This guide is set at a width of 72 characters. For ease of use, make sure your browser is displaying all the numbers on the line below. 123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012 o======================================================================o | | | Medieval 2: Total War | | | o======================================================================o Version 1.00 Written by: Nathan Garvin Email: Theendbringer (at) Hotmail (dot) com. If you're going to email me about this guide, make sure you put "MEDIEVAL 2: TOTAL WAR" in the title, or I'll probably end up deleting it as junk. I have no affiliation with Sega, the Creative Assembly, or any other parties involved with this game. This is a not-for-profit fan-made guide. If you wish to post, mirror, or quote this guide, feel free to do so. Credit would make me happy, an email would make me feel good. Let your conscience be your guide, just like all good people. This FAQ was made in Notepad, and is best viewed in a simple text editor. The default text is Lucida Console at size 10 font, but any fixed-width font will work.. if not with the intended aesthetics intact. Table of Contents o======================================================================o I. Introduction {INT000} 1. Using this FAQ {INT001} II. Picking your Faction {PCK000} 1. Garrison {PCK001} 2. Infantry {PCK002} 3. Cavalry {PCK003} 4. Archers {PCK004} 5. Navies {PCK005} III. The Factions {FCT000} 1. England {FCT001} 2. France {FCT002} 3. Holy Roman Empire {FCT003} 4. Spain {FCT004} 5. Sicily {FCT005} 6. Venice {FCT006} 7. Milan {FCT007} 8. Scotland {FCT008} 9. Byzantine Empire {FCT009} 10. Russia {FCT010} 11. Moors {FCT011} 12. Turks {FCT012} 13. Egypt {FCT013} 14. Denmark {FCT014} 15. Portugal {FCT015} 16. Poland {FCT016} 17. Hungary {FCT017} o======================================================================o | | | Introduction {INT000} | | | o======================================================================o I started playing Medieval 2: Total War hoping for the next Rome: Total War. Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised, as it did pretty much everything I hoped it would. It was the typical Total War strategy game, but prettier than Rome. Sure, I don't personally like the Medieval era as much as antiquity, but that's just because I took many more classical studies classes and ancient histories than Medieval histories. In fact, the last history I'm well-versed in is Later Roman History, which really only extends until about 700 A.D. with the emergence of Islam and the rapid loss of the Middle East by the Byzantine Empire. Poor Emperor Heraclius.. Anyhow, I've found this game to be an excellent title, and thanks to Steam and the shoddy quality of Empire: Total War it's likely to be the last Total War title I play for a while. Also, because my new computer hates Rome: Total War and likes to crash after several battles I've pretty much replaced it with Medieval 2. So far I've played England four times, France three times, the Holy Roman Empire twice, Spain twice, Sicily twice, Venice once, Milan twice, Scotland once, the Byzantine Empire twice, Russia once, the Moors once, Egypt once, Denmark once, Portugal twice, Poland once, and Hungary once. Considering how much I've played, and because I like writing FAQs (those opinions just get bottled up and need an outlet!) I decided to make this FAQ which describes the factions, their strengths, and their weaknesses. Using this FAQ {INT001} o======================================================================o Below I will list some of my quirks, organizational methods, and various other tidbits that will help you navigate this guide. For starters, during the main FAQ I'll break up the various chapters and organizational components of the guide with a large heading: o======================================================================o | | | Large Heading | | | o======================================================================o During the FAQ, I'll break up different areas with a thick line: Thick line o======================================================================o Multiple parts of a mission in the same area will be broken up with a thin line. This breaks up the missions into a series of steps, and limits how much unbroken text you'll have to read at once. Nobody likes wordiness: Thin line <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Of course, I reserve the right to break my own rules during the FAQ.. mostly due to being scatter-brained and working on the FAQ in shifts over the course of time. Life and all. So cut me some slack. Besides, this organizational scheme is mostly for consistency and ease-of-use. o======================================================================o | | | Picking your Faction {PCK000} | | | o======================================================================o Unlike in Rome: Total War, there are no overpowering factions in Medieval 2: Total War. In Rome you had the Romans (obviously) with arguably the best infantry and cavalry in the game. In Medieval 2, almost all European Christian factions have access to Feudal Knights, which are powerful melee and cavalry units in a pinch. In effect, the only way for you to find superior forces lies in looking at other factors. Namely good starting positions, good opportunities, and exceptional units. Keep in mind though, by 'exceptional', most units exceed Feudal Knights by a point or two at best. So, to break it down, this is how I 'score' factions. I consider the Garrison, Infantry, Cavalry, Archers, and starting locations of the factions and rate each of them separately. I then consider their strengths and give the faction a score that represents their relative ease of use and military strength. This is not an exact science, and frankly you'll get more by reading than by simply looking at the number of stars I give them. <<<GARRISON>>> {PCK001} o======================================================================o Some factions have vastly differing Garrison units than others. For instance, most Italian factions are completely able to rely on their Garrisons, whereas armies are mandatory for northern European factions. In the Garrison section I will rate the power, versatility, and economics of the factions' Garrison units taken as a whole. Keep in mind that Garrison units are rated individually as part of the factions' Infantry, Cavalry, or Archery corps. Since the primary function of a Garrison apart from the conventional army is to fill Garrisons with free upkeep units, a faction's Garrison rating will largely depend on the efficacy of the units that can be stationed in cities upkeep free. * This faction can only produce weak garrison units that lack versatility. ** This faction can produce weak garrison units, but they have good variety (Infantry and Archers, for example.) Or they have one exceptional unit. *** This faction can produce decent garrison units that are capable of holding cities without the help of castle-based armies. Granted, this might not mean that the garrison can survive a full, powerful army, but they aren't likely to get routed by a few strong units or many mediocre ones. The standard for comparison here are Italian Spear Militias. **** This factions can produce a variety of mediocre units, for example Italian Spear Militias and Pavise Crossbow Militias. Or they can produce one very powerful garrison unit that exceeds the base (Italian Spear Militias are overpowered by Byzantine Infantry.) ***** This faction has a powerful, versatile garrison, which can produce strong units capable of fending off castle-based armies. Bonus points for units that can be garrisoned upkeep free, and for factions with multiple types of units (Infantry, Archers, and Cavalry.) <<<INFANTRY>>> {PCK002} o======================================================================o All Catholic factions gain access to Dismounted Feudal Knights, and therefore these guys serve as the standard for comparing other infantry units to. Depending on relative power, economics, and ease-of-access of the factions units, I will rate each factions' Infantry, taking all the following factors into consideration: * The faction does not have access to Dismounted Feudal Knights, and the infantry they have instead is significantly less effective. ** The faction does not have access to Dismounted Feudal Knights, and the infantry they have instead is somewhat less effective. *** Dismounted Feudal Knights are the best, or on par with the best unit the faction receives. **** The faction has access to heavy infantry that is somewhat better than Dismounted Feudal Knights overall. ***** The faction has access to heavy infantry that is significantly better than Dismounted Feudal Knights overall. Statistics <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Dismounted Feudal Knights have a base Attack of 13, a base Defense of 21, one Hit Point, and come in squads of 120 (largest unit size setting). They also receive a Combat Bonus in Woods or Snow, have Good Morale, and Good Stamina. Any variations from the above stats affect the rating of this unit. Economics <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Dismounted Feudal Knights cost 570 florins, and have an upkeep of 225 florins per turn. Frankly, the upkeep of a unit is more important than its initial cost, as army upkeep is what will drain your coffers. Units range from 90 to around 400 florins of upkeep per turn. Anything above 225 florins a turn will negatively impact the units' rating, whereas anything below it will positively impact the units' rating. Accessibility <----------------------------------------------------------------------> You gain access to Dismounted Feudal Knights when you upgrade a Castle to a Fortress. It can be a big difference to get access to units with a Fortress as opposed to a Citadel. Being able to train units sooner will improve their rating, whereas a unit that takes longer to train will have a lower rating. <<<CAVALRY>>> {PCK003} o======================================================================o All Catholic factions have access to Feudal Knights, and just like with Infantry I will use the mounted versions to serve as a standard for comparison. Depending on relative power, economics, and ease-of-access I will rate the faction as follows. Note that I will count Missile Cavalry as both Archers and Cavalry, and rate them depending on their strengths in both categories. * The faction does not have access to Feudal Knights, and the cavalry they have instead is significantly less effective. ** The faction does not have access to Feudal Knights, and the cavalry they have instead is somewhat less effective. *** Feudal Knights are the best, or on par with the best unit the faction receives. **** The faction has access to heavy cavalry that is somewhat better than Feudal Knights overall. ***** The faction has access to heavy cavalry that is significantly better than Feudal Knights overall. Statistics <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Feudal Knights have a base Attack of 10, a base Defense of 16, one Hit Point, 80 soldiers per unit, and a Charge Bonus of 6. They also have the ability to form a wedge, the 'May Charge Without Orders' ability, and Good Stamina and Good Morale. The lack of May Charge Without Orders ability will be a plus on other Cavalry, as well stats and abilities that exceed those of the Feudal Knight. Obviously lower stats will result in a worse rating. Economics <----------------------------------------------------------------------> A unit of Feudal Knights costs 250 florins per turn to maintain. Other units that cost less will get a favorable score, units that are more expensive will have that factor considered negatively. Cavalry units can get fairly expensive, but few get noticeable cheaper than 250 florins.. at least, not without suffering in power. Accessibility <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Just like with Dismounted Feudal Knights, you get Feudal Knights when you upgrade a Castle to a Fortress. The longer it takes to get access to a unit, the lower it will be scored. <<<ARCHERS>>> {PCK004} o======================================================================o Rating Archers is trickier, as there no one 'standard' for the majority of the games' factions. However, as a number of factions gain access to Pavise Crossbowmen, we'll use those as a standard, although it might be somewhat high for an 'average'. * The faction does not have access to Pavise Crossbowmen, and the Archers they have instead is significantly less effective. ** The faction does not have access to Pavise Crossbowmen, and the Archers they have instead is somewhat less effective. *** Pavise Crossbowmen are the best, or on par with the best unit the faction receives. **** The faction has access to Archers that are is somewhat better than Pavise Crossbowmen overall. ***** The faction has access to Archers that is significantly better than Pavise Crossbowmen overall. Statistics <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Pavise Crossbowmen