Most insane stack?

[foobar]

Just discovered this today in my VH/M (very first EB, in fact) campaign:

http://chemwarrior.home.comcast.net/~chemwarrior/images/rtw-invincible-stack.png

The 2 units that aren't displayed are two 2-silver chevron axemen (white armor/red shield).

The biggest issue here is that 6 units in this stack are EAA (effective against armor) with fair attack, good lethality, and absurd armor values, which means that they will absolutely dominate any unit in hand to hand combat (that I have access to, anyway). Additionally, all of their javelin attacks will be devastating, so it'll basically be impossible to fight them on any type of flat grounds or going uphill. The 3 gold chevron general + massive bodyguard means a "rush the general so the enemy army routs" strategy will fail horribly.

So, what are the options here? Should I just wait and build 4-5 full stacks?

[Marcus Darkstar]

This looks to be one of the "Defender" Stack armies likely the one near the Alps right? lol yes i see the dot that hasnt been conquered yet.

I say just play the battle. AI is stupid. sacrifice some units to hold them and flank them. I've dealt with them before under a good general whos army was battle hardened due to previous wars of course.... I doubt you need 4-5 Stacks just two good ones at most I've dealt with the same army with a single stack roman army most units only had about 2 Chevorons.

If you dont win at first just revert to a save game previous to the battle and devise a new stradegy.

[Duguntz]

This is one of the super stack of rebel. If you kill it, it will reapear the next turn, at the price of a veeery too bloody battle, you must take the beat their army AND take the city in the same turn... so prepare your soldier, sharpen your swords, this will be bloody... maybe, send many spies to have a high chance to open thye city gates and rush for it...

[Drewski]

Before you have to learn the hard way.......it's a scripted event stack. Even if you defeat it, as long as Iuva whatsitsname (the city they are guarding) remains in rebel hands, it will respawn the next turn, with the same strength. Probably the best way, is to train up some expert spies, send 2 or 3 into the city, and hope they open the gates for you. If not, retreat, and try again until this happens. This way, when you take the city, that Satres stack only needs to be beaten once....Good Luck......personally, I just buy the city when rich enough ;)

EDIT: Duguntz beat me too it, but I have only one working arm at present (pinched nerve right shoulder)....takes forever to type left handed.....

[Marcus Darkstar]

If it makes you feel better the Historical Romans didnt oust the tribes of the Alps from their homes until the riegne of Augustus :P

[foobar]

haha, I see - cool! Thanks so much for the fast replies, guys!

What's the typical price for buying the city (or is there such a thing)? I have a ton of money in queued buildings around my cities, so I could just de-queue them and try that...

[vartan]

Welcome to super rebels in EB. Welcome to the forums as well.

[Marcus Darkstar]

haha, I see - cool! Thanks so much for the fast replies, guys!

What's the typical price for buying the city (or is there such a thing)? I have a ton of money in queued buildings around my cities, so I could just de-queue them and try that...

more than you have at least when you go for the straight Bribery route (though easily aquired if you have mines and wait a few turns accumulating surplus cash) In my Macedonian Campaign I bought Rhegion for a flat payment of 20,000cr from the Roman AI Though we were allies and they were having trouble with the Eperiots. (aka somewhat low treasury so they needed the cash). Didnt do much negioation though to see how low they would go just offered 20k to see if they'd accept it and they did. Bribery takes a lot more since the entire garrison has to be bribed and the FM in it as well which adds to the cost.

Bribery is its own option used by Diplomats which uses purely just money to bribe the entire stack and/or city , and you can buy cities from AI factions by demanding they fork over a city while you offer them a sum of money, land or other incentives.

Also there are certian FM traits which either increases or decreases bribery cost like Venal or Faithful traits. Venal decrease the base Bribery cost of the FM by 60% Faithful i think around +60%. Being a Spartan instead of a lover of fine things also increases bribery cost.

Some FM's due to compounded traits like this and them being in charge of a large stack make it almost impossible to get enough money (unless you cheat) to bribe them. Which youll aquire the FM in question along with gaining and/or have his army disband (or portions of it) and if they were a city govenor that city as well. But aquring so much just adds to the cost of bribing all those soldiers, town officals, the family member in question etc.

Best bet i would beleive is just spam spies into the town, and manuver one of your armies into striking distance during the summer to attack to bypass the standing army outside the settlement.

[Drewski]

haha, I see - cool! Thanks so much for the fast replies, guys!

What's the typical price for buying the city (or is there such a thing)? I have a ton of money in queued buildings around my cities, so I could just de-queue them and try that...

Somewhere around 350,000 mnai (depends on a lot of factors) with an 8 wreath diplomat.....I bought it around 175BC in my last massive Romani Campaign, when I had around 10 mill mnai in the bank :)

I also bribed Satres and his mega stack for about the same afterwards....

[Salahedin]

I love these stacks. It gave me great pleasure dealing with this one, loading and reloading to find a proper strategy. I finally beat them WITH their reinforcement from the town, with a silver chevron full stack of a roman army... in which I had 5 units of cretans archers. (polyban roman core legion was 5 hastati, 4 principes, 3 triarii, 3 velites and 1 -very good- general)
It was a really tough fight, and in the end, only my general and the cretans remained to fight in hand to hand combat ! Epic battle really.

edit : I play on H/H

[foobar]

Yeah. I should I have mentioned that one of my rules (house rules?) is that I never reload unless I crash or I'm finished playing for that session. So, I wanted to get some advice before going forward with this. :D

thanks again for the warm welcome!

