First Campaign

[Byblos]

Helloo! I have just got the Gold edition MTW. Going to start a new campaign but first I have a few questions.

1. I have played Rome and MTW2. Will I be dissapointed by the graphics?
2. I have played Rome and MTW2. Will I get kicked out of the park by the AI?
3. If a get this far without being disheartened, what is an easy faction to play as for a begginner?
4. Should I stick to medium difficulty?

[Byblos]

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/1.rar

My first MTW battle. Custom battle, similar units consisting of highclass infantry and cavalry with archers. 10 infantry units each, 5 cavalry and 5 archers. What good fun I had. I was England vs France.

[Kaidonni]

1. If you didn't start your TW experience with MTW:VI or Shogun, then maybe.
2a. Wow, good question. I've played RTW and M2TW, and I found those games to be rather lacking in AI intelligence. In MTW, the AI can handle the much simpler campaign map, and your decisions will be far more important - as someone said to me, you've gotta time that sucker just right. Timing is EVERYTHING. One moment you're planning a grand invasion of a neighbouring province, the next you're doing it, the next you realise why another faction has kept refusing to be your ally , and then you're in real trouble! Or you simply miss the window of opportunity to invade - cold wars are a feature in MTW, as your enemy will presume your build-up of forces is to attack them, so they'll fight fire with fire, and match you.
2b. The battlemap is definitely harder. The AI can make stupid decisions at times, there is never any preventing that in any game, no matter how well programmed. But in MTW, don't expect the AI to sit there as you shower it with arrows - it'll do exactly the same to you. You'll end up in skirmishes in some battles, only to have to then duke it out hand-to-hand once you and your enemy have run out of ammo. Some times, you have to go to the enemy, and they'll counter your army's heading by re-deploying, by turning to face you, or even moving elsewhere, and you'll then need to think of how to get at them at their new defensive position. Other times, they'll come to you, and will try to outflank you, divide your forces, etc. If the AI thinks it can't win a battle after an initial skirmish, it will run for the hills, it won't give you the chance to annihilate it.
3. Hmmm, been a while since I played vanilla MTW:VI, but for the main campaign, starting as the Danes in Early might be easy. Or playing as Sicily. Sicily has great access to creating trade routes, while the Danes have amazing Vikings which eat other armies for breakfast, regurgitate them, and eat them for lunch too - 'so two times devour' . They then go in search of other armies for dinner, and everyone has scarpered by the time it comes to supper.
4. I'd say stick with Normal difficulty for now. The worst thing you can do is play on Expert (even when you're capable of playing Hard...).

Oh, and welcome to the .org. Fine wine and fine women all around!

[macsen rufus]

Welcome to the wierd and wonderful world of the Main Hall, Byblos.

To address your questions:

1. It's a very personal taste, you will find as many answers as players
2. Almost certainly
3. England makes a good first campaign, or the Almohads (my first campaign was Almos, and you get camels )
4. Medium should be okay, but there's no shame in trying Easy whilst you're still learning the game

Main thing to remember is that although it's related to RTW and M2TW, it is a different game and you can have a lot of fun with it. Check out the Guides section, too, you will find plenty of invaluable advice there. Good luck with your first campaign

[Martok]

Helloo! I have just got the Gold edition MTW. Going to start a new campaign but first I have a few questions.

1. I have played Rome and MTW2. Will I be dissapointed by the graphics?

If you like primarily fighting battles with the camera zoomed in close-up on the action, you might be. Otherwise, MTW's graphics probably won't bother you at all.

2. I have played Rome and MTW2. Will I get kicked out of the park by the AI?

Most likely, yes. As Kaidonni pointed out, MTW's AI still makes mistakes, but it's generally far more competent than in Rome or Medieval 2 (especially in battle).

3. If a get this far without being disheartened, what is an easy faction to play as for a begginner?

I second the recommendation of the Almohads, English, and Danes -- in that order. All three factions start with decent lands and a fairly secure starting position.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Danes are a little trickier than the other two factions (as you must expand almost immediately to avoid going broke), but they have one of the most powerful unit rosters in the Early period. In addition, their only real threat at the beginning of the game is the Germans (Holy Roman Empire), and they're usually too busy fending off their other neighbors to come after you.

4. Should I stick to medium difficulty?

To be honest, I would actually recommend playing on Easy difficulty to begin with. macsen rufus is correct in stating that there's no shame in doing so, as MTW truly is more challenging than RTW or M2TW. (I myself didn't even start playing on Normal difficulty until I'd been playing the game for a good six months or so. )

[Timsup2nothin]

I say go directly to expert. You will likely get mashed flat a few (bunch of) times, but every mashing is a learning experience and won't take very long (IIRC my first three 'campaigns' were one battle and out). On the other hand, winning takes a long time no matter what the setting, and who wants to take a long time winning only to have the ghost in the machine say 'well, yeah, you won, but you handicapped me to do it'?

