The Unofficial Medieval: Total War Thread

[sir_schwick]

This is another production by the guy who brought you Missle Silos, and the Unofficial X-Com Thread. The topic, as many of you have geussed, is the best game about the Middle Ages ever made. To help focus discussion, I was curious first of all about any good battle stories and tactics in general. Anything else works too.

 

[Specialist290]

I thought it was a pretty good game.

If you start in the Early Middle Ages as England, conquer France as quickly as you can.

When fighting at Stirling Bridge, use the bridge itself as a chokepoint to counter the English numerical advantage. Stay on your own side, too, or the English archers will wreak some major havoc from the shore.

 

[sir_schwick]

If you play as Almohads in Early, concentrate on Europe first. You will only have tech superiority with AUM for about 40 turns. Also, it is much easier to eliminate the Spanish at this stage and possibly hit the weakened France or English in Aquitaine.

 

[Specialist290]

Unless you're prepared to deal with a majopr uprising in the same territory every 5-10 turns or so, never take out the Papacy unless it's absolutely necessary. (Not sure if it applies to all nations, or only Catholic states...)

 

[Dell19]

I think its the same for all nations... Basically the Papancy always come back so it tends to be best to leave them till last.

 

[LLXerxes]

i picked it up about a week or so ago.
i finished the tutorial. it looks good but RTW is better

 

[Gnarfflinger]

I found that the Russian Steppes are hard to hold as well. What I did at one point was to start with the Almohads on Easy and Early, and go through for a total conquest with each Nation. I got stalled out as Germany. Would like to get back to it, but my escape key doesn't work so I can't save off to check my e-mail and play my PBEM turns.

 

[Reno]

I play usually as the Italians, Hungarians or Germans. As the Germans i allways go for France first and then Poland and Denmark. Italians i just launch Crusades to Middle-East and African and Byzantium. And as the Hungarians i go for Byzantines even though they can be hard at an early start point.

 

[sir_schwick]

Spanish should be classified as Easy in Early. They have Jinettes(which area almost as good fighters as mounted sargeants) and can build crusades pretty early. By the High Era I have conquered from Toulouse around the mediterranean to Lesser Armenia. Also, I owned England and everything till former Italian and parts of Germany.

@Gnarfflinger
I usually skip the steppes except as practices for my better generals and troops. It is a great place to earn valour, you'll need it.

 

[Dell19]

Spanish should be classified as Easy in Early.

The difficulty is that they do start with a limited amount of provinces and need to push back the almohad. Basically its not a difficult start if you do things right but it can sometimes be tricky especially if you make the mistake of trying to take Portugal too early.

 

[Reno]

As Spain you can Bribe the provincess of Portugal, Navarra, and Valencia and you should expecially bribe Valencia because of El Cid been there in the early start. You can boost his moral by giving him one of your daughters. and in return you get a loyal and one of the best generals in the world for a very low price.

 

[Dell19]

you should expecially bribe Valencia because of El Cid been there in the early start. You can boost his moral by giving him one of your daughters. and in return you get a loyal and one of the best generals in the world for a very low price.

Well aware of that There is the potential to get very unlucky though if the Almohads invade early. But its possible to miss the opportunity anyway and make playing as Spain much more difficult. I would advise avoiding Portugal until you have are beginning to push the Almohads out of Spain since it has a high rebellion risk which means wasting a load of peasants to keep the peace.

 

[sir_schwick]

I waited on Portugal until 1186 for that reason. Once you push out the Almohads, you can use crusades to get crusader knights for a European campaign. Jinettes are great units for desert warfare. Your right though, if you don't get the Almohads out of Spain, then you have big problems.

The Almohads have to think of the same thing too, tohugh. They also have to handled Egypt, but luckily that is a chokehold territory(Cyrenia I think) and the Egyptians have the Turks(Selujik at this time I think) to deal with. Although as teh Almohads I managed to get the good territories in the ARabian Peninsula and most of WEstern Europe quickly. AUM is awesome.

 

[101rstImperial]

Am I the only Danish fan here?

Anyway, I usually go for Sweden, build up about 4-6 Viking units, take Norway.

Securing both and taxing on "High" so as to not worry about immediate rebellion, I'll usually hop over to Scotland, take that, and provided it's open, Wales as well.

