Easiest Faction? Most Difficult Faction?

[Skott]

I got the game installed and reading up on the the game instructions and how to so I was wondering what people thought as the easiest faction to play and the most difficult faction to play in ETW excluding the game difficulty settings. So let your opinions rip!

[tibilicus]

Easiest is probably the British and hardest is the Ottomans.


Ottomans start of in an awful state and it's hard to improve from there.

[Greyblades]

Easiest hmm... probably Spain or France as they start out as a superpower... allthough GB has an easily defended starting pont.
Hardest... USA in the RTI part 3. One province, a small army and surrounded by a superpower faction who hates you and keeps raiding your provinces.

[Bob the Insane]

Britian is pretty easy, you are very secure and money is easy to make...

Austria is more of a challenge, there is little money and enemies all around plus religious difficulties.

Prussia is a popular one because they only have the two province and have to come out fighting to make any ground.

I imagine Spain would be fairly easy because they start strong and rich and their early navy it powerful. I have not tried them yet though...

[Melvish]

With un-loseable home provinces (no AI naval invasion), best infantry, access to 4th rate at game start and good position for expansion in America; I would say UK is pretty much a cake walk.

Prussia start small and poor and surrounded by potential enemy that can declare war at 1st sign of weakness. Their line infantry is average and only have a limited selection of units compare to the British. No navy and not shipyard to build real warship. No ally and your only starting trade partner is Poland your arch-enemy... Great odds! if Alfred Packer would play this game he would certainly pick Prussia to write a comedy AAR.

[Sheogorath]

I actually had quite a challenge starting off as Spain.

Although you start off big, you also have a lot of issues.

As I pointed out in the guide, your king is basically a total dead weight. Not only does he not give you benefits, he gives you -10 to all relations!

All that territory is a bit of a dead weight, too. Unlike Russia, you cant just defend certain points, because, starting out, almost everybody hates you. It's a pain to develop those outlying American provinces as well, because your initial income is a bit small and the pirate fleets will happily take on your ships and win.

Now, it is true, you do start off with some advantages. The, uh, two people who DONT hate your guts, France and New Spain, will probably shield you from any serious early threats. You might lose Florida and Portugal might run amok in Spain, but you probably wont get taken over.

I wouldn't say Spain's the HARDEST faction, but the required military buildup early in the game can hurt your early growth a bit. I'd rate them as challenging.

Easiest, IMO, is Russia. Great starting position, nobody really hates you besides the Ottomans, and you've got a decent monarch. Plus, your've got good starting infantry options. Cossacks and Stretsy make an excellent team. Taking the Balkans from the Ottomans is, if you will forgive the obvious metaphor, like taking candy from a baby.

Hardest, I think, would be Dageistan :P

[anweRU]

The Maratha's are rather easy. With two rich starting provinces, a decent starting force (three generals + assorted units), a weak enemy with plenty of territory (Mughals) and a 1-province rich neighbor (Mysore), all you need to do is to get as many trade agreements as possible at the start of the game, and you're set to go. My starting queen & ministers were also pretty good.

[Bob the Insane]

I actually had quite a challenge starting off as Spain.

Although you start off big, you also have a lot of issues.

......

Interesting, thanks for the insight...

[Dogfish]

GB easiest

Prussia hardest

but I haven't played Ottomans or Spain yet, based on this thread theyre my next picks.

[Sheogorath]

IMO, the Ottomans are easier than Spain, simply because they have such a huge income right off the bat, and decent relations with Europe beside Russia and Austria, who can be bribed.

My main problem in the Ottoman campaign was Georgia. Seriously. They were my greatest foe :P

[Chimpyang]

Ottomans, lose the unprofitable and difficult to keep province near Russia in the west. Just sell it or use it to sue for peace or something. Pull back and turtle, watch out for the persians and keep the georgian border well guarded...or take georgia - easily defendable region from the russian.

Once you have a decent money flow again, invade either via Georgia or boat across to the Crimea - once Moscow and Kiev are yours/raided/razed it should be a matter of rolling up the russian bear. May be worth keeping good relations with Austria to keep them off your back. Your western border should mainly be defensive as you have many different nations all looking nervously at any armies you have there.

Egypt and the middle east can be left moslty undefended and once you get some trade up with Spain, it should bring in lots over time.

Easiest faction is GB - you can roll the french over within a couple of turns in europe if you risk it and hurry them. You have decent navy and good troop recruitment in the americas - once boston is takn off the french, the rest of the area should follow.

Hardest? Austria - lots of countries round you - all potenitally enemies - Prussia are massively expansioist, poland will look to nibble and the ottomans can change your religion slightly in the eastern provinces and make you spend more on upkeep. Venice gets very rich - but has no university - it is worth rushing it at the start to get access to a well developed port and city. The italian states should also be harmonized into the austrian empire before spain gets there. Keep Prussia at bay whilst wresting control off spain for the mediterrian trade and once Italy is yours, you can choose to expand either way.

[Subotan]

Hardest faction? Switzerland, by a mile.

[Eusebius86]

GB easiest

Prussia hardest

but I haven't played Ottomans or Spain yet, based on this thread theyre my next picks.

