Celts (BI faction)

[Revenant69]

Well, I decided to give Barbarian Invasion a try after a long period of not playing. I wanted to choose a small campaign so that I could finish it quickly and I chose to play as the Celts.

My oh my, am I glad that I've made that choice. To say that the campaign is increadibly exciting would be an understatement. So far the campaign has an explosive beginning and I'm really enjoying all those Celtic units, trying to learn how to use them to the best. Great stuff. I even decided to do a write up of the campaign as I play. You can read it here:

Celtic Campaign Report

I will continuously update the page above as I progress through the campaign. Have a read. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

So far, I can say that Celts are an interesting faction to play.
Cheers.

EDIT: Well, I've finally finished playing Celts and can add my few more cents.
Units: Celts have a nice selection of units, although their infantry can be quite vulnerable to missile fire (like Gallowglasses and Hounds of Culann) it does seem to be capable to deal with all threats. Use Pictish Spearmen in schiltrom formation - they can take a beating and not worry about "Flanks being exposed". Gallowglasses and Houdns of Culann are good enough to be used during sieges. Just watch out for arrow fire, if you are bringing the Hounds to fight on the wall, bring another crappy unit to draw missile fire. In my last battle for Ravenna, two units of Hounds destroyed a couple of units of Comitatenses and some archers that were guarding the gate.

Slingers and Kerns are OK, but you need max upgrades for them to be able to do any damage whatsoever. I am quite dissapointed with Scotii Chariots - they seem too weak. Noble Clansmen are quite good - a good bang for the buck - they can handle (not necessarily kill) most heavy cavalry, just don't get them overwhelmed.

Strategy: When expanding, be very mindful about not expanding your borders too much. Use natural obstacles (rivers, mountains) as your defensive choke points. Build a network of forts in mountain passes, near bridges and other locations to help you secure the peace of your vast empire (I used the river Rhine, the Alps and the Pirenees as my additional defence). Although Celts are not meant to fight the Huns (remember, your infantry is vulnerable to missile fire) it IS possible to beat them. I fought the Huns' stacks, albeit somewhat depleted, and survived. Use assassins to knock out their (or other horde's) lesser family members until only the faction leader and an heir are left, then kill these two in battle. The rest of the horde will simply melt away.

Diplomacy can be tricky. I was allied to the Huns, but then they crossed the Alps and attacked me =( Traitorous scum. So don't trust the word they say. A good defense on the river Rhine is a must if you want to hold off the Franks, Burgundii, Alemanni and the Saxons from knocking you back to Britannia (although in my game Saxons were my allies pretty much from the start and to the end).

Well, so far so good. Keep an eye on the link above - I'll keep updating my gameplay story. Who knows, maybe it'll help someone.