Ideas to make the game harder?

[stupides Throwawayoui]

So I play with VH/VH, and in order to make the game quite a bit tougher, i force myself to use general camera in field battles, which makes battles more memorable and fun, as well as more difficult and prevents you from having a small army of cavalry and absolutely curb stomping any and every army that comes against you. And in the case you use an infantry focused army, you'll have to rely on AI assistance to control your cavalry and horse archers, and in the case you focus more on cavalry and you want to micromanage them, then you'll end up putting your foot forces on AI assistance, if you haven't played that way then I suggest trying it out cuz its great

but even with that I tend to usually win most my battles, likely because i simply choose my battles wisely :/

in terms of economy, with broke barbarian factions i usually just start by sending all my FMs to raid and make enough money until i can support my armies, but recently i've been playing with a submod that gives you a boost of 2k mnai in your capital, which i find simply more convenient, as the starting raids is a headache and personally seems to me unnecessarily difficult, because independent rebel provinces can support a stack in their settlement and a stack defending their region, whereas I can barely afford a small warband :\

another thing I try to do is kinda roleplay my armies, so i dont just get whatever troops i need, but rather try to make armies with certain ethnicities, like for example as the nabatu i'd make an arab army, another army would be somewhat greek, another would be persian, and so on.

Sooo anyone has any ideas to make the game more difficult? Preferably in the battles side of things, one idea i have but is occasionally annoying which is why i dont use it, is to put troops of cultures different than mine in an AI assisted group, so if im a celt and i have germanic mercenaries in my army, during battle id group the germans and put them under AI assistance

another interesting thing i noticed one day when i had some cavalry under AI assistance, was that when i removed the group to control them myself, i found that one of those units despite not being in a group, was still controlled by the AI. Im not sure why, but it'd be amazing to be able to make only a unit under AI assistance, if anyone knows how to replicate this, or to somehow edit the game files a bit to allow a 1-unit group, that'd be greatly appreciated

[bordinis]

Overall they could differenciate unit stats more and put more armour on units because AP units just seem worthless and not powerful at all. Most units are so undifferent it feels that it does not matter which units you recruited you still won the battle. Another thing is, VH/VH AI could get more stat boost for challenge in the campaign, especially when it is so easy to win against AI who sends armies without generals, they rout too fast. I wish the team focused more unto gameplay for battles and making some sort of a system where sword units have more attack and spear units have more defense skill and cavalry less charge dependent and more into fighting mode. Also more brain power put into campaign as of : Why I am conquering this settlement and not that one, which unit will be better than my levies. In general if you are playing Swebozez you get many other germanic levies, think they need to make them better on stats because no point to recruit them if you cannot reinforce them in all over Germania, then obviously you go for factional levies which you can reinforce. Waystation system would be nice where you can reinforce rare units by building a building. This is just one case. Dakia and Pritanoi are even worse campaign experiences, where you are stuck losing your factional troop reinforcement by conquering 2 settlements into one direction. I think if you make so many units of other tribes atleast what you can do is make them noticeably better than your factional ones since you cannot even reinforce them, so it s a headache, you will always go for the one units which you can reinforce easily, not because they are better but for access. I think if we had reinforcement building for most factions we could atleast retain factional troops into wider empires farther from home regions. As mentioned Dakia and Pritanoi are good examples where campaigns are a nightmare to sustain your units. Something needs to be done.

[sarpedon21]

tie your hands behin your back.

[Roma_Victrix]

tie your hands behin your back.

Nice. That's only for the most hardcore players!

Honestly, I don't understand the obsession with making the game harder to play. It's already quite challenging, especially when it comes to financial hardships in the first 200 turns as you're trying to develop an economy. I'm playing as SPQR at turn 100, and while I've built a small navy of trireme raiding fleets, it's a pipedream at the moment to upgrade the port in Rome to build a proper war fleet. For that matter, the war fleet is so expensive to recruit that it would inhibit me from recruiting troops in critical places on the campaign map that need to be defended. The Carthaginian navy is obviously far superior and it's a good thing I'm allied with the Ptolemies so that I can at least play tag team against Carthaginian fleets on rare occasions when a Ptolemaic fleet is floating next to theirs.

