playing as the rebels

[solypsist]

It's common knowledge you can play the sp campaign game by typing in the code .conan.

And while there is a certain entertainment value in playing as the rebels, there are several limitations, too. Winning the game will be terribly diffult - has anyone actually done it?

1. Factions will always come back. Think the return of the Pope is bad? Imagine that sort of thing with every faction you wipe out- they pop up fully armed and unless you have a full stack in every province, probably behind your main lines.
2. Can't build ships. So how you get to Malta and those other islands is a matter of luck (or lucky assassination).
3. Can't trade. Expect money to be tight the whole game.

The good thing is you start off with units that are unavailable to most of the factions, like getting crossbowmen in the early period. But you can't train/retrain them until the proper period, so if you lose them, they're gone.

My own strategy involved doing my best to integrate my rebel armies to a good starting point and then expanding from there. I gave Spain away, ceded all of Russia and piled all my armies in Lithuania and Sweden, and began expanding from there. Wiped out the Russians and Danes (they kept coming back) and a nice civil war in Germany and Spain gave me those provinces. Then I got bored by returning factions and quit. You spend all this money building up a great castle and a returning faction shows up out of nowhere and gets it.

[edit: changed code from STW to MTW]

[ShaiHulud]

Aye, losing both your province AND your armies to a resurgent faction was a pain.

I used the neutral provinces south and west of Novgorod as my base. Seems they never fall to resurgent factions. Well, once Crimea revolted and took seven provinces in the Turko/Byz area with it, but, none of the rest of the neutral provinces went over.

The only way to make money is through conquest. When you do, build troops/improvements quickly because the cash will be eaten up fast.

As for trying to take it all, I never was strong enough for that. Without trade, there's not enough cash to hold large armies.

One thing, though, if you leave a faction with one province, there's no threat of losing a lot of provinces to it's resurgence. Just go back in, periodically, and trash the one province so they never get too strong again.

[Monk]

I finished up a rebel campaign just a few days ago and i have to say it was by far one of the most challenging games i have ever played. everything started off peacefull enough, but before i knew it i was caught up in a multi front war, such tactics do take some getting used to. in about 70 years i had pretty much all of Western Europe, with the east under siege. then they factions started to reapear, taking my troops as they convinced the provinces who they were. However such problems didnt give me to much trouble, as anyu faction that came back i was able to defeat.

but the innevitable happened, here came the GH. they conpletly took the east and poured into Europe. even though i had the numerical advantage they had the better troops by far, so needless to say i was completly destoyed. (The GH coming from the east and a number of kingdoms reapearing)

It took me another 100 turns to retake all my lost lands but by that time it waas 1343, well into the late period. and those damn kingdoms would not die in the late period they came back alote more and seemed to be timing this (i'd defeat one and here comes another http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif ).

i found that i could never completly take the whole map, i could never keep the troops needed to take spain and the Middle East. The Game ended soon enough when i just kinda gave up and let the factiosn take back their territory, its near impossible to take and hold the entire map. maybe if i had a few more of the trading provinces from the east like Egypt or Constatinople i might have had the funds to complete my domination.

[Mak]

You can play as the rebels????
How? "By typing in .Ronin. where???
Do i type in .Ronin. or ronin or what please tell me exactly and where?

Do you have to start in a specific era or difficulty.

Do you need some special version or MTW, current ly i have MTW and VW installed.

This does sound a like a good laugh http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Now as i understand it you mean you start the game in control of all the rebels on the board. Even El Cido

[Cazbol]

You just type it while in the strategy map. You don't see what you type but press the buttons in order on your keyboard.

I've never played the rebels myself, but sounds like the only way to win would be to isolate each conquered nation in a single primitive province and when all the nations are contained like that, take all the provinces in one turn. Probably easier said than done though.

[Mak]

So on a normal game i just type in exactly

.ronin.

okay cheers will try it later.

Think it might be difficult to conquer all the islands.
The trick will be to not let a faction leader onto a an island, but to kill them on the main continent and thereby the island's forces join the rebels (YOU&#33http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/shock.gif

[solypsist]

Quote[/b] (Mak @ July 30 2003,05:50)]Think it might be difficult to conquer all the islands.
The trick will be to not let a faction leader onto a an island, but to kill them on the main continent and thereby the island's forces join the rebels (YOU&#33http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/shock.gif
Yes, but the AI usually will just surrender, and you'll automatically ransom back their king, which leaves the faction still intact. Or the AI will just not pay the King's ransom, and let an heir take over from somewhere else.

It's tricky trying to take out a whole faction without basically conquering their every province until the enemy King has nowhere to go.

