I need help (please)

First of all, I would like to thank Frogbeastegg, Bushface, and Katank for their invaluable guides and downloads.

I started a Turkish campaign after reading Katank's blitz strategy. It is now 1150 A.D. and I control most of the provinces east of Constantinople. My Sultan is crappy and the zeal of most of my provinces is low (under 20%). However, most of the population of these provinces is Muslim.

Is it possible to guarantee that the citadel in Constantinople not get reduced to a castle when it is conquered?

How do I increase the zeal in my provinces? I have tried using alims, but this did not seem to help and, in some cases, actually lowered zeal.

Is there any real value to building Ghulam Cavalry?

During a battle, is it possible to keep my army in the formation I put it in (archer units, cavalry, and swordsmen in double rows, spears in rows of four)? Every time I move them, they get all jumbled up and even shift out of the individual unit formations I put them in.

Any help would be most appreciated. Thank you.

When i played my first game with the turks i had the same problems up untill about the high period when my sultan's got considerably better

If you want to raise zeal use imam's i had most of my provinces with over 70% zeal with them

I used Ghulam Cav. a bit but realised they were just Armenian heavy cav with weaker charge and a higher upkeep

hope it helps ~:)

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Originally Posted by jbguev

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Is it possible to guarantee that the citadel in Constantinople not get reduced to a castle when it is conquered?....

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Hi!

The only way I know to guarantee such a thing is to use spies to "open the castle gates". The spies chances of success will increase the longer the seige has gone on - with a citadel you may need to wait a few years. Use a swarm of them - you only need one to get through, but it may take a few attempts. Wait until the seige has started before you move them into the province so that you won't loose them to the border forts.

Another thing that sometimes work - though I don't know if it will with Constantinople - is to move a HUGE army into the province when you first attack it. If your army is far bigger than the defending army then the enemy may abandon the province instead of fighting or retreating to their stronghold.

HTH,

IIRC, if you storm the castle (of whatever rank it is), it won't degrade.
If you wait the siege out, it will lose one level, where by level I mean its latest upgrade. So for instance, if it's a Fort+Motte+Bailey, it will degrade to a Fort+Motte. If it's a simple citadel, it will degrade to a castle (possibly a castle + upgrades, if it had them).
That's as far as I can remember, of course, which is not very assuring ~;p

I thought with that even if you storm the citadel there is a change that it gets downgraded. Dont know for sure but I thought it was.

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Originally Posted by ThijsP

I thought with that even if you storm the citadel there is a change that it gets downgraded. Dont know for sure but I thought it was.

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I'm pretty sure of that, too. Doesn't always happen, but usually does. Especially if you bring some seige equipment to batter your way in with. Also, it's pretty unpredictable how much other stuff in the province will be destroyed, too. Spies or forcing the enemy to abandon the province are the only ways I know of to make sure you get everything in perfect condition. If I'm wrong I hope someone will correct me - it would change the way I play.

Best,

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Originally Posted by jbguev

Is it possible to guarantee that the citadel in Constantinople not get reduced to a castle when it is conquered?

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No. There are no sure-fire ways except bribery or using a spy, neither of which is an option in an early blitz. Sorry.

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How do I increase the zeal in my provinces? I have tried using alims, but this did not seem to help and, in some cases, actually lowered zeal.

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Imans and successful jihads that start from that province, plus high-zeal governors.

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Is there any real value to building Ghulam Cavalry?

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Unfortunately, no.

They do get a valor bonus from Lesser Armenia, but that doesn't make them any better than Armenian Heavy Cavalry with a valor bonus.

For some reason, Jihads produce tons of Ghulam Cavalry. I retrain those in Lesser Armenia They're not the best heavy cavalry in the world but at least this supply of them in cheap.

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During a battle, is it possible to keep my army in the formation I put it in (archer units, cavalry, and swordsmen in double rows, spears in rows of four)? Every time I move them, they get all jumbled up and even shift out of the individual unit formations I put them in.

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"Hard group" them. Select the whole army, put them in one group, and then move them as a single unit.

Another, better method is to not worry too much about keeping things tidy.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. What does IIRC stand for?

IIRC - If I Recall/Remember Correctly

Tomcat

on Ghulam Cav, why not follow Katank and use v2 saharan cav from cyrenia inatead, just as good imo