have a melee attack of 6, a ranged attack of 12, and 14 defense. They cost 125 florins for a unit of 120, and the useful traits "Effective Against Armor" and "Long-Rang Missiles". The biggest stat to keep track of is their ranged attack, followed by defense. Not having the two traits mentioned above should be viewed as a significant negative on other units. The more missile damage a unit does, the more they kill, obviously. The longer their missile range, the sooner they can fire on the enemy, upon which the entire usefulness of a ranged units hangs. A unit that gets outshot by other archers is at an extreme disadvantage. Economics <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Pavise Crossbowmen cost 125 florins per turn to maintain. Other units that cost less will get a favorable score, units that are more expensive will have that factor considered negatively. Most ranged units don't cost much more, unless they are hybrid units (good for infantry and archery.) Accessibility <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Most factions gain access to Pavise Crossbowmen from Archery Ranges, or from Militia Drill Squares. Units that are available earlier will be rated favorably. <<<NAVIES>>> {PCK005} o======================================================================o In Medieval 2: Total War, navies are pretty simple. You don't get to actually play out the battles, so there's really no tactical considerations to be made. Also, considering that the strength of any factions navy is mostly dependant on whether the ships they recruit are from a Port, Shipwright, or Dockyard, I won't get into Navies too much. Suffice to say, the winner of a Naval engagement solely depends on the strength and manpower of the Navy in question. o======================================================================o | | | FACTIONS {FAC000} | | | o======================================================================o Below I'll list all the factions in the game, discuss the strengths of their Garrisons, Infantry, Cavalry, Archers, and their starting Location. Each category has between a * and ***** rating. I'll total up all the scores and give the factions a rating based upon them. Since Medieval 2 is fairly well balanced (compared to Rome) all factions have between a 15 and a 22 rating, so they're all playable. This is the meat of the FAQ, and I'll try to tell HOW to use the units where applicable, and not just which ones to use. In the Location section I'll explain not only their starting position, but what you should do in the game. Keep in mind, your play experience will differ. If France is excommunicated while you're playing Milan, you might just end up taking Toulouse early, for example. As opportunities and challenges vary, so should your strategy. Rating: 20/25 o======================================================================o | | | ENGLAND {FAC001} | | | o======================================================================o England is one of the most powerful, well-mixed northern European factions in the game, with great Infantry, Archers, and above average Cavalry. Their gunpowder units aren't as strong as, say, Spain, but they do start out with a good location. All you have to do to make it as the British is defeat the Scots, secure the British Isles, and wait until you get Armoured Swordsmen. After that, France and the Holy Roman Empire should be easy to subdue. <<<GARRISON>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The English can get a powerful garrison. For militia units, Heavy Billmen are fairly good. By the time you get access to them though, you've probably already made it past the point at which having powerful standing garrisons would have been crucial. Still, it never hurts to have a good unit, even late. <<<INFANTRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> You might start out slow as England.. oh.. do you start out slow.. but England will eventually be able to field Armoured Swordsmen; extremely cost-effective knights that will allow them to spawn more professional armies than any other European faction. They might not have the outright most powerful army, but taking economics into account, they certainly have one of the best. England can also field English Knights, which are heavy on attack, but only moderate in defense. They are still a powerful, if more expansive unit. Until you get a barracks built, you'll need to rely on Billmen, which are decent infantry, and should be more than enough to hold back the Scots and French. <<<CAVALRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Nothing exceedingly great on the cavalry front, they have the English Knight, which is a slight improvement over the Feudal version.. still, many other factions possess better cavalry. Also, you'll be waiting a long time to get access to English Knights, when Feudal Knights will be available long beforehand. <<<ARCHERS>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Retinue Longbowmen are great archers, which good armor, range, and respectable missile damage. Of course, the French actually have better archers in their Scots' Guard, but Retinue Longbowmen are cheap and effective.. if a bit hard to get. While you wait for them, the English are well-served by Longbowmen and Yeomen Archers. <<<LOCATION>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The English are located on the British Isles, of course. This provides them a natural barrier against attack. If you have continental armies seriously threatening your safety on England, you're doing a miserable job. They have two rivals at the beginning of the game-the Scottish, and the French. Other powers, especially Milan, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Danes will cause you trouble eventually, but at first you need only seriously worry about the Scottish. Build a respectable army on the mainland to keep neighbors from viewing you as prey (make alliances, with France especially if you can to make life easier.) Take rebel settlements in the north early on to provide you with income, but focus most of your energy on the Scottish. They start out particularly strong, with a force of Highland Nobles to cause you trouble, but the margin of victory and defeat with them is one battle. If you can eliminate the Scottish and secure the British Isles, you can maintain all that property with one standing army.. especially when the Danes are dealt with. English lands aren't the richest, and until you can mass-produce Billmen you need to be careful. They certainly don't have the startup time that Italian armies do, but they're much safer than the Holy Roman Empire and France. Once you get Armoured Swordsmen, abuse them. If you get them quickly, you can get a significant jump on the enemy, and decimate foes with impunity. Rating: 20/25 o======================================================================o | | | FRANCE {FAC002} | | | o======================================================================o France is an appealing choice for any player familiar with the mechanics of Total War games. They have plenty of starting options, a strong Infantry, Cavalry, and Archers, and most of all, they have plenty of units to choose from in any of their branches. If you're a new gamer, they can be rough to get off the ground, as their better units require you to climb the tech tree fairly high. It might be delayed gratification, but it's worth it when you reach the pinnacle of Frances' might. <<<GARRISON>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> France starts with a standard garrison for catholic factions, the typical Spear Militia and Town Militia with a Crossbow Militia to give them some depth. They get Vouge Militias later on, and two forms of Pike troops if you keep upgrading, the latter of which comes late in the game. If you climb the tech tree high enough, France will gain access to Scots Guard (which come with the upgrade to a Huge City) and Gendarmes, which require a bit more work. What you end up with in France are cities that can produce reasonably powerful knights, great archers, and mediocre infantry. France has great diversity in their garrisons, but by the time you gain access to these units, France's armies have made them obsolete. Oh, and their mighty garrison units typically don't get the privilege of being upkeep free. <<<INFANTRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The French start out a bit weaker than England to the north, but they are mostly a match for the Holy Roman Empire. The real problem are the Milanese, which can field masses of Italian Spear Militias and Genoese Crossbow Militias. If you use Armored Sergeants until you can raise a Citadel you may just survive long enough to train Dismounted French Nobles, which are equal to English Knights. They might be expensive, but they make overwhelmingly powerful infantry. They'll suffer at range from archers since they lack a shield, but if they get into contact with the enemy, they're going to hurt them-a lot. <<<CAVALRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> As you'd expect, France has a staggering, even redundant selection of cavalry to choose from. If there's one thing France does well (and there's more than just one) it's cavalry. Not only do they have the typical Feudal Knights, but they also have Noble Knights, Lancers, and Chivalric Knights, the latter of which only requires a Baron's Stables to create. The Noble Knights are powerful and expensive, and more than a match for any other knight in the game. Even though all of France's most powerful castle-based cavalry has the annoying 'May Charge Without Orders' trait, their diversity, accessibility, and power make France perhaps the most cavalry-affluent faction in the game. <<<ARCHERS>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> You'd think, from a historical standpoint, that France would be relatively underpowered in the missile department, what with England constantly using their bowmen to win against France's heavy armor (the battles of Agincourt and Crecy for example). However, that is not The Creative Assembly's take on France, as they have two superb missile units, the castle-based Aventuriers and the city-based Scot's Guard. Both are excellent, heavily armed and armored archers, and frankly both are probably better than Retinue Longbowmen. They both take a while to get, however, and unlike England, France really doesn't have an answer for Longbowmen and Yeomen Archers. For the balance of the game you'll be stuck with Crossbowmen. Still, once you get them you'll have versatile and powerful archers you can recruit from both cities (Scot's Guard) and castles (Aventuriers). <<<LOCATION>>> ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> France starts out fairly compromised, with lots of room to expand and lots of competition. You can bet that within the first fifty turns you're going to have trouble with England, the Holy Roman Empire, Milan, Spain, Portugal, and Denmark. While by 'trouble' I don't necessarily mean open warfare, you will have to keep your borders guarded reasonably well to deter potential attacks. Looking at France's location, you can see this is going to be a feat, as armies to cover this much ground will be expensive. Getting hold of the eastern castles before the Holy Roman Empire is a must. With Metz and Bern you can provide reasonable protection for your eastern cities (Paris and Rheims), Angers and Caen will protect your northern coast, and Bordeaux and Toulouse will protect against invasions from Iberia. It's a bit of a task to secure these locations, but once you manage and stock them with Armored Sergeants you'll be off to a good start. Chances are, either Spain or Portugal will harass Rennes or Bordeaux. Milan typically expands into Bern and/or Dijon, and will challenge Marseille-sooner rather than later if you leave it unprotected. England will be a pain eventually, requiring you to expend resources garrisoning against them in Angers. Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire are usually at odds with each other before they bother you, but Denmark may well seize Bruges and/or Antwerp before you can, and the Holy Roman Empire will contest the eastern castles with you. Starting too many wars will run you dry and cause you to have trouble with the Pope. The key to France is early expansion followed by settling in and climbing the tech trees. Allying with your neighbors in the early going will buy you some time, and allying with the Pope before you get into fights with other Catholic factions will allow you to recover from the inevitable loss of favor. The LAST thing you want to do as France is get excommunicated. The CPU does it all the time and it typically ends with them losing Toulouse. Don't follow suit. With such a staggering series of challenges, the best advice that can be given is to secure at LEAST one castle in the east and get some Armored Sergeants training to withstand the Billmen of England, the rival Spearmen of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Italian Spear Militias of Milan. Your first conquest after securing what is modern-day France should be to exert control over the British Isles. If you can land a fleet at Nottingham and create a base of operations there, you can fight a war of attrition against the English while staying on the defensive on the continent. Once England is yours (which may take a bit, depending on how anal the Pope is) you can defend it with just one army. This will provide the revenue you need to expand your castles on the continent and slowly exert control over your neighbors. Tackling Iberia is a good second move, as it has a good number of castles for the taking, which can then guard adjacent cities. If you ever have enough money to create three standing armies to invade in one direction while maintaining your border presence, you're on your way. Breaking into Italy and central Europe will be a chore, considering that France will be almost entirely reliant upon castle-spawned armies for their military might, multiple armies to conquer and allow depleted units to retreat and get retrained are a must. Once your income is high enough to expand with impunity, France can expand its borders by leap-frogging multiple armies with the ultimate goal of conquering castles and forts. Rating: 15/25 o======================================================================o | | | HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE {FAC003} | | | o======================================================================o What does the game mean when it says the Holy Roman Empire doesn't get the late period professional armies that France and England do? Well, frankly, both France and England have stronger, more diverse units, while the Holy Roman Empire largely relies on outdated plate armor, maces, and tactics. Does this mean they are a weak faction? Not really, but their units just aren't as overwhelming as other European factions. A good choice for an intermediate gamer looking for a bit of a challenge. Most of their units are no more powerful than the standard Feudal variety, but Zweihanders and Imperial Knights add a flavor that is wholly German to an otherwise uninspiring Catholic faction. <<<GARRISON>>> ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> What you'd expect of a Catholic faction, they have Town, Spear, and Crossbow Militias in the early going, and eventually get Halberd and Pike Militias, none of which are all that good. Their one odd and exceptional unit in the garrison are the Forlorn Hope, a unit of powerful two-handed swordsmen that outclass Zweihanders. They're relatively cheap, too. The only problem? They take forever to gain access to, and they only have half the unit size of a normal infantry unit. More interesting than useful really, and compared to the garrison units other factions get, it just doesn't make sense why Forlorn Hope is so limited, when say, Varangian Guard is stronger and suffers no such handicap. <<<INFANTRY>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Holy Roman Empire doesn't have very powerful infantry units. They get Dismounted Imperial Knights, and although they are 'Effective Against Armour' their stats are patently inferior to the Dismounted Feudal Knight. Their Zwei-Handers are weaker than the standard as well, but at least they are appreciably cheaper. Even still, to get them you need to upgrade to an Armoury, so pick your poison. You'll probably have to settle for Armoured Sergeants to survive the first part of the game, and be really choosy with who you attack. Feudal armies aren't going to be cheap enough to give you the number of armies you'd need to war on all fronts. <<<CAVALRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Holy Roman Empire is able to recruit Imperial Knights-which are the equivalent of English Knights-and they only need access to an Earl's Stable to do so. In fact, these knights don't even require a stable if you're willing to wait for a Citadel! On the expensive end, the Holy Roman Empire also can recruit Gothic Knights, which are almost as powerful as the crusader knights. Ultimately, their Cavalry is slightly better than normal. <<<ARCHERS>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The best missile unit the Holy Roman Empire can recruit are Pavise Crossbowmen, which makes them utterly average in the ranged department. They can recruit Mounted Crossbowmen as well, but they aren't really anything special. <<<LOCATION>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Holy Roman Empire is in the middle of Europe. Nowhere else is there more competition for land or more borders to defend. In the north you'll contend with Denmark. Poland and Hungary lie in the east, the Italian states in the south, and France and England in the west. For all this, however, the Holy Roman Empire has less ambitious adversaries than, say, France. Venice and Sicily will likely ignore you, and if you expand early and keep a border presence you'll turn the Holy Roman Empire's biggest liability into a true asset. Granted, it takes some experience to do, but if you seize Hamburg in the north you can keep Denmark at bay. Taking Metz will provide defense against France and Bern will hold back Milan. The big competitor for your potential lands is Poland in the east, so grab Stettin and fortify it to keep them at bay. If you ally with all your neighbors, expand into the aforementioned castles and build up garrisons you'll put yourself into an extremely strong position. Milan is likely to be the primary agitator in the early going, as it seems to always be dangerously ambitious. Take Florence so you have two cities in Italy from which you can train troops and hopefully hold back a Milanese attack. For advanced players, if you move fast, secure early victories, and hold your ground you can get the Holy Roman Empire off the ground in a big way, then rest up until they have access to more powerful troops. By turn forty I had eliminated Milan, controlled a total of twenty territories, and was ready to drive Hungary from Budapest. I also had 140,000 florins, and interestingly enough a military score of 140,000, with a crusading army en route to Antioch. That's a stellar start by any measure. It's not an obviously promising position, but with a little gusto in the early going you can secure it very well. Also, the computer simply doesn't seem as tenacious with attacking the Holy Roman Empire as it does with, say France. By the time Denmark, France, and Poland become a problem you've had time to prepare for them. Some of the Holy Roman Empire's lands are fairly rich in iron, and they have immediate access to the textiles in Italy as well, not to mention the gold mine in Ragusa and the amber and silver mines in Poland. Rating: 19/25 o======================================================================o | | | SPAIN {FAC004} | | | o======================================================================o Spain is the undisputed master faction of the Iberian peninsula. They have the north-western and central part of the map well locked up, and with just a tiny bit of gusto they can secure additional areas and out-produce the Moors. Portugal-although arguable a military match for Spain-are at a severe disadvantage economically, and should be easy to depose. They combine a cheap and powerful infantry (Sword and Buckler Men and Swordsmen Militias) with good gunpowder units and access to Chivalric Knights to devastating results. <<<GARRISON>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> In addition to all the typical Catholic units, Spain gains access to Swordsmen Militias, which are cost-effective, powerful units well-suited for protecting your cities. They also can train Musketeers, one of the more powerful gun units in the game. It might take time, but your cities wont have to rely on Spear Militias. They also get Jinetes, which can support your armies while you wait for Feudal Knights. <<<INFANTRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> In addition to the standard Dismounted Feudal Knights, Spain can train the powerful and cost-effective Sword and Buckler Men, which are nearly as strong as Feudal Knights, but at nearly half the cost. They also get Dismounted Chivalric Knights, which are a teeny bit more powerful than Dismounted Feudal Knights at the same upkeep. <<<CAVALRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> As I mentioned earlier, the big boon for Spain are their Chivalric Knights. Unlike the Dismounted Chivalric Knights, the mounted versions are appreciably more powerful than Feudal Knights. It's really all Spain has, but it's a good addition, especially for the same upkeep. <<<ARCHERS>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Aside from Pavise Crossbowmen, Spain really only has Musketeers. They're good, especially against armor, but you get them so late it's not a great advantage. <<<LOCATION>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Unlike Portugal, Spain starts out with Leon and Toledo, which are adjacent, if nothing else. With quick expansion they can seize Valencia and Zaragoza. Your first move should be to drive the Moors out of Iberia, and with the resources you gain from those new territories, turn on Portugal. Toledo is a great castle that tends to grow quickly.. which is useful, considering Spain needs a Fortress to get going, and a Citadel to become powerful. In all, Spain is probably the faction the most well-suited for seizing Iberia. Once this is done you should either slowly expand through France or the more profitable African provinces. If you succeed in conquering Iberia, you should be nearly invulnerable.. ignoring a catastrophic series of defeats. Rating: 19/25 o======================================================================o | | | SICILY {FAC005} | | | o======================================================================o While Milan might start out richer, I typically prefer playing Sicily. I consider them to be the most powerful Italian Army in the game, which makes them candidate for the strongest faction out there. Most of their perks rely on maintaining castles though, and there are certainly some tricks you must pull to get them off the ground easily. For starters, gaining control of Florence and allying with the Pope are both musts. After that, surviving Milan's unpredictable early advances should be your top priority. If you leave a poorly defended city, around, don't be surprised if a Milanese navy leaves an army behind to cause you trouble. Once Italy is secured, Sicily can progress at leisure through the game. Most enemies will fall to militia armies, and when that doesn't work, there are always Norman Knights. <<<GARRISON>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Like all Italians factions, Sicily has great militia units. Italian Spear Militias will out-class European Militias for most of the game, and at a bargain, too. However, when push comes to shove, Sicily has a noticeable less versatile garrison selection than other Italians. What more could you need than Italian Spear Militias and Pavise Crossbow Militias? Well, the ability recruit cavalry without a merchant's guild and round out your garrison armies fully would be nice. Also, demerits for having such a poor selection of gun units. Hand Gunners don't count as gunmen, they're just guys in armor hoping they don't get killed by their own backfire. <<<INFANTRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Sicilians have the Dismounted Norman Knight-instead of the Dismounted Feudal Knight.. which is practically the same thing. They do have Sword and Buckler men as well, which are patently superior to Broken Lances, and cheap to boot. Overall Sicily has access to a rather versatile infantry corps. <<<CAVALRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Like with infantry, all Sicily does is swap out the Feudal Knight for the Norman Knight. Fortunately though, you get a lot more bang for your buck. The Norman Knight is almost as strong as a general's bodyguard (sans the hitpoints), or about as strong as your typical knightly order. This gives them an obvious bonus in the cavalry department, and puts them on a higher tier than most other cavalries. <<<ARCHERS>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Like other Italian factions, Sicily receives Pavise Crossbowmen and Pavise Crossbow Militias, and fairly early on in the case of cities. They also can train Muslim Archers, but they're not really any better than Pavise Crossbowmen. In fact, Muslim Archers are inferior to both Venetian Archers and any Genoese Crossbowmen. Still, it's nothing a great cavalry can't fix. <<<LOCATION>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Sicily is safely barricaded behind the Papal States in southern Italy, and if you ally with the Pope, you'll be pretty well protected against land armies. Unfortunately, you'll have to hit the seas to expand anywhere. Your first move should be to take Florence, and thus contest the northern Italian factions as well. As long as you locally outproduce your competitors, you'll be able to do well against Milan. If you expand across to Durazzo you'll probably get into