Couple questions about castles

[Monsieur Alphonse]

I always try to group some castles. For instance Caen / Angers or Bern / Staufen or Hamburg / Magdeburg. This way I can train a stack within a couple of turns. Castles at the front line will be useful not only for defense but also for retraining depleted units.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Troop production is definetely the main function of castles, but thats still a pretty important rule. I got a bit overconfident with my militia armies at Venice, and was forced to have a bit of a rethink having been gubbed by an army of Feudal Knights etc.

I never convert cities to castles, although I don't do the opposite that often either. I tend to convert Inverness a lot since its too far away for troop production. Also Oslo, Helsinki, maybe Stettin, Iasi, Cagliari, Valencia tend to get converted by me a lot.

As someone else said, if you keep castles in groups they can levy a full army pretty much in two turns. A great example of this is the combination of Metz, Staufen, and Bern. Park a General in between them and you can group together a full army right in the centre of Europe. This grouping is in a great position for all the big teams eg France, HRE, Milan, England to use.

Although castles are best on the front line, by the time you have expanded enough to have a large frontline you tend to be so rich it doesn't matter, and it costs a bit to convert them anyway.

[Ramses II CP]

You'll make a dramatic amount more money if you convert seaside castles into cities, also you can get to a citadel much more quickly if you convert cities that start with a high population into a castle. Try to position your castles so that you can reinforce a selection of important cities quickly.

Also once you've conquered certain areas, the British Isles for example, it's wasteful to leave castles laying about. Even if the AI sends a sea invasion force the siege AI is so pathetic you're not going to have much trouble defending with your militia garrison, especially since you can combine them from several cities.

[mir]

I have to add that for some factions, Cities produce better troops.

As the Turks, I find that only my highest-level cities can produce Janissary Musketeers, quite possibly one of the best units around.

So I only keep one Castle in each region to produce my Qapukulu heavy cavalry...

[Monsieur Alphonse]

I have to add that for some factions, Cities produce better troops.

As the Turks, I find that only my highest-level cities can produce Janissary Musketeers, quite possibly one of the best units around.

So I only keep one Castle in each region to produce my Qapukulu heavy cavalry...

And Naffatun

[mir]

And Naffatun

Oh yes, I agree! Nothing like the smell of fresh roasted cavalry early in the morning... Mmm-mmm!

Having said that, the Turks do have a slight advantage that their Racetracks allow them to train Sipahi's quickly. And horse archers are all I need sometimes...

[Askthepizzaguy]

I have regional recruitment centers as castles, here is how I determine where they need to be:

When a region as large as France has no castles, I take the largest town which has poor trade and make it a castle. Poor trade = Perfect castle province, as it is otherwise a worthless settlement.

Closer to the center of the map, the oceans, and the front line against the enemy, I will leave existing castles as resupply stations, and convert them to towns later.

converting Towns to Castles:

Landlocked = good
Poor trade = better
Largest size before can become a city = best

Converting castles to cities:

Has large population = good
Has port access = better
Great trade resources = best
There is already a main recruitment facility in the region and the area is peaceful/well defended = Best candidate, when money is available.

Example:

In the Broken Crescent Mod, the Turkish Sultanate starts with a very large town called Konya, which is landlocked and has no really useful resources. Being the largest city, it's the best trader, but it's pathetic long term. Turning it into a castle also provides you a way, with barracks, to quickly gain access to the Turks' best infantry, which no other settlement can produce for a while, as the Turks' main castle doesn't grow very fast.

If I've recruited enough merchants and spies and I don't need the extra 700 gold/turn income from the trade difference between a castle and a city in Konya, It becomes a permanent castle, paired with the one directly north of it for raising between 10-12 castle/fortress level troops within range of reinforcing one another every single turn. These two provinces alone could rebuild an entire army in two turns, and Man of the Hour provides unlimited loyal, skilled generals. So if you spit out a few pieces of deadweight troops and send them over there, they can rebel and you can smash them for free generals.

Thats how you turn two otherwise worthless regions into your military command center capable of singlehandedly taking on the entire world.