Positives for Russia & Byzantium?

**KARTLOS** · 12-04-2006, 02:35

byzantines have a good unit roster. they are a good faction if you enjoy horse archer armies but cant stomach playing as a muslim.

russias units are so-so but they are a fun faction to play with because they are a bit more challenging than most.

the towns/cities in their "sphere of influence" are all extremely undeveloped at the beggining, it takes ages to expand becasue of the distances and lack of roads, and of course they miss out on the crusades.

**Sarmatian** · 12-04-2006, 04:21

Russia has some excellent units. Boyar sons are excellent "medium" cavalry. Quite good when fighting heavy infantry because their javelins can actually pierce heavy armour. After weaking them with a few salvos, order charge, and let the fun begin. Kazaks are not the best HA but they can do the job.
Dvor, Druzhina, Tsars guard and cossack are also very powerful.

Infantry units are a bit of a problem in the beggining but when you get dismounted dvor, druzhina and boyar sons all your problems are solved.

Also, their selection of troops is quite colourful and interesting, and very well balanced. Only in early period there is a bit of a problem with infantry but later in the game you can't find a weak unit.

Byzantium has some very powerful units. There only problem is lack of gunpowder units and siege equipment, but by that time I was too powerful for anyone to stop me.

So far I've only played russia and byzantium, now I am playing scots.

It is really sad that CA didn't make orthodox factions a bit more interesting. The patriarch didn't have the authority of the pope, but they could have added some extra features. At least that Byzantium and Russian king have higher authority, because their will is automatically the will of patriarch. They didn't even bother to try to implement something that would make orthodox factions a bit more colorful, which is a shame, really.

I haven't played any muslim faction yet, but it seems they are the same as orthodox with the exception that they can call jihad.

**KARTLOS** · 12-04-2006, 05:49

Originally Posted by Sarmatian

It is really sad that CA didn't make orthodox factions a bit more interesting. The patriarch didn't have the authority of the pope, but they could have added some extra features. At least that Byzantium and Russian king have higher authority, because their will is automatically the will of patriarch. They didn't even bother to try to implement something that would make orthodox factions a bit more colorful, which is a shame, really.

I haven't played any muslim faction yet, but it seems they are the same as orthodox with the exception that they can call jihad.

yeah the lack of crusade/jihad is a significant, so its a shame they didnt try and do something extra for the orthodox

**IPoseTheQuestionYouReturnTheAnswer** · 12-04-2006, 07:54

I see no positives for the Byzantines aside from the Vardarwhatnot. Those are the best horse archers in the game that I've come across.

Let's see, how's the Byzantine unit roster look?

1. Varangian Guard. So hyped they are paraded as the "special" unit for the faction on the campaign screen. Yet, they lose to most militia units. Their use mid to late game is impractical because they lose to every infantry unit, nevermind cavalry.

2. Kataphraktoi. They are weakest of the heavy cavalry units. Qapakulu, Gothic Knights, Chivalric Knights, Tsar's Guard, Khan's Guard, Famiglia Ducale, Mongol Heavy Lancers...every type of heavy cavalry will beat them.

3. Guard archers. Nice, but nothing special. France gets them too. And they will always lose to a cavalry flanking attack, or to any type of armored horse archers, such as Polish Nobles, Sipahis, or Mongol Heavy Horse Archers.

4. Vardaraaosacoaksaca3jta?aoi. A great horse archer unit that is extremely versatile in all conditions, but certainly cannot win a battle on its own. Without any proper spear or anti-cavalry units, (the only spear unit they get is militia) the Var can only do so much.

5. Cannons and gunpowder units. Their gunpowder units leave much to be desired....because they don't frickin' exist!

So what advantage do the Byz get? Their starting position is good, but nothing special. The Turks, Poles, Hungarians and Egyptians can unseat them quickly. I'm curious - do people use the Byz in multiplayer and win?

**KARTLOS** · 12-04-2006, 08:04

i believe the varangian guard are currently suffering from the two-handed animation bug - when that is fixed they shoud be as intended = an awesome unit.

katephracts in reality wouldnt have been an offensive match to western knights as they werernt used in a similar fashion- didnt really charge in etc but maybe for balance it would be nice if they had better armour.

the byz foot soldiers are gnerally dissapointing, but i think the best strategy with them is to wipe out your opponents armies in open battle and then use footsoldiers mainly for seiges.

**Zanderpants** · 12-04-2006, 08:25

Thus far I've played as the Scots, French, Turks, and now I'm in my Russian campaign, and next to the Scots, it's been the funnest. An army of Boyar's Sons and Kazakhs, backed up by a couple Druzhina and a general, can beat any other early to mid period army. It's extremely mobile, mostly armor piercing, well armored, and packing better charge values than any infantry based army. Later on, Boyar's Sons with Tzars Guards and Cossack cavalry is quiet fierce. Also, they get Cossack Musketeers, who, in my opinion, are the best gunners in the game. If you prefer infantry, there are better factions to play as, but dismounted boyars and druzhina aren't bad early infantry, and berdiche axeman are very effective. Couple this with a relatively easy starting position that becomes very difficult by mid game, the ability to expand anywhere, and the great value of some Russian cities, and the ease of taking the rich Balkan cities make it my favorite faction thus far.

**Zatoichi** · 12-04-2006, 13:35

I'm having great fun with the Byz in my second campaign (H/H modded to 1 turn = 1 year). I have the 2nd strongest military after the Mongols, but as a result, my income is mostly going on upkeep, so I can't afford to upgrade cities and build better barracks etc, meaning a lot of economic juggling and trouble with unrest and squalor.

I have managed to expand West and East, am at war with the Turks, the Egyptians and the Moors, and have just managed to sign a peace deal with the Venetians after 100 years of war (thanks to them suffering at the hands of Sicily), and I have just eliminated the pesky Hungarians.

There is currently a jihad called against Constantinople, and the Mongols have arrived outside Baghdad, but I'm hoping the Turks will act as a speed bump for them before they get to my modest Eastern holdings. The Pope hates me for destroying Hungary and I'm sure I'll be the next destination of a crusade.

So all things told, this is an excellent campaign.

So far, I've made do with a combination of the various horse archers, foot archers, militia and a sprinkling of mercs, but my newly trained dismounted Byz lancers and Byz Infantry are proving very useful in sieges. I'm just about to get my first unit of Varangian Guard from Constantinople, but there are 3 jihad stacks on their way and I have no field army to deploy against them. I am a bit concerned that the Vans will be hampered by an animation bug, but I'll try and keep them away from cavalry until the patch is released!