What is the best diffuculty to play EB?

[Nick.Altman]

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 self. If I continue to play like 4 hours per day I'll reach 100 BC in December 2008.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Check the FAQ.

[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.

[kalkwerk]

I used to play with these:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=81683

[Nick.Altman]

What do you think about VH/H without any house rules?

[bovi]

The most important thing is how YOU feel about it. VH/VH will be very hard indeed for most factions, VH/M is too easy for some people using some factions. If you're among those people, go ahead.

[HamilcarBarca]

I tend to play on VH/M, because I don't want the battlefield bonuses to distort play on the battlefield.

Does the battlefield setting change or adjust the units recruited by the AI?

I was once told that on a M battlefield setting, the AI will tend to recruit better quality units, whereas, on a VH setting, it will recruit weaker units knowing they will still perform well on the battlefield. Is this true?

H.

[Nick.Altman]

The most important thing is how YOU feel about it. VH/VH will be very hard indeed for most factions, VH/M is too easy for some people using some factions. If you're among those people, go ahead.

Well I decided I will wait for the next buid up, 9.0 as I understand, and start a new Roman campaign on VH/H. I got dissapointed with my Polybian Triarii that have that stupid black helmet bug and its realy anoying.

Summer is comming and I live in a beautiful mediteranian city, young Czech female tourists are comming , wild night life is ready, sea is calling!

So I will try in a couple of months when 9.0 appears? Is there a rough date?


Oh, good work guys! I'm off...

[bovi]

Yes, there is a rough date, which is "when it's done" .

[Danest]

I play on H/M, because on VH, I find the Seleucids to be... er... annoying, to say the least. The rate at which they seem to be able to spam stacks on VH seems completely out of control... even recruiting my entire population could come close to competing with that instant replaceability that they seem to have. They seem a little calmer on H, though, so that's where I am now.

[d'Arthez]

For me it is probably M/M - due to computer obsoleteness - and Autocalc seems to be tied to Campaign - difficulty.

[Chris1959]

I like playing the Romani and used to play on H/M but got fed up fighting the Uber Germans etc and by 230BC nearly all the Eleutheroi are wiped out.

Current campaign is at 200BC M/M and whilst I am about 60 years ahead of history Roman expansion is much more historical.

Also with a little military intervention and judicious bribery most of the gallic/German Eleutheroi are independent. Also no cheating!

Also fewer giant battles every turn hence game is moving along quicker.

[Palasta]

Actually i play VH/H. i tried VH/VH before, but after the first battle against the gaesatae i realized its much to hard. Even at level H they are everthing else, but easy to break, especially when 300-400 of those stripped psychos are on the battlefield.

[Imperator]

I play VH/VH myself, and I rather like it; it does make some turns long, but I have a kinda weird philosophy regarding the campaign. I've discovered long ago that the only way to accurately role-play is to establish an environment wherein I actually have to struggle. The politics and tactics of the time were all about victory- if the Romans could have blitzed Germania with elite mercs or an uber-fleet they would have. The reason the Romans DIDN'T is because they COULDN'T so I make it the same for me. I can't help feeling as though it is more accurate, more of a struggle, and more epic that way. Besides, when you win a campaign, it is a real rush.

But that's just my opinion

[Dooz]

For everyone playing on VH campaign, you should definitely check out the AI money scripts and mercenary scripts in the unofficial mods section. Those will reduce the insane AI stacks and make for a much better campaign all around.

[Palasta]

For everyone playing on VH campaign, you should definitely check out the AI money scripts and mercenary scripts in the unofficial mods section. Those will reduce the insane AI stacks and make for a much better campaign all around.

Ohyes, the amount of mercs the AI is using is very annoying.

AI money scripts and mercenary scripts in the unofficial mods section? I do not know exactly what you are talking about but i will search for it and have a look at whatever i'll find.

[mlp071]

Ohyes, the amount of mercs the AI is using is very annoying.

AI money scripts and mercenary scripts in the unofficial mods section? I do not know exactly what you are talking about but i will search for it and have a look at whatever i'll find.

here are the links for you :

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=83349


https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=85790

That will remove infinite stacks and reduce mercenary hirings.Unfortunatelly, i don't think they are savegame compatible , due to large portion of informations being stored in save game file.

[Palasta]

here are the links for you :

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=83349


https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=85790

That will remove infinite stacks and reduce mercenary hirings.Unfortunatelly, i don't think they are savegame compatible , due to large portion of informations being stored in save game file.

Yes, i've found these two threads and installed the mercscript and redmeths moneyscript. Thanks anyway. I can load and continue my ongoing campaign but i have no clue if the scripts work properly. I guess not.

Well, it wouldnt be the first time for me to start a campaign from the very beginning. i must admit, i play R:TW since 2005 and i never ever completed one.

So far so good, if the mercarmies keep comming i think i have to start a new one. At the moment i am at 228 BC (Romani) and i can hardly breath. Epeiros, and especially the Gauls give it to me bigtime. I am also in war with the Sweboz, but compared to the others they are relativly moderate and easy to handle.

[Sarkiss]

I play on H/M, because on VH, I find the Seleucids to be... er... annoying, to say the least. The rate at which they seem to be able to spam stacks on VH seems completely out of control... even recruiting my entire population could come close to competing with that instant replaceability that they seem to have. They seem a little calmer on H, though, so that's where I am now.

im there too. just too tired of Sels!
in my current Bactrian campaign they are at war with everyone but still decided that peace between us aint right and attacked i was struggling as Pontus and Armenia on VH before and starting Bactria on H definitely made a huge difference. they seemed to be toned down considerably. right now i have occupied all they fore eastern provinces and dont get annoying invasions of stacks, after stacks, every turn.
altough im not sure if i should still stick to H when playing away from this giant, like Romans for example. would H campaign be too easy for a faction like Rome or Macedon?

[antiochus epiphanes]

E/E
thats what i play on, the only one i can win lol