Which Faction Should I Play as Next?

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Succesful Pontos Campaign Succesful. At least that's when I repelled the 25th Seleucid stack besieging Antiocheia while I rampaged on Greece and the Pontic Steppe, fat bank account and the likes.

Now I was thinking of either playing the Romaioi or a barbarian faction, or anything that uses little in the way of phalanxes since I got a bit tired of the style. Here's what it comes down to:

Arverni
Aedui
Getai
Sweboz
Casse
Romani
Lusotannan

[Andy1984]

If you haven't played as the Romani, I suggest you try them. They may not be difficult, but their many reforms and their construction options are good reasons to consider them. Besides these things, their elite units (pedites extraordinarii, camillian trairii,...) are really sweet and you get to fight the Aedui, which can be though on the higher difficulty levels.

However: if you're a blitzer, I'd choose a different faction.

[HunGeneral]

I suggest Romani: they are really a unique experience.

[Megas Methuselah]

Choose the Aedui, then migrate to the northern Balkans, or a bit further to the north in modern Poland, or maybe central Anatolia.

[Kevin]

I'd say try the Lusotannan. I've never played them but they sound good. They get the best infantry in the game (Dosidataskeli) and the best horse in the east (Iberi Lanceari). Though, their armies are more about skirmishing than fighting I think.

Another choice would be the Getai, they have some good units, or the Sweboz because they can train 4exp units
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=121193
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=120688

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

I thought Dosidataskeli had been taken out?

Anyway, do a Sweboz campaign. I'm recently thinking about doing the same either, but I had to revert many changes everytime I play them, basically switching manually between Sweboz and Arche Makedonias files...

The Sweboz are just great and have a really cool feel to them... not caring about the mediterranean political fuss, but maniacally trying to subjugate the Lugii, than invading Gaul. Yeah!

[mountaingoat]

play as the casse , u can spent most of the time sitting around.

[Kevin]

Nevermind, don't play as the Sweboz. They're boring as :furious3:. All of their units look the same :/

[Geticus]

If you are sick of the heavy infantry grind then you might consider Casse, use chariot bodyguards exclusively as cavalry, along with skirmisher/light infantry hordes and see how many chevrons and how strong of charioteer forces you can build up during the invasion of the mainland.

[antisocialmunky]

SABA. Man up.

[Apázlinemjó]

You should try an SPQR campaign, it will offer a different experience after the H&A tactics of the phalanx based factions. Or if you want to go berserk then pick any of the barbarian factions. Casse is the easiest and the Gaul factions are the hardest of them imho.

[Aemilius Paulus]

You have not played EB 'till you played the Romani. No further explanation required.

[satalexton]

indeed, thes best barbarian faction to go berserk and stack-spam with is the romani. Their economy is strong, and their infantry multiply like rabbits. you can easily make 10k a turn while fielding 3 or more stacks.

[Hotseat_User]

ARVERNI!!!! After a Pontus-Game you should play them. Funny thing in my running game was, that Galatia rebelled to my in autumn '72. Crazy as I am, I roleplayed a journey of one of my starting fms. Right now I've abandonned my holdings in MicraA, Seleucid have gone rampage-mode, and Installed a buffer Aedui-state down there after I pushed them out of Gaul. Currently holding Gaul and the Po-valley + Tylis. Ransacked Sicily and Rome, Sicily is colonizied by Aedui-Settlers to cut down the Spam-Barbaroi.
I have plenty of options to roleplay - ohhh and before I forget it, the sweboz would have killed me already, but FD safed my a*, currently waiting for a CasseFM with at least a halfstack to move him to Scandinavia. Btw. Winter '42.

[Blxz]

Go averni. AI cannot control them and they always get steamrolled. Give the poor faction a chance. Plus their green is way better than Aedui green -> deciding factor

[Ca Putt]

so you don't want to fight phalanxes(had the same problem after a KH campaign ^^)? the least phalanx influenced faction is probably the Casse, Getai have one of the best unit rosters yet I think you'll have to face quite a lot of phalanxes(provided you don't only expand to the northwest and the KH defeats macedonians and Epirotes)
I personally never really tried playing the casse I don't like chariots´, still they have cool champion units.
the gauls wold be an option aswell.
but I would still suggest the Sweboz, they face phalanxes farely late, and they have infantry bodyguard which is a great difference to pntic kinsmen.
you will neither fight with HAs nor with sophisticated formations, in fact sweboz are exellent formation breakers.

