Baktrian gameguide:

[PseRamesses]

I know many, like me, loves the Baktrian line-up, simply awesome. Playing Baktria what are your strats? Secure the Indus? Go right for AS throat?

Usually I wind up with the same way in playstyle:
1. I use my initial forces, and queing phalanxes for my initial funds, to take Gava-Haomavarga (buffer against Yuhezi and pushes them into the steppes) and Kophen. Send all my troops to Baktra for restock and upgrade. Build up enough troops until my funds dry out to embark on step 2 - the Indus.
2. Here you can go two ways: Take Alexandropolis (awsome barracks) and Pura (port) cutting off AS from the Indus. X-ing their pop will only generate about 5k. Or go ringht for the Indus. Taking Takasashila, Opiana and Patala (naval harbour) will generate some 25k from just x-ing their pop.
3. ? Here´s usually where I get stuck mainly because I´m a guy that don´t like to break alliances so attacking AS or Pahlav isn´t an option. I don´t want to attack the Yuhezi but can consider taking their capital IF they have multiple settlements which will force a weakened faction out onto the steppes for the Pahlav and Sarmatians to deal with.

In all my Baktrian games AS has never broken our alliance so I usually start policing their eastern empire taking their settlements that has rebelled, x-ing their pops and raising all buildings before returning it to my grateful allied.

Once I used my harbour in Patala to build a fleet. Shipped an army over the Hormuz and invaded the Arabian peninsula at Homna which was great fun. But what else to do? Any suggestions?

[GMT]

In my Baktrian campaign I conquered all of the east like you did and then I used quite a lot of spies to make the eastern AS settlements rebel.

Most of these settlements have a very low loyalty and every spie you get in there lowers it with 10% untill they rebel.

Eventually you'll piss off the seleucids and that's when all the fun begins!

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Thankfully in tests so far with 1.5, the Pahlava seem to build up an army and go after Seleukid border towns without wasting too many years. When that split happens, Baktria often sides with the Seleukids, but sometimes sides with Parthia (from what I've seen).

Our biggest challenge in 0.8 for Baktria seems to be finding a way to keep them from heading to the steppe (they start out with Marakanda and AE in addition to Baktra). They seem to hate Kophen, and instead they want to shuffle all their men towards AE and to fight the Saka and head north into the steppe. We don't want to artificially make them at peace with the Saka, but then we don't want to make Kophen and India too easy either. It's going to be something we struggle with even in developing post-0.8 I'm afraid. I think maybe once 0.8 is released though maybe a lot of fans playing it will actually help us figure this out better to have a supersmooth 1.0 situation figured out.

[Fondor_Yards]

Normaly I take Kophen first, then head more east and take all of india, then hit all rebel eastern cities not Seleucid or Parthian. By the time I have all of those firmly under my grip, one thing or another leads to the breaking of my parthian or seleucid alliance of which normaly fall fast. I try not to kill of parthia so I can steal their cataphract, but I havn't gotten them yet. So I'm stuck with only the goddly Companions and pretty good Bactrian Hippies. Life sucks eh?

Normal army is about,

4-6 phalanxs, normaly all Pezhetairoi
4 missiles, slingers and indians mostly*love indian archers*
4 Cavalry 2 bactrian hippies and 2 hetairoi
6 mobile infantry either agema, thureophoroi, thorakitai, or pheraspidai

The rest, if I have room is whatever I feel like adding, normaly agema which I love!!!!

[-Praetor-]

Thankfully in tests so far with 1.5, the Pahlava seem to build up an army and go after Seleukid border towns without wasting too many years. When that split happens, Baktria often sides with the Seleukids, but sometimes sides with Parthia (from what I've seen).

Our biggest challenge in 0.8 for Baktria seems to be finding a way to keep them from heading to the steppe (they start out with Marakanda and AE in addition to Baktra). They seem to hate Kophen, and instead they want to shuffle all their men towards AE and to fight the Saka and head north into the steppe. We don't want to artificially make them at peace with the Saka, but then we don't want to make Kophen and India too easy either. It's going to be something we struggle with even in developing post-0.8 I'm afraid. I think maybe once 0.8 is released though maybe a lot of fans playing it will actually help us figure this out better to have a supersmooth 1.0 situation figured out.

Perhaps giving the rebels to the north of Baktria some 2 full stacks, and leaving a normal garrison in territories in India would do the trick...

Hell, if I would be a computer, I`d go south!

[Avicenna]

The AI gets free armies though, and around 40K per turn, so 2 fullstacks won't deter it. The rebel province already has a whole stack of horse archers, IIRC.

[Musopticon?]

Gava-Haemovarga was a bit too much with it's hippotoxotai-fullstack. I couldn't even wait out the siege, since the units there were so high quality that no matter how big army I sieged the town with, they always sallied the next turn and totally devastated my phalangists. I never went there again.

[pezhetairoi]

i never touched haomavarga either. with only 2 phalanx units in the beginning you will just get steamrollered by the aursa, who are as good lancers as they are archers, especially when your phalanx doesn't even have the solid staying power to stop 6 units charging down a narrow street at you. Mine got simply steamrollered in a brutal frontal attack.

