How to play the Seleukids as realistic as possible?

[Kralizec]

Another option would be to use a lot of light cavalry units that have decent armor; i.e. prodromoi. They can catch up with those horse archers and easily beat most of them in melee.

That's more expensive though, and probably less realistic than including extra archers/slingers.

I don't know if it's realistic but when I'm dealing with steppe armies I simply don't bother to include any phalangites at all. They can absorb arrows very well, but that's about it - the infantry units that steppe factions use are generally mediocre or less, so thureophoroi are preferable because they're more mobile and versatile.

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

I don't know if it's realistic but when I'm dealing with steppe armies I simply don't bother to include any phalangites at all. They can absorb arrows very well, but that's about it - the infantry units that steppe factions use are generally mediocre or less, so thureophoroi are preferable because they're more mobile and versatile.

Levy phalanxes can be useful against the enemy bodyguard cataphracts, because of their armour-piercing axes. But I put them in the rear, with missile troops in front, so when the enemy charges my missile troops withdraw and the enemy cataphracts plough into the phalanx and get bogged down in melee, I then turn phalanx mode off and guard mode off, and the men down their pikes and get stuck in with their axes.

But against light horse archers, phalangites are utterly useless. Especially mine since I've modded their shield value from 5 down to 3 (small shields).

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

More ideas for a realistic Seleucid campaign:

Note: These ideas work fine for Medium campaign, on higher difficulty levels they make things really hard...

1. Don't recruit any new units (except new client rulers) until 270 BC. Spend as much money as possible on construction in the first 7 turns (continuous building in all settlements), try and survive with your starting army until then. (You're a rich and long-established empire, so even your small towns should have all the basic buildings by this time.) Tip: You might need to make peace with the Ptolemies at the start of the campaign, so they attack their Eleutheroi neighbours instead of you. If you give the Ptolemies Damascus, that should be enough to secure a ceasefire.

2. Construction: Buy as many new buildings as possible, every turn, until you achieve the minimum levels below. Buy buildings in the order of the cheapest available building first.

Every Town must have the following as a minimum, keep building continously until you achieve it:

Coastal Clearing if available (500)
Roads (800)
Wooden Palisade (800)
Sacred Enclosure (800)
One Level 1 Barracks, Factional or Foreign (900)
Simple Drainage (1000)
Basic Farming (1200)
City-State Festival (1200)
Trader (2000)

Every Large Town should have the following as a minimum, keep building continously until you achieve it:
Wooden Wall (1600)
Either Sewers OR Sanctuary of Asklepieion (1600)
Game Field (1600)
Small Temple (1600)
Granary (1600)
Two Level 1 Barracks, Factional AND Foreign, OR One Level 2 Barracks (1800)
Trading Dock or River Port (1600)
Emporion - Small Market (3200)
Garrison (2000)

Every City should have the following as a minimum, keep building continously until you achieve it:
Very Productive Farming (2400)
Stone Walls (3200)
Both Sewers AND Sanctuary of Asklepieion (3200)
School (3200)
Temple (3200)
Small Theatre (3200)
Large Garrison (3200)
Agora - Market (4800)
Barracks: Three Levels of Barracks in total. One Level 3, or one Level 1 plus one Level 2.

Every Large City should have the following as a minimum, keep building continously until you achieve it:
Carriage Roads (3200)
Public Bathing Places (3200)
Small Gymnasium (4800)
Blacksmith (4800)
Agora - Market (4800)
Either Regional Games or Regional Festival (4800)
Academy (4800)
Large Granary (6400)
Large Temple (6400)
Large Market (6400)
Barracks: Four Levels of Barracks in total. One Level 4, two Level 2, or one Level 1 plus one Level 3.


3. Your field armies should be one of the following combinations:

Lots of good line infantry, and few long-range missile units (in the West).
Lots of cheap long-range missile units, and cheap mobile line infantry (in the East).

[I_damian]

Hmm, thanks. I especially like the idea about not recruiting any units until 270 bc.