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Idaho
Ken no Tatsujin
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Exeter, England Posted: Nov. 28 2003,18:46
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Just spent 200 years building up a small independent nation with the welsh. Thought I was doing all right. Built lots of stuff, kept the peace.
Then about 50 Vikings came and destroyed 200 of my men The next year 30 of them killed 200 Then the Saxons came in and killed 3 f mine for every one of theirs... sob... moan.. it was hopeless. I was destroyed...
The Viking and Saxon troops are just far, far superior to anything you get in Wales. And there just isn't the money in Wales to upgrade before te Vikings arrive.
How is it possible to win?
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Basileus
simakis o basilias
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Blakulla/Pontos Posted: Nov. 28 2003,21:29
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I only played the viking campaign when the exp was released and i played with the welsh one thing i had to do was to get ships early so that you wont get raided from the vikings, then wait untill the vikings hit the saxons or the mercians and hit while they are weak..use your troops wisely and you can make it, i know its preety tough maybe some mercs (vikings) could help you out when attacking.
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arrrse
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Posted: Nov. 29 2003,03:22
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Haven't played as Welsh, but today I had 3 units of my (max size) Viking Beserkers kill 500+ enemy each in one battle
Beserkers (I think the Scots get these too?), Huscarles (available to Mercians & Saxons too) and Joms Vikings are amazingly good at chopping through... well, pretty much anything really.
You just basically charge them into a wall of enemy, wait a bit then sooner or later the left-overs of the enemy will run away
I even had a battle today that I was sure I'd lose:
2 Huscarles + 1 Beserker + 2 Thralls vs ~3500 Saxons mostly Spear, Armoured Spear and Horsemen.
But I won with minimal casualties due to the AI giving up & marching away after the first wave was smashed by my charge from defensive position.
As the Irish, I managed to win but really only by just having swarms of Gallowglasses to overwhelm the Huscarles with pure numbers.
Gallowglasses are even comparitively good troops in VI so that really shows the power of Huscarles.
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Ironside
Count
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Sweden Posted: Nov. 29 2003,04:24
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By some reason the vikings never attacks me as the Welsh , even when I'm not allied. But I deploy heavy garnisions early.
Thats makes the game quite easy. Take the rebel provinces to the west. Get boats fast and the vikings aren't even threat anymore. Attack and conquer Ireland and you shouldn't have much problem later.
Use archers and pepper those heavy units to oblivion. Celtic warriors are good and then use cav to flank. Haven't gotten welsh bandits yet, but when they come they already will get 3/3 upgrades
Won a battle yeasterday in my Welsh campaign 2500 vs 8800 Mercians. The result? 607 losses 2661 killed and 3360 captured . My king got scant mercy, butcher and skilled defender after that battle
But I admit 60 Saxon huskies are scary, one unit (v0) killed 118 celtic warriors when I didn't have time for larger reinforcements
In cease you're wondering I'm checking the logfiles.
My king killed/captured 151 enemies personally
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RTW - Hun Invasion??
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Alrowan
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Sydney, Australia... that place down under... Posted: Nov. 29 2003,07:26
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welsh bandits are the key
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Big King Sanctaphrax
SHIIIIIIIIINE ON YOU CRAAAAAAAAZY DIAAAAMOND...
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Cardiff, Wales Posted: Nov. 29 2003,09:28
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Quote
Useless Welsh Gits
AARGH I'll get you, Boyo
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Quote (TuffStuffMcGruff @ Feb. 14 2004,14:59)
Make it a win for the male population by telling her to suck on a grenade.
Big Man, Pig Man, HA HA Charade you are...
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TheSilverKnight
The Marshmallow Man
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I'm somewhere where you don't know where I am where you are where I have been :P Posted: Nov. 29 2003,10:53
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Yeah What BKS said I like the Welsh in VI They're kool-beanz
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The_Emperor
A Lord Of Rome {LORE}
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Fighting with the Legions. Posted: Nov. 29 2003,12:18
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Quote (Alrowan @ Nov. 29 2003,13:26)
welsh bandits are the key
Yup, suped up archers who can hide anywhere... And a 60 Man unit (arnt they armed with Longbows?)
