New to Medieval 2, have a few questions

[Severus]

I love RTW and just got around to getting a new video card that enables me to play MIITW. I'm maybe 50 turns through my first game(vanilla 1.02), I have a few questions and observations...

First, and this goes for RTW as well, everyone says get all the trade rights you can, but what good are trade rights with far off nations? I never actually see trade being done with them in my trade summmary?

My merchants dont seem to last long, other merchants immediatly move in for the take over, anyone else experience this? How do I prevent it?

How do you tell if a nation has been excommunicated? I was thinking If there cities are open for calling a crusade they must have been excommunicated?

My cavalry don't seem to charge with the force they used to in RTW, almost like they just walk up and start melee combat instead of charging. Do i need cavalry w/lance or something, it was easier RTW.

I captured a thieves guild but have no idea what it really does. Should i build spies from the city its in, or do i get better spies from all my cities, or does it not even effect my spies!?

In RTW you upgraded cities by upgrading your palace. In this game it appears that to upgrade your city by upgrading your wall, is this correct?

Thank you for anyone that can help with these questions, its most appreciated. Also anyone have a mod to recommend, I'd like to check one of these out soon!

[Zim]

1. Trade rights are pretty much worthless with nations you can't trade with, although I usually get them with everyone I can in case I ever do trade with them.

2. I have the same trouble with merchants. You can train them up in your own provinces where it's safer, and sometimes out of the way resources like the ones near Timbuktu see few AI merchants (make a ton of cash as well).

3. Check the screen that shows everyone's rating with the pope, then mouse over the little stacks of crosses over a faction and a little message will pop up saying what the pope thinks of them. If they're excommunicated, it will say so.

4. I'd say cavalry charges (at least with lance using cavalry) are more devastating in MTW2 than MTW1. Different things can break up a charge or weaken it, though, like rough terrain. Someone with a better understanding of battle mechanics can explain it better than I can.

5. Thieves guild's add to the skill of spies recruited in settlements with them, so it's a good idea to recruit your thieves from that new settlement. Alternatively, if you destroy the guild you'l get an offer for a different type in a few turns.

6. Correct, upgrading the walls upgrades the settlement.

My favorite mod is BC, which you can find here at the ORG in the Hosted Mods section. Stainless Steel is another good one.

[Bartholemew-Varath]

First, and this goes for RTW as well, everyone says get all the trade rights you can, but what good are trade rights with far off nations? I never actually see trade being done with them in my trade summmary?

I dont think you make any trade with a country you are not connected to by roads or a port, so you might need to capture one of the trade hubs, like the two islands next to Italy, or Rhodes etc.

My merchants dont seem to last long, other merchants immediatly move in for the take over, anyone else experience this? How do I prevent it?

Usually, upgrading your merchants hall, or getting experience from the very start may improve your merchants, otherwise running away is a very good tactic

How do you tell if a nation has been excommunicated? I was thinking If there cities are open for calling a crusade they must have been excommunicated?

Im not sure about this, but im sure that if you go onto the menu with the diplomacy on it, there should be a pope thing too, hover your mouse icon over a faction with a papal favour of 0, 1 or 2, and it should say 'this faction has been excommunicated from the...'It will say something after this too, so be aware.

My cavalry don't seem to charge with the force they used to in RTW, almost like they just walk up and start melee combat instead of charging. Do i need cavalry w/lance or something, it was easier RTW.

Try charging from a great distance, if you use wedge formation this might help, but its risky. Also, units with lances against other cavalry is a definate no.no. They dont kill a single unit, they just get stuck to them until they withdraw their lances.

I captured a thieves guild but have no idea what it really does. Should i build spies from the city its in, or do i get better spies from all my cities, or does it not even effect my spies!?

I think they make improved assassins or spies or something??? Sorry but i havent played M2TW in a while, addicted to RTW at the moment. I think they improve the agents skill or something along those lines.

In RTW you upgraded cities by upgrading your palace. In this game it appears that to upgrade your city by upgrading your wall, is this correct?

Yes, upgrading a cities walls makes new buildings available to be built and also upgrades the city overall

Thank you for anyone that can help with these questions, its most appreciated. Also anyone have a mod to recommend, I'd like to check one of these out soon![/QUOTE]

Never played any of them, but i might suggest Broken Crescent, Stainless Steel, and Land to Conquer.

This is all i can remember, it might not be right, but i dont think its wrong,

later

[Yaropolk]

Usually, upgrading your merchants hall, or getting experience from the very start may improve your merchants, otherwise running away is a very good tactic

Advanced markets do not improve merchants. The first 2 levels of city hall are easy way to increase the "legal trader" skill line, after that just spam merchants until you get a merchants guild offer. That increases merchant skill by 1 for each level of guild.

Another safe way to train up merchants is to find a province that has more than 1 of the same resource and put merchants on all of those, they will gain "Capitalist" line of traits.

Try charging from a great distance, if you use wedge formation this might help, but its risky. Also, units with lances against other cavalry is a definate no.no. They dont kill a single unit, they just get stuck to them until they withdraw their lances.

Don't use wedge. To execute a perfect charge get your horsies about 10-15 horse body lengths away from the target, and reform your knights into formation. Then single right click on the enemy. They'll start walking and then do a charge.

Less perfect way - get a nice long open approach (e.g. field no rocks), double right click on enemy. Knights will break up formation as they approach their target so by the time they charge only the first few of them will hit together. For maximum impact do it the first way.

I think they make improved assassins or spies or something??? Sorry but i havent played M2TW in a while, addicted to RTW at the moment. I think they improve the agents skill or something along those lines.

Google Daveybabey's guide to guilds, it describes the reuqiremetns and benefits of each guild. Thieves guild does not improve assassins, only spies.

[Quintus.JC]

My cavalry don't seem to charge with the force they used to in RTW, almost like they just walk up and start melee combat instead of charging. Do i need cavalry w/lance or something, it was easier RTW.

That's not true. As a R:TW player I could point out that in R:TW cavalry may have 9 charge bonus but rarely could they break up units with one single charge. In MII:TW knights are perfectly capable of this, the only unit in R:TW that have similar charging property as a Medieval Knight is Cataphracts.

[CynicalP]

My merchants dont seem to last long, other merchants immediatly move in for the take over, anyone else experience this? How do I prevent it?

I found that if I park a military unit by a resource then merge my merchant with the unit that the another merchant cannot start the buy out process. They still flock to the merchant but they just stand there for a turn the run off to buy out some other merchant.

You can view your financial summary and inspect your merchant income to verify your getting the resource income.

One thing I found is merchants only seem to buy out your merchant when they are parked at a resource, so if any merchants zero in on the your merchant just move the merchant off the resource. Usually the other merchant will head off to buy out someone else after a turn or two. You can have a spy near your merchant to spot for incoming enemy merchants.


I usually give up on merchants once my economy expands and I start seeing a surplus in florins. Why bother with mircomanaging merchants when by mid to late game they are not even needed.