[drone]

If you do decide to play it on Easy, I would recommend playing for 50-100 turns, then starting up a new campaign on Normal. It should be long enough to get the hang of what's going on, but not so long that you get attached to the campaign. I would advise against plodding through the rest of the campaign on easy, it may get either boring or build bad habits.

Welcome to the Main Hall!

[Raz]

I entirely agree with Drone. Play for a short while on easy then switch over to normal or hard depending on how well you've adapted from 3D to 2D. Really, I believe it's the small things that will bug you the most - you're probably used to using the left-mouse button to select your troops, and the right-mouse button to move/attack - in MTW 90% of the time you'll only ever be using the left button, the RMB in MTW changes the camera view so expect to be frustrated.

I also recommend playing the tutorial if you haven't already, especially the campaign tutorial, as while the entire game is different to RTW and M2TW, the biggest change would have to be the campaign map. As for a faction to play as, I recommend (for the first run through at least) the Vikings on the VI campaign. You'll have nice, strong infantry to help you get around the learning curve.

[drone]

As for a faction to play as, I recommend (for the first run through at least) the Vikings on the VI campaign. You'll have nice, strong infantry to help you get around the learning curve.

That's a superb suggestion, so obvious that it escaped my mind. The VI campaign is a simpler, shorter, scaled down version, much easier to cope with for a beginner. The Vikings might be too easy on Easy though, maybe play the Saxons or Mercians instead.

[Vider]

I'd like to offer a dissenting opinion and suggest you stay away from the Danes (or the Vikings in VI). I am by no means an expert player, and my first Danes campaign (which wasn't my first campaign by a long shot) ended with me being eaten out of house and home by the multiplicity of heirs. Now maybe coming from similar games you won't run into some of the problems I did, but I would suggest the English or Spanish. I actually played my first campaign as the Almohad on Easy, and ended up winning the campaign despite never utilizing their best unit, the Almohad Urban Militia.

I just got back into a campaign (English, my favorite faction) on hard after a hiatus from the game and I realized that my tactics need some work. If you have a background in TW games I wouldn't think you would really need to start on easy, but I don't think you'd like starting on expert either. Make sure to read some of the excellent guides/posts on here and try out different tactics on the battlefield.

[drone]

Playing the Danes and Vikings means you have to go on the offensive early, fortunately their unit rosters are forgiving in this respect. If you want battles early, they are a good place to start. The Danes will be complicated by the naval/trade aspect though.

[mps247]

I'm not sure about the other questions you've posed, as I have not played RTW or M2TW. However, I can try to comment on a good beginning faction.

I suggest staying away from Muslim factions for your first play through. They require a different style of play on the battle map, and playing them like a Christian faction will result in you struggling - the exception is the Almohads, which are able to adapt to such a playing style quite well.

I also argue against choosing a Catholic faction as you may find that the Pope will get on your nerves if you invade your Catholic neighbours, which you are bound to do at some point. Of course doing a hundred turns or so with a faction like the Danes or English, who have bordering territories that are under rebel control makes things a little easier. Even the Poles, although they are not the easiest faction to start with.

So, who does that leave? The Byzantines! Here is my reasoning:

1) Orthodox, so you don't have to deal with the Pope.
2) Lots of armour, so you can play them like you would a Catholic faction.
3) Excellent units in the early period.

[Martok]

Vider: You have a valid point about the Danes -- you'll notice I did mention they're a little trickier than other "easy" factions -- but as drone also pointed out, they're a great faction if you want to get into battles early on. It really depends upon one's taste(s) and style of play.

I also want to thank you for recommending the Spanish, as I strongly second them as well. (In fact, I can't believe I forgot to mention them myself. ) Their lands have decent income, yet are still easy to manage in the beginning since they only start with 2 provinces. In addition, Spanish Jinnettes are one of the best units in the Early period IMO, and will be especially useful against the dreaded Almohad Urban Militia.


mps247: I'd agree with avoiding the Egyptians and Turks at first, as their unit rosters are admittedly a little more exotic and take some getting used to.

However, I must at least partially disagree with your recommendation of the Byzantines. While the Byz are an easier faction overall, they can also be a bit overwhelming for people new to MTW. Given their large number of starting provinces and their location at the crossroads of the world between the Catholic west & the Muslim east, a Byzantine player has a *lot* to keep track of.

