Sabyn Strategy Guide

[The Errant]

Sabyn Strategy Guide for EB 1.0

Sabean Strategy Guide (Part I)

The Sabyn are a hard faction to play. Mostly due to their two large and hostile neighbors. Play carefully and use the desert to your advantage. In the early game a single mistake is usually enough to ruin your campaign. Be careful! And never. Ever. Trust your greek neighbors.

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In order to get the full EB experience, remember to activate the background script through your advisor. To activate your advisor simply click on any of your settlements. If you end your turn without activating the script he will appear at the beginning of the next turn. Remember to activate the script everytime you load your game too.

You start with only one Province, Saba. You have a sizeable army commanded by your faction heir, and your faction leader governing your capital. You also have 5000 Mnai starting funds. First click on your capital. Invest in basic sanitation, roads and farms. If you can't afford all three, use the remainder for a unit of skirmishers or archers. Crank your taxes up to High. No more than that though. You need to keep atleast a minimum growth in population. Debt is inevitable, just keep it from spiralling out of control. Now move your army north to Carna and besiege it. Once that is done, move your Faction Leader and skirmishers to join him. Leave only the one unit of Arabian Light Archer-Spearmen in your capital.

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Build sanitation roads and farms first.

Early Expansion

You have access to two agents. A spy and a diplomat. They spy should scout out Carna but not enter the city. Just keep him close so you can see the city and it's surroundings. The diplomat you can send north to establish trade relations with your neighbors. Bear in mind though that you don't want to give anyone your Map Information. Not even for money. Remember AI diplomats are as good as spies in sniffing out the location of your settlements. Invest in an assasin early and train him on rebel captains. When a diplomat starts moving south towards your settlements, kill him ASAP. AS and Ptoly diplomats being priority target # 1.

Now go north. In one turn you should have your army at the gates Carna. Besiege it but do not build any siege engines. You won't be assaulting the city. It's important to get to Carna on the very first turn since the Eleutheroi have an additonal army in the province which will move to support the city. However if you besiege Carna on the first turn, they won't make it in time.
Besiege Carna until they sally forth (usually the last turn). Try to conserve your troops as much as you can. You will need all of them for the next couple of moves. Once you control the city leave the most depleted unit in your army, some skirmisher or archer will do and move south towards Tamane. If the Eleutheroi army chooses to attack Carna, bring back your army to relieve the siege. Carna is more vital than controlling Tamane this early in the game.

NOTE! Sometimes the roving stack at Carna dosen't have a family member leading it. If it dosen't it's possible it will disband with the taking of the city.

You should be in the red as far as finances go, but building roads and sanitation at the beginning of the game should keep you losses manageable. Don't worry about sliding into to the red. It's bound to happen anyway. The trick is keeping your losses relatively low per turn. Once you control three settlements with most of your army lost. You should start making a small profit.

Next move is to conquer Tamane. Move your stack to besiege the city, but don't build siege engines. You want to wait them out again. On the last turn before surrender, empty your capital of whatever units you left as garrison and lower the taxes. This will increase your chances for victory and keep your capital from rebelling. Once you control Tamane, move your faction leader back to Maryab along with any units small and experienced enough to keep around. Those veterans will be retrained later for further conquests.

Now that you finally control Tamane you may wish to disband most of your army in order to focus on getting out of debt. Move your family members to Maryab and Carna to maximize profits from them.

As a rule accept only Sharp/Charismatic/Vigorous candidates for adoption. Reject the others the game offers. Once you build a school, the most important ancillary in southern Arabia is the mining engineer. Move this ancillary to any governor of Carna, Maryab, Tamane, Bostra, Axum, Meroe, Diospolis-Megale or any other important mining center that dosen't have it. Old governors around 60 should have this ancillary moved to any new governor who lacks it.

Once you got your economy out of the red a turning a reasonable profit, say a couple thousand Mnai a turn, start recruiting again. You'll need atleast one unit of skirmisher cavalry, preferably two. A general, several slingers/archers and a couple javelin skirmishers.

Now go east. Your target is Sabata. This will be the last settlement you will take for while. Make sure you defeat both the city and the roving Eleutheroi stack south of the mountains, by the coast. That stack is led by an FM and might be stronger than yours. Don't attack him directly. Simply move your remaining army right next to his, and let him attack you. With terrain advantage, some archers and an FM, you can beat him easily if your smart.
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Dealing with Eleutheroi.

On using agents

Your diplomat should travel far a wide. First to the Seleucids and Ptolies to offer trade rights. Then to any nation bordering Arche Seleukeia to offer an alliance and trade rights. Not all will accept. Sometimes none of them will. But the fortunes of war are fickle, and sooner or later (usually after a couple of betrayals by their neighbors, AS in particular) you will get your allies. Pahlava, Baktria, Pontos and Hayasdan are the best in distracting AS attention. Macedon is good too if they start expanding in Asia Minor. Look out for Ptolies though. If they get too big you might end up in war with them, before your ready.

Spies are a must. Use them in large numbers. Station one at the juncture between the three provinces of Eremos, Ma'in and Nabataia. The larger part of any invasion from either the AS or Ptolies will come through this corridor. Detecting an army coming south along this route should give you five or so turns to prepare. A watchtower might do but the Rebels are fond of sitting on your watchtower obscuring your view. Same goes for enemy stacks. Especially after getting mauled in battle.

Keep another spy along the northern coast at the border between the provinces of Gerrhaia Arabia and Maketa. If you expand along the southern Arabian peninsula, you will find that the AS will send troops south from Babylonia along both coasts. In the early game those coasts are in the hands of the Eleutheroi, but that won't last. The AI controlled AS has an obsession about Gerrha Arabia and Maketa provinces. And it will grab anything else if the opportunity presents itself.

Spies have other uses though. The credit for this idea goes to a another member on the forum, Geoffrey S. Thanks. Anyway a horde of spies roaming around in AS territory has a useful effect of creating rebellion. The inner provinces of the Seleucid Empire are often weakly garrisoned. In the best case, with just a single understrength garrison unit. Once you find a settlement like this, move in lots of spies. You wan't it to revolt. The founding faction for many of the eastern provinces of the AS is Pahlava or Baktria. When one of their provinces revolts they tend to side with one or the other, or go independent. Not only does this weaken your enemy, and diverts strength away from you. It also strengthens you enemies enemy. And while he may not be your friend, he's atleast not an oversized neighbor with dreams of conquest.

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My merry band of misbegotten no good doers have sucessfully instigated another revolt.

Assasins are useful for two reasons. One. Killing off enemy agents. Especially diplomats intent on discovering the location of your settlements and/or bribing your FMs or captains. Two. Sabotage. Your spies aren't managing to get a revolt because of the great number of happiness buildings present. No problem. Send in your assasin to sabotage Happiness buildings or barracks. And before you know it, another revolt has occured in your enemies city.

Sometimes it might be a good idea to offer a small tribute to your enemy. AS in particular is very powerful in the early game. Make sure it's atleast 200 mnai per turn, or it will have no effect whatsoever. They will betray you in the end, but sometimes it will give a breather when you need it the most.

On settlements

The settlements on the Arabian peninsula are small, with a low starting population, and slow growth. Apart from the obvious farms, markets and granaries, you should invest some money in Sanitation (takes 1 turn to build) and a Healer (takes 4 turns to build). The added health bonuses boost your population nicely. Also the higher levels of the temples of Almagah give health bonuses to boost population growth, increase happiness and increase in tradable goods.
Try to keep taxation low enough to ensure a steady population growth. It dosen't have to more than 0.5 % as long as it keeps growing.
Focus on economic buildings first. If you get decent income, wait enugh turns to build mines. They're the real source of wealth.
The priority one mine is in Carna because it has a large vein of precious metals. Second comes and Maryab and Tamane. Apart from mines, ports, markets and caravans can generate a lot of wealth when upgraded. The temple of Hawbas also increases tradable goods. The temple of Athar gives the best law bonuses and experience for troops. In conquered settlements outside your homelands, building Ahtar's temples is the wisest cause of action.

On VH the Eleutheroi are much more agressive. If your city has no more than a depleted skirmisher unit as garrison, even a small band of Eleutheroi may find the opportunity to take your settlement irresistable.

Maryab, Carna, Tamane and to a lesser extent Sabata are the core of your early holdings. In the three former you can build Mines and Mining Centers, still the greatest source of wealth in the game. Carna in particular will come under attack first so upgrading to a Stone Wall is recommended.

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Keeping an eye on enemy movement gives plenty of warning before the next stack comes knocking on your door.

The AI is predicable in it's strategy. It always goes for the soft kill. If Carna is weak it will assault that. If you strengthen the garrison in Carna the AI will go for a weaker city like Maryab or Tamane. Fortunately the cities of Southern Arabia are located close to eachother, so in a single turn a stack from Carna can strike at a besieging army in Maryab, or vice versa. Trapped between two forces you can slaughter them at your leisure.

The AI is unfortunately also persistent. No matter how many of it's armies you slaughter it will keep sending more. The problem comes if it has more than one stack coming in. If it does try to deal with both individually. And try to let them come to you, rather than you going to them to get the terrain advantage. Having enough spies to keep an eye on enemy movement is paramount to success in this.

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Skirmisher heavy troops is the key to early survival against the Seleucids. It requires a lot of hit and run tactics, which is fine considering most of your early units will be skirmishers anyhow.

Build watchtowers only when you can afford it and at critical junctures. The AI movement is predictable so you should be able to figure out which places are most suited for watchtowers. If you can't afford watchtowers use spies. They're cheaper and more mobile.

Expansion

Some people prefer to conquer All of Arabia first. Personally I think this is a very bad move. If you want to expand, go west. Across the Red Sea are some of the richest provinces worth taking. Not to mention access to the Ethiopian reagionals. As a general rule your army remains incomplete until you have access to them. Once you do, you can take on anyone. Provided you have the funds.

Continued in Part 2.

[The Errant]

Sabean Strategy Guide (Part II)

W A R

War is inevitable. You can not be neighbors with the Seleukids without a war. If your allied they'll betray you. If not they'll attack you. If you have a strong army they'll demand you become their protectorate. For the Sabyn there are only two directions of expansion. North against Arche Seleukeia or west against the Ptolies. I prefer to fight defensively against the Seleukids and focus my attention to taking Egypt. With the resources of Egypt you can wage a long war of attrition against Arche Seleukeia.
I'm going to give a basic rundown of the troops available to your faction, and what I've found them useful for:

Qala'im Arabim. Arabian Slingers. The most basic and cheapest unit in you roster. Fast and with good stamina. Excellent garrison troop and missile support for your armies. Must be used in large numbers to be of any use.

Bnei Shevet Aravim. Arabian Light Infantry. Skirmishers armed with javelins and a knife. Fast and with good stamina. Use them like any other skirmisher, against other skirmishers and against the flanks and back of phalanx units. They can put up a decent fight against units like Pantadapoi but they'll get owned by any half decent infantry or cavalry. They also make pretty good bate for enemy generals. They also make excellent elephant killers, so if your facing enemy elephants make sure a bring a couple of units light infantry with you.

Parashim Aravim Meguiasim. Arabian Light Cavalry. Same as the above but more mobile and vulnerable to spearmen. Use them to distract enemy cavalry and FMs. They are also excellent in pursuing broken enemy units, due to their great speed and stamina.

Sabean Archers. Your native archers are relatively useless. They can provide a distraction for enemy troops. And make decent garrison troops for any settlement with a stone wall. Other than that, you should avoid wasting money on them. The Ethiopians are far better. As are most of the regional archers you can recruit up north.

Erínamesh ana-Arabim. East Coast Levies. The latest addition to the Sabean unit roster is this suprisingly versatile light infantry. Perfectly suited for desert warfare, these pirates are an excellent all purpose unit. Their spears give them an edge over most light cavalry, and they have both the speed and stamina to run the enemy to exhaustion before engaging. They make good flankers and are a match for most archers and skirmishers. They can also be used for chasing broken units. If you can't afford a heavy battleline, combining these troops with some archers will work wonders.

