Medieval II Total War strategy help

[Rylot]

I picked up Medieval II on steam recently on a whim and while I've been enjoying parts of it there's somethings I can't seem to figure out:

How do I keep my faction profitable? I spend a lot my first few turns on roads for most cities and better units at my capital and a trade and population growth things. I try and leave a few thousand (whatever currency) in my treasury but then every turn after that it keeps dwindling.

How do you use archers effectively? Especially in sieges I try and get them to start hitting units on the walls but when I look at the end stat screen they only get a few paltry kills.

Is it even worth taking cities and forts in the early game? Should I wait till I have some artillery? I usually try and take out a few rebel cities and I usually can but I loose so many units that it isn't really worth it.

I'm having some fun with this game but it feels like I'm just not figuring a few key parts of the game out. Anybody have some just general advice on how to get better?

Captcha: Switch to Time Warner Cable.... Hahahahahah!!!... No

 

[Elfgore]

I've found archers to be completely useless in attacking siege battles. You're better off not using them at all for those battles.

I don't know how to make your faction profitable. I cheat, max out all of my cities, and they somehow still lose money. I really don't understand the economy system in the game.

I would suggest waiting until you have some kind of artillery to siege cities. The catapults can take out the arrow towers, those are the things that hurt your army. Then you can just send in the ladders, towers, and rams to clean up.

Future advice, if you are anywhere near the east side of the map. Prepare yourself for the mongols. They are a non-stop train of pure destruction.

A question for myself as well. If you stroll all the way to the west of the map, you can see the Americas and the Aztecs. Is there anyway to get there or is it just an easter egg? Do I need to wait for the discovery of the new world?

 

[Rylot]

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Well a few times I thought I was using the archers well when I got them in behind some of my melee units inside the enemy city and they could just hammer the units in the back of the opposing army but they still didn't have very many kills.

As for the Americas: I don't know if you can reach them in the original game but I know that there's a whole campaign based around the Spanish, Mayans, Aztecs, and some other faction in the Kingdoms expansion.

 

[Tethalaki]

How do I keep my faction profitable? I spend a lot my first few turns on roads for most cities and better units at my capital and a trade and population growth things. I try and leave a few thousand (whatever currency) in my treasury but then every turn after that it keeps dwindling.

Trade is the main way you'll make money. Build roads, ports, and any buildings that increase trade goods whilst sending out diplomats to get trade rights with as many factions as you can. Converting castles that aren't needed (i.e.: ones in the centre of your empire once you've expanded a bit) to cities is also a great idea.

Outside of that, building farms (which increase population growth) can also help but will also typically increase corruption and lower happiness.

How do you use archers effectively? Especially in sieges I try and get them to start hitting units on the walls but when I look at the end stat screen they only get a few paltry kills.

The best they can do in sieges is to carry siege equipment. You're best off just holding them back and preserving them for field battles.

Is it even worth taking cities and forts in the early game? Should I wait till I have some artillery? I usually try and take out a few rebel cities and I usually can but I loose so many units that it isn't really worth it.

Yes, definitely. You should be rapidly expanding and eating all of the rebel settlements near you at the start of the game, and then preying on whichever faction is weakest. Key to taking cities is to effectively use your family members (their bodyguard units are insanely useful) and rams. Using towers/ladders won't end up working too well.

Try attacking multiple gates at a time. One with the bulk of your infantry (the AI will most heavily defend this game), and another with a ram + some cavalry. Once the cavalry get in they can easily come up behind the other AI force.

I'm having some fun with this game but it feels like I'm just not figuring a few key parts of the game out. Anybody have some just general advice on how to get better?

• * Bodyguard units are insanely useful.
  * You can often offer Trade rights + Map Information for Map Information + a few thousand gold (or some gold/turn); experiment!
  * Flank, flank, flank, flank, flank. I can't over state it enough: you should be flanking every single battle. Heavier cavalry (such as the aforementioned bodyguards) are great at this.
  * If you have a decent amount of missile units in an army (5+ ?) and you're the aggressor in a field battle: the AI will frequently attack you instead of letting you whittle them down. So you can take defensive positions and wait for them.

There's a lot more, it's just not coming to mind for me at the moment.

I'd also recommend playing with this mod: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?314-Stainless-Steel -- it just generally enhances the game + raises the difficult some (though the lower difficulties are still relatively easy)

A question for myself as well. If you stroll all the way to the west of the map, you can see the Americas and the Aztecs. Is there anyway to get there or is it just an easter egg? Do I need to wait for the discovery of the new world?

