Pics & History of your Empire

[gollum]

Hello esbono and welcome to the .org, enjoy your stay.


There are no stupid questions neither you should feel bad for being new to the game; we all were at one point.

Agents in STW gained honor in rising increments, for example valor1 (or honor as it was called in STW) would be reached say with 1kill, valor2 with 2 kills, valor3 with 4 kills etc. This meant that passed some point it was really hard to valor up your agents as too many succesful missions were required.

I have reasons to believe that exactly the same happens in MTW and that there is no "cap" (limit) theoretically as to what valor can be achieved - however there is certainly one practically. Personally i dont remember seeing agents above valor 6 (or 7?).

This guide might also be helpful:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=54932

[bamff]

Hi jedi121212

In response to your query about the use of gunpowder units, my answer would be "Yes, but sparingly."

They add to the feel and atmosphere, and can inflict some damage at closer ranges, but you will achieve far more enemy casualties with longbows and arbs.

By the way, welcome to the Main Hall!

[bamff]

....and welcome also to esbono.

Gollum is quite correct, there is no such thing as a stupid question here in the Main Hall, and plenty of experienced campaigners are only too ready to offer assistance, so ask away!

[jedi121212]

Thanks. I This is my first campaign. I have played both RTW and M2TW and i wanted to play STW and MTW. I have the Eras pack which is awesome. I really Like all the Total wars except ETW I have not played that one My computer could not play it. my computer could barely play M2TW.

[Martok]

[IMG][/IMG]



English. Medium.

I just got gunpowder units and am deciding on if I should use them because I use longbowman and Pavise arbalesters.

Personally, the only gunpowder units I generally employ is artillery for castle assaults. Otherwise, I usually don't bother. (It should be noted, however, that I'm a fairly vocal anti-gunpowder enthusiast, so obviously I'm a bit biased. )

hey guys, sorry for bothering you but i just have one question concerning assassins and other agents
what is the highest rank they can have? it sounds stupid but what can you expect from a noob :(

Welcome to the Org, esbono!

Theoretically, I believe assassins (and agents in general) can have a max of 9 stars. However, I -- like gollum -- have rarely (if ever) seen them with more than 7 stars. Certain "hero" agents like Thomas Beckett and Guy of Gisbourne might have more, but I couldn't personally say whether they do or not.

....and welcome also to esbono.

Gollum is quite correct, there is no such thing as a stupid question here in the Main Hall, and plenty of experienced campaigners are only too ready to offer assistance, so ask away!

Indeed. No need to be shy about asking questions, esbono. I think you'll find we'll be more than happy to help.


Also: Good to see you back here bamff! It's been too long.

[gollum]

Handgunners are essentially armored swordsmen with a missile weapon- their range and accuracy are very low, so the best you can do with them is fire one shot before charging (alt+attack to activate melee weapon for missiles). Mameluk handgunners are useless altogether - just avoid them.

Arquebusiers are far better - they can be used behind your arbalesters/crossbows and their volleys can be timed (together with those of arbalesters/crossbows) to ensure good accuracy and so maximum casualties (toggle fire at will off and then let enemy approach and when they are in the range of your choice toggle fire at will on). In this way your volleys can really have some extra punch that will rout high morale units like knights, elite guards etc on the spot, because bullets cause additional morale penalties on top of the normal ones a unit being fired at gets.

Typically, crossbows/arbalesters/aquebusiers are put by most players in hold formation/hold position. This enhances their defence, and makes them keep firing even when they are partially engaged in melee (which is what you want them to be doing). Handgunners should be put in engage at will - and after quickly firing a shot (all you need to kill is 1 man to inflict morale penalties) charge them in melee.

Btw dont listen to frogbeastegg's advice regarding arquebusiers in her guide. She suggests to move them behind an engaged enemy unit to fire in their backs, but this, while optimal is highly unpractical; there are very few occasions in MTW battles that you will have the luxury for such tactics. Arqs are a volley supporting unit - just learn how to make your static missiles (crossbows/arbs/arqs) line in 3 rank deep lines (3 ranks is especially important for guns as it makes them use revolving ranks that significantly reduce the reloading times) and deliver deadly volleys at the range of your choosing while you have melee troops behind them to ward off any troublesome cavalry approaching from the flanks (or front). Using such tactics, arqs are priceless, not for the kills but for the morale penalty.

Bows can be left in a third rank to fill in the reload times of the arbs/crossbows/guns as they fire far quicker (4s=reload time iirc) and can fire above the heads of their comrades (arc).

This is actually how historically medieval missile formations fought.

I'd say 3 units of arbs, 2 units of arqs and 2/3 units of bows per stack are a good deal (alternatively 4 units of arbs, 1 unit of arqs and 2/3 units of bows) for stack composition. Remember not to overdo it with missiles otherwise your stacks will be swept by melee heavy enemy armies.

Btw although a cheat, you can have gunpowder units in vanilla from 1204 onwards as mercenaries - this is because the gunpowder units era designation in the UnitProd.txt file is high (in order to be activated by the Gunpowder event that takes place in high), however this unfortunately also means that themercenary versions are available in High. This is ultimately rendered insignificant only because the overpowered arbalesters are given out in high too - which is broadly speaking unhistorical and bad for the gameplay as it renders crossbows (as well as most missile units really) obsolete in high. Arbalesters, like Lancers and other high units are really late units - most probably they are given out for the benefit of the majority of players finish the campaign during high; i guess they didnt wanted people to end the game withouthaving played with most units.

[esbono]

thank you for understanding
and the topic you linked me to offers all answers! thanx

i only thought i'm a little retro cause i'm playing mtw for the first time now when it's seven years old...

