Faction??

[mlp071]

If you looking for best mix of units, then go for Makedons. Hippeis Thessalikoi owns all other cavalry around there, phalanxs are toughest ones and generaly you get great mix of units. They do get best cavalry and infantry around.

Plus as bonus you get to destroy KH in beggining(same as Alexander Makedon), which is a quite enjoyment.

You have so many options with them. Offensive army, they got units for that. Defensive army, they got that. You can basicaly have 3-4 elite armies with all different units they get down the road.

In my campaign i was fielding all regional Gaul army recruited in Tylis and Singidunum on Balkans , All HA army around Black Sea and regular Makedon "hammer and anvil" army in Hellenic areas.And , none of them was weak.

That was in 208 BC though , so could take time.

Other then that i liked Casse units (nasty guys with 2h hammers and 2h swords are really rockin). No good cavalry till 220BC though.

[Pharnakes]

Makedon's hardly exactly a challange though ,is it?

[mlp071]

Nah , they are not, other then financial hole that they got at start.Was reffering to best units composition.

Majority of factions is not to much of challenge anyways,due to stupid AI, except steppe factions and Sabeans.

[Pharnakes]

Yeah, but especialy not Makedon.

[mlp071]

Yeah, but especialy not Makedon.

I found it same for all hellenic factions.I had same results with Epyros and KH.

Thats why you have house rules for playing, to make it more of a challenge.

[EasternScourge]

Nah , they are not, other then financial hole that they got at start.Was reffering to best units composition.

Majority of factions is not to much of challenge anyways,due to stupid AI, except steppe factions and Sabeans.

Well,he did say he wanted a challenge.So go for the Sabeans.But KH is fun too.I had a campaign with them once.It went pretty well.But it eventually got a bit on the easy side.Athens alone probably made the same amount of money my entire Sabean kingdom made every turn.

Besides,I haven't seen too many people getting excited over the Sabeans.Does anyone play as them other than me and The Errant?

[Griever14206]

I am in the middle of a Sabean campaign at the moment. It is definetly interesting. I've conquered nearly the entire Arabian Peninsula, and have been constantly changing alliances with the AS and Ptolemaiois. The Persian portion of Seluekia is always poorly protected (it is nearly devoid of threats) and although I can't spare the troops to properly garrisson the large cities, I like to take them, enslave, and then destroy everything I can. Gives a real feeling of being a desert raider.

Oh, and the Sabean Citizen Calvary rock.

[The Errant]

I am in the middle of a Sabean campaign at the moment. It is definetly interesting. I've conquered nearly the entire Arabian Peninsula, and have been constantly changing alliances with the AS and Ptolemaiois. The Persian portion of Seluekia is always poorly protected (it is nearly devoid of threats) and although I can't spare the troops to properly garrisson the large cities, I like to take them, enslave, and then destroy everything I can. Gives a real feeling of being a desert raider.

Oh, and the Sabean Citizen Calvary rock.

Someone else is a fan of those I see. Granted the Citizen Cavalry are the most expensive Medium Cavalry around. But they are also the best. Even better than Thrakioi Prodromoi.

I like the Sabaeans for their unique challenge (limited economics and restricted units). They are a great faction to teach a player about tactics.

Of the Greek factions my personal favorite is Epeiros. Mostly cause of the elephants and Chaonion Agema. They also get most of the same reagionals that Makedon gets, with the exception of Thrakioi Peltastai and Taxeis Triballoi.

I played Casse during my money script testing. Interesting barbarian faction. Greatest starting position. In my later games I simply bribed the surrounding Eleutheroi settlements into submission. No other faction are as well placed with no enemies coming on to you.

The Carthies are another great faction. They have wonderful factional troops and great Iberian reagionals. And the money to hire almost any interesting merc they encounter.

I recently started playing the Pahlava as part of the beta testing progress. It has tought me new respect for foot archers. Everybody knows that with even a couple of HA you can destroy much larger enemy stacks.
During a rebellion of Kiat I got a nice stack of Persian archers and a few Dahae raiders. That stack has so far taken something like 8 Seleukid settlements and a lot of their mercenary field armies to the grave in different parts of Persia.
My economy sucks and I'm constantly going into debt. But with just this single stack and the dregs of my starting army, I've been kicking the Seleukids out of most of their eastern holdings.

The hardest challenge are the Steppe factions. Mostly due to their downright lousy economy. But with the units they have. They can totally thrash civilized factions with their starting armies.

The second hardest challenge comes with factions like Saba and Pontos. Pontos is worse with their friendly neighbor already present next door. Saba atleast has breathing space with the desert between them.

The rest are of varying degrees between downright easy to moderatly challenging.

[Saeon]

Personally i luv the idea of playing a campaign with Sabaeans because they luk unique and challenging i'd lik to see some more units for them though, only just to add some different steps to the army more than anything. So i was planning to wait to see with these guys (as someone has said i believe) :P. I mostly just want to break from the Romans as i play them a lot and win with them a lot :P.

So i was thinking of Pontus or Koinen Hellenon like i said, Pontus certainly luks more challenging but what would people say about KH just to play it i mean you have your enermy right next to?

[mlp071]

Well,he did say he wanted a challenge.So go for the Sabeans.But KH is fun too.I had a campaign with them once.It went pretty well.But it eventually got a bit on the easy side.Athens alone probably made the same amount of money my entire Sabean kingdom made every turn.

Besides,I haven't seen too many people getting excited over the Sabeans.Does anyone play as them other than me and The Errant?

Yeah that was my thing also. All 3 Greek based factions are fun, but they tend to get easy fairly fast.From my personal expirience, i found KH easiest(economy rocks), then Maks and Epyrotes afterwards.

I am curently trying Sauromatae, and thats load of fun. You are broke no matter what you do , hehe.I believe Sabeans are in same position.

i would say:

- real challenge : Steppe Factions and Saba

- decent challenge : Gauls factions, Lusotannan, and maybe somewhat Casse (early years)

- fairly enjoyable ride : everyone else

Never tried Seleukids though.It must be fun everyone going against you and half of your lands are rebelling.

[LusitanianWolf]

Besides,I haven't seen too many people getting excited over the Sabeans.Does anyone play as them other than me and The Errant?

Sabeans are pretty cool!!!! I have played an little with them and I've love it... I just want too see more new units to them as I love to have where to chose (even if I have regionals). Too bad I can play more until I have my new pc...

About Pontos they seem to be quite chalenging and maybe more than Saba at least at the very begining. It was one of the first nations I've tryed (after take an look at Lusitanians, of course) and while I was fighting hard to keep an insignificant positive economy at same time that an little levy army I got myself overruned from an Selek stack made from lots of phalanxs and two units wild naked crazy fanatics... I didnt had an chance. But at that time I didnt understand nothing of EB and I didnt had played RTW for more than an year... I'll have to try later with my new game experience.

I've played an little more with Lusotannan, Romanii and Epiros and I've found all them to be quite fun and, even if not dificult, chalenging at least for an long time retired and now reenlisted veteran ( like coort evocata )...

I never had played with gaul factions but arent they chalenging too? I mean you have the other gauls, sweboz, lusotannan, romani and Casse all around and no strategic place to start. Its an small place with lots of people around.....