[Jebivjetar]

I have one too: some kind of a Celtic gymnopedia :clown:

https://img541.imageshack.us/img541/2089/gymnostack.jpg

[Arthur, king of the Britons]

I bet those Lugoae feel quite uncomfortable... :clown:

[Jebivjetar]

I bet those Lugoae feel quite uncomfortable... :clown:

:laugh:

(just for the loolz: background music for that picture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5w2k :clown: )

[Duguntz]

I bet those Lugoae feel quite uncomfortable... :clown:

that's such a big LOL

[Arthur, king of the Britons]

:laugh:

(just for the loolz: background music for that picture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5w2k :clown: )

Very fitting music, indeed! :laugh4: XD

[Hooahguy]

no pic of it, but recently in my Casse camapaign i fought against a full stack of iberian skirmishers (240 men per unit).
it was a pain in the rear end.

[vartan]

no pic of it, but recently in my Casse camapaign i fought against a full stack of iberian skirmishers (240 men per unit).
it was a pain in the rear end.
It must have been a pain in the rear end for Roman consuls, too, considering the fact that most Iberians were skirmishers.

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

I bet those Lugoae feel quite uncomfortable... :clown:

Yeah, constant teasing: "Get those trousers off, you pansies! REAL warriors fight naked!"

[Cute Wolf]

how to deal with those eleutheroi stacks? form a 4 stack full of hoplites, position them near one another, and attack that guy.... auto resolve = close win

*. Unless I allready have my own fullstack of gold chevroned slingers and hoplites (as usual)

[Badass Buddha]

Just get yourself 1600 Cretan archers and shoot 'em up.

[Lord Sweatpants]

Honestly, your best bet is to break down and cry like a little girl.
Always works for me!

[Macilrille]

Welcome to the Forum. Good to see some new tactics...

[Lord Sweatpants]

Welcome to the Forum. Good to see some new tactics...

I perfected the technique while being massacred by Saka HA.
Works 100% of the time... in my mind.
:(

[Macilrille]

He he he he

[Ibrahim]

Honestly, your best bet is to break down and cry like a little girl.
Always works for me!

hand over your man/woman/other card :clown:

honestly, the Saka aren't that hard. just do these:

1- hug the cities: the Saka are very weak against walls-especially those that allow archers a higher platform to shoot down with.
2- try to avoid the enemy in the field, and aim for their cities.
3- if you fail to avoid them in the field, then you best have a good deal of your army made up of the dreaded Subeshi.

sometimes though, its a lot like a mix between Fallen Timbers and Little bighorn when you are on the field.

[Hannibal Khan the Great]

Those Duna Asya can make units of Nizagan i Eranshahr look like Skutjonez......:no:

[Ludens]

I perfected the technique while being massacred by Saka HA.
Works 100% of the time... in my mind.
:(

:laugh4: Welcome to the .Org and to EB.

[Lord Sweatpants]

hand over your man/woman/other card :clown:

honestly, the Saka aren't that hard. just do these:

1- hug the cities: the Saka are very weak against walls-especially those that allow archers a higher platform to shoot down with.
2- try to avoid the enemy in the field, and aim for their cities.
3- if you fail to avoid them in the field, then you best have a good deal of your army made up of the dreaded Subeshi.

sometimes though, its a lot like a mix between Fallen Timbers and Little bighorn when you are on the field.

Ah, but you seem to have missed ONE crucial factor!

My laziness.


Welcome to the .Org and to EB.

Thanks, I've been a long time lurker of these boards and a longer player of EB, I just though I would make the glory of Lord Sweatpants available to everyone (ie. make an account).
:D

[WinsingtonIII]

Ah, but you seem to have missed ONE crucial factor!

My laziness.

I agree. Nomadic factions just require too much micromanagement to be fun sometimes. But, I do like them on occasion.

[Lord Sweatpants]

I like the Pahlava, I always find them soooooooooo much fun to play. Probably because of the fact you transition into a different unit roster over time.

[Grade_A_Beef]

They also have a great economy. The biggest drawback is the fact that you need to build the very slow reformed government before you get the higher tiers of economic improvement. Even worse is that your recruiting buildings essentially get destroyed when building the reformed government. Not that Pahlava isn't fun, they're one of the few factions that can actually find use for recruiting Babylonian Spearmen.

Those guys are decent morale beasts but usually require too high a MIC and too narrow recruitment zone to bother with (in my Seleucid campaign.)

Usually those super stacks in Central Europe are incredibly fun to play against, especially if you're the Romans. You'll be so rich and so dominating that you can afford to throw legion after legion at Satres. Try to kill him 20 times before capturing the city just top amp up the difficulty. Better yet try doing it as the Getai, who can mash up those Solduros generals regardless of their chevrons =D.

[Ibrahim]

@ sweatpants: I don't care if one is lazy or not-if one doesn't want to do it, fine with me :clown:

[WinsingtonIII]

Not that Pahlava isn't fun, they're one of the few factions that can actually find use for recruiting Babylonian Spearmen.

Those guys are decent morale beasts but usually require too high a MIC and too narrow recruitment zone to bother with (in my Seleucid campaign.)

I actually like using Babylonian Spears as the AS and as the Hai as well. They do have a terrible AOR, but they are available as mercs throughout the area, so they are good to hire in a pinch. I like the fact that they are good defensive units in guard mode with their spears and also good offensive units when out of guard mode and flanking with their AP maces. They're quite versatile actually.