Easiest Faction Besides Romans and Egyptians?

[shinderhizzle84]

Hey all. So I was having a discussion with my friend, and we couldn't seem to think of which factions were easier than the Romans and the Egyptians. Obviously the Romans and Egyptians are super super easy, but what are some other really easy factions out there?

I'm solely referring to the long campaign, btw...

:P

[Zim]

Are factions that have to be unlocked with text editting included? It's been a very long time since I played RTW vanilla, but I recall the Macedonians have a great roster (most especially in having good cavalry to pair with their phalanxes), and good access to rich Greek cities. Germans were also pretty good with a phalanx unit, fear causing units (hope I'm not mixing them with BI Allemani here) and ap infantry.

[shinderhizzle84]

yeah factions that have to be unlocked are totally included, haha :P

Hmm...I will try this faction out for myself and maybe bring it up with my friend the next time I see/talk to him! Does anybody else have any good suggestions? lmfao :P

[G. Septimus]

yeah factions that have to be unlocked are totally included, haha :P

Hmm...I will try this faction out for myself and maybe bring it up with my friend the next time I see/talk to him! Does anybody else have any good suggestions? lmfao :P

Macedon isn't "to be unlocked" but Unlocked-modly. remember when editing the descr_strat files, do NOT use normal typing. cut and paste the text


Reply to thread:
and yes, Macedon goes to the number 1 choice. Fun Companions and Powerful Phalanxes. on Number 2 there is Carthage, Carthage, already a large state in the begining, can create one of the strongest armies in the Game. you just need to know how to use the army and it's usage

that's all,
Caivs Septimivs Severvs If. Ln.

[Centurion1]

Before I mod them down to proper suckiness? Brittannia with their chariots before I modded the chariots to lower numbers they were simply ridiculous

[Myth]

The Seleucids provided you are comfortable with bribing away armies and losing the exp bonus of slaying them.

[Tsar Alexsandr]

The Seleucids provided you are comfortable with bribing away armies and losing the exp bonus of slaying them.

Hmm. So you don't think the Selucids could have it easy any other way? I know I got attacked all over as them.... : /

Macedonia is pretty good. :D I haven't been playing long, and I wouldn't call it easy... but it is fun and they do have a really good position. Great units too. If you like cavalry Macedon might be a good faction to try.

[shinderhizzle84]

Heh, thanks for all of the speedy replies, you guys! :P

I tried a campaign as Macedon earlier today and managed to kick those dumb silly Greeks off of the entire area in about 4 battles....I don't think I've EVER achieved that kind of success in the four battles or so that I fought---the units worked really great for me...they were really A LOT of fun to play with and they seemed to outdo everything the Greeks put out against them..even against SPARTANS, which I was very surprised (but pleased) over, lol :D :P

Now, about Carthage and the Seleucids. Those two used to be my downright favorite factions in the game when I first got R:TW back on 03 or whatever year it was when it came out. I remember I solely liked them because the game said they were both extremely well balanced factions with ELEPHANTS (the elephants were the selling point, haha :P)

But whenever I tried to play as them, unless I was on EASY, I would get my butt kicked non stop, just because, ESPECIALLY with the Seleucids, you're completely surrounded by very very hostile enemies at all places. But I've gotta love the unbelievable armies you can create with those two factions' rosters--especially Seleucia!

Aside from bribing everyone, I may check out the guides section of this forums, just to see if I can find some useful tips for playing Seleucia...thanks guys and girls! :)

[Myth]

For the Seleucids - wipe out Pontus early on. You can bribe their horse stack to your side, or simply kill them in a botched up city assault on turn 2 or so. With your Eastern provinces secure from backstabbing, you can focus on Armenia and Egypt. Take Halikarnassus in the first few turns, it's not hard, especially since you (as a human player) get to buy the mercenaries first. Get those Cretan archers and Slingers of Rhodes!

