Carthage - Detailed Starting Guide for new players

When I first played a Carthaginian campaign in EB, I really didn't know where to start. Carthage has a big army, but very spread out in a large empire, and much of it accessible only by sea. I also didn't know what to do with the navy. What was I supposed to be doing while waiting for the Romans to reach Messana and start the First Punic War?

This guide contains detailed suggestions on how to start the campaign.

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE, ACTIVATE THE EB SCRIPT! Double-Click on a town, then click the Advisor.

1. Check your financial overview. You have 10,000 mnai in the bank, and you will lose 2368 mnai at the end of the turn. Your taxes aren't high enough to pay the upkeep on all your units, mostly because of your 5 ships and the unit of elephants in Lilibeo. You could disband your elephants and most of your ships to save money. Many players do. But that's not as much fun - and you don't HAVE to do it! Let's try NOT disbanding anything - wouldn't it be more fun to use up your expensive ships and elephants in battle than to disband them?

2. Increase taxes to Very High in ALL towns. Now check your financial overview again. You are now making a small profit, around 887 mnai! Peanuts really - but at least you're not losing money. That's better than nothing! We are (just about) able to afford to keep all our ships AND our elephants as well. We can now have fun by getting them killed in battle over the next two years, instead of disbanding them.

You're a little worried at this point, because one of your towns has a blue face (Ippone) and other towns are losing population (people leaving because taxes are so high.) Don't worry about this loss of population too much, it's only temporary, and will only last for 4 turns. We'll address this later.

3. Now - we're going to solve some of our remaining problems with construction. Go to Ippone, the city with a blue face in North Africa, and build Simple Drainage in there. That will make the people a little happier next turn, changing them to a yellow face. They might still be paying lots of tax but at least the streets aren't full of sewage anymore!

4. Next - four of our towns (Bocchoris, Ippone, Alalia, and Karali) don't have any walls, leaving them very vulnerable to conquest. Build Wooden Palisades in all of them except Bocchoris (which is far enough away from Italy to be safe from invasion for the moment).

5. Done? Good. Now we're going to build some farms. Build Simple Farming in Karali and Communal Farming in Lilibeo. When completed, these towns will no longer be losing so much population.

6. Finally - we're going to build some roads in provinces that don't have any. Build roads in Gader, Mastia, and Lepki. Build a Coastal Clearing in Lepki too, helps with trade.

7. Right then. Surprisingly, we don't have a spy! And we need one to keep an eye on those pesky Numidians. Recruit a spy in Ippone. By now you'll have spent nearly all your money, you'll have about 65 mnai left.

8. Now, mighty lord, to war! Time to start deploying our troops. But to where, and what for?

We have three missions to perform to secure our empire and make our enemies fear us.

Mission 1: Defeat Eleutheroi field army in Numidia. We must teach the Numidians who is master! We've only recently taken Ippone from them, and in their arrogance they still dare to dream of vengeance!

Mission 2: Destroy the Epirote Fleet - so that Pyhrrus, King of Epirus, who thinks himself the greatest general in the world, can never come to Sicily again! Our Roman allies will deal with the Tarantine garrison in Taras, on land, while we win a great naval victory over the Epirotes (showing up the Romans since their own navy is pathetic!)

Mission 3: Defeat Eleutheroi field army in Spain - Iberian tribesmen from Sucum-Murgi have invaded Turdetania, in southwestern Spain, and are threatening to capture Gader! This is the most serious threat to our empire, and MUST be dealt with. Our Lusotann allies have agreed to help us by capturing Sucum-Murgi itself, but it is up to us to destroy their field army. Which we shall. This is why we've been saving those elephants! The Iberians have never faced elephants before, and they will be terrified when we ship our lovely monsters from Lilibeo to Spain!

