Extended Cultures Discussion

[romanius24]

So the reforms are tied to the roman Marian reforms event?
I just destroyed Rome as Carthage really early.Does that mean there wont be any reforms?

[Zarax]

Yes, we have no control over the reforms.

[romanius24]

Hey, does anyone know what are the most challenging factions to play as?
I got my ass kicked while playing as the Seleucids in 2 different campaigns.Playing on VH and M battles.The difficulty itself isnt the problems because i played Carthage and Macedon and had almost no problems.
Even though i lost both campaigns it was really fun to play.
Both times my problems were Parthia even though Egypt was my main enemy and the reason why my empire fell.
Any tips on how to conquer cities of a different culture and stabilize fast?I took both Parthian cities but they rebelled and spawned 2 giant armies.
I have to say its amazing to see how a small conflict with Parthia is affecting my economy and makes a giant empire vulnerable to attacks from smaller factions(Pontus,Armenia,Greeks,etc).

[Zarax]

Seleucids are one of the most difficult factions, they require extreme management skills and there is no shame with playing them on M (the game is balanced on that difficulty).
Pathia and Sarmatia can also be pretty hard, as well as Armenia.

If you want a fun campaign I'd suggest Pontus, they offer an extremely varied experience, making you rely on allied government and mercenary units quite a lot.

[Petrucci]

Hey, does anyone know what are the most challenging factions to play as?
I got my ass kicked while playing as the Seleucids in 2 different campaigns.Playing on VH and M battles.The difficulty itself isnt the problems because i played Carthage and Macedon and had almost no problems.
Even though i lost both campaigns it was really fun to play.
Both times my problems were Parthia even though Egypt was my main enemy and the reason why my empire fell.
Any tips on how to conquer cities of a different culture and stabilize fast?I took both Parthian cities but they rebelled and spawned 2 giant armies.
I have to say its amazing to see how a small conflict with Parthia is affecting my economy and makes a giant empire vulnerable to attacks from smaller factions(Pontus,Armenia,Greeks,etc).

The most challenging factioins are the Gauls. They suck in every possible way, except having chariots, which are kind of tank in XC. Check THIS thread and you will understand meaning of the phrase - You suck as Gaul!

[romanius24]

I was planning on doing a Pontus campaign after but i think i am gonna start now since i dont have what it takes to play Seleucids(not yet anyway).
Thanks!

[Sar1n]

I was planning on doing a Pontus campaign after but i think i am gonna start now since i dont have what it takes to play Seleucids(not yet anyway).
Thanks!

A few hints for Pontus campaign from me:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Your generals are most important and powerful units on battlefield, especially since pre-marian bodyguards have AP axes as secondary. Use them wisely, and use them often. You will be using militia level troops for a long time, since Pontus has virtually no infantry between levies and elites.
Expand west. Important settlements to capture: Rhodes, cities in Ionia that have Greek native culture, because only there you can recruit any phalangites and thorakitai, and once you stabilize situation to send an army abroad, Crimean peninsula (Chersonesos and Penticapeaum (sp?)) for Bosporean Thorakitai, more powerful heavy infantry than anything else you have, because they use axes as their melee weapon.
Do not, at the begininning, attack that indie greek town east of your position, the govenrnment system there produces high corruption and you'd need to invest heavily there to get enough income there to pay even for garisson troops, and you can't afford it at the beginning. Also, early on avoid that rebel town south of your capital, Seleucids are interested in it and would attack you if you capture it.
To get some extra money on the beginning, use your diplomat to estabilish trade and sell your map information. You'll eventually be able to get over 1000 denarii for your map if you explore enough.

[Zarax]

Merry Christmas to all XC players!

[Stath's]

Merry Christmas!!!

[Kirila the Kitten]

Too late, but hey Merry Christmas Zarax! And the other XC fellow players !

[Zarax]

The very first XC 5 test build is up.
This is an incomplete pre-alpha material and it will be unstable and without working traits.
You will find the new map almost done and two new factions (both with incomplete rosters), one in India and one in Numidia.
Still, we wanted to give our loyal players a sense of progression and rest assured XC5 will be completed.

http://www.wmwiki.com/hosted/cv/xcfi...st26212013.exe

[Petrucci]

Welcome update!

[GeorgiBG]

Yeah, finally something visible! Thank you very much for this.

[Silver Legionary]

Time to go bughunting like old times.

[Zarax]

Hope you will like the new Seleucid satrapies

[ahowl11]

Looking good.
So the Seleucid Satrapies work like the three roman factions did in vanilla? Missions? Can the alliances be broken? What is different from the vanilla roman families?

[Zarax]

The hardcoded mechanics are the same as the Roman families.
We plan to influence heavily player status via traits so that it can lead to civil war fairly soon if the player starts blitzing but it will also allow to roleplay being a good loyal satrap if one wishes so.

[Stath's]

Are there any plans for a simple guide for XC5?

The Seleucid satrapies sound like an excellent concept If we could know exactly what we'll gain from each coice, it'd be great.

[Zarax]

I'll do that once we reach something more stable and complete than early test builds.
Seleucid satrapies have the big advantage of letting you have a covered back (every other AI faction is very hesitant in attacking the seleucids when used as AI senate), and some mission bonuses, letting you an easy start.

Once civil war gets loose you'll have to face a much stronger empire as it had the time to properly develop.
Basically it allows greater role-play early in the game while ensuring massive battles later on.

[Stath's]

sounds awesome