I believe you need to wait for the discovery of the new world before you can do anything there.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

First of all, which nation are you playing as? If you are England or Scotland, here's a few tips.

First of all: INVADE YOUR NEIGHBOR. If you are England, blitz your way to Edinburgh as soon as possible and take out the Scots. If you are Scotland, it's going to be tougher, since England starts out with a fort in Nottingham. Beat your opponent's main army in the field and then autoresolve sieges against their paltry defenses.

Next up comes your economy boom. Nottingham is the only Castle you will need on the islands. Convert Caernarvon and Inverness into cities, they'll get better trade income that way. Get your diplomats to Europe and start developing trade deals with other countries. Depending on your faction standing, you will have at least one enemy in Europe, most likely France or Milan. Court their enemies with trade offers and military alliances to relieve pressure off your forces while you build up.

During sieges: avoid them if possible. It's much better to defeat an army in the open field than to slog through hell against walls. The only time you should commit to a siege assault is if you have no choice, either due to the size of the garrison (which would make autoresolve suicidal), or due to reinforcements coming to attack you from behind.

Catapults are all well and good, but they are a time investment, and you want to gather some cities up before that point. For wooden walls, I suggest three battering rams, two ladders and two siege towers. The battering rams are collateral, if you lose one, pick up the next. The siege towers should flank either side of the gate, while the ladders will be used as distractions. Give them to shitty troops and send them to a far off section of the wall to divert defenders away from your main thrust.

Stone walls are the same deal. Primary assault with diversionary ladders. Put heavy troops with good armor in your wall attacking force. Highland Nobles or Feudal Knights excel at wall combat.

By the time two tier fortresses show up, make sure to have trebuchets or early cannons. They will make assaults much easier by punching through walls rather than fighting over them.

For level 3 walls, just use culverins. Otherwise it will be a bloodbath.


THE POPE. I'm assuming you're playing a catholic nation. The Pope is a pain in the ass. He hates you for every little thing you do. Use this to your advantage. If you're at war with another catholic nation, and the Pope demands you cease fighting under pain of excommunication, listen to him. If your opponent attacks, he'll be excommunicated, and its fair game to attack him. Otherwise, use this time to reinforce and prepare your defenses, because you will want to go on the offensive as soon as your ceasefire runs out. It's a great way to steamroll other Catholic nations.

Crusades are great tax breaks. A general with a crusading army gets free upkeep. Most of the time, you will be too far away for your crusading army to get to the action, but if you do manage to take the city, the Pope will love you, you get a big cash reward, and a new opportunity for trade with foreign nations.


Major Opponents: Milan, The Mongols, Timurids, Egypt, and occasionally Poland. Most other nations will tire themselves out beating each other up for control of France, but these guys are ones to watch out for. Milan is a fucking rape train of Crossbows and heavy infantry, and are by far one of the most pain in the ass armies to fight in the field.

The Mongols are deadly in the field, but suck at bridge battles or sieges. Use bottlenecks to hold them off. The Timurids, however, get elephant cannon artillery. So don't trust in the strength of your walls. Just pray that you have enough spears to bring them down.

Egypt is usually one of the strongest Eastern factions. Lots of strong cavalry, but weak infantry. Very rich however.

Poland is weird, but they can quickly become a superpower in Northeast Europe. Strong cavalry and decent infantry, they are probably the weakest of the major enemies, but they have a ton of fortresses that are vital to holding off the Mongols.


Using Archers: Unless your archers have the armor piercing trait, chances are they will be useless. Use flaming arrows for morale effects and little else. For killing troops with archers, go for mercenary crossbowmen. They're cheap, and effective. England has the best longbowmen in the game. Long range, armor piercing, these guys are great against cavalry and on walls.

Always try to hit a flank or rear of a unit with archers. Heavy casualties abound. Otherwise, focus fire on light troops, unless you have the aforementioned armor piercing trait. Put those bowmen against Knights.

Don't underestimate spearmen, even militia units. They can anchor a line and with a general behind them, they can hold up against Knights. It might be fun to go all out with knights and bowmen and swordsmen, but don't ever pass up on spears. The Mongol Rape train has no breaks, but spears are a vital buffer.

 

[Rylot]

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Thanks for the advice, this game seems like it has really fun and strategic game play but a high barrier for entry/understanding of what the hell you're doing. And yeah I'm not really sure why you'd ever turn down an adoption or marriage into your faction. Even if the general is pants on head retarded you get 20 really good heavy cav.

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I've been just playing around with a few different factions, and also playing a few different theaters in 'Kingdoms'. I'm not really sure what type of army I want to go with. I seemed to have a lot of success with Scotland, at least until I accidentally sallied forth to break a siege with only my general and his bodyguard... Took a little while to figure out how to select different units in a garrison.