It also doesn't help that Sicily (by design) has been an absolute meat grinder with the Epirotes and Koinon Hellenon both jockeying to take control of Syracuse at all costs. I only got the KH monkey (and their superior navy) off my back by allying with them. Good thing too, since KH can now keep Epirus and Macedon busy, especially after Macedon tried to invade my territories in Illyria. The only thing that's easy about the game is the forced diplomacy option, so long as you have enough money to recruit diplomats and place them where you need them most.

[Ampe211]

tie your hands behin your back.

There is always that one person thinking outside the box. Well done.

[stupides Throwawayoui]

Nice. That's only for the most hardcore players!

Honestly, I don't understand the obsession with making the game harder to play. It's already quite challenging, especially when it comes to financial hardships in the first 200 turns as you're trying to develop an economy. I'm playing as SPQR at turn 100, and while I've built a small navy of trireme raiding fleets, it's a pipedream at the moment to upgrade the port in Rome to build a proper war fleet. For that matter, the war fleet is so expensive to recruit that it would inhibit me from recruiting troops in critical places on the campaign map that need to be defended. The Carthaginian navy is obviously far superior and it's a good thing I'm allied with the Ptolemies so that I can at least play tag team against Carthaginian fleets on rare occasions when a Ptolemaic fleet is floating next to theirs.

It also doesn't help that Sicily (by design) has been an absolute meat grinder with the Epirotes and Koinon Hellenon both jockeying to take control of Syracuse at all costs. I only got the KH monkey (and their superior navy) off my back by allying with them. Good thing too, since KH can now keep Epirus and Macedon busy, especially after Macedon tried to invade my territories in Illyria. The only thing that's easy about the game is the forced diplomacy option, so long as you have enough money to recruit diplomats and place them where you need them most.

I've actually never tried a rome campaign before, is that heretical? ��

some guy just made a post talking about how AI armies basically never retrain their troops which is also a factor for why the game doesnt get so tough, because you, an enlightened rational intelligent human, can tell that having fully trained troops is more and better than having units of 3 gold chevrons of only 5 dudes, and so you see a stack and at first sight feel scared, but when you send your spy over to check the army out you realize that half the units slots are made up of 32 peasants and a veteran dude on a pony

another thing is the AI is usually very timid even on VH/VH :/ I rarely feel under pressure by enemy factions because they usually never commit to a full scale invasion of my lands, they just attack a settlement, sometimes go back home and sometimes actually assault, and thats about it they dont send many stacks

though i've tried out "beermugs AI" which is a submod for "total vanilla beyond" in which the AI actually forms many stacks and keep them together and invade together, which makes enemy factions actually scary, however this same AI makes it so that AI is quite conservative and rarely declare war unless theyre super confident, so yeah i might try figuring out how to incorporate the army organization of that AI into EB2

[stupides Throwawayoui]

tie your hands behin your back.

What the did you just ing say about me, you little ? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I'm the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my ing words. You think you can get away with saying that to me over the Internet? Think again, er. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You're ing dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that's just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little . If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "clever" comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your ing tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will fury all over you and you will drown in it. You're ing dead, kiddo.

[Roma_Victrix]

I've actually never tried a rome campaign before, is that heretical? ��

Not at all! I've only played one other major campaign as SPQR, the rest have been with Hellenistic Greek factions and one shorter playthrough with Carthage.

some guy just made a post talking about how AI armies basically never retrain their troops which is also a factor for why the game doesnt get so tough, because you, an enlightened rational intelligent human, can tell that having fully trained troops is more and better than having units of 3 gold chevrons of only 5 dudes, and so you see a stack and at first sight feel scared, but when you send your spy over to check the army out you realize that half the units slots are made up of 32 peasants and a veteran dude on a pony

That's not true, at least not all the time. I just literally saw the AI retrain their units before I attacked their settlement. The AI is to a certain extent limited by things the human player is limited to when it comes to finances and available unit slots for recruiting or retraining. The ability to retrain or recruit more units in the winter season applies to the AI just as much as the human player. I've also seen the AI act very wisely in recruiting mercenaries before attacking.

another thing is the AI is usually very timid even on VH/VH :/ I rarely feel under pressure by enemy factions because they usually never commit to a full scale invasion of my lands, they just attack a settlement, sometimes go back home and sometimes actually assault, and thats about it they dont send many stacks

