Starting with Byz's

[dgfred]

As I have spouted many times, I almost always play HRE and my 'Friedrich'
units , with an occaisional go with the Danes, French, Spanish or
Egypt. Now I want to start an Early/Hard/GA/Byzantine game and was
wondering if any of the excellent players here could give out some opening
move tips so it will not be my first (and last) try with these guys. OK, let
me have it!

[Grey_Fox]

Launch an immediate attack upon the Turks, then march on the Egyptian lands. After that either take on the Almohads or move further into Eastern Europe (or both if you are feeling randy).

[dgfred]

Launch an immediate attack upon the Turks, then march on the Egyptian lands. After that either take on the Almohads or move further into Eastern Europe (or both if you are feeling randy).

Hello Grey Fox , I've read many of your post on the 'other' forum-
thanks for the tips.

Do you wipe them out or do you take a select few provinces from the Turks
and Egyptians? When I play as Egypt if I don't wipe out the Turks they
become a permanent thorn in my side .

[HopAlongBunny]

In addition, build a fleet and be ready for the horde. Treb is great for the archers (+1 for the prov. +2 with master bowyer); dedicate a province to V. Gaurd production and build as many as you can as long as you can; some let Naples go but some use it as a stepping stone for Sicily...never been that lucky myself HA are great! but the Moslems usually have better; Bulgaria/Greece (or Serbia) make a nice buffer for Constantinople.

Egypt gives a southern choke point; Georgia in the east...once you have this you pretty much know where any invader has to come if you have a strong fleet. Crusades I hate'em and once I'm established i just kill'em all

can't think of much more atm Enjoy!

[Weebeast]

Take Rum as it's the richest land compared to the other two. As you begin, just stack all troops in Trebizond and attack in second or third turn.

You can instead take on rebels in the balkan but that's not good as either one of those muslims will be so big once one is wiped out.

Look after Naples. Sicilians are gonna invade that soon ( Naples or Greece, depends).

[Third spearman from the left]

If the advice of kings and great warriors becomes to much this lowly spearman thinks an attack north would be good. Head up beat the People of notverygood' and get building for when the horde come. Then pop over to Denmark and the like, for some loyal viking fighters...ha ha!!



'Big sharp pointy teeth'

[Vladimir]

The Byzantium section in the strategy/gameplay whatever forum has most of the information you'll need. I like to cheat and give them Armored Almunghavars (something like that). It has a bit of historical flavor and gives them a better chance against the Egyptians.

[Grey_Fox]

Hello Grey Fox , I've read many of your post on the 'other' forum-
thanks for the tips.

No problem.

Do you wipe them out or do you take a select few provinces from the Turks
and Egyptians? When I play as Egypt if I don't wipe out the Turks they
become a permanent thorn in my side

Take every province in them, otherwise you will probably end up with enemy forces in your rear.

Don't worry too much about being outnumbered, your high valour and (usually) high command Kataphraktoi will be able to make the difference against the weakish Turks and the peasant-spamming Egyptians.

[yesdachi]

As the Byz do you (anyone) recommend taking the provinces that are crusade targets in early. Would it just buy me a bunch of trouble from the Catholics or does the $$$ make up for it?

[Grey_Fox]

Take them. The money is good and the Crusades provide good training for your troops. It will also shorten your borders, thus allowing you to send troops on expeditions to relieve Naples.

Ah, yes, I forgot about Naples. Build up there as quickly as possible to get Spearmen, then try to take Sicily. If you lose it, fear not, you might get a rebellion there - I remember getting a Kat, two Varangians and two archer units which formed the core of a small army that allowed me to go traipsing around the Italian Peninsula.

[mfberg]

You can also play the Byzantines as, well, "Byzantine". Put out the emmisaries, spies, assasins, and marry out your princes to foreign princesses and put all the lands under the emperor again. (Emmisaries are 1/2 price)

Constantinople does well early with some farm buildup, some of the other areas (the islands) are not nearly as crucial to farm income and can be left until later. Cash comes from farming first, and later the big money comes from trade. Check out the Byz thread in the strategy section for where and what to build, remember you get your better troops in Early and High, with a drop in quality in late.

mfberg

[antisocialmunky]

Kill the Turks and then you have two options. The Russian Game involves you taking out Russia and Hungary and finishing Europe from the East. The Spanish Game involves destroying the Muslims and attacking Spain's rich and developped lands.

I usualy play a varient that involves crushing the Turks and taking Syria and then Edessa. I usually halt expansion a little bit to increase the by desert armies abit. I usually don't take out Egypt 100% and leave them the Crusader Targets or keep them in Egypt to stop the Spanish and Almohads.

[dgfred]

Kill the Turks and then you have two options. The Russian Game involves you taking out Russia and Hungary and finishing Europe from the East. The Spanish Game involves destroying the Muslims and attacking Spain's rich and developped lands.

I usualy play a varient that involves crushing the Turks and taking Syria and then Edessa. I usually halt expansion a little bit to increase the by desert armies abit. I usually don't take out Egypt 100% and leave them the Crusader Targets or keep them in Egypt to stop the Spanish and Almohads.

I think I like the Spanish Game a little better, so I'll give it a try tonight.

mfberg- good tips, thanks . One of the things I hate, mainly
from not having a manual, etc. is building expensive stuff and then not
being able to get the troops I built the expensive stuff for . So
for me it has become a sort of 'build/play and learn' kind of deal.

[ichi]

Whether you go North and take out the Huns (my preference) or East to remove the Turks (my second order of business), its also important to quickly build lots of alliances with the Muslims (except, of course, the Turks) and Western Euros, build a big navy, establish trade, and conquer the Mediterranean islands.

Also, be sure to get several provinces pumping out VG and have a lot before the Late Period arrives.

ichi

[dgfred]

Well I gave 'em a try and I am just before the 1100- Homeland count. So
far I have held onto Naples after realizing that if I don't build a port the
Sicilians are not ready to attack . I conquered Serbia with an interesting
outcome= The rebels had 100 spears and 100 peasants, I attacked with 2
treb archers and my only van guard unit, so it was 180 vs 200. When the
smoke cleared (or should I say arrows cleared) the rebels had lost almost
their entire force and I did not suffer a single casualty . My only
problem so far has been attacking the Turks, I am not comfortable yet with
number superiority and I am skeered of a counterattack . I will
probably smack them in 1099 and mess up their homeland count, I hope I
haven't waited too long. I think I have spent too many years building up
my farming when I should have been attacking the Turks ,
but I do like my income so far, much different than the HRE .

[antisocialmunky]

If you hate crusades and hold Naples, you can build a couple boats and drop a massive super army to invade Rome... I've seen the sucessful AI byz do that.

[Lars Jorgensun]

You should probably attack the turks. treb archers can smack the crap outta any early archer or HA's the turks have, and the Byz infantry can take out the peasants, spears, and usually the ghazi's too. Just don't wait too long, cause the turks can really mess the eggies up and if the turks take egypt, then your gonna have a really nasty war on your hands. especially if the turks start pupming out saracen infantry. Or if they start training Jihads.

[dgfred]

Good tips, thanks! As for Naples I think I will have to wait a few
more turns and see if I can get the Homelands points for it before I start a
Fort there. I feel like if I spend the $ to build one there the Sicilians might
smack me the next turn . My problem is and abundance of troops
in Serbia right now, holding loyalty up, since I've invested so much time in
securing it. Soon as posible I'll bring them down to the turks. I'll
probably leave Egypt, maybe crippled to deal with the Crusades, with a little
help from me . I'm pretty sure Italy will become a problem before
too long, especially their ships.
What is the quickest way to Van Guards if anyone knows right off, and Kats?

[Ciaran]

The Byzantines should be a good faction to play in early - I had more than plain difficulties fighting them. Their Byzantine infantry seems to be going through anything like their scimitars through butter, horses and armoured units included, and then there are the Varagians and Cataphracts...

[dgfred]

Well, a little update on my Byz game: A couple of interesting things happened- First I shifted my troops and knocked out the turks mainly due
to hiring a mercenary army, it seemed the AI was totally unprepared for
such a move . Next the Hungarians overtook Serbia, after a rebellion . But the best thing was a sneak attack by Sicily on Greece , with their King too. I them up with my Byz infantry and
a couple of treb archers and got a huge ransom for the king- fixing my $
situation and permitting me to start some heavy builds. I would like to
smack Hungary, but we have an alliance at the moment. I still hold Naples,
but it will probably just become a massive headache with the Pope, Italians
and Sicilians all chomping at the bit for it.... we'll see how it goes there- I
have been able to build a fort there, so I will be able to put up some kind of
fight if I want to.

[dgfred]

Well I consolidating my Turk holdings, but it seems the Egyptians are getting
ready (peasant buildup) to pounce on Edessa. I am perfectly ready to stop
them and then smash their lands if I get the urge. It seems one of their GA
Jihads is for Edessa , so I know they will not give up until they
have no choice. Although Sicily has fallen to rebels , they still have a
ship lurking around Constaninople, seeming to look for an opening in my
territory. Serbia (Hungarian) and W-land (Polish/Hungarian) have also fallen
to rebels, so I may have some possibilities for bribery or conquest in those
places . I still hold Naples, with spears, urban militia and peasants,
but Italy seems to be building up for some nastiness too , I should
be able to hold on for awhile though. I sort of want to build up and get some Van Guards and Horsey units going. Antioch is putting a 'bulge' in my
perfectly shaped little empire, but I'm not sure of hitting it just yet and
inviting the wrath of the Christians too. Do you guys have any suggestions
on what my next possible stategies should be? The purple haze is spreading
nicely.

[miho]

Post some screenies please!

[dgfred]

Post some screenies please!

I'm shamed to say I've never posted a screenie in my life , although
I love to see others . I hate to bother with the exact way to do
it, but I would need extra-thorough instructions . Any specific
questions you have about my game I can probably easily answer for you,
even though I'm @ wk right now .

[miho]

I'm shamed to say I've never posted a screenie in my life , although
I love to see others . I hate to bother with the exact way to do
it, but I would need extra-thorough instructions . Any specific
questions you have about my game I can probably easily answer for you,
even though I'm @ wk right now .

PM me if you want to learn. It's not hard at all.