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    Default MTW DEADLY SINS

    Hi,
    these are in my opinion these gameplay elements that are allowed by the game engine and yet they are absolute game breakers, cheats and cheeky to the extreme for the SP part of the game.

    In no particular order;

    1. Manual Pillaging.
    This is very common especially among new SP players. They often concentrate their armies into superstacks that invade AI core territories one by one and once they get them they raise them to the ground. Somebody i know calls it *shopping* and literally his whole economic approach in the game is based on this strategy. Once i was watching him play, and i wished i could take the AI factions and repay him the coin, but i was rewarded from the many crushing defeats he suffered (until i finally informed him that his faction leader, a coward, is better left at home).

    The interesting thing is that in the original STW, not MI, you couldnt manually pillage neither disband units, just like the AI, making the game play in a much more equal footing. Many times players cite that STW was most challenging due to the totality of the roster being useful (no redundant units like in MTW), but it had a lot to do with campaign parameters as well; manual pillaging, disbanding were not an option setting the AI and player in an equal footing, ports and other investments were expensive and time consuming, and there was no optimisation of taxation - even if it was only your newly conquered province that was having low loyalty, you had to drop the taxes of the whole domain (a nice feature that reflected the uniformity of policy). In this way you could not optimise the economy (and the AI couldnt either).

    Manual pillaging should be frowned from main hall dwellers as it is a number one challenging campaign killer - the AI cannot repay you with the same coin.

    2. Systematic Prisoner Execution - Ransom refusal.
    Well perhaps some would disagree with the argument that *experienced players massacre prisoners so that the AI can get new troops over a long game*, but this partly benefits the AI. In reality, the AI factions would take ages to remake the lost men and anyone knows that if you want to take them over quickly it is best to kill prisoners. The player tends to have a constant flow of produced units so actually refusing prisoners in many cases is a benefit.

    The thing however is that the AI does not have this choice - he will always offer the prisoners back, and buy his back.

    Main hall dwellers should role play their campaings and hence keep the massacre prisoners option for special occasions like crusades/jihads or a particularly hated enemy ruler that disrespectfully betrayed a treaty etc and should always offer the prisoners back as well as buying their men back when they are in the green.

    3. Mercenaries
    Mercenaries are a nice gameplay element and yet, to be honest if used at will especially at the opening phase, they can simply win the player the campaign in a flash (i reach 60% victory this way well before the Mongols arrive). Only cautioned/flavored mercenary use can benefit a campaign and even that is a considerable advantage that only the player enjoys we have to remember. Say, buying billmen and militia seargents as the Byzantine to deal with the Mongols takes out from the challenge.

    Main hall dwellers should avoid mercenary use as much as possible, ideally comletely.

    4. Disbanding
    Disbanding is a function that gives unmatched flexibility to the player - has the era changed and you get new spears and menatarms? Disband to get the new ones. Have you not making profits because of the large garrisons you have been building? Disband to make economic way. Needless to say that the AI is stuck with the men he builds and he often has as the only tool war for getting rid of them and the maintenance costs that go with them. Again in the original STW, the player like the AI could not disband, placing things on an equal footing and bringing strategic choices to the fore. Back then you had to actually estimate how much border troops you needed and if your estimates were wrong you had to pay the price ie fall on the red, much like the AI.

    This is all the more true with ships in MTW - in many cases ships become the stone that literally chokes AI factions after they lose their trade function. The player on the other hand can simply disband them, which literally makes the difference between life and death, game wise.

    Main hall dwellers should frown on disbanding and stick to the situation that their choices bring instead of using means not available to their opponents.

    What other such *sins*, others have noticed?

    !it burnsus!
    Last edited by gollum; 12-27-2008 at 09:57.
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