[Macilrille]

I am sort of on the "You have not played EB till you have played Roman"- wagon as I love playing them.

However, they are still embroiled in Mediterranean politics and culture. Influenced by Hellas and will have to fight many of the same enemies as you ahve already faced. Using the same H&A tactic against them.

My other favorite faction is IMO a much better choice Raaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!

They are nothing like any civilised faction and face different enemies (I always go for Casse as my first major conquest when I have put my economy in order and created a safe base). The units are different (get Medininkas), the buildings are different, the FMs are different, and you run about in the big northern woods. It is such a different experience from any other faction I have tried (Rome and Macedonia) that it is as starting on EB anew...

[The Celtic Viking]

Forget about the Romani. After you've played Pontos successfully, the Romani are just too easy to take seriously, as you can field practically endless amounts of stacks and still make tons of money, with no real threat. There won't be any challenge at all unless you vigorously impose clear, restricting rules to make it so, and that's no fun.

Out of the others, anything goes, but I chose the Arverni because they are my favourite faction. All of them are excellent choices, but if you don't just want to stop playing with phalanxes but also against them, then the Getai should quickly be ruled out as well. Pick whatever has the most appeal for you.

[Lysimachos]

Why don't you just play all of them, perhaps in alphabetical order?

[DaciaJC]

Play as the Getai, naturally. You say you are tired of fighting with phalanxes? Then wipe them out with Drapanai or a host of other excellent units.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Play as the Getai, naturally. You say you are tired of fighting with phalanxes? Then wipe them out with Drapanai or a host of other excellent units.
Have you ever typed a post without including either Getai, Dakians, or Drapnai? :juggle2:


Forget about the Romani. After you've played Pontos successfully, the Romani are just too easy to take seriously, as you can field practically endless amounts of stacks and still make tons of money, with no real threat. There won't be any challenge at all unless you vigorously impose clear, restricting rules to make it so, and that's no fun.
Yeah, that is really the only downside of playing them. Otherwise, they have the most unique & developed everything, including troops, skins, building trees, voicemod, traits, offices, a nice location, rich history, etc, etc.

Really, the EB Team put more effort into them than the next three or four most-worked-on factions - if not more. Most other factions hare a great deal, but Romans are neither Hellenic, "barbarian", nomadic, nor anything else. Qarthadastim had the chance to be equally unique, but we simply do not have enough information on them, as they were the losers of Punic Wars. And still, I would rather go with Romans :beam:. Carthies never were militaristic, highly organised peoples. Mercenaries are hardly unique.

It is not about whether you love Romans or not, it is simply the gameplay quality factor.

[Moosemanmoo]

I'd reccomend the Romans for their beastly VCs and like AP said they're absolutely unique :yes:

[Owen Glyndwr]

Haha they're unique in that they derived their ideas from other people...bit of a paradox, no?

But seriously, if you don't get bored by the Romans, they should be fun. I suppose all the choices have their own elements to make the game fun, so why not do what I do, and play them all?

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Really, the EB Team put more effort into them than the next three or four most-worked-on factions - if not more. Most other factions hare a great deal, but Romans are neither Hellenic, "barbarian", nomadic, nor anything else. Qarthadastim had the chance to be equally unique, but we simply do not have enough information on them, as they were the losers of Punic Wars. And still, I would rather go with Romans . Carthies never were militaristic, highly organised peoples. Mercenaries are hardly unique.


Ehrm you should remember that the line between "Mercenary" and "Non-Mercenary" was blurred at that time. Pyrrhus employed a large number of mercenaries, and the effectiveness of his army was top notch. Same, alas, with Carthage - they employed extremely large numbers of "mercenaries" and apparently did not miss the need for Citizen soldiers as mainstream history makes us tempted to believe.

I would rather trust more a mercenary army at this time than a citizen soldier one. OK, the Citizen soldiers are far more loyal, but the Roman army of the time was merely a militia with a touch of semi-professionalism. Citizen soldier armies are only effective when every citizen soldier is replaceable, a truism that was unique only to Rome at the time. All the other Mediterranean powers in the game either did not have the manpower because they were too scarcely populated, or because their effective pool was restricted to people who wouldn't turn their weapons against you on the first opportunity.


Forget about the Romani. After you've played Pontos successfully, the Romani are just too easy to take seriously, as you can field practically endless amounts of stacks and still make tons of money, with no real threat. There won't be any challenge at all unless you vigorously impose clear, restricting rules to make it so, and that's no fun.

