what am i doing wrong...

[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.

[Slyspy]

Maybe I was playing a mod then? I can't remember.

[gollum]

hmmm... cant happen in mods either - unless its in the medmod - but these are not true mercenaries - they are recruitable mercenaries that is normal units that require the inn to be recruited and not bought at the mercenary pool.

!it burnsus!

[Ironside]

Maybe I was playing a mod then? I can't remember.

Merc units got thier money bag symbol, even when controlled by the AI. Only seen that when a few of my mercs deserted to a crusade. Either you mix the games up (the AI uses mercs quite a bit in MTWII) or it's one mod with "false" mercs.

[bamff]

Just a thought on the AI recruiting mercs thing (and I have never seen this happen so I do not know if it is possible), but what if an AI faction successfully bribed a general and the general's stack included a number of merc units?

Do these units remain mercenaries (I cannot see how/why this would change)?

Does the AI then have to pay their upkeep (I can not see why it would not unless they cease to be mercs - the AI would not "decommission" them)?

Apologies for continuing our little "off topic detour" mods, but I thought this issue worthy of further discussion. Perhaps it might be possible to split off the Mercs & AI discussion to a new thread?

[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.

[wukie2001]

[QUOTE=drone;2133166]In what year did you finish the Danish campaign?[QUOTE]


finished in yr 1400. is the yr supposed to make a diff aswell? im thinking of using the danes and my second choice is the english but not sure yet...

[gollum]

Nope it doesnt make a difference.

!it burnsus!

[drone]

finished in yr 1400. is the yr supposed to make a diff aswell? im thinking of using the danes and my second choice is the english but not sure yet...

No, the end date doesn't matter (apart from 1453), I was just curious as to what eras you were exposed to in your campaign. You played into all eras, so you got to see most of the effects.

Starting in High usually means that the AI factions will have higher tech units, when I start in Early a lot of factions near me never get there due to my actions. Starting in Late has the same effect, but due to the time constraints Late can be a bit of a rush.

If your choice is between the Danes and the English in High, I would say the English. In High, the English get Billmen and Longbowmen that would give you a different feel, and you would also get Crusades. The Danes in High are pretty much the same as in Early (minus the Huscarles).

[Strike For The South]

If your choice is between the Danes and the English in High, I would say the English. In High, the English get Billmen and Longbowmen that would give you a different feel, and you would also get Crusades. The Danes in High are pretty much the same as in Early (minus the Huscarles).

Agreed. Although I may be a bit biased as I used Huscarles to destroy those unworthy peasant conscripts in the HRE.