The main problems the Welsh have in my view is their strategic position, they are hemmed in on all sides by powerful kingdoms and the ever-present threat of the Vikings crossing the seas.
My Advice is to ally with the Vikings and to take advantage of their raids into the territory of your enemies... The rest of the time you just have to be more opportunistic than normal.
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TheSilverKnight
The Marshmallow Man
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I'm somewhere where you don't know where I am where you are where I have been :P Posted: Nov. 29 2003,12:42
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true. I also recommend having emissaries go after other factions' princesses. Who knows, you might get something good out of it. and build garrisons fast.
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Hurin_Rules
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Posted: Nov. 29 2003,13:30
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Playing as Irish, I found those Saxon Huscarles made me weak at the knees. There really is no unit that is a true counter to them. I tried to hold them with a lesser unit like armoured spears or Gallowglasses, and then flank them with mounted nobles. Also, kerns and dartmen can inflict substantial casualties on them. As for Welsh, I think the only way to beat them is to heavily outnumber them.
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Vigi
Man at Arms
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Posted: Nov. 29 2003,18:11
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Well as the Irish I employed quite a lot of kerns and dartmen and they can really read a bedtime story to heavy armored units, so perhaps you should try to use more of them Hurin. Granted, they won't beat a huge army of Vikings, but with proper tactics they can inflict enough casualties that your gallowglasses/armoured spears might be able to hold the line.
Key for any faction, in my opinion, is to play to your strengths. As the Welsh you can produce some excellent archers early on(valour bonus from one of their provinces I forget which)and celtic warriors can chew through enemy troops. However you really do need to expect to take a lot of casualties while using them, as they are very lightly armored. If I was to play the Welsh I would use an army that consisted of a celtic warrior core, a few armored spears, some archers and a horsemen or two. The viking troops aren't fast(barring berserkers) so skirmish them to hell and back. Once you get Welsh bandits you can lay devastating ambushes on them when you are on the defensive. The Welsh lands favor archer heavy armies on defense, so again, like I said, play to your strengths . I'm not saying my strategies are fool proof or even that I am an excellent commander. I'm probably decent at best. But I try to always play to my strengths not the enemies and because of this I can usually win most campaigns in the long run. Remember that when you are on defense the enemy is marching into your territory, so pay attention to the land before you deploy your troops. Learn the area, possible ambush spots, etc. Welsh bandits take a while to tech up to but once you have them you should have no trouble at all defeating infantry-heavy armies on the defensive if you employ your men right. Just my .02
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Idaho
Ken no Tatsujin
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Exeter, England Posted: Nov. 30 2003,05:13
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I don't know how you can get as far as welsh bandits. I just can't get the money together fast enough. It takes years just to get the mines working. To try and get some agriculture working takes decades - and a fortune. All the while you are spending every last penny on inferior troops (cos you can't afford/have time to upgrade) to cover your borders..
I'll try again
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Red Peasant
Faugh-A-Ballagh
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Liverpool Posted: Nov. 30 2003,05:55
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Quote (Idaho @ Nov. 30 2003,10:13)
I don't know how you can get as far as welsh bandits. I just can't get the money together fast enough. It takes years just to get the mines working. To try and get some agriculture working takes decades - and a fortune. All the while you are spending every last penny on inferior troops (cos you can't afford/have time to upgrade) to cover your borders..
I'll try again
Well, the way I see it, the AI and the game setup must be quite realistic. If the Welsh had been powerful we'd all now be speaking their sonorous yet crazy language. They should be hard to play. Sorry, I know that don't help any, just an idle observation.
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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere
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Hit the other fellow, as quick as you can, and as hard as you can, where it hurts him most, when he ain't lookin'.
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Idaho
Ken no Tatsujin
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Exeter, England Posted: Dec. 01 2003,04:09
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OK - I started again. The year is now 875. I have held the Vikings at bay with sea power, Wales is mine and well developed (almost as far as development will take it) - but now I am surrounded by huge armies. I have built up stacks to man the borders - but this has led me into a fiscal crisis with a massive defecit... and I still don't have the power to take on the Irish or Mercians (and they seem to be happy ignoring me and taking a pop at each other).
