This is how you play the ERE.

[Rikashey]

1) Start as ERE and abandon all provinces east of Constantinople and Africa. This leaves you with the 3 provinces of Thracia, Dardania, and Macedonia. United and easy to manage.

2) Move forces to your homeland and put down any rebellions and migrating barbarian dirt tribes. You go through the fire on this one but you come out stronger than you were before.

3) Build up your infrastructure. Food, Public order, and money buildings.

4) Expand west towards the dying Western Roman Empire.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=424596614

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=424596575

By razing the east from the beginning you put a no man's land (buffer) between you and the Sassinids and their allies. Since all that territory is razed it will take a very long time for them to colonise it because they have to have surplus population and need to convert the building which takes and immense amount of time and money.

This is profitable for you because once you abandon the eastern provinces you get a mass amount of gold that you can use to focus and build up your main 3 provinces. Since you only have 3 provinces to work with it's much easier to micromanage and alot less stress.

All you have to do is build up and move west instead of east. The romans will rise under the eastern flag.

[Cullen's Hound]

Costs less to bribe the Sassinids vassals into rebelling and then you get all that fertile land.

[God_Emperor_Trump]

So pretty much create a public order crisis by turn 2 when you have no economy and no military to speak of while destroying any chance of turning those provinces into something that makes a profit?

[Rikashey]

Originally posted by leggomyneggo:

So pretty much create a public order crisis by turn 2 when you have no economy and no military to speak of while destroying any chance of turning those provinces into something that makes a profit?

Public Order Crisis? lol

You will get rebellions for a small time but they're not a big deal if you crush them right off the bat. Rebels are easy since their forces are usually 4-5 units when they spawn. Once you crush a rebellion public order goes back to normal.

I've already done 2 playthroughs as ERE using this strategy and I've got through it fine. It's a bit of a struggle at first but it's not by any means impossible or even very hard. Once you get past it it's all uphill from there.

I mean, just look at the images I posted. I'm making 100k a turn with full stack armies stationed in each town, consisting of Numeroi heavy infantry and Elite Ballistari.

Not shown in the images are the 3 full stack armies that I sent to take down Attila.

Edit: One thing I forgot to add is that you get money from abandoning settlements. After you abandon all but those 3 I stated youll have about 50-45k to build up your economy.

[Mephiston87]

its the girls way of playing ERE, I played it through without a loss just tech infantry and spam them early on any ranged/archers/siege weapons arent worth theyr upkeep at the start.

-4 stacks holding Sassanids(edessa/amida/Trapezus/Nova trajana)
-3 stacks holding Barbarians(Serdica/Verminacium/mercianopolis)
-3 stacks pushing West(africa)
-1 stack holding cities while they recover as your 3 stacks push west
-1 stack parked next to Verona situated northern italy(place it to Veronas south)

Once your established with that defensive perimiter its smooth sailing from there. Most of them go after WRE so if your 1 stack(at Verona) is full of heavy infantry you will be fine keeping them alive. 1 stack of very heavy infantry in a city or fort using defensive testudo can hold off 4+ stacks of anything.

WRE is the only faction you really need to abandon provinces at the start.

[Rikashey]

Originally posted by Mephiston87:

its the girls way of playing ERE

You mean the smart way?

[Rikashey]

Originally posted by Antiochus III:

Lol this is a creative but terrible idea when compared with your other options as the ERE.

Just won a legendary ERE campaign. Beat Alaric by turn 2. Paid the Sassanids to declare war on the Huns. Then continued to gift the Sassanids (and the Garamanteans) to uphold non-aggreasion pacts each turn. It is 425 now and I have 1 million gold and am preparing to invade the german and celtic tribes currently attacking my best buddies, the Western Roman Seperatists.

I have 2 million gold in reserve and make 100k a turn along with having full stack armies for every settlement...

[Mephiston87]

Originally posted by Rikashey:

Originally posted by Mephiston87:

its the girls way of playing ERE

You mean the smart way?

I have never heard any military situation in history where they nuke theyr own entire States and class it as a benefit or call it smart or a victory.

[Rikashey]

Originally posted by Mephiston87:

Originally posted by Rikashey:

You mean the smart way?

I have never heard any military situation in history where they nuke an entire State and class it as a benefit or call it smart or a victory.

You've never heard of a nation burning and salting it's own land to prevent an enemy army from pillaging or scavenging from it?

[Mephiston87]

Originally posted by Rikashey:

Originally posted by Mephiston87:

I have never heard any military situation in history where they nuke an entire State and class it as a benefit or call it smart or a victory.

You've never heard of a nation burning and salting it's own land to prevent an enemy army from pillaging or scavenging from it?

Never, i have never heard of anyone slaughtering and massacring theyr own people destroying theyr own production buildings and farms and thinking its smart or worth it or a victory.

[Billy Joe Bob]

Originally posted by Mephiston87:

Originally posted by Rikashey:

You've never heard of a nation burning and salting it's own land to prevent an enemy army from pillaging or scavenging from it?

Never, i have never heard of anyone slaughtering and massacring theyr own people destroying theyr own production buildings and farms and thinking its smart or worth it or a victory.

So you're telling me you've never heard of the scorched earth tactic?

[Rikashey]

Originally posted by Mephiston87:

Originally posted by Rikashey:

You've never heard of a nation burning and salting it's own land to prevent an enemy army from pillaging or scavenging from it?

Never, i have never heard of anyone slaughtering and massacring theyr own people destroying theyr own production buildings and farms and thinking its smart or worth it or a victory.

Originally posted by Billy Joe Bob:

Originally posted by Mephiston87:

Never, i have never heard of anyone slaughtering and massacring theyr own people destroying theyr own production buildings and farms and thinking its smart or worth it or a victory.

So you're telling me you've never heard of the scorched earth tactic?

I don't think he has, Bob.

[Rikashey]

Originally posted by Mephiston87:

Originally posted by Rikashey:

You've never heard of a nation burning and salting it's own land to prevent an enemy army from pillaging or scavenging from it?

Never, i have never heard of anyone slaughtering and massacring theyr own people destroying theyr own production buildings and farms and thinking its smart or worth it or a victory.

A scorched earth policy is a military strategy which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. It is a military strategy where all of the assets that are used or can be used by the enemy are targeted, such as food sources, transportation, communications, industrial resources, and even the people in the area. The practice can be carried out by the military in enemy territory, or in its own home territory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_earth

[Rikashey]

You don't win a war by killing everyone. You win a war by preventing your enemy from being able to make war.

In this case you're preventing the Sassinids and their allies from being able to expand upon your territory while also consolidating your own power by focusing on a smaller area and improving infrastructure.

[Mephiston87]

in almost all cases scorched earth tactics have been used in enemy territory. And its never been used upon a military's own populace. would you under orders massacre your own family and friends and all of theyr homes? The exact reason why it cant be used, a military would never slaughter its own people its the military's family's.

[=(e)= Lemonater47]

Originally posted by Mephiston87:

in almost all cases scorched earth tactics have been used in enemy territory. And its never been used upon a military's own populace. would you under orders massacre your own family and friends and all of theyr homes? The exact reason why it cant be used, a military would never slaughter its own people its the military's family's.

Happened in WW2. The germans weren't the ones who in ever scorched earth tactics. It was the Russians. They did however tell everyone to evacuate first. Usually.