How do you deal with barbarians on marathon speed?

[Centimus]

But you need a level 4 unit to be alowed to build the HE.

How do you solve this issue without going to war?

I'm curious about that too. Free promotions don't affect a unit's experience level, like Tristan_C mentioned.

However, one possibility is to modify the game. The XP limit from combat with Barbarians is normally 10 points, but this value can be increased. This certainly changes the game, especially on isolated starts and with Raging Barbarians, because it allows you to build an experienced army without any real warring. But the same limit / advantage will of course apply to the AI.

Go to Beyond the Sword/Assets/XML/GlobalDefines.xml

	<Define>
		<DefineName>BARBARIAN_MAX_XP_VALUE</DefineName>
		<iDefineIntVal>10</iDefineIntVal>
	</Define>

 

[Tatran]

level 4 = 10 XPs
For CHA leaders it's only 8 XPs.
Fight barbarians until a unit has 10 XPs and/or play with goody huts on.
With goody huts you can get multiple XPs even enough to unlock Westpoint (20 XPs or 26 XPs)

 

[Centimus]

level 4 = 10 XPs

Aaaah, of course! Units start at level 1...

 

[Ulenspiegel]

level 4 = 10 XPs
For CHA leaders it's only 8 XPs.
Fight barbarians until a unit has 10 XPs and/or play with goody huts on.
With goody huts you can get multiple XPs even enough to unlock Westpoint (20 XPs or 26 XPs)

With huts is clear. Without (my usual setup) can I really get level 4 units only fighting barbs (for not CHa leaders)?

 

[Centimus]

With huts is clear. Without (my usual setup) can I really get level 4 units only fighting barbs (for not CHa leaders)?

Yes. Like I said, the XP limit from fighting barbarians is 10 points (for animals the limit is 5 points).

2 XP = level 2
5 XP = level 3
10 XP = level 4

On isolated starts I sometimes deliberately leave an area unobserved, just to allow the barbarians to spawn. That way my units can gain some experience, and a few "free" cities don't hurt either.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Without raging barbs spawnbust with warriors is almost always enough, and most cost effective. On rare occasions of huge open lands maybe you build great wall (pretty good for stealing techs to catch up after a settling spree too).

With raging barbs on higher settings you won't have time to get GW even, at that point get archers and hills are your friend. You still want to spawnbust after the first blast wave, but do it with archers for the defensive bonus.