'Hanatim Kushim. Ethiopian Light Spearmen. Ethiopian equilavent to your Citizen Spearmen. With slightly worse stats. They are pretty good at holding the line, but don't expect them to last against enemy phalangites or any quality infantry.

Giuisim Aravim Tsfonim. Arabian Light Archer-Spearmen. The Burning Hammer. Massed archery tactics were historically employed by the Sabeans much like they were by the Achamenid Persians. They have all the qualitites of the best ranged troops. Use a unit of spearmen to tie up enemy formations and have these guys run around and shoot them in the back. Works wonders, especially with flaming arrows. Also an excellent unit to bait enemy generals with. Just make sure to intercept those generals with decent spearmen. These guys will rout easily if pursued by quality cavalry or FMs.

Dorkim Ezra'him. Sabaean Light Spearmen. While nowhere near as heavy as the successor phalangites, these hardy citizen militias make up the bulk of your spearmen. They have good morale and stamina which gives them an edge on the desert and they will not brake as easily as most other lower end infantry. Use them to pin the enemy and flank with some other unit. Consider them the "Anvil" of Alexandrian tactics for Saba.

Abbir Ezra'him. Sabean Medium Cavalry. Browncoat Cavalry. Medium Cavalry par exellence. Primary weapon is an AP cavalry spear and secondary a longsword. This gives them an excellent charge and an edge over most units in a melee. Only Thracian Medium Cavalry comes close to being as versatile and efficient. They may not be quite on par with Hetairoi or Kataphracts, but they are the best medium cavalry in the game. Properly used they can break the enemy with a well timed charge. They are also excellent in pursuing broken enemy infantry or cavalry. Their only downside is their cost. Consider them the "Hammer" of Alexandrian tactics for Saba.

Giuisim Aravim 'im Garzenim. Red Sea Light Infantry. Assault infantry. Armed with the traditional Balta Harbidaye (single handed axe) and a light wickerwork shield, this "light infantry" is the Sabyn counter for phalanxes. Their axes makes them better than average killers but they suffer from poor morale and can be quite impetous in battle. Use them for flanking and attacking spearmen and phalanxes from behind. They're effective against Pantadapoi and Klerouchikoi phalanxes. Less so against Pezhatairoi, Klerouchikon Agema and Argyraspidai. Keeping your general close helps to keep them fighting longer and due to their higher lethality they make decent defensive troops for sieges.

Hoplitai Troglodutikes. Red sea Hoplites. Similar to the Ekdromoi Hoplites of Koinon Hellenon, these lightly armed hoplites are perfectly suited for desert warfare. They perform excellently against any light infantry, skirmishers, medium and even heavy cavalry. They also make good flankers, due to their speed and stamina. They are a well balanced, versatile unit that can be difference between victory and defeat.

Aithiopikoi Toxotai. Ethiopian Archers. The Ethiopian variant of archers is quick, agile and capable. As with any archers, they require some micromanaging to be useful. Used in sufficiently large numbers and from an exposed angle, they can be devastating. The Ethiopians are also armed with maces. So in a crunch, you can try to use them to break a wavering enemy. Just don't expect them to do well in any prolonged melee.

Aithiopikoi Hippeis. Ethiopian Cavalry. Ah. Hippies. Not the pot smoking, love your fellow man kind, though. But good quality medium cavalry. They are not quite the match for their cousins in the Citizen Cavalry, but they are capable of breaking an enemy with a well timed charge. Keep them on the outskirts of the battle, until you see an opening. And be vary of enemy spearmen.

Aithiopikoi Machairophoroi. Ethiopian Swordsmen. Ethiopian heavy swordsmen/assault infantry. Good stats and morale. Best used as flankers and for assaulting settlements. They are among the best infantry you can recruit. And only lose to the Galatians by a narrow margin.

Aithiopian Agema. Ethiopian Guard. Shock Infantry with african flavor. Excellent heavy shocktroops recruitable in Africa. I've seen them brake phalanxes and rout Galatians. Truly superb troops. The primary key to conquering Egypt.

Lo'hamim Azzlim. Sabean Noble Infantry. Browncoats. Heavy Spearmen armed with javelins and spears. They have good morale and stamina but suffer from a smaller unit size than phalangites. Still, they are your most capable native unit in holding the line. Just remember their limitations and you'll do fine.

Giborei haMele'h. Sabaean Bodyguard Infantry. Browcoat Guard. Doubling as the kings bodyguards and temple guardsmen, these men are the elite of the Sabean Noble Infantry. They're Armed with javelins and longswords, and armoured in chain. They are your finest native infantry and invaluable in the early game. They are also the only shock infantry worthy of the name, until you get access to the Ethiopian regionals.

Elephantes Lioboukoi Sabean flight instructor. Elephants were the tanks of the ancient battlefield. Massive and strong enough to knock down wooden walls and gates. Being a restricted resource, you can only recruit them in the three southernmost Nile provinces. They can mow down any and all units with the exception of heavy cavalry. They are also better at flanking than direct frontal assault against phalangites and heavy infantry. If they have any weakness, it's javelins. A shower of javelins from a skirmisher unit can bring down, even the most hardy elephant. Used properly however they are a war-winning force. The secondary key to conquering Egypt.

Pantadapoi Basic spearmen for those who want to add some foreign flavor to their armies. Good for garrison duties and for hunting rebels.

Machimoi. Native Egyptian Infantry. Lightly armed and armoured swordsmen equipped with javelins. They make pretty good light infantry. Even though they lack the morale for any prolonged engagements. They can be used for flanking attacks, and for chasing skirmishers and archers.

Galatikoi Kleruchoi. Galatian Heavy Infantry. The Galatians were recruited from the Galatian Celts living in Asia Minor and form the core of Ptolemaic heavy infantry. And that of the Sabyn, once you built the appropriate level of regional MIC in one of your conqured Egyptian provinces. Though impetous at times, the Galatians make superb heavy infantry that can easily decide the course of the battle by themselves.

