England not viable? 2h bug?

[ArtistofWarfare]

I'm just about to start up a new campaign here but:

I like England's starting infantry...I know between that infantry and the missle troops, I have what I need to build the kind of army I favor. I also like the French though, as their infantry develops later on and they have the best Cavalry in the game...I also like their starting position (believe that or not).

The thing is this....just as the topic reads: Is England's infantry worthless, regardless of what it looks like on paper, because of the 2h bug? Or is this more or less just a nuisance and not an entire gamebreaker for England?

Like I said, just about to start up the campaign and I can't decide on this...

I'm using 1.1 as I downloaded my game (direct2drive...pay site) and I won't have a patch until there is an official patch.

Thanks guys...

[Garnier]

With patch 1.1 and no mods, the answer is:

DEK and all billmen are useless against cavalry, and your armoured swordsmen have the shield bug and die really fast.

So regardless of your faction, you want to form an army of good archers and infantry with no shields or 2H weapons. Or an army of all heavy cavalry..


So get a mod like LTC 2.1

[ArtistofWarfare]

I can't mod the game...again, I have the direct2drive version. Nothing but the official patches are compatible with my game.

Thanks for the reply though...that's HORRIBLE that the 1.1 still leaves this in the game.

I mean, now that I think about it...that pretty much leaves the "game" broken. Now I'm wondering "why even bother playing"...what a shame.

Or am I wrong...can you MOD a direct2drive version of the game, just not use a non-d2d patch with it?

[Daveybaby]

Regardless of the bugs, England are still one of the easiest factions to win with.

As for mods working with the d2d version - i guess they should still work, as i dont think any of them change the main executable - just the textfiles.

[ArtistofWarfare]

Regardless of the bugs, England are still one of the easiest factions to win with.

yeah I don't want to spoil the fun for myself...

I start school down in the city (NYC) in about 3 weeks...I just wanted a good long campaign to eat the time between now and then.

I'd assume that BOTH Player and AI factions experience the bugs correct?

That I can live with...what I couldn't live with is it being just the player.

btw- England does look easy but I'm going to play on VH/VH so...heh. Even still, agreed...and that's another reason that France is still an option. I know that's a little harder and less people use them.

Oh and thanks for the d2d info- This is exactly what I've been thinking all along...I don't know why I just assumed that, of all things, d2d's disclaimer would accurately explain this.

In that case...no worries about anything, could you just recommend a good mod to me? heh. What's the EB or RTR of MTW2? I'm NOT looking for system requirements being upped...

bah..I think I've spent enough time installing today heh...and I see that the mods are still a work in progress for mtw2 (guess they're waiting for 1.2 and beyond...cool). Just wondering now if this 2h bug will be "active" on all 2h units...ai and player, not just mine. Thanks.

Can anyone confirm that quick? Shield/2h bug is active on BOTH ai and human controlled units using 1.1?

As opposed to the AI units working correctly and the player units not...

[Daveybaby]

Yup, the AI gets the bugs too.

IMO the mod to go with is carl's problem fixer. IIRC it replaces some of the animation files in order to fix the 2h bug - but possibly it will still work on the d2d version.

[Shahed]

In 1.1 England's infantry is frustrating.

I'm playing with Carl's Fixer, plus many other personal tweaks, and wow I'm having a blast as England.

I would highly recommend you start with the PureFixer (link above by Dave). You'll also notice a lot of traits and ancillaries now appearing. D2D version is moddable to my knowledge, it's the same as any other. but you have to unpack the game first (naturally).

Once you've been contented with the Fixer, you could install MedManager (downloads section) and then try for Sicilian Vespers mod at www.twcenter.net, also LTC is great.

Broken Crescent is out in June, Middle East focus with many new factions.

[gardibolt]

DEK are pretty much worthless, period. Until 1.2 is working, DFK are much preferable to DEK.

[Shahed]

With PureFixer (and unofficial 1.20), Dismounted English Knights are one of the coolest units in the game. They can't halt a charge, but get them in melee and they totally kill everything, no exceptions except JHI , maybe Tabardiyya, a couple of others but largely they are amazing.

[Jobst_vonGrünungen]

With PureFixer (and unofficial 1.20), Dismounted English Knights are one of the coolest units in the game. They can't halt a charge, but get them in melee and they totally kill everything, no exceptions except JHI , maybe Tabardiyya, a couple of others but largely they are amazing.

What I like to do with swordsmen is stick them behind a row of cheap spears (militia or levy or what have you, maybe with an armour upgrade) and then let the enemy contact the spear wall, then charge the swords through the spears. Meanwhile cavalry and archers neutralize enemy cavalry, then cavalry hits the enemy infantry line from behind and they break and I hunt them down accross the entire map for 15 minutes It doesn't always work, but I rarely lose on normal.

When armoured sergeants are available I like to stick a row of them behind a row of crossbows, cavalry behind and any heavy infantry (2h or s&s) behind the sergeants. Usually the AI will stand there being slaughtered by crossbows until either they try to retreat or charge. Crossbows target the cavalry behind the infantry, shooting through the infantry and damaging both the infantry and the cavalry, if the AI charges, they flee behind the sergeants, cavalry goes around behind the enemy line, mops up the enemy cav (which should have been weakened by the crossbows) and hits the inf in the rear.

If they don't charge, then once they turn around to march off the map my cavalry will pursue, usually the missile-weakened retreating enemy units will break once the cav hits them. Then it turns into another mop up of fleers. This also almost always works. Unfortunately, the enemy cavalry usually escapes if the AI retreats, but usually this gets 80% of the enemy killed/captured...

I almost never use s&s or 2h units in large enough numbers to notice any bugs... Usually I just use them to back up and reinforce a spear-wall, as above. I guess if the army is mostly 2h or s&s these tactics might not work as well, Id have to try 'em.

[nikolai1962]

mostly longbows with a few cavalry. fun