Playing Armenia is great fun, and very different

[vaalen]

If you are looking for a new nation to play, I recommend Armenia in the original campaign scenario.

I have the DLC, and the regional decisions add a lot to playing Armenia.

Playing a mountain nation is quite different, and the armies I have formed are quite different from any others I have used. You start out rather weak, but you have the potential to make things much better, as you learn to take advantage of Armenia's particular advantages and location.

I am now at turn 160, and leading the world in legacy. I was lucky that the Antigonid and Seleucid empires fell apart, giving me some real chances to expand. I was even luckier that Rome and Macedonia fought a long brutal war, which caused Macedonia to lose its Anatolian empire to smaller nations, which I was able to conquer, while Rome fought Macedon and Carthage. I now have most of the Anatolian peninsula, but Rome is getting bigger and stronger, as is Macedon. If I can play them off against each other, I might even win this thing.

I have developed an army mix that only Armenia is set up to use. It is based on Armenian Cataphracts, Armenian skirmishers, and archers, with some light cavalry. I use no other units. Armenian Cataphracts have the mountain ability, which offsets their clumsy handicap, and can be quite effective in rough terrain, hills, and mountains. Not only do they have great melee ratings, but have strong missile ratings, both offensive and defensive. They are hard to kill. If you use this mix and no melee infantry units, the Cataphracts will set up in the center of the battle. They are much better at attacking than defending, so I try to attack whenever possible.

This army mix is historical, as Armenian armies were composed mostly of skirmishers, with a strong force fo Cataphracts as their striking force.

I do not know how it will do against legions, but i suspect I will find out.

Very enjoyable, and quite different.

[Scobie]

This sounds like loads of fun! I think Armenia will be my next campaign after I finish Carthage. Thanks for the heads up.

[vaalen]

This sounds like loads of fun! I think Armenia will be my next campaign after I finish Carthage. Thanks for the heads up.

You are welcome, and I hope you enjoy it. I suspect you will.

[stormbringer3]

Did you find the Levy Camp useful? On the surface it doesn't seem to be something to use.
Thanks.

[vaalen]

Did you find the Levy Camp useful? On the surface it doesn't seem to be something to use.
Thanks.

Yes, I build them quite frequently.

In the early part of the game, when you are short of money and manpower, the free skirmishers they provide are quite welcome. The two manpower they provide does not sound like much, but because they are so cheap to build you can accumulate them fast and they add up. giving you badly needed manpower when you are short of it.

I got enough free skirmishers from building a lot of these that I rarely ever built them, though they are a crucial part of my army.

They do not take up a slot, so they give you a cheap military building that will help raise your military rating.

In the later part of the game, when you may get the military reform for improved light infantry,, you will still get free skirmishers form these buildings. except these will be much more effective.

I hope this helps.

[stormbringer3]

It certainly does help a lot. The game I was playing as Armenia was going well for me then I got the Greater Armenia Mission. It looked impossible to accomplish so I quit. Do you know what happens if you don't accomplish it? Also, do you still build walls or just the Levy Camps?
Thanks again.

[vaalen]

It certainly does help a lot. The game I was playing as Armenia was going well for me then I got the Greater Armenia Mission. It looked impossible to accomplish so I quit. Do you know what happens if you don't accomplish it? Also, do you still build walls or just the Levy Camps?

If you do not complete a mission, nothing happens, except that you do not get the legacy bonus and other rewards for completing the mission. And it is possible that you will get another chance at the mission later down the road. I thought the
Greater Armenia mission was impossible, but it was not. What I did was use the diplomacy screen to check on my neighbors. I was happy to see that my big neighbors were engaged in a number of wars with other nations. I had two smaller neighbors, Pontus and Kolchis, which were in no wars, but had no allies. I attacked them first, on at a time and conquered them due to the superiority of my armies. Both of them enabled me to recruit provincial archers. Just after I defeated the second of them, i saw a message that the Antigonids had lost their capital. I prepared to attack the Antigonids, but they collapsed before my armies were in place, and the smaller nations that replaced them were fairly weak. I attacked a couple of the successor nations, and managed to take the required number of provinces and Issus with only two turns to spare. Great fun, and very exciting, with a nice bonus.