scraps with Venice and the Byzantine Empire, so you might want to hold off on that until you've ousted Milan and the Holy Roman Empire from Italy. If you take the islands to the west you'll probably have to worry about invasions from Spain, Portugal, the Moors, and/or Milan, so it would do you well to keep them fortified. After claiming Italy you've got more options, but few clear cut opportunities. You should be more than a match for Iberia if you move quickly, and if you eliminate the Moors you'll have access to the plentiful resources around Timbuktu and Arguin. Rating: 20/25 o======================================================================o | | | VENICE {FAC006} | | | o======================================================================o Venice starts out in a promising position, and with a little work they can begin making massive amounts of income while their militias hold off competitors long enough for their castles to evolve, enabling them to train some of the best infantry units in the game for the price. Every Italian faction has something to boast, Milan has its archers, Sicily has Norman Knights, and Venice has Venetian Heavy Infantry. <<<GARRISON>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Another Italian faction, the Venetians have powerful early-game militias. In addition to the Italian Spear Militias and Pavise Crossbow Militias all Venetian garrisons can train cavalry in cities. Once the city gets big enough they can even train Broken Lances, giving Venice a well-rounded and potent garrison indeed. <<<INFANTRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Surprisingly, Venice has a healthy selection of infantry, including their unique Venetian Heavy Infantry, which is balanced in offense and defense, effective against armor, cheap, and powerful at charging. This is all the infantry you'll ever need, and I'd put them up against Dismounted Feudal Knights any day. The only real weakness they have is the lack of "Good Morale", which makes them a touch more finicky than knights. Other than that they get Dismounted Men at Arms, which are less powerful and cheaper than Dismounted Feudal Knights.. at least in the initial purchase. <<<CAVALRY>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Although they have Men at Arms, Venices' best cavalry units are still Feudal Knights. I don't know why they make you wait so long to get a crappy unit like Stradiots, but overall Venice just breaks even with their cavalry. <<<ARCHERS>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Not only does Venice have the Pavise Crossbow Militias you'd expect of Italy, they also have Venetian Archers, which are bow-carrying, heavily armored substitutes, all in all on par with Pavise Crossbow Militias. They aren't effective against armor, and they cost more, but they fire faster. And they look spiffy walking behind Venetian Heavy Infantry. <<<LOCATION>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> As the description says, Venice has a great defensive start. They're spread out next to a number of rebel cities just begging to be conquered, and although they're rather far flung, within the first couple of turns they can easily double their territory. Also, as an Italian faction with strong militias, they can hold their territories with ease. They are adjacent to the Byzantine Empire, which, if you move quickly is very vulnerable in the early game to the far-superior Italian Militias. If you wait too long and the Byzantines get access to Byzantine Infantry you'll probably regret it. The obvious first move is to take Florence before Milan can. Once you have two cities in Italy, you're as likely as anybody to take control of the entire peninsula. Afterwards, you should build up garrisons and wait for Milan to leave itself vulnerable, whilst focusing your army on taking out the Byzantine Empire. This will eventually end up provoking Hungary and the Turks, but if you take the Byzantine territories, you'll be able to out-finance them. Rating: 19/25 o======================================================================o | | | MILAN {FAC007} | | | o======================================================================o Milan is probably the most obviously 'Italian' of the Italian factions. Their units just aren't as diverse as Sicily and Venice. For example, Sicily draws upon Norman Knights and Muslim archers, and Venice has unique infantry and archers. Milan, however, has the best archers of the three factions, and the typically Italian Men at Arms and Broken Lances. <<<GARRISON>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Milan possibly has the most complete, powerful garrison in the game. Like the other Italian factions they can recruit Italian Spear Militias, but they also have the improved Genoese Crossbow Militias. It's not a huge improvement, but any edge is worth having. They can also train Broken Lances and Famiglia Ducale eventually, which are expensive, but on par to Feudal Knights. This versatility means Milan never really has to use castles.. in fact, their armies are so weak it might be a better idea to simply convert some castles into cities. <<<INFANTRY>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Milan is the most limited Italian faction when it comes to infantry, and will have to rely on Feudal Knights for the most difficult battles. Dismounted Men at Arms and Broken Lances just aren't superior. <<<CAVALRY>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Milanese don't really have anything special to talk about in the cavalry department, although they do get a great variety they can recruit from cities. Their best units are Feudal Knights, although Famiglia Ducale are an expensive alternative. <<<ARCHERS>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Instead of Pavise Crossbowmen and Militias, the Milanese have Genoese versions, which are superior to the normal versions. In addition to better stats, they have better abilities, as well. <<<LOCATION>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Of all the Italian factions Milan is the one that is best able to secure Italy in quick order. They control both Milan and Genoa, and are capable of taking Florence in short order as well. With three prosperous Italian cities in hand early on, you can quickly stock up on garrison units and expel Venice and the Holy Roman Empire from Italy. If you're quick you can also secure yourself a base to the north, ideally taking Dijon. With the northern European factions suffering from poor castle units and outmatched militia units, you can pretty much have your way with France and the Holy Roman Empire in the early going. Expand west first, as the Holy Roman Empire is by far the weaker of the threats you'll have. If you can eradicate France, you can then decide on whether to assault Iberia or England next.. after taking Italy for yourself, of course. Abuse your superior militia units, your prosperous cities, and your local superiority in Italy and you'll be fine. Before making any overseas ventures, just keep in mind that each island you take will need powerful garrisons in case Sicily, Spain, Portugal, or the Moors attack, and this isn't cost-effective when one strong garrison army can threaten numerous French and Holy Roman territories. Rating: 15/25 o======================================================================o | | | SCOTLAND {FAC008} | | | o======================================================================o Scotland is an.. interesting faction. Of all the factions in the game, Scotland seems the most unfinished, and the most related to a Rome: Total War faction. Not a good one, mind you, like Rome, the Selucid Empire, or Egypt, but one of those half-completed barbarian factions whom, for a lack of historical evidence or longetitivity got stuck having various warbands. This doesn't mean Scotland is bad, in fact, they've got a good infantry, but they receive no gunmen whatsoever, cannons excluded, and they can only upgrade their city barracks to Militia Drill Squares. I don't know.. a lot of their units seem to be based around the pike, which is historically accurate.. at least for a large period of time during which the game takes place during, but the idea that Scotland would simply not evolve with the times is hard for me to swallow. Even the Byzantine Empire had some innovations, and they were conquered in 1453! Would fear of English cavalry keep Scotland mired into pike formations late into the 1500s? Did a crossbow never find its way into Scottish hands? Is the alternative any better though, to simply invent Scottish units in the case that in an alternate game world Scotland conquered England and became more prominent? In any event, if Scotland is able to copy Feudal Knights, they should have Pavise Crossbow Men as well. Or failing that, they should have Scots Guard. I mean, France gets better Scottish archers than Scotland? Seriously? <<<GARRISON>>> * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Scotland has a rather poor garrison. For starters, they don't get any archers from cities whatsoever, and their Scots Pike Militias just suck. They will get Noble Pikemen, which are decent units, but they are few, and require a Huge City to get them. Also, they don't get free upkeep, which kinda sucks considering that they're pretty expensive. Still, access to a halfway decent unit is better than nothing. <<<INFANTRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The one thing Scotland does well is infantry. Noble Swordsmen are just great. They're cheaper and stronger than Dismounted Feudal Knights, although you have to wait for a Citadel to get them. In the mean time you can get Highland Nobles fairly soon, and they're more than a match for other Castle-based units, especially early on. They're not a subtle, defensive unit, but you can create them in mass, mixed in with Highlanders (if you need to get your numbers up). Their good early to mid game infantry means they can take land at leisure early on. Their Noble Swordsmen mean they can keep it. <<<CAVALRY>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The one unique horse of Scotland, Border Horse, are decent light cavalry, but no match for the Mailed Knights the rest of Europe will have. Later on they get Feudal Knights, and that's as good as you get with Scotland. <<<ARCHERS>>> ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Instead of Peasant Archers and Crossbowmen Scotland has Highland Archers, which are a fair substitute. Later they get Noble Highland Archers, which are better, but still not as good as Pavise Crossbowmen, and certainly no match for England's Retinue Longbowmen.. or Yeomen Archers, for that matter. Decently defended, Scotland fields something that's more of a hybrid unit than a full archer, and although they decent stats, they're not effective against armor and they don't have long range missiles. <<<LOCATION>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> They share the British Isles with England, which is a great starting position for anybody. If you're quick, you can jump on York before England, and even grab hold of Dublin. Whoever gains more cities faster will win the British Isles. Although England out-fights them later in the game, you'll find Highland Nobles to be a match for Billmen. You need to be wary of England's heavier cavalry and better archers, but Highlanders are cheap and effective units for early Scottish expansion. Once you take Nottingham, England is all but finished. Kick them off the island and you'll be in a prime position to expand where you wish. A good move after England would be to either harass Denmark, or invade France, where your infantry superiority can do good things for you, before the enemy has a chance to tech up. Rating: 21/25 o======================================================================o | | | THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE {FAC009} | | | o======================================================================o Oh Byzantines, how I love you. Let me count the ways.. anybody who loved Rome: Total War should, in theory, love the Byzantine Empire. After all, who doesn't love the deluded bastard child of a faction that ruled in an earlier game? The Byzantines are about as 'Roman' as the United States today are English. Sure, we started out there.. but a lot has changed. In any event, the Byzantines have a lot of weapons, in fact, if you ignore the fact that they're woefully under-equipped in the gunpowder territory (I know I do!) they might just be one of the most versatile factions in the game. They can go toe to toe with Catholic factions thanks to their expensive Latinkon, and they can go with cheaper-but-effective units like Dismounted Byzantine Lancers and Byzantine Guard Archers. If that's not good enough, they have strong horse archers (totally outclassing the Mounted Crossbowmen of western powers) and Byzantine Infantry, strong garrison units that keep even the Italian militias at bay. Best of all, they have perhaps the strongest city-based infantry unit in the game, the fearsome Varangian Guard. The only chore