I think I will scale down, clear out some of the dead wood and get on top of the finances - then I might just see about ruling the waves. Ireland is a big temptation as all their forces are in England fighting the Mercians and my spies have been roaming their kingdom sewing unrest.
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Alrowan
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Sydney, Australia... that place down under... Posted: Dec. 01 2003,05:36
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the way i won my campagin with wales was in two phases, the first was an early expansion, gaining another 3-4 provs outside of wales, and on england proper, then is the building phase, where i upgraded heavily in 2-3 provs. i find that looking defensivly early as wales takes away a great advantage, in that your celtic warriorsare easy to obtain, and for the first 50 years can dominate the battle
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Brutal DLX
Freiherr
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Posted: Dec. 01 2003,06:42
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Archers archers archers...
Add some spears, Med Cav and Celtics and you have your basic Welsh army. Definitely tech up to Welsh Bandits, they will be your elite unit later on.
If Saxons and Mercians fight each other, ally with one and take some provinces. If they are at peace with each other, then go for Ireland, they will fall easily due to having no archers and their javelin units will be depleted by the time they reach strinking distance.
Saxon huscarls and viking units are tough, focus fire on them, then charge with cavalry in their backs, while using armoured spearmen to hold them. Your Celtics should avoid them unless they can flank. Celtic warriors work great against spearmen and other light infantry.
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Idaho
Ken no Tatsujin
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Exeter, England Posted: Dec. 02 2003,04:04
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The year is now 980 - I am still confined to Wales and Cornwall However I have picked up a couple of Irish territories. I don't dare take on the Huscarles yet - they will mince me.
Gotta love those Welsh Bandits though - serious firepower as well as being able to mix it in melee. When fighting in the woods they tear through light infantry
I am definately not going to acheive total domination in this game. However, if I take all of Ireland and most of England I will count the game as a success.
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BDC
Colymbosathon ecplecticos
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Britain Posted: Dec. 02 2003,10:40
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http://cronusbdc.tripod.com/viking.jpg
Beat that.
(Thats what happens when a prince appears as a province rebels.)
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Satyr
Duke
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Ca Posted: Dec. 02 2003,12:37
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I find the best way to play the Welsh is to be super aggressive early. In the first 20 years I completely take out the Saxons. This gives me lots of high income provinces. Make sure you upgrade weapons and armor as much as possible, this will make your celtic warriors able to stand up to better troops. Also, can't the Celts build Huscarles? I remember building LOTS of mounted nobles or whatever royal knights are called in VI. I pretty much win before 900. Also, try to ally with the Vikings, it makes the game much easier.
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spmetla
Baron von Schpetzka
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Honolulu, Sandwich Islands Posted: Dec. 02 2003,12:40
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My key tactic with the Welsh are this:
Before you build anything else build those mines. Then take the rest of Wales and build mines there.
Build up a small navy and a force you can defend with, make alliances with the Mercians and Saxons.
Expand into either Ireland or Northumbria.
Use Mercenaries when you face the stronger Anglo-Saxon factions.
I don't know why the Welsh are my favorite faction in Viking Invasion but they are and I win quite frequently with them as well.
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The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses and clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters-Genghis Khan
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Idaho
Ken no Tatsujin
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Exeter, England Posted: Dec. 03 2003,06:36
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The bastard Saxons have come for me A titanic battle ensued in Powis which claimed the lives of the Mercian King and the Welsh King.
Now I am left with a couple of armies fighting hit and run style against the Mercians. The end is in sight - but I will make those dog Saxons pay
I like playing the Welsh - they have everything against them. Just getting through the first couple of centuries is an achievement.
Spmelta - that was pretty much what I did. The only problem being that the Mercians covered all my English borders meaning I couldn't take on the Northumbrians and my forays into Ireland prooved initially successful but the endless rebellions and re-ermergences drained my expeditionary force.
