I keep playing with the Timurids. The normal gameplay bores me, because there is too much waiting around for infamy to decrease and manpower to increase. The hordes however, are more interesting, with constant warfare and endless rebellion. If you expand too quickly you run out of manpower, and if you expand too slowly you get out-teched by Europe.
Now that Eu4 is out, I guess Eu3 isn't terribly popular (not that it ever was), but I feel the Timurid game is a worthwhile mental challenge. Maybe this will encourage some other people to give it a try. As far as I can tell, nobody has ever achieved a world conquest with Timurid. The only AAR which came close started in 5.1 (before the manpower nerf), and removed leaders from the rebels (greatly reducing the challenge). I want to play a vanilla game, no mods of any kind. In fact, I'm going to give myself a handicap: no advisors before January 1401. I implemented this rule to punish myself for constantly trying to get better leaders by restarting endlessly.
Here is the basic initial strategy I've developed over more than a hundred games: Play defensively in the west and annex Bagdad, once the Egyptians invade Alvan (they always do), counterattack and wipe them out. I used to move directly upon Damascus, but found this was risky if there was an early succession crisis. Subsequently, annex the trade centres at Kutch and Alexandria. Vassalize as much as possible and rebuild manpower, maximizing the number of regiments deployed.
There are two major variables to consider. Usually, but not always, the Ottomans ally with the Jalayirdi (Bagdad). If so, they can prove troublesome when they counterattack, usually just as the horde is disorganized from battle with Egypt. Fortunately, with the opening below, Trebizond often occupies Erzurum, and the Ottomans rarely advance. Regardless, it can be difficult to decide what to do about the Ottomans. I usually try to avoid a battle for Eruzurum (its not a core!), but somehow I seem to always get sucked into a bloody war of attrition. This tends to waste manpower, and its important to note that the Ottomans have national conscripts, so its pointless to try and bleed them dry. I think its best to avoid battle with them as long as possible, but that's easier said then done. They often force a battle, and once they lose that battle, its very hard to resist the urge to pursue. However, as they fall back into the mountains of Anatolia, this can result in very high casualties.
The other main variable is in regard to Timur. He can die quickly, within the first week, triggering the first succession crisis. This is not as bad as it sounds, if he dies before you annex any territory, the succession crisis will actually be less severe. However, ideally, you want him to help win some battles against Egypt. However, if he dies during battle, you get -1 to stability! Its hard to decide whether its worth using him at all. Probably the worst start is when his heir, Khalil, dies before Timur. This triggers a regency and is really problematic. I've seen Khalil, Timur, and Miranshah all die within the first month. Othertimes, I've seen them all live through 1410. So this can have a huge impact on the start of the game. If I could, I think I'd use a kill_ruler cheat (apparently its disabled?) and just have Timur die right at the beginning. That way every game would have the same beginning.
Here is my opening in the northwest:
8k Alvan->Mosul
8k Alvan->Armenia
9k Alvan->Sharizor
15k Erzurum->Alvan (Miranshah)
4k Erzurum->Mus
5k Erzurum->Imereti
Further south:
13k Ahvaz->Bagdad (Timur)
7k Ahvaz->Alqaeda
6k Ahvaz-Basra
3k Cavalry recruited from Hamadan to Khuzestan
In the east:
2k Samarqand->Badakh
1k Infantry, 1k Cavalry recruited from Qarshi and Fergana; the infantry in Fergana will produce quickly enough to support the battle in Badakh
The Kashmiri can be pretty random; sometimes they retreat back home, othertimes they retreat toward Kabul. Sometimes they recruit 4-5 regiments, othertimes they recruit nobody.
Although small, their army actually has the highest morale of all my enemies, so the army from Samarqand can have difficulty if the Kashmiri start recruiting.
Further south:
The horde from Ahvaz will usually arrive in time to save Alqaeda from the Sindhi.
I build a cavalry in Gazni,which can either go north against Kashmir, or south to the Sindh.
Occassionally the Sindhi go to war with the Rajputs, which is annoying if the Rajputs try to annex the trade centre at Kutch.
As for the rest of the setup, I move the first slider toward land, put all investments toward stability, send merchants to my three trade centres (Samarqand, Fars, and Hormuz), and I usually wait for prestige to increase a bit before seeking royal marriages with the other hordes. I've really been struggling with land maintenance, decreasing it will lower morale but increase income. Is it worth it? Obviously, high morale is wasted if units aren't in combat, so at some point its probably worth lowering. At the beginning, you might get away with a slight decrease, but that won't bring in much gold, so its probably not worth the risk. The most important thing early on is to crush the Egyptians.
