I Always Play The Byzantines

[kaloioannis]

hi to all mtw fans first time post.i have this problem where i always play the byzantines as i feel it is my solemn duty to restore them to there former glory and cant bring myself to play any other factions.does any have any recommendations as to any other factions they enjoy playing that i could try and also if anyone has a similar problem with other factions.

[Telys]

welcome kaloioannis. I've only played mtw a few times but I did enjoy being the french and english.

[Peasant Phill]

well it depends on what tactics you like

Muslims => outmaneuvering your enemy
Catholics => hard'nheavy slugmatches
Orthodox => something in between

Muslims & rich => Egypt
Muslims & early rushing => Almohads
Muslims & non generic army => Turks (my favorite muslim faction)

Catholics (just look at their units and position and ask yourself what units you like in your army or what challenges you'd like to face)

Orthodox (never played as them)

[YAKOBU]

Hi Kaloioannis

It's been so long since I've played MTW due to playing RTW. I'm English and 75% of my campaigns were playing as the English. I just loved their unique units: Longbowmen and Billmen. It was great playing as my home country yet I do not share this patriotism in RTW. 75% of my campaigns in RTW have been playing as the Romans.

[Ciaran]

If you´re looking for a challenge, try the Holy Roman Empire. A tough start, but with a couple of unique units, Swabian swordsmen in early, Swiss Halberdiers in High and Late (if you can hold Switzerland, that is), Swiss Pikemen and Swiss Armoured Pikemen in Late, and, last but not least, the units of the Gothic line, Gothic Knights and Gothic Sergeants.

[econ21]

I know how you feel about always playing the Byzantines - I nearly always play the Romans in RTW. But if you can force yourself to try another faction, you may enjoy it.

I'd second the recommendation of the HRE. I find their strategic position fascinating - large empire, surrounded by hungry neighbours. I like turtling and this faction is the turtle most sharks want to eat...

As a Englishman, I am also drawn to my country's starting point. Being on an island, in the corner of the map, it has great strategic freedom - apart from having to contend with the French, you can do almost anything you want. A sort of anti-HRE, in that respect.

The most fun I ever had with MTW was taking a mid-game reign in an Almohad PBM campaign. The Almohads had half of Europe and a powerful AI Byzantium (with masses of heavy cavalry) had the other half. The clash was exhilarating.

Poland has a fun (and challenging) starting position. Very precarious but with a lot of fairly empty steppe you can conquer (just in time for the Mongols to arrive).

France has arguably the most fun early GA goals (the Krak de Chevaliers).

The Turks and Egypts have a rather different feel to the Catholics. And I love the Islamic battle music.

[ShadesPanther]

When I played I was always the Byzantines at first. Then I streched out into playing The Turks, English and Poles. I played the Russians a bit but they were never my favourite. Hungary is also a good choice and can be quite a challenge being surrounded by enemies.

[edyzmedieval]

I play as the Byzantines because they have a fine number of units.

But I modded my own game, because some of the units of the game haven't been included like Early Varangian Guards and Dismounted Noblemen.

[Zarax]

edyzmedieval, if you like that kind of tweaks you might want to try the mod in my signature, doesn't change radically the game but gives little touches like that all around as well as improving game balance and faction personality...

If you tried XGM for RTW this mod is quite similar in spirit

[Louis VI the Fat]

I recognize the natural inclinement to play as a certain faction. I bought the game to play the Hundred Years war, pitting myself against those pesky English longbowmen.

But it is such a rich game, full of different tactics and strategies to be tried out. Do try and play with some other factions!

I hugely enjoy playing as the Turks, great unit roster, interesting starting position. But, with your professed love for the Byzantines, overrunning the pityful remains of Byzantium with your Jannissaries may not be your cup of tea.

The HRE is a challenge. I love the Danes too - everybody likes building a horde of Vikings in Norway and sending them off on a campain of pillage and plunder.

[Csargo]

Im like you Kalo except that I seem to always play as the English. Its a bad habit I need to get out of it.

[lar]

when i first bought the game i would always play english(from england too!), and i lost the game and got rome and i mainly play as romans but have tried few other factions too.

recently got mtw again and started as france, and i had no personal problems conquering england :)

[Thracian 06]

I never really got Into MTW Because of stupid 2 turn recuritment times and constant CTD's. Building a miltary and ecomony is no fun in MTW although the battles are good. As for the times i did play it the Byzantines are fun to play as, espically In high.