[fartingbob]

ive got all of spain, almohads, egypt and up to bysantines as rebels before a resergence in spain caused me to diveret all trops there, only to find that bysantines then attacked and i lost all but 3 provinces. taking may be ok, but keeping factions is difficult.

[Pdifolco]

Never played as Rebels, but it should be fun ... I suppose you can't lose your provinces to Rebels http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif, so you can squeeze max taxes http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif , but what happens when you manage to create revolts in the others' provinces ?
Do you gain the new troops ? It would be cool ... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[TheSilverKnight]

I've played as the rebels before, and I have won. I'm modding my campaign to make it so there's a rebel king, so I'm going to make the rebels more..playable, shall I say. I'll make them a playable faction on the main menu of the campaign, also. Sound interesting? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/idea.gif Well it can be done But I don't know how I'll do that http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif but I'll figure it out..eventually

[Mak]

The .ronin. on the strategy board did not work nothing happened.

Can someone please state exactly what i am supposed to do, where and what is then supposed to happen. I am not sure this .ronin. thing works? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[TheSilverKnight]

you're supposed to type .conan. not .ronin.
Type it on the strategy map and play as the rebels. Tell me if it works. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Mak]

Thank you Silverknight http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pat.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pat.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pat.gif
Much appreciated.

Think i will really enjoy being a pagan loving rebel
Star Wars Trooper, "You Rebel Scum"
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

As for all the ronin stuff people could you please get it right next time http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/dizzy.gif

Later http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

[TheSilverKnight]

No problem http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pat.gif I'm glad to help a fellow gamer in need. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[solypsist]

Wow it took almost ten replies befor someone noticed that subtle (and intended) error in my original post

[Mak]

Why intended??? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

I was asking for help thoughout the topic

Me thinks you just http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/dizzy.gif

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

Silverknight know more http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/shock.gif

[TheSilverKnight]

Quote[/b] (Mak @ Aug. 01 2003,11:07)]Silverknight know more http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/shock.gif
You're right. I am quite smart. But not AS smart as some of the people here, but I could definitely rank among the top 25 http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/shock.gif

[Mak]

Yes it finally worked conan rules http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Pagan loving rebel scum.

Playing the rebels is a lot of fun and very challenging.
I tried to play it by not building anything as i thought the returning factions would just use anything i built. this seemed to work but i have decided there are 2 keys to success as the rebels. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/idea.gif

1. Building in russia (protected ish just watch out for the horde) up to fortress level then you train lots of assassins. when the returning factions show up kill the king (only rank 0) and you have a lovely huge modern rebel army http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif DO NOT build any border forts
Trust me i did in England then they returned very annoying

2. OK so your armies will not be advanced from not building. but there is one key area as a rebel that is norway and sweden. Yes you guessed it lots of lovely vikings inc huscarles who kick ass out of most things.

For my first go as a rebel i took ruusia straight off. Scotland highlanders marauded all over england, finally into Ile de France Then the english returned (not enough assassins&#33http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif Anyway El Cid did an amazing job killing Alhomads and Spaniards ransacking the whole Spanish Peninsula. He only had a few units, at the end it was all peasants and hibiliars yet still he kept winning (9 star general at end&#33http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif He turned on me and joined the English i think when he returned, traitor

Took and held Hungary and Poland, got a great battle for a bridge saved amazing fight my forces 500ish very basic vs 1000 Hungarians and 800 Germans, will send it to somebody or post it up myself if someone can tell me how (really is cool). Avoided the turks and byz on purpose. got a nice force in Sweden just getting some kick arse units.

Recommendation Night Walkers http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

Later http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

[Hamburglar]

I've been playing a game as the Rebels not to "take over the world" but to just have a lot of combat. I build up huge castles so when they AI takes over my provinces I can have amazing siege battles where thousands of troops throw themselves at my citadel gates.


Basically, the way I've been playing is EXTREMELY defensively. I rarely ever go to "conquer" an AI province and take over the world. I mostly just defend myself and let the game go - makes for some interesting battles. In my campaign its now 1403 and the Mongols pretty much own Everything east of Germany and Libya. The French are their main enemies but they are getting slammed by the emergence (in the same few years) of the Germans, Swiss, Danes, and Burgundians.

[Red Harvest]

I'm going to have to try this some time From reading the comments here, it sounds like the best way to win would be to isolate every faction in a single territory and bankrupt them all. Don't kill them off intentionally. The florins work will be tricky and the island problem is really bad... Then in a final massive turn, attack everyone at once, win all the battles, then win the sieges all the next turn. This is going to be really tough on expert.