Far too easy?

[Soylent Green]

I understand, and agree that the game could use a better AI and higher diff. settings for the hardcore players. Still, you have to keep in mind that you're definitely atypical. Most M2TW players out there never heard of STW and MTW, probably only played RTW shortly and are nowhere near your expertise level. The publisher has to aim for the "typical" player, whatever that may be.
Me, for my part, I'm happy with the difficulty level it presents now, I just wish the AI stopped making those stupid, unexplainable mistakes that just break the "make-believe".

Keep your hopes up and don't shelf the game just yet, there's mods in the making for the likes of you.

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PS: I'd like to see a demonstration of you playing blindfolded, should be fun to watch. You have videos ???
(yes, it's my lame attempt at irony, again...)

Fair play with that reply man. But you know Civilisation IV, everything above Prince difficulty for me was a subject of much consternation. It was something you aspired to beat, you had to be the ultimate player. I always remember my friend beating the max difficulty back in the days of Civ. I, and how incredible it was.

With a series, you have to expect that the majority of players are probably going to be coming from the last episode back, since the loyal ones are more likely to be coming back with an incredible series like the TW series.

When i buy a game, i EXPECT, not hope, a challenge, and something i haven't experienced before, as part of paying through the nose. For example, Baldur's Gate, with its 350 gaming hours, or Elder Scrolls 4, which was so long i couldn't even finish it in several sittings. RTW kept me coming back, particularly with BI, because it was so intensely challenging.

When i sit down to a session of MTW2, i know what to expect now, even after one campaign. I know it's going to be a matter of slogging out the campaign, autocalculating 8000 battles, and victory. Not a tenuous battle of wills that could go either way.

I had ONE exciting battle, against the aforementioned Timurids, where they actually broke through my first citadel walls (they brought a grand bombard on the fifth assualt), and then my second, until i fought them off on the third. Despite a 6:1 army ratio (them:me). ONE.

Tbh. If you remember the MTW:VI expansion, every battle counted in keeping them out of your lands. When you were skilfully maneouvring your fyrds behind their elite warbands in order to actually pull off a victory. Or half of your losses were just to weaken them enough to take them down!

[Ars Moriendi]

RTW kept me coming back, particularly with BI, because it was so intensely challenging.

Strange to hear you say that, I thought RTW was much easier and its AI weaker than M2TW. I never even bought the game, I just borrowed it, played for a week or so, got bored to tears, unistalled it and never tried it again. M2TW, after 2 campaigns, still gets me wanting for more, MTW style, despite the bugs and all.
It's different styles of play between us, I reckon.

When i sit down to a session of MTW2, i know what to expect now, even after one campaign. I know it's going to be a matter of slogging out the campaign, autocalculating 8000 battles, and victory. Not a tenuous battle of wills that could go either way.

Yes, it can be that way. Maybe we just played too much of the CA's Total War games (I know I did). If only there was a viable alternative...
Also, much of the boredom and jading in playing the current TW game comes from the increased tedium of moving agents and armies and the countless irrelevant battles. It's the price we had to pay for the new strategic freedom allowed by the departure from the risk-style map (the new kind of map also seriously hampers the AI's reasoning abilities, it seems).

Tbh. If you remember the MTW:VI expansion, every battle counted in keeping them out of your lands. When you were skilfully maneouvring your fyrds behind their elite warbands in order to actually pull off a victory. Or half of your losses were just to weaken them enough to take them down!

I haven't played VI either. By all accounts I missed a lot. I did, however, played MTW to death, some mods too, so I have a pretty good idea what you're talking about.

[RussianWinter]

The problem is that I know victory is coming, its just a matter of how soon I can get it and If I'm willing to wait around for the ride. Short of playing the turks during the mongol invasion, getting wiped out will just not happen.

I have absolutely zero faith the AI will be beefed up. Not in a patch, not in an expansion. It isn't going to happen, if it were fixable it would have been done by now.

That said, I'm having fun while it lasts. I've got my money's worth and killed quite a few nights, its just sad to think what *could* have been.

[EGr]

I found the AI too easy so I gave every faction massive king's purses. Now they all have ridiculous amounts of armies.

[Veresov]

If you want a better challenge, add a money script for the AI, and improve the AI's starting position in terms of buildings. I have several starting strat files for each of the factions I like to play. I ensure that the AI starts 2 Tech levels ahead of me and its starting units are more advanced.

[Reapz]

Soylent, like you I have played TW since Shogun and like you I wish the AI was a little stronger in campaign. But I still find the game very enjoyable and I think it might refresh your interest to try other factions. England is an easy win.

Try Russia - I have had several fun campaigns with that faction. You will win no doubt but have a different set of challenges along the way. In my quest to add novelty in my last one I did with Russia, I took to the sea, invaded Britain and tried to recreate the path of expansion you take playing as England with Russian units. The AI never took the original Russian provinces except Riga but it was not my power center and I built everything around London and Antwerp.

The game engine has a lot of potential and when the modding community gets to grips with it and comes up with something akin to RTR I think you will have something closer to what you're looking for.

(Until then EU III comes out January)