is keeping the Byzantines alive long enough to bring all these weapons to bare. <<<GARRISON>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Byzantine garrisons don't start out too promising. In fact, they get the same units most Catholic factions do. However, when you get a Militia Drill Square you'll be able to start training units of Byzantine Infantry, which are powerful and cheap. Sure, they're not quite a match for Dismounted Feudal Knights, but they're much more affordable, and really, they can go the distance with most other infantries. Then there are the Varangian Guard units.. Which are almost as powerful as Dismounted English Knights for much less upkeep. It takes a bit to get them, and you can never train very many at once, but this is probably the strongest garrison unit in the game. A city full of Varangian Guard doesn't have to worry about much. The best part is, cheap as they are Byzantine Infantry and Varangian Guard are both able to garrison in cities upkeep free. <<<INFANTRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> In addition to their great militia infantries, the Byzantines get a slightly more powerful version of their Byzantine Infantry at Castles. Dismounted Byzantine Lancers are pretty much the exact same thing as Byzantine Infantry, but with better abilities. This ensures that both their cities and castles have good troops they can call upon. Just to round things out, they also get Dismounted Latinkon, which are Byzantine versions of Dismounted Feudal Knights. And of course, when you just need power you can throw in Varangian Guard, which are as strong as Infantry gets. <<<CAVALRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> There's not really much spectacular on the cavalry front of the Byzantine Empire. They have Latinkon, which match up well against Feudal Knights. They also have Byzantine Lancers, which are cheaper, weaker alternatives. Their real advantage lies in their Vardariotai, powerful horse archers that are about as strong in melee as Feudal Knights. Once they've discharged their missiles, they make very good, very fast cavalry in a pinch. Also, you can recruit them very early in a castle, making them units you'll probably learn to abuse early, and keep using throughout the game. In fact, in most 'complete' Byzantine armies I forgo the use of normal cavalry in favor of Vardariotai. If that's not enough, you also can train Kataphractoi. They're not really a match for Latinkon, but, well, versatility is still something, no? <<<ARCHERS>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Byzantines will get access to Trebizond Archers fairly early on, which might not be the best archers in the game, but they'll see you through your initial struggles. They're the Byzantine equivalent of Longbowmen, and will ensure that you outclass neighboring factions' archers. Later on you'll be able to upgrade to Byzantine Guard Archers, which are mostly a match for the Pavise Crossbowmen who will plague your borders. They don't have long ranged missiles, but they have good stats otherwise, and double as effective infantry units. Last but not least you have Vardariotai, amongst other cavalry archers. Not only are they as strong as Feudal Knights, they are effective archers as well. How to use them? Read below. <<<LOCATION>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Byzantine Empire starts out fairly compromised and spread out. They have access to numerous areas to expand, but taking them will bring you into conflict with Hungary, the Turks, and most importantly, Venice. No matter what you try, your odds of staying out of trouble with Venice is slim. So, when you can't join 'em, beat 'em. Take Iraklion from them as soon as it's vulnerable. Heading west and taking Durazzo will provoke Venice, and it'll be difficult to hold such a small city against Venice and it's Italian Militias. If anything, you should take Ragusa so you have a base of operations which has a legitimate chance of stopping Venetian invasions without importing new troops. After you secure the areas around Constantinople and have firm footing against Venice you should play it defensively for a while, at least until you have access to Dismounted Byzantine Lancers or Byzantine Infantry to rightfully contend the Italian Spear Militias of Venice. If you really need to, Byzantine Spearmen, Trebizond Archers, and Vardariotai will provide a serviceable if not impressive early army. Survive, secure the local areas, and pit the resources of Greece and Asia Minor against those of Italy. The Byzantines don't really have a great front that they can press, but their proximity to Italy makes it a good target. If you keep pushing omni-directionally and leap-frogging standing garrisons you should have little trouble out fighting your neighbors, just so long as you survive the first forty rounds or so. Once you take Italy and incorporate its large, rich cities into your empire you'll be nigh unstoppable. The biggest factor in easily surviving the initial turns of the game is using Vardariotai effectively. As heavy cavalry, they'll outpower anything your neighbors throw at you, and against infantry they can be brutal. Set up your archers and infantry away from the enemy and keep them on defense, preferably on high ground. Use your Vardariotai independently as a detached unit from your main army and advance them along the flank of the enemy. Keep them on higher ground, along the path the enemy army will advance. If they're on high ground, have a line of fire to the enemy, and don't get caught in melee you can kill anywhere from 10%-30% of an enemy army of Italian Militia units as they approach with just four units of Vardariotai. This doesn't even include the extra casualties they'll inflict when they're out of ammo and get to chase down (hopefully) tired, demoralized, and routing units. An army of 10 Byzantine Spearmen, 6 Trebizond Archers, and 4 Vardariotai used defensively can easily thwart any enemy in the early game. Keep your Vardariotai away from Pavise Crossbowmen, as they'll be outranged and out-gunned unless they have much higher ground. Also, siege equipment can make you sad in your pants if you aren't careful. So, this was a long description, but lets summarize. Secure local rebel settlements as normal. Then take the islands of Rhodes and Iraklion, and hold ground against Venice. Make maneuvers to take land from the Turks, Hungary, and Venice. If you can build one full army (see above) and siege a city you should be able to hold on defensively until they are worn down, or attack to disastrous results. After you get Byzantine Infantry/Dismounted Byzantine Lancers expand with abandon, just as quickly as you can build up armies and take new training sources on the front. Set your aims for Italy, but don't miss opportunities if other enemies leave themselves open. Rating: 20/25 o======================================================================o | | | RUSSIA {FAC010} | | | o======================================================================o At first glance, Russia looks more problematic than prosperous, as they only control one territory and none of their units are overwhelmingly powerful. However, there is opportunity in their seclusion, and although their units wont out-stat European armies, they are extremely versatile and most of the time are cheaper. To help even things out, many of them have the "Effective Against Armor" ability, which will help even the odds. <<<GARRISON>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> What Russian garrisons lack in power, they make up for in versatility. They can train Spear Militias, Archer Militias, and Cavalry Militias from any city. When they progress far enough they will be able to produce Berdiche Axemen. They aren't quite Varangian Guard, but they have good attack, reasonable defense, "Good Morale" and "Good Stamina", and are "Effective Against Armor". It's not the best, but it sure beats being stuck with Spear Militias. They beat out Italian Militias as well.. if only they had good archers to back them up.. <<<INFANTRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Attack 11 and Defense 15 are the operative stats for Russian infantries, with both Dismounted Boyar Sons and Dismounted Druzhina having the same stats and abilities. This might not be the 13 Attack 21 Defense of Feudal Knights, but since both infantries are a good bit cheaper and "Effective Against Armor" which makes them just as good in my eyes. Since you get two unit pools to recruit from, Russia can draw powerful armies out of a Fortress with unmatched speed. Until you get them you'll have to settle for Spearmen, which are just as strong as Italian Spear Militias. Decent infantries recruitable en masse from Fortresses, with good defensive spearmen until you get there? Sounds good to me. When you just need to have power though, there's always Berdiche Axemen. <<<CAVALRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Again with the 11 Attack 15 Defense the Russians have Druzhinas, which are capable heavy cavalry that's roughly on par with Feudal Knights. When you climb to the top of the tech tree you'll be able to recruit Tsars Guard, which are ridiculously powerful cavalry units. Russian cavalry is-as a rule-a little weak on the charge, but otherwise they are more than a match for Feudal Knights, and Tsars Guard just might be the most powerful cavalry in the game. In addition, they gain access to Dvor Cavalry, which are as strong as Feudal Knights themselves, but good cavalry archers to boot. In my mind they're not as strong as Vardariotai, since they're not as fast and hence not as good at skirmishing, but they do have great missile damage for a cavalry archer. They also require extra work to recruit, whereas Vardariotai can be trained very early. End of the story, however, for having two types of good missile cavalry (Cossack Cavalry and Dvor Cavalry) a unit capable of matching Feudal Knights when you need to (Druzinhas) and a super powerful and expensive unit of cavalry (Tsars Guard) the Russians get the top score. <<<ARCHERS>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> In addition to the standard (and poor) Archer and Crossbow Militias Russia can train Dismounted Dvor, which lose none of their potency in switching from horseback to infantry. They are strong hybrid unit with good Attack, Missile Attack, and Defense. They also have "Long Ranged Missiles", "Good Morale" and "Good Stamina". You'll pay for their versatility, however, as at 225 florins per turn they're one of the most expensive archers. You also get the pleasure of commanding Dvor, which are potent missile cavalry. Although they're nearly as good as Vardariatoi, they're not nearly as necessary. Once you get access to gunpowder you'll be able to train Cossack Musketeers from any Huge City. These guys are nearly as good as Portuguese Musketeers, being less armored and more vulnerable to missiles, but with better attack. <<<LOCATION>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Russians might be off by themselves in the middle of nowhere, but this provides them plenty of opportunity to consolidate their power and claim a great, easily defended, prosperous stretch of land composed of the north eastern provinces. There's really no reason they can't take all the territory north of the Black Sea, and if you're quick you can expand west and take the castles bordering Poland and Hungary (Vilnius, Halych, and Iasi), building up a strong defensive wall of armies. As long as the Mongols and Timurids don't appear by Sarkel and decide to gut your lands, you're as secure as can be. After you take the north east you have plenty of expansion opportunities. Taking Denmark is a good way to grab three territories, all of which can be guarded from Hamburg. The areas around Kiev and Caffa have slaves to trade, which will help your conquests of Denmark. After you eradicate the Danes, you might want to postpone any further assaults until you have more Fortresses. Once you can train Dismounted Boyar Sons and Druzhina, you can take out Poland and Hungary on a whim. Rating: 22/25 o======================================================================o | | | MOORS {FAC011} | | | o======================================================================o The Moors are one of the most integrated Muslim factions in the game, as befits them historically. Having occupied Catholic Iberia, the Moors eventually get a number of 'Catholic' units, such their own versions of heavy infantry and cavalry. Even El Cid fought for Moorish leaders! They are an interesting blend of Muslim, African, and Catholic forces that get off to a slow start, but have a great position in Iberia and Africa. Although they have weak archers, their infantry, cavalry, and versatile militias make up for it. Lets just say that a full-stacked late game Moorish army was the ONLY single army I've ever been able to field against a full army of Timurids led by their faction leader and supported by Elephants and emerge victorious (although it was a close victory.) <<<GARRISON>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> From