[gollum]

Well i guess you are better than chess players, that play a game a few tens of centuries old

A good game is a good game - no matter how old.

[esbono]

exactly! :D

[jedi121212]

Thanks.

[gollum]

you're welcome jedi121212

[Vantek]

(XL, English, High, Hard)

England, 1205. The new king has recognised the blessings of prosperity and peace his nation has been given, and taken upon his solemn duty to make his country the holy sanctuary of Christiandom. The principle by which England will stand is simple: she must harm no fellow believer, but she shall show no mercy to an enemy of the faith, responding at nearest possibility to the calls of the church, to eliminate threats to the faith, to enlighten the blind pagans and to punish those wretched who only cast shame on the name of our faith by calling themselves christians.

Clearly possessing a fraction of the omniscience of the God he represents on this Earth, The Pope sends the new King three gifts within the first five years of his rule, and once more within the next three. The Pope also calls for christian nations to unite against Almohad, a group of delirious bandits set on destroying our church, and our King does not hesitate to accept this as his holy mission. Futile though the muslims' attempts may be, their malicious intent must not go unpunished. After dispatching emissaries to form alliances with fellow believers near and afar, cleverly bribing Welsh rebels to save this fine province from destruction, and reinforcing our borders merely to deny temptation to our friends, the King has asked for the construction of a large fleet to carry our armies to North Africa where the muslim vermins build their nest.

As the King commanded, so it was done. Our armies sail to Morocco, only to find the brigand faction already torn, and demolished in a civil war, having lost their prescious grasp of the toes of Europe to the noble Spanish and Portuguese. Thus we meet resistance so weak our men are bored rather than satisfied with their conquest. One by one the provinces fall up to Cyrenaica, catching some unfortunate Ayubbids on the way, and meeting our respected friends and bringers of the faith, the alliance of the Crusader States.

Meanwhile, a crusade towards Cyrenaica launched from Anjou, and sent through the provinces belonging to the French to collect those willing to throw away their tools and grab their weapons to bring faith to dark regions of afar, falls in deep misfortune. Knowing that the land route to their destination lies to the East, the stubborn fanatics now refuse to take even a single step to the West, even though from there ships would take them to their already conquered promised land in a single year. It is further discovered, that the French, though our allies and friends willing to lend us their fleet, nevertheless inexplicably refuse us the use of their port to load our men on our ships. The mission is thus doomed to a tragic desperate march through the whole of Europe, lasting decades after the destination has already long been conquered by those with a more flexile choice of path.

During the conquest of North Africa, new enemies of the faith have appeared: the Germans, and the Sicilians, the latter being as gutless as to attack the Pope himself. The construction of ships has thus been yet intensified, to form a fleet powerful enough to dwarf that of the Sicilians, while Germany has been left to the French and Venetians to deal with.

However, before this goal can be reached, an enemy is spawned much closer: the Spanish have gone blind and decided to point their spears against the Aragonese, instantly recieving a deserved excommunication and the wrath of the whole catholic world! The English dispatch an emissary to renew our alliance with the Aragonese, and promtly march into Navarre, Castille, Valencia. The Portuguese greet us from Leon, and the Spanish are wiped from the face of the Earth, devolving into a civil war and destruction in their remaining foothold, Murcia.

Right after the Spanish dissolve into a province of rebels, the Almohads reappear in Murcia! They field nothing but hordes of ill-equipped peasant soldiers, and the English sharpen their... bills. The King has been given a revalation and guidance to perform splendid miracles! He can now most effortlessly capture the glorious achievements of the nation in the most beautiful colourful pictures imaginable!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

While we prepare our forces to erase the Almohads once and for all, disaster strikes. The King of Aragonese must become posessed by the devil himself, as he meaninglessly sinks our ship in the Gulf of Valencia, paying half of his fleet of two as the price. With bitterness we observe many of our allies shy away from us to favour the mad Aragonese. But through the bitterness a ray of hope remains, as the Pope recognises the evil of the Aragonese move, and chooses to stay with us at this dark moment.

Our attention turns from the Almohads to the Aragonese, although we await for further proof of their irredeemability before we would make the heavy decision to put an end to their now mangled existence. But alas, an even graver proof is shown that the devil himself walks the christian souls: the Portuguese engage in a madness identical to that of the Aragonese, and one more of our ships is sunk.

It is not the only disaster left for us: in anguish we now observe the Pope finally fail in his judgement and refuse us their friendship, choosing to stay with the possessed Portuguese. Next year, our anguish becomes despair as the Pope is captured by the Sicilians and made into a marionette. The Pope's previous decision has been clearly merely the opening acchord to this macabre act that the whole of the world now seems to play, conducted by none other than Lucifer.

With only Venetians and Crusader States staying by our side, we remain one of the few last stands of true Christiandom in a darkened world. Our fleet is strong, but it is not strong enough to withstand the attacks of everyone. Our armies are strong, but they are not strong enough to resist everyone. We observe the French amass an army in Tolouse. Perhaps we have not enough time anymore to wait for the proof that they are fallen. Perhaps we must shield our heart with steel and act in anticipation of a despicable move.

As one is certain: we must act decisively if are to prevent hell from rising to the Earth.

As you can tell, I am enjoying this rule of no aggression against Catholics *A LOT* :) I was *really* surprised that it is possible to go that long without being attacked by a fellow catholic nation. Of course, it can't go on forever and I am now in a genuinely difficult position, and could potentially perish if everyone gangs up on me (that is a highly desirable thing, if you can't tell :)). My #"%/@ crusade is still marching after 25+ years... I'll know better next time.