Grand Campaign factions that should be played offensively from the start

[twgamer20197]

There are certain grand campaign factions that I believe they should be played offensively right from the start such as the Romans, the Lusitani, the Arevaci, Colchis, Ardieii, Odrysian Kingdom, Getae, Suebi, The Nervii. Reasons?
- In order to try to rush hostile neighbour factions before they get bigger and stronger
- Because your budget must be tight in the early turns to maintain even just one full stack army. And one of the fastest ways to increase income is by taking more cities.
If i played as one of the factions I mention, I'd try to recruit for the most part cheap units plus some decent mercenary units in the early turns ( I think before you fight your first battle you don't need a full stack. Maybe 13-15 units could be enough for your first few battles. In this case I wouldn't care about losing some units in battles because those units can serve as cannon fodders.
Do you agree you should go on the offensive with any of those factions?

[Dismounted Feudal Knight]

Honestly I think it's just a good idea to be expansionist a little regardless of your faction to head off universal concerns of pesky neighbors forming. Some factions are forced to do this more quickly than others, but that basically means all factions that don't start with a good swathe of territory handed to them.

[Alwyn]

Yes, and I'd add the African Kingdoms to the list, along with Syracuse. (As Syracuse, my instinct is to play defensively, but then you'll be caught in between Rome and Carthage - so I try to expand elsewhere).

[twgamer20197]

I see. However you might reach a moment in the campaign where you should slow down your expansion ( at least temporarily ) specially when there is no hostile neighbour faction anymore and start investing in upgrading the cities and the buidings you have and stabilizing public order and the economy as well.

[LuckyPistol]

Any faction that does not have a port settlement connected to their capital.

Any faction that does not have a starting trade resource.

Any faction surrounded by larger, stronger factions (as the AI will team up against smaller factions).

[twgamer20197]

Any faction that does not have a port settlement connected to their capital.

Any faction that does not have a starting trade resource.

Any faction surrounded by larger, stronger factions (as the AI will team up against smaller factions).

Do you agree that you might not need a full stack army in your first few battles? Would you recruit for the most part cheap units plus some mercenaries? I refer to both vanilla and Divide et Impera.

[LuckyPistol]

Do you agree that you might not need a full stack army in your first few battles? Would you recruit for the most part cheap units plus some mercenaries? I refer to both vanilla and Divide et Impera.

For sure, but it is faction specific. Epirus, for example, can conquer Athens and Sparta in the first three-to-five turns with it's starting army and only a few recruited units.

This is also where mercenaries become a pretty broken system in Rome II. They are easily abusable to bolster your early tier army. Load up on cheap fodder and use a few high tier units to smash through the enemy fodder.

[Gyrosmeister]

Probably Epeiros, as you need to close the fronts in Greece quickly, otherwise you will end up surrounded

[twgamer20197]

Probably Epeiros, as you need to close the fronts in Greece quickly, otherwise you will end up surrounded

In your case, would you try to rush Rome?


And what about playing as Carthage? Is there any need for rushing any neighbor faction?

[Alwyn]

As I see it, as Carthage you need to expand somewhere, because Rome (and often Syracuse) will come for you, while African kingdoms will sometimes attack from another direction. I usually try to take regions in North Africa or Iberia before taking on Rome.

[Gyrosmeister]

In your case, would you try to rush Rome?


And what about playing as Carthage? Is there any need for rushing any neighbor faction?

With Epeiros I would rush Greece first, and make sure that the Eagle of Hellas does not receive any roof tiles in the head

[twgamer20197]

With Epeiros I would rush Greece first, and make sure that the Eagle of Hellas does not receive any roof tiles in the head

I think that applies in case you play vanilla. But what about DEI? In DEI you have one ciy in Italy. Maybe you can try rushing Rome