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Magraev
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Denmark Posted: Dec. 03 2003,07:15
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In my experience you have to strangle the saxons and mercians quickly, and hope for some help from the vikings.
They mustn't be allowed to build huscarles - you have nothing to match them. Attack early and often Grabbing Ireland is usefull too. I don't play on the hardest difficulties, so I can keep the Irish happy pretty easily.
And try to field welsh bandits - they rock.
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Idaho
Ken no Tatsujin
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Exeter, England Posted: Dec. 03 2003,10:41
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Quote (Magraev @ Dec. 03 2003,07:15)
I don't play on the hardest difficulties, so I can keep the Irish happy pretty easily.
I don't want easy wins I never play on anything other than hard.
Had a real injustice happen to me in this campaign though. The Irish came and nicked Gwent. I filled it with spies to bring about a rebellion and after a couple of years I attacked and re-took it. Low and behold a Loyalist revolt - of IRISH It was outrageous Needless to say I salughtered every last one of them like dogs.
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Satyr
Duke
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Ca Posted: Dec. 03 2003,11:36
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I really think you are being too passive when playing these poor factions. You must be aggressive really early on and take out one of the super powers or you will have a hard time becoming one yourself. As the Welsh or the Northumbrians, I always take out the Mercians or the Saxons really quickly so that I own the resources to compete with the other one. I think the last time I played as the Welsh, I had completely eliminated the Saxons by 811. Try it.
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LadyAnn
Freedom Fighters
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Somewhere unexpected Posted: Dec. 03 2003,19:31
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I found that playing Welse, you need to be agressive. (well, perhaps I am always aggressive ) Ignore those poor free provinces (which is near the sea and is subject to viking raiding). Go after the Mercians and the Saxons when they are weak earlier on. If you wait, they will have time to build up their axewielding, headchopping armies and you won't have a chance. Their lands are richer and time is on their side.
My welsh work force are those 100-men Warriors. Waiting to build Welsh-Bandits is simply too long. Once you carve out an in-land empire from the Saxons and the Mercians, your empire is unstoppable.
Annie
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Idaho
Ken no Tatsujin
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Exeter, England Posted: Dec. 04 2003,03:46
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So you reckon just building minimal infrastructure - a few mines - then building up stacks of Celtic Warriors to rampage with?
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Freiherr
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Posted: Dec. 04 2003,04:01
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It's certainly the easiest thing to do at the start of a game. AI empires are very susceptible to early rushes that's why I hardly do them.
You can win staying passive and teching up, but it takes skill on the battlefield and of course a little luck.
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Somebody Else
Count
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Oxford - where else? Posted: Dec. 04 2003,11:15
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Do remember that early on the Mercians and Saxons can only field spearmen type units (spearmen and fyrdmen) as infantry... Celtic warriors like the taste of those... Remember to bring archers and use those to turn any cavalry you see into giant pincushions, then... charge. And run them off the field. Cavalry can be a pain if spearmen aren't included with the celtics.
Admittedly I'm not a great user of cavalry - main job for them is to be the general unit and stay alive... and kill/capture routers. The occasional flank/rear attack does help.
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Satyr
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Ca Posted: Dec. 04 2003,17:32
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Don't forget to bring some of your own cav along. They eat fyrdmen up pretty well and are the only effective way to take out the enemy archers.
I find that being this aggressive early on take a great deal of skill. I am often fighting a richer, better prepared enemy with lousy troops. I am usually considerably outnumbered too. It takes patience and skill to take out a large opponent with very few troops. I will agree that the game is over sooner but the thrill of those first 30 years of win or die on the battlefield are what I play for.
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LadyAnn
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Somewhere unexpected Posted: Dec. 04 2003,18:14
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But Welsh is rated as hard camapaign, so it is expected that you already could face the AI on battlefield with relative ease.
When play small, poor factions, agressiveness is the only asset you can rely on.
You don't need to be Viking to do the raiding. I always attack simultaneously 2 or 3 provinces and then consolidated my holding into 1 new province. Wait for a moment and do it again. Use mercenaries if necessary.
