Is Scotland a Strong Faction??

[Old Geezer]

If you play as the Scots, I strongly suggest that you do not bother fighting field battles with your pikemen. Micromanaging them as has been suggested does not work well. The noble pikemen don't seem to do better than the cheapest militia pikes. The border horse are very effective because they are so fast (I think the only western cav. unit that is as fast is the Jinete). Border Horse are especially good at charging the AI's advancing archers and catching them before they can retreat. The Scots' strength lies in their swordmen units which are powerful and cheap.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Scotland is definitely one of the weaker factions. It has poor cavalry, lacks missiles, and its focus on the bugged 2-handers and pikemen really damage its playability.

It does have some redeeming features though, just not where you would expect them. As Old Geezer said, Border Horse have the 'Fast Moving' attribute, making them excellent flankers. And although the Scots lack powerful missile units, those they do have can double up as melee units, with Highland Archers and Highland Noble Archers easily holding their own against enemy infantry, their AP axes are a huge bonus - how many factions get foot archers with an AP melee attack (apart from those hammers the English Yeomen have)? And the Noble Swordsmen are a great bargain, and can take on pretty much any rival infantry. And if you plan of Crusading, the Scots can solve their cavalry deficiency by getting Chapter Houses.

And of course taking the British Isles as an economic base can make your Highland Hordes pretty much unstoppable.

[Mek Simmur al Ragaski]

I just started a campaign as the scots, and from the very start you become a very powerful nation. My Highland archers are just as good as spearmen in melee, perhaps better, the only thing they lack is the ability to kill their own people, i lost 500 men fighting 400 soldiers in inverness, darn highland archers, my General died when the gate was destroyed and he was surrounded by highland rabble But York fell very quickly, and i now have the advantage of a strong vantage point over the English

[Yoyoma1910]

I find the largest weakness with Scotland in the begining is heritage. Your king is about to die, and the third generation hasn't even been considered. Which carries on in maintaining reasonably reproduction cycles for a couple of generations.

[Mek Simmur al Ragaski]

Yeah, i saw that too, you have very little option as to who to do things with, i had to marry my generals or risk destruction. Also, you have little choice of where to expand, i took york, then inverness, plaanning on taking dublin, but then where, everywhere else is either taken or has ultimate defences noobs like me cant handle

[PBI]

With Scotland the key is to take out England as quickly as possible, as a lot of posters have said. Taking either Nottingham or London will cripple the English and improve your own position enormously. Scotland are at a disadvantage against the English but most factions are at the start, this is why the early game is so fun.

Once the British Isles are secure, the Scottish are in a very strong strategic position. I found I could expand very rapidly but that was because I had modded the pikemen by removing the secondary weapon, which made the Scottish units very formidable indeed. This only helps in the mid to late game however, as you can't build any pikemen until you have a fortress or a city.

[Sirrvs]

Secure the British Isles and build up a strong navy with which to transport merchants to the most lucrative trade resources. You'll have a pretty pile of cash which you can use to send expeditionary forces around Europe.

[Mek Simmur al Ragaski]

I would say Scotland is one of the best strategically placed positions on the map, you are in a corner contesting with a single power in a small country which you do not need to convert, the amount of units you start off with is formidable, and you can defeat one of the most threatening empires when they only begin to advance into modern technology.
Also, you can pick where to start you campaign, not like HRE where you are forced onto the defence by the milanese hordes.
I also find Scotland interesting as you need to think of different strategies and you do not really need to bother with the defense of you cities with your capital being boxed into one corner which is unreachable to most of the other empires vying for control of Europe