England

[dzidek]

I don't say English Longbows are bad... just that there are better

[Myth]

I don't say English Longbows are bad... just that there are better

Examples and justification, please?

[dzidek]

Scots Guard - better stats but no stakes

[Myth]

Hmm I'm not sure on the stats of SG vs Retinue Archers, haven't been playing M2TW for that long. However, on England's start:

I've found out that it is indeed more beneficial to just play with some historical accuracy in to account. Don't go slaughtering your Catholic neighbors right off the bat - this isn't RTW. I started by sending my diplomat on turn #1 to the French princess, selling Alliance/Trade/Map info/Marriage for Map info/1900 Florins. That's the best deal she'd accept at this point.

I married my own princess to the HRE faction heir. I got alliances with the Danes, Spanish, Milanese, Venetians, Polish and Hungarians. The Pope was overjoyed, naturally i got one with him as well. I got tons of money after all these alliances (the more nations you have as allies the more expensive your furhter alliances become).

At turn #9 i had taken Bordeaux and only given up Dublin and Iverness to the Scotts (let them develop the cities for a while, i have no alliance with them and wea are already at very bad relations due to my stream of spies coming from York). I can't wait for them to declare war, get excommunicated so i can march on to Edinburgh. Anyway, at turn 9 the Pope was singing Beyonce's "Crazy in love" any time he saw my diplomat. It was time - we (I) called for a most holy Crusade on Cordoba.

Well a bit prematurely as i lost Bordeaux to revolt (it seems it's not Cahtolic enough at the start) when i removed my general, but i'll just retake it later. I was the only one who bothered joining this crusade, and i went straight for the target (in retrospect i think it wiser to take out the other moorish town along the way). Naturally there was no real resistence to be had.

My general, who i have bread as a good commander and a chiv leader, got both Templar and Hospitalier retinues, and the other usual benefits for winning a Crusade, which i liked a lot. I decided to keep Cordoba, as it's a good launchpad for my invasion of Africa. And i will be invading Africa soon, since every Catholic nation is palying nice now that i'm the big peacekeeper and defender of the faith of the Western world.

Well except for Scotland, but I have my mind made up for them - I'm not leaving any liabilites at my back before i march towards the Holy Lands.

[dzidek]

Yeah.. i like to play England the same way.

I'm in the middle of a 100 years war now :D

Destroyed the Scots early (sorry William) and started a long campaign in France.

I own all of Britain and western France including Bordeaux (turned to city), Rennes, Caen, Touluse, Angers.
The French are down to 3 provinces and i prepare for the final attack.
Sadly Milan as always starts to be a pain so i will have to raid/sack their towns in the near future.

Got excom lately so i wait now for the Pope to die, as he is over 60 already.

I'm really glad as all my Castles in France got the swordsmiths guild so now i'm flooding Europe with swordsmen and longbows.

I made the isles all city, i don't need castles there. If something goes wrong i have a military heavy city in Notthingham with all militia units + military academy for the Demi Lancers.

All my "French" castles are now producing Armoured Swordsmen + Yeoman Archers + Feudal Knights.
After i crush the rest of France i will be able to produce Retinue Longbow + English Knights.

I've signed an early marriage alliance with the Spanish and the have kept it since then so i have no trouble in the south, that allows me to concentrate on my eastern front.

I don't make big cash but it allows me to maintain 3 full stacks all the time + some castle garrison.

Usually if i have to fight several battles in one turn i make a little logistic trick, like in real war.
I fight with one stack, usually it allows me to win easili in a 1:1 fight, after the battle i come with a 2nd nearby stack and replenish the ranks, this way i train my main army and the 2nd stack allows me to replenish the fallen soldiers quickly often more then 1 time).

As the tactics goes i'm not a genius, i place archers in the front with stakes in 2 rows, behind them are the swordsmen, the flanks supported by spearmen and billmen and some cavalry for flanking support.

In the beginning i made a little Zerg spam. I produced masses of Levy Speramen, really even the most finesse 1000 troops can't hold a 2000 meat wave. Got some gold chevrons on those spearmen already :)

[Seamus Fermanagh]

....

