Newbie's first question?

[Brother Derfel]

Hi, I am new to Medival Total War so please excuse me if this question has a rather obviouse answer

The question is, how does Medieval decide when a general should get an extra command star?It seems to me as though unless a General starts with a high command, then it is very difficult to progress above 4 stars (except with titles). For example i have had a 5 star general that has won many battles, but does not seem to increase in command any further, yet there are 8 star generals that must have got there somehow.

Any response would be much apreciated.

thanks

[Gregoshi]

Brother Derfel, we welcome you to our humble abode.

It must be command star week as your's is the second such question on the subject. I don't know how many wins it takes to get another command star. I seem to recall in STW it was 8 wins, but I don't know if MTW is the same. Other, wiser men will no doubt be here soon to answer that question. I do know that some generals start at a certain level command level, especially if they are a historical figure. Vices & Virtues also affects the command rating.

[seamusmoon]

Brother-

So far the only time I've ever seen one of my generals promoted (given another star) by the game, and not via a title, is after the successful defense of a province when his army was outnumbered. This seems more likely to happen if the province is quite valuable or if the generals army is greatly outnumbered. I'm guessing it has something to do with his unit earning multiple valour levels in a single battle or earning a number of valour levels over several battles (meaning his unit's valour remained undiluted by merging with other lower valour units or being repaired after a series of battles). I'm not sure which it is (it could be both), I'll have to play some more to find out.

[desdichado]

heres my two cents worth. It seems fairly random as I've had 3 or 4 generals promoted in a single year and then nothing for years after that.

After giving two of my generals titles from the admiralty building and constables palace they got promoted after every battle, even small ones where I outnumbered some rebels 20 to 1. Made it easy to get him promoted as I just hunted out all my opponents weak armies and won lots of easy battles.

promotions from important or difficult battles would seem to make more sense but I don't know if it happens like that.

[Azrael]

Hey Guys,

Whe a General receives his first Command Star, this is usually accompanied by the little note one of your generals, having won more battles than he's lost, has acheived first rank or something along those lines.

This leads me to suspect that your general gets a command star for every battle they win.

All my English Generals in Spain, the ones who have fought their way there, have very high command ratings (6 - 8).

As your Command ratings increase, keep an eye on the Vices and Virtues of your Generals. These have an adverse and positive affect on the morale of your troops (and the higher the morale, the better they will fight).

Gah I once had an 8 star General who somehow aquired Coward as a vice.

I sent his lone Unit against a Byzantine Army, looking to get him killed off (he was giving my army a negative morale rating).

The Byzantines abandoned the province.

Doh

I still found a way to rid myself of him.

Azrael

[desdichado]

Azrael,

Not sure about getting a command star for each battle won. I had a general putting down rebellions in Muscovy for a few years and he only got one command star out of all the battles. I don't think he got any negative vices that would have lowered it.

Also, has anyone else noticed if command stars can be taken away? I had a five star general produced out of Denmark, moved him to Sweden to take on HRE and next turn only 3 stars. Checked his vices and lost one star for drunkeness or something or rather. Don't know what happened to the other.

[Dijeeh]

Somtimes my generals get a new star for winning lots and somtimes they do not.

It usualy says Your general has more battles than he has lost and has gained his first rank , I think thats it.

If that is so, a general needs only win his first battle and he should gain a star, this correct?

[Gregoshi]

I'm pretty sure a general can win or lose a command star on the battlefield. You need to string a few victories together to gain one. I'm not so sure it is as hard to lose stars. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif

[Brother Derfel]

Quote[/b] (desdichado @ Nov. 26 2002,23:39)]Azrael,

Not sure about getting a command star for each battle won. I had a general putting down rebellions in Muscovy for a few years and he only got one command star out of all the battles. I don't think he got any negative vices that would have lowered it.

Also, has anyone else noticed if command stars can be taken away? I had a five star general produced out of Denmark, moved him to Sweden to take on HRE and next turn only 3 stars. Checked his vices and lost one star for drunkeness or something or rather. Don't know what happened to the other.
From playing for a little more now with the Spanish, I have certainly noticed command starts going down now as well. I had a pair of generals with 8 stars (Brothers of previouse kings, now only Generals. I called them The Vellaquez twins) and they together managed to defeat the Almohaveds and push on through Egypt and into the Middle East where they were stopped. After loosing a few abismal battles where I was outnumbered slightly and thought i could win (stupid me) I noticed that one general has reduced to 5 stars and the other to 6
Also generals certainly do not gain a star after each battle won. I have had some generals gain their first stars for winning one battle, but higher ranked generals have won many battles without any sort of promotion. It seems to me that promotion becomes harder the higher you climb.
Any one else notice this?


Thanks

[LadyAnn]

Certain general gain extra star for his Vice & Virtue. If he lost a virtue by losing a battle, he lost some of his stars.

A general get promoted depends on the relative force as well. If you send a general to battle with a force equal to the enemy, the general is more likely to get promoted. If you always out-numbered your opponents, it would take many more battles to get the general promoted.

Also, if you attack a province without thinking about keeping it (either withdraw right away or simply to wear down the defender with successful waves of attack) you may want to remove the highly decorated general, or else, his V&V suffers (such as hesitant). Don't leave high-star general defending a province with a small force.

Anyways, the only thing I am griping about the generals is that he is immortal. I would prefer the general dies the same way the kings are. In his place should be promoted another general with quality similar to the dead general with slightly different attributes (The new general learn the ropes from the old one).

Annie