Seriously, how do I beat the Sassanids as the ERE?

[Totalwar1402]

Whenever I kill their armies they just rebuild them because the AI has free money. I wiped out six of their armies and they've just rebuilt another six.

All of their territories are different factions and rebel.

They have a huge empire.

They have loads of vassals.

They are constantly trying to get at my settlements and mess with my economy. One of thgeir vassals even went all the way around arabia to attack egypt.

I am sorry, but this is ridiculous. They've lost half of their empire including Ctesiphon and three vassal states (Armenia, Media and the Lakhiminids) but still have suffered no negative effects.

This war has gone on for hours and still the AI doesn't think its time for a ceasefire and their vassals still keep helping them.

Nerf the Sassanids.

[GwynnTheGreen]

APPEASEMENT

No matter what you do the sassanids will always be in a good position to fight the ERE. That's how it was during the actual fall of rome.

[Ammianus Marcellinus]

I played with the eastern empire and took out the Sassanids quite early. Look at my pics! The goal is to cut of the head of the snake. That means focus solely on the Sassanid cities and forces. Take them one by one. When you reach the last city and conquer it choose to 'subjugate' the sassanids and all their vasals will be yours and will join your ranks. I must confess the Sassanids are quite challenging and not difficult to take down. But then again the Romans only managed to do this partially at the end of the 620s.

Good luck!

[Totalwar1402]

Wrong, the Sassanids had to fight major rebellions during this time period, in particular the Amrneians.

The Sassanids never had their entire military destroyed and half their territory conquered by the ERE.

[Totalwar1402]

I can't theres a bottle neck around the persian gulf and they have a ton of armies just waiting toi jump on my armnies

He has cataphracts, I don't. Because I have to invest money in my economy whereas the AI gets free ♥♥♥♥.

[Ammianus Marcellinus]

follow my advice and you'll win

[Totalwar1402]

Its the fact that they had such a ridiculously fast comeback. No faction with only 7 provinces should be able to sustain 6 armies. Much less when they've lost their best provinces. I own the whole eastern med and north africa but can only afford 8 (two of which have to stay in North Africa to guard against tribes)

[Totalwar1402]

Originally posted by Ammianus Marcellinus:

follow my advice and you'll win

No because their armies are about to take the Ghassanids and spill into syria sacking all my cities and ruining my economy. Then we have another ahistorical and dumb invasion of egypt by a vassal state. So I have four fronts atm. If I go and try to steamroller his territory (which will be guarded by even more armies BTW) then he'll just destablisise my economy and beat me by sacking all of my provinces.

[VoiD]

Originally posted by Return Daenerys!:

Its the fact that they had such a ridiculously fast comeback. No faction with only 7 provinces should be able to sustain 6 armies. Much less when they've lost their best provinces. I own the whole eastern med and north africa but can only afford 8 (two of which have to stay in North Africa to guard against tribes)

Actually they should, and far more than 7, they have the income to support over 10 armies full of nothing but elite troops at any stage of the game, on legendary difficulty in which upkeep is absurd.

On my current Sassanid campaign I'm making 80k from puppet states and about 20~30k from trade agreement with them, my own tax is irrelevant.

After the initial 10 turns of civic development I don't think I ever clicked "End turn" with less than 35k income, not to mention not only the AI doesn't have to deal with legendary dif upkeep, they often pay less than human players, I'd expect them to be able to start the game with enough money to support at least 20 armies. Try a mod to remove the limit to see what happens.

The only weird thing about Sassanid AI is why they use some spear levies when they could make 100% elite armies instead.

[Scar]

im staying outta this discussion but just saying i believe the sassanids are extremely rich, although i never fought em (Play as a viiking) bit harsh to keep fighting six armies cant you get allies to join or?

[Ammianus Marcellinus]

This is how I did it (this picture is taken in 415-->corrected from 419)

http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/537390073862280330/5F5841219B95B15A53E16FD25677565F4BD12AEA/

[Totalwar1402]

Originally posted by Voidian:

Originally posted by Return Daenerys!:

Its the fact that they had such a ridiculously fast comeback. No faction with only 7 provinces should be able to sustain 6 armies. Much less when they've lost their best provinces. I own the whole eastern med and north africa but can only afford 8 (two of which have to stay in North Africa to guard against tribes)

Actually they should, and far more than 7, they have the income to support over 10 armies full of nothing but elite troops at any stage of the game, on legendary difficulty in which upkeep is absurd.

