Glorious Achievements

[Derfasciti]

I'm kind of confused about what you do in this. Could someone elaborate? How do I win? Which do you prefer (conquest or achievements) and reccomend and why?

[Ripken]

That's a very good question!

I've just started my first GA campaign (as the English - I'm just too patriotic!), and I haven't exactly got the hang of what is required to win yet!

I'm sure there are many wise people who can advise though...

[Aenarion]

What I understood by 'Glorious Achievements' ,through personal expierence, would be such things as:-

--> Lowering Taxes
--> Make your country the richest of all
--> Have a good economic trade
--> Make people happy by providing wealth to the country
--> Forge alliances with every possible other faction
--> ... and many more
--> ... and also, if your fortunate enough, an important discovery (example: finding the true cross of Christ) would be a Glorious Achievement; but that is an AI Factor

You will notice you're going on the right track when you see notices saying things such as:-

--> "You bask in adoration of your people" ,etc ,etc

Thanks,
Aenarion

[r johnson]

I'm in the middle (it's nearly the high period) of a GA campaign as the Danes. The good thing about a GA instead of a conquest is that you don't need a huge empire to win. I've never finished a GA before
, as my king usually dies, so i'm proberly not the best person to ask. When you load a GA game there will be a flashing icon, on that is your goals. The green goals you have completed and the grey ones are yet to be done. Also on the same page it shows the points of all the factions. You can earn points by conquring provences (1 point for 2 provences) etc etc

[matteus the inbred]

Unless you conquer the whole world first, GA game goes up to the end date of 1453, and whoever has the most points at the end of it, wins. If a faction is destroyed, all its points go with it, even if it re-emerges later on.
Periodically (every 25 years) you'll get points for your 'homeland' objectives, a stated list of provinces you must own. Crusading and 'build a cathedral' type points are gained once you achieve the required building (eg. Notre Dame, Al Hambra, Krak des Chevaliers) or your crusade conquers the required target province, and other objectives like trade based ones or the 'Holy Roman Empire' usually have end dates by which you must achieve the goal.

Aenarion, the goals that you quote will mostly increase your king's Influence (good), and also mean you're doing well if you keep getting them, but they are not worth GA points per se, although if you're in a strong position chances are your points score will be doing well.

I prefer GA mode, as it adds flavour and doesn't reduce the game to a 'build lots of men invade invade invade everyone' strategy, but it takes a looong time to play up to 1453 and people may not have the patience for it...I've quit far more GA games than I've finished!

[professorspatula]

GA is a good way to play if you don't want to be forced to expand your empire and kill everyone else or want a different challenge. Every 25 years or so, points are awarded to factions based on how many lands they've conquered, and if they've held on to provences deemed their homelands. Some factions score extra points for constructing certain buildings within a limited time period, or achieving x amount of trade and so forth. You're then competing with other factions based on points. You need to have the most points to win. Conquest is the easiest way, but many people like to stick to a few provences that are their homelands, and perhaps take a few other regions that were historically important to the faction. Other factions are then able to build their own empires and you can have fun games where several factions are raking in the points, instead of just having 1 or 2 superpowers, with you being one of them.

I personally prefer GA mode. I never completed on though. I tend to play for about 150 turns and then do something else. But the option to sit back and perhaps just launch the occasional crusade or interfere in another faction's war just for the hell of it is great fun.

{Bah beaten to it with my reply}

[matteus the inbred]

{Bah beaten to it with my reply}

gotta be fast, faaaaaast!

Agree with you about the 150 turns though, that's usually when I get bored too! No more crusading, and lots of Mongols to tangle with.

[Martok]

While I rarely finish any of my campaigns regardless of which mode I'm playing, I definitely prefer Glorious Achievements. As others here have already pointed out, it's a nice way to play the game without having to take over the whole bloody map. In addition, GA mode encourages roleplaying your faction more than Domination mode, since you're granted points for various things (homelands, Crusading certain provinces, etc.).

At the same time, though, GA doesn't restrict how you play--which I admit was contrary to what I initially believed. (For my first couple years of playing MTW, I was very opposed to even trying GA mode! ) You can still conquer the map if you want, just like in Domination mode. Glorious Achievements simply gives the player a fun alternative to that, while still allowing you to play your faction however you choose.

[gaijinalways]

True, I also started with domination campaigns, and then later found the GA campaigns more interesting. Some GA campaigns I have won by domination, but my current expert English one I am hoping to finish (though to be honest, I forget which year I am in, though I am at war again, damn Spanish).

I like trying to balance your empire, but holding back on expanding and trying to tech up. I will get pikemen soon, though I need to solve my current economic problems and fend off excommunication (pope hunting again ?). Great ball, nice way to break back into MTW for me .

[bamff]

I will throw my lot in with the "GA Loving" faction. In my opinion, it gives you a lot more to think about in terms of guiding your faction through.....and as already stated by those far more experienced than myself, it also removes the need to rape, pillage, plunder, and slaughter your way across the map (although you can of course still do this - every king needs a hobby!).

[danfda]

Add me to that list, too. GA means you don't have to conquer the whole map, it gives you fun diversions, and it means there are very different challenges for each faction (some minor factions have very similar GA goals, but all of the major ones have some really fun, hard to get ones). It adds so much variety, and keeps me interested for a much longer time than domination does. Though, tbh, I've only completed one GA campaign (as HRE). It was my first; now, I generally go until I am close to the end and winning. :P

[BrSpiritus]

I like playing GA mode because you can choose to reach for a goal or not. Like in my current campain Byz/early/normal At some point your home provinces change to include Serbia. I refused to attack Serbia on 3 points:

1) They had been a steadfast ally for many years
2) They are a fellow Orthodox Nation
3) Our Royal Families had intermarried so that the current King of Serbia and Emperor of Byzantium were 1st Cousins

It went that way for 10 years until it became a moot point when the Cumans attacked Serbia and eliminated the Dynasty. I grabbed Serbia and Croatia and dared the Cumans to attack. The Cumans never did and in their own time their dynasty died off and their kingdom fell apart to be divided between Byzantium and Kiev.

~BrSpiritus