Toxotai Syriakoi. Syrian Archers. One of the first and most useful regionals you will come across in any northern expansion. The game has five melee archers that are equally capable of their primary role as archers, and a secondary as light/medium infantry. The Syrians are excellent in this regard. They are good archers and have the armor and weapons to whistand a melee. Their only weakness really is their morale. Recruit them en masse like any other archers and they will give you your moneys worth in a fight. Once out of ammo they make great flankers that really hurt the enemy. Recruit them whenever you can to be your primary ranged component in any stack your creating.

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Citizens to the rescue. They eventually slaughtered the Hetairoi along with the enemy general.

General Strategy and Tactics

Battle tactics for the Sabaeans are pretty straight forward. There are basically two. Three, if you consider slinger spamming a tactic and not desperation. I've used it, but I'm not fond of it. First tactic is the adapted steppe tactic. Unlike the steppe factions with their HA you have none. What you do have is plenty of cheap foot archers. Recruit these in masse. Minimum of six units per stack. Up to twelve is also good. Now surround your enemy, so that no matter what direction they turn to, plenty of archers are shooting them in the back. You can devastate even good phalangite armies using this tactic. You will want to include a unit of light cavalry to engage any enemy cavalry that tries to engage your archers. When you run out of ammo. And if there are still enemy units capable of putting up a resistance, withdraw and attack again next turn.

Second tactic is the classic Alexandrian "Hammer and Anvil". For this you need atleast a couple units of either Ethiopian Light Spearmen or Citizen Levy Spearmen. Six units of archers or 2-4 units of Red Sea Light Infantry. The latter two can be replaced by either a unit of Citizen Cavalry, Lo'hamim Azzilim, Ethiopian Agema, Elephants or your FM. Use the spearmen to pin the enemy units and circle around with your heavier infantry to strike them in the back. Massed archery or slingers work nicely as well. The Red Sea Light Infantry are the bare minimum for this tactic. And against any quality heavy infantry or phalangites they will get owned. All the other units mentioned are relatively good for this tactic. The Ethiopians and Elephants being the most effective.

These are the basic tactics you can use with native troops. Reagionals can be adapted for both tactics reasonably well. Bear in mind though that you only get access to Pantodapoi Phalangitai. So most of the time you will have to rely on spearmen to be your anvil. Nizag Gund and Babylonian Heavy Spearmen are great. Armenian spearmen too, but their lower morale makes their chances of holding the anvil for long enough, tricky at best.

In Africa and Egypt, make sure your stack has atleast one unit of elephants, and a couple units of skirmishers. Since you want to make sure your elephants get to see the action. That means keeping them alive during the battle. The AI tends to make your elephants priority target no. 1, sending both skirmishers and heavy troops, like the Galatians to hunt them. Always engage any unit going for you elephants with a unit of you own. Be especially wary of skirmishers and archers. And the Galatians.

Something else I've noticed when playing with elephants. Disable the fire at will button for any javelin equipped unit, like your skirmishers, Browncoats and King's Elites. I've taken more losses to elephant units from friendly fire, than any action by enemy troops. This is even more true once you've broken the enemy. Many times I have seen a perfectly good elephant unit rout some enemy infantry, only to be killed by the javelins of some overeager skirmishers of my own. They're there to break the enemy. Not to pursue. They tire easily and can't catch them anyhow. Used properly they're a war-winning force. They're expensive to hire and costly to maintain. DO NOT SQUANDER THEM!

Dealing with Egypt and the Ptolemai

When you begin your invasion of southern Egypt, try taking the settlements in this order 1. Axum 2. Meroe 3. Ptolemais-Theron. Axum is a homelands region, which means you can train nearly all of your factional troops here, in addition you get the Ethiopian Guard and two types of Elephants. You can also build mines in Axum, so it becomes quite lucrative after some investments. Meroe also has mines, so although you can't build more than a level 3 or 4 gov. it will turn a profit after some investments. Also the recruitable regionals are elephants and Ethiopian Guard and spearmen, so holding the city should not be that big a problem.
Ptolemais-Theron allows the constuction of a level 2 gov. so you can recruit and retrain most of your troops here. In addition the city becomes a hub for seatrade in the Red Sea, earning you additional spending Mnai.

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Axum and Meroe. The goldmines of southern Egypt.

The Ptolies are rich, but unless they get an early start on the AS or make peace with them, most of their war-effort will be directed northeast. That means you can have a relatively easy time taking Axum and Meroe. Try not to weaken them too much though. You want them as a buffer in the early game. A strong Egypt focused northeast is good. A strong Egypt focused south is bad. Very bad.

You can also try to ally yourself with the Ptolies. No guarantees they will stay allied though. You can try to fund their expeditions against the AS, which might keep them on your good side for a while. As long as it gives you enough time to upgrade the defenses of your two southern settlements, the payoffs will have been worth it. Then when the time is right, attack.

Unless you've adopted every halfbrain around, chances are you won't have enough governors to go around every newly conquered egyptian city. Which leads to a big problem in your egytian campaign. Garrisoning your newly conquered settlements.
There are only two worthwhile ways, to deal with these newly conquered provinces. Enslaving (remember your cities are small and have low growth rates) or Exterminating the populace (If your strapped for cash).
The problem is that even with a half decent governor, you will still need to keep sizeable garrisons in order to keep the locals in check. Destroying buildings may help with the cultural penalty but not always. Type 4 govs. with their client rulers are also good.
Try to raise atleast two armies, preferably three for your conquest of Egypt. One for taking settlements, one for engaging Ptoly relief-armies, and one to assist and replenish troops from.

Type 4 govs. give you the best regionals. They are especially valuable in Egypt where you get access to the Galatikoi Kleruchoi. Also in mesopotamia and Syria you get access to some useful troops. In the east the best reagionals are found in the Indian provinces. Type 3 govs. are good in places your not aiming to recruit much but focus on economy. It gives you better access to your building tech tree. Most importantly Happiness and Law buildings to keep order.

