Medieval War Help - New Player

[CybrGamr]

Thanks for the suggestions above. I just found frogbeastegg's guide to Medieval Total War. That looks quite helpful also. I shall try to learn from all of the suggestions as I play...

[macsen rufus]

Welcome CybrGamr

One extra comment: I rarely autocalc as I like to fight my battles! But it also has the benefit that battles you command personally will earn you virtues like "skilled attacker", and generally you can get better results by fighting than by autocalcing. One of the few exceptions is if you have an enemy king under siege, it is best to autocalc the assault on the grounds that the king is more likely to be captured, so he can be ransomed for... well, a king's ransom If you fight it yourself he'll usually fight to the death and you get no ransom.

And if you've found Froggie's guide, you'll be learning all the subtleties. It's a great guide. And the game is so rich you'll still be learning new stuff this time next year, believe me

[Alexios]

Hi CyberGamr and Welcome to the Org!

There's some excellent advice here, but I just wanted to add a few ideas in regards to deciding what to build and where:

- One of the first things I consider is valor bonuses - whether a unit valor bonus exists in a particular province (such as Longbowmen in Wales, Billmen in Mercia, Turcopoles in Antioch, and Assassins in Syria). If a valor bonus does exist, then I will usually build the necessary upgrades there until I can create that particular unit (refer to the tech tree to find out where the valor bonuses are and what you need to build in order to get them). One caveat, however, is that not all units are available to every faction. For example, if I'm playing as the Byzantines, I would not have the ability to create Longbowmen. So taking over Wales, then building the upgrades there to get to LB, would not help me in that regard.

- Another strategy I like to use is to focus most of my building upgrades in the coastal provinces rather then the inner, at least for military purposes anyway. The reason being is that if I'm fighting in provinces that are across the seas, which invariably happens, then by having my coastal provinces upgraded to build most troop types, I can quickly deploy my troops to the battlefront (that is, as long as I maintain clear shipping lanes). I can also get my troops back faster, so that they can be rebuilt and quickly redeployed. In contrast, if I had to build/rebuild my troops in an inner province (say Switzerland, for example) then it may take me an extra three to four moves to get them there and then back out again to the front. During wartime, sometimes having a smooth-flowing operation of troop deployment/redeployment can make all the difference between winning and losing.

- In regards to the monetary side, I almost always build the upgrades that provide greater income (such as farming, mining, trading posts, etc.). It's important to keep the cash flow going in order to have the necessary funding to build large armies and continually expand your empire. I can't count the number of times in my initial campaigns that my expansion efforts came to an abrupt halt, all because I had neglected to pay attention to my monetary upgrades. So now I tend to give those a higher priority over the others.

[Sensei Warrior]

Alexios pointed out the benefits of valor. I figured I would chime in with morale. It is very useful to have high morale troops. Buildings that give morale bonuses such as a church and a requilary(?) are also another thing to consider building in your troop producing provences.

Having a high morale means your troops will not rout as quickly as troops with lower morale. They can take more morale reducing situations, such as being flanked or missile fire, longer. This keeps them in the field killing instead of being captured, and high morale units are more forgiving if you accidentally throw them in a tough situation. Very usefull for those that are new to the game and even some of the more experienced but less adept tacticians among us.

I think morale is the most underated stat of all the unit stats, so I often feel its necessary to chime in when I can. Think of me as a Morale Advocate.

[Alexios]

Excellent point, Sensei. Troop morale is an extremely important part without a doubt. There's nothing more frustrating then going into a battle knowing you can massacre your adversary, only to find that shortly after it all begins, 3/4 of your army tuck tails and runs.

I usually start building the religious upgrades (Church, Mosque, Cathedral, etc.) after I get all the buildings in place that will allow me to create the units I want. And for those units I may have created before I finish the religious upgrades, I try to mix them in with some of my other higher morale units, or add them to an army with a general of high command rating. In this way, I won't have my entire army running off the field, and hopefully, my lower morale guys will stay on the field long enough to get some battle experience.