That's more realistic to history, though, with exceptions like the Carthaginian and Roman insistence on beating the snot out of each other in Sicily consistently throughout the First Punic War. Otherwise the Romans barely invaded North Africa during that conflict and the Carthaginians only raided the Italian peninsula on rare occasion before Hannibal Barca. Hellenistic powers also often fought decisive battles that forced various powers to the negotiating table after just a few set piece battles. Take for instance the Seleucids after the Romans and their Greek allies beat them at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC.

though i've tried out "beermugs AI" which is a submod for "total vanilla beyond" in which the AI actually forms many stacks and keep them together and invade together, which makes enemy factions actually scary, however this same AI makes it so that AI is quite conservative and rarely declare war unless theyre super confident, so yeah i might try figuring out how to incorporate the army organization of that AI into EB2

Suit yourself. I'm not sure I would ever want to play that way, especially since the game always supplies your faction with rotating villains and new enemy factions that attack your weak points when you are busy fighting another faction or focusing too much on conquering rebel settlements. There is rarely a long stretch where the human player is without at least one enemy on the campaign map, and when you don't have many enemies the game ramps up the rebel stack spawn shenanigans to keep you busy.

What the did you just ing say about me, you little ? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I'm the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my ing words. You think you can get away with saying that to me over the Internet? Think again, er. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You're ing dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that's just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little . If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "clever" comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your ing tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will fury all over you and you will drown in it. You're ing dead, kiddo.

What the vulva did you just speak to me, you lowly barbarian ? I'll have you know I am a part of the Cohors Praetoria and I have been involved in numerous campaigns in Germania, and I have killed over 100 Blue-painted Gauls. I am trained in Testudo warfare and I am the top Legionary engineer in the entire 10th Legion. You are nothing to me but another Germanic man who rolls in the mud. I will throw a pilum at you with precision the likes of which has never been seen during the entire Bello Gallico, mark my ing words. You think you can get away with rambling that horse- to me in your filthy barbarian language ? Words fall from you mouth as from ass. By Jupiter's Cock, as we converse I am contacting my secret network of Legionarii Evocati across the entire Roman Empire and your little -filled village is being raided right now so prepare for the moment, when the Gods have seen it fit to remove cock from arse so you can finally see Roman might. The Roman might that will wipe out the pathetic thing you call your tribe. You're ing dead, stinking Barbarian. I can ride anywhere over superior Roman paved roads, at anytime, and I can kill you in over 700 ways, and that's just with my Gladius. Not only am I extensively trained in a Castrum, but I have access to my entire Centurio of brave Romans and I will use them to full extent to wipe you cruel Germanics of the face of the earth. If only you could have know what amount of Ballista fire your little clever comment in your uncivilized language was about to bring down upon, you maybe would have shut your filthy mouth. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now the Gods will spread cheek from cheek and rom cock in arse. I will sell your people as slaves and you will march in my victory parade over the Via Sacra. You're dead, filthy Barbarian !

/s

[Victor1234]

Both great performances, but I have to give the laurels to Roma_Victrix for successfully mixing dialogue from both HBO's Rome and Spartacus Blood & Sand, for that extra nasty flavor.

[benczeb90]

I've actually never tried a rome campaign before, is that heretical? ��

some guy just made a post talking about how AI armies basically never retrain their troops which is also a factor for why the game doesnt get so tough, because you, an enlightened rational intelligent human, can tell that having fully trained troops is more and better than having units of 3 gold chevrons of only 5 dudes, and so you see a stack and at first sight feel scared, but when you send your spy over to check the army out you realize that half the units slots are made up of 32 peasants and a veteran dude on a pony

Hey it was me

One way I make my campaigns harder is that I dilute my armies with local allied gov units and I keep them in the area. For example I recruit half my units from Etruscan and Celtic stock for my campaigns in Gaul and Pannonia, while I recruit Samnite and Greek units to fill up half of my stacks there when dealing with the Hellenic nations. The other halves are obviously Roman units.
The other thing is that I try to pay minimal attention as to which units have better stats, I try to follow the number of recruitable units as a suggestion as to which unit would be likely to be in a real Roman army. Like, Leginu skirmishers/light spears are quite unremarkable yet I use them. This way I can make more stacks and be present in more theatres at the same time while having less upkeep as opposed to making expensive elite stacks of Triarii and Principes and General units which could steamroll any AI full stack with ease which gets boring in as little as 50 turns.