Help needed urgently

[Vorian]

Ok, I made a bet with a friend that I would beat him in Medieval II multiplayer.

The problem is that I have never played the game being a strictly Rome:Total War and EB fan. My friend however has spent many hours on the game.


I need some tips on which faction and combination to use.

We are going to play two battles, swapping defending sides with no late period units. Note that my friend will probably use the French

[Jochi Khan]

Click on the Sticky ... Basic Guide

There you will be able to get information on what you are asking.

[YellowMelon]

There is also the guide I wrote...it was for 1.1 patch so there are things like the shield bug that do not exist anymore, but overall it still provides a good start.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=84468

My advice would be to play a few MP games to warm up; the style of play is drastically different.

[TosaInu]

Accept to lose, play to win.

I can't give you specific advise Vorian, sorry.

[Vorian]

Never mind we played twice, first time I was the defender with the English and he had French. It was like Agincourt all over again.

Second time I attacked and chose Byzantines..he had Russians. Sadly the Varangian guard was not like the old medieval and I lost badly. And his horse archers decimated me.

So it's 1-1 now. Thanks anyway

[Jochi Khan]

Did you find the Guide to M2TW MP helpfull?

[TosaInu]

A draw, that's a nice result Vorian. Will there be more matches?

[KrooK]

Remember that into mtw 2 most important is middle cav - upgraded on sword and valour. They are being like tanks if used well. If you see infantry without cav support - charge them with upgraded cav :)

[Vorian]

First i want to thank everyone for the tips

@TosaInu

There will be more matches that's for sure. We stopped cause we didn't have much time.

Now the Guide I read after the battles but I have already bookmarked it to study for the upcoming game. Thanks a lot YellowMellon

[YellowMelon]

Unfortunately I took my youtube videas down

[AggonyDuck]

Some general pointers about army selection that can help you win the next set of battles:


1. Spears are pretty much inefficient.

2. Cavalry will destroy unscreened infantry.

3. Mounted Crossbowmen beat all other cav archers in shootout and are more effective against other enemy units too. So I'd recommend bringing a few of them a long if needed. Mounted xbows will tear up an enemy who is without proper ranged protection.

4. 3-4 cheap peasant xbows is sufficient ranged protection. Money is better spent on upgrading infantry and cavalry.

5. Cheap light infantry like Fanatics and Woodsmen are very efficient because they can cause decent damage and bulk up your force, while being cheap enough to allow you to get some nice upgrades selected.

6. Sword and shield armed infantry are the kings in close combat.

7. The power of cavalry lies in the charge, hence the correct way to deal with cav is to engage it with your own cav at a place where your infantry can support it quickly. Once you've gained a cav advantage, the battle can be very hard for the enemy to win.

8. ALWAYS screen infantry with either cav or peasants.

9. Axemen are the main anti-cav infantry in the game and they can quickly cause huge casualties against enemy cav tied up in melee.

10. Cavalry should always be charging, withdrawing to a distance and recharging. Aim for units that are already shaken or wavering for best effect. A fellow player told me that cavalry should during melee always be moving around charging and overwhelming the enemy at weak spots.

11. Weapon & Armour upgrades are definately worth their cost. For a quick test of their effiency test the difference in combat performance between a normal DMAA and a w1a2 DMAA against a unit of foot knights. The effect of upgrades should be quite clear after that. Valour upgrades on the other hand are only worth it for cheap units.


What florin amount are you using by the way? Because that changes game balance quite a lot.

[YellowMelon]

Listen to Ducky, look at all those HoF awards

[Vorian]

We used 20,000

It's enough to have a lot of upgrades

[Jochi Khan]

Try using 10,000-12,500 florins.
It will cut down on upgrades and make for a more balanced army.

I hosted 10,000 florin games online.

[Vorian]

Two more questions:

a)How should I use France against England? (cause I decimated my opponent using England and we are going to play the exact opposite factions)
b)What's the best faction for a new player?

[Jochi Khan]

Read through the guide for advice on the questions you are asking. You will find the answers in there.

[YellowMelon]

Those questions are era specific, Vorian. A good faction in early might be terrible in high - late - all

[Vorian]

Those questions are era specific, Vorian. A good faction in early might be terrible in high - late - all

Yeah, I didn't think of that.....

Anyway, we played again (me France the other England) and my friend made what you call in the forums the "noob box" a cirlce of stakes open in the back side. I sent my knights around but half were decimated by archers and the rest killed by his bodyguards+sergeants, my archers didn't do enough damage even though he was packed and my infantry did horribly. I guess I did something wrong

Next one Egypt(me) vs Papal States, I started well with my horse archer-mamluk trap and my naptha rooted his gunmen but the infantry rooted instantly when he attacked......

Next, Byzantines(me)vs Moors my horse archers made him attack and after a whileI won. Three camel units destroyed a unit of cataphraktoi and latinkon

Next HRE(me) vs France, my friend made an army purely of noble knights and scots guard. I used reiters rather weirdly, and managed to kill off most archers. He attacked my right flank with almost everything and massacred my cavalry but my pikemen pined them and my cavalry that had defeated his right flank encircled them while i sent everything against him. I got a big ball of men fight and won a close victory. I also did a trick, arqebusiers (spelling) off skirmish mode to stop his charges. Worked.