Wes' MedMod-- Two Thumbs up, Russia Overpowered

I have recently been playing the v4 beta of Wes' MedMod. First, let me say that he does indeed seem to have fixed the game in a great many ways. The AI seems to have economic surplusses, they build quality troops and campaign against eachother. I've found my campaign so far to be fun and quite challenging.

I do have one observation-- the Russians seem to be WAY overpowered, mainly in the units they have access to. I have been playing as the Lituanians on Expert, and definitely feeling a kind of "Jedi effect"-- especially with the Drohvars, which seem to melt away any and all troops types merely by touching them.

The Russian Halberdiers, whatever they're called, also seem to be especially Jeddy. I've found myself fighting battles and getting trashed, with absolutely awful kill ratios, and feeling as if it was worth it because I was able to deplete their Drohvars or their halbs pretty badly. I haven't met any Karls yet, but I'm feeling pretty nervous.

A suggestion-- tone down the "AP" bonues on these troops, if you ask me these seem to be throwing all of the stats out of whack. I've seen pinned, surrounded Drohvars slice through entire 40-unit Lithuanian Cavalry sections in literally 15 seconds flat. I can only guess that the AP bonus, combined with the high attack rating, is what is causing results like that.

I have managed to hold the line against the Russians, trading provinces and pushing them back, but this is mostly due to strategic AI behavior-- I've had precious little success against them on the field.

I also managed to meet and neutralize a Polish threat simultaneously-- but this was mainly due to good luck in having the Swedes blitz them and allying myself with the Swedes.

Anyway, hope my comments are useful,

DA

Remember that the late era Dvors are designed as anti-Horde cavalry units specifically to battle the Horde. They're fast and heavily armored. Lithuanian cavalry are early era light cavalry. Trying to fight Dvors with Lithuanian cavalry is sort of like trying to take on Gothic knights with Mounted Sergeants (which is exactly what those two unit types are based upon). It's just not going to work.

Try using Czeladz bowmen to soften up the Dvors, and attack them with pikemen. The Lithuanians and Poles have access to a really nice pike unit called Silesian pikemen. They will tear up Dvors, especially if you've used your Czeladz bowmen's crossbows effectively. They will also hold their own against the Russian halberdier and pike units, the Berdyshi and Ratniki Solva.

If you absolutely have to face the Dvors with cavalry, then you have a better chance with your Czeladz lancers than with your Lithuanian cavs. The Czeladz lancers are the Lithuanian royal body guard units. They're based upon Teutonic Sergeants instead of Mounted Sergeants. But remember, you're still outclassed by the Dvors head to head; so soften them up with Czeladz bowmen and any spear or pike or halberd available before charging them with the lancers.

Mazovian spearmen are nice, but they aren't the only weapon in the Lithuanian/Polish arsenal and like most of the good Lithuanian units, they're high era really. The true power of the Lithuanian/Polish units comes in the high era, with the Czeladz units, the Polish militia and Polish axemen, and the Mazvian spearmen. When MMIV v4 is released for all eras, then you'll see.

So the Lithuanians don't get any heavy cav at all? Why not?

Just wondering. I guess it makes them a challenging faction to play... but still.

DA

I suppose one way to even it out a bit would be to allow the Lithuanians to build the Polish-only Knights of Dobryzn; but that would cut heavily into the historical accuracy. The Lithuanians simply aren't much of a late era faction, in much the same way as the Almohads aren't. Their units are heavily weighted toward the earlier eras, just as a consequence of historical accuracy. The reverse is true for the Russians and the Turks and some others. Their faction units are much more late era units; and they suffer a bit in the early era.

Ah I see. I like that. What would be really cool is if with the release there were nice detailed descriptions and info on each of the factions. If you need any help compiling that info or putting it into prose, call on me.

DA

There's a stickied thread up top here for the Med Mod IV v4 beta. Put a post up there offering your help. I'm sure Wes would be glad of the aid. Frankly, I don't know how Wes and BKB and VikingHorde and the other guys making major mods do it. Just a few simple changes are frustrating exercises in bug hunting. They manage to deal with it and make massive changes to many files. Just trying to add a few factions of my own makes me so frustrated that I pull out clumps of my hair and fantasize about tossing my monitor out the window. The only thing stopping me is that I'm reasonably certain the monitor is worth more than I am.