That's what I was thinking. But then most "barbarian" factions have so limited VC's, and that's one of the reasons why I like Romani. They get to fight every conceivable army on the game, and not just this army, or that army. They may simultaneously fight heavy infantry in Gaul, archers in the Steppe, and phalanxes in the East.

But then Romani are also so obscenely easy it's not fun! The SPQR should become a proper challenging faction in EBII.

As you see I'm still divided :clown:. Good posts alas.

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Oh and how did Meth vote twice :inquisitive:?

[Moros]

Getae or Saba'!

[Aemilius Paulus]

Oh and how did Meth vote twice :inquisitive:?
Muahahaha! Muahahahahaha!! Hohohoho!!!

:evil3::evil2::evil::evilgrin::devilish:


:laugh4::laugh4::laugh4:


Ahem, sorry. Must have been the FunDip I just snorted...

[Kevin]

Play as the Getai, naturally. You say you are tired of fighting with phalanxes? Then wipe them out with Drapanai or a host of other excellent units.


Have you ever typed a post without including either Getai, Dakians, or Drapnai? :juggle2:

You know what? I'm gonna try them just because of Frontline :laugh4:

[Aemilius Paulus]

You know what? I'm gonna try them just because of Frontline :laugh4:
Then you are in for a disappointment. Drapnai is basically all the Getai have...

*scurries away*

[Kevin]

Hm, I just checked their units on multiplayer and you're right :no:
Only Drapanai and the armored version

[Ca Putt]

Getai are fine, they have some of the best skirmishers, which can also hold a line for some time, the best pseudo phalanx, horse archers, good cavalry for all purposes, shock infantry with high lethality and shock infantry with AP, plus they can get hold of righ mines fairly early in the game. major downside are thier enemies which are mostly phalanx or horse archer based :(

imho they have the second most diverse unit roster in the game(after Baktria)

and Victory conditions, Pff, whats that supposed to mean? it's not like the game stopes when you win. most eastern factions have to aquire more land for thier VC than western civs yet this is mostly due to higher settlement density in the west. afterall you can expand in which direction you like nothing holds a sweboz player from conquering italy or the balcan. afterall the larger the VC area the longer you "have to" play the campaign and tbh, even with sweboz or sauromatae you'll swimm in cash at a certain point and from then on every game becomes kind of boring :(.

[Macilrille]

This is true of any game as you said. But it is the path there that is fun and IMO most fun as Roman or Sweboz. In this case I recommend Sweboz as they are so different and far away from the Med that they need never face those damn clever-clever Greeks or greedy Romans and Carties, decadent Ptolamois or aggressive Seleukids...

But they can if they want and they can beat them with their Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!-Power.


Sweboz FTW,



Tavs og sindig
være Fyrstens Sön
og kæk i kamp.
Glad og frejdig
skal hver Mand findes
indtil Dødens Dag.


Ukæk Mand
tror evig at leve
når han flygter for Fare.
Ælde giver ham
aldrig Fred,
om end Spyd ham den skænker.

Havamal

[Ca Putt]

youre right there, the journey is the reward. thus I think the VC is not important, only if you want to know where you can roughly build factional troops^^

oh but those Clever clever greeks can sometimes become rather unpredictable as in my last Sweboz campaign I bumped into them when conquering Gawjam basternoz XD and southern france^^ good thing about that is probably that it spared me of Sauromatae attacks:clown:

[the man with no name]

Nobody likes the Aedui (sniffle.) :bigcry:

[Kevin]

There's a 3-way tie between Sweboz, Getai, and the Romani :juggle2: That's a first

[DaciaJC]

You know what? I'm gonna try them just because of Frontline :laugh4:

Bwahahahaha! Take that, AP! :2thumbsup: I'm surprised I missed this for so long...


Then you are in for a disappointment. Drapnai is basically all the Getai have...

*scurries away*


I agree with Frontline. Getai have a unique location, and most of all, a very unique unit roster. Overall, they are a great deal of fun to play with. Unlike those cloned Hellenic factions the nutjobs posting earlier in this thread worship, the Getai do not have 95% of their roster shared with other factions.

I personally love Eperios and Getai because they start out in the Balkans, the best place in EB IMHO. You can expand West and East, you are at the crossroads basically. Unlike Saka, Lusotanni, Auedui/Arverni/Casse, Pahlava, Baktria, etc. Those factions are either way in the Western corner of the EB map, or way in the East. If not for Baktria's location, choosing between it and Eperios was actually going to have to be difficult for me. But it was not. Unlike those cloned Hellenic factions the nutjobs posting earlier in this thread worship.