the early going the Moors have a versatile, if not overwhelming garrison. They can train both infantry and archers once sufficiently upgraded, and with a good enough racing track you train Granadine Jinetes, whose range attacks will serve you well against the superior infantries of neighboring Catholics. Arab Cavalry, also from racing tracks are a about as good as Merchant Cavalry Militias. Once you upgrade to a Huge City you can recruit Christian Guard units from a city, which are cavalry on par with any knightly order. The big star of their garrison units are Urban Militias, which are the Moorish equivalent of Byzantine Infantry or Swordsman Militia. In fact, it's such a good infantry your cities will most likely be a better source of soldiery than your castles for most of the game! It's a versatile militia in the early game, and powerful late in the game. How do the Moors stack up against Milan? Well, Urban Militia and Christian Guards are obvious improvements over the Milanese garrison units, but Genoese Crossbowmen far outclass the Crossbow Militias the Moors get. The end of the day? Flip a coin. They both have superior garrisons. <<<INFANTRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> It's rough in the early going as the Moors. Until you get a Fortress you're going to be stuck with Spear Militias. Berber Spearmen are only a tiny improvement, and frankly it's just easier relying on militias early on. Once you have a fortress however, you'll get Dismounted Arab Cavalry, which are as powerful as Italian Spear Militias. Now think about it. At the same time Catholics are getting Dismounted Feudal Knights, you're getting Italian Spear Militia-equivalents. That's not a good matchup, and worse, they don't become available to train terribly quickly. You can train Lamtuna Spearmen if you build a Barracks, but they're not really an improvement. So why the five stars? One, you'll get Urban Militias from your bigger Iberian cities quickly enough to field them against Feudal units. Second, they will eventually get Dismounted Christian Guards. These guys have "good morale", "good stamina", 16 attack, 23 defense, and all for an upkeep of 175 florins a turn. This perhaps the most powerful castle-based unit in the game, and wrestles with Varangian Guard for the most powerful infantry. It takes a while, but once you can field them, you're going to absolutely dominate your opposition. <<<CAVALRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Moorish cavalry is both varied, and largely incapable of matching Catholic factions in head-on conflicts. Arab Cavalry makes decent light cavalry, and Granadine Jinetes are both good light cavalry and good missile cavalry. Still, for the best cavalry units the Moors have in the early parts of the game they can't compete with Mailed Knights or- just to throw out an example-Vardariatoi. You can get Granadine Lancers from Fortresses, but they're only a one point upgrade over Arab Cavalry for the full cost of a Feudal Knight. Only when you get Huge Cities or Caliph's Stables do you gain access to the mighty Christian Guard, which are as powerful as the knightly orders and as cost-effective as heavy cavalry gets. It takes a while, but they do get a unit capable of competing with the Catholic factions. <<<ARCHERS>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> You'll quickly find out that despite the fact that the Moors have plenty of missile units, they have very few goods ones. Desert Archers are decent missile units, and I ended up using them for most of the game. They are, however, inferior to Pavise Crossbowmen. Their Peasant Crossbowmen are stronger than those fielded by Catholic factions, but they're not much of a substitute either. They get a host of missile cavalry, but again, most aren't great as just archers, although Granadine Jinetes are overall decent units (they sure made a mess of the Papal Guard I fought when attacking Rome!) The only saving grace the Moors have are their Sudanese Arquebusiers, which are decent gunmen, even if they are poor on defense and lacking long ranged missiles. Again, it's their variety rather than any overwhelming units that bring them up to snuff.. just barely. Their Camel Gunners are also worth a mention, they come late, and they're expensive. They are, however, fairly powerful, although I've found them to be quite vulnerable to cavalry, which Granadine Jinetes can outrun better. <<<LOCATION>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Moors are strongly entrenched in southern Iberia, and they also possess Marrakesh and Algiers. If you quickly recruit as much of a garrison as you can in Corduba, it can easily protect both itself and Granada, and by extension, the land route into Africa. Marrekesh can be protected by Algiers in the east, making you fairly well-protected against all land advances, and in the early going Portugal and Spain shouldn't be too aggressive with their navies. You MUST build up Corduba quickly, however, as the Catholic factions around you will leap upon any vulnerability, and Spain and Portugal both start out with land armies enough to defeat the starting forces of the Moors. Unlike most other factions, with the Moors you should focus on defense right from the start. Build up town garrisons and convert Granada into a city.. the early forces recruited from a castle aren't anything special, and you could do with the money more than the pathetic units you can recruit. This means building up Spear Militias in Corduba and Marrakesh, upgrading cities, and biding your time. When you have a strong enough army in Marrakesh, take it down to attack Timbuktu and Arquin. These cities can both be easily conquered by a relatively small general-led army of garrison forces (about eight units or so is probably more than enough.) Not only will this add to your income without expanding your fronts, but the trade resources here are some of the richest in the world. Gold, slaves, and ivory are all abundant, and a good merchant can make over 1000 florins a turn on ONE resource. Even a bad one can make 300+ from ivory. Take control of all these resources, and these bottom two cities will earn you at least 4000 florins of income per turn (including the city income). This is with a startup cost of whatever it took to train the garrison units and the cost of training the merchants, but it is well worth the investment. Once these cities are yours you'll be well funded enough to take Iberia for yourself. During the same time, if Portugal leaves Lisbon open, feel free to take it. It's a vulnerable city for them and easy pickings, so long as you don't leave Corduba too vulnerable while doing so. Even with a paltry initial military, the Moors' location allowed me to leisurely take Iberia by turn 50 and have a 125,000 florin windfall. Don't bother attacking anything before you chase Spain and Portugal out of Iberia, this war is destined to happen. The first goal of any Iberian faction is to take uncontested control of the peninsula, much like with the British Isles and Italy. Afterwards, you should have climbed the tech tree enough to get decent castle units (from Toledo, at least). You should then deal with Sicily, who has doubtlessly proven to be at least a minor annoyance. Take control of north Africa (ignoring Egypt for now) then take the islands around Italy. Once Palmero is yours, build up a force for the next great goal of the Moors-conquering Italy. Large cities can train Urban Militias, which are vital to maintaining your empire. Once Iberia and Italy have fallen, you're practically too rich and too well-entrenched to lose. Occupy France to eliminate this last front, then England, and begin to burn eastward across Europe. Don't be afraid to attack France before or during your Sicilian campaign, especially if they leave Toulouse and/or Bordeaux vulnerable. You don't want to let them climb the tech tree too high and have to match Dismounted Arab Cavalry against Dismounted Feudal Knights! This is as good of a starting position as you can ask for in this game, with a strong position in Iberia and easy access to two of the richest resource territories. Rating: 19/25 o======================================================================o | | | TURKS {FAC012} | | | o======================================================================o The Turks, the folks who captured my beloved Byzantine Empire, and put the final stake through the heart of the delusion that was the Roman Empire. Historically they won a great deal of their fights by out smarting their enemies, especially the Byzantines, whom seemed all too eager to march into Turkish ambushes. They're also another former Asian steppe faction who invaded Asia Minor and the Middle East and took up the mantle of the Islamic dynasties they displaced. Such renewal kept the faith and culture from stagnating, and for a long time allowed the Muslim world to be much more culturally and scientifically advanced than Europe. It also helped that until recent history, Muslim regimes were notably tolerant of other religions, whereas the Medieval Christian philosophy leaned more towards burning every book that wasn't the bible, and every man, woman, and child who discredited Genesis. But how do they play? <<<GARRISON>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Like the Moors, they have a FANTASTIC garrison. In fact, almost every Turkish unit worth deploying comes from a town. Notably their Saracen Militias (which are the Turkish equivalent of Italian Spear Militias) will probably be your go-to infantry for.. well.. the whole game. They can also recruit their Janissary units here, which include average infantry, good archers, and excellent musketeers. If that's not enough, from race tracks you'll also be able to train Siphais, which are fair horse archers. Keep in mind, it'll take a while before you can train the Janissary archers, but when you can you'll have one of the best garrisons in the game. Weaker than the Moors? To be sure, how can you compete with Granadine Jinetes, Christian Guard, and Urban Militia? But Saracen Militias, Janissary Archers/Musketeers, and Siphais are still far above what most militias get, and typically for a low upkeep. <<<INFANTRY>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Lets start out by saying this. The Barracks buildings on castles are just for show for the Turks. Nothing great comes out of them, and it's not even worth building. Dismounted Siphai are fair units, but they only come three at a time, making them slow to train, and they're just not much better than Saracen Militias, an certainly not up to taking on Dismounted Feudal Knights! Janissary Heavy Infantry is another fair unit, yet another unit that just doesn't exceed Saracen Militias enough to recommend them. Stick with Saracen Militias and stay defensive. <<<CAVALRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Like the Moors, the Turks have to a wait a bit to get a good cavalry unit. Fortunately, when you build a Fortress you'll gain access to Siphai Lancers, which are more or less a match for Feudal Knights, allowing for cheaper upkeep to resolve any power differences. Their Siphais are also fair horse archers, but the Vardariotai from the Byzantine Empire spoiled me, and all the Turkish missile cavalry just doesn't match up. When you build a Citadel and get the most expensive stables, you can train Qapukulu, which are as powerful as any cavalry in the game, and cheaper than Noble Knights. In fact, it's one of the few good reasons to keep castles for the Turks. For having full-fledged horse archers, a unit to match up with Feudal Knights, and for having a cavalry as good as Qapukulu, the Turks gain the ultimate score for cavalry <<<ARCHERS>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Think the Byzantine Empire when you think about the Turks' archers. They too, get a unit of hybrid infantry/archery that is cheap and powerful. Frankly however, they're only about as good at their archery as Pavise Crossbowmen, and I'd prefer a unit of Infantry to stand up and fight better. Still, Ottoman Infantry is a handy unit. They also get Siphais, which are fair horse archers. Where they get the big points are from their Janissary missile units. No, not their archers, those guys aren't much better than Pavise Crossbowmen either. But their Janissary Musketeers are superb. Of course, we all know what the word 'musket' means in Medieval 2.. you're waiting until about turn 100 to get them, and even then, only from your biggest cities. <<<LOCATION>>> ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Turks begin play firmly in control of Asia Minor, and claiming the rebel settlements around you should obviously be your first priority. You'll have access to good resource nodes by Nicaea and Constantinople, and in the south by Antioch and Damascus. You only have to beat the Byzantines to the punch to claim as much territory as you can, and wiping them out should be your top priority. Once Asia Minor is yours you have three options. You could attack Egypt to the south, but if you