just installed the Tyberius patch and i'm stunned

at how different it is from XL 3.0. it looks amazing but it's so different(fewer rebel provinces, new units, varying unit sizes, larger rebel armies,etc) that i feel like i'm going to need to try to forget pretty much every opening strategy that i had for the different factions on XL.

Armenia looks like it may be a little less intimidating, since Antioch belongs to Egypt now(instead of belonging to the Byzantines). with Croatia belonging to Hungary now, Serbia seems like the new Armenia. being stuck between Byzantium and the Hungarians in Early *has* to suck. Friesland belonging to the HRE and Flanders going to France throws a serious monkey wrench in my early strategy when using Bohemia. it's almost as bad for Aragon with Aquitaine belonging to the French but at least Navarre and Valencia are still rebel provinces, i guess.

i hope that it doesn't sound like i'm complaining. my only real complaint so far is the return of the peasant but even that's not a major one. i guess that i was just expecting the patch to be more cosmetic than anything else.... with maybe a few new units thrown in. but it seems like there's a ton of new units, along with other major changes. i spent at least a half an hour checking out some of the different factions and i still don't have a clue who to start with. i'm leaning towards Castille Leon, just because i feel safe with them and i love the fact that the +1 valor for Inquisitors has been changed to a +1 valor for a new spear unit(i never use Inquisitors anyway).

does anyone know what's up with the varying unit sizes for a lot of the starting units in the game(180 spears,80 archers and javelins,60 Jinettes, etc)? does it stay that way for the entire campaign or is it just temporary?

one last question. are there any factions that are vastly different with the new units added to the game(like better cavalry for factions like Ireland and Scotland)? even if it's not historically accurate, the fact that some factions are so weak when it comes to cavalry keeps me from thinking that i'd ever want to try playing a full campaign with them.

Dude,

The short answer is that some changes are temporary (or only apply to starting units) and some are ongoing throughout the game. The variation in unit sizes applies to:

1. Starting units: I suspect Tyberius did this to prevent certain factions (*ahem* Lithuanians) from getting wiped out in the first 2 turns, and to give some traditionally-passive factions a kickstart (eg: Volga-Bulgarians)

2. Standard unit sizes: Some knight-style units have been reduced from 40 to 30 (Crusader-type knights). Steppe Light Cavalry have been increased to 60!! Some "nationalist"-type infantry units have been increased to 80 or 100, which results in very big sword and axe units!

As for your last question, I'm not sure if there are any significantly game-altering additions, bro. The Scots get some really good pikes (XL-style pikes, not cr@ppy vanilla MTW pikes) which makes them a force to be reckoned with. The Papacy get Swiss Guard, which are another stand-out unit. Anyone who owns Saxony gets access to Saxon Warriors, which are handy, although they ain't quite Huscarles.

Basque warriors are a big addition. They are cheap nationalist-type peasant units who are as good as Ghazis. Deadly for the Spanish.

Elite Bedoins are another unit worthy of mention. They are pure death for knights, even out of the desert. I don't think the Almos get them, though, unless they conquer the usual Bedouin-producing provinces.

Roark.

thanks for all of the tips. i'm just kinda overwhelmed by the differences in the game...especially after playing so many campaigns with only the XL mod installed. one other major difference that i've noticed is that the building time for a lot of improvements have been decreased. militia buildings and mines have been cut from 2 years to 1, armorers have been cut from 4 to 2, churches from 4 to 3, etc. there also seems to be a slew of new titles to hand out. it's kinda like starting with Constantinople in the High period. it also looks like the game starts in 1087 now, instead of 1080.

i love the look of the game now. it's just going to take awhile to get used to some of the changes, i think. if anything, it seems much more challenging than just using XL 3.0 and hopefully(like you mentioned with Lithuania) it'll give some of the smaller factions a fighting chance early in the game and keep the Portugals, Scotlands, and Armenias from being eliminated in the first ten years or so.

i still haven't decided which faction to try to start a campaign with but you definitely have me interested in Scotland. do you happen to know if you can train Feudal/Chivalric Knights as Scotland? how about Billmen if you take Mercia? or do you even need Billmen with the Scottish Pike units available? sorry for asking so many stupid questions but i haven't really spent much time playing as the English/Irish/Scottish. none at all,really.

No Chivalric knights, but I don't think you need them to be honest. You do get Feudals, from memory, but you can train Royal Knights which is all you need in the heavy cavalry department (and they upgrade to Chivalric and Lancer-quality versions as each age ticks over).

You also get Scottish Lancers, which are a decent (fast!) medium cavalry.

No Bills, I'm afraid, but if you take Mercia you should focus on training Sherwood Foresters, in my humble opinion!! (you'll need a Bowyer's Workshop and lots of money). Plus, the Scottish Pikes are cheap and effective. They are all you really need against heavy cavalry, in my opinion.

Feudal Knights would work. i was just afraid that they didn't have any cavalry, other than Scotish Cavalry and RKs. do you recommend accepting an alliance from England early on, or is it better to refuse their offer and attack Northumbria asap? i kinda played around with a couple of Scotish campaigns last night and it seemed like in both campaigns, England offered an allaince in the first couple of years or so. i'd really like to be able to get the Longbowmen in Wales but it seems like Ireland or England will beat me to them, if i try to wait until i've built a couple of ships. if i just send an emissary with a bribe, i'm afraid that the longbowmen won't be able to handle the rebel spear and celtic warrior units that are also in Wales or that, even if they can handle them by themselves, England or Ireland will attack Wales before i have a chance to build any support units there.

Hey bro,

1. Those bribed longbowmen in Wales will slaughter the Celts and spears from afar. There's no contest. The important thing is to make sure that no one escapes to the castle. That's hard without cavalry to chase them down, and will definitely require the pause button, haha...

2. My advice is don't ally with the English. They will only stay friends for as long as it takes to build up an invasion force, in my experience (I once tried this and focussed on invading Wales and Scandinavia. Major fail). England has much greater troop production and will always win an arms race in the early years.

3. My opening strategy for the Scots is usually:

- Pump out a defensive army (lots of missiles)
- Build one or two Caravels (to defend against seaborne invasions).
- Attack any English barques in the Irish or North Sea. Leave Caravels alone for now.
- Invade Northumbria (in the same turn, preferably) and bribe Wales.
- Pump out as many troops as possible until armies are fattened up again.

i really appreciate all of the advice. i'm definitely going to get started on a Scotish campaign tonight. the main reason that i haven't already is because i was kinda torn between using them or Ireland.

i really hate to keep throwing questions at you but do you recommend using the Lowland Clansmen as your spear units or is it pretty easy to tech up and get something better? i'm guessing that since Scotland can't train Chivalric Knights, Chivalric Sgts are probably out of the question too.