game, let alone expand and make anything. Even dabbling in many sub-mods or what have you, there is only one constant, Antigonids do not survive, even with that hellenic focused mo.What is interesting is that, even in Ancient Empires a mod for Attila by a completely different team, they also never do anything, though I haven't played it nearly as much.

Is it cause they are situated in awkward position facing many Illirian and Thracian tribes, Rome and Seleucid lackeys? Though its about 95% time that Thracians or Illyirians kill them.

[nikossaiz]

Try to play testudo submod. Propavly because of its slow pace, Around turn 160 macedon has all greece and fights with rome in heiperus. But have in mind that is a little of a dice roll what the ai will do its turn

[Jake Armitage]

If you don't wanna play testudo you may try Age of Hellenism, this type of mechanics (preserving some factions) are similar.
And yeah, like nikos said, it is always a matter of random situations. It doesn't always happen.

[billydilly]

I think it is their position. They are surrounded by very different factions. Greeks to the south, romans coming from the west, tribes from the north and mix of factions from the east.

In my current game as Rome, I saw them take almost all of greece and the balkans before the Ardiaei, Sparta, the scythians, the Daci and what was left of the Odryssians all attacked and destroyed the Antigonids.

[Jake Armitage]

Yeah it has been made this way so to give an hard time to the player but there are quite a lot of ways to counter this for AI.

[Achilles Lacedaemon]

the only constant in this game is that whoever conquers libya will have the nasamones violent protestors breaking their cities ad eternum.

[colonel klinck]

Hi,

I personally didn't found abnormal that Macedon more or less slowly crumbles to dust when Rome and other factions tended to begin their ascension. It happened indeed after Alexander the Great.... they slowly loose influence power and territories while involved in a nearly constant state of war against other greek cities/states and the two other Alexander's heirs factions.

By the way people who want to play Rome 2 DEI as the Antigonid faction are warned in the game's description that they'll have to face a real challenge...

[Dimitrios Megalos]

In my game as Seleucids they got it handed to them and just before being conquered they asked to become my satrapy. Strangely, it seemed to have revitalized them, because they went on to wipe out all the Greek states factions in quick succession without me lifting a finger to help them.

[Ptolemaios Soter]

I also have found that they tend to rebound when vassalized. I suspect that’s because they’re an inherently strong faction located on a position of the map where they have too many strong enemies. So under your protection, few factions are brave enough to declare war on them, and they’re allowed space to flourish. The same could potentially be achieved with mutual defense pacts early game.

Age of Hellenism helps of course, but it’s still it uncommon to see them lose, particularly if Rome take Appolonia.

[Kirsch27]

they seem to always die in my games as well, although I try to keep them safe sometimes they very rarely agree to be my vassal but I try to ally them. They tend to get dogpiled on by the Thracians and the Greeks and they rarely are able to wipe out one side before the other comes calling in a serious way and they crumble. I usually see sparta owning all of greece if I don't directly interfere, although I have seen macedon survive and hold greece only to die to northern tribes later on occasion. I have never seen Macedon survive even if they conquer all of the Balkans, the Getae tribes or even the Germans eventually do push them back and start a collapse, if you play long enough. They just have a very rough position and usually I am on one side of them keeping them safe somewhat as Rome, but also making it so they have only one or two directions to expand. I generally leave Macedon alive until very late in my Rome games as I finish off Spain and the Carthaginians first t osecure my western flank. About 50% shot they live until turn 100, and about 20% shot they live to turn 200 without my direct interference, even with my direct interference it can be hard to keep them alive unless I literally park armies outside their cities to keep them from losing a siege. Conversely, I have never once seen the Ptolemies lose. Something about their garrisons is totally broken in autoresolve against their enemies. I have seen Seleucids send 2 plus stacks and be defeated by a city garrison of Ptolemies. But Spartans can send half a stack and take over Pella it seems like.
I like to keep them alive not only because I want to fight their troops at some point for fun, but also because they are a pretty good bulwark against the getae and eastern barbarians, as well as whoever ends up controlling Anatolia. And since they do end up losing usually, I don't have to worry about them becoming TOO strong, I just prop them up until I'm ready to kick the door in myself. However I will say I don't know what the answer really is, because in the hands of the play Macedon is extremely strong already. I really have no trouble winning a Macedon campaign, their army composition is really unstoppable if used correctly and backed by a strong economy and even the Romans can't stand up to Hetairoi cycle charges for long. I think they are really just doomed to their fate as their position is very precarious and their neighbors are all strong enough to give them trouble long enough for more distant rivals to snowball even if Macedon can conquer their region eventually.

[Olmsted]

In my current Rome campaign, I took Apollonia fairly early. I mentally prepared to lose it when I saw two Macedonian armies on the northeastern border and two Aetolian armies on the southeastern border. I assassinated a couple of infiltrating agents and then: nothing. Makedon did nothing until around Turn 80. Then they seemed to come to life. About that time, they finally began to expand into Thrace. They started naval invasions into Asia Minor. But, by that point I was intensely interested in Thrace and ended up crushing Macedon.

I think they just get dog piled by everyone around them. They don’t have any complete pushovers nearby, so they have a hard time expanding.