Now of course, in Byblos' specific case, that's maybe not a major issue. Since he does have the benefit of having played Rome and Medieval 2, he's obviously not a neophyte to the Total War series, and so the odds are decent he'd be able to handle playing as the Byz just fine. Still, for people who are unfamiliar with MTW, I tend to avoid recommending the Byzantines as their first campaign for the reasons I outlined above.

[Taedius]

In the case of the Danes, I would just like to mention an advantage they have as starting faction: While they need to expand quickly, this doesn't mean that a full-scale war with another faction is necessary. Nearby rebel provinces might give some battle experience, without causing too much heat.

[mps247]

However, I must at least partially disagree with your recommendation of the Byzantines. While the Byz are an easier faction overall, they can also be a bit overwhelming for people new to MTW. Given their large number of starting provinces and their location at the crossroads of the world between the Catholic west & the Muslim east, a Byzantine player has a *lot* to keep track of.

Now of course, in Byblos' specific case, that's maybe not a major issue. Since he does have the benefit of having played Rome and Medieval 2, he's obviously not a neophyte to the Total War series, and so the odds are decent he'd be able to handle playing as the Byz just fine. Still, for people who are unfamiliar with MTW, I tend to avoid recommending the Byzantines as their first campaign for the reasons I outlined above.

Yes, I see what you mean. Admittedly, my second campaign was a Byzantine one (for my first I had chosen the Danes, and my king ended up dying 100 years into it with no heirs). I found the Byzantines quite easy, as battles were not too much of a problem due to their strong unit roster, hence allowing me to focus more on the campaign map. Having played STW before MTW, the increased complexity of the campaign map had come as a welcome shock.

Of course, I see what you are saying. Yes, choosing the Byzantines in your first campaign is like baptism by fire.

I suppose that the Danes would be better. Although Catholic so you have to deal with the Pope, you are right next to the very rich province of Sweden (rebel held, so you will get no warning), and you start with only one province and one border with a rival faction (HRE).

[Ironsword]

I'd recommend for a first campaign the English, 'normal' difficulty setting and grand achievements set.

Reasonably varied unit roster, plus decent faction units in longbowmen and billmen. Gives a good overall taste. Keeping Scotland in line can be a challenge in itself.

[Martok]

Yes, I see what you mean. Admittedly, my second campaign was a Byzantine one (for my first I had chosen the Danes, and my king ended up dying 100 years into it with no heirs). I found the Byzantines quite easy, as battles were not too much of a problem due to their strong unit roster, hence allowing me to focus more on the campaign map. Having played STW before MTW, the increased complexity of the campaign map had come as a welcome shock.

Yeah, once you're a little more familiar with the game and have become at least somewhat used to it, then the Byz are definitely one of the easier factions available. In addition to their solid & varied unit roster (as you mentioned), they have the potential for great wealth as well, particularly from trade -- Constantinople alone yields a massive income once you have your ships calling on the various Mediterranean ports.

There's also the fact that for the first several decades, the members of the Byzantine royal family tend to have absolutely ridiculous stats, and make both superb generals *and* governors. Having a bunch of princes with 6+ dread, command, & acumen running round tends to make life a bit easier.

Of course, I see what you are saying. Yes, choosing the Byzantines in your first campaign is like baptism by fire.

Indeed. When my best friend started playing MTW on my computer (we were roommates at the time), he chose the Byz as his first campaign. While he managed to get matters under control and eventually win the game, he later admitted that he'd wished he'd picked a different faction. In fact, he played the English almost exclusively for a long while after that, and didn't touch the Byzantines again until he'd been playing the game for almost a year.

I suppose that the Danes would be better. Although Catholic so you have to deal with the Pope, you are right next to the very rich province of Sweden (rebel held, so you will get no warning), and you start with only one province and one border with a rival faction (HRE).

Exactly.

And to be honest, the Pope really isn't much of a problem for them anyway, at least not until late in the game. Given that the Holy See only warns larger factions, in the beginning the Danes can attack pretty much anyone they feel like without fear of Papal reprisals....especially the HRE.

[Kamakazi]

Personally i think that you should go with a non catholic kingdom...jus becuase of the simple fact that you dontt have to worry about " oh if i attack him ill get ex commed" or "oh if i attack him i wont be able to go anywhere" so basically what im saying is while your learning the game you ont need so many politics...thas wut i did i played the eggys as my 1st

[Byblos]

A mixed set of responses, all 16 of them , toss up between the Danes and Byzantium it seems. Or Spain or England or Almohads .

I think i'll go for.. The Danes m/m. I'll keep you posted