It's kind of funny

[Celt Centurion]

Presently, I'm playing a campaign as Parthia. I've been betrayed by my ally, the Selucids, and the Scythians are my Northern pain in the arse.

The Parthian infantry are rather weak, but the horse archers seem quite effective used properly, and heaven knows that I try to do that.

Here's the funny part. I'll get besieged, almost every turn the Selucids attack at least one city. They have high quality infantry with silver armour, skirmishers, and in most cases, scythe chariots. Most of my settlements have 6 units of horse archers. The bar at the bottom of the screen will have a dot of blue, and the rest of it is red and the words, "defeat is almost a certainty."

Engage with horse archers.

By the time that my horse archers have run out of arrows, the enemy has taken 50% + casualties. Mine are -1%, and the bar still reads "defeat is a distinct possibility."

Unable to entice another 3 or 4 battalions of 240 heavy infantry to chase my General around the walls getting nailed by arrows, and unwilling to take the casualties of ramming my horse archers into their phalanxes, I pull everybody into the walls, and "esc" to "end battle." I do that, and am told that my sally was successful, I may leave the battle. So I do.

Then I hear a voice say that "your men did not try hard enough."

It seems to me that if less than 600 horse archers can go out and destroy 50 to 60 % of an enemy army outnumbering them 4-1 with less than 1% casualties, and repeat the effort finishing them off on the next turn, the statement was rather dumb.

As it stands, I rarely have to wait for the next turn. I usually send two or three squadrons of horse archers to attack the besiegers afterward, the enemy has to fight against the same horse archers AND the relieving force, they get run off on the same turn.

A successful sally (especially inflicting such high casualties and sustaining low ones) does not need any reproving comments from the voice telling us we "could have tried harder."

It's really funny to be so destroying the enemy, and the bar reads "defeat is almost a certainty" even when over 80% of the enemy army is destroyed, and I've lost only one horse archer!

Strength and Honor

Celt Centurion

[CountMRVHS]

I hear you.

There's just about nothing worse than that ridiculously annoying pre-pubescent voice for the Roman battles that gasps, after your general dies, "His men may soon be bird food too!" Thanks a lot Skippy, why don't you keep your skirt on and shut that pretty mouth of yours while I focus on the battle here.

I hate that guy.

But in a more general sense, it is awfully annoying that you don't have the option to attack someone, inflict heavy casualties, and withdraw in an orderly fashion without it being a "defeat". I just finished a Parthia campaign myself and so I had several instances of what you're describing -- it can take you several battles to whittle down an enemy because you run out of arrows. But sometimes that's just what you want to do -- say you take an all HA army all the way through the desert to screw with your opponents' supply lines. If you "lose" a battle, your army doesn't simply retreat a few tiles -- it runs screaming ALL THE WAY BACK to one of your provinces, defying the entire concept of "movement points". Grahahhhgggh.

[Celt Centurion]

I hear you.

But sometimes that's just what you want to do -- say you take an all HA army all the way through the desert to screw with your opponents' supply lines. If you "lose" a battle, your army doesn't simply retreat a few tiles -- it runs screaming ALL THE WAY BACK to one of your provinces, defying the entire concept of "movement points". Grahahhhgggh.

I'd not even considered sending out a whole army of horse archers to screw with their supply lines. What I have been doing is sending armies out of 4-6 Horse archers, sometimes with an infantry to push a battering ram. The Selucids are so obsessed with besieging my cities that they leave very little to guard theirs. 4 or 5 turns and their pathetic little army surrenders, or they send a relief force (no bigger than the garrison) who attacks my besieging army, and my horse archers send them to join Mars, or Zeus, or whoever. If I'm really lucky, the besieged garrison shows up as well, and by the end of the battles, they resemble my horse archers quivers. (bristleing full of arrows!)

Thank You for the idea. From what I've seen, about the only thing my horse archers haven't driven off the field are elephants. I do need spearmen for those.

Strength and Honor

Celt Centurion

[Sonicdahedgie]

Heh. Reminds me of my days of the beginning of my first campaign. sending in ballistas to whittle down armies in messina.

[CountMRVHS]

Yep, about 9 units of Horse Archers is very hard for the AI Seleucids to beat, at least until they start fielding large amounts of Phalanx pikemen and cav. An all-HA army can also be used to take towns, but of course you have to be willing to wait out the siege or wait until a reinforcement army attacks you. But probably the best use for this army is to strike deep into the enemy territory and pounce on the half-stacks the AI is going to combine into a bigger force to send at you later. Bringing the fight onto the enemy's turf, even if you don't conquer their cities, can help take the pressure off your own cities -- which is good, because as Parthia city fighting isn't your strong point. The most casualties I get in my all-HA armies are due to friendly fire, and it's quite cheap, which is important for an early Parthia campaign. In my last game I felt like I was running around with a laser gun, just vaporizing whole Seleucid stacks with impunity. Great fun!

[Celt Centurion]

Last night the Scythians were destroyed, probably by Pontus as one of their last two territories turned blue right before both of them turned gray.

I didn't win at the time because over the same end turn cycle, a few formerly Seleucid territories revolted. One Huge City cranked out a full stack gold armoured warriors, including elephants. The other cranked out a full stack of unarmored skirmishers (I had destroyed almost all buildings in that settlement). In about half a dozen turns since then, with four units of horse archers and 30+ heavy infantry with silver armor have destroyed at least that many Seleucid armies. What is hardest is that these were all isolated from any friendly armies, and no matter which way they go, there is a much larger (4X bigger) stack to go through.

Finally, they wore themselves out attacking my isolated army, and in one more turn they will be in one of my large cities to retrain.

What remains is that I have to take two more cities, either from Seleucids, or Rebels. Every city I've taken from them so far, I had to exterminate, and set taxes to low, and still they have revolted. For some reason, my income has been negative in the past 5 or 6 turns since the revolts, and before I can take any cities back, I need to retrain the units to do it.

I'll figure it out.

Strength and Honor

Celt Centurion

[Charge]

Here sum funny picture:
https://img65.imageshack.us/img65/507/0192vv4.th.jpg (https://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0192vv4.jpg)
$2,147,479,451:rolleyes5:
not bad, isn't?~D

[Celt Centurion]

Last night I took back the far north city that revolted and exterminated those who needed it and won the game.

I saved it and shut it down, but doubt I'll go long campaign.

Strength and Honor

Celt Centurion