Deployment Objectives:
A) To put one unit of Poeni Militia in each town throughout the empire, putting two of them in Ippone, Atiqa and Lilibeo. Note that Bocchoris, Alalia and Lepki currently have 2 units of Poeni Militia, so they can afford to give up one unit each, to help garrison other towns.
B) To create an all-cavalry army of one general and 5 Iberian light cavalry to take on a similiar Numidian (Eleutheroi) field army. Also to reinforce Ippone with Libyan infantry.
C) To ship an army consisting of the elephants, 1 Iberian light cav, and 4 Iberian infantry to Gader, to take on the Iberian (Eleutheroi) invaders. Most of this force is currently in Lilibeo, Sicily.
D) To ship a new garrison of Greek-style troops to Lilibeo, replacing most of the Iberian troops there.

Detailed instructions:
Turn 1.
i. Reinforcements for Gader garrison. Move Hasdrubal and the Poeni Militia unit out of Mastia and start marching them towards Gader. Mastia now has a blue face - don't worry, it won't be for long, only one turn.
ii. Reinforcements for Mastia. Move closest ship to Bocchoris in Baleares Islands, pick up a unit of Poeni Militia, and transport it toward Mastia.
iii. Reinforcements for Atiqa. Move ship next to Alalia in Corsica, pick up a unit of Poeni Militia, move ship as far south as possible to Sardinian coastline. (We will pick up Carthalo from Karili next turn.)
iv. Reinforcements for Ippone. There's a little army standing near Atiqa. Put one unit of Poeni Militia from it into Atiqa as a garrison. Take the two units of Libyan Spearmen in Atiqa and send them out to join the army. Now send the army marching toward Ippone. While you're there move your diplomat into Atiqa, he's going to be shipped to Lilibeo.
v. Reinforcements for Gader (long distance from Sicily!) Move closest ship to Lilibeo, pick up the Iberian cavalry, the elephants, and one unit of Caetrati, and drop them off in Atiqa (our staging post). Move the ship back toward Sicily.
vi. Reinforcements for Lilibeo. Move your other fleet to Atiqa. Pick up the elite Liby-Phonician Spearmen infantry unit, and also your diplomat (don't forget him!). Move the fleet south, put it right next to Kart-Hadast. Embark two units of Poeni Militia. Move ship to Lilibeo and unload all troops into the city. Then unload the diplomat too, don't leave him behind in the ship! Start the diplomat off on his long journeys, heading for Italy, Gaul, Greece and Asia to establish trade relations with many nations. Move the fleet into Lilibeo harbour.
vii. Reinforcements for Adrumento and Atiqa. Move Hanno and one unit of Poeni Militia out of Lepki and start marching them toward Adrumento. Hanno will become the new governor of Atiqa because he is a very good governor indeed, and the Poeni Militia will become the new garrison of Adrumento. Tip: Hanno has the ability to Force March, so move him the maximum distance, he won't become exhausted.
viii. Cavalry force for scouting Numidia. Move the four units of Iberian cavalry out of Kart-Hadast to the river crossing on the border with Numidia. Move Bomilkar and another unit of Iberian cavalry out of Adrumento to join them. Bomilikar and his all-cavalry army will be fighting Numidian Elutheroi soon.
ix. Send the unit of Caetrati from Adrumento to Atiqa to join the army you landed there.
x. Lastly, start moving the army you landed in Atiqa toward Ippone. The elephants and cavalry will move faster than the two Caetrati infantry, get all units moving at top speed to Ippone!

That's it for the first turn! Phew, that was complicated - but you're now getting organised, well done! Hit the end turn button.

Turn 2.
i. Spain: Keep Hasdrubal and his men moving toward Gader. No need to forced march.
ii. Move ship from Baleares Islands toward Mastia and unload the Poeni Militia into the town. Start the ship moving toward Ippone - this ship will be used to transport your army of Spanish units from there to Gader later on.
iii. Numidia: You may see an Eleutheroi army south of Ippone! Numidian raiders! Move Bomilcar and his cavalry toward them, but don't engage yet, stop them on your side of the border. Also, keep your other forces moving to Ippone. Try to guard the bridge leading to Ippone, so the Numidians don't cross it and take the town before the walls are built!
iv. Libya: Hanno and his men keep moving toward Adrumento at full speed.
v. Fleet near Atiqa - link up with fleet in Lilibeo harbour. We're trying to create a fleet of 4 ships to take on the Epirote fleet later on.
vi. Fleet near Sardinia. Pick up Carthalo from Olbia, move to Atiqa and unload him and the Militia. Send the other unit of Militia in Atiqa to Kart-Hadast, since the capital doesn't have a militia garrison yet.
That's it for Turn 2. Hit the end turn button.

