RTW BI How to win with the huns?

[dan0808]

Yeah it says it's supposed to be easy but I guess I'm just dumb because I have nothing but trouble playing my first learning game with the huns. Even if I don't settle early I still end up losing money by the time I get to Rome (where I was planning to start my base) because I can't sack enough. I just can't find enough cities to sack! I find this opening game to the exp extremly hard!

Any help for a newbie to this game on how to play the Huns would be appricated...

[Quirinus]

As frogbeastegg (I think) once said, the Huns are only considered "easy", because their units are so good. Their economy sucks (if I remember correctly you can't even build ports!), and hordes are not really easy to play or newbie-friendly. For a first game play the Franks, they have a strong position, okay cavalry and good infantry.

For the Huns you really have to be very aggressive (at least in my experience) and don't be fussy about who you're attacking. Political niceties are for weaklings and civilised men. You see a settlement, sack it. Best is to carve a way south into the very sack-able cities of Greece and then from there either into Italy or Gaul. Even after you settle down, enact a scorched-earth policy-- exterminate evry city you take so that it will require minimal garrisons. Plus the loot will go a long way in feeding your armies.

By the way, you mentioned losing money when you're in a horde? Disband any mercenaries you have, the rest of your army doesn't have to pay unkeep, but mercs still need pay. The city you make your home will have cultural penalty nulled, so take a high-tech city like Constantinople or Rome. A nice trick when settling down to plan ahead a bit-- for example if I plan to settle in Rome I will besiege every city in Italy (and maybe some of Gaul) first before I take Rome, and then I will take all the cities I'm besieging in the same turn, thus giving a decent financial base to start with.

[dan0808]

Thx for the reply. I stopped recruiting mercs and that helped a lot. The problem I get with not being fussy about who i'm attacking is when I finally establish a base I have like 800 countries a war with me and they then overwhelm me no matter how much money I have. :(

I find this an incredibly difficult introduction to the expansion. :(

[Darkvicer98]

As Quirinus should have also said, pick your enemies carefully. The Western and Eastern Roman Empires are just 1 faction with a big empire. The Vandals(horde), Franks, Goths, Burgundii, Alemanni, Saxons etc are all many separate factions with small empires ready to expand, the Vandals are a horde just like the Huns so its best to avoid them as they are very hostile. Once the Roman Empires have lost a few settlements they lose income and eventually settlements, the smaller factions will be much harder to destroy.

And its best to sack rebel settlements on the way to Rome.

[Quirinus]

I dunno, I found it relatively easy to get ceasefires and trading rights after I settle down most of the time. But still, one of the points I was making was that even after you settle down, you really do still need to act like a horde-- exterminate cities, leave a token garrison, take your best troops to the next city. Don't fret overmuch when someone besieges it, let them take it. imo there isn't really another way to play the Huns, their economy is so lousy that a constant flow of loot is an important part of your economy.

As Quirinus should have also said, pick your enemies carefully. The Western and Eastern Roman Empires are just 1 faction with a big empire. The Vandals(horde), Franks, Goths, Burgundii, Alemanni, Saxons etc are all many separate factions with small empires ready to expand, the Vandals are a horde just like the Huns so its best to avoid them as they are very hostile.

You're right, actually, in that it's best to be careful around the smaller barbarian factions. Don't attack them if they have only one city left, or they will horde, and your looting spree will blow up in your face.

And its best to sack rebel settlements on the way to Rome.

I disagree, actually: aren't rebel factions normally poorer, rattier places? I find faction-controlled settlements to be more prosperous usually. Besides which, personally I get a kick from playing God and redistributing power while adding to my own coffers at the same time.

This brings up another point that's probably instinctive, but go for bigger cities with minimal garrisons and avoid field armies as much as you can. If you see a small town, for example, that's heavily defended, ignore it.