Ahem... :inquisitive:


Hm, I just checked their units on multiplayer and you're right
Only Drapanai and the armored version

Though Ca Putt gave an excellent response, it is my honored duty to set this straight.

First of all, I wouldn't judge a faction based on their multiplayer roster. You're much better off going to this (https://www.europabarbarorum.com/factions.html) page.

Now, certainly, the Getai are known because of their Drapanai. They are an excellent unit, pure and simple. I won't go into much detail, but I'm sure that you would appreciate the usefulness of a unit that can tear into the rear of a phalanx and (this is with levy or medium phalangites) start wiping out the unit at 5-6 men every 2 seconds (a conservative estimate, based on the results of a few custom battles). Moreover, they defend walls well against virtually any unit, are dirt cheap, have an AoR that includes much of Southeastern Europe, and have a decent unit size. I'm fairly certain that you can obtain access to Drapanai on the second turn of a Getai campaign, assuming that you head straight for Sarmizegethusa.

But that is not the issue here. You say that Drapanai is all the Getai have? Tsk tsk tsk...

The Getai are at a crossroads geographically. Their roster allows you to deal with darned near well everything. Allow me to elaborate.

Western archers can be collectively described as "crap". Start from the left edge of the EB map, move east, and by the time you reach the Getic lands, you might find a few decent archer units (Baltic Frontiersmen come to mind). But until you do reach Getic lands, you'll notice that archery is rather lacking in most factions. The Getai, however, boast excellent archers: Komatai Toxotai, who although aren't equal to their eastern cousins in range or ammo, are very versatile troops who carry a spear with which to defend themselves from pesky light cavalry; and Komatai Agrianai, a completely unique unit which boasts excellent archery skills but can also double as a quick-moving, hard-hitting light infantry unit because of their secondary .225 lethality Celtic longsword.

Likewise, the Getai are the first faction you'll encounter as you scroll to right to have horse archers (HA). You'll find Getikoi Hippotoxotai to be a rather typical HA, but they can be put to devastating use against Westerners. Ktistai are another unique unit, a combination of armored horse archer, lancer, and priest.

The Getai prove to have superior skirmishers. Surely you have heard praise of their Komatai, a hardy bunch of troops that can launch six volleys of javelins before throwing themselves into the thick of the fight. The EB description does not exaggerate when it says, "If forced into melee they can hold their own against other light and even some medium infantry." This is most assuredly not the case with Akontistai, Leves, and the like. Later on, you will gain access to Komatai Epilektoi, an elite armored skirmisher unit that can lay waste to the enemy flank by charging in with their dreaded longswords.

Have you noticed a pattern beginning to emerge? In each case so far, I have presented two units for each unit type, one available early in a campaign and one that you gain access to with your highest MICs. Near the beginning of this post, I made the claim that the Getic roster allows you to deal with most anything. And so it is. In the early game, you will be able to annihilate AI stacks with a combination of battle-winning troops. As the AI makes its expansions and throws stacks of elites at you, you will be able to field a completely new army composed of your own elites to triumph over the enemy (I assure you, though, that Drapanai will wipe out elite phalanxes just as they do with levies). Let us continue, then...

Due to their proximity to the Hellenes, the Getai have some units that are described as having Hellenic influences, namely the Getikoi Stratiotai. These spearmen will serve you well as line infantry, able to hold enemy troops in place (and also deal death to any charging cavalry) while your Drapanai, Komatai, and the like flank the enemy line. After some time, your troops will undergo a process of professionalization, and you will gain access to Komatai Thorakitai Stratiotai. Widely acclaimed as one of the best pseudo-phalanxes in the game, these troops will astound you with their capabilities from the moment you employ them in the heat of battle.

Mezenai are skirmisher cavalry, adept at harassing the enemy and running down routing units. You will find that they are useful in the forests and the plains alike. The Ischyroi Orditon (you might also find them called Agema Orditon, if I am not mistaken) are your heaviest troops. Clad in armor, trained to the highest degree, armed with a spear and a longsword, these "mighty men of the Ordes" will never disappoint you. Komatai Pelekuphoroi are axemen that wear some armor, a useful alternative to Drapanai when making excursions into the lands of the Sauromatae. You will find excellent medium cavalry in the form of the Tarabostes, who combine good looks with the typical fierce Dacian disposition. And, of course, you have hardy slingers, Komatai Sphendonitai, that can shower the enemy with armor-piercing stones.

