Which faction provides the biggest test?

[ReluctantSamurai]

Armenia starts with a single Cat...you should have started with two--designers decision. Has nothing to do with available barracks. You can't replace losses, of course, until you have the appropriate barracks.

Abandoned the idea of attacking Pontus so aiming south instead.

Keep an eye out (watchtowers or spy) along the road from Sinope to Kotais. It's Pontus' favorite invasion route if they don't try for Tarsus first. They will attack you sooner or later, but it will be later if they join the Seleucid feeding frenzy. After that, watch for a Pontus-Egypt alliance. Happens more frequently than not, so if you decide, at a later point, to attack them (or they attack you), watch out for Big Brother

[williamsiddell]

Parthia VH/VH 244bc

Parthia: The towns around the inland sea only sea trade with one other town, so no need to upgrade a port. Susa the top city with 22000 and zero growth (courtesy of slave boosts).

Armenia: Long gone, but against them I won my first horse to horse battle.

Selucids: I'm used to them disappearing like a Cheshire cat, but they've expanded this time. They allied with Pontus, Scythia and eventually Egypt, then attacked me. Their troops back off as though not keen on fighting my horse. Selucia and two small towns taken.

Pontus: As predicted they sent a bunch of armies against Kotais. I was forced to build a small army and had 3 heroic victories before taking Sinope (20k size, enslave boosted other towns, can now build cataphracts).

Egypt: Have three large armies just inside my borders but not doing anything. My assassins are busy. Getting ready to attack them starting with Palmyra.

Scythia: No activity.

[ReluctantSamurai]

Sounds like you are having fun with it.....

[williamsiddell]

Aye, It's highly entertaining. The long-lasting horse archers are deadly in battle. Highlight so far - watching an Armenian scythed chariot running amok and killing the enemy leader, forcing another scythed chariot to go amok and both decimating their own troops :)

[ReluctantSamurai]

Highlight so far - watching an Armenian scythed chariot running amok and killing the enemy leader

Now that would be a highlight...except Armenia doesn't get scythed chariots

[williamsiddell]

Armenia doesn't get scythed chariots

Ooops, Pontic outside Kotais.

[williamsiddell]

Seleucids and Egyptians are continually backing off. Example: Egypt has 5 full armies in the Palmyra area (inluding 2 on my territory causing high devastation). So I plant my own size 20 army adjacent to the two hoping to be attacked at turn end. No attack and one of the armies backs off. When I attack the other it retreats and I follow up.

It seems I should be using half size armies to see some action :) That means a complete change of strategy, so instead of feeling I've been wasting conquering time, I'm gonna restart the game (and take account of other minor things like port upgrades being unnecessary in some cases). I also feel short of generals and several of the ones I have are rather elderly - so I'll be looking at that too.