Bored of MTW

[Nagnar]

I'd like some suggestions for mods for MTW or whether MTW2 is worth my time and the $20 it is on steam.

Basically I've become bored of MTW despite loving the game so much (I can occasionally enjoy it, but i'm not passionate about it anymore)
The main problem is that it doesn't challenge me anymore and i feel like i can never lose. (as an example I'm currently playing high Byzantines on hard @ 1275 and at no point have i felt threatened AT ALL. despite the mongols having eastern Anatolia and i not having the forces to contend with them, they don't attack and the battle AI can no longer beat me unless I'm simply hopelessly outclassed/outnumbered)
So things have become tedious and repetitive and sometimes it even feels like a chore to play the game rather than fun.

I have tried i think all or nearly all of the big mods on the site but didn't like any of them especially once i'd learnt them (though am open to a second go)

So can anyone recommend mods/mtw2/other games especially in view of maximum challenge/fun.

[Trapped in Samsara]

Hi Nagnar

I assume you're playing max difficulty.

Iron man rules?

You may already know this...

Caravel mod - florins very tight.
Redux - lots of VERY diff factions and troop types. At a min you'll have to learn the new cost-benefit outcomes.
BKB and XL some very small factions that take a lot of skill and patience to keep going never mind have prosper.

Personally I consider MTW2 utterly inferior to MTW.

Best regards
Victor

Sapere aude
Horace

[Nagnar]

In the way of Iron man rules; I've tried ticking some of the auto options so the AI does stuff like assign titles (WAY less income) Or even letting it do all the unit/structure production (which was just stupid and tedious) but it all didn't effect things much, just slowed everything down, didn't address the AI just not being intelligent enough.

Caravel mod - Enjoyed that for a while, but it ended up actually being easier than vanilla (I suspect because the AI was even less capable of digging out of low income while its much easier for a player).
Redux - Enjoyed that a lot! At first... Overpowered TO THE MAX missiles (even modded at half lethality) which made battles silly, the insane rebel fleets and the AI seemed unable to cope with the changes to the battle system - Overall, not a mod for me.
BKB and XL - I might try out the smaller factions thanks.

My thought for MTW2 was just for something new to try to keep me entertained for as long as it takes to master the game. Admittedly i did try the demo and was not impressed, hence asking whether it is worth a try regardless of indeed being utterly inferior to MTW.

[ferdi]

Hmmm. I'm playing XL mod and i have ancient mod, bkb also and play them sometimes. but the main difference is I create my own rules to make game so hard.
I just expand my lands if the place is led by rebels. I don't attack on any other kingdoms just play defensive.and ı like playing with small factions like Lithuanians, Crusaders, Hospitaller, Serbia, Scoths, İrish, Norwagians etc. and playing with land locked factions are so hard because of navy.
I also try different tacticks different starts so a different strategy and it makes the game different. now I'm playing with Poland my map is so ugly. Bohemians attack on me but I just retreat to my castle and my allies(Hungary) help me. then I pass over them(my rule is not the conquer castle but can pass on land) I expand my land on Germany thamks to civil war and have a port on North sea, then a civil war again gives me Saxonia(salt)
so now ı'm dealing with English islans cause English king dies without a hair so I have new lands to expand and the game goes something like that.

[Gilrandir]

The main problem is that it doesn't challenge me anymore and i feel like i can never lose.

You can try starting in Late or/and playing on expert. You may not lose but winning becomes more difficult. You just may not have time to complete your conquerings.

[drone]

Late can bring some challenges, especially for smaller factions. If you want to try a really difficult campaign, play the Swiss (slight mod needed), Hard/Late, and go for the victory. Their start position is craptastic, the roster is deficient, and getting to 60% (or impressively, 100%) before the end of the game is a true feat.

[Brandy Blue]

One problem with MTW is that once your empire reaches a critical mass, no one can challenge it, regardless of your roster, starting location, etc. So there is something to be said for the above suggestions - your own rules to make it tougher, late so you have less time, but neither completely eliminates the steamroller effect.

So I suggest you try those options, but also abandon campaigns when they cease to challenge. For instance, you can play the HRE on early with the XL mod, which adds one more potentially hostile neighbor to deal with (Bohemia.) Attack your neighbors to stir things up if they don't gang up on you. You should have fun trying to maintain your empire against waves of French, Danes, Poles, Italians, Hungarians, and/or Poles. I found that even when I crushed one enemy, I had no time to follow up and knock them out of the game, because I needed my troops to fight someone else. Once you have stabilized the situation, just quit the campaign and do something else.


If you do go for another game, MTW2 might not be the way to go. I never tried MTW2, but many seem to think that RTW is a better game. Or you could try STW. The gold edition lets you choose different starting periods, and IIRC there is one period where the Oda clan is really tough to play - you have tough enemies and are too poor to afford good troops. Also, I think the AI does slightly better in STW, possibly because it is simpler (fewer troop types, fewer useless units to waste money on.)

Then again, who says you need to play strategy games? Maybe you should take a vacation from the TW franchise and do something different until you are ready to come back to it.

[HopAlongBunny]

Unfortunately all computer games eventually fall to this: there are only so many tricks to learn, only so many surprises the game can pull.

MTW is still the gold standard of the series; there are ways to "handicap" the outcome but it will always seems forced. I started playing it about a week after release and still play it today; each campaign is a little different which keeps it interesting but nothing makes it fresher than to lay it aside for a time. :)

[Nagnar]

Thank you to everyone for their help!

First off, I actually already had a long break from MTW playing classics like Crysis, Deus Ex, AVP2, Panzer General 2, Fantasy General and Warcrafts 1 and 2
So i don't think leaving alone MTW again will help (Unless its like several years, but ugh at that)

The suggestions of playing smaller factions especially in XL, and Shogun (Ill just give Samurai Warlords mod another go) are great.
As to steamroller and quitting early, i do occasionally do that but i usually get bored almost right off the bat and if i play a particularly fun campaign (Recently French Hard Late for example) I do like to play it through to 60% (Never 100% since my first victorious campaign ever, you're all right about that)
Randomly stirring up trouble without regard for strategic prudence is a great idea. Its true I haven't done that since when I didn't know the relative strengths of units, didn't prepare for wars, only looked at the size of enemy stacks to gauge their strength and when I was bad at battlefield micromanagement. So that may help as well.
I probably won't get RTW, The period and the infantry dominant armies bore me. I like the Medieval period much better in a historical and roleplaying sense, especially the 9th-11th century Byzantine Empire and heavy cavalry in general.

Once again thanks to everyone for their great suggestions, I hope they can stir some life back into this game for me :)

[Gilrandir]

Once again thanks to everyone for their great suggestions, I hope they can stir some life back into this game for me :)

Check this out, isn't it a life-stirring picture?

I never knew they can shoot flaming arrows. I expect it could be even more spectacular if one could have night battles. Here is some more

[Trapped in Samsara]

Hi Gilrandir

Nice pics!

But what game/mod is this?

Best regards
Victor

Sapere aude
Horace

[Nagnar]

Pretty sure those are just VI/Gold edition (adds flaming arrows that are only used when archers shoot at wooden fort stuffs) vanilla on medium unit size?

[Gilrandir]

Pretty sure those are just VI/Gold edition (adds flaming arrows that are only used when archers shoot at wooden fort stuffs) vanilla on medium unit size?

It is MTW VI vanilla, as for unit size I'm not sure what it is, but it is 80 men for swords, 133 for spears and 53 for cavalry.

[drone]

It is MTW VI vanilla, as for unit size I'm not sure what it is, but it is 80 men for swords, 133 for spears and 53 for cavalry.

Medium size.