Mercs

Some players consider using mercs cheating. Personally I think it's a matter of preference. While it's true that you can train factional troops, that are just as good if not better for less cash, remember that due to the considerable distances between the upper and lower Ptolemaic holdings in Egypt, it will take some time, for your reinforcements to get to the battlefield. The Ethiopian regionals should see you trough, but any merc recruited is one less for the AI to hire and use against you.

On the other hand, the Nile has plenty of chokepoints (bridges, fords). Use the terrain wisely. Make taking Diospolis-Megale a priority, since it has that all-important moneymaking attribute: MINES.
Apart from that, just remember to keep up the pressure. Sooner or later, either they or you, will cave.

Dealing with the Seleukids

The infamous Grey Death is a pain in the **s to deal with. While nerfed somewhat from earlier builds, they are still a force to be reckoned with. In rare cases they make peace with the Ptolies during the early turns. When they do, you will end up fighting both. If not, then there is an even chance either they or the Ptolies will end on top. Either way your involvement in the region may well tip the balance in favor of either. You still have to fight both in order to reach your Victory Conditions. Here are a few pointers in dealing with Arche Seleukeia.

First, spies. Horde them and send them to the Seleukid eastern provinces. Next to their border with Pahlava and Baktria. If your lucky you can get them both to go to war against the Seleukids. If not, any province in the hands of Eleutheroi is one province away from the Seleukids. Never enter into an alliance with the Seleukids. The new map will keep them away for a while, but not if you share your map imformation with them. Which automatically happens whenever you enter an alliance with any faction. Never offer it to them as part of a trade deal either.

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Hording spies is a good way to cause unrest in the Seleukid hinterlands.

Alliances can be useful. The Pontics are the most important, since if they manage to survive the early game and expand, they will inevitably get into conflict with AS over settlements in Asia Minor. Second best ally is Hayasdan. Their settlements are close to the Seleukid heartlands and if they choose to expand south, they will tie up Seleukid resources in that region. Third best is Baktria if they go to war with AS. Baktria however can expand rapidly to become a second AS. So having them as an ally can be both good and bad.
Pahlav can sometimes be a distraction too, but looses far to often to the dual pressure from both Baktria and AS.

In the early game the desert is your best friend. Your generals tend to have the advantage of speed and morale fighting in the desert. Use it to fight small skirmishes repeatedly, to weaken the enemy before the main fight. Make sure your border settlements are well garrisoned with quality troops, so they can repel assaults. The AI tends to lack the patience to simply starve you out, when all you have is a stone wall. Use plenty of archers/slingers for both offense and defense, and always sally forth to disrupt their construction of siege towers, rams and ladders.

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The Sabyn punitive expedition to Mesopotamia. Too bad no one warned them we were coming.

Expedition Asia Minor

If you have the money go on a rampage in Asia Minor. Take a settlement, exterminate the population, destroy every building that brings you money except the unique ones. That is, if you want to control these lands anytime in the future. Otherwise just destroy them all. If you see an approaching stack coming for your newly conquered city, leave a single unit as garrison and leave. Chances are they'll besiege the city, rather than come after you, which buys precious time to get to the next settlement, and doing it all over again.
Hire mercs with the proceeds and keep destroying until you run out of settlements to destroy, or you get cornered and slaughtered. If you manage to survive, settle down in a city with a Mining Center, Stone Walls and decent merc recruitment (Nikaia, Ipsos, Sardis, Pergamon). You can stay here for as long as you can survive. If you are besieged, hopelessly outnumbered and know you're going to lose the city. Destroy everything you can, and try to make the enemy victory as costly as possible.

Expedition Mesopotamia

Second strategy requires you to attack Mesopotamia. The region of Mesopotamia and Syria is the Seleukid heartland. Take your stack, bypass Gerrha if it's in Seleukid control, and attack Charax. Use money to hire mercs and send a spy on ahead to open the gates for you. Exterminate the population and destroy any MICs built there. Next, go and do the same to Seleukeia and Babylon.

The Seleukids have three primary military recruitment centers: Seleukeia, Charax and Antiocheia. If you can conquer these settlements and destroy their MICs you will cripple their recruitment of elites. The Seleukids top units are restricted to type 1 government settlements with the highest level of factional MIC built.
At the beginning of the game they only have the four cities of Antiocheia, Babylon, Seleukeia and Charax that fill all these requirements. And although they can upgrade others, they tend not to. Unless they loose the original four. If you can destroy their MICs in these cities, you will no longer have to face Argyraspidai, Thorakitai Argyraspiadai, Hypaspistai or Pheraspidai for quite a while. Those are the four toughest types of infantry the Seleucids can field and knocking those off the enemy unit roster, will balance the game considerably in your favor.

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9695/anticipatedqn0.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
Returning a favor long overdue.

The Seleukids have lesser MICs in Edessa, Susa, Ekbatana, Arbela, Persepolis, Ipsos, Karathtiokerta and Damaskos. In addition to these they can build their highest level of factional MICs in Pella, Baktra and Alexandreia, should they be able to conquer them. Taking these cities along with the four already mentioned might cripple them totally. Seleukeia, Babylon, Charax, Antiocheia, Alexandria and Edessa are keepers. If you got them, try not to lose them. They will allow the construction of the highest level of regional MICs to expand your unit roster.
In Seleukeia, Babylon and Charax, you should first build a regional MIC to train Eastern Slingers to defend your cities. If they don't have Stone Walls, upgrade them. Install type 4 govs. in both and build a temple of Athtar and it's upgrades as it gives the most law and happiness bonuses of all your temples. Build a temple of Athtar in all conquered settlements you can only install type 3 or 4 governments in. The Seleucids can and will upgrade their other MICs to build their higher tier units, but the best are restricted to the heartlands of Arche Seleukeia. If you want to know better what regions to take out, use this map:https://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=seleukid3hq.gif of Seleucid government types and expansion regions for reference (White: Type 1. Dark Grey: Type 2). Go for any province the Seleucids can build a type 1 government in.

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6029/seleukeiaburningva7.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
Sacking Seleukeia is very profitable.

Expansion into India

The Indian expansion of Sabyn is a viable alternative once you have enough spending Mnai. Start by sending a spy to check the ownership of these three settlements: 1. Patala 2. Opiana 3. Takashila. If it's Pahlava or Baktria don't bother. If it's Eleutheroi or Seleukids, invade. You'll need a Kerkuroi built in Tamane, one preferably two family members, several units of Heavy Infantry, some slingers and skirmisher javeliners. Your spy should infiltrate and open the gates. The Heavies will deal with whatever spearmen and archers the Eleutheroi garrisons have and the skirmishers with the elephants. If they are in Seleukid hands the garrison should be some Pantadapoi Phalangitai or Parthian spearmen. Easy enough to deal with.
By this point in the game the settlements should be advanced enough to have decent infrastructure, Mining Centers are a priority if you intend to invade. If they have Stone Walls in addition to mines, so much the better. Build regional MICs, as reagionals are the only troops worth recruiting in these regions. Once you can train elephants from these settlements it will be highly unlikely that the Seleucids will ever be able to kick you out. Both Sind and Sattagydia are part of the Sabyn victory conditions. Gandhara however isn't. You can leave Gandhara to the Baktrians or Parthians if you like, and concentrate on taking the Seleukid provinces west of India instead.

https://img103.imageshack.us/img103/8849/indiarx0.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
The beginnings of a modest eastern expansion.

What to conquer and why?

If your faced with choise of what settlement to take. Bear in mind that the AI gets cash bonuses for provinces held. You only get what those provinces produce in terms of income. After destroying the high level MICs in the key Seleucid or Ptoly holdings, always go for a settlement with Mines or a Mining Center. These settlements will produce steady cash from the moment you put them under your boot. And more than anything else, your ability to make war is dependent on your cashflow. Economics more than tactics determines who survives and who falls. Keep the money flowing!

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6084/inhalfta2.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
You win some. You loose some. Lost Charax but gained Arbela. Now there is a Western Seleucid Empire and an Eastern Seleucid Empire.

Dealing with Kart-Hadast

Carthies can be a royal pain in the a**. They have one of the most varied unit rosters in the game. And the majority of their troops are of excellent quality. That being said the AI has a weakness in never recruiting enough cavalry. And fortunately for you, they rarely recruit any archers or slingers.

This means that the best way to deal with Carthie stacks is trough massed archery. The second way is more complicated and requires stacks of quality greek mercenaries, or a powerful stack of native troops. One that preferably includes elephants.

It's easier to just leave a bufferzone of one territory of Ptoly holdings between you and them. Cyrene is ideal. If the Ptolies get wiped out try gifting a border region to the Koinon. Powerful as a Koinon stack can be. It's no match for the damage a heavy Carthie stack can do to you.

Final Comments

Some of my best campaigns in EB have been when playing Saba. As the newest faction, it has taken EB 1.0 to depict them in a worthy fashion. Their unique unit composition requires learning tactics you never would have used before. And challenging two mighty Successor states, for supremacy of the most contended region in the game. Makes for fun and challenging gameplay. Don't take my word for it though. Try them yourself!

May Illmaquh bless your reign!

[Khazar_Dahvos]

hey errant thanks I love the Sabyn faction. Hey what are the specifications of getting the elephants,what govt what leval of barracks and does it only pertain to where the elephant recource are. I would appreciate a reply anyone please...

[The Errant]

Elephants are indeed restricted as a recourse. You can train them in Axum, Meroe and Ptolemais-Theron with a level 3 factional MIC (I think). In Meroe you're government choise is restricted to a level 3 or 4 so installing level three will give just the better african units like the elephants (both types) and the Ethiopian Axemen. In Axum you can install a Homelands government and it will let you train all your factional units except for cavalry and Browncoats.
In Ptolemais-Theron you can install level 2 gov and once a have a level 3 factional MIC the trusty Sabean Flight Instructors are at your service:yes:

[Khazar_Dahvos]

hey I realy appreciat the help errant Thanks alot man

[Teleklos Archelaou]

A nice guide. :2thumbsup: New players to the faction should definitely give it a read.

[Lovejoy]

I gonna wait for 0.81 to be released before trying out Saba. They are one of the faction Im really looking forward to play. Love thier starting position and units. :D Will surly find good use of this guide.

[The Errant]

Thank's for the replies. Just hope you found it useful.

The Sabyn is the only faction I have played that I'm really missing the vanilla peasant unit in. After a while you really see the lack of population hampering recruitment. :sweatdrop:

One thing I noticed, is that the Unit descriptions on the homepage (www.europabarbarorum.com). for the both the Saka and Sabyn, is the old Yuezhi discription. Any idea when you're updating the homepage?

[Khazar_Dahvos]

hey Teleklos are you guys of the team just using the african infantry bodygaurd for generals as a placeholder for the moment and do you plan to create a sabyn bodygaurd in the future. It realy doesent matter because the african infantry rock!!!

[Kull]

I played a very long Saba campaign using one of the pre-v.81 EB builds. My strategy was different from yours, partly perhaps from playing VH/VH, but also because it was all-Saba units, no placeholders.

I was very quickly at war with both AS and the Ptolemies, and that was so early in the game, it wasn't even feasible to think of Dumatha. Anyway, the most enjoyable part of the game was I decided not to use a Siege strategy, but rather to try and beat the Greeks in open battle with what is essentially a skirmisher army.

And it is possible, but VERY difficult. You need numbers and tactics. Any thought of going line vs. line against those tough phalanx forces is close to suicidal. After 100 turns I had to leave the campaign and move on to testing newer builds, but by then I had control of all South Arabia and was finally strong enough to think about moving north to Dumatha.

The one salvation of the "South Arabia First" strategy is you have advance warning of incoming invasion stacks from Egypt and Seleukia for MANY turns before they get to your heartlands. So you are never surprised and can make the stack adjustments necessary to increase your odds of victory.

A real fun faction to play! Not least because your unit mix forces you to learn a style of warfare that one would NEVER select if playing almost any other faction. Which, IMO, is one of the greatest strengths of EB.