I beg to differ. I'm in the middle of my first EtW grand campaign as Prussia playing H/H. It has been suprisingly easy to play as them. I just spent the first 10 years teching up and working on my ecomoy. Then I spent the next 10 steamrolling through Poland, Austria, and several minor factions. While being at war with 8 factions at one time, not one faction has made an attempt to take over any one of my cities. I haven't even had any economic or social difficulties.

I think Austria would be much harder honestly, because they are much more spread out, and it would take longer to react militarily to any threats. Also, Prussia's line infranty rock, Austria's suck (reloading skill of 20).

[Fondor_Yards]

The Ottomans were actually pretty easy for me. Once you deal with the starting problems of Russia, *ally with sweden and keep crimea alive which are easy to do, and they will be busy* the Caucuses, *Georgia!* and then just secure your other boarders *persians should ally, staring evilly at the austrians worked* and your free to sit back, tech up to your not garbage units, *the starting available ottoman units are trash* and then do whatever you want.

[tibilicus]

GB easiest

Prussia hardest

Really?

I basically won the game with them within 30 turns..

[Julius_Nepos]

I just wrapped up a short campaign with Austria, bailing out in 1740 after completing my (inane, if I might say) victory conditions. It took me a couple of tries on Hard/Hard to figure out how to survive as the Habsburgs, what I found out was that even though 5 factions might declare war on you in the first 10 turns, it's the Prussians that pose the most viable and credible threat out of the gate. Saxony never attacks even though Poland does (a bit of a historical oxymoron there) and Venice, though they may declare war, does next to nothing (though they never accept peace either). I personally would say the Austrian game is challenging but only to a certain point, perhaps it's a middle of the road faction in difficulty. Granted I've only had the game a week, so I'll have more time to compare things going forward. I will say however, ANY Empire run by Charles II should be considered an Empire in extreme distress. And so the Spanish, regardless of their actual position power wise are in dire, dire straits to start.

[Monarch]

Really?

I basically won the game with them within 30 turns..

Tib played it on medium.

[Skott]

I been playing GB as a first choice. I think I understand the military tactics okay but the city and economy management is giving me the biggest problems. I'm thinking picking a small faction like UP might have been a better 1st choice though. Knowing what builds what and what it gives you access to (units, abilities) is totally different than past TW games. I'll get it eventually though I hope.

[Marquis of Roland]

Also, I don't know if this is the case for other factions, but as GB, certain regions let you recruit "localized" units with different skins than your units in europe, which makes for nice visual variety

[tibilicus]

Tib played it on medium.

Monarch played it on easy. He would of chose very easy if it was an option but unfortunately it wasn't.

He also failed to beat the campaign as the British on easy because he sucks at the game.

[Greyblades]

Also, I don't know if this is the case for other factions, but as GB, certain regions let you recruit "localized" units with different skins than your units in europe, which makes for nice visual variety

That is true but sometimes not for the best, Those hats the East India Trading Company troops wear...

[DisruptorX]

That is true but sometimes not for the best, Those hats the East India Trading Company troops wear...

...are incredibly stylish? Its the proper attire for any gentlemen to wear as he brings the iron heel of imperialism down upon the natives.

[Megas Methuselah]

Hanover was rather difficult to start with. I had to really be wary of Sweden, who wiped Denmark off the floor. Also, engaging with the Prussians during my expasionist policy was rather difficult; I only won my battles through clever use of artillery and cover.

[Namarie22]

I found Spain to be interesting, yes, they are big, but their lands are really plopped down all over the place. If you get a game going where the AI actually does something, its very fun.

Sweden has been easy as pie all three times, but in those campaigns the AI never did anything much (H/H, VH/H, VH/VH),

[Polemists]

This really all depends on your campaign and your faction.

Short Campaigns are not to bad for any faction.


Long Campaigns are hardest for Poland, Austria and Prussia. The reason being the condition require you to take out 3-4 factions that arn't really near each other, and claim alot of land, which keeps you in steady wars as time goes on if you want to win.

I would actually say go with Global, I find it far easier as there are less specific territories you have to take and your more free to take what you want in your own time.

For instance Poland's long conditions means they have to take Istanbuhl (Ottomans) Austria (Austria) Berlin (Prussia) and Sweden (Sweden), which means you also have to conquer all the lands on the way to those places. Which basically means you have to conquer all of eastern europe.

The reason GB, France and Spain are slightly easier is you start with trade able provinces and a navy. As Austria, Poland or Prussia you do not, and in the earlier two cases (Austria and Poland) you have bad relations and it will take you time to build up any kind of naval presence.

[BeeSting]

So far I've played United Provinces, Great Britain, and France.... Of the three I found France the most challenging. I am still playing it through 1757. I couldn't play GB past 8 turns because I could see that it was going to be too easy and didn't want to just go through the process taking one province at a time.

There's still a lot of Beta testing to do in this game, let's pick out some more bugs and problems for free.

[Fisherking]

I wouldn’t swear to it, but don’t the AI personalities change from Campaign to Campaign?

While they may have a similar attitude, subtle differences in how they act can have an impact on how difficult or easy a Champaign turns out to be.

[Skott]

I was looking at all the victory conditions of the starting factions and I really didnt like how CA set them up. Thats just an early glance though. I need more play time before I can say for sure they are good or not. So far I got a GB, UP, and the RtI game going. Mixed feelings about the game so far.