[ArnoldLol]

ive played them al but sturted with the byzantines. after them i simulated about every war with many countries

[Barbarossa1221]

Playing the turks late period can be really fun.
You have to be extremely frugal and quick thinking since you only have 1 province. And they have a hoard of unique units that are pretty decent, ottoman infantry are good starters but they can break pretty quickly but the added bows make them excellent.

My only problem with the Turks is that you have to conquer the Byzantines much sadness.
I hate conquering my favorite faction but its inevitable.
But personally i love the byzanites my favorite faction, with all the benefits, troops cant be stolen into crusades and they dont often get picked on for crusades either!

[bamff]

I tried the Byzantines first off....and have been meaning to go back for another go after having learned so much about the game since then....

Have since tried the Danes (love those longboats!), HRE (Gothic Sergeants and Knights are well worth the wait), English (logbows and billmen rule), Turks (a struggle for survival early on), and am currently trying my hand as the Italians (ILI rock in early).

Strikes me that keeping Byz, HRE, and Italian generals happy & loyal is a bit tougher than the others.

Looking at developments later in the game, I figure both Orthodox factions will struggle in the cavalry arms race once we get into "late" .... but overcoming a challenge is part of the fun, isn't it?

[edyzmedieval]

edyzmedieval, if you like that kind of tweaks you might want to try the mod in my signature.

Zarax, I tried it man remember?

As for the other stuff, I often play with England also. I love the longbowmen. And with some modding, you can have those good units like Axemen and such....

[Zarax]

Sorry Edyzmedieval, I haven't touched MTW modding since quite a long time, I'm helping XGM right now and memories from the old good MTW days can be foggy...

[edyzmedieval]

I've sent you a PM Zarax.

[Maloncanth]

For me, the Sicilians have been the funnest faction by far. Think of the options you have as the English and increase by an order of magnitude. I enjoyed Denmark as well, though Denmark's a considerably easier play due to having Viking units and Sweden pretty much in the bag from the start. Finally, there's the Aragonese who provide a challenge in any age, especially Late.

The ones I hate most are probably the Russians mainly because I hate halberds and you pretty much have to build those in droves if you want to fight off the horde. The only thing they really have for them is Boyars.

[ArnoldLol]

i didnt like the russians as well because they have no swordsmen. i was so pissed off when i found that out. the english are funny and the french are a real challenge.

what annoyed me most was the fact that the cultural campaign of the italians sucked mostly cuz the lombard league never showed up and that noble mercantilism didnt work.

[Zarax]

Russians have no swordsmen? LOL... Ever tried to dismount druzhina cavalry?

[bamff]

Hmmmm......Sicilians? Now that's a faction I honestly had not considered so far....I suppose that they would be largely naval as well (dominating the seas is something that I have really enjoyed with both the Danes and the Italians).

What else is special about the Sicilians?

[Maloncanth]

Sicily is a turtler's dream because they only have one land border with the least aggressive faction in the game and are placed smack in the middle of the med so they can ship out anywhere they like in a reasonable amount of time. Starting in Early, you can go through decades (and I do mean decades) without building a single military unit - just boats and all the farms and trading posts you like.

[Martok]

Sicily is a turtler's dream because they only have one land border with the least aggressive faction in the game and are placed smack in the middle of the med so they can ship out anywhere they like in a reasonable amount of time. Starting in Early, you can go through decades (and I do mean decades) without building a single military unit - just boats and all the farms and trading posts you like.

Agreed. For as much as I hate the Sicilians when I'm not them, they are an interesting faction to play as. You can establish a massive (and very profitable) maritime trading empire without having to spend a lot of money on expensive armies. In addition, Sicily itself allows you to strike out in pretty much any direction you please--provided you have a strong navy, of course (which you should have anyway when playing as these guys).

Close proximity to the Pope can also make things very interesting for the Sicilians. He can be either very helpful to you or the bane of your existence, depending on his whims and your actions in regards to him. Assuming you have a strong naval presense in the Mediterranean, you can also launch Crusades just about anywhere along the "Muslim Coast". The Almohads and Egyptians have some very rich lands, and give the Sicilians an avenue for expansion that doesn't bring them into conflict with the other Catholic factions.

One thing to note about the Sicilians: More than any other faction, their success depends heavily on seapower, and on having a powerful navy in the Mediterranean. So build those shipyards in Sicily and Naples (oh yeah, you should take Naples from the Byz early on), and start cranking out those boats!