There's challenging, and then there's.....

[Gaius Sempronius Gracchus]

All perfectly reasonable answers.... Yes, I know that as the Makedonians I have to make that tactical choice (I knew, as I set my armies off toward Pella, that Corinth would come under siege)...but..., I was just letting off steam, really. I'm poised to make the Epirus pay for their impudence, and the defenders of Pella made sure that it's taking was a costly act (got my cavalry and slingers out of the city walls and hacked down four routed units, and depleted the remainder until they could do no more...)

As I say, I can understand that I shouldn't expect to be swimming in money but.., with both factions (but particularly with the KH) your not just financially disadvantaged, you're absolutely crippled. I expect to lose Athens (I'd be disappointed if I didn't, frankly...) but, then I've got this piddling little army in Sparte, that I can't build upon because I'm so rapidly in debt - and even if I try and recruit units in the first season I might get one before that huge stack comes and besieges Sparte... then I fight one battle and win, then am instantly attacked by another army, manage to win and then a third army attacks the pitiful remnants of my forces and....there's only so much you can do.

Perhaps I've just been unlucky, but I've tried numerous strategies.... I generally bring the army back from Krete. I've tried shipping a relief army to Athens (no land-route, without hitting Corinth on the way) and that's a disaster. Tried combining my armies outside of Sparte, tried splitting my armies outside of Sparte, tried combining my armies in Sparte - the size and number of the armies that are sent against you - in such a short space of time - are just too much when you can't replenish your forces.

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I guess its the difficulty level, as you say, that skews everything (and, as you say, almost enforces blitzing, as the only way to build up an economy..) I only started playing VH/M after reading that this was the recommended level....and it works great if you play a Romani campaign - where M/M is just way too easy.

I just wonder whether it wouldn't have been better if the KH had, instead, been a longer lived faction, like the Aitolian League, or the Aechaen... but then, I suppose one could roleplay as Sparte...with Rhodos as an ally

But, cheers...I'll give them a go on M/M

Oh and don't think a city has bad income just because the info on the campaign map suggest that. A city pays upkeep depending on its population. Because Rhodos is the biggest starting city of the Koinon Hellenon it pays the biggest part of the upkeep of your army, but without it this would be paid by Athenai and Sparte.

This makes sense...for some reason I'd got it into my head that it was the Capital that payed the biggest costs... doh.