Turn 3.
i. Spain: Keep Hasdrubal and his men moving to Gader.
ii. Keep ship moving to Ippone. Move the ship near Kart-Hadast to Lilibeo, link up with the rest of the fleet in Lilibeo harbour. You now have a combined fleet of 4 ships - enough to take on the Epirote fleet! Start sailing the fleet to Taras and the Epirote coast beyond.
iii. Numidia: The Numidian army has vanished! Go and find it with your spy from Ippone - they are hiding in the woods somewhere. If you find them - it's time for your first battle! They are an all-cavalry force like Bomilkar's. Attack them with Bomilkar and his Iberian cavalry. Your force should be equal in size to theirs, so the best men shall win. Attack with the Iberian cavalry, with skirmish mode off (you want to melee with them) and keep Bomilkar ready in reserve to counter the Numidian general and his noble cavalry lancers. Beware, for the Numidians are very good cavalry, especially in missile combat. Death and glory! If you win this battle, that's enough to keep the Numidians quiet for a while. But if you lose, you'll have to drive them off using a much larger infantry force later.
iv. Move your other troops into Ippone. The Spanish units and the elephants will be going to Gader in Spain, the Libyans and the Poeni Militia will be staying behind.
v. Build Simple Drainage in Adrumento and other towns if you have enough mnai to do so, make the people happier.

Turn 4.
i. Move Hasdrubal and his men into Gader. Hanno should move to Atiqa.
ii. Move ship to Ippone and pick up an army of 6 units to take to Spain. It should include one unit of Iberian cavalry, the elephants, two units of Iberian spearmen and two units of Caetrati. Start ship moving to Gader.
iii. Your main fleet should move to a position off Taras - blockade the port if it's still in Epirote hands. Maybe the Epirote fleet will be drawn out to attack.

Turn 5.
i. Keep the ship with the army for Spain moving toward Gader.
ii. Time for the big naval battle! Move your main fleet to the Epirote coast of Greece. Find the Epirote fleet and attack it! You have a slight advantage in numbers, so with a bit of luck, you should win! You will lose at least a third of your fleet, though. But that's OK - fewer ships will save you money! If you win, the Epirote fleet will flee southwards - chase after it. But if you lose - then your fleet will need to return to Lilibeo harbour to await reinforcements.
iii. Check your finance overview. You should be making enough profit now to start lowering taxes on the towns that are still losing population. You don't need massive profits yet, not until the big land battle in Spain is over and most of the elephants are dead.

Turn 6.
i. Your ship near Spain should now reach Gader. Unload your army, and put the ship in harbour. The battle will be next turn.
ii. Main fleet - if you won the first naval battle, find the fleeing Epirote fleet and attack it again. This should be enough to eliminate them as a threat.
iii. Finance overview. You should have enough mnai now to start building things in your towns. Concentrate on building Simple Drainage, Roads, Coastal Clearings, and Basic Farming in those towns that don't have them.

Turn 7.
i. Main fleet - keep pursuing the fleeing Epirote fleet and attack it yet again. This will practically wipe it out, it will no longer be a threat even if a few of them still survive. Return in triumph to Kart-Hadast!
ii. Assemble your Spanish army north of Gader (leave the Poeni Militia behind to garrison the town). The army consists of 9 units - 1 general, 1 Iberian light cavalry, 1 unit of elephants, 3 Iberian spearmen, and 3 Caetrati. You are now finally ready to engage the Iberian army! Your Lusotann allies have likely taken Sucum-Murgi by now, so the Elutheroi scum have nowhere left to run. Your army is slightly outnumbered - but you have the elephants - which will rip their heavy infantry apart! Don't bother with anything subtle here, just put the elephants up front and charge them straight into the enemy spearmen, following up immediately with your infantry, using cavalry to guard the flanks. You don't really care if most of the elephants get killed, they're too expensive anyway. Victory will be yours!