Have I convinced you yet? No? Well, there is more to come. As you might already know, the Getai are just a subset of the conglomeration of people called the Thracians. As you strive to reunite the rest of the Thracians under the banner of the Getai, you will gain full access to all the units that Thrace has to offer.

You may have been asking yourself, "All well and good, the Getai clearly have a superior roster... but where are their medium infantry?" Well, you have two units to choose from: Taxeis Triballoi, whose warlike nature, versatility, and longswords combine to produce a dominating force on the battlefield; and Galatraikes, a lighter version of the aforementioned unit that you will find performs superbly when flanking.

The Thracians are well known for their cavalry. Thraikioi Hippeis, like Mezenai, are skirmishing cavalry. Expensive? You may consider them so. Good at what they do? More than that, they are excellent at their role of darting around enemy units, showering them with javelins, leading them away from the main force, and hunting them down when their morale breaks. You will be using Thraikioi Prodromoi in a different manner: while the enemy troops are throwing themselves onto your main lines, flank them with your T. Prodromoi and charge home. These excellent lancers will send many men flying and will crush enemy morale. As medium cavalry, they can also be tasked with running down routers and combating other cavalry. As a plus, Thraikioi Prodromoi are better than normal Prodromoi (they have a point or two more of either attack, armor, or defense skill; I will check up on this tomorrow).

You might have thought that the Getic selection of skirmishers couldn't get much better. Ah, but it surely can when you consider Thraikioi Peltastai. These are the original Peltasts and are still the best Peltasts. They combine the roles of skirmisher and shock infantry into one unit, for after mowing down enemies with their javelins, they can charge in with their falxes (indeed, falxes: armor piercing, .26 lethality - the same as that given to the Drapanai) and further slaughter their opponents. Continuing along the same vein, let me quickly point out the numerous assets of the Thraikioi Rhomphaiaphoroi: .285 lethality rhomphaia (as mentioned above, a falx's lethality if .26), 11 attack, 12 armor. I will leave it to you to imagine the devastation one unit of these troops can inflict upon enemies, especially phalanxes (or you could simply open a custom battle and observe for yourself).

I believe the last unit to be mentioned is the Thraikioi Doryphoroi. They are superior to Lugoae and Pantodapoi in that they carry javelins, four of them. You will find them useful as garrison troops and flank guardians.

There you have it. And if you still do not play the Getai after reading this, I will bang my head against the wall and lament, "Father of Time, give me back my two-and-a-half hours back!"

[kekailoa]

Hmmm... Frontline, what about our friends the Scordisci? Not a bad little unit either...

[Kevin]

Now, certainly, the Getai are known because of their Drapanai. They are an excellent unit, pure and simple. I won't go into much detail, but I'm sure that you would appreciate the usefulness of a unit that can tear into the rear of a phalanx and (this is with levy or medium phalangites) start wiping out the unit at 5-6 men every 2 seconds (a conservative estimate, based on the results of a few custom battles). Moreover, they defend walls well against virtually any unit, are dirt cheap, have an AoR that includes much of Southeastern Europe, and have a decent unit size. I'm fairly certain that you can obtain access to Drapanai on the second turn of a Getai campaign, assuming that you head straight for Sarmizegethusa.


But that is not the issue here. You say that Drapanai is all the Getai have? Tsk tsk tsk...

The Getai are at a crossroads geographically. Their roster allows you to deal with darned near well everything. Allow me to elaborate.

Western archers can be collectively described as "crap". Start from the left edge of the EB map, move west, and by the time you reach the Getic lands, you might find a few decent archer units (Baltic Frontiersmen come to mind). But until you do reach Getic lands, you'll notice that archery is rather lacking in most factions. The Getai, however, boast excellent archers: Komatai Toxotai, who although aren't equal to their eastern cousins in range or ammo, are very versatile troops who carry a spear with which to defend themselves from pesky light cavalry; and Komatai Agrianai, a completely unique unit which boasts excellent archery skills but can also double as a quick-moving, hard-hitting light infantry unit because of their secondary .225 lethality Celtic longsword.

Likewise, the Getai are the first faction you'll encounter as you scroll to right to have horse archers (HA). You'll find Getikoi Hippotoxotai to be a rather typical HA, but they can be put to devastating use against Westerners. Ktistai are another unique unit, a combination of armored horse archer, lancer, and priest.