On my current Sassanid campaign I'm making 80k from puppet states and about 20~30k from trade agreement with them, my own tax is irrelevant.

This is not legendary. I play to enjoy myself not for a challange.

That is broken. If the AI has the ability to train 10 full elite armies then I should have ten full elite armies. I will only come back to this game once modders deal with this stupid free money system. I spent HOURS getting my economy to work and to stop rebellions. You are telling me that the AI can just spam armies and suffers no negatives at all? Noi, thats not fair and thats a waste of my time. Armies which he then uses to undo HOURS of work on my settlements. This is after I ve just absoplutely massacred 6 of his armies? No. Not having it. I am the larger faction and I could not have survived a blow like that.

[VoiD]

Originally posted by Return Daenerys!:

Originally posted by Voidian:

Actually they should, and far more than 7, they have the income to support over 10 armies full of nothing but elite troops at any stage of the game, on legendary difficulty in which upkeep is absurd.

On my current Sassanid campaign I'm making 80k from puppet states and about 20~30k from trade agreement with them, my own tax is irrelevant.

This is not legendary. I play to enjoy myself not for a challange.

That is broken. If the AI has the ability to train 10 full elite armies then I should have ten full elite armies. I will only come back to this game once modders deal with this stupid free money system. I spent HOURS getting my economy to work and to stop rebellions. You are telling me that the AI can just spam armies and suffers no negatives at all? Noi, thats not fair and thats a waste of my time. Armies which he then uses to undo HOURS of work on my settlements. This is after I ve just absoplutely massacred 6 of his armies? No. Not having it. I am the larger faction and I could not have survived a blow like that.

Yes that was me, as a player, on legendary, expect the AI that's not having to deal with legendary difficulty modifiers to have 2x my numbers, possibly more.

And no, you shouldn't, this is a game about the fall of rome, if you play rome expect a challenge at any difficutly level, that's as absurd as saying if rome can field 3 elite armies the one province minor barbarias should start by doing the same, they shouldn't they don't start with the same position, same technology, hell they don't even have elite units at the beggining, if they had 2k income from their only province that would be great.

[Totalwar1402]

I am not playing a game where I am going to have my work undone by spam bot armies.

I won that war. A war I had no interest in fighting and the AI just spammed crap out of its arse with free money.Now they're gonna start sacking my provinces and starting rebellions all over the place and food shortages.

I spent hours trying to keep the fighting on their territory in order to stop them doing that but the AI keeps sending his armies around mine to try and do just that.

[VoiD]

Originally posted by Return Daenerys!:

I am not playing a game where I am going to have my work undone by spam bot armies.

I won that war. A war I had no interest in fighting and the AI just spammed crap out of its arse with free money.Now they're gonna start sacking my provinces and starting rebellions all over the place and food shortages.

Not free money, they have the actual money, do start a sassanid campaign and you will see.

It's your own fault, if you can't take an enemy, don't fight that enemy, this is a strategy game not a "spambot" game, if you didn't give them tons of cash or made a buffer zone between you and them that's also your fault, if you want the AI to just sit patiently forever with negative relations knowing they are more powerful, more wealthy than you then you're playing the wrong genre entirely.

There's a reason why I didn't play the ERE as my first campaign, I knew it wouldn't be a cakewalk. If anything this is good game design which makes sure every nation is a unique experience with varying degrees if difficulty.

Want it easy? Go Sassanid, want an average dif campaign? Take the barbarians, want it hard? Get the Romans, just don't complain about your own choices.

[Totalwar1402]

I did not start the war. The AI randomly attacked and refuses all my offers of a ceasefire.

I had the buffer zone at Nisbeais and Arbela/ They just ignored it after a while and went around it.

No I was more powerful than the Sassanids even before they lost half their empire.

Take him? I've won every battle and killed thousands of them. On an old TW game that counted for something. In this game it means nothing because free monies.