Beginner Playing As The Irish

[caravel]

Thanks for the input.

Things went slightly downhill yesterday when I resumed my campaign and it just shows how quickly things can change. My main problem is I think I invaded Scotland far too early which was around ad 960. I took over the top 10 or so provencies and then had real trouble keeping hold of them due to invasions from the Vikings where ever my stacks were low. I had no facilities to create armies in Scotland but plenty of waiting troops in Ireland. The only problem was the seas were blockaded and I couldn't move any accross. I watched, heartbroken, as each Scottish province was invaded and captured from me. All of them were re-taken in a cople of turns. To avoid a civil war I noted the names of the ring leaders and supporters and then re-loaded and dis-banded them. I had to remove 6 generals and one Prince to avoid the civil war. At this point I realised my domination plans had not come up to expecation and I should treat it as a learning exercise and re-start!

A few problems there. The first is the early invasion of Scotland. Spreading out from your strong position to take what are mostly poor provinces yielding little benefits apart from being defensible. The next issue is the blockaded seas. You should never attempt an invasion of Britain unless you have dominance of the seas. The Viking ships should be sent to the bottom systematically before you make a move. The Vikings raid the north a lot because it's close to them. The Northumbrians and Picts suffer the most of all the factions but the Vikings will go for rebels regardless of location. By invading the North early, you are simply taking on the burden of that struggle and using your own rich lands to finance it. Also Civil War can sometimes be a good thing, and adds a new dimension to the gameplay. It is best to fight through the civil war, possibly even backing the rebels, as it can strengthen your position in the long run.

I am now playing on hard setting again with the Irish. My plan, as it was before, is to turn Ireland in to the central hub of operations where I will train fighters in Ulster that will be ready to invade the North of England and fighters in Munster that will invade the South of England. All will be concurrent and will create a kind of strangle hold. This will push enemy forces east. I realise I'll need to move quickly when the invasion starts and also have a lot of units so can anyone advise me if this scenario is viable and a good method?

Viable, certainly interesting and quite challenging though a war on two fronts can be very costly. I have always preferred the south eastern rout, invading near the channel and taking on either the Saxons on the Mercians first, switching allegiance many times and playing them off against each other.

The problem with playing as the Irish is that Britain then lacks a human player on the mainland. The Mercians will then often achieve total domination of Britain. I remember once turtling an Irish campaign, and watching the Mercians take the whole of Britain. By the time I felt ready to take them on they had massive stacks of bloodthirsty Huscarles...

1.) Whats the best way to go attempt this plan? When should I attack? I'm going to lie low for much longer this time and gather Florins and troops but is it possible to occupy an allied province so my troops are already nicely spread for when I attack?

Before you invade Britain: Conquer Ireland and develop it for income and the building of ships upgrade to the longboats ASAP, dominate the seas with a large navy - two to three ships per sea, blow every Viking ship out of the water and replace your losses (don't allow your fleets to weaken), develop extensive trade to fill the coffers, tech up to better units and build a large army and when you're ready invade into the south and take on the English factions first. It is important that neither gets too strong. You should also keep their navies under control. If they start to get overly large, declare war, wipe out all of their ships, pull all of your ships away from their coasts and wait 2 turns for the automatic ceasefire. Return your ships to their coasts and continue trading. You can't afford to wait around too long though, as the English factions will eventually become so strong that you will find yourself fighting one very strong faction in the end in order to conquer Britain.

You can't occupy an allied province as that would be a declaration of war.

2.) Is it ok to dedicate one province for each fighter or is it best to build everything possible assuming I have the Florins for it.



Thanks!

The best policy is to specialise. Kerns have a valour bonus in Laigin so it is bes to develop that to produce them. Brega is already well developed IIRC so you can concentrate on turning out Gallowglasses there. You can then allocate another province to cavalry or something else if you wish, though all provinces should also be capable of churning out ships and you will need to have phases of ship building and unit training. Try not to build what you don't need and once your coasts are secure concentrate on improving income by further upgrading farmland and building abbeys.