The Getai prove to have superior skirmishers. Surely you have heard praise of their Komatai, a hardy bunch of troops that can launch six volleys of javelins before throwing themselves into the thick of the fight. The EB description does not exaggerate when it says, "If forced into melee they can hold their own against other light and even some medium infantry." This is most assuredly not the case with Akontistai, Leves, and the like. Later on, you will gain access to Komatai Epilektoi, an elite armored skirmisher unit that can lay waste to the enemy flank by charging in with their dreaded longswords.

Have you noticed a pattern beginning to emerge? In each case so far, I have presented two units for each unit type, one available early in a campaign and one that you gain access to with your highest MICs. Near the beginning of this post, I made the claim that the Getic roster allows you to deal with most anything. And so it is. In the early game, you will be able to annihilate AI stacks with a combination of battle-winning troops. As the AI makes its expansions and throws stacks of elites at you, you will be able to field a completely new army composed of your own elites to triumph over the enemy (I assure you, though, that Drapanai will wipe out elite phalanxes just as they do with levies). Let us continue, then...

Due to their proximity to the Hellenes, the Getai have some units that are described as having Hellenic influences, namely the Getikoi Stratiotai. These spearmen will serve you well as line infantry, able to hold enemy troops in place (and also deal death to any charging cavalry) while your Drapanai, Komatai, and the like flank the enemy line. After some time, your troops will undergo a process of professionalization, and you will gain access to Komatai Thorakitai Stratiotai. Widely acclaimed as one of the best pseudo-phalanxes in the game, these troops will astound you with their capabilities from the moment you employ them in the heat of battle.

Mezenai are skirmisher cavalry, adept at harassing the enemy and running down routing units. You will find that they are useful in the forests and the plains alike. The Ischyroi Orditon (you might also find them called Agema Orditon, if I am not mistaken) are your heaviest troops. Clad in armor, trained to the highest degree, armed with a spear and a longsword, these "mighty men of the Ordes" will never disappoint you. Komatai Pelekuphoroi are axemen that wear some armor, a useful alternative to Drapanai when making excursions into the lands of the Sauromatae. You will find excellent medium cavalry in the form of the Tarabostes, who combine good looks with the typical fierce Dacian disposition. And, of course, you have hardy slingers, Komatai Sphendonitai, that can shower the enemy with armor-piercing stones.

Have I convinced you yet? No? Well, there is more to come. As you might already know, the Getai are just a subset of the conglomeration of people called the Thracians. As you strive to reunite the rest of the Thracians under the banner of the Getai, you will gain full access to all the units that Thrace has to offer.

You may have been asking yourself, "All well and good, the Getai clearly have a superior roster... but where are their medium infantry?" Well, you have two units to choose from: Taxeis Triballoi, whose warlike nature, versatility, and longswords combine to produce a dominating force on the battlefield; and Galatraikes, a lighter version of the aforementioned unit that you will find performs superbly when flanking.

The Thracians are well known for their cavalry. Thraikioi Hippeis, like Mezenai, are skirmishing cavalry. Expensive? You may consider them so. Good at what they do? More than that, they are excellent at their role of darting around enemy units, showering them with javelins, leading them away from the main force, and hunting them down when their morale breaks. You will be using Thraikioi Prodromoi in a different manner: while the enemy troops are throwing themselves onto your main lines, flank them with your T. Prodromoi and charge home. These excellent lancers will send many men flying and will crush enemy morale. As medium cavalry, they can also be tasked with running down routers and combating other cavalry. As a plus, Thraikioi Prodromoi are better than normal Prodromoi (they have a point or two more of either attack, armor, or defense skill; I will check up on this tomorrow).

You might have thought that the Getic selection of skirmishers couldn't get much better. Ah, but it surely can when you consider Thraikioi Peltastai. These are the original Peltasts and are still the best Peltasts. They combine the roles of skirmisher and shock infantry into one unit, for after mowing down enemies with their javelins, they can charge in with their falxes (indeed, falxes: armor piercing, .26 lethality - the same as that given to the Drapanai) and further slaughter their opponents. Continuing along the same vein, let me quickly point out the numerous assets of the Thraikioi Rhomphaiaphoroi: .285 lethality rhomphaia (as mentioned above, a falx's lethality if .26), 11 attack, 12 armor. I will leave it to you to imagine the devastation one unit of these troops can inflict upon enemies, especially phalanxes (or you could simply open a custom battle and observe for yourself).