Annie
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Idaho
Ken no Tatsujin
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Exeter, England Posted: Dec. 08 2003,04:22
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Success After thinking all was lost I have turned the campaign round. I targetted the Mercian King and kept attacking his personal armies. After making him run a few times the Mercians split in a civil war. A couple of well placed bribes, an assasination and a desperate field battle and the Mercian line is destroyed
It is now 980 and I have taken most of England with the Mercians and Saxons re-emerging on the fringes. I should be able to crush them and move up to Scotland and Ireland before 1066
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HopAlongBunny
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Posted: Dec. 08 2003,04:36
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Well done
I just can't get the Welsh going in VI. My last attempt (ages ago) halted when I teched up to Bandits, I could afford 2. So long as I never built another thing (including a navy) the game was in the bag
Someday...I shall Return
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cart6566
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GA, USA Posted: Dec. 10 2003,20:22
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This was a great thread, thanks everyone. The advice on huscarles was on the money.
It is now 892 in my Welsh campaign, hardest difficulty. I have all of the southwest and part of the center of Britain. The Irish own all else, except the continental bits on the edge of the map, where the Vikings hang out (they never invaded anywhere that I could tell). I think I have the upgrades to win, but it will be a long fight. I should have built more slipways for longboats.
I'd be interested in hearing the endings of some of the other campaigns described in this thread.
Edited by cart6566 on Dec. 10 2003,20:23
Back to to
To sum it up
1. Do the early rush to take the Mercians-Saxons out of the running.
2. +1 valor for Archers in Guent first go for all the valor buildings, then armor, then weapons/morale. (3 valor archers)
3. +1 valor for Horsemen in Defnas same build order.
With these two units and a few armored spear/spear you will be able to run over everyone.
All provinces except the troop provinces should go money first. Watchtowers - border forts - Abbey - forest clear - basic - 20% - 40% is my usual order
Your Welsh bandits are great, but very expensive and take awhile to get the buildings. Make a couple if there are still armor heavy folks around, otherwise archers cost 1/3 as much to build and about 2/3's as much to keep.
I did a Welsh campaign recently and found rushing the Mercians right away with good microing of archers to be quite easy.
the Saxons can be destroyed in short order too and often gets you a fort.
I allied with the Vikings and then pushed into rebels lands before hitting the Northumbrians.
they actually had a few huscarles by this time but I captured their keep by defeating them in the field and then using spies.
this gave me a fully developed province with capacity for Welsh bandits right away, yay
I think that spamming celtic warriors and archers is a good idea as with some maneuvering, the celts can use their deadly charge and distract the enemy from charging your archers so that your archers can pour many deadly volleys into the enemy and get the nice 20/1 kill ratios for archer units
How you play the Welsh?
Your situation is easily depicted:
You have small provinces and few of them while your enemys nearby have fertile ground and a great deal of it.
You can quickly gain many units which are perfectly suited for the enemy spears while in the midgame your infantry will lack powere against the mighty Husacerl.
d
The only possible is to attack them as hard and early as you can. Katank and mfberg show how to built up your provinces to get many provinces and many warriors in a short time.
Your unique units:
The Celtic Warrior
This unit will be your jack-of-trade for all the game. It is cheap, it is big and is a Swordunit. Combine this with his high charge and attack and you will rip the enemy spearhost apart. Deploy them in two ranks against the enemy spears and use woods to increase your relative fighting power against them. Cavalry is also a lot weaker in woods.
This unit cries for armor, give it it as fast as you can - your survival rate will increase greatly and you can get higher Valor ones with greater ease...
The Welsh Archer
Yes it is a simple archer but you can get them a lot cheaper and with a +1 V in Guent. This makes them even more valuable against the badly armored mass of VI units. Combine them with the Celtic Warriors and you have one, if not the finest rush team in the game.
The tasks of your Welsh archers are:
- Decimate the enemy cav; Your Celtic Warriors only fear them in the very first years.