Since I just got it working(), I haven't gotten much further then that.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I have to say England is the best faction in the entire game. As them, i conquered the entire map at the year 1267. Why is this? They have an absolute dominance of unique units than just own everything out there. Heres the list, off the top of my head.
Billmen
Longbowmen
Gallowglasses
Fyrdmen
Highlanders
Hobilars (not that great but still effective light cav)
Saxon Huscarles come from rebellions, as do Sherwood Foresters, which both rock hard
add to this local unique units ( ie Swiss Pikemen/Haleberdiers, Jinetes, Geonese Sailors) and you are unstoppable!

Im sure there are more. If you can eliminate France by the year 1100, you have a secure base from which you can go virtually anywhere. Fortify Flanders ands churn out Barques, and you can get Flanders up to producing 4000 gold a turn by itself. If Flanders is a well defended, Britain acellerates into an army generating machine, capable of churning out an early-age dominant army every three turns, mine consist of usually 3 longbowmen, 3 Feudal Seargants ( or fyrdmen), 4-5 infantry, just pick one, youve got such variety with them, 4 cavalry, often this will be feudal knights, and then a general. This machine can give you multiple thousands of men to just throw at the Germans or the Spanish of whoever pisses you off the most.

I steamrolled staight across Europe to Moscow with greater efficiency than the Third Reich, and destroyed the Mongols in 1231, by outnumbering them 15000 to 8000, though i could have taken them with a battle-hardened two and a half.

The Pope? No problem, Billmen absolutely pwn anything the Papacy can come back with, its usually a lot of cavalry, mixed with some nice foot knights, as im sure youve all seen.

The Muslims? an afterthought. The MTW Islamic world is a force to be reckned with on the battlefield, but they have a LONG windup, if you can get them on their heels before they get multiple Castles/Citadels, they're in the bag.

In conclusion, England is the best one faction there is, that is why I hardly play as them. I enjoy the Turks early age, French early age, and the Russians High Age. ONce as the Russians, my Westward Expansion was halted in central Germany, where my Western border met, of all people, the Almohads, who were throwing Faris around like they knew somebody. Man that was hard.

 

[shortguy]

Spain is pretty easy once you get the better of the Almohads. Imagine--an empire from Navarre to the Sinai with only 3 border defense armies!

I really enjoyed France, too. Hobilars are priceless in the first 30 turns, the farming in your early territories is good, and Flanders is one of the best provinces in the game. Hit the English hard at the beginning, and you'll be in good shape.

I'm playing a game as the Sicilians now, and I've just hit the high era at 1205. My empire is rather small; the Byzantines are huge in the east, and though the west is weak I tend to quail before armies of royal knights. I have all of Italy but the Papal States and Milan, Morroco and Libya, Sardinia and Corsica, Malta, Cordoba, Granada, and Leon. I'll probably work my way through Europe from the southwest until the horde hits the Byzantines. Then I'll start across North Africa and go up through the Holy Land.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

You know what else is fun? AS the Italians, the Crimea was a trading outpost/ fortress (it was actually a Citadel at the time) and absolutely owning the Horde with your Italian INfantry at a bridge as they crossed the River Don.

 

[shortguy]

I really hated the Italians. Cavalryless slugfests against the HRE are not my idea of fun. I expanded in a bubble like way through the HRE and into France, but the huge upkeep of garrisoning all those border provices, the lousy royals, excommunication, and terrible cashflow forced me to quit.

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

I didn't have all that much trouble as the Italians.

I surprisingly had an amazing amount of success with the Almohads, I have (or had rather, I don't play MTW anymore) 12 full armies (as in can't hold even 1 more soldier, complete loyalty in all my captains, and a family member commanding each army, usually with a minimum of 5 stars) in Western France alone. My empire encompassed all of Spain, all of North Africa, and from Antioch (I think, it's been so long since I've played) Eastward.

Same defenses there only 10 full armies though. And each of my border provinces has a full garrison inside the castle, all my provinces have at least 10 agents (mainly assassins, my border territories have more and a bigger variety). I also dominate the Mediterranean, fleets in every ocean square out there. Oh I also control Ireland, Scotland, Scandanavia, and I think various parts of Poland. I've got Europe by the proverbial cojones.

 

[Dreadnought]

Mmm....Byzantines....

I basically invaded and conquered all of Russia via Georgia. Truks didn't give me too much trouble until later, when I killed them. Egypt was a bit harder, though....and by the time I beat Egypt, Spain had conquered almost all of Africa