Guthwyn
01-03-2004, 18:07
If you are a player that regards the use of assassins as unsportsmanlike, you need read no further. I personally regard them as a whole lot of fun (almost as much fun as inquisitors), and since I play MTW to have fun, I drop them on enemy generals/kings like sprinkles on an ice cream cone. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
My favorite faction is the Turks, and it was with them that I noticed something. I typically have a fortress in Syria in order to produce the highest rank assassins (they come out rank 5). I also have a habit of assassinating the Mongol leader. I usually end up fighting the "first massive Mongol onslaught" anyways, but I prefer to control the chaos the Mongols produce.
Most notably, in my most recent game as the Turks, I was prepared both militarily and strategically for the appearance of the Mongols. My border with them was Georgia, with the Polish controling the expanses of the Steppes. Importantly, this was a GA game, and the Polish were beating me because of their conquests.
When the Mongols appeared, the Polish retreated from Khazar. The next turn, I sent in my best assassins. The Mongols attacked in Georgia, and I fended them off. The Mongols attacked Kiev and a couple of other Steppe provinces, the Polish retreated. My assassins failed. As I was reorganizing, I noticed the Mongols were taking a more aggressive stance towards me than the Poles, who seemed quite happy with their new borders. The Polish refused to counter attack. After a few more turns, I sent in another wave of assassins. This time, they succeeded, and the Mongols were reduced to rebels.
This is when I noticed a change in the AI behavior. The Poles no longer feared to attack the rebels, and the rebels pulled four out of five stacks out of Khazar in order to press the Poles further west. The rebels ignored me, because I was neutral to them, and attacked the Poles relentlessly.
They managed to significantly reduce the size of the Polish armies, while the Poles thinned out their ranks as well. About ten turns later, the Mongols re-emerged, but were no where near the threat they initially posed.
The peace brought about by eliminating the Mongols as a threat allowed me to concentrate my forces and conquer Iberia and Western Europe (which had been controlled by the Spanish, but was now all rebel, due to some rather "untimely deaths" in the Spanish royal line).
I suppose my longwinded point is this: He who contols the Old Man in the Mountains, controls the fate of the World Muah-hahahahahaha..ha.*cough* http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Guthwyn
My favorite faction is the Turks, and it was with them that I noticed something. I typically have a fortress in Syria in order to produce the highest rank assassins (they come out rank 5). I also have a habit of assassinating the Mongol leader. I usually end up fighting the "first massive Mongol onslaught" anyways, but I prefer to control the chaos the Mongols produce.
Most notably, in my most recent game as the Turks, I was prepared both militarily and strategically for the appearance of the Mongols. My border with them was Georgia, with the Polish controling the expanses of the Steppes. Importantly, this was a GA game, and the Polish were beating me because of their conquests.
When the Mongols appeared, the Polish retreated from Khazar. The next turn, I sent in my best assassins. The Mongols attacked in Georgia, and I fended them off. The Mongols attacked Kiev and a couple of other Steppe provinces, the Polish retreated. My assassins failed. As I was reorganizing, I noticed the Mongols were taking a more aggressive stance towards me than the Poles, who seemed quite happy with their new borders. The Polish refused to counter attack. After a few more turns, I sent in another wave of assassins. This time, they succeeded, and the Mongols were reduced to rebels.
This is when I noticed a change in the AI behavior. The Poles no longer feared to attack the rebels, and the rebels pulled four out of five stacks out of Khazar in order to press the Poles further west. The rebels ignored me, because I was neutral to them, and attacked the Poles relentlessly.
They managed to significantly reduce the size of the Polish armies, while the Poles thinned out their ranks as well. About ten turns later, the Mongols re-emerged, but were no where near the threat they initially posed.
The peace brought about by eliminating the Mongols as a threat allowed me to concentrate my forces and conquer Iberia and Western Europe (which had been controlled by the Spanish, but was now all rebel, due to some rather "untimely deaths" in the Spanish royal line).
I suppose my longwinded point is this: He who contols the Old Man in the Mountains, controls the fate of the World Muah-hahahahahaha..ha.*cough* http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Guthwyn