Quote Originally Posted by JeromeBaker View Post
I lost my first WRE campaign and just started another. I am playing on only normal right now.

1. Which matters the most for diplomacy, your income or your treasury? I feel like I am noticing a negative effect when my income is lower and/or negative, is this real? Can you counter this with a lot of $ in your treasury?

2. I am having an issue with my client states when I start a war. I am not selecting the option to call my allies to war, but the game automatically asks your client states to participate. I just started a war in Africa, and half of my client kingdoms refused (even though I didnt ask) and immediatly went back to being at war with me. I feel like I need the income from civilizations I subjugate, but not if I cannot start a war without most of them turning on me. When you guys are fighting wars, are you more interested in razing your enemies territories to create a buffer zone or are you subjugating them to help with your economy? If you plan to subjugate should you quickly try to help them financially to build back up so you can increase positive feelings or are you simply helping them get back on their feet quicker so they can raise a new stack of troops to eventually attack you again?

3. How can you increase the amount of pre-battle baracades in seige battles? Right now I only get 1 and I am not sure how to get more. On normal even though the enemy can break through one relatively quickly, they dont seem interested in trying. This has helped a lot for my defense.

4. What moves your level of Imperium the fastest (I think I used the correct term here, basically I need to create more governers to help my most profitable regions)? (i.e. winning battles, subjugating, taking new territories, razing areas, ect...) which of these will help you grow your Imperium level the fastest?

5. Are you guys raising crops, sheep, or cattle based on which is the most fertile or based on which is best for the economy? It appears that the sheep option will help out the most financially.

I realize some of these are not just WRE questions so this might not be the correct thread, but I am specifically asking these for a WRE campaign.....

Thanks
1. I'd like to know the answer to this as well.

2. Client states are maddening...and not just in Attila, but R2 as well. In my case, I've tried to subjugate Picts, Caledonians, and Ebdanians. Had the same experience you did; didn't particularly want them to join the war, but they refused anyway. At least 2 of the 3 stayed clients, but had to go back and exterminate the Picts (which obtw, apparently you cannot subjugate the same faction twice...at least not within some certain time span).

As far as I can tell, razing a region will not create much of an effective buffer; enemies are perfectly happy to cross the wasteland to get at you. And why wouldn't they be; no one owns it, there's really no penalty or obstacle to hinder them, other than it takes an extra turn or two to arrive in your borders.

3. There may be something deep in the tech tree, or possibly some obscure traits. I haven't run across such, however, in my Saxon campaign. I've never gotten more than 1 barricade in a Level I or II town; there may be more in a Level III/IV settlement (haven't had to defend one yet).

4. Taking new territories is the biggest factor. Also, unlike R2, completing certain research milestones (completing a research tier) also boosts Imperium; it's therefore possible to increase Imperium even during non-expansionary phases of your campaign. I don't know if adding military allies, client states, or desolating regions adds to Imperium; if such actions do so, I haven't noticed it. And I'm pretty sure that winning battles does not increase Imperium on its own (unless of course such a victory results in capturing a new region).

5. I haven't played WRE. Based on my Saxon experience, I've found that converting fields to goats makes sense (food-wise) in Meagre and Infertile regions. Looking at the Roman agricultural options, it appears that a similar relationship exists between wheat and sheep...but then, most of your territories are south of the Alps, and should therefore remain at Poor fertility or higher, at least through the first 3 climate drops. So probably better to just stay with wheat. That's strictly from a food-supply perspective, rather than income. My approach is to maximize food (and sanitation) from as few slots as possible, which will then allow food-consuming Public Order buildings, which in turn will allow the real money-makers in trade and industry.