ally with them early on, they should leave you well enough alone. Also, taking out Egypt means you'll be the one dealing with the inevitable crusades instead of Egypt. Just prepare to have crusading armies march through your lands on their way to Antioch. The next choice is to move north into Russia, but the lands on the north eastern edge of the map are far apart, poor, and not really worth the endeavor. Plus, taking that land pretty much guarantees you'll be the target of the Mongols AND the Timurids. This is a HUGE problem for the Turks, as two of the three ways you can expand are into likely invasion territories. The Turks pretty much have the misfortune of being the target of such raids (ironic, considering where they came from). Although if you're lucky they might just attack Antioch and invade you slowly, rather than quickly. This leaves our third option, across to Constantinople. This is a lucrative expansion, but you'll draw a hornets nest of angry Catholics upon your head even if you do displace the Byzantines, as the Hungarians and the Venetians will just be chomping at the bit to get at you. Still, the lands are plentiful and territories are close together. It also sets the stage for you to be able to take Italy, so although it's probably the toughest choice, it's probably also the best. Their weak infantry and plentiful archers make defensive fighting a must, I typically go with 8 units of Saracen Militia, 8 units of Ottoman Infantry, and 4 units of the strongest cavalry I have (usually Siphai Lancers). Hopefully the enemy attacks you and you can get a good defensive position. Rating: 19/25 o======================================================================o | | | EGYPT {FAC013} | | | o======================================================================o Egypt, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, is still alive and well in Medieval 2: Total War. Nobody is as good as assimilating and evolving culturally as the Egyptians, and thus they've survived conquest by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Muslims, morphing to fit their new role in the world. Just how have they adapted in Medieval 2? <<<GARRISON>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Again, another outstanding Muslim faction with a garrison to cry for. They just liked having their palaces in large cities, instead of crazy Europeans, who liked drafty castles. Like the Turks, you can train Saracen Militias, which are a decent Infantry unit and healthy addition to any garrison. They also can train Arab Cavalry and Mamluk Archers from their Race Tracks, which give them versatility in the cavalry and missile cavalry department. Last, but certainly not least they can train Tabardariyya, which are almost as good as Varangian Guard.. or in other words, cheap, powerful infantry with great attack. They have less defense and more stamina, for an all-round awesome infantry unit. <<<INFANTRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Saracen Militia not cutting it for you? Then get Tabardariyya. It takes a while, and it's not the best unit, but it's better than Dismounted Feudal Knights. Ultimately, the ability to exceed Saracen Militias are one of the features the Turks lack. Egypt also can train Dismounted Arab Cavalry, which are about as strong as Saracen Militias, and give their castle units a little more back-bone. <<<CAVALRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> You'll get Arab Cavalry from cities, but where the Egyptians really strike gold are with their Mamluks. Their Mamluk Archers are decent mounted archers with some teeth in melee.. still not as good as Vardariotai, but worth mentioning. Their Mamluks are roughly as good as Feudal Knights, and their Royal Mamluks are just ungodly strong. Simply put, they've got a versatile and useful cavalry at all stages of the game. <<<ARCHERS>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Again with the archers.. The best unit the Egyptians get for most of the game are Desert Archers, which are better than Peasant Archers by a bit, but we're shooting for more, aren't we? Unfortunately, there are no Ottoman Infantry units to come save the day for Egypt. Mamluk Archers are decent, but they won't make up for the lack of conventional foot archers. Once you get gunpowder you can train the same Sudanese Arquebusiers the Moors get. It's late, and barely adequate, so be ready to rely on Desert Archers for a long while. <<<LOCATION>>> ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Egypt, like the Russians, are pretty much left alone in their own little corner. You'll start off with three rich little territories which can be exploited for resources, especially around Alexandria and Cairo. You should send an army south quickly to take Dongola and convert it into a city. Then you can exploit the rich resources around it as well. Your early game goal is to expand and take as much of the Middle East as you can, especially around the Mediterranean Sea. Antioch and Damascus to the north are particularly rich, but Baghdad, Jedda, Aleppo, and Mosul all have resources worth taking. And you'll need them, because Egypt is not only likely to suffer the most crusades (Antioch and Jerusalem especially) but you'll likely be the target of the Mongols and Timurids as well. They might have a virtual paradise of free land just begging for the taking, but you must move quick, build up your cities, and dig in, because the Mongols are not a joke, and require many standing armies to defeat them. The whole time you'll need to be planning to expand east as well, and your only neighbor are the Turks. You can appease them with an early alliance and by keeping your borders defending, but other than that, it's head across the north of Africa. In this case, Egypt is just better served by taking to the sea. Travel in force and pick a defendable location from which to make your stand. The easiest choice is to probably attack Rhodes or Iraklion, which is somewhat nearby in case you need to send reinforcements. Once those two locations are secure, leap frog your garrison from Rhodes to Athens, and continue up that coast. Thessalonica and Constantinople are great prizes, and with those two big cities under your thumb, you may stand a real chance at taking Italy. There's no real respite for the Egyptians, and honestly, it might be easier to get rid of the Turks, likely after the Mongol invasions and before the Black Death would be a good time to quickly attack and take Asia Minor (between rounds 60 and 100). Then you'll have consolidated the east for yourself, you'll have plenty of places to draw troops from when the Timurids arrive, and if you attack the Byzantines and Venice earlier, you can quickly attack the Turks from Egypt and Greece. Rating: 18/25 o======================================================================o | | | DENMARK {FAC014} | | | o======================================================================o The Danes suffer from a case of the Paganies, as they are located in the north of the map and were only converted to Catholicism relatively recently. Unlike the Polish, who have also recently converted and still show signs of transition that gives them a steppe horse background the Scandanavians have a Viking history, which gives them formidable-if untamed-infantry separate from the Feudal tradition of southern, more steadfastly Catholic factions. Of course, they also benefit from the Feudal tradition as well, which is great. <<<GARRISON>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Danish can recruit all the basics, Spear Militia and Crossbow Militia, but they can also retrain fair spearmen in their Sword Staff Militias, which are a universal improvement over Spear Militias. I'm not sure I'd compare them to Italian Spear Militias, but it's close. Also, they can train Norse War Clerics from any city that has an Abbey or greater church, which are better than Feudal Infantry. It's a very handy unit, and gives the Norse a well-rounded if not overpowering militia. <<<INFANTRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> From the word go you can recruit Viking Raiders from any Castle, which might not be the most powerful Infantry in the game, but at 9 Attack and 9 Defense with "Effective Against Armor" and "Good Stamina" they are much better than the militia units most factions have to use to get off the ground. When they get a castle they can train Dismounted Huscarls, another unit you'll have pretty much at the beginning of the game. Another strong-against armor unit, they might not be as strong as Dismounted Feudal Knights, they're comparable due to their good stats, abilities, and cheap upkeep. Of course, they get Dismounted Feudal Knights as well, but that's not all. Once you get a Drill Square you can recruit Norse Swordsmen, which are as good as Byzantine Infantry, and will allow you to make effective and cheap Infantries. Better yet, you'll also get Norse Axemen, who are good offensive infantry. At the height of the tech tree you'll get access to Obudshaer, which are incredibly-well off anti-cavalry infantry. Their stats are only mediocre, but they have great abilities that will devastate enemy cavalry. Overall the Danish have very versatile and cheap Infantry units which they can recruit in great numbers, but they don't have one single overwhelming unit. <<<CAVALRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Once again, the Danish will get effective military units very early in the game in their Huscarls, which are just as good as Feudal Knights. Of course, they get Feudal Knights too. Once they get high-end stables you can train Chivalric Knights, which are superior to Feudal Knights. It's a good and versatile cavalry corps. <<<ARCHERS>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Norse Archers are the noticeable Danish archers, and they have good stats.. good enough that they could serve as hybrid infantry if you needed them to-which you don't, because the Danes have great Infantry already. Unfortunately, their stats are good, but they don't have good archery abilities, making them overall average archers. <<<LOCATION>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Denmark starts in the north center of the map, which might make them seem vulnerable.. but without ships, the only faction that can easily bother you is the Holy Roman Empire. You'll outclass them in infantry from turn one to turn one hundred (should they last that long!) With decent garrisons and strong early game castles, the cluster of castles south of Arhus are incredibly appealing. Taking hold of Stettin, Hamburg, Madgeburg, and Thorn will give you a great base with which to start your conquest of Europe. It doesn't really matter if you annoy Poland and the Holy Roman Empire either, as neither faction can hold against your Viking Raiders, Dismounted Huscarls, Norse Swordsmen, Huscarls, and Norse Archers until they get Fortresses, which if you move fast, they wont in any sort of time frame to oppose you. Building multiple, strong armies will be aided by the fact that most Danish units have an upkeep of about 150 florins, but you'll need more to furnish a truly great hold on northern Europe. The starting lands of Denmark are fine and mostly inaccessible, and various resources outside Stockholm will help you a great deal. However, to really get the money flowing you should build up an army in Oslo and sail to the British Isles. With your strong infantry, you should be able to easily seize Nottingham and hold it. Within a short amount of time you'll be able to conquer the whole of England, and be able to hold it with one army. This will allow you to spread out and conquer at will. After all, what kind of Viking would you be if you didn't attempt to conquer England? You might not have the free areas of expansion to target like other factions, but it shouldn't be much trouble stealing from other Catholics to get what you need. Rating: 20/25 o======================================================================o | | | PORTUGAL {FAC015} | | | o======================================================================o Portugal functions much like Spain, but with several key differences. One, Portugal has a more compromised starting position, although both end up at the same conclusion: drive the Moors back to Africa and secure Iberia for yourself. Instead of Portuguese Knights your go-to unit will be Chivalric Knights. And both factions will wait a good long time for the privilege of training good infantry and cavalry. Portugal does have one small edge though, they get Portuguese Arquebusiers, which are significantly stronger than Musketeers. <<<GARRISON>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Portugal gets pretty typical garrison units, with one notable exception, the Swordsman Militia. Considering their cost, these guys are just about as good as Dismounted Feudal Knights when you need to fortify a city.. provided you build a Militia Drill Square. They also train all of their superb gunpowder units from cities, including Portugese Arquebusiers and Jinetes, which are