Early in the game, I build walls only in the province of Armenia itself, as I really do not want to ever lose my capital. But I also build Naptha towers whenever possible, but only if the region has or can import Naptha. These towers act as a very cheap to build fortress, do not take a building slot, and can give you free equipment from bonus resources. They also increase your military rating, just like levy camps.

Later in the game< I do build walls, especially in Armenia and my most vital area

Regards, Vaalen

[w_michael]

I am playing Armenia in a 4-player MP game and I am having fun as be successor neighbours are tied up with wars. I have also been able to come in third with Armenia in solitaire play under an AI difficulty level of very hard. It was the first nation that I have played with missions, which adds a lot to the strategic options (and challenges). I also discovered the joy of having client states; in my case Kolchis and Pontus. They saved me a couple of times in my wars, and were quite aggressive in expanding themselves.

[stormbringer3]

@vaalen, thanks for starting this thread. I've had a great time playing Armenia.

[w_michael]

Vaalen, how do you take walled cities when your armies don't have any regular infantry besiegers?

[vaalen]

@vaalen, thanks for starting this thread. I've had a great time playing Armenia.

You are very welcome. I am glad you are enjoying it!

[vaalen]

Vaalen, how do you take walled cities when your armies don't have any regular infantry besiegers?

Very good question, but I found ways to do it.

Strangely enough, it has not been a problem. Most of the cities in the area near Armenia either have no fortifications,k or are only level one. I have been able to asault and take these cities using just Armenian Armenian Cataphracts, archers, and skirmishers. If the city has a level one wall, draws can be frequent at first, but the durability of the Armenian Cataphracts, I have eventually won nearly all of these battles after several rounds. If I have one, I find that the motivate troops regional decision makes a difference, as does having a better leader. The Art of Siege regional decision can also be very helpful, often causing a breach.

If the city is level two or higher, I will besiege them to weaken the garrison, which is easy to do if the city is not in a coastal province. When the garrison is weakened by starvation, they will often attack my besieging army, which usually ends the siege in my favor, or weakens the garrison so much that I can storm the city.

If the city has level two or higher fortifications and is on the coast, I will blockade them with fleets until lack of food does its work, then proceed as above.

[vaalen]

I am playing Armenia in a 4-player MP game and I am having fun as be successor neighbours are tied up with wars. I have also been able to come in third with Armenia in solitaire play under an AI difficulty level of very hard. It was the first nation that I have played with missions, which adds a lot to the strategic options (and challenges). I also discovered the joy of having client states; in my case Kolchis and Pontus. They saved me a couple of times in my wars, and were quite aggressive in expanding themselves.

Yes, client states are great to have. Glad you are enjoying your games as Armenia. I am impressed by your accomplishments on such a difficult level. -

[w_michael]

I am going to try your army mix in my MP game to see how it fares.

[Pocus]

You guys should try Kolchis. Where Armenia has 3 missions, Kolchis has ... 8 !
I went a bit nuts with them admittedly

[vaalen]

I am going to try your army mix in my MP game to see how it fares.

I would be very interesting to see how that turns out. I had to modify things a bit when I finally had a war with one of the giants...Macedon. The Macedonians attacked with huge armies, and the skirmishers and light cavalry on the flanks were ground down quickly, especially in open terrain, and I lost several battles although I also one some. But I added some ordinary heavy cavalry and improved Medium cavalry to each army, enough to protect the flanks while the Armenian Cataphracts slammed into the center. This worked very well, and after an exciting campaign, I shattered Macedonia's huge armies. Great fun.

[vaalen]

You guys should try Kolchis. Where Armenia has 3 missions, Kolchis has ... 8 !
I went a bit nuts with them admittedly

Okay, Kolchis will be my next game. I am not sure what kind of army will work for them, though they will have Kolchian archers, but how can I resist a nation with eight missions?

Thanks for letting us know about this, Pocus.

[w_michael]

I just finished a Balanced game as Samnium finishing fourth, which I am pleased with. Persia was first, Egypt second (even though they had been eliminated), and Sparta third. I'm trying Syracuse on Very Hard to see what I can do. Kolchis is next.