why are most factions poor?

[athanaric]

I’m going to try out Rome since my biggest issue with vanilla Rome is that playing as Rome is very easy, please tell me that the marius reform automatically upgrades all of my units so that I don’t have to manually replace all of my troops.

Well the Marian reforms aren't very easy to get - I'm still waiting for them - but there's another reform before that. And the only units that can get "upgraded" to another unit type are the bodyguards of a couple of eastern factions, which happens when Rome upgrades one of her Central Italian cities to "huge".
Rome should be pretty easy though, the first thing is to build paved roads ASAP and take Taras from the Epeirotes (like, during the first few turns). After that, you can slowly expand as you see fit.

I tried out some other factions and I’m surprised how many factions start out with negative income and surrounded by enemies, maybe this mod just isn’t for since I like challenging games not frustrating games.

Well, 272 BC wasn't a very good year for a faction in the Med to be in. Also, you'll get used to the rough start in EB.

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

Oh, one other tip - highly recommend EB beginners play on Medium/Medium difficulty level. In vanilla you can play Very Hard/Very Hard and still win quite easily, but not in EB.

I know the EB website recommends Medium Battle and Very Hard Campaign difficulty, but Very Hard Campaign is really, very hard. The AI factions get loads of extra money, plus they treat your faction as Public Enemy No.1 as soon as they share a border with you and get very aggressive.

Very Hard battle difficulty is even worse - the enemy troops fight like the near-invincible Spartans in the movie '300' and they have +7 combat and morale bonuses on top of their default stats. Stick to Medium battle difficulty, so the enemy troops get no more bonuses than your own (apart from bonuses gained from the command abilities of the general - AI generals are very good in EB and will have more command stars than yours.)

[themilo]

This may seem like an odd question but can rebel cities train troops in this mod?

[NeoSpartan]

This may seem like an odd question but can rebel cities train troops in this mod?

Most don't, there are very few "rebel cities" that are scrypted to represent actual factions/tribes that cannot be represented in the game due to limits of the RTW engine. You will see these rebel cities have a full stack in its capital, and a roaming full stack. Also, once you siege the city another army pops up. I can't remember them all, but I know there is 1 in the Iberian peninsula and 2 in/around the Alps representing 2 major gallic tribes (Helvetti, and Boii) IIRC.

....ps, its been years since I posted in this forum!

[athanaric]

This may seem like an odd question but can rebel cities train troops in this mod?

They do, but usually only low tier units, unless there's a script involved (see above).

[HopliteLegion]

Rome is very easy in the early game. Once you secure Italy, build your economy for a little bit, then pick your next target. Once you establish yourself in Italy, the money tends to flow like wine.

Just remember, troops are exspensive in this mod. Navies are bankruptingly exspensive without a really good economy. Take it slow, the AI will on M/M.

[Principe]

I think Kart-Hadast is easy. You can already afford a strong army as well as sizable garrisons in Iberia. You also have the option of expanding in three fronts. Africa, Italy and Iberia.

[Principe]

Public Enemy Number 1. So true. I once had the British in RTW march all the way through Gaul to Italy use to attack Patavium.

[sleep_well]

Starting treasury is more a balancing issue I think, I mean can we know for sure how much money or wealth each faction had at that time?

[The Stranger]

you just need a few thing to remember when u play EB,

you basically have 2 options as every faction at the start of the game

1) you disband all your navies, most of your armies and if neccesary even destroy some buildings. then you turtle while building the neccesary barracks, and buildings that provide extra income (trade or farming) and also extra health (sewers are good to start with). Also appease big bad bullies if theyre near by gifting them map info or money. then in a few years once you have survived you will go to conquer.

or

2) you combine your troops into 1 or 2 punching forces that will take as many cities as fast as you can. dont care if you go into debt. you always use the sell into slavery option (extermination in vanilla) once you sack a city to get as much money as you can. and then leave as little garrison as possible behind while moving on to take the next city. You do this untill you have a positive income and are unable to safely take another city. most nations have an optimal blitzing path that allows you to take many cities within a few turns with minimal losses. provided ofcourse you use your spies and generals right.

For example, rome can take 4 cities within 2 years. Konion Hellenon can take crete, corinthos, thessalia and the small island next to athens within 2 years. pontus can take 2 cities in 2-3 turns etc etc.


remember that archers, slingers and javelin troops are your friends in these early engagements when taking cities. phalanx units are nice too. but if you want to absolutely murder the ai, make use of horse archers whenever you can.


its too bad that the tw BAI sux because otherwise EB wouldve been the perfect game. its still better than RTW2 tho...

[athanaric]

2) you combine your troops into 1 or 2 punching forces that will take as many cities as fast as you can. dont care if you go into debt. you always use the sell into slavery option (extermination in vanilla) once you sack a city to get as much money as you can. and then leave as little garrison as possible behind while moving on to take the next city. You do this untill you have a positive income and are unable to safely take another city. most nations have an optimal blitzing path that allows you to take many cities within a few turns with minimal losses. provided ofcourse you use your spies and generals right.

I would actually recommend not sacking any cities at the start, unless you're planning to abandon them afterwards. For most factions, it's better to just occupy the settlement, raze the pre-built government building (and barracks if they don't work for your faction), and try to develop the economy ASAP. Mabe build a tier 1 MIC for the most basic units. This is (somewhat ironically) particularly valid for Barbarian factions. Also, Pontos generals get a really bad trait for sacking places with the "homeland" resource.

remember that archers, slingers and javelin troops are your friends in these early engagements when taking cities. phalanx units are nice too. but if you want to absolutely murder the ai, make use of horse archers whenever you can.

Definitely true; when storming enemy settlements, try to cause as many missile casualties as you possibly can, right at the start, by drawing out the enemy and shooting them to bits. 20% missile kills should be doable with some patience and good micro. When attacking settlements with tier 1 palisades, you can place javelin-equipped units directly in front of the walls. They will be able to cause horrendous casualties. This is important because assaults are a messy business and street fights are bugged, and you need as many men as possible to survive said battles.

[The Stranger]

ye pontus has to be careful what you sack.

i prefer to sack for 2 reasons, first you need the instant cash to buy mercs to replace fallen soldiers and to get into a positive cashflow to build some new buildings. and 2nd sacking cities makes them easier to rule early, you usually just need to leave 1 unit behind to occupy them without too much trouble. if you dont, then you will have to leave much more behind and this will slow down your initial blitz.

razing barracks and gov buildings is standard fare ofcourse. should always do it, whatever you do.