Baktria the city and elephants

[Shlazaor]

Hey I see the elephant tile in baktria and I have the basilike patris there. Is there some other condition I need to recruit elements from that region?

[Shlazaor]

I didn't want to make a thread but what affects reliability? I feel like I have done everything I can to abide by the rules but I still have a mixed reputation.

[Jervaj]

I didn't want to make a thread but what affects reliability? I feel like I have done everything I can to abide by the rules but I still have a mixed reputation.

Upholding alliances and other treaties. Been peaceful in general. Occupying settlements instead of the other options...

The opposite descreases it. Specially avoid taking back a settlement that you have sold before. That makes you take a massive hit. At least if you are taking it from the one you sold it too. Im unsure if someone takes it in the meantime if it affects it as much.

[Shlazaor]

Thanks! I've been pretty warlike so the lack of steadfast makes sense. I never would have guessed about taking back a settlement I stole. So sacking and enslavement tanks reputation? Does enslavement tank reputation for post-battles? Does releasing the enemy help improve your rep post battle? Should I kill trade rights before invading or does that not matter?

Any idea about the elephants for Baktria?

[Shlazaor]

Is there a console command to give you colonists? I think I'm kind of screwed as Baktria because it looks like the closest metropolis is Antioch I think.

[Shadowwalker]

Is there a console command to give you colonists? I think I'm kind of screwed as Baktria because it looks like the closest metropolis is Antioch I think.

Not sure if you are willing to start a new game but myarta had an excellent brief explanatory post about how to distribute the colony points earned druing the Baktria mission:

https://www.twcenter.net/forums/show...1#post15437120
(It's for EB 2.3 but is still valid.)

It's not necessary to go all the way down to Antiocheia for the colony points.
Infact you could even resort to serious turtling, not even do all the missions (just enough to get a hellenic colony level 3 in Baktra) and wait until you can construct a Metropolis.

[Shlazaor]

Damn. Definitely not willing to start a new game but thanks for taking the time to share this! Might be something to do if I replay Baktria whenever the update comes. By any chance do you know if hellenizing India as Baktria will lock me out of Varus elephants? In other words, should I satrapy all of India for elephant glory or could I Hellenize some spots without diminishing that? Thanks for your time.

[realm56]

Additionally, it is very possible to not build any additional Hellenistic colonies in Baktria and still reach the 69% Hellenistic Polities required to build the metropolis by about turn 220-ish with a high influence governor in the capital for as long a time as possible (That means your faction leader/heir most of the time....). It is also possible for both Marakandra and Oskobara to reach 49% Hellenistic Polities without any military colony (This will take a good long while to achieve but you should be just fine with local troops.)

To answer the question of accessing Varus in India, you can still access them via Satrapeia or Basilike Patris in Patala and Taxila (Likely not for BP as I suspect there is a soft geographic limit on the tier two Hellenistic Polis which unnfortunatly means that only the minor polis can be built in any part of India proper.).

[Sar1n]

Aren't you supposed to kickstart your colonist production by building a metropolis in Baktria after a mission that gives you colonists?

[realm56]

Yes, that would be the conventional play but I find that building the tier one colony in Margiana and Aria helps immensely to stabilize these provinces, any colony points you can save by not building them in provinces where getting the required culture for the polis/metropolis is assured is vital assuming you can commit to the time needed to do so (ie. I can afford only to put down the minor polis in both Marakandra and Oskobara, By turn 220-ish the culture in both settlements was bordering at 49%).

[Shlazaor]

Awesome. Thanks. And as for my original question I take it you can't get elephants in Baktria despite the elephant tile there?

[realm56]

Unfortunately not , perhaps something akin to an option to build the elephant stable in Baktria after independence may be a thing consider for future patches.

[Jervaj]

Not sure if you are willing to start a new game but myarta had an excellent brief explanatory post about how to distribute the colony points earned druing the Baktria mission:

https://www.twcenter.net/forums/show...1#post15437120
(It's for EB 2.3 but is still valid.)

It's not necessary to go all the way down to Antiocheia for the colony points.
Infact you could even resort to serious turtling, not even do all the missions (just enough to get a hellenic colony level 3 in Baktra) and wait until you can construct a Metropolis.

I dont know if that guide its really up to date though. Because theres two major differences now. You can't build helcol_three anyway that far east and have to wait for the Thorakitai reforms and get helcol_ref instead. And second, now 3 poleis (medium size) give you 1 colony point like a metropolis. I haven't done the amth but it may be better to spread the points now in the starting settlements and aim for 3 hellenictic poleis so you can start producing poitns without waiting for the reforms and make the settlements more manegable at the same time.

[Shlazaor]

Yeah that sounds like a good idea, if only because the tile is there so I am assuming there must have been elephants in that region historically. Seems like they would have taken to harnessing that advantage for war if they developed enough. Anyways, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I appreciate it.

[realm56]

No problem , hellenistic colonisation is one of the most difficult things for Baktria to manage, you are on the fringes of the known world after all.

[Shlazaor]

No problem , hellenistic colonisation is one of the most difficult things for Baktria to manage, you are on the fringes of the known world after all.

Yes, it's a very thematic challenge. I enjoy it, I just need a better strategy for dealing with it next time around.