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January 1400
The main difficulty here will be simultaneously defending Alvan against both the Ottomans and the Egyptians, although the Ottomans will usually halt to occupy Erzurum. I'm going to move against the Egyptians with the bulk of the army under Timur, leaving Miranshah to hold Alvan with reinforcements from Armenia and Sharizor.
July 1400
Although Egypt has been defeated, the Osmanli are marching upon Lake Van. I'll try to use reinforcements as a threat and keep them from advancing. Fighting them will just waste manpower, as I'm not ready to march into Anatolia, especially not when a succession crisis is coming. Unfortunately, they can be very persistent and manage to force a battle. Fortunately, they retreat into Armenia, and I annihilate half of their army. This isn't as great as it sounds, since they will rebuild.
March 1401
The other half of the Osmanli army marches through Mus into Syria, approaching Bagdad from the west. This allows me to liberate Erzurum and advance into Anatolia. Meanwhile, after defeating the army in Armenia, I am able to regroup in time to stop the second army. In the east, Kashmir has capitulated, agreeing to vassalization. Miranshah is dead, but Timur lives!
August 1401
This always amuses me, a foreign army invaded Timurland, only to be caught by a revolt. Elsewhere, I am consolidating Egypt and the Ottomans are defeated. Further north, the Georgians are besieging Imereti. I'll let them take it back, its just not worth trying to hold minor provinces, they'll consume too much manpower. I would try to vassalize Georgia, but its pointless as long as they are at war with the other hordes, who won't respect the peace treaty. Instead, I'll focus on Anatolia. I won't try to hold provinces there, but by capturing them I can help ensure that the Ottomans remain weak. I might try to hold one or two of their provinces, since I'll be able to use them to make Yaya Infantry which are much better than the default Timurid archers. I've quit using Timur as a general, the enemy isn't strong enough to bother, and I don't want to take a stability hit if he dies in battle. I've moved the national focus to Bagdad, with three advisors (mint, manpower, and taxes).
August 30: Timur dies! 21k rebels in Alvan!!! Fortunately, they are fighting each other...
Now that Eu4 is out, I guess Eu3 isn't terribly popular (not that it ever was), but I feel the Timurid game is a worthwhile mental challenge. Maybe this will encourage some other people to give it a try. As far as I can tell, nobody has ever achieved a world conquest with Timurid. The only AAR which came close started in 5.1 (before the manpower nerf), and removed leaders from the rebels (greatly reducing the challenge). I want to play a vanilla game, no mods of any kind. In fact, I'm going to give myself a handicap: no advisors before January 1401. I implemented this rule to punish myself for constantly trying to get better leaders by restarting endlessly.
Here is the basic initial strategy I've developed over more than a hundred games: Play defensively in the west and annex Bagdad, once the Egyptians invade Alvan (they always do), counterattack and wipe them out. I used to move directly upon Damascus, but found this was risky if there was an early succession crisis. Subsequently, annex the trade centres at Kutch and Alexandria. Vassalize as much as possible and rebuild manpower, maximizing the number of regiments deployed.
There are two major variables to consider. Usually, but not always, the Ottomans ally with the Jalayirdi (Bagdad). If so, they can prove troublesome when they counterattack, usually just as the horde is disorganized from battle with Egypt. Fortunately, with the opening below, Trebizond often occupies Erzurum, and the Ottomans rarely advance. Regardless, it can be difficult to decide what to do about the Ottomans. I usually try to avoid a battle for Eruzurum (its not a core!), but somehow I seem to always get sucked into a bloody war of attrition. This tends to waste manpower, and its important to note that the Ottomans have national conscripts, so its pointless to try and bleed them dry. I think its best to avoid battle with them as long as possible, but that's easier said then done. They often force a battle, and once they lose that battle, its very hard to resist the urge to pursue. However, as they fall back into the mountains of Anatolia, this can result in very high casualties.