In the beginning i made a little Zerg spam. I produced masses of Levy Speramen, really even the most finesse 1000 troops can't hold a 2000 meat wave. Got some gold chevrons on those spearmen already :)

Subtle.

[Myth]

OK an update on the situation: I now own the whole Iberian Peninsula, the Western coast of France and modern day Netherlands, and all the English territories bar Scotland and Ireland. I'm rich, teched up and the Mongols are raping those infidels to the East, which will mean I get to liberate Jerusalem soon (Hungary still stubbornly holds on to it)

What happened so far:

1st Crusade launched at Cordoba. I kept it, as it is one of the best populated cities on the map. It's a moneydrain initially, as unrest is high untill you get it to 90% Catholic. However, Spain and Portugal both send cardinals there to do God's work. KEEP CORDOBA! It's a great foothold on the rich and greatly developed Iberain peninsula.

Being best butt-buddies with the French has it's merits. For one, they serve as a nice buffer to my Easternmost provinces, protecting me from hungry hungry Milanese bastards.

Anyway, the Second Crusade I launched at the holiest of cities - Jerusalem. I took three stacks, marched on foot trough Europe and completely raped the Turks and Egyptians. That's right, I gave up the target city to the Hungarians, but I took 3 or 4 Turkish cities, razed them to the ground and pillaged them, and let them revolt. Vice versa with the Northern towns of the Holy Land, and lastly Antioch. I had a nice fleet drop off 6 or so priests in Jerusalem and take my victorious generals immediately after the Crusade ended. The result was several Cardinal promotions, and Hungary keeping Jerusalem for another... 20 or so years.

Needless to say i grew filthy rich from all that plundering and destruction, and 3 armies on 0 upkeep. I made England in to the most advanced faction in the world, i got lots of guilds, merchants, priests and so on.

I had fresh princes with even fresher troops from Nottingham and Caen, just itching to prove themselves, while their fathers sailed back from the Holy Land. I WAS planning on slaughtering the Moors and playing nice with my Catholic friends, but the Pope went and Excommunicated Spain. Now, I couldn't let this chance just pass by and immediately i siezed control of most of the Iberian Peninsula. The Castle in the middle (Toledo i think) was so very well developed, it became a major troop production centre, complete with a Swordsmith's guild and a Hospitalier World Headquarters down south in Cordoba. The Iberain Peninsula provided me with both gold and a second launchapd for further invasions.

The Third Crusade was launched at the Westernmost Moorish territory on Africa, lettin me steamroll their other city on the Iberian peninsula as well. I needed some way of declaring war on these bastards and consolidating my hold on the Peninsula without France crying (as they were allied with the Moors). Well it served it's purpouse, took two Moorish towns, I got chiv and command stars for my other leaders, and nice templar/hospitalier knight anticlaries.

It was by that time that the blasted suicidal Milanese debarked on my shores and sieged ony of my Eastern spanish towns. Too bad for them! I came back, regrouped, drove them off and suddenly the Pope excommunicated Portugal. FINALLY! The whole Iberian peninsula was now mine!

The fourth Crusade was declared on Venice. One general with a full stack hailed from my spanish provinces, and another one down from England. The Milanese were kind enough to take two French settlements which i "liberated" and of course kept for myself, while keeping my Alliance/Militarry Access with France. My 30 year old brat surpassed his father and after several fights with Danes and Milanese he now has maximum command stars! I am laying siege to two of the three remaining Milanese settlemends and will soon wipe this God forsaken faction off the map!

I did get to develop quite nicely with so many of my armies at 0 upkeep, and i got a Woodsmen's Guild WHQ, so now I'll be able to pump out experienced Retinue Archers and Sherwood Archers.

On Sherwood Archers btw, yest they are half strength stacks, but have you seen their melee stats? These guys are very versatile, and i dully recommend having two stacks in between your more fragile regular archers. Their ranged stack is higher than that of Retinue Archers as well, making them be inferior with about 20% in ranged combat, instead of 50%, and the bonus of a high melee attack and superb stamina make up for even that!