- Destroy the enemy moral; Shower enemy units before the Celts charge them - sometimes they will run after contact
- Kill the General
- outduel enemy archers: Your archers are cheaper, and the AI is often disadvantaged in a missle duel as sometimes he doesn't finish the fire cycle. It is a clear win situation for you..
The Welsh Bandit
An expensive large hightech unit which can hide, fights well and shooths armorpiercing arrows is a very rare - fortunatly you have it on your side. It is a nice plus for your army, and works very well with your cheap simple archers. The Bandits are there to shoot high value units while the Archers kill the rest.
Sometimes ambushes work very well, but they are always risky and I hate to loose them, so I usually deploy them in a safe position where they hide until it is show-time.
An unit which is too good to be wasted, for that you have plenty of Archers and Warriors http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cg...icons/wink.gif
Hope it helped
OA
so true.
I disagree with 2 ranks thing
I find 1 rank to be better.
I posted in the main hall about crisscross with 2 units to achieve flanking shredder effect with them http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cg...ns/biggrin.gif
I frankly have yet to try the one-line Celtic warriors, as I usually have a great deal of them so that I cover all the front and I'm still able to flank...
But I will try it soon http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cg...ns/biggrin.gif
Hrm...
Build up some Celtic Warriors and Welsh Bandits first, and also some naval units to invade the Isle of Man, then Ireland. After that Take out the Scots and Picts, then Use your base in Wales to invade Saxony. You need ALOT of units in each Provenct to ward of the Vikings. When you have taken Saxony, Invade the Mercians with all your troops there, and Northumbria with all your troops in Scotland. If you have enough units, you will be able to ward off the viking raiders. Then you have the brithish isles when you are done. I forget if you need to conqur the Viking lands or not, but if so, get a peace with them, and build up a huge navy and army, then sink their ships and invade.
-Capo
@ capo, this approach is suicide for me.
I always find the Mercians and sometiems the saxons become too powerful and if you don't rush, you are sunk.
building to bandits before taking out a single faction means certain death.
how have you manage to economy afloat while also garrisonning the long border from wales to pictish territories?
by this time, you'll have 3 huscarle producing factions at your throat and even massed bandits can't attrit 5-6 huscarles enough before they crunch through your entire battle line.
you also don't need vik lands for victory.
I also tried to tech up.
I then went after the Northumbirans.
However this staged a war with Mercia and Saxony at the same time.
Luckily I was allied with the Viks and th quite powerfull Irish, who kinda annoyed the Saxons.
To win I did the following: I had one good defensive army conisisting of armoured Spears and Welsh Bandits (I do not know where your money problems come from, getting one designated I farm for rebels province helped me alot) and severeal small raiding parties of 4 Celts, some Archers and some Cav.
I now used this tooops to run Amok.
4 of this armies started, 3 died, but one got through miracoulsly managed to take and hold a pretty develpoed province in the pretty far east.
The main achievement was: Money by pillaigin and a constant loss of influence for the Mercian king.
Which eventually ignited a Civil war.
Oh, this left my surviving army surrounded by Mercian rebels and gave them some time to build up.
Meanwhile the Saxons finished up the Irish expeditionary force, took Cornwall and started to threaten my borders with stacks of 4-6 Huscarles.
However, they were very light on Cavalry.
My sultion was to send my Welsh Bandits (with some Spear cannon fodder). I used up all of my ammunition on the Huscarles, then fall back.
It was extremly messy but it worked.
One big saving grace was that they stormed my fully build up Keep, with no siege but a lot of Huscarles.
I found out that even Huscarles occasinally break if under fire, worried by casulties and beeign flanked by Welsh Bandits.
The castle held, and they lots roughly 80% of thier Huscarles.
Now I did my personal little supermove. The former raiding force in the east got ship linked backep up by some resently build spears and started an Invasion of this super rich Saxon province.
The AI withdrew completely leaving me in control of it.
This sparked another civil war.
Well, in the end I caputred 2 provinces, barley held my line and the majority of England was in control of... The rebels.
it seems like using the low influence of the other Kings agaisnt them (not that your influence would be any higher) is the best way to defeat two oversized neighbors.