[The Errant]

Thanks for your reply Kull. It's good to see that some of the EB team takes the trouble to read my strategy guide.

In my earlier campaigns I also went after the Arabian peninsula first. Most of my generals got the "Desert Fighter" ancillary which made skirmishing tactics very viable. One of the other things is that in some parts of the Arabian peninsula, the battle terrain can be rocky which serves to break up the Seleukid phalanxes.
In those conditions having a more mobile army of skirmishers coupled with a few heavy hitters can easily take on those phalanxes.

The main reason I never conquered the eastern arabian provinces in my later Sabyn games, is that they're poor. Try as I might, it takes an age (and very good governors) to make those cities profitable. Not to mention the rebels are damn strong, so taking them in the first place is a pain. This is one of the reasons I decided to leave them unconquered, as they serve as a useful buffer between me and the Seleukids.

Also when you wait to attack Egypt and the AS they tend to have more time to upgrade their Mics. And facing stacks packed with elite units tends to be frustrating.

Still it's good to know you found another way to deal with them. That's the beauty of EB. It's YOUR choise how to rewrite history. :yes:

[The Errant]

Okay. I've managed to install the .81 patch so I'm going to be busy actually playing the game for a while.
I'm starting a new campaign with the Sabyn in order to test the viability of my strategy guide and to see what needs revising.

I will be concentrating primarily on getting Egypt and the Levant, going after the Seleukids later.

I have a request to anyone with the 0.81 build of EB. I mentioned in passing on the strategy guide, the idea of taking a stack by ship to conquer the Indian provinces early in the game. The strategy wasn't very feasible in the 0.8 build due to the bugs in unit reqruitment. Particularly for foreign natives.

Now that 0.81 is out and that problem has been solved (I hope) I'd like feedback from anyone who's tried going into India as the Sabyn.

Any experiences (good or bad) from a Sabyn game in India and eastern Persia will be extremely helpful. If you can provide screenshots, so much the better.

Post your replies on this thread or PM them to me.

Thanks

PS. Any. And I do mean any, feedback on the strategy guide is always welcome!!

[Kull]

Be sure to read this thread (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=79765) before starting. There is a bug with Saba farms that we'll be correcting with a "hotfix", but you can manually make the changes to get them working in your new game. :2thumbsup:

[The Errant]

Thanks for the tip Kull! I really appriciate it.

Based on my experiences on the 0.81 the early strategy is going to need some searious revising. The nerfing of the mine income is what hits me the worst.

Looks like my first new Sabyn game on VH/M is leading up to a crushing defeat. Oh well. I'll just have to start over again.

[Vorian]

I played Saba in .80 but abandoned it cause they were too unfinished for my tastes. I will try again after I finish my KH campaign.

[Avicenna]

How is this not stickied? Excellent work by the errant.

[The Errant]

Thanks for the feedback Avicenna. I'll try to answer you question now.

Cause it's unfinished. Playing Saba in 0.81 is a nightmare compared to the relatively smooth going in 0.80.

I've had to start the game from scratch several times just to survive the first decades. Let alone expand outside the Arabian peninsula.

If the mods feel this guide is worthy of being stickied, I would feel honored.

[Lucidus]

Playing Saba in 0.81 is a nightmare

Thanks for your great guide,congratulations :)

Yep,I lost my first campaign (H/M)
It is almost impossible to survive and expande,the Seleukids are too powerful.
I am changing to M/M and trying again...a great challenge.
I wonder if the Seleukids are not overpowered....

[Avicenna]

It would be the Sabeans who are overpowered if they can defeat the AS hordes. I'd guess that you need to an opportunist as the Saba, taking opportunies in the form of AS-Ptolemaioi wars and weakly defended provinces. Obviously, wait a while to decide who's winning then pounce. Getting a Saba corridor to the Med would be nice as well.

[Lucidus]

Good tip,thanks. ~:)


It would be the Sabeans who are overpowered if they can defeat the AS hordes

Of course.

[The Errant]

You can beat the AS phalangite hordes as the Sabyn. It involves lots of skirmishers, particarly *cough* slingers *cough*. Which somebody on a locked thread consider, hmmm cheating.

Seriously though. At the beginning they're the only unit you can afford to recruit and maintain without going negative on you finances. The only other method is to divert attention away from you, is by having hordes of spies in AS cities instigating revolts.

Nothing like a civil war to keep a nation too occupied to expand.

[Lucidus]

The Errant,I have two questions for you,if you don´t mind :

1-In Qataban,there is a center for training of elephants units.
Is it possible to train elephants in Qataban?

2-In my Capital,Maryab,should I build Royal barraks?
I mean,it is possible to recruit all of those nine units before that upgrade;so,why should I build the Royal barraks?

Thanks in advance :)

[The Errant]

1. OK. Kull, a member of the EB team, confirmed that Elephant recruitment in restricted to a number of provinces in west Africa, India, and for the Sabyn relevant three southern provinces of Egypt. Which means that if the Sabyn player wants to have Elephants he will have to expand to either Africa or India and construct the appropriate MIC. In Axum, Meroe and Ptolemais-Theron it means a level 3 factional MIC or above.

Note! It may appear as if Quataban can train them as they are a recourse there, however this is NOT the case. Also the Epirotes can train Indian Elephants at their capital of Ambrakia however they're the only faction that can. None of the other factions can train elephants in Ambrakia as they are restricted to the Epirote faction exclusively.

2. It appears as if the highest level of factional MIC for the Sabyn dosen't produce any units. In 0.80 they produced King's Elites. The best heavy infantry unit of the faction. I think this is either an oversight by the devs. or a bug. Then again the Sabyn unit roster remains incomplete so, it might be they will add some new high tier units in a later build.

[Lucidus]

Thank you :)

Edit:today,in my campaign,attacking Axum with an army proportion 5:2 (in my favour) i was surprised by 15 (!) elephants inside (defending) the city.
I wonder if this is a feature or a....bug?

