game is broken

[fomalhaut]

you have to remember the base game EB (my favorite mod ever ever) is modifying is absolute garbage in its diplomacy. I'm playing Alpha Centauri thanks to GOG.com and I don't think I can go back to EB for a logn while because diplomacy in AC is soooooooooooooooooo good comparatively.

[Jikot]

@ayekides: assuming BGs are bodyguards, i make EXTENSIVE use of them, they are like the backbone of my army at the start (especially seeing how they spawned very fortuitously for me during this particular game).
I tried keeping the battles afield (Baktra has a horrible city layout when attacked from the west, even with huge walls), but no matter how close i am to the city, they seem to be able to just bypass me and besiege the city without involving my out-of-city army at all :(

@XSamatan: i know that the AI is hard-coded (or whatever the technical term), and i guess i was just venting out of frustration. Getting his ass handed to him can wreak havoc on a man's pride. I'll keep better track of the settlement details next time (maybe i'll outsource that one to my irl accountant :)

@Ca Putt: I had the following cities: Baktria, Haomavarga, Sulek, Kophen. I already had them for quite a while when the AS suddenly decided to attack Baktra, and I had about 20,000 in the bank, a steady 1,500-2,000 income, and a fortune invested in huge markets, mines and the like; so it's fair to say i was not slouching on the development. Yet my economy still plummeted after a single detrimental event. Even when a large/huge market was finished a few turns after the siege.

@fomalhaut: i hope the base diplomacy/economy for medieval 2 is much better in this respect, because this really is the very finest strategy game out there and it's such a shame to see all that potential compromised by things like this, which are entirely out of the modders' hands.

[Jikot]

Alright, so i gave this another try. Went about things reeaaal careful-like. Cancelled my alliances to pahlava and KH and made an alliance with AS, providing them with regular tribute. I had Haomavarga and Baktra, and was taking things slow and steady, building my economy and military infrastructure.
And then AS besieged me. I have two towns and, accordingly, a puny army. I'm all for difficulty, but there is literally nothing you can do.

Putting someone in a giant blender and telling him to try to stay alive as you turn it on isn't "making things difficult", it's murder.

[A_Dane]

I've tried VH a couple of times, but unless I'm romans, I'm not gonna bother.

Anyways, on to the topic: While I havn't tried Bactria in ages, I've played Armenia extensively, and suffer the same issues.. I really feel your pain, even on medium, AI seleucids are horrible to face, if you don't want to rush/be faced with endless stacks of death s:

Getting mines is essential though, and I end up relying quite a bit on mercenaries of all sorts to bolster my armies.

Should probably try a bactria campaign again to see if it's as bad as armenia :D

[Arjos]

Baktra I rushed it in the first turns, and once I got the Indus valley had so much money it all turned to killing routine :D
Instead of keeping an alliance with the Arche, try to side with Phalava (keeping alliance with Baktra), I did the same with my Phalava game and turned out pretty well, gave me time to deal with the Saka...
Anyway the RTW engine's diplomacy is to go on rampage soon as the AI borders the player, try to get stone walls in Baktra asap and focus on your eastern border...

[fomalhaut]

It's hard to roleplay as Baktria, which is a shame because they are the most potent for roleplaying. AS never leaves you alone, either. EVER

[ayekides]

Yeah in my experience fomalhaut is correct. AS always come knocking, making your only options trying to take their cities, ahistorically expanding in the wrong direction, or having to constantly defend against their attacks while trying to expand eastward.

And using a 2-3 generals and a couple of horse archers can be pretty effective, especially against AS early armies. With forts you may have a few more turns in which you can attack and retreat. An army like this can keep away the AS from your capital long enough for you to expand towards India and a larger purse.

I've found that fighting like a nomad around Bactria is the most effective way for me to compete with the enemies early in the game.

Build up each city you get economically, most cities near Bactria have great potential. After you raise the profit from that city to begin recruiting more soldiers, even if you start going into debt. You can always disband some troops after taking another rich Indian city.

AS always attacks, heroic victories sometimes feel like a requirement for you to make it early on. I find them harder than Pontos at times.

Just wanted to add, when you finally have a fully formed Indo-Hellenic Bactrian stack, it feels worth the early game stress.

[Taedius]

Another thing that tends to buy me time at the start of a Baktrian campain, is to keep a sizeable garrison in Baktra. Don't make it look like an easy target. Expensive, but remember, the AI doesn't consider troop quality. Cheap, but numerable skirmishers will do just fine.

Until they assault the walls, of course.