I hate the welsh, it means bankruptcy. I maul the mercians first and then don't have to file chapter 11 http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cg.../gc-jester.gif
yep the Mercians become quite strong later but early on, protecting your starting archers will celts will be more than enough to maul their few archers and fyrdmen.
their king is the only tough unit you have to deal with.
ally with the viks if you can and kill the Saxons.
you can also get a fort from the Saxons which jump starts tech to bandits.
It's actually not as hard if you are super aggressive early on. I am in the middle of my first VI campaign as the Welsh on Expert and have carved out a nice kingdom. On the second turn I invaded Mercia and by the 4th turn I had captured their capital province. This effectively neutralized them and they could only build peasants. They had strong garrisons but mostly full of peasants so I was able to defeat Mercia entirely by 820.
I now wish I had invaded the Saxons when I had the chance because they now have Armored Spearmen and Huscarles everywhere in their empire. I'm not that worried however because my boats are preventing the Vikings from attacking me and I have the largest income and army of anyone.
By taking the rich Mercian provinces I was able to build a stable income and am teching up nicely. I should have Welsh Bandits in about 20 turns or so. Ireland is open to invasion but has very large garrisons. Northumbria is concentrating all their efforts up north and the Scots are relatively open to attack. The rest of this campaign should be very fun.
I started one of these The welsh on expert threads 2.
if u find it Ul see i had a torrid time,
But eventually i won.
I found that taking out the rebels as fast as you can helps.
I built ports and trading posts ship wrights and inns.
I never accepted a saxon aligance and married in to the blue guys Mercians?
Then set sail for ierland with my Mercenary army,
After taking ierland I had decent money coming in and a safe haven if i was attacked by the english.
Just a matter of build and train then attack the pits.
with a bit of luck the mercians will attack the saxons,
And thats when i attack the saxons 2. "taking asmany saxon provinces as i can whilst the mercians do the same,
By then its prety much like you had the funds since the begining and it gets easier.
but the mercians were tough lil critters
Just finished the Welsh on Hard and the key is to rush the Saxons (or the Mercians) and obliterate them before they get to build the Royal Palace (and the associated Hurscules). You should probably do both to be honest, but that may be beyond your resources. Interestingly, they only build the Royal Palace in one province. Make peace with the Vikings ASAP and then you can start cash generating abbeys without them coming and stomping over the place. Get valored up spies and assassins - you'll need them to promote civil war in your surviving major enemy. Encourage rebellions and then bribe the rebels to your cause, especially where the vikings come and clear the decks for you first. Roll up the country taking out the Northumberlands and then the Scots and Picts, before finishing with Ireland. I like to leave the nervous Manx until last.
The Welsh Bandits are the SAS of the ancient world but frankly come too late in the game to make much of a difference. Maybe I'll turtle a bit more in future, but I found that at a certain point it was the Mercians who attacked me and I had no choice but to wipe them off the map.....
I don't reallt think the welsh are that hard. They have iron in thier primary archery provence, their lands are easily defensible, and they have access to two wonderfull training grounds right to the left: complete with high clifs and plenty of mining. Use these two provences by keeping them constantly in rebellion, ungarrisoned , and only build economic improvments. kepp you heirs and/or king around to single handedly take down smaller rebellions, and a decent force around for larger ones. It will also make you money from the rebels you capture.
My advice is that you unite your kingdom, starting by coming eastward in the south. Those saxons and their germanic ways should be wiped from the isles. Knock them out quick, before their huscarls start appearing en mas, and you Celts, Archers and Horsemen (the provence with the +v to horsies should be the first you take) should have an easy time of it. Celts are good vs. spearmen, and decent against fyrdmen. Pepper the bastards up good. And your horsemen are decent flankers.
Once you take red from the board, why not take over all of southern England? If the Mercians or vikings attack, by now you probabaly have a decent enough kingdom to push them back, make plenty of mullah, and wipe them off the isles.