I believe the last unit to be mentioned is the Thraikioi Doryphoroi. They are superior to Lugoae and Pantodapoi in that they carry javelins, four of them. You will find them useful as garrison troops and flank guardians.

There you have it. And if you still do not play the Getai after reading this, I will bang my head against the wall and lament, "Father of Time, give me back my two-and-a-half hours back!"

Okay, you've convinced me that the Getai are actually the most awesome faction (besides the Romani).:laugh4: I checked out the units you were talking about and I was surprised about the Elite Skirmishers (.225 lethality!) and the Thraikioi Peltastai, who not only look cool, but have 6 javelins AND a lethality equal to the drapanai. You are right, they have a really diverse unit roster of highly effective, low cost units. In fact, in Multiplayer, I was able to kill a unit of argyraspides with one levy spearman and one unit of those peltastai. Definately going to try a campaign with them... though i find their starting position to be kind of difficult because you instantly go into debt, you start with a lot of skirmishers (which takes some getting use to to use them effectively) and units die lie flies when fighting archers.

PS. The Thraikioi Rhomphaiaphoroi weren't able to defeat the Dosidastaskeli in combat but for 1,00 less mnai they took out all but 11 of them. I was like
ಠ_ಠ

[DaciaJC]

Hmmm... Frontline, what about our friends the Scordisci? Not a bad little unit either...

I judge faction rosters purely by their factional troops, not regionals. You are absolutely correct, however. Cordinau Orcas are excellent heavy infantry.


Okay, you've convinced me that the Getai are actually the most awesome faction (besides the Romani). I checked out the units you were talking about and I was surprised about the Elite Skirmishers (.225 lethality!) and the Thraikioi Peltastai, who not only look cool, but have 6 javelins AND a lethality equal to the drapanai. You are right, they have a really diverse unit roster of highly effective, low cost units. In fact, in Multiplayer, I was able to kill a unit of argyraspides with one levy spearman and one unit of those peltastai. Definately going to try a campaign with them... though i find their starting position to be kind of difficult because you instantly go into debt, you start with a lot of skirmishers (which takes some getting use to to use them effectively) and units die lie flies when fighting archers.

PS. The Thraikioi Rhomphaiaphoroi weren't able to defeat the Dosidastaskeli in combat but for 1,00 less mnai they took out all but 11 of them.

Yep, all of the units that I mentioned that have a longsword have .225 lethality for that weapon.

As for the campaign difficulty: yes, if you don't disband any units, conquer any cities, or lose any troops in battle, you will find yourself in debt by the third turn. However, the Getai have a very easy way to avoid going deep into the debt hole. Combine your two field armies into one and head northwest of Buridava towards Sarmiszegethusa. You can also send a few units from Buridava to your combined field army. Raise taxes in Buridava to Very High; this will stunt population growth, but this is also just a temporary measure. Build roads (Hodoi) in Buridava. You should end up with about 4200 mnai at the end of the season. If you wish to disband a few units, that shouldn't be much of a problem, but it won't prevent you from going into debt. Send your diplomat north to make peace with the Sauromatae, and do what you like with your spy.

On the second turn, continue to move your field army (which should be commanded by your faction leader) towards Sarmiszegethusa. If a rebel army appears in your way, attack it. It will most likely retreat without a fight. You'll have around 1000 mnai at the end of the turn.

On the third turn, besiege Sarmiszegethusa. You should be able to build at least three battering rams. By this turn, you'll be in debt (don't worry, though).

During the Eleutheroi turn, the garrison of Sarmiszegethusa will probably attack your army in conjugation with another rebel army from the east. This is a relatively easy battle (I was able to win it with auto_calc in a test, even). Play the battle smartly and you should be able to destroy the vast majority of the enemy troops on the field, giving you instant control of Sarmiszegethusa. If this doesn't occur, simply attack the settlement the next turn.

I wouldn't recommend exterminating the population. Instead, simply occupy the town (they are, after all, simply a group of misled Dacians). Sarmiszegethusa has mines with a base income of 600 mnai/season. This will help you greatly in climbing out of debt. At this point, I would recommend disbanding some troops if you didn't suffer heavy losses in the battle. You won't need your unit of Mezenai for a while, so that should be the first unit to go. Reduce the taxes in Buridava and raise them in Sarmiszegethusa. I was able to climb completely out of debt in about 6-7 turns. Remember, if you manage to conclude peace with the Sauromatae and the Makedonians, you don't need to fear attack for many years to come, as you're not actually bordered by any other factions.