strong, fast, missile cavalry units. <<<INFANTRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Portugal starts out slow in the infantry front. In fact, you'll be relying on various javelin soldiers and light infantry to get by in the early going. After that, they mainly have to rely on Dismounted Feudal Knights. Eventually, you gain access to Dismounted Portuguese Knights, which are the same thing as Dismounted English Knights. Also Portugal gains Aventuros, versatile and reasonably strong spearmen with one flaw-they like to charge at enemies. Not a great trait for a defensive unit. Personally I'm not a fan of Portugal's infantry, but they do have reasonable strong units, even if it does take time for them to get them. <<<CAVALRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Early on you'll have access to Jinetes, from so many areas you'll probably have no idea what to do with them all. They.. fill a need until you get Feudal Knights. When you get a Citadel you'll be able to train Portuguese Knights, which are slightly more powerful than Feudal Knights. <<<ARCHERS>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> For the spread of the game you'll be relying on Pavise Crossbowmen. Later-much later-you'll get access to Musketeers from your cities, which are wholly superior missile units. Better yet, Portugal can train Portuguese Arquebusiers, which are better armed, armored, and have better traits than Musketeers. The only problem? You'll have trouble managing armies comprised of castle-and-city based units. Lets just say retraining becomes a chore. Nonetheless, an army full of Swordsmen Militia units and Portuguese Arquebusiers is a force to be reckoned with. <<<LOCATION>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Portugal has the same opportunities and problems of Spain, but with one significant difference. Portugal is split by Spain. Lisbon is separated from Pamplona. It doesn't really matter too much, as Portugal's city units are just as good as their castle ones early on. Zaragoza is an obvious expansion, but after that it becomes tricky. Expanding out of Iberia will almost certainly result in you fighting France and/or Milan. These are fights you really don't need in the early going, although it is possible to take Bordeaux and/or Toulouse and hold them until they upgrade into Fortresses. Securing Iberia is the first thing you should do. Once the Moors are driven out you can work on Spain, whom you can out-resource with Corduba in your grasps. After Spain is gone, focus on taking north-eastern Africa. The resources around Timbuktu will prove vital to your conquest of Europe. Rating: 15/25 o======================================================================o | | | POLAND {FAC016} | | | o======================================================================o The Polish are on the far reaches of Catholic Europe, the last bastion of Catholicism in the east. They're a mix of eastern nomadic steppe tradition and western feudalism, and bring elements of both into their military. They're also a rare Catholic faction in the fact that they don't receive Feudal Knights, showing their age as one of the youngest, most tentative of the Catholic factions. <<<GARRISON>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The only thing special about the Polish garrison is the fact that they can recruit Hussars from towns, which are about as good as Feudal Knights. Other than that they have access to Spearmen and Crossbow Militias, giving them access to all three branches of the military. Although most of them aren't anything to talk about. <<<INFANTRY>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Poles have a variety of early-game infantry choices, including Dismounted Polish Nobles and Spearmen, which are both as good as Italian Spear Militias. They'll see you through the early game, but come time to upgrade to Fortresses, you'll be missing Dismounted Feudal Knights. Poland has to wait until they get a Citadel to train Dismounted Polish Knights. They are an improvement over Dismounted Feudal Knights, although a very, very slight improvement. considering the fact you get them so late is offset a bit by the fact that they get decent Infantry while you wait. <<<CAVALRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Polish have a wide variety of Cavalry. They get Polish Nobles which are strong missile cavalry. In fact, you'll have to rely on them pretty much as much as the Byzantine Empire has to rely on Vardariotai. Once you upgrade your Castles a bit you can train Polish Retainers, which are notably less powerful than Feudal Knights. Fortunately you'll get Polish Knights and Polish Guard, which are as strong as each other.. and both are better than Feudal Knights. Overall, the Poles have a better than average cavalry. In fact, they're just about as good a cavalry as you can get in the game. The fact that Hussars are better than Feudal Knights and can be trained from both Cities and Castles gives them a powerful, versatile Cavalry corps. <<<ARCHERS>>> ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Polish Archers just suck. The best they get are Lithuanian Archers, which are weaker than Pavise Crossbowmen by a good deal. You'll likely have to rely on their Polish Nobles to get the job done, but you'll struggle in the ranged department the whole game. It'll become an acute problem if the Mongols show up and burn their way across Russia. The fact that they don't get a single unit with "Long Ranged Missiles" means you'll be outshot the whole game. <<<LOCATION>>> ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Poles are sandwiched between Russia and the Holy Roman Empire. This means they'll have to deal with a spread-out location without the good resource nodes that Russia has access to. Granted, Krakow has some resources, and amber abounds around Vilnius, Halych, Riga, and Novgorod. Although, like everything else, they're rather spread out. You've got plenty of room to expand, but with expansion comes problems. Hungary, Denmark, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire will all pester your borders, and the key to surviving with Poland is expanding fast, far, and early, and using your superior infantry units to your advantage before the enemy gets Dismounted Feudal Knights. And, of course, hoping the Mongols don't ever come after you. Russia is an obvious first target, but they are so spread out that it's not the most cost-effective way to build up money-making territories, territories you'll need to scratch and claw your way across Europe. If anything, you should attack Hungary first (after securing local territories, of course). If they leave Bran open, you should jump upon it. With Hungary deposed you can tackle the Byzantine Empire, and secure their rich cities. Keep in mind, however, that their city garrisons are horrible, and you MUST have a castle on the front to hold lands you take. In the west, this will probably be Thorn. There's no real respite for Poland, and you'll need to manage multiple fronts at once, pretty much by default. You can eliminate one front by taking out Russia, but then you have worry about the Mongol invasions. Just spread south and west, taking castles as you go (especially striking out from Thorn to steal Hamburg and Stettin). If the Holy Roman Empire ever gets itself excommunicated, you're in the money. Just hold your fronts and expand as opportunity presents itself. If there's any silver lining to your position, it's the fact that the Holy Roman Empire is as weak militarily as you are. Rating: 18/25 o======================================================================o | | | HUNGARY {FAC017} | | | o======================================================================o The Hungarians are yet another eastern faction new to Catholicism. They are sandwiched between the two Orthodox factions in the game (Russia and the Byzantine Empire). This should be seen as an opportunity though, as both can be displaced without angering the Pope. They are a difficult faction however, as they'll need castles for their best infantry and cavalry, but cities to recruit Pavise Crossbow Militias. <<<GARRISON>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Hungarians have a health garrison, mostly due to the fact that they can readily recruit Pavise Crossbow Militias from their cities. The fact that you can train Hussars from your cities as well makes them a little more versatile and powerful than average militias. <<<INFANTRY>>> **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Relatively early on you'll be able to train Croat Axemen, which are powerful enough infantry for the early-going. Later you'll get Pavise Spearmen, which.. are really only as good as Italian Spear Militias. Once you get a Citadel you can train Dismounted Chivalric Knights, which are better than Dismounted Feudal Knights for the same cost. Hungary has an Infantry corps that is slightly stronger than average. <<<CAVALRY>>> ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The first strong cavalry units you can train are Hungarian Nobles, which are good missile cavalry units you can make in any castle. Hussars from cities are about as strong as Feudal Knights, but the real great unit the Hungarians get are Chivalric Knights, which are stronger than Feudal Knights. You also can train Royal Banderium, which are superior in only the fact that they won't "Charge Without Orders". The Polish cavalry is strikingly similar, both being greatly superior to standard Feudal Knights. <<<ARCHERS>>> *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The best archers the Hungarians have are their Pavise Crossbow Militias, which makes them pretty average. Hungarian Nobles are useful and strong missile cavalry units, and serve a comparable role in Hungarian armies as Jinetes do in Portuguese and Spanish armies, and can get you through the early part of the game. <<<LOCATION>>> ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Hungarians, like the Polish, start out fairly vulnerable. On the plus side the Hungarians are less spread out and have mountains largely protecting them. On the negative side, Budapest is a fairly vulnerable city next to Vienna, and will likely draw you into conflict with the Holy Roman Empire and Venice. The Polish and Byzantine Empire are other problem factions for you, the latter of which you should target from the beginning of the game. The sooner you can take Constantinople, the better. You should also expand to the north as far as you can.. Taking Iasi will be a good move in holding back the Polish. You should also take Caffa for the slaves you can trade, and think about heading up north to Kiev for the same reason. Down south Sofia is an absolutely vital defense against the Byzantine Empire. Once you have these locations you can work on climbing the tech tree and assembling an army to take out the Byzantine Empire. From there, your goals are less clear, but taking Venice out of the picture would be a good first step towards the conquest of Italy. You could also invade Asia Minor, but this invites potential trouble when the Mongols show up.. but so long as you don't take Antioch you should be fine. Conflict with the Holy Roman Empire is unavoidable, so you might consider taking Vienna, followed by Innsbruck. This latter conquest will allow you to house a local castle-based army which will be essential to conquering Italy. Lets face it, Croat Axemen have a much better chance of taking out Italian Spear Militias than Spear Militias. If you advance north, you should aim at taking Polish castles in order to get a strong foothold. Then, and only then you can take the cities north of Italy. o======================================================================o | | | List of Factions by Rank | | | o======================================================================o Faction Garrison Cavalry Location Infantry Archers Overall Moors ***** ***** **** *** ***** 22/25 Byzantine Empire ***** ***** **** **** *** 21/25 England *** ***** **** **** **** 20/25 France **** **** ***** ***** ** 20/25 Portugal ***** **** **** **** *** 20/25 Russia **** **** ***** **** *** 20/25 Venice ***** ***** *** *** **** 20/25 Egypt ***** **** ***** *** ** 19/25 Milan ***** *** *** **** **** 19/25 Sicily **** **** **** *** **** 19/25 Spain **** **** **** *** **** 19/25 Turks ***** *** ***** **** ** 19/25 Denmark *** **** **** *** **** 18/25 Hungary **** **** ***** *** ** 18/25 Holy Roman Empire ** *** **** *** *** 15/25 Poland ** *** ***** ** ** 15/25 Scotland * ***** *** ** **** 15/25 o======================================================================o | | | HINTS/TIPS | | | o======================================================================o Coming Soon(er or later)! o======================================================================o | | | Updates/Thanks {UPD000} | | | o======================================================================o No update yet! Version 1.0 to 1.01 anticipated changes (4/8/2010) Add the Unit Ranking Section Add the List of Units by Rank Section Add content to the Hints/Tips Section