How to keep the enemy off your back.

**Slim_Ghost** · 07-10-2007, 08:01

This is a tactic I have learned as Pontus in order to keep Arche Selukeia off my back. This works well if your empire borders with a large or huge city that is distant from the enemy's capital.

First, attack the city. Then after killing the enemy inside do NOT enslave or extrerminate. You must click occupy. You are not there to loot money, and you need to have a lot of people in the city in order for the tactic to work.
And then, destroy all military structures, followed by anything that improves health, happiness or law. You may destroy the economic buildings too if you want. This ensures that the city gets maximum unrest. Then put at least 5 spies in the city. Finally, pack all of your units out of the city and then GIVE THE CITY TO YOUR ALLY!

If you did this, the city will be then instantly filled with allied garrison. You can then sit back and focus on improving the economy of the empire.

In my Pontus campaign I captured Antiocheia from the Selukids and then gave it to the Ptolemies. Then I just retreat to Tarsus and see them butcher one another for the worthless city.

I don't need to worry about my ally attacking me either. Antioch is so full of unrest that Ptolemaics have to fully garrison the city. But even with their full garrison the city still suffers from riots, thanks to my spies.

**Thaatu** · 07-10-2007, 16:30

Beware, this man is evil.

**Musopticon?** · 07-10-2007, 16:33

Only minus to that tactic is that you need to rebuild the city once you conquer it.

Better idea would be to just use those spies to set off riots in and sow discord in faraway cities of Seleuceia and the poor bastards will send some forces to stow those rebellions effectively giving you a big break. Not to mention, some cities tend to riot to for example Pahlava and Sa'byn, which will further add to the chaos.

The whole burn-down-tactic worked a lot better in regular RTW, where you didn't have so much cityworks and economy issues to worry about. Not to mention, destroying everything in a city you are evetually going to conquer anyway hurts you more then the AI, since they get money assistance and you don't. Also, their government types get build immediately after conquest, unlike the player who has to wait for years to get good MIC buildings in place.

**LordCurlyton** · 07-10-2007, 19:36

Ah but the AI factions will use those healthy money bonuses to rebuild the city slowly. As long as you don't feel pressured to blitz the city should be moderately well rebuilt by the time you get around to conquering it. Though if you are giving a Seleucid city to the Ptolies I would recommend keeping the military buildings in place unless you want to watch the Ptolies get slaughtered by AS stacks of useful troops. I found that by capturing all the Syrian possesions of the AS and giving them to the Ptolies after selectively destroying buildings can keep the AS at bay for much longer.

**Musopticon?** · 07-11-2007, 14:43

If you capture all Syrian AS provinces, why not keep them? I mean, that's a boatload of money to you and another boatload money away from AS. Not to mention you have a huge foothold.

Sorry, this is hard to undestand.

**Conqueror** · 07-11-2007, 15:14

If you tried to keep those cities, you'd likely soon find them under siege, rebellious and tying up your resources by necessitating large garrisons. All the while the seleukids use their free scripted money to produce massive armies in the provinces that surround your newly-aquired territories. It's a very nasty form of over-extension. Instead, you can make it the ptolemies' problem and direct your armies to attack other seleukid cities while their troops are busy trying to kick the ptolemaic occupiers out.

**Musopticon?** · 07-11-2007, 15:43

I know all that. Pontus is my favorite faction.

What I mean is, if you have got far enough to be able to destroy the(most likely insane thanks to being continuoysly bounded on by Ptolemaics) garrisons from Syrian provinces, fought your way through the passes as well, I don't understand why not go further. Follow it through - go burn Seleuceia and it's sister cities - even if they have the money(and they will thanks to the scripts), no more Argyraspidai. A worthy goal.

Unless you are insane and play Pontus on VH/VH.

I kept using this tactic in RTR, but in EB, you are just hurting yourselft in the long run. Consolidation is a lot better idea.
Not to mention, aren't these kinds of punitive raids going against the whole historical playing aspect? I know Rome did this at it's height, but a meagre Anatolian mini-empire...