Do you cheat with Pahlava?

[Jebivjetar]

@ Atraphoenix: i never cheat, never... i just asked people who played Pahlava for some stories based on their experience with Pahlava, because, to me, on the beginning it seemed imposible to play with them without cheats and at that point i wanted to quit. But not anymore! This is what i achieved this far (and i think im gonna go for victory screen)

here is my picture:

[Atraphoenix]

I never said you cheated. It was a rhetorical questions like "Who knows?"
It is quite opposite to historical accuracy but you need to blitz with Pahlava to survive, and every pahlava fan may agree with me.

Hyrkanian hillmen and other axemen are good phalanx hunters just order them loose formation so they can outflank phalanxes while they are holding the line your HAs handles the rest.

even Catas cannot be so mad to attack from front so always charge from back or flanks.
Though I tested that grivpandar can annihilate argyspides (elite phalanx) front front.

P.S. Do not recruit noble catas just recruit normal catas because nobles have sword normal catas have AP as second weapon.

I hope it helps you to revive old glory of persians. I like late times with pahlava because you feel like xerxes when you besiege athens. also it is quite fun to disembark elaphants on Italy

[Zradha Pahlavan]

This is how far I've gotten as of 205 BC on VH/H.


The problem is that there's been a stalemate in Syria ever since the Macedonians launched a crusade against me. Admittedly I haven't played much in a while...

Incidentally, how do you get elephants when playing as Pahlava?

[Watchman]

You don't. Unlike their Sassanid successors they never used hefalumps IRL, AFAIK (or in any case, not for war; OTOH I wouldn't be surprised if the Shashashashashashanshahs occasionally kept a few around as pets just for shit and giggles and to impress visiting delegates).

Anyway, as regards cheating, I make like HunGeneral above - I use "add_money" to keep the economy from going into the red at the beginning. Mainly for two reasons - for one, I sincerely doubt if "state debt" was actually possible with period financial structures, for another, out of sheer convenience (because it's boring to sit on your ass for twenty turns paying off the accumulated debt...). Also if necessary to pay for at least the most rudimentary adminstration of captured regions, ie. the initial occupation/pacification precursor, just to keep things logical.

[Zradha Pahlavan]

"You don't."

That's funny, given that the Pahlava have elephants listed on the EB "Pahlava units" page and that those elephants have a unique unit skin.

[Watchman]

Well call me Bridget and bugger me sideways, I stand corrected. That's what you get for not checking the EDU and DMB first.

I guess you need to make like the Saka and go down to India to get them, then. And prolly go through the reform chain and whatnot.

[johnhughthom]

Woah! I had no idea those guys existed!

[Jebivjetar]

Has anybody experienced thing as this: you play Pahlava, capture Baktra; Baktria have 2 towns north and east of Baktra left (i cant remember the names), and after some time they start to spam you with half and full stacks of light infantry and FMs with 60 men?? Well, i know that AI has a money: but how can 2 towns support 2 fullstacks??

[Cambyses]

@ Atraphoenix: i never cheat, never... i just asked people who played Pahlava for some stories based on their experience with Pahlava, because, to me, on the beginning it seemed imposible to play with them without cheats and at that point i wanted to quit. But not anymore! This is what i achieved this far (and i think im gonna go for victory screen)

here is my picture:

Ive got to say, for someone who is finding it so difficult, you sure have a large empire at an early stage of the game! The thing is to use all cavalry 3/4 stack armies. The basic horse archers and a couple of FM/riders should be enough to kill anything. They arent so expensive and move very fast. So you will find that youre upkeep is less than if you were using infantry (which you need a lot more of to cover the same area). Also you should suffer hardly any casualties and tehrefore not need to spend time/money retraining. If you are short of cash dont use elites and dont use mercs and dont build stuff you dont need. Many of the most expensive buildings give you very limited benefits and just arent necessary until you have more money than you know what to do with.

[Skuda]

I see no need to cheat with Pahlava. I never played it but it couldn't be harder than Saka Rauka and Saka is one of the easiest factions especially if you play on M/M or H/M

[Jebivjetar]

After a year since i wrote the first post in this thread i found no reason to cheat with Pahlava anymore. I guess it's the same with all EB factions, especially with "difficult" ones: once you learn what is the best expansion-route for your faction, army composition, tactics, and what is the most likely behavior of surrounding factions, it gets pretty easy to play. Few months ago i started Pahlava campaign anew, and it was, more or less, a piece of cake to reach Antiocheia and to have stable economy able to support decent army at the same time.