Guide Achaean League Let the Brawl for the Peloponnese Begin - RTR-Imperium-Surrectum/ris-wiki GitHub Wiki

Achaean League: Let the Brawl for the Peloponnese Begin!

Factions: Achaean League Summary: This guide will not provide a straight path to dominance for the Achaean League, but will give you useful tips for becoming the dominant power of the Peloponnese, and eventually the whole of Greece. Author: nerva6569

Overview

The Achaean League is a recently established political entity; barely a decade has passed since the minor poleis on the northern coast of the Peloponnese reunited under a common constitution and mutual military commitments. Historically, the Achaean League, despite suffering several setbacks along the way, reached its peak by controlling the whole of the Peloponnese, defeating a languishing Sparta along the way, before eventually succumbing to Roman might barely more than a century after the game's starting date.

Along the way, the League's military was reformed to match the changing threats to its independence. RIS brings you the opportunity to explore the military paths taken by Aratos and Philopoimen, and wrestle your way through the fractured Greece of 270 BCE.

The Achaean League starts as a three-settlement minor faction in the middle of a battleground. The Peloponnese contains seven different factions at the start: Elis, Messene, Sparta, Megalopolis, Argos, the Antigonid Kingdom and you, the Achaean League. The Aetolian League and Athens will also seek to expand into the peninsula if the situation allows. This start is a real Battle Royale.

Getting Started

You can rush the Arcadian rebel settlements on the first turn; your faction leader will have to serve as a general for the first few turns. Orchomenos-Arkadia doesn't have walls, so it can be assaulted immediately on turn one and garrisoned with one of your lightest units. Keep going and besiege Mantineia.

The Achaean League starts with small and poor settlements; the conquest of new territories will provide most of the income you'll require. However, beware of enslaving or sacking settlements; this start will make you cherish having a good reputation. In Dyme, you can build an Open Field Pasturing (Husbandry) building and, in Aigion, a Small Treasury. These will boost your initial income considerably. Start recruiting as well; you'll need cheap garrisons for your Arcadian campaign.

While it may seem that you are secure thanks to your alliances, only factions with which you have 80+ relations won't reliably attack you. Recruit a Diplomat on the second turn and make clever use of diplomacy to avoid having multiple fronts open at the same time.

Pick either Elis or Sparta to improve relations with; the other will, sooner or later, betray you. The Aetolian League can be allied with at the beginning, and the Macedonian holdings in and around Corinth can be easily rushed; however, don't overextend. Athens will remain your ally for as long as the Macedonian threat exists in southern Greece. Taking Corinth and Trozan in your campaign's first few turns might be all you require from the Antigonids.

Argos and Corinth should be initial priorities, both for conquest and for setting up a Direct Rule government. They share your faction's culture, and public order will not be an issue. Both cities will provide you with much-needed income.

Sometimes it'll be possible to reach a peace treaty with a faction you have defeated in the field, even if there are still settlements under its control in the vicinity. Make use of your diplomats if your forces are required elsewhere; if the enemy feels defeated enough, you may even get a sizable tribute.

Your medium-term priority should be to secure the Peloponnese to limit the number of potentially aggressive neighbors. Once this is done, enemies from the north will only have two access points to your territory: through the Isthmus of Corinth or to Aigion, across the strait from Naupaktos.

Tips

Economic Tips

  • Prioritize Direct Rule governments in settlements of Dorian culture and in larger settlements; Corinth and Argos are sizable cities already and will provide good revenue at the beginning of the campaign. Check the public order consequences before applying the same strategy to Tegea and Megalopolis.
  • The town of Olympia controls the Statue of Zeus wonder. This monument will ease your campaign by automatically increasing population loyalty in all your settlements.
  • Once you have taken Sparta, try your best to grow it to City size, as it is an Iron region. Prioritise population growth buildings, lower taxes and, once it becomes a City, build the Iron Exports building. This will completely revolutionise your campaign. Avoid building any Blacksmiths or Mines (or destroy them if already present), as these will hinder your population growth. You'll be able to build them once the settlement has reached the desired size.

Military Tips

  • Foreign Thureophoroi might be a confusing military unit; it is a local infantry unit that falls between the Euzonoi and standard Thureophoroi. They'll hold the line well against other medium infantry but are meant to be used as a more mobile force. Their large number of javelins should be used before engaging them in melee.
  • You don't have to focus your resources on reaching the Achaean League's reforms; an organic expansion aimed at securing the Peloponnese might fulfil all the conditions naturally.
  • Achaian Hoplites are solid line-holders for most of your campaign; they will outmatch their counterparts from most of your neighboring factions. As you reach the Achaean League's reforms, you may choose to replace them with Phalangites or Achaian Thorakitai according to your preferences.
  • You'll have access to a faction-exclusive mercenary pool in the Achaean provinces (northern coast of the Peloponnese, from Dyme to Corinth). This will provide some useful additions to your army. Here are a few of my favourites:
    • Mercenary Cretan Archers provide elite missile support. They are superior to your locally trained Greek Archers or Achaian Slingers, and remain the best option available even after you can recruit Neocretan Ephebes following your second reform.
    • Mercenary Greek Thorakitai offer a taste of the future; this infantry will be superior to everything in your roster except your very best (Achaian Epilektoi). None of your neighbors will match their versatility and ability to deal damage.
    • Mercenary Tarantine Cavalry are versatile medium cavalry; given the limited cavalry options at the beginning of the campaign, they may come in handy.
    • Mercenary Thracian Noble Cavalry are the best heavy cavalry available in Greece; no other faction south of Macedon proper will be able to field such a terrifying unit on the battlefield. Time the recruitment of this unit carefully, as it is quite expensive.
  • In nearby regions, you will have access to other complementary mercenary units. These are the ones I have found most useful at the beginning of the campaign: