Best Campaign Faction?

[Principe]

My question is simple. What is the faction that has the best troop recruiting zones, wide ranges of troops, a strong economy and a good position. My opinion is Karthadastim. Equites Lancearii, Balearic slingers, Balearic light infantry, Gaesatae, Samnite heavy infantry, campanian cavalry, Numidian archers, Sacred band, elite African infantry, elite African pikemen, they group up into one killer faction. Plus the economic powerhouse Carthage generally is. Is there anything I'm missing? A better faction? Please give me your opinions.

[Ca Putt]

I'd say Romani. Marian Legionaries can be recruited nearly everywhere, they have acces to most important regional troops, their Economy is fierce and they can build high Level roads + sanitation which helps with a prolonged campaign. Their native troop selection is a bit boring and their not my personal favorites, but they probably are the best for a Long campaign. It's more fun with other factions tho.

Carthage surely is strong, however it's native troops have a limited AOR.

Other candidates would the the Arche seleukeia, or basically all other hellenic factions.
The AS does have some of the largest AORs and among the best troops and complete rosters. Also Keep in mind that classical hoplites can be retrained in various provinces throughout the mediterranean, making a prolonged campaign in Gaul or Iberia, not all that complicated.

While disqualified in the categories: "Economy", "diversity", "completeness" ... the Sauromatae and Saka can technically Train their lesser nobles(aka noble medium horsearchers*) really** everywhere, tho they might run into some ... Govermental problems^^

*best unit type imho
**I think These are among the few Units that do not have an aor but can be trained everywhere.

[Principe]

However, if a campaign gets boring, Its not going to last long. Meanwhile, Carthage can recruit a larger variety of local units than Rome. Plus the Marian reforms are extremely tough to get, from what I've heard. The classical hoplites are great, but let me just give a quick example.

My Carthaginian empire is about 7 years in. I have Sicily, and am beginning a conquest of Iberia. I can recruit strong medium and heavy cavalry there, as well as good barbarian mercenaries. And while Classical Hoplites all the way isn't a bad idea, it definitely lacks character. Arche Seleukeia is definitely my second option, but it has no real way to expand. Pahlava or Ptolemoi? Greece or Scythia? I love their roster though.

Thank you for taking the time to write such a long opinion, it really helps me.

[Ca Putt]

However, if a campaign gets boring,

true dat!
tho I think many People like romes playstyle. and the reforms do entertain a bit. Carthage has a good regional roster for their immediate area of Expansion, but further away it's just as good as everyone else's. one Bonus rome has compared to several other civs is that they can train regional elephants. That's really great when you're not carthage.^^

and as said, outside of pretty much their starting territory carthage runns out of factional troops to retrain.

Carthage is more fun and I personally prefer them but Rome just has more "conquer the world" potential. mainly because EB is so historically accurate, and they actually did^^.

I was reffering to classical hopites as good Basic Units for hellenic factions, for carthage and rome it definately is rather off. This also makes KH sort of a candidate, as if you don't want to rely on those dreadfull Reformed hoplites classicals are the way to go, or thureophoroi, but that's to modern for my taste^^ the downsides for the KH are that they lack high Level garrisions and their roster *whispers* suuuuucks, not because they don't have great Units, they do!. but because they lack too many troop types.

AS, yeah, they sort of already expanded^^. an Option would be to subdue all hellens, that's quite some land to conquer. apart from india and Baktria the territories to the east are mostly worthless. conquering the Ptolemaioi and pontians is of greater interest. After that(and the east is secured) you may want to "return" to pella and reunite alexanders empire. expand it to where alexander stopped and spread your rule to the People of India. Or stand up to the upstart Empires in the western mediterranean.

[sleep_well]

This is my first post but I've played EB since 1.2 release and I only play AS because I just love their history and yes their roster.

I would say AS and Romani are the only 2 factions that have the potential for map domination because of their victory condition; think of it as 2 superpowers east and west, all other factions don't need to expand that much. With them, you go big or you go home.

With AS, expand everywhere because that's what they tried to do, Anatolia, Greece, Armenia, Parthia, India... everywhere is a potential.

The good thing with AS military is they have every unit type in the game as factional troops, and the awesome version of it too (except horse archers though, shame). Their basic troops are very competitive and can destroy elites if used right. Better yet, you can build them nearly everywhere. I can be wrong but AS can recruit phalanx around Gaul. Also, you won't do it wrong if you mix in some regional troops because that's what they did back then, it would just add to the character.

Campaign wise, AS civil constructions are massive and their economy is strong, and they stayed true to Alexander's dream. You may find it boring at first though because it's mostly internal control and defense. You will loose territory very early (turn 1) and can't hope to expand for a few years. The play style will be more conservative but very challenging because you have to be very careful from the start, all your neighbours hate you and will look to shish kebab you really early if you don't court them, their early economy is miserable which is dangerous for that big stretched empire.

