Rock 'Ard...

[SauveQuiPeut]

Out of curiosity...what do people consider the toughest faction that they habitually encounter in their chosen version of MTW?

For an opener...I'd like to nominate the XL Almohads. In all the half-dozen campaigns I've played with this (most excellent) mod the 'Orange Menace' has rapidly become THE world power. Usually by 50 years into the game they have all of Spain and are pushing into France and Britain. By the time High begins in 1205 they have all of France and Britain and some of Germany. Italy has sometimes fallen also. They have total mobility with their awesome array of sea-power and non-stop conquest and victory has created an army of jedi generals.

They are murder to fight...very agressive with solid infantry (and lots of 'em) with camels to neutralise your knights...AP Almo Urbans...javelins...Naptha Throwers...Ghulams...ouch. And there's loads and loads of them...all fired up by their multi-starred jedi.

Please note this topic isn't about criticising any mod...just about the hard guys that always give you the willies.

[Meneldil]

Same thing with BKB. In Early, either the Almohad or the Almoravid usually own Italy, France and England after 50 turns. The Almohad is even more powerful in high, since he doesn't have to fight the Almoravid. The Byzantine in Early isn't that bad to.

[SauveQuiPeut]

I find the Byzo's tend to get swarmed by the Eggies before they have a chance to become anyones main problem.

[m52nickerson]

I Play VI and the Spanish get big. They are normally the last faction my Polish army has to face.

[antisocialmunky]

In vanilla? If the Swiss ever got big enough... I might have a challenge, other than the annoying HA factions... My only battle against a major Swiss opponent was interesting to say the least, even with their pikemen in the woods. I lost whole units of crack CMAA and Billmen keeping the SAPs occupied for my flanking moves.

[Roark]

I find the Horde pretty tough, unless I'm playing as the Turks, but the Mongols have a tendency to spread themselves too thin eventually...

[Knight Templar]

In my campaigns, vanilla MTW and VI, Egyptians usually destroy Turks, Byzs and conquer Russia, so they're often my last and biggest enemy

[dgfred]

In my HRE games (always early) the Hungarians and Byzantines are the
evil empires- usually hitting me at the worst possible moment .
The Hungarians are not very hard to whip, but the Byz can cause alot
of problems because of their troops/generals are mostly better than
anything that I can field in the early game.

[miho]

In my experience the Polish are the worst. Not because they're so strong but they have a tendency to attack when I least expect it. I also don't like the Italians and the Sicilians because of the ships. I like to be the only naval power and they always attack when I'm setting up trade routes so I can't trade.

[dgfred]

In my experience the Polish are the worst. Not because they're so strong but they have a tendency to attack when I least expect it. I also don't like the Italians and the Sicilians because of the ships. I like to be the only naval power and they always attack when I'm setting up trade routes so I can't trade.

What factions do you prefer to play as? Poland doesn't usually bother me

as much as Hungary- they are just sneaky .

[antisocialmunky]

I do remember the Byzantine Blitz where they knocked out Hungary by turn twenty and the Pope was gone by 25. Go Mr. 7 star go. I was Italy and they frightened me... well... not so much the Byz as the Germans attacking me during the Pope's absense.

[miho]

What factions do you prefer to play as? Poland doesn't usually bother me

as much as Hungary- they are just sneaky .

The HRE. And I agree that the hungarians are sneaky. Most of my "your bodyguards have captured..." messages mention that "he was working for the Hungarians".

[miho]

I do remember the Byzantine Blitz where they knocked out Hungary by turn twenty and the Pope was gone by 25. Go Mr. 7 star go. I was Italy and they frightened me... well... not so much the Byz as the Germans attacking me during the Pope's absense.

I like when somebody whacks the Pope. It gives me time to attack other Christians without being excommunicated.

[Roark]

Yeah, the Hungarians tend to become a major headache for the HRE...

The choices are usually limited to wiping them out, or wiping them out, unless you have the economy to sustain a protracted "100 years war" type of conflict.

[antisocialmunky]

The English are pretty dastardly if not drunken campaigning. they seem to really hate the Byz. I can be sitting there hammering the Egyptians, letting them keep Palestine and Antioch, and the English come gunning for me. The Germans are jumping around the Crimea while the French are taking and losing Palestine but the English? They just come after Constantinople.

Once, I was minding my own business taking out Muscovy from the East from the Horde and the moment I take it, the English launch a crusade to Muscovy. I mean p00t, is their crusade AI on crack? I've had them launch a crusade at me and declare peace only to goto war when I have to beat their crusade off. The greatest Byzantine defeat happened when the English crusade - being abnormally hyper agressive - rammed EVERYTHING into my battleline and a unit of Skezlys rammed into the DEAD FRONT CENTER of a disengaged BI unit and EVERY thing craps themselves and runs. And that's how the 4 star crusader general beat my 9 star... I mean... come on...

Interestingly enough, they seem to come knocking with really good units. Atleast when they're beating on me.