Help against Parthia (Pahlava)

**MisterFred** · 07-07-2010, 18:05

Or if you're too cheap to buy a decent barracks, like me, just bring more men than they have arrows. This can be hard on huge unit size settings, because of the depopulation. But while a-historical, it works in single-player to just bring hordes of pantodapoi (NOT the phalangites, the native spearmen) to absorb waves of arrows/charges (keep them well ahead of other troops if you have Alexander where the AI prioritizes archery targets). Follow up with the cheapest non-pantodapoi spearmen and AP infantry you can find. As long as you outnumber the enemy by two or three times their number of troops and are careful to avoid a mass rout, you should be able to take one of their settlements with a human wave attack. Don't be afraid to bring multiple stacks and put one or more under AI command to increase the number of levies on the battlefield.

Sure, they'll spawn some more bodyguards in their next town and decimate your army even when you win, but hey, you have a new settlement to drain for pantodapoi, you hire a few mercs for your back line, and on to the new settlement. Actually, its really good to use mercs as much as possible, since they can form the best units in your army, and the enemy doesn't send huge merc stacks back at you. The fun part of this strategy is that occasionally you get greedy and suffer devastating losses and it keeps your provinces small and poor, prolonging the game and challenge. And you can roleplay your generals as merciless bastards who never personally engage in combat, which is really the only historically accurate part of the whole strategy for AS (at least the merciless bastards part, dunno about not personally engaging in combat).

This strategy is even more fun once you take Babylon/Seleucia as Hai when going for the Orontid reforms. But its harder to beat AS/Ptoly stacks with this sort of army :).

**Burebista** · 07-07-2010, 21:21

If you don't mind taking advantage of the AI , just try to position your armies in forests , bridges or very high ground. That should give you enough advantage to massacre them.
Also try to get some cheap mercs , such as the scythian ones or the archer/spearmen. They are very good in these kinds of situations.

**ARCHIPPOS** · 07-07-2010, 22:43

Originally Posted by MisterFred

Or if you're too cheap to buy a decent barracks, like me, just bring more men than they have arrows. This can be hard on huge unit size settings, because of the depopulation. But while a-historical, it works in single-player to just bring hordes of pantodapoi (NOT the phalangites, the native spearmen) to absorb waves of arrows/charges (keep them well ahead of other troops if you have Alexander where the AI prioritizes archery targets). Follow up with the cheapest non-pantodapoi spearmen and AP infantry you can find. As long as you outnumber the enemy by two or three times their number of troops and are careful to avoid a mass rout, you should be able to take one of their settlements with a human wave attack. Don't be afraid to bring multiple stacks and put one or more under AI command to increase the number of levies on the battlefield.

Sure, they'll spawn some more bodyguards in their next town and decimate your army even when you win, but hey, you have a new settlement to drain for pantodapoi, you hire a few mercs for your back line, and on to the new settlement. Actually, its really good to use mercs as much as possible, since they can form the best units in your army, and the enemy doesn't send huge merc stacks back at you. The fun part of this strategy is that occasionally you get greedy and suffer devastating losses and it keeps your provinces small and poor, prolonging the game and challenge. And you can roleplay your generals as merciless bastards who never personally engage in combat, which is really the only historically accurate part of the whole strategy for AS (at least the merciless bastards part, dunno about not personally engaging in combat).

This strategy is even more fun once you take Babylon/Seleucia as Hai when going for the Orontid reforms. But its harder to beat AS/Ptoly stacks with this sort of army :).

Sweet Jeesus that's by far the most spectacular and ruthless Zerg strategy i've ever read in these forums. Here's a balloon for roleplaying Seleuceia as Soviet Union.And i really like the Hetairoi-Comissars too!

**anubis88** · 07-08-2010, 13:59

Originally Posted by ARCHIPPOS

Sweet Jeesus that's by far the most spectacular and ruthless Zerg strategy i've ever read in these forums. Here's a balloon for roleplaying Seleuceia as Soviet Union.And i really like the Hetairoi-Comissars too!

hahaha... epic post

**ARCHIPPOS** · 07-08-2010, 17:49

Actually MisterFred is epic.I'm just pointing it out :)

**athanaric** · 07-08-2010, 17:55

Originally Posted by ARCHIPPOS

And i really like the Hetairoi-Comissars too!

Unfortunately the engine doesn't allow executing your own men on the battlefield. That's a feature I've really come to miss with TW games...

**Chris_** · 07-08-2010, 17:58

Originally Posted by athanaric

Unfortunately the engine doesn't allow executing your own men on the battlefield. That's a feature I've really come to miss with TW games...

You could line them up, place some missile troops next to/amongst them and get them to fire. You should kill at least some of them that way.

Or you could get them to stand up against a wall and fire siege weapons at it. When it crumbles, that should take a few out. Or put them in a siege tower and do the same. Usually around 80% casualties, depending on how full up it is at the time.

**boxleitnerb** · 07-09-2010, 01:08

I have given up several provinces and reinforced my border with stone walls. I use the sally-quickload bug (you can sally as often as you like) and decimate the enemy siege army when it is vastly larger than the garrison force. Their horses don't stand a chance when subjected to oil and arrows and stones from above and facing a wall of spears to keep them at bay.
Any day now I will start conquering back my provinces and kill them all! :D

**strategos roma** · 07-09-2010, 07:31

First, declare war on the Parthians in the 1st turn. Abandon Assak, Hyrcania, Margiane and the 2 NE provinces. Build up Alexandria-Ariana and Hekatamopylos. Then recruit an army of pezhetaroi and thorakitoi and recover the lost towns.