i must admit i am getting bored of RTW but i think it's my own fault i got it just around uni holidays and i basically sequisterred myself from the world for about three weeks (the uni holidays weren't that long but i have my priorities:) ), i've played almost every faction now and i think i may have overdone it a little. :(
still i'm hoping that i'll get back into it when the next patch comes out. SHould be along enough break by then.
ps:- if you want a hard faction to play, ala aragorn byz late try the armenians, scythians, parthians; spanish; numidians or even the seleucids. In my opinion they have the hardest starting positions of any of the factions.
I'd probably say the armenians/numidians/spanish are the hardest with the other three a bit behind though all similar.
pps:- I don't think the game is as tough as MTW was though i'm not sure, once i got the hang of the new game i find that it's almost impossible to lose a campaign. I don't know if this is actually because it's now harder or because i've now been playing these games for years and my "battle experience" is really starting to climb. I honestly think i've fought more battles than probably any 5 of the greatest historical generals in history and it's really starting to show. I daresay this is a common occurrence and may be the reason so many of us on these boards find RTW easier than in previous TW games.