what am i doing wrong...

[wukie2001]

alright this is not cool...i have about half of the map under my control with no probelms so far, yet i keep getting overwelmed by enemies around me near the end of the compaign...is this normal or am i doing something wrong...i have the game saved so i can resart as many times as i wish but i keep going to the same issue...could it b that i need to protect my borders with alot more units...on my borders i have like 500 units on each province and another in the middle to deal with rebellions. rebellions is no problem...could this issue be solved by restarting from the start and building a larger force on my borders and move along or is the AI that much of a b****...

or is it that im just a newb still, lol

[bamff]

Hi wukie

I assume that when you talk about garrisons of around 500 units, you mean 500 men. If you have been steadily pushing the AI factions back into smaller areas, they are all going to have some fairly large stacks building up around you.

If the AI finds itself with a big numerical advantage, it is only natural to expect that temptation will get the better of it (just as it would for the human player), and it will come flooding across your borders.

The AI also will not stop to consider that by invading Province X (with its tiny defensive garrison of 300 Urban Militia and 180 vanilla archers) it will be entering into an ongoing war with the mighty "Faction Wukie" that controls most of Europe.

So there's the AI motivation....

Next thing to consider is that even 500 of the most teched up uber troops will eventually run out of ammo and/or tire when facing a big enough enemy force....and you may just wind up facing the type of enemies that are your own unit's "achilles heel".

I would consider either stronger "deterrent" forces all over the place (sometimes that may be difficult economically), or follow the course of having a "real" army somewhere nearby, ready to ride to the rescue when one of your mini garrisons finds itself under seige and stuck in the local fortress.

When I say "stronger", by the way, I do not necessarily mean "massive" - just strong enough to hold the line and break the invasion...and there is also the issue of covering the attrition from neighbouring provinces...because you will suffer losses.

At the end of the day though, I would recommend that you play through it - it is the best way to learn what works and what doesn't. Maybe the answer is to pull back from a couple of border provinces to create a smaller external border with stronger garrisons until you have the time/florins to once again push forwards.

[Polemists]

I find this depends on the ratio of numbers. Yet it is not uncommon to find yourself again 6-8 factions, espically when factions start to reemerge in the late game and mongols come. The AI never seems to run out of money, even when down to two provinces they never disband any armies.

My advice is focus on some calvary if the ratio is close to being in your favor, like a 3:5 or 4:5. If you get some teched up knights with just a tinge of valor they can usually ride in as needed.

The key, as with most wars is money, so try to tax, and get what you can.

Oh and don't take on the pope, or he'll come back every 4-16 years with a gigantic army

[caravel]

The AI never seems to run out of money, even when down to two provinces they never disband any armies.

The MTW AI goes bankrupt often, especially those one or two province factions like Denmark, Aragon and Poland. The AI never disbands armies because it is unable to do so. There are several things that the AI cannot do which the player can and some of the most notable are:

1) Disband units

2) Destroy buildings

3) Retrain units

4) Dismount cavalry

5) Execute prisoners

6) Hire Mercenaries

7) Strip titles

8) Assassinate own generals/royalty/agents

9) Use spies to orchestrate a treason plot.

10) Marry own princesses to own royalty/generals

The AI can however (very unfortunately) target it's own generals with inquisitors and does so with violent abandon.

Also the AI cannot use spies to open the gates nor is it clear, to me anyway, if the AI actually uses it's spies to reveal vices. In fact I did once monitor the movements of AI spies (using debug mode) and found that for the most part they sit around in the province where they were trained and then occasionally head off to another province for no apparent reason.

[Slyspy]

There are several things that the AI cannot do which the player can and some of the most notable are:

I'm sure I've seen the AI hoovering up mercenaries quite happily.

[gollum]

Got a screenshot slyspy? - in this case seeing is believing and i am afraid until i see i cant believe you.

!it burnsus!

[caravel]

I'm sure I've seen the AI hoovering up mercenaries quite happily.

I'm afraid you're mistaken. The AI cannot do it, well known fact.

[HopAlongBunny]

Bamff raises a good point.

You pretty much have to have a "real army" in each region. The AI is going to jump on weakness; no problem as long as you can retreat your garrison and know that relief is 1-2 turns away. Also, you may want to have a siege army near trouble spots; repulse the invasion and move on your foe/siege and assault before the pope can tell you to stand down :)

Take a close look at the map; is there any way to reduce your border area either through retreating or advancing; reducing exposure allows you to consolidate garrisons. Do you have an opportunity to remove a problem through eliminating a faction?

The advance through Central Europe can be hectic! You get "border bloat" and way too many neighbours :p Just keep your economy strong and plan your advance.

[wukie2001]

alright beat the game in early era with the danes...it was pretty interesting and fun but enjoyed it more when the rebellions popped up. other then that its a good game that i most likely wont get tired of...

there are 3 eras, are they all the same in game play or do they take u in a different directions were u get som diff unit or such...i played with the danes and hope when i do the other eras they bring something new to the games.

technical questions, after i beat the early era game,came a screan of who knows what then the credits. well the credits seem to go non stop over and over and the screan before that was nothing then blocks like the pic was distorded or something. is there a way to fix this or is it a compatability problem, im using windows vista and i got the lastest direct x installed...

[gollum]

Even playing the same era (as well as the same faction) is worth it - the game has a high replayability.

Not to mention the many and interesting mods that exist.

!it burnsus!

[drone]

alright beat the game in early era with the danes...it was pretty interesting and fun but enjoyed it more when the rebellions popped up. other then that its a good game that i most likely wont get tired of...

there are 3 eras, are they all the same in game play or do they take u in a different directions were u get som diff unit or such...i played with the danes and hope when i do the other eras they bring something new to the games.

In what year did you finish the Danish campaign?

For some factions, the start point for each era can differ drastically. The Danes are pretty much the same throughout, but can't recruit the VI-type units in later eras of course. The Byzantines are much weaker in the later eras, starting with 3-4 provinces instead of the 12 they get in Early. The French have crusade holdings in later eras, so they have to deal with a split kingdom. There are several new units that become available in each era, so tactics have to change.

Starting a game in Late means everyone gets gunpowder units, so cannons and guns come into play. Starting a game in High with an eastern faction means the Horde will arrive in 25 years, making life very interesting.