Beginners Questions

[springel]

I read a bit in the Strategy Guide and thought: lets start with Macedonia :-)

So I get smashed by the Gauls, first time unprepared, second time I try to prepare my defence, still not enough.
But I find threads on the forum where the changes with the barbarian invasion are explained.

So I am considering either to fight the tricky battle on the island, or start two years later, when the invasion has petered out.

Then I notices that two years later recruitment of a cohort takes almost twice as long as before (90 days instead of 56 days).
The country has less troops (6 cohorts instead of 12), +1 stability instead of 0, but otherwise I cannot discover much difference (if anything the King has a much better military value, but less finesse.

Can't find any info on recruiting times. And unfortunately there is no Wiki to answer those questions, so I am afraid I will bother this forum with several trivial questions next few days.

For the fighting scenario, is going over the support limit punished the same way as in EU3? I think I read that it can be expensive to get rid of cohorts after the war, but I don't think I can beat the Gauls without first beafing up my army with a lot of heavy infantry, even when they attack into the islands over the strait.

[loki100]

Hi

the start with Macedonia is no longer a good one for a beginner, its changed a bit and has a tendency to lurch into civil war.

recruiting times will vary according to how you have your trade network set up. So a trireme can take a year or 125/135 (I forget) days depending on the natural resources and what you trade into the province.

Disbanding troops at the end of a war does cost, but its better than wrecking your economy.

You may want to wander over and read some of the Rome AARs. Equally if you opt to play a Republic then the relevant guide (stickied on this page) is essential. The Wiki is at: http://www.paradoxian.org/romewiki/Main_Page

[Lofman]

With regards to the differences in starting troops and stability, it is because one start is when at war and the other when at peace, luckily recruitment costs are fairly low in this game (with the main exception being elephants, those are expensive) so training more troops is not a problem.

While army upkeep does increase a bit when going over the support limit, it is generally affordable, so as long as you have a positive income you can keep as large an army as you feel you need. Though many tribal countries will have problems maintaining a decent army (due to being quite poor and having really low support limits) that should not be a problem for countries like Macedonia.