Help against Parthia (Pahlava)

[athanaric]

So I stumbled on to the Thorakitai, it was only then that I started to control the battles. With enough armour to easily soak up any arrows (I think if you face the enemy you'll lose a couple of men on a full buckle of HA ammo) enough flexibility to maneuver and charge vulnerable units(and the all important spear throwing ability for fighting those Dahae) and more than enough sticking power in combat to wipe the floor with any cavalry/light infantry foolish enough to enter combat these guys single handedly defeated saka and Pahlavan armies in the thousands (Although as pointed out by others are significantly better in siege assaults - 2 units of thorikitai held off a half stack of Saka Cavalry in my siege defence just by holding the hill)

Damn yeah, I somehow forgot them. Thorakitai are the one unit that gave me the most headaches when playing Pahlava or Saka against the AS. Nasty buggers they are.

[anubis88]

Damn yeah, I somehow forgot them. Thorakitai are the one unit that gave me the most headaches when playing Pahlava or Saka against the AS. Nasty buggers they are.

They just don't rout sometimes... My poor cata's were exhausted all the time charging at them, trying to get them to break :S

[ARCHIPPOS]

Just adding that you have quite an effective heavy cavalry branch yourself. Your Hetairoi bodyguards can smash ANY kind of cavalry the Pahlava can field.except from cataphract-variety units and Parthian bodyguard that is.The Pahlava bodyguard is better than yours but it's also slower.Which means you can chase after them and catch them.Or charge them repeatedly till you kill them off.But keep in mind that your bodyguard is not immune to arrow fire and they will die if they expose their backs to missiles.Also don't rush your hetairoi over long distances.If they get more tired than the Spahbade Pahlavanig they'll lose their speed edge and get powned in melee.DO use FM en masse. Some people might consider it cheating, exploiting etc.However Saka/Parthians/Sauro catas and FMs are absolute tanks so it comes down to applying every possible edge against them.So if it is possible overwhelm them with superior numbers.Band together 2-3 Family members and use them as armour killers.

My personal experience on the subject coming from my Baktrian wars against the Saka is that the best way to counter HA armies is deploying your own HAs and FMs all-cavalry armies.Failing to do that go for the pantodapoi phallangitai /slingers/archers/FMs combo which guys already described.It has limitations but works ok.One other thing is try to be as resourceful and sneaky as you can.Use forests and elevated terrain to full advantage (if you can).

Also i find it remarkable that the AI in your battles saves up arrows.From my experience after 10-15 minutes the AI has spent all ammunition and then it's easy to lure him in melee.So it became simply a question of absorbing the enemy fire for some time and then getting payback (and i do play in VH/M difficulty settings) hmmmm, what exe. do you use ???

[Brave Brave Sir Robin]

It is difficult to get the heavier Seleukid troops to the front lines against Parthia though especially if most of your fighting is taking place around Asaak or Antiochia Margiane. Also remember, he likely needs resources elsewhere to deal with Ptolies, Pontus, Baktria, etc. The Seleucid economy is not that great when you need several armies all across your empire and many of your cities are developing/disorderly/or need large garrisons to defend against attackers.

I recommend lots and lots of Persian Archer Spearmen. Arrows will take down infantry, spears will deal with cavalry.

[WinsingtonIII]

Keep in mind that it's not the end of the world to lose a few provinces in the beginning as the AS. In fact, you will do better in the long run if you sacrifice a few frontier provinces and consolidate the garrison forces to defend a better chokepoint/more developed city. The first time I played them I screwed up royally because I felt like I had to fight for every city, which just resulted in me bleeding men and still losing the provinces. If you pull out of the most vulnerable cities early and consolidate your defenses further back, you will fare much better and perhaps you will have stone walls at the city by the time the Parthians reach it.

[Fulminatrix]

make a charge them form the phalanx once u are close or in contact.

[boxleitnerb]

I use the BI.exe with the mod of course.
I already sacrificed Asaak and the 2 rioting provinces in the northeastern corner of the empire. Problem is, the nearest city with stonewalls and decent barracks (Susa) is so far away, I would be giving away half my empire.
The phalanxes are totally useless as an offensive weapon against cavalry. They are slow with spears down and vulnerable with the spears up. It takes too long to lower the pikes - enough time for the enemy to break their formation.