Want a challenging game ? Play Carthage ! (I am playing on VH/M)
Why is Carthage so much fun ?
I finished the julii Campaign on VH/M and to be honest it got pretty boring in the end, since the gauls and brits were just cannonfodder for my trusty legionnaires. I don't like playing on Hard or Very hard diff on the battle level, because of the unfair advantages the AI gets. On the other hand, - the roman infantry seems pretty much dominating as it is on medium difficulty.(btw human controlled Velites own Elephants). So what to do ? Play Carthage ! The Carthaginian forces find themselves facing enemies that has superior infantry. You will have your hands full defending vs the Roman with only light cav and skirmishers. Every denarii , every soldier is gonna count. Oth
Carthaginian Battle Tactics:
Played the Battle of Trebia ? Well, listen to what the narrator says. Hannibal learned early in his military life how powerful the roman infantry could be. So he built an army relying on cavalry to deal with the roman military. And so must you.
If you stand toe to toe with Roman infantry you die. Period. As learned in Trebia you only need inf as means to stall or bait the enemy, so your cavalry can flank, attack - and crush those pesky Legionnaires.
Rely on your Generals cav and your light cav early in the game. Vs Numidians you may also use iberian inf but light cav is much more effective. Even gaul infantry will turn your early and mid level infantry to a bloody pulp faster then you can hit "pause".
The lybian skirmishers you can get as mercs in North Africa are great. They have awesome endurance and I get the impression they got double as ammo as other skirmishers. Use them as bait for enemy units. Once the enemy starts leaving the line to attack the skirmishers you kill it with your light infantry. Once you got the enemy in movement and scattered he is yours. Note: This ain't easy without pause. I can do it most of the times. But when I am outnumbered 2:1 I must use pause a bit, especially to avoid being shot at by my own skirmishers. Its possible to beat superior roman armies who come in superior numbers with Cav and skirmishers.
Numidian light cav. Very nice, very fast skirmishing cav. I use them also as scouts to see the setup of the opposing army before I decide where to try to flank. They can do the same job as lybian skirmishers, but vs infantry heavy armies I find the lybians more effective, since enemy inf is easier to bait with inf. The legionnaires will not run after fast moving cav for long.
Hoplites ? you can get them around Carthage as mercs. Useful in streetfighting. In open battle they are more of a burden for your fast moving army. Stick with iberian inf to bind enemy inf momentarily.
Elephants. Oh boy, they surely are the ancient equivalent to AT-ST Walker. Fun, Fun to maul over some blue clad legionnaires and send them flying. Great killing potential but really expensive. Well, I don't know where other people get so filthy rich, but you wont be able to build many elephants early in the game on VH. You start with one elephant unit and I suggest moving it to the African coast. Build another one when you have the cash and move it to Spain. Show the gauls some african wildlife. They gonna love you for it. Elephants are your one big joker. Be careful with em, the loss of an elephant must be avoided until you can afford more. Use them as morale breaker and instant door opener when sieges. Yes, Elephants can knock open gates and raze wooden walls. Elephants can save your neck when all other options fail. So be conservative on 'em.
Generals: Maybe it was because of my playing style, maybe its built in the game. I got some very decent generals early in the game. Maybe its just in the Carthaginian genes. By the way, your leader will die after the first two turns or so. Be prepared for it.
Navy: Forget it. You are facing the three roman navies, the spaniards, and even the gauls send ships to harass your coast. Just try to keep Gibraltar open. Tingis and Cordoba got a great little trade relationship going between em. The AI must be spending enormous sums on building all these gigantic fleets. Also I find naval battles extremely frustrating cause you have no influence of the outcome whatsoever. Oh, on another sidenote... During the Julii campaign the AI was never smart enough to block my harbours. My Carthaginian Harbours sure do get blocked. Only you don't see the little graphic animation with the ropes. Land trade seems good enough though
My strategic approach was different again.
1.In memoriam of the first punic war I let Carsalis and Sicily be overrun by the Romans. My only achievement there was a trade agreement with the diplomat in Syracuse.
2. That gave me some turns of freedom and resources to settle affairs in my a african backyard. I negotiated an Alliance and military access with the numidians. I used that to get two armies in position. The unsuspecting Numidians lost Cirta and Tingis before they got the chance to break the alliance themselves. Hah ! Tingis ios a great money maker. Key is here to be fast. Attack with inferior forces. Rely on your generals cav. The conquered settlements in North africa don't give you a culture penalty, so they are easy to control. Nevertheless I decided to let the population walk the plank and not just the chaingang. Good for cash, but maybe a mistake in the longer run since it slows your early development down. While you do this... consider shipping a diplomat to Leptis Minor along with a city guard. You can bribe the leptis Minor Garrison cheaply but you need to garrison it immediately. Great trade city. After that go for the african center. You don't want the numidians to backstab you, while you have your hands full with gauls in spain. Lybia will take a bit. Its a long hike through the desert. But same goes for the revenge thirsty numidians. So instead concentrate on building a defense vs the romans.
3. Thapsus Coast. Let History repeat itself. In 255 Bc Consul Regelus invaded the coast with estimated 16.000 men and 500 cav. He pressed hard and was quite successful. The Carthagenians were even trying to negotiate a peace , but Regelus asked for too much,- total roman supremity. In a big effort Carthage mustered all the resources it had and hired many merc and a spartan general defeated Regelus.
You will need mercs now. You cannot pump units fast enough to deal with the romans. They will land in front of Thapsus. don't let them siege your town , since that will interrupt trade. Trade is your lifeline. don't allow it to be interrupted. I built a watchtower on the coast.And every time an army unloads its met by my defending army. That way you can take advantage by the fact that the AI sends the roman armies piecemeal. If you allow the Scipions to built a big stack while attacking Thapsus you probably lost the campaign. I have my elephant unit here. Should a battle become desperate I rely on it to loosen up some enemy furball, so my cav can maneuver again. Never ever use auto battle with elephants in your army, you will certainly loose some elephants.
4. Once you got things under control at home you should like Hamilkar´, Hannibals father, decide to expand into spain. Now don't fool yourself. Forget alliances there. I tried and always failed. Maybe its possible to make one with spain , but I doubt it. Bribery becomes your best friend. Why ? Spaniards and you share the same line of inf and light cav. so if you bribe , you get to keep those units ! Same goes for many rebels in Spain. A great way to make money is to sell map info to enemies. I sold map info to the scipions for up to 5 k. Thats great if you are in dire need of cash. Feels a bit like cheating though. I am clueless what the AI makes of this info.
Carefull about leaving your settlements in spain without generals. The spanish bastards bribed two of my settlements in one turn. Nearly cost me the campaign. Gauls just keep coming. Not as hard as romans but they come in even greater numbers. You should have enough trade income by now to slowly push them out of Gaul and get ready for the big haul.... over the alps into Rome.
Good luck ! Melkart be with you.
PS.: Did you know that Melkart was the Carthaginian name for Heracles ? Like Hannibal he traveled from spain over the alps to settle a score in Italy.
Bookmarks