[The Errant]

As of 0.81 the Eleutheroi garrisons in both Axum and Meroe have a mix of local troops. That includes Ethiopian spearmen, axemen and elephants. The Ptolies also have some elephants at Ptolemais-Theron.
Additional garrisons with elephants are the Eleutheroi settlements in western India and possibly the Nubian settlement in North Africa. Not sure about the last one but atleast southern Egypt and western India.
I love those overpowered Eleutheroi settlements. Keeps the Ptolies and AS from annexing them too soon.
I even managed to get Ptoly held Meroe to revolt. They got something like three elephant units and three Ethiopian spearmen. Gonna take them a while to get that nut cracked. :beam:

[Kull]

A little tidbit for the Saba-lovers. The forthcoming hotfix solves the farm and tradeport problems (which will help income-wise), plus the "native factions" for Kush and Sinai have reverted to Ptolemaioi. Both provinces are still rebel, but they won't revolt over to Saba (the early Kush rebellion to Saba was just awful). That should give you a chance to to keep the Egyptians friendly for a while longer.

[The Errant]

Great News! *Impatient grumbling* When is it going to be available for download?

[Lucidus]

Both provinces are still rebel, but they won't revolt over to Saba (the early Kush rebellion to Saba was just awful). That should give you a chance to to keep the Egyptians friendly for a while longer.

Good news :)

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

A little tidbit for the Saba-lovers. The forthcoming hotfix solves the farm and tradeport problems (which will help income-wise), plus the "native factions" for Kush and Sinai have reverted to Ptolemaioi. Both provinces are still rebel, but they won't revolt over to Saba (the early Kush rebellion to Saba was just awful). That should give you a chance to to keep the Egyptians friendly for a while longer.
What about Palmyra? In the two Saba games I tried that revolted from Seleucia and killed our alliance.

[Kull]

What about Palmyra? In the two Saba games I tried that revolted from Seleucia and killed our alliance.

Well, Palmyra was DEFINITELY a desert tribe kingdom, so making it native Greek is just not accurate. To that end, so was Petra, so that will remain Sabaen after all. But Kush at least goes back to Egypt.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Well, Palmyra was DEFINITELY a desert tribe kingdom, so making it native Greek is just not accurate. To that end, so was Petra, so that will remain Sabaen after all. But Kush at least goes back to Egypt.
Ah, so it was one of those historic versus gameplay decisions? :laugh4:

[Kull]

Ah, so it was one of those historic versus gameplay decisions? :laugh4:

Which haven't served us too poorly up to now! :yes: Besides, if you take the long view, someday - playing as Saba - that province will be yours. How much better to have a province so central to the core Successor regions that is part of your culture, eh? Also it's one more place that should be filled with unrest and unhappy with Seleukid rule. Not a bad thing given all the complaints bout the "Great Grey Beast"!

[The Errant]

With 0.81a out I'm going to discontinue my 0.81 campaign. So no updates on the strategy guide for a while. I'm also going to test rebalancing the Sabyn by giving them a more developed starting settlement to compensate for they AI cash bonuses.
The only reason the Sabyn can't stand up against the AS in the early game is the AI cash installments. Hopefully with a greater starting income the Sabyn will be able to kickstart their economy to stand up against the Seleucids.

[The Errant]

OK. The strategy has been updated to 0.81a.

In retrospect my attempt at rebalancing the faction worked too well. Giving the Sabyn a Mining Center in Maryab allowed them to turn a profit from turn 1. Somehow this isn't really in the spirit of EB.

The Sabyn should be hard. Giving them a simple mine would have been better. The Mining Center did however allow for a faster paced early game and helped kickstart the Sabyn economy. It also allowed a more diverse early unit roster.

Until the AI cash bonus script gets adjusted in a proper fashion I still recommend adding a simple mine in Maryab to help the player gain some early momentum.

That's it. Have fun playing.

[Lucidus]

I still recommend adding a simple mine in Maryab to help the player gain some early momentum.

Good idea.Agreed. :2thumbsup:
But...how?
(coughs, embarassed) :shame:

[The Errant]

.

Good idea.Agreed. :2thumbsup:
But...how?
(coughs, embarassed) :shame:

Go to your RTW forlder and into your EB subfolder like in the example below.

RTW\EB\Data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign

In the imperial_campaign subfolder will be a txt. file: descr_strat
that has all the settlements and their buildings listed as you start a new game.

Scroll down until you reach Maryab and add the following lines between the listed buildings:

building
{
type hinterland_mines mines
}

If you want to add a mining center just add +1 directly after the mines without any spacing in between.
You can add any type of building to any settlement you want. Make sure the text is correct though or you'll get a CTD with an error report.
Once you made the desired changes save the descr_strat and start EB.
Make a copy of descr_strat before you edit in case you make a mistake and can't correct it.

If you need to know the ingame name of a building you wish to add check the EB\Data export_descr_buildings file. It will have all the buildings within the game listed.

If you can't make it work I will upload a copy of my descr_strat file with the appropriate modifications on a filehosting site, and post the link here.

edit. This is a temporary solution at best. A more elegant solution adjusting game balance is proposed on this thread https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=80088. It involves modifying the AI cash bonus script. Hopefully someone will post a working readjustment on the forum at some point. Or that the team will readjust the script themselves.

[Lucidus]

Thank you very much ! :yes:
Done :)

[Rex_Pelasgorum]

Played SABA on H/H difficulty settings... version 0.81a

It is one of the most difficult (but also most beautifull) campaigns i ever played in RTW , at least in the begining. It requirede lots of maneuvrement by my armed forces, avoiding large rebel stacks, taking citye after city, until i was able to unite under my scepter all of South Arabia. I never confronted Seleucid armyes so farr. Neithery they sent anything trough the arabian desert. Then a CTD killed my game, and i gave up ~:(

But anyway, it is very beautifull the location of Saba... south in the Desert, farr from the rest of the factions, deep into endless tracks of the Arabian desert...nice exotic units... the whole setting gives you an immersive feelings and an unique sence of isolation and realism ~:)

The quality of the infantry is rather bad, but the slingers are great, they can slaughter enemyes in no time !

EDIT : I downloaded a quickfix wich should kill the rebel city CTD, i will try another campaign with Saba.