Another question: Is it ever a good idea to stay after a battle to mop up units or is it just not worth risking? The first time I won a battle the game told me I had the option to run down any units and that I should fast forward since there was little danger to my troops. Next thing I know: Your unit is routing! Your unit is routing! Your faction leader is dead!... I still managed to win but I was all 'wtf'? You said it was safe! That campaign saw Scotland subjugated way faster than in real life.

 

[Tethalaki]

Another question: Is it ever a good idea to stay after a battle to mop up units or is it just not worth risking? The first time I won a battle the game told me I had the option to run down any units and that I should fast forward since there was little danger to my troops. Next thing I know: Your unit is routing! Your unit is routing! Your faction leader is dead!... I still managed to win but I was all 'wtf'? You said it was safe! That campaign saw Scotland subjugated way faster than in real life.

The only thing I can think of that'd make that happen would be that the enemy was fighting to the death -- it happens when units are completely surrounded and run out of morale. The easy way to stop this happening is to only hit the flanks on enemies, and to leave them a way out.

I can't really think of any situation when you wouldn't want to run the enemy down. It allows you to capture enemy units that you can then release (to gain Chivalry), Execute (Dread) or just ransom back to your enemy.

 

[Dragonlayer]

1. As has been mentioned, the key to economic prosperity is trade, trade and more trade. Set up trade agreements with absolutely everyone you can find, even if you plan to crush them in the future (they can pay for their own army of occupation!). A sneaky stratagem I employ is to offer map information, trade agreements and alliances in exchange for map info and 2-3000 florins from every single faction when they make the first round of diplomatic offers. The AI virtually always accepts and its a great boost to your starting treasury. From then on, make sure every province has advanced farms and that cities/towns keep upgrading their economic buildings (markets and such) - transforming a few strategically safe castles into towns couldn't hurt either. Also keep an eye out for rich areas; these can be identified by running your cursor over land to see its fertility and by the presence of coastal towns - Italy in particular is essentially one giant treasure chest waiting to be cracked open. Finally, always pay attention to military upkeep costs, because polishing the plate armour of those brand new Feudal Knights is what really eats into your funds: don't be afraid to disband expensive and unneeded units, and try to take advantage of city and town militia for garrisoning purposes as they don't have to be paid as long as their inside the town they defend.

2. Archers are best used as a skirmish line in front of your army in normal battles to pepper the enemy with arrows, then run behind your forces once the enemy gets close. Then I usually pull them back to the flanks of my army once the fighting has started so they can shoot into the melee from the enemy's side. But their pretty much useless for attacking in sieges; great in defense though as you can imagine. I generally prefer crossbowmen though, for that improved killing power and accuracy (at the expense of range).

3. Best way to take towns before gunpowder is developed is simply to sit it out and wait for the enemy to starve: either they run out of rats to eat and surrender, or sally out for one last desperate attack, in which case you can easily crush them with heavy cavalry as they try and get out of the gates.

As for general advice....

- Use your General! His bodyguards are brutal killing machines and as long as you don't pull anything stupid like charging him into a pikewall, he and his men will make short work of basically anything they meet.

- Always try and hit an enemy in the flank or rear! If the enemy shows his backside to you, stick a spear up it!

- Spearmen are great defensive units! A solid block of sergeant spearmen or their non-German equivalent (I *always* play as the Holy Roman Empire) can comfortably see off all but the most ferocious of enemy assaults and give the rest of your army time to flank.

- Keep a few units of light cavalry! Once the battle is won, send these guys to run down the fleeing enemy. Not particularly honourable, but if you kill or capture all the bastards now, you won't have to fight them again.

 

[Clowndoe]

I happen to be an expert in the the Medieval 2 economy, and, well, everything in the game really. I've put in a lot of lab-time and research into the game, not to mention 1000+ hours of play, probably. There isn't one detail I feel I haven't scrutinized to death, so here it goes.

One thing no one's mentioned and that I feel should mention that no one else has is that you should max out taxes on every city. Taxes are a constant +/- to happiness, so it's not like it will cause happiness to degrade over time. As long as the happiness is in the green or yellow, leave it as high as possible. You can also lower it if your town is about to hit its next level but growth has stagnated, although that usually only happens in the really arid regions of the world.

The other thing I noticed is that when people tell me they can't make money, I'll look at the situation and notice their upkeep is way higher then it needs to be. They just make abhorrently large armies and then wonder why they have no dosh. Make