Down south you can expand vs Egypt before they get their annoying Pharoh's Bowmen and Chariots. In fact, If you rush them you can wipe them out and grow filthy rich in the process. So long as you guard your Northern passes vs surprise Pontic and Armenian attacks you will be fine. Once you get Silver Shields, Cataphracts and Elephants you can proceed to steamroll the rest of the world.

[ReluctantSamurai]

I wouldn't disagree with Myth's synopsis of the Selkies...excellent unit roster, and the potential of being filthy rich before just about everyone else.

But for me it's the Greek Cities. Everyone talks about the riches of getting to Greece.......well...the Greeks are already there!! And the GC can stuff two of the Roman factions right from the start......by kicking the Scipii off of Sicily (along with Carthage) and stopping the Brutii from expanding any further than Appollonia, and then completely eliminating them by taking Tarentum and Croton. Once Macedonia is emptied of Macedonians, all of Greece's riches belong to you. Add those of Sicily and the boot-heel of Italy, and you can now begin to take over the whole of Anatolia starting with Sardis and Halicarnasus. The rest is child's play..................

[Tsar Alexsandr]

My levy pikemen proved themselves against the Spartans as well. :D I had two units of them and the enemy in Sparta had 3 units of superior hoplites. I got lucky though. One regular unit of hoplites came out to meet me early. The Spartans were valiant fighters. But getting hit by my cavalry in the rear was enough to save my pikemen. So.... that was the end of that. XD

Sparta was mine. It was such a good opening! XD No walls, (Cause the Spartans were supposed to be the walls.... brave, valiant, but utterly foolish. We Macedonians are much more practical.... XD) and the army looked like a close match. I was also curious in my own abilities lol.

Their King had just besieged me at Cornith. I drove them off, killed their king, and saw how close Sparta was and what I discussed above, and had to try it. XD One must advance if he sees an opening. Just ask Sun Tzu. XD

So about Macedon. It is a wealthy land, you will experience action quick. You have great infantry and great cavalry. You have access to cultural buildings that make your people happy and your officers better. (Not to mention the awesome colors the faction has!) The Greek City states do have superior infantry, that need to be dealt with with respect. And the Selucids have many similar troops to you, (and another cool color set lol) but a over-extended territory to defend. The Macedonians have a great starting position, great units, and the promise of many fun battles. I've already fought the Greeks and the Thracians. As well as the Bruttii. If you like the Greeks and cavalry, Macedon or Selucia is the way to go. And cavalry was a major selling point for me. XD

[Talimze]

I would say that it's either the Macedonians or the Greek Cities. For personal preference, I would choose the Greek Cities. The GC unit roster is not as impressive, since all of their good units are phalanx infantry, while Macedon actually has good phalanx infantry and cavalry, but the GC has a better starting position. I guess it doesn't really look like it, since they have no consecutive territories, but that simply encourages quicker expansion. However, the real bonus is that the GC are in a much better position to take out the Romans early, and in vanilla RTW, the sooner you can get rid of the Romans, the better off you will be. The Macedonians are in a better position to take out the Romans than most factions, but not as good as the GC. In fact, I think only the Gauls have a better opportunity to defeat the Romans early. The Gauls, of course, have the chance to stop the Julii, who expand the most annoyingly. All three Roman families expand quickly, but the Julii expand into poor land that you probably don't have time for. So, if you're the Greeks, you can stop the Scipii and the Brutii from expanding at all, but the Julii will still go crazy in Gaul, and by the time you get to them they are not really worth the effort to destroy. With the Gauls, the Julii go first, and then you can probably get down to the other factions before they expand too much. However, their starting territories are not as nice, and they are barbarians so they are hindered by low tech levels.
Continuing on, the Greek Cities also have the dubious advantage of starting with potential wars on three fronts, with the Romans (or even Carthaginians), Macedonians, and the Pontics and Seleucids. While this can be a hard thing to manage, it's pays off in the end if you can do well and expand on all fronts simultaneously.

As far as I'm concerned, the difficulty of a faction depends on how late in the game they are likely to start fighting the Romans. I consider a faction like Armenia much harder than, say, Carthage, because the Romans are nowhere near you and by the time you get to them they have already expanded all over the damn place and if they triggered the Marian reforms then you might as well pack it in at that point.

