Best Faction

[unmerged(206114)]

OK, so I'm curious as to which faction would present something of a challenge (but not impossible) whilst not having a huge leg up from the start ie. Rome, Carthage, etc. I'm a beginner player, really and have had a go with Catevellauni and managed to get to a certain point before having my behind handed to me by too many rampaging barbarian hordes.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.




DD1

 

[DarthJF]

I think Macedonia is a rather good starting country. Or if you want some more challenge you could go with Pontus or some of the Greek minors.

 

[SchwarzKatze]

Epirus? With some strategy they can mess up the whole Rome and annihilate her starting 30 units stack.

 

[unmerged(206114)]

I think Macedonia is a rather good starting country. Or if you want some more challenge you could go with Pontus or some of the Greek minors.

Yeah, I was thinking one of the Greek minors; some of them are single-states like Catevellauni but are no doubt more advanced and will see a bit more action from non-barbarians.




DD1

 

[unmerged(206114)]

Epirus? With some strategy they can mess up the whole Rome and annihilate her starting 30 units stack.

I think it may be Epirus, or Sparta. Thanks both!

 

[davinewrath]

I just picked up EU Rome the other day, and I've had a fun first proper game with Pontus

 

[Emperor Leo]

Pontus and Macedonia are my factions of choice whenever I play. Here's a few suggestions:

• Bosporan Kingdom (Greek) - Isn't located near Greece and is bordered by barbarians and hostile tribes.
• Rhoxolani - Three province tribe. You begin larger than most tribes, but have you start with your back against the wall, relying on horse power to survive.
• Illyria - Surrounded by barbarians and bordered by Macedonia. You have access to Horses and Iron, but Macedonia won't hesitate to invade and you start of with a fairly lackluster King.

 

[unmerged(206114)]

Some great suggestions, thanks! The forums haven't seemed to be very active since I joined, so I wasn't expecting much of a response but I am going to give one of these a go now and I'll post on how it goes.



DD1

 

[JDMS]

Also, if you don't have much experience playing, the Seleucid Empire is an easy nation to play.

 

[DeathAndDecay]

My first Rome game was as Macedonia and I would encourage any new player to do the same.

It is a good mix of not too big, not too small, without the hassle of managing a republic, with many easy to swallow OPM's around to get you started. You can also begin colonizing new barbarian provinces fairly soon from the start.

It really breaks you in to all aspects of the game except for tribal governments and republics, right from the start.

 

[unmerged(206114)]

My first Rome game was as Macedonia and I would encourage any new player to do the same.

It is a good mix of not too big, not too small, without the hassle of managing a republic, with many easy to swallow OPM's around to get you started. You can also begin colonizing new barbarian provinces fairly soon from the start.

It really breaks you in to all aspects of the game except for tribal governments and republics, right from the start.

Yeah, that's another good choice; I've had a few Macedon suggestions, so think they will be my next attempt.

I've just got through about 25 years with Catevellauni and I'm not doing too badly - have taken the two existing provinces in Britain besides my own, have a pretty good hand on uprisings and barbarians and have advanced relatively quickly. To the point where I've actually just managed to afford to build a forum! Who'd have thought? haha.



DD1

 

[Emperor Leo]

To the point where I've actually just managed to afford to build a forum!

How did you manage that with a one-province Tribe, within 25 years?! Your Research Points must be through the roof (for a Tribe).

 

[unmerged(206114)]

How did you manage that with a one-province Tribe, within 25 years?! Your Research Points must be through the roof (for a Tribe).

I lost a lot of stability early on by taking over and annexing the two other tribes in Britain, and dealing with the trouble that arose from that for a few years and basically alternated between invoking the research and population growth omens for pretty much the entire time, which (when they worked) helped enormously. I also ahd a huge boost to population growth by having two of the provinces trade for grain from some way across the mediterranean for a lot of the time, and spices too. But I was literally counting the coins as they went into the treasury before I built the forum. I'm back to about 6 gold again now, and everything seems pretty stable. Though, I'm actually struggling to find a trade partner for that extra trade route the forum has given me.

Also, strangely, Egypt seems to be dominating Carthage and has pretty much all of North Africa at the moment, and Rome seems strangely disinterested in the Gallic and Germanic tribes in this game, and has barely expanded so far! Bizarre...



DD1

 

[Emperor Leo]

Well, I tip my cap to you! You seem to be doing well!

Also, strangely, Egypt seems to be dominating Carthage and has pretty much all of North Africa at the moment, and Rome seems strangely disinterested in the Gallic and Germanic tribes in this game, and has barely expanded so far! Bizarre...

I find this happens in a lot of games, when I play. After the initial Seleucid Empire vs Egypt war has finished, Egypt tends to target Carthage and ignore the Seleucid Empire unless it declares war on them. If Rome manages to annex Epirus, they tend to target the Greek / Macedonian states and ignore Carthage and Gaul. This isn't always the case, but this seems to happen in many games.

 

[unmerged(27886)]

Greek minors, such as Epirus, Sparta and Pontus can actually be quite powerful. This is because all of greece and most of the eastern med, especially around the coast, is of greek culture. This gives you an immediate boost to your economy and freedman status when you conquer neighboring territories. You just need to go at a measured pace.

I have easily managed to conquer most of the world as Sparta and Pontus. Once you reach the tipping point, its easy to just steamroll across.... they key is to conquer the greek territories first, then get rome & carthage later.

 

[Revan529]

For a Republic, Rome (historical, and in a strategic position); a Monarchy Macedonia (Phillip and Alexander, man! Plus, the Reborn Macedonian Empire); a tribe, Lusitani (relatively far from any real rival (Carthage focuses on Mediterrannean), and have quite a bit of room to expand (into wealthy provinces).