Ouch....

[underthesun]

I keep hearing they're really good. I was just wondering if they were 12000 mnai good (given i'm making about 1000 mnai a turn)

I take it the Gaesatae make dealing with the Romani easier, then?

[mcantu]

I very often get down to -30,000 as the Getai before things start to turn around...

[Pode]

I keep hearing they're really good. I was just wondering if they were 12000 mnai good (given i'm making about 1000 mnai a turn)

I take it the Gaesatae make dealing with the Romani easier, then?

As a Romani player, yes, they're that good. I HATE those guys. They cannot be stopped, they cannot be reasoned with. OK, a touch of hyperbole, but they can and do force me out of my comfortable triplex acies formation to flank them and beat on them from all sides. The AI almost never keeps enough reserves to counter that, but you can. Keep a second line of jav infantry like Gaeroas, let the naked brutes do the heavy lifting, then smack the enemy in their flank or rear with javs and a charge once they surround the first line. Once the rout starts, your Gaesatae are already in the middle of it and can pick up free XP while hacking down lots of the enemy, making them even more hardcore for the next fight. Keep a few missile cav around to keep missile troops honest and throw a barrage into the melee (friendly fire is less of a worry when your guys have two lives each).

[underthesun]

I had the pleasure of fighting just a few Helvetii Gaesatae. Damn, I need to get me some of those! :o

Now all of Gaul is mine, and I'm allied with the Casse, Sweboz, Lussotanae (sp?), and the Romani.

My question is: How reliable are allies, usually, in EB? Any different than in vanilla?

Question 2: What factors affect your Allies' loyalty? I've never been able to figure out exactly why allies sometimes betray you.

[Pode]

I had the pleasure of fighting just a few Helvetii Gaesatae. Damn, I need to get me some of those! :o

Told ya

How reliable are allies, usually, in EB? Any different than in vanilla?

Unfortunately, not much. It's a bit better, especially if you make regular gifts. If your income can't support that habit, you can give attacks on eleutheroi the turn before you'd be attacking them anyway.

Question 2: What factors affect your Allies' loyalty? I've never been able to figure out exactly why allies sometimes betray you.

Lots of factors in the diplomatic stance. Campaign difficulty above M gives a per turn penalty, so make friends early and often. Sharing a border makes them not like you, so Casse is your best bet long term. Gifts are often welcome, but sometimes not, for obscure reasons. Diplomatic trades on their terms instead of haggling. Etc.
Unfortunately, that's the diplomatic stance. Military movements are the way wars start, and the military AI literally doesn't talk to the diplomatic one, CA has said as much. So, you need to keep strong enough garrisons in your border cities that any attack would be repulsed, yet weak enough armies in border regions so as to not appear threatening. This statement does not imply that a level of force can always or even often be found that meets both criteria. Basically, sooner or later, if you share a land border, they'll come for you. Usually when you can least afford it. That's the fun part