[kdrakak]

This might be a bad title to associate with the questions put forward in the actual first post. In my opinion the conditions described, with the exception of a strong economy, do not necessarily make for a good campaign. I have found that maintaining interest after initial major success (Carthage taking Rome or Macedon consolidating mainland Greece, for example) is the key to an enjoyable campaign. Doing so with limited elite roster availability actually adds to the mix. If reforms are available, then there is this extra bit of something to be waiting/going for. In this respect Hayasdan is probably the best campaign to play even though it is a bit more challenging than most in the beginning. But the Caucasus and Orontid reforms are really worth the trouble you go through (plus they make political/strategic sense). But to be honest most of the campaigns in EB were very interesting and enjoyable. If anything it is the exceptions that stick out, i.e. when you play a campaign and you find you didn't really enjoy doing so. For me those exceptions were probably the Sweboz, the Getai, the Sarmatians and the Saba. All others were somewhere between good and excellent.

[d'Arthez]

Have to agree with kdrakak. Sure, SPQR is rather easy. Their economy is strong and once you get Marian reforms (possible from 242 BC onwards, with 90 provinces), nothing can even offer you a semblance of resistance.So once you're settled as the SPQR, the biggest opponent is boredom, since the victory conditions are quite demanding.
Hayasdan is rather limited in its roster, and the reforms are anything but straightforward to acquire. By the time, you have really built up your empire, you're close to having done with your victory conditions.
Needless to say, I have never "finished" a campaign as AS or SPQR, but quite a few as Hayasdan or Arverni.

[The Stranger]

ur all crazy :P

parthia is by far the best faction, you can conquer the entire world with just 5 family members...

as for the most entertaining, well i guess thats a matter of opinion :P playing rome the historical way is always fun, taking a slow early expansive route and preparing for some nice punic wars. Pontus can be a challenge if AS lets its greedy eye fall upon you. I never really liked to play with the barbaric factions for some reason, so i dont know them well. But the aduei have some nice units and can do some nice early blitzing.

[moonburn]

most entertaining i gotta say the saka cause there´s something entertaining with not being able to do hire soldiers and having to gangup all your family members together to win batles

best faction to play is either kart hadast or makedonia strong economy strong positions wich can be secured with river and border forts as a way to stop and slow advancing enemy armies and decent units wich won´t screw you over in auto calc batles (if you wanna finish a campaign we all know we will be ending those campaigns with auto batles i mean after 600 batles it kind of gets boring and repetitive )

but for me the best campaign faction of all as been seulekeia i´m a control micro and macro management freak so i had a crapload of fun with harnessing the resources developing mines and roads and trade centers and recruitment centers and "exporting" population from one setlement to another (those 240 soldiers units are really usefull in that role ) on the downside i looked at the year after 8 hours of playing and i was still in 270 bc and they don´t have the massive highways that the romans do

i do hope that the recruitment process in eb2 can allow for more then 1 unit per turn

[The Stranger]

true, phalanx and horse archers seem to dominate autocalc. and hard too :/ those steppe FM can go like 1000 kills 50 losses if they have a few chevrons :/ i dont think they even have that many arrows

so far i found Pontus to be the most fun and challenge, followed by Arche Seleukeia. I would think that Armenia is even harder but i dont really like their roster :/

Carthage is pretty awesome in terms of units, but theyre just too easy. They really need Numidia to be present i feel. If anyone with some modding skills could swap Saba for Numidia, I'd be so happy :D

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

Carthage is pretty awesome in terms of units, but theyre just too easy. They really need Numidia to be present i feel. If anyone with some modding skills could swap Saba for Numidia, I'd be so happy :D

I feel the same. I get round it by using Force Diplomacy - when Carthage conquers a Numidian or Libyan town from the Eleutheroi, I use FD to take it off them, destroy all government buildings, disband all garrison units, and give it to Saba, all in the same turn. It works well - within a year or two Saba starts recruiting new units there. The Numidian and Libyan towns share a similar culture to Saba, so Saba can recruit Numidian units.

[The Stranger]

thats interesting :P i may just relocate saba to numidia in the descr_strat

[The Stranger]

can anyone help me with doing that? i tried to move a faction but the campaign wont start :/ i only switched 1 region for another and carefully copy-pasted, but maybe there is something i am missing?

[moonburn]

if you fallowed all the proper procedures you probably copypasted a invisible space or something

[Kull]

Saba was one of my favorite campaigns, simply because I had to learn a completely different playing style. With most factions (Nomads excepted) it's mostly a matter of getting some heavy infantry/pikes to hold the center and then smashing the enemy from the rear and flanks. With Saba, you basically have to use skirmishers to wear down the enemy, avoiding hand-to-hand until the last possible moment. Almost every battle took real planning and tactics to win. If to you, "best campaign faction" means "challenging and different", then give Saba a try.