Turn 8.
Now you've taught the Epirotes a lesson (hopefully) use your diplomat to make peace with them. You shouldn't need to fight them again, their homeland isn't part of your victory conditions. Most of your army near Gader can be shipped back to Ippone, ready to continue the war against Numidia - or you can go after Arse (any town called that deserves to be conquered.) The remainder of your fleet can go hunting for pirates, which will now be starting to appear in the Mediterranean.

That's it for this guide (unless I decide to expand it later with construction suggestions.) You've dealt with the immediate threats to your empire, and can now start building for the future, focusing on town construction, and expansion in either coastal north Africa (recommended) or Sicily (best left until later.)

If people want pics in this thread, let me know, and I'll add them when I have time.

Good tips. I think pictures would definitely add to it, but they aren't necessary.

A good guide!
Although, I usually conquer Sicily first and then move to Iberia and Numidia. Leaving those two Sicilian cities to stay rebel will only cause problems when Romans are starting sending stack after stack to besiege Messana.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ibn-Khaldun

A good guide!
Although, I usually conquer Sicily first and then move to Iberia and Numidia. Leaving those two Sicilian cities to stay rebel will only cause problems when Romans are starting sending stack after stack to besiege Messana.

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Rome is 'the sick man' of Europe in EB, their expansion under the AI is always pathetic compared to the historical Roman timeline. I find that leaving Rome alone initially makes all non-Roman campaigns more fun later. Give the Romans time to expand a little before interfering with them.

In EB, Rome, under AI control, is more interested in expanding northward in Cisalpine Gaul than in Sicily - at least initially. Which, for Carthage, is just fine - she can expand in north-west Africa. In EB, the First Punic War is likely to start when Rome invades Corsica. (Using the BI engine, this is very likely indeed). Otherwise it will take Rome about 10 years to take Messana, she has to take Taras and Rhegion first.

Nice one. Probably I'll take some inspirations from this, for my own guide(s).

Mods:

Could this guide please be added to the stickied 'Gameplay Guides' thread at:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...ameplay-Guides

Thanks!

... hmmm one thing i don't like - getting killed my mobile rams^^ ..... - i think elephants in those stage are quite overpowered - so why don't use 'em.... ? In my last campaign i was able to smash epeirus right in the beginning just a couple of turns ,they just moved in the makedonian capital which i captured later after finishing off the romans (they wanted tarent -.- so i had to interfere)- thanks to the elephants and my cavalry i was able to conquer half of italy quite fast - no need to siege and the frightening effekt+the hitpoints are worth it, and since i am a cavalry fan they came just right to help me with those damn samniti, princepes and triarii - they really suck if you don't own them.

Just focus on Africa, it keeps cost down, gets you some nice light/medium units, and I had a good 450,000 in the bank by the time the Romans and Lusitanians finally attacked. More than enough to steamroll both.

Another quick word of advice, even though they are well developed, don't be squeamish about sacking or exterminating Roman cities. Italian regionals aren't much more than filler, public order shouldn't be a priority, you can always use the easy cash and any long term war with the Romans is bound to drag on if you don't move fast.

I tend to have levels of taxation that are dependant on the type of settlement. I put Carthaginian colonies on normal taxation, Allied and client states on high/very high. Poorly developed regions epanded into that are by the coast always become Carthaginian colonies, highly developed regions become Allied/Client states (especially enemy faction capitals).

This makes expansion and army recuitment much much harder due to poor levels of tax revenue (most of your regions are carthaginian colonies and therefore most of the tacation you are getting per season is 'normal'), but I think for a trade-based faction like Carthage, its a much more 'proper' way of playing them. I also think from a pseudo-roleplaying perspective, the races and tribes that fought for Carthage were so wide spread and of dubious loyalty (they not having any real equivalent of Romanisation) that low levels of taxation keep certain elements 'sweet' to the Elders.

Any views on this method and how to improve it further?