The other main variable is in regard to Timur. He can die quickly, within the first week, triggering the first succession crisis. This is not as bad as it sounds, if he dies before you annex any territory, the succession crisis will actually be less severe. However, ideally, you want him to help win some battles against Egypt. However, if he dies during battle, you get -1 to stability! Its hard to decide whether its worth using him at all. Probably the worst start is when his heir, Khalil, dies before Timur. This triggers a regency and is really problematic. I've seen Khalil, Timur, and Miranshah all die within the first month. Othertimes, I've seen them all live through 1410. So this can have a huge impact on the start of the game. If I could, I think I'd use a kill_ruler cheat (apparently its disabled?) and just have Timur die right at the beginning. That way every game would have the same beginning.
Here is my opening in the northwest:
8k Alvan->Mosul
8k Alvan->Armenia
9k Alvan->Sharizor
15k Erzurum->Alvan (Miranshah)
4k Erzurum->Mus
5k Erzurum->Imereti
Further south:
13k Ahvaz->Bagdad (Timur)
7k Ahvaz->Alqaeda
6k Ahvaz-Basra
3k Cavalry recruited from Hamadan to Khuzestan
In the east:
2k Samarqand->Badakh
1k Infantry, 1k Cavalry recruited from Qarshi and Fergana; the infantry in Fergana will produce quickly enough to support the battle in Badakh
The Kashmiri can be pretty random; sometimes they retreat back home, othertimes they retreat toward Kabul. Sometimes they recruit 4-5 regiments, othertimes they recruit nobody.
Although small, their army actually has the highest morale of all my enemies, so the army from Samarqand can have difficulty if the Kashmiri start recruiting.
Further south:
The horde from Ahvaz will usually arrive in time to save Alqaeda from the Sindhi.
I build a cavalry in Gazni,which can either go north against Kashmir, or south to the Sindh.
Occassionally the Sindhi go to war with the Rajputs, which is annoying if the Rajputs try to annex the trade centre at Kutch.
As for the rest of the setup, I move the first slider toward land, put all investments toward stability, send merchants to my three trade centres (Samarqand, Fars, and Hormuz), and I usually wait for prestige to increase a bit before seeking royal marriages with the other hordes. I've really been struggling with land maintenance, decreasing it will lower morale but increase income. Is it worth it? Obviously, high morale is wasted if units aren't in combat, so at some point its probably worth lowering. At the beginning, you might get away with a slight decrease, but that won't bring in much gold, so its probably not worth the risk. The most important thing early on is to crush the Egyptians.
================================================================================
January 1400
The main difficulty here will be simultaneously defending Alvan against both the Ottomans and the Egyptians, although the Ottomans will usually halt to occupy Erzurum. I'm going to move against the Egyptians with the bulk of the army under Timur, leaving Miranshah to hold Alvan with reinforcements from Armenia and Sharizor.
July 1400
Although Egypt has been defeated, the Osmanli are marching upon Lake Van. I'll try to use reinforcements as a threat and keep them from advancing. Fighting them will just waste manpower, as I'm not ready to march into Anatolia, especially not when a succession crisis is coming. Unfortunately, they can be very persistent and manage to force a battle. Fortunately, they retreat into Armenia, and I annihilate half of their army. This isn't as great as it sounds, since they will rebuild.
March 1401
The other half of the Osmanli army marches through Mus into Syria, approaching Bagdad from the west. This allows me to liberate Erzurum and advance into Anatolia. Meanwhile, after defeating the army in Armenia, I am able to regroup in time to stop the second army. In the east, Kashmir has capitulated, agreeing to vassalization. Miranshah is dead, but Timur lives!
August 1401
This always amuses me, a foreign army invaded Timurland, only to be caught by a revolt. Elsewhere, I am consolidating Egypt and the Ottomans are defeated. Further north, the Georgians are besieging Imereti. I'll let them take it back, its just not worth trying to hold minor provinces, they'll consume too much manpower. I would try to vassalize Georgia, but its pointless as long as they are at war with the other hordes, who won't respect the peace treaty. Instead, I'll focus on Anatolia. I won't try to hold provinces there, but by capturing them I can help ensure that the Ottomans remain weak. I might try to hold one or two of their provinces, since I'll be able to use them to make Yaya Infantry which are much better than the default Timurid archers. I've quit using Timur as a general, the enemy isn't strong enough to bother, and I don't want to take a stability hit if he dies in battle. I've moved the national focus to Bagdad, with three advisors (mint, manpower, and taxes).
August 30: Timur dies! 21k rebels in Alvan!!! Fortunately, they are fighting each other...
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