I went south--Kophen, Alexandropolis, then on to Arachosia other Seleukid provinces. I got a little daunted by the fullstacks of indian longbowmen and stone walls of the indian cities. in the baktrian campaigns I have played before, i made it all the way to Edessa, and only then did i start building an army for India and after that, Arabia. Never got to test it out though, 0.7.4 came out after that and it wasn't savegame compatible.

[Musopticon?]

Ah, fullstacks of longbowmen, how I hate thee!

Yeah, my Baktrian campaign didn't really go anywhere. I lost half my army taking Kophen, then went southwards for the next town and got annihilated there. That was around the same time Pahlav started to kick Seleucids' arses. Suffice to say, my campaign wasn't exactly a success, if you get my drift.

But I love Baktria still, like Pontus, the mix of different ethnicities, influences and warfare styles is just adorable. If Greco-Saka-Indian doesn't ring awesomeness-bells for you, then I don't know what does. With 0.8 they are going to get a revamped unit roster and more indian units, not to mention Saka-Rauka breathing down thier neck instead of those lousy Yuetzi. Colour me interested.

[Zastrow]

I personally love the Baktrian campaign and their unit roster currently, expand it even more and I'm tickled pink. Baktrians are unstoppable in multiplayer, the combination of solid medium infantry (Indo-Greek hoplites + Agema), pikemen (cheap pantadopoi or more expensive prezhetarioi) and some of the best abng for your buck cavalry in the game (those superb Hippeis + Cataphracts + Javelin cavalry) is devastating against my friend who likes his Barbarian factions.

He loathes my Baktrain Hippeis, they look pimp, they are rather cheap and are devastating, especially when you use them behind a spearhead general unit of full Cataphracts. Cataphracts break apart the unit and the Hippeis follow behind in a massive flood that just plow over the unit. I can erase entire units from gameplay in a matter of seconds with that combo, even head-on and losing only a few horsemen.

Maybe its overpowered, but I don't care, I love my Baktrians!

Looking forward to the .8 campaign and their new unit rosters, any additions to their fine setup would be remarkable.

[paullus]

I find that heading into the Indus valley isn't really THAT difficult. Part of the reason is the large numbers of pantodapoi in the garrisons (I assume those Indian spearmen will have slightly better stats, right?). I do feel like there might should be another Indian field army or two, just to make the invasion a little harder.

I also went to the Indus because I was flippin' freaked out by the hordes of horse archers to the NE. It took me 15 yrs to destroy one group, which was occupying part of Baktra itself (and draining something like 500 mnai per turn), and I still lost a lot of men in the process. I didn't take Gava Haomavarga until the yuezhi did, and then claimed it after the yuezhi attacked my border guard.

Is there a way to make pathfinding toward Kophen easier? So that it might be an easier option for the AI to see? Or is that not the problem? How many questions can I ask back-to-back?

[Teleklos Archelaou]

I think we are going to have to do that P. They just will not naturally go that way now. If we could only "pull" them over there and away from the steppe now in 0.8...

[Trithemius]

What governments allow Indo-Greek hoplites? I have been building Homelands where-ever I can, but it seems that I cannot build ANYTHING other than elephants in Opiana if I have a Homeland government there. Quite a pain, once I have waited the five years neccessary to establish the damn thing!

[CountArach]

I think they are only in 0.8

I have never encountered them.

[Trithemius]

I could build them in Opiana with a Parthian III government in there so I think they are in 0.7.4. Perhaps you are thinking of Hellenikon Hoplitai which were in the Saka-Rauka preview; I have not seen them around as the Baktrians (and I assume they would be available...).

[Trithemius]

I could build them in Opiana with a Parthian III government in there so I think they are in 0.7.4. Perhaps you are thinking of Hellenikon Hoplitai which were in the Saka-Rauka preview; I have not seen them around as the Baktrians (and I assume they would be available...).

Well I figured it out. I had to demolish my I and II governments in the Indian provinces though. Is that a feature, or has it been altered for 0.8?

[pezhetairoi]

what is your experience with the fullstacks of indian longbowmen? how did you beat them with your army against stone walls? some feedback, please? I was always so daunted by them I turned south, then west.

[Trithemius]

what is your experience with the fullstacks of indian longbowmen? how did you beat them with your army against stone walls? some feedback, please? I was always so daunted by them I turned south, then west.

Smaller armies, to lure them out and then fight them in the field, leading to a victory in a very close-run battle (Assassinating the enemy general with my Arachosian horse was a good idea).

I also marched into Kophen, then on into India A.S.A.P.. I had to return home for a refit before I took Patala, and I took Alexandropolis on the way towards it as well - which meant that Patala was a very very very tough fight.

[Trithemius]

Ahhh!

Baktrian recruitment is infuriating! There seems little rhyme or reason to some of the available units - thureophoroi need MIC4 in some places and MIC5 in others and both places can build agemata and pheriaspidai; some provinces can't build pantodapoi phalangitai despite having type I governments available; and some provinces can't build anything.

I'm totally confused! How do people manage?