Another thing from my personal experience to possibly consider. Your kings are weak, as are their pathetic sons. Many of your Generals, some of them quite good, have taken a note of this and are not so loyal. If the Welsh were to to go into a civil war, say from your king dying when his horse threw him durring the heat of battle and a pathetic son were to come to power, perhaps it would be best to support a rebellion led by a more worthy general. Especially early on before you have too many provences. Just a thought that has served me well in the past, and is fitting for survival of the fittest.
I haven't had any problems leaving the Saxons and Mercians alone at first, and I like to keep them around for the end when I have a nice, high-quality army, so there'll still be a bit of a challenge. They tend to fight each other instead of me, especially if I leave only medium-sized garrisons along the border (not enough to encourage a build-up on their part, but enough to discourage an invasion.
I capture my rebel provinces (and possibly the isle of Man) right away and ally with the Vikings. Then I invade Ireland. Welsh archers are very good right from the beginning, and great for duelling with the shorter-ranged Irish troops. Then Ireland becomes my bread-basket, providing the farm income my homelands wish they could. Meanwhile I tech up (Gwent for example goes for nothing but the build-requirements for bandits from turn one, producing archers in the meantime and working on weapons and armor upgrades afterwards).
From there the options are more open. I can attack Southern England, or take on the Scots and Picts before forging southwards. Anyhow, I don't rush with the Welsh, but they do fine anyway both economically and military-wise.
Ajax
As you suggested I went for the saxons first and annihilated them restricitng them to 1 province and allying with the mercians.I'm starting to produce +3 weapon and armour Celtic Warriors and the same in archers,while heading for the welsh bandits.However my allies are showing hostilities by stacking armies of frydmen on my borders with them,and those armies are beginning to enlist a amazing amount of Huscarles.What would my best move be,wait for them to attack and use my archers to decimate their Huscarles,or launch a pre-emptive strike against them?
As you suggested I went for the saxons first and annihilated them restricitng them to 1 province and allying with the mercians.I'm starting to produce +3 weapon and armour Celtic Warriors and the same in archers,while heading for the welsh bandits.However my allies are showing hostilities by stacking armies of frydmen on my borders with them,and those armies are beginning to enlist a amazing amount of Huscarles.What would my best move be,wait for them to attack and use my archers to decimate their Huscarles,or launch a pre-emptive strike against them?
As you suggested I went for the saxons first and annihilated them restricitng them to 1 province and allying with the mercians.I'm starting to produce +3 weapon and armour Celtic Warriors and the same in archers,while heading for the welsh bandits.However my allies are showing hostilities by stacking armies of frydmen on my borders with them,and those armies are beginning to enlist a amazing amount of Huscarles.What would my best move be,wait for them to attack and use my archers to decimate their Huscarles,or launch a pre-emptive strike against them?
Welsh Bandits are the best archers in VI (england) by far! The Welsh may not have a whole bunch of heavy infanty and cavalry to depend on, but once you have those Welsh Bandits, your opponents' armoured units die very quickly! :wink: Um, how to win? I'm in agreeance with most of the other posters on here. You really can't attack everyone at once right away... I tried invading Ireland once. That went pretty well because most Irish units are not very strong either! The Scotts are another good target for early on in the game. I generally try to become allies with the Vikings if only to keep them off my back for a while! :laugh4:
I had a fantastic game by not trying to take the map, but by consolidating Wales, and then simply operating a 'slash and burn' policy. Take raiding parties out of wales, take a province and destroy all its buildings - then move on and let it rebel. This has the advantage of providing a serious income stream, hobbling any potential recovery and useful use of those regions by your enemies, whilst also providing a nice neutral buffer between you and the other factions. If they do come with powerful stacks (and they will), a decent army in a defensive position in Wales will take them out (with large losses, it must be said). Remember to target Huscarle units with your missiles and to give these units ALOT of respect, and you should be fine. I left the Irish to themselves and allied with them. Unusually for total war, they were actually very useful, and the one time the Vikings were in danger of overcoming me, they moved a stack over on a ship to help my garrison defeat them.
Once you have high valour bandit units, you can kick almost anything with a decent backup.
I made the entire map white (except Wales of course!) with this policy.
:smash: