How to defeat the Desert people?

[Berend]

He guys another question from me. I want to get the city's at the south east of the map but my preatorians are getting killed by smaller forces. WHy?????

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hi Berend,
Are you trying to beat back the Parthians? If you are then you have to be very careful - their horse archers are very strong and their cavalry is super elite. On the stratergy map you should try to avoid attacking as defense is the best method against the Parthians. On the battlemap, the best way of stopping their almighty armies are by ordering your legions into testudo against enemy horse archers. The arrows should struggle to penetrate the massed formation and will instead be wasted. After that it is time to remove them from the formation and send in light cavalry - such as Roman Cavalry to chase them down. The horse archers should be very tired at this point so the Roman Cavalry should, if running, be able to persue them very quickly and cut them down. You also probably will be facing Cataphracts and elite general's bodyguards. These can be stopped by a good strong formation of legions two lines deep with fire at will turned on. You do have to bear in mind, however, that if horse archers are in the same army that you should only form testudo till the cataphracts are close enough to be fired on by your legions, if you don't then the charge will be very bloody - testudo causes charges by the enemy to be especially devestating! Also you should try not to allow your cavalry to be too vunerable to other enemy elite cavalry and, if they have any, you should keep them protected by your legiondaries - their cavalry is superior to yours and, without it, you will not be able to catch the horse archers! Good luck with your conquest, if you have any more questions feel free to ask, cheers!

[Poulp']

If possible, avoid battles on open ground where the horse archers will be at an advantage.
And if you have to fight, then try to claim the higher ground where your archers might get a chance to shot first.

Strike where it hurts the most: city fighting. The narrow space in city streets will negate their ability to maneuver.
Whether you're fighting Numidia or Parthia, it's the same; you'll have a hard time reaching the city, but then, it's a slaughter.

[UltraWar]

To defeat the stickmen, use bribery, a decent army or Yubtseb Elephants. At least they are easier to beat than the Amazon.

[Roman_Man#3]

and good foot archers are an awesome way to counter pesky horse archers, especially roman archer auxilia.

[Lord Fluffy]

Parthia would be in the north east I think, south east would be some arabian rebel colony? What units are you running up against?

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hi Sextus the Lewd,
Sorry to disagree, yet, I believe that at the start of the game you are correct, but, from my experiences, the Parthians always seem to expand from their middle eastern home to the south eastern corner of the map very, very quickly. I think that their expansion could have something to do with the AI being programmed to wipe out those nasty rebel slaves first, yet I cannot be completely sure about the programming as it is just a theory that has popped up in the EB forum. Hope this help you. Cheers!