I agree that using skirmishers effectively will take some time to master, especially if you're used to playing as a heavy infantry-based faction like the Romani or Aedui/Arverni or a nomad faction, but Komatai are among the best skirmishers in the game and will serve you well.

Units dying like flies when under missile fire: that's a common feature of many barbarian factions. Always keep your Drapanai out of archer range, though.

Dosidataskeli: considering that this bunch of Übermensch have 23 armor (gah!), 4 shield, 11 defense skill, 17 attack, and 18 morale, I would be highly surprised if any unit could defeat them in a one-on-one. Try pitting two units of Drapanai (the total cost of which is less than half the cost for one unit of Dosidataskeli), one to charge in from the front and the other to flank and charge from the rear, and you might be pleasantly surprised. In any case, you won't be fighting against Dosidataskeli in a campaign.

[mountaingoat]

ahh yeah , they also can recruit these guys

https://www.europabarbarorum.com/i/units/eleutheroi/getia/rebel_germanic_bastarnoz.gif

if you think the drap tear shreds into units ... just check these guys out , though they cost about double .. they will wipe out almost any unit , bar a few elites .. one of them being the Rhomphaiaphoroi.

the mighty falx !!!! >=)

[DaciaJC]

Certainly, the Druxtiz Basterniskā are better than Drapanai... but not by much. +2 attack, +1 armor, +2 defense skill (they also have 2 less morale than Drapanai). For that they are nearly 500 mnai more expensive and much more difficult to replace (recruitable from just one settlement). Their voicemod is epic win, though.

[mountaingoat]

oh but test them out in custom battle , put them against every elite you can think of and watch how they slice through them .

[DaciaJC]

Like I said, I realize Drux. Bast. are better than Drapanai. The stats clearly point towards that conclusion. However, I am thinking in the context of a campaign. While Drux. Bast. may perform better in combat than Drapanai, their campaign effectiveness is limited by their cost and the difficulty of replacing their losses.

[mountaingoat]

Like I said, I realize Drux. Bast. are better than Drapanai. The stats clearly point towards that conclusion. However, I am thinking in the context of a campaign. While Drux. Bast. may perform better in combat than Drapanai, their campaign effectiveness is limited by their cost and the difficulty of replacing their losses.

oh yeah i know man , i am not saying anything against the mighty Drap , they are one greatest units (IMO) in the game!

just adding that the getai can also recruit an additional falx unit , that pack a little extra explosiveness to the battlefield. Mix one or two units of them in with the drap :2thumbsup:

[Kevin]

Hah I like them better than the Sweboz now :laugh4:

[Andronikos]

Getai do have one of the best unit rosters in the game, perhaps the best one of barbarian factions, but I somehow don't find them appealing, I don't know anything about them, they are just some part of the mess in Balkan just as many Eleutheroi represented factions there. But I found a nice book about Dacians in local library and I want to remove this lack of knowledge.

Oh, and I have a question. Getai have to build something to achieve VCs, what's it? (I started a Getai campaign, but I finished it very soon afterwards)

[DaciaJC]

Sarmiszegethusa has a unique structure - the Kogaionon (spelled from memory) is a holy mountain. It is already present when you conquer Sarmiszegethusa, so simply don't destroy it and you should be fine.

[HunGeneral]

@Frontline: you convinced me. Next time I get close to my comp with EB on it I will start a Getai campaign with Huge unit size and see how they tear anyone in the way to shreads (insert evil :laugh4:)

Here have a baloon:balloon2: for your convincing post.:beam:

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

By the looks, Frontline is a charismatic chap.

[athanaric]

By the looks, Frontline is a charismatic chap.

Or perhaps he's just too intimidating. All this talk about falxes and slicing and chopping... Perhaps people don't dare to turn down his suggestions... :skull:

[DaciaJC]

Thank you, HunGeneral! :2thumbsup:


By the looks, Frontline is a charismatic chap.

If I spend three hours on a single post at the expense of my calculus homework, I damned well better convince somebody... *mutters darkly*

[Kevin]

The only thing besides the Dosidataskeli that can defeat those Thracian Elites are maybe the Ordmalica (.31 lethality is insane :inquisitive:)

[Kikaz]

Swebozez! They get the DruXtiz Basterniska too (it's in proto-German for God sakes!)
Worgozez are pretty amazing as well. And SlaXonez, Dugundhiz, and even Gaiso-FulXo Frijod are more formidable than one might think...
Ooh! And Medjinikos, Karodrougas, and Kirwinikos are amazing too.