How to deal with strong PD?

[Zeldor]

Well, I am new to MP games and in my first game I encountered a huge problem of very high PD. By very high I mean 40-50.

What is the best of beating them in early to mid game, when you have very limited access to battle magic and not many mages?

Of course PD is not alone, their weaknesses are somehow filled with national troops.

I won't give examples as I would want some general ideas. After that I can give some specifics

[Sombre]

Go around them. Attack a different province.

If it's a real choke point then the best way to deal with it is to bring an overwhelming force - your main army. If this army isn't likely to be enough, well then you'll have to direct your research to some stuff that invalidates PD, like SCs, powerful battlemagic etc.

Most PDs are vulnerable to spells which affect masses of meatshieldy troops, like aoe damage, poison, morale reducing spells, stuff with awe and so on.

[Zeldor]

But when there is 40-50PD in EVERY province on the border? And you get difficult research and are still in quite early game?

[sum1lost]

Zeldor said:
But when there is 40-50PD in EVERY province on the border? And you get difficult research and are still in quite early game?

Invest your own gold is something more useful, and beat them later on.

[Zeldor]

If it can stop me it is not useless. Making as many troops as PD has and keeping them in front provinces would kill me with upkeep.

[sum1lost]

Zeldor said:
If it can stop me it is not useless. Making as many troops as PD has and keeping them in front provinces would kill me with upkeep.

So don't attack it. Build forts instead. They shouldn't cost more than a pd of 50 or so, and will be far more useful in the long run. PD has its uses, but forts are a better long-term investment.

[Sombre]

It hasn't stopped you, it's just delayed you. They spent loads of money on PD which will be useless when you later attack with your superior force and roll over the PD like it isn't there.

Unless they have forces/research to match yours AND the PD all over the place as well, in which case they just had a better early game than you - find an ally and double team them.

[Agrajag]

50 PD costs 1275 gold. That's a lot of gold.

Anyway, its kind of hard to give general solutions. If you gave us a more specific nation combination then we might be more useful.
So I'll just suggest a completely random strategy that might work (but probably won't ) - conquer underwater provinces so you can circle around his line of PD defense through the water.

[Torin]

Maybe you dont have any but flying squads can attack past them. A small stealth force can pass trough (or be discovered by defense) and raid a couple of provinces behind.

[Agrajag]

Now isn't that specific to nations with access to flying units?
And of course there are more ways, like remote summons, its just that its a lot easier when you get more specific. If we knew what nation he was fighting, we could suggest ways to defeat the PD since we'd know what it has, if he told us what nation he was using, it'd be easier to mention all the specific tactics you could use with them. Right now all we know is that there is a wall of PD that is apparently unbeatable. (Though of course it can't really be unbeatable.)