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  1. #1

    Default Need advice on disbanding starting army & navy with WRE

    I am new to BI and need some advice on a strategy that I want to try with the WRE.
    I plan to abandon most of the WRE to the rebels (after building Christian chapels in every city with doesn’t have one and razing all other buildings) and try to hold onto some of the juicier cities. In order to have a functioning economy I am going to need to disband most army and navy.
    Initially I intended to retain Carthage (my new capital), Lepsis Magna (city east of carthage?) and Syracuse. However I have since decided that this idea may be over doing it. So I now also intend to keep:
    1 city in Spain, which ever deal I can enforce Christianity on without rebellions (hopefully the city in the South East corner),
    Ravenna, Rome and the Southern most Italian city,
    Palma,
    Sardinia.

    I plan to evacuate all my useful Christian family members to Italy and Spain (and later into North Africa) as governors.
    I intend then to get peace and trade rights with the rebels a.s.a.p. and have a stack invade Berber territory and establish a North African base of operations to retake mainland Europe. Pagan family will find themselves used as heavy cavalry (with little regard to whether the family members die, I doubt corpses will start civil wars).

    Anyway to get to the question I wanted to ask,

    How much military units do you think I can maintain with these cities without killing my economy?

    I need as much military as possible to take North Africa and defend what I plan to keep in Europe, and would like a small navy to ship units between the 2 continents. So if I don’t disband enough I will have money troubles early on, but if I don’t keep enough I will struggle to defend/invade.

    Advice please.

  2. #2
    Bureaucratically Efficient Senior Member TinCow's Avatar
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    Default Re: Need advice on disbanding starting army & navy with WRE

    It's possible to hold the WRE without losing a significant chunk to rebellion, though I think it's more fun to abandon some cities and let the WRE Rebels into the game as a significant power. General advice though:

    1) Do not convert any cities in the beginning. You can't afford the discontent anywhere. Wait until later in the game to convert.

    2) To get the most bang for your buck in disbanding, disband cavalry first. Especially Foederati (sp?) cavalry which costs far more than it is worth for you in the beginning.

    3) Replace the garrisons of provinces that are not near your borders with peasants. This will save you a great deal of money. Move the non-peasant units to the front if you do not disband them; they are just wasting money if they are garrisoning a rear town.

    4) Micromanage your starting family members and their retinues. Try to get the best possible combination to maximize happiness and income. Transfer the 'title' and 'artifact' retinues off of generals as they get old, since these can sometimes be difficult to replace.

    5) While the whole empire can be held if done properly, do not be afraid to evacuate entire areas if it will make your job easier and the game more enjoyable. Iberia is a prime candidate here as are your eastern provinces, which will probably be sacked by the hordes anyway.


  3. #3
    One of the Undutchables Member The Stranger's Avatar
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    Default Re: Need advice on disbanding starting army & navy with WRE

    i agree with TC´s tips but i want to add a few

    in italy u can better defend the choke points instead of the cities. this way u can keep massilia 2. cuz if U do or donot take massillia does not matter when defending chokepoints. this way u prolly need 3/4 armies and all the cities can have peasant garrisons.

    make a limit of family members theyre very expensive though most definitly worth the price.

    dont use cav use yur members only.

    to gain money just raid towns and exterminate them.

    compose borderarmies of limitanei theyre very effective if used properly and can fend of many early armies.

    dont build to much and try to get as many traderights and alliances as possible

    We do not sow.

  4. #4
    Just another genius Member aw89's Avatar
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    Default Re: Need advice on disbanding starting army & navy with WRE

    ^^ Is it really that hard to spell "you"?

    If you are not going to convert the regions to Christianity right away, it might be a good idea to take generals with the "pagan" trait out of the region and transfer in the ones with ”Christian" trait. These affect the amount of Christian\pagan people in the settlement.
    Last edited by aw89; 01-12-2006 at 18:33.


  5. #5
    Robot Unicorn Member Kekvit Irae's Avatar
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    Default Re: Need advice on disbanding starting army & navy with WRE

    Personally, you only need one standing "army". The one with your best general (preferly your heir) should be the one taking the fight to the enemy. You can go two routes with this:
    A) These troops should consist of mostly cavalry (cavalry and no infantry can transverse the land more quickly than infantry/cavalry can). The faster you can overrun the enemy cities, the more money you can make, which will lead to a more successful turnover of your profits.
    B) All infantry will allow you to have a MUCH cheaper cost per turn than a cavalry army, but will be slower on the march. This is the standing army that is most popular by many players.

    Most of the lesser grade cavalry (the light cav) you will see in your cities are horrible and expensive. Disband them, as their unit stats do NOT match their high upkeep. They are costing you over 300d each turn per unit, depending on unit size. To start out with, you need only peasants or lesser grade infantry to protect your garrisons, but dont forget that your cities will rebel if they dont have an adequet garrison, and they will be overrun by the enemy for the same reason.

    Dont forget to exterminate any and all cities that DO rebel, as this will net you a lot of money, and the city's population will be reduced to the point where a small garrison is needed, not a large one.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Senior Member Oaty's Avatar
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    Default Re: Need advice on disbanding starting army & navy with WRE

    I intend then to get peace and trade rights with the rebels a.s.a.p.
    Can you actually get a ceasefire with the WRE/ERE rebels as a Roman faction?

    I never could convince the WRE rebel as the WRE for a ceasefire.
    When a fox kills your chickens, do you kill the pigs for seeing what happened? No you go out and hunt the fox.
    Cry havoc and let slip the HOGS of war

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