What is the best diffuculty to play EB?

[kalkwerk]

What is the best diffuculty to play EB?
I am a veteran of RTW and RTR. I always play VH/VH. So I started an EB 0.81av2 as Roman on VH/VH. I reached 229 BC and I destroyed Carthage and Epiros. Pontos and KH are destroyed by AI. I control Italy, north Africa, west coast of Spain, south Gaul and teritory south of Danube on the east to the Macedonian border, and it's fracking hard. I am in war with Spain, Averni, Germans and Macedonians. They keep sending huge armies and siege my cities. I slaughter them by thousands. I think I killed 10000 Macedonians and lost 1000 men. Almost my every move is consisted of 2 huge battles. I am exsausted. I think I made it to hard to my slef. If I continue to play like 4 hours per day I'll reach 100 BC in December 2008.

As I came from RTR I played VH/VH in my first campaign myself. Fun, but very much work. Play campaign VH/battles medium with house rules is better. Check out the money scripts in the minimods forum if youre tired of ai spamming.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Personnally I've developed a sense of pure, unbridled, savage glee from destroying the barbarians with my current Makedonian army.

Watching the trouser wearing fools charge a phalanx is alway fun.

VH/M is the ticket though, a good tip is to make a point of killing family members, it reduces merc spamming.

[NeoSpartan]

IF you want to roleplay Vh/M.

IF you don't want to roleplay, then Vh/VH, or H/VH (that way the rebels won't attack your towns).

The AI swarming is the result of the surrounding factions getting really strong and you not being able to attack and destroy thier towns. Is going to happen no matter what diffuculty you play in.

I would suggest you play a few turns with ANOTHER faction you like or find interesting. Later go back with renewed interest to your old campain and start going after the AI. One faction at a time.

Good luck

[CountArach]

I play VH/H, but I also use a lot of really, really hard house rules (Which can be found in my AAR). It is absolutely intense! The way I have it set up I can only have 10 unit armies, unless led by a consul and I have to use historical tactics. This means that I actually lose battles!

But yeah, as said VH/M is always good.

[Digby Tatham Warter]

I play VH/H, but I also use a lot of really, really hard house rules (Which can be found in my AAR). It is absolutely intense! The way I have it set up I can only have 10 unit armies, unless led by a consul and I have to use historical tactics. This means that I actually lose battles!

But yeah, as said VH/M is always good.

The 10 unit armies bit, must get interesting if you have unlimited men on the battlefield. I quite often face two full stack armies from the Romans, they seem to be plucking them out of their bottems, so does Carthage, and their stacks are often full of really hard troops.
Infact I just lost 2 cities to Carthage(very rare I loose a city) because their elite pikes chew through my medium pikes in street battles, even though I angle my pikes and over lap them.

I just limit myself to armies that are reasonably balanced and a semi-realistic no of elites. Currently playing as the Seluekids on M/H.

[Orb]

VH/M. No 'total naval rape' (take an army by sea and exterminate/pummel every city in an enemy's heartland) attacks. No elephant use for gate-bashing. No red line camping. Limit your slingers to 2 units/stack or so.

Is what I'd recommend. Personally, I also like to set goals, social, diplomatic, military and economic for myself to achieve as a 'chapter', to show each stage in the faction's development (E.g. Lusotannan - Tribe-Kingdom-Little Empire-Bane Of World). (My Lusotannan AAR, which is currently on hiatus until my computer's back up is an example.)

[Nick.Altman]

Hmm. It seems that the best is to play on VH/M. I don't play with any house rules cause I barly survive as it is. If I started to play new campaign on VH/M what house rules should I respect?
I kinda got disapointed with my Polybian Triarii which are bugged so I swiched now to MTW II Stainless Steel 3.2 while a new build up comes and fixes my Triarii.