[ReluctantSamurai]

I consider a faction like Armenia much harder than, say, Carthage, because the Romans are nowhere near you and by the time you get to them they have already expanded all over the damn place and if they triggered the Marian reforms then you might as well pack it in at that point.

I have to respectfully disagree. Armenia can steamroll any army the Romans care to field and that includes all the Praetorian units and Urban cohorts. They are my single favorite faction to play because of their roster. The heavy cats (Cataphract Archers and Cataphracts) simply own the infantry-heavy Romans (and for those who fervently hate the Egyptian chariot archers the cat archers eat those things for lunch). There are many options for army composition with the Armenians. They have heavy spears so one can use 'hammer and anvil' tactics; they get their own version of legionaires (whether that's historical or not is debateable) so one can use Roman-like tactics; and they have access to merc elephants, Arab cavalry, and Cretan Archers if you want variety.

Armenian temples are very good, as well. The Temple of Vahagan will net you gold armor/weapon status when you combine it with a foundry and you get exp +2 as icing; the Temple of Armazd is great for law & order and give ancillaries to that effect; and the Temple of Anahit is a good "growth" structure that doesn't have the more nasty side effects of Bacchus and Aphrodite.

I usually play on h/h and just about the time I finish with the Egyptians, the Scipii show up thinking they will pluck the riches of the Nile Delta as easily as they blew through Carthage and Numidia. I use nothing but cats and merc Arab's (one of my favorite mercs...desert bonus and they are fast enough to catch routing enemy cavalry) and leave one historical marker after another on my way to Carthage. Can't recall an Armenian campaign where I didn't have a succession of Legendary Cavalry generals.

Fighting in the desert with the Armenians is one of the few reasons I still play vanilla RTW........try them out sometime.

[Tsar Alexsandr]

Armenia is a awesome faction. Eastern Infantry form a decent phalanx, Armenian Legionaires are good infantry. Cataphract archers and cavalry are great. Historically Cataphract armor was so good arrows would fall off the cavalryman. (Or get stuck in the plates.) Armenia was a dominating force in this time period for it's mighty cavalry. It was of course though, not a rich country.

Armenia had a long history with Rome. (They lasted until nearly Constantine's time period.) There was a great discussion on if Armenia should be added to Rome as a vassal for a long time... Peace was kept between the two nations, and the exchange of ideas was allowed to go on for a long time. Until.... a Roman insulted a Armenian King's son, the injury was un-forgiveable. Armenia had also been lenient to Christianity, and had after this incident, not long after anyhow, adopted it as the states religion. Rome was still pagan though, and the Roman-Armenian war began.

[ReluctantSamurai]

Eastern Infantry form a decent phalanx

Actually, Eastern Infantry are pretty crappy, and you are perhaps confusing them with the heavy spears, as EI don't get the phalanx. The only thing they have going for them is mass and speed. I use them early to take out Pontus, who have nearly the same units at this stage, so its junk vs. junk. I build the city barracks ASAP to get the heavy spearmen. While not as good as some of the other phalanx units, HS are good enough to get the job done. They are useful until you build the appropriate structures for the cats and have enough time to recruit (both cats take 2 turns).

[Cute Wolf]

hello, Macedonians in vanilla are great on field battles, but try to play some sieges.... and you'll found your phalanxes are totally useless in walls, but in campaign, mercenary bastarnae will be great additions

[ReluctantSamurai]

mercenary bastarnae will be great additions

You just gotta love those guys! They can traverse the entire battlefield from one side to the other, and while your other foot soldiers are tired, bastarnae are merely winded They also seem to have the knack of killing enemy generals (probably the rhomphia/decapitation thing) though you really have to keep them away from heavy cavalry. They're in my top 5 favorite mercs...................

