How to control a city?

Hiya!

First, we want to say: We took a good purpose for year 2008 not to write whineposts again -so, this ain't a whinepost, it is a help request!

We still playing Baktria on VH/H and we fight Palava up in the north and Saba in Arabia. When we capture a city of them, it goes like this: We capture the city, it has a deep red head. We have no other choice than exterminate population. But that doesnt help. With a full-stack army in the city, the head is still red. When they riot, they kill about 500 soldiers! So, we have to move the army out of the city, let them riot and recapture the city through riot.
Then, we capture the city again, exterminate the population again, and then it becomes not good, but tolerable.
Is there anything we can do to hold the city without killing the whole population?

Then, we have problems with cities we captured from Arche. The more they grow, the angrier and lossier they get. We had to treat already two cities, that goes like this: Move the army out of the city, let it riot and recapture through riot, take the city again and exterminate the people. Quite brutal, but can you give us tips to solve this problem in a more human way?
We try it already throug "resettlement", it works, but not very good.

Thank you! Rycalawre

Being a modder, I would say open export_descr_buildings.txt, and add happiness/law bonus to higher city levels. Can show if needed.

Other solutions won't give much effect..

yeah, that would be nice! thanks!

it may also have something to do with the difficulty you are playing at, i dont know. i personally dont think playing at H for battle is too wise, but then again, you may be a better commander than me, but thats your choice.

The problem is that the EB team has tried to balance every unit stat, and recommends playing on M.

If you play on any other difficulty, you'll screw up the balance :p

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Originally Posted by Hax

The problem is that the EB team has tried to balance every unit stat, and recommends playing on M.

If you play on any other difficulty, you'll screw up the balance :p

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My biggest beef with vanilla EB (in an otherwise spectacular mod and the only thing keeping RTW on my HD) is how vulnerable everything is to rear-cav charges. This wouldn't be a problem if the AI was better about protecting its flanks, but typically it commits way too much to the initial scrum leaving its flanks totally unsecured making rear-cavalry charges a reality 10 seconds after the initial lines meet.

I wanted to mod my EDU to +4 morale across the board, but discovered it's easier just to play on H heh.

Also to the OP, aside from moving your capital closer to these cities there's not much you can do about it. Selectively building to over-write non-culture buildings quickly can help, but not in time for your situation. Mod happiness (not law) or you'll find you're ridiculously rich because your corruption has magically dissapeared.

Just have effective governers ready to pacify the province. I think extermination isn't such an effective way to increase public order. I'm quite sure it forces unrest through the roof.

Your governor may have negative traits that are increasing unrest. In troubled towns, it's best to use governors with unrest-reducing ancillaries, and lots of influence.

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Originally Posted by Thaatu

Just have effective governers ready to pacify the province. I think extermination isn't such an effective way to increase public order. I'm quite sure it forces unrest through the roof.

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Yes that's it. When your general is not good enough he needs someone else as a civil administrator travelling with the army. A real good governor can prevent a town from rebelling without a full stack garrison, so allowing the army to move on. Some towns seems to be real poweder kegs. I had this as Karthago in the former Lusotann capital, which even after decades of Poenification instantly starts rebelling when not a high influenced governer was present.


Extermination has its downsides (appart from the general getting problems with sleep): the town takes longer to reach the next level and so allow you to overbuild the town hall what reduces masses of cultural penalty. Another thing would be to destroy every building that has nothing to do with unrest. It is faster to build your own factional equivalents than to overbuild the allready exsiting structures.

That's what I always do if I conquer a settlement from another culture ^^

I always destroy the buildings I don't immediately need, so I can replace them with my buildings and thus lower the culture penalty.
This, in combination with a high-influence governor - preferably with some unrest-reducing traits, can keep almost any city from rebelling.

Rycalawre, your improved language is very appreciated. Thank you.

Also, positioning a spy in the settlement is quite useful because there's a reasonable chance that enemy spies get kicked out. Each enemy spy increases unrest in about 25%.

Edit: What preposition to use with "to increase ... 25%"???

Indeed counter-spying to kick enemy spies out will also lower your chances of unrest being too high in your cities.

P.S.: "an increase of 25%", or am I wrong?

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Originally Posted by Mediolanicus

P.S.: "an increase of 25%", or am I wrong?

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No, you're right. But

"(the spy) increases (unrest) ... 25%"

Perhaps "by"?

When a spy is in a city, he will increase the unrest by 25 percent, I think

Gods, I really don't know.

"When in a city spy is, increase 25 percent, the unrest will." /Yoda

If you do use enslavement/ extermination then pay close attention to the native buildings. If I feel a settlement is liable to revolt my own favourite is to enslave then destroy the temple and build my own before anything else, temples seem to give the biggest cultural penalty after the Govenor's palace.

A good spy before you take a settlement can give you an idea when it will next upgrade, no point in massacring a city that's a 100 short of the next level as your own palace will dramatically reduce cultural difference. Of course you will need a hefty garrison, and remeber it's numbers not quality that count, if possible follow conquering armies with cheap levies for garrisons.

Regarding govenors the best way to reduce unrest is influence, influence, influence. Also if you have a couple of FM's in a stack juggle them to see who is best, one thing that is a little awkward with Eb is traits can be mutually cancelling.

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Originally Posted by Hax

"When in a city spy is, increase 25 percent, the unrest will." /Yoda

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Say, right you've said it, I must.