[Brennus]

UP GAUL!!!!

But yes, Karthadastim, and the Arche Seleukia, would probably be the best options for a wonderfully varied recruitment zone.

[Gaius Sempronius Gracchus]

Brennus, your 'This is Sparta' post has inspired me to a Koinon Hellenon campaign with a Spartan perspective in mind - and that reminded me of one of my first posts on these boards - as a mewling EB newbie decrying the impossibility of the Koinon's starting position. Much have I learned on these boards since then, and much reading have I done (I made an agreement after all ) - and this whole era has come to life for me. So...thanks again EB team. What you have here is so much more than just a game

[The Stranger]

if you fallowed all the proper procedures you probably copypasted a invisible space or something

ok i got it to work, i did forgot a { somewhere.

now on to the next problem :P how do i mod the homeland provinces of a faction?

[moonburn]

in the faq i´ve once seen a few people trying to help out dudes asking the same question ofc that with that being said i neither recall or understood what they where saying but some research in the forum under the keywords mod homeland might lead you in the right direction

[antisocialmunky]

Well the Hellenic Factions because they have things that can just sit in guard mode while slingers and cav pick the AI a part.

Otherwise I think the Celts are quite strong in Vanilla. Those 200 strong Alpine axemen guys will make everyone's heavy infantry looks like retarded monkeys. Also flanking nudists with flaming arrows will cause mass chain routs pretty reliably.

[Principe]

I'm back! After a huge discussion with myself and the members of the other forum, I have finally chosen the Pahlava as my campaign. Dat Horse Archer though. However, I am still plagued between Saka and Pahlava. The first has good heavy infantry, while the latter has better archers and heavily armored cavalry.

[Tyrfingr]

Saba was one of my favorite campaigns, simply because I had to learn a completely different playing style. With most factions (Nomads excepted) it's mostly a matter of getting some heavy infantry/pikes to hold the center and then smashing the enemy from the rear and flanks. With Saba, you basically have to use skirmishers to wear down the enemy, avoiding hand-to-hand until the last possible moment. Almost every battle took real planning and tactics to win. If to you, "best campaign faction" means "challenging and different", then give Saba a try.

Saba is a hellish campaign, and extremly fun. Being sandwiched between AS and the Ptolies makes for many, many gruesome battles...and fighting high-level pikemen with mainly skirmishers is very difficult. Very run, much fight.

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

Depends who you want to fight really. Pahlava's enemy is Arche Seleukia, Saka's enemy is Baktria and the eleutheroi to the west and south. Fighting in India is fun, but I prefer beating up the Seleucids.

[Principe]

I can always go for Seleukeids after Baktria. Besides, AS sends unlimited stacks of Pantodapoi, who are easy to destroy, but leave my armies tied up.

[Clibanarius]

Parthia is the best. Their recruitment zone is almost as big as Seleukia(though not close to the Romani) and their horse archers annihilate the units of any sedentary nation they happen to feel like conquering. They are unique among the nomadic peoples in that they can build second level mines, and have FOUR TIERS OF TRADE CARAVANS producing more cumulative income as you conquer more and more cities to trade amongst each-other. They have the heaviest cavalry in the game in the Parthian Late Elite Cataphracts if you haven't already conquered everything by the time you complete the arduous process of getting them. They're starting position is poised right over the richest and most poorly defended cities in Asia. Parthia's real disadvantage is their lack of good governments outside Parthia proper, to remedy this I almost always leave the existing govs of sedentary nations intact after annexing them. Also, your best troops are mounted so you can send them more quickly back to the heartland for retraining. Not to mention awesome bodyguards like all nomads.

[Stath's]

Seleukids, Baktria, Maekdonia, Getai. Sels most of all.

[Empire*Of*Media]

Indeed Parthians (Pahlavans) Too!!

[Empire*Of*Media]

Parthia is the best. Their recruitment zone is almost as big as Seleukia(though not close to the Romani) and their horse archers annihilate the units of any sedentary nation they happen to feel like conquering. They are unique among the nomadic peoples in that they can build second level mines, and have FOUR TIERS OF TRADE CARAVANS producing more cumulative income as you conquer more and more cities to trade amongst each-other. They have the heaviest cavalry in the game in the Parthian Late Elite Cataphracts if you haven't already conquered everything by the time you complete the arduous process of getting them. They're starting position is poised right over the richest and most poorly defended cities in Asia. Parthia's real disadvantage is their lack of good governments outside Parthia proper, to remedy this I almost always leave the existing govs of sedentary nations intact after annexing them. Also, your best troops are mounted so you can send them more quickly back to the heartland for retraining. Not to mention awesome bodyguards like all nomads.

yes indeed, Creating from an small satrapy to independence and to kingdom then to Empire then give the legacy to the most powerful of Empire Equal To Rome, Sassanians, its real Enthusiastic !