[Talimze]

I have to respectfully disagree. Armenia can steamroll any army the Romans care to field and that includes all the Praetorian units and Urban cohorts. They are my single favorite faction to play because of their roster. The heavy cats (Cataphract Archers and Cataphracts) simply own the infantry-heavy Romans (and for those who fervently hate the Egyptian chariot archers the cat archers eat those things for lunch). There are many options for army composition with the Armenians. They have heavy spears so one can use 'hammer and anvil' tactics; they get their own version of legionaires (whether that's historical or not is debateable) so one can use Roman-like tactics; and they have access to merc elephants, Arab cavalry, and Cretan Archers if you want variety.

Armenian temples are very good, as well. The Temple of Vahagan will net you gold armor/weapon status when you combine it with a foundry and you get exp +2 as icing; the Temple of Armazd is great for law & order and give ancillaries to that effect; and the Temple of Anahit is a good "growth" structure that doesn't have the more nasty side effects of Bacchus and Aphrodite.

I usually play on h/h and just about the time I finish with the Egyptians, the Scipii show up thinking they will pluck the riches of the Nile Delta as easily as they blew through Carthage and Numidia. I use nothing but cats and merc Arab's (one of my favorite mercs...desert bonus and they are fast enough to catch routing enemy cavalry) and leave one historical marker after another on my way to Carthage. Can't recall an Armenian campaign where I didn't have a succession of Legendary Cavalry generals.

Fighting in the desert with the Armenians is one of the few reasons I still play vanilla RTW........try them out sometime.

Oh, I agree that Armenia is an awesome faction. It might actually be my second favorite after GC. What makes it hard for me is not the pitting of Armenian soldiers against Romans in a battle; I very rarely have trouble fighting battles against any AI opponent except on the higher difficulties. The hard part for me is, like I said, once I have dealt with the enemies in the East and I get to the Romans, they have already spread all over the map so much that it becomes too hard for me to handle. Well, maybe not too hard, but too frustrating for me to put up with. I have never, ever finished a campaign with an Eastern faction without completely avoiding the Romans. On any difficultly. The reason is that, once I get into fighting with the Romans, I can only take having to fight three full stacks a turn before I give up and do something else with my time. When I play as Carthage, the Romans are the first ones I go after. They go down early, before they become too powerful, and I can continue to play happily until I finish the game. In my mind, that is much easier.

But, I am thinking of campaign difficulty in a different way, I guess. Maybe I am just not as patient as most people.

[ReluctantSamurai]

Oh, I agree that Armenia is an awesome faction. It might actually be my second favorite after GC.

Aha! So you do play them

The reason is that, once I get into fighting with the Romans, I can only take having to fight three full stacks a turn before I give up and do something else with my time.

Yes, it certainly can get mundane fighting the Romans when they just keep throwing endless stacks at you. I should probably qualify the way I play RTW these days...and that is, I rarely finish a campaign by capturing the 50 provinces w/Rome. When I get bored, I move on to another. I've played every faction numerous times, so there's no need for me to prove I can complete a campaign.

My own way to pacify my patience when dealing with a sea of Romans is to bribe a bunch of those stacks, and heavily fund whatever factions they may be fighting. Most of us are rolling in the denarii after 70 or 80 years so what else are you going to do with all that money? Sometimes it actually has an effect......

I've also taken to do a few modifications to starting situations to tone down the Roman juggernaut. Things like reducing starting populations and money, and forbidding the SPQR to building fleets. The result has been some of the more amusing games I've had in quite awhile. In the last several campaigns, Gaul actually did well enough to lay siege to Arretium several times, and both Carthage and the GC had thriving navies to the extent of stifiling Roman naval invasions.

In any case, I can see your point that it's not the quality of the tactical struggle against the Romans, but the quantity. But still, Horse Archers have been my favorite unit since Shogun, and desert fighting, especially with my cats, ellie's, and Arab's gives me the most fun while playing RTW. That's why I favor the eastern factions the most.

So do you favor the GC because they are in a position to stuff two Roman factions, or because like many of us (me included) you love those Spartans?

