Hayasdan Reforms - Help Needed!

[Hegix]

I'm kinda curious as well as to how you contain the AS aggression while focusing on the north. I've never seen them respect an alliance or a ceasefire.

[d'Arthez]

What I found is that if you take all the Eleutheroi lands that border AS in the Caucasus region, they suddenly become more apt to attack.

It is not hard to contain the AS. Use spies and watch towers in Hayasdan province, so you know when an army is on the move. Because the Caucasian cities are quite close together, you can often use the garrisons of multiple cities as a defence force against the Seleukids. The cost for the defence force is thus limited.

With the Hay economy, I'd suggest laying down, and improving the Hay economy first. Ports, ports, and mines. That is why Trapezous and Sinope can be attractive targets. Kabalaka is poor, but you still make a bit of money, once you have a coastal clearing in place. Mtskheta gives you trade income, while acting as a cover for Kotais + Armavir. Basically you are getting paid to have a part of your garrison stationed elsewhere. More or less free money.

I found that more extensive use of infantry shaves of a large portion of the bills. Caucasian Archers, Caucasian spearman are quite good at their jobs. CS can pin down virtually anything, long enough to get some FMs / Kinsmen in there for the charge and rout, but they need the cavalry / infantry support else they will be chewed out. CA have a good range, and a decent missile attack value, which at the cost is a steal.

Once the Caucasus is united, go south and take Arbela, Seleukeia, and Babylon with one army, and send the other army from Phraaspa --> Ekbatana --> Susa. Ekbatana is a rich city.

You need a bit of luck in Hay games. The AS needs to be distracted by other conflicts, you need a bit of luck, that not all your family members turn out to be lazy, disloyal bums, etc.. And heaven forbid that the AS and Ptollies sign an alliance the turn after you started hostilities with the AS ...

[Matinius Brutus]

You need a bit of luck in Hay games. The AS needs to be distracted by other conflicts, you need a bit of luck, that not all your family members turn out to be lazy, disloyal bums, etc.. And heaven forbid that the AS and Ptollies sign an alliance the turn after you started hostilities with the AS ...

Guess what I had to endure! Exactly an alliance between those two. However, I got a ceasefire with the AS and later they offered me alliance and now we are both kicking Ptolie asses. I was tempted a lot to use Force Diplomacy to get them into war, but since I decided that this would be my first cheat-free game- I didn't. And managed to survive. 10x to playing on M/M maybe, and the fact that Pontos are at war with the Maks, and therefore cannot turn their attention on me. And the Saba attack me, but they are no problem at all.

[Hegix]

...

Fighting a war and conquering AS is doable, I've had many successful (until ctd) Hay campaigns. What I was curious about was how he could have enough troops to contain the AS while expanding into the poor and far between steppe regions. I remember sending an army to take the Bosphorous after unifying the Caucasus, which almost lead to defeat for my burgeoning empire.

[Medical Toaster]

Hegix,

Have you had more trouble with Hayasdan CTD's than with other factions? I had just finished a Romani campaign that lasted until around 30BC with little to no problems but my recent Hayasdan campaign was cut short by 243BC with my armies just beginning the killing blow on the AS by taking modern day Iran and Iraq. Even getting that far was hard with lots of post battle CTD's. I started a new Getai campaign and now down into the 250's I have had no trouble again.

[Hegix]

Now that you mention it I seem to have more CTDs with Hayasdan than I had with both Roman and Pahlava. Though I started an AS in Carthage campaign that CTDed every other round (literally) so I could just be cursed :)

[Quicci]

just a few words on Hai North Expansion:
(no Forced Diplomacy, no cheats used in EB 1.1)

as I wasn't able to get Govs I and II for Caucasus regions, I was left with armies of mostly Caucasian Infantry and light cav archers.

I focused on uniting rebel settlements that would have Subjugation/Homeland markers after the 1st reform, and decided not to engage in war with Arche. The economy with small city stacks and roads/mines everywhere is going fine, with a 4-5k of seasonal treasury (ca 255 BC)

Sauromatae attacks became very often, I had to keep 2,5 stacks just to fend them off in the mountain passes. I decided to push them back, and took the northern steppe province as a safety buffer: they had major cav barracks built there, and produced heavy cav archers every other turn - that were attacking me since the beginning of the game.

To make my northern border safer, I have sent 2 stacks of caucasian infantry (spears, bows, javelins...) and a few generals to take settlements to the east and west: by evading Saurie field armies I brought fire and death to the steppe settlements (250-245 BC).

Expanding west to Olbia, recruiting spear infantry on the way to reinforce the armies (spears suffered heavy casualties, but the anvil tactics with general units works well...) destroyed the Saurs' main recruiting base: in the East the Saka attacked my eastern inf stacks, helping their Saurie allies (ca 240 BC).

Supporting lines became very long, and a heap of allied kingdoms were established, with inf archers garrison forces. Replenishing my infantry armies' numbers took some time, but it was not nearly as expensive as the cav armies would be.

With a steady, slow progress I have my armies in regions north from my Pahlava and Baktria allies.
Baktrians are gaining on Saka now, as my armies distract them: they still control NE corner, but with their 2-3 regions they won't be a major threat now (232 BC).

Now Hai kingdom (finally undergone the Caucasian reform, thanks folks...) is ready to sweep the Archa with the spears and arrows of its veteran golden chevron infantry.

[Taeghan]

I've had two Hai games and one Baktrian end due to persistent CTDs; it's annoying, as both appeal to me greatly. I'm playing as the Romani at the moment, but want to return to the Hai shortly.

My first Hai game had me in Sinope and Trapezous quickly, with Pontus a firm ally whom I paid off regularly to keep them fighting the Ptols and AS. The Sarmatians went west once I allied with them, and that left the Parthians who moved all the way up my eastern coast to Kabalaka. I was going to have to turn on them once I'd snagged Antioch from the AS.

Then the bloody CTDs began and that was that.

I do want to rebuild the Persian Empire, though. :)