[Myth]

Ah one problem with a cav only army - autocalc is your enemy. For Roman stacks, autocalc saves you the tedious micromanaement for easy or medium battles. After turn 30 or so, I only lead against heavy odds or when i want to level up a young general. The good stats for Roman Legionaires help with autocalc tremendeously. Also, i play on VH/VH only.

[ReluctantSamurai]

For Roman stacks, autocalc saves you the tedious micromanaement for easy or medium battles.

By the time I'm having it out with the Scipii in the deserts of Libya, there are no 'easy' battles. Except for the first few battles against pre-Marian left-overs, nearly every battle is against multiple stacks of Cohorts of all varieties, and to a lesser extent the Auxillia of all flavors. So I don't auto-calc. If I don't want to fight a stupidly easy battle, then I just use my 'diplomatic army'.

[Cute Wolf]

good diplomats that could separate donkey's ass from his legs are quite handy to have, coupled with 100000 or more denarii

[Tsar Alexsandr]

You're highly underrated when fighting a Roman army. And I like that. XD Nothing like racking up a ton of Heroic Victory markers.

[VersusAllOdds]

I disagree with Armenians. They have a great lategame roster, but they have to face Romans in their most evolved state, as someone above said. Also, their economy sucks, they don't have paved roads, and their units are very expensive and you need a long time to get them (speaking of Cats, Phalanxes or Legos).

Macedon, Carthage, Greeks and Seleucids are all awesome, but every one of them has a tough setback (of course only if playing vh/vh or maybe vh/h battle).
Macedon get their plague which is, if enemy uses spies (Thracians), ridiculously hard to root out. It can destroy Thessalonica, and seriously harm Bylazora and Larisa. Their cavalry is also not there early on.
Carthage is too stretched, and you basically have to run an indempendent empire from each of your regions: Spain, Sicily, Africa. It might be hard to hold Sicily, Spain and Caralis in particular.
Greeks pretty much have the same problem, but with different enemies. They also have access to richer provinces than the Carthaginians, and more Wonders.
Seleucids are ridiculously stretched. They basically have everything they need, but need great effort to hold it. Unlike Carthaginians and the GC, they can't bunker up each of their provinces and start loosening their sandwich when the time is right - they are rather pushed into a multi frontal war from the very begining. If they survive, the world is theirs.

[ReluctantSamurai]

I disagree with Armenians. They have a great lategame roster, but they have to face Romans in their most evolved state, as someone above said.

Let me be clear. I wasn't arguing for the Armenians being the easiest faction to play. In fact, they are one of the harder ones due to poor economy, at the start, and that their best units all take two seasons to train. I was just taking issue with the statement about having to 'pack it in' when facing post-Marius Romans (which was cleared up in a subsequent post). My vote went to the Greek Cities for their starting position, their ability to strangle two of the four Roman factions (three really, because once Capua falls, it's just a short hop through the mountain pass to the SPQR) and in a position to control 4 of the 7 "wonders".

As to the paved roads issue, I think that the game designers never had to build either a stone wall or a paved road If a faction like Armenia can build epic stone walls, why shouldn't they be able to throw down sand and gravel for a sub-stratum, and lay flat stone pavers over it? The engineering required to enclose an entire city with an "epic" stone wall is far greater than that required to lay stone pavers. So either you get to do both, or neither, IMHO.

[Tsar Alexsandr]

Armenia invented the cataphract. And yet they don't have the technology to pave their roads? Is it because it's the desert lol?

It's odd that civilizations like Parthia and Armenia can't build paved roads. With all their culture and technology. It doesn't seem like they wouldn't be able too.... : /

[placenik]

Armenia invented the cataphract. And yet they don't have the technology to pave their roads? Is it because it's the desert lol?

It's odd that civilizations like Parthia and Armenia can't build paved roads. With all their culture and technology. It doesn't seem like they wouldn't be able too.... : /

Well, you can't get stuck in mud in desert. So why paving :D

[Catiline]

Well, you can't get stuck in mud in desert. So why paving :D

Umm....

[ReluctantSamurai]

Yep. That would require some road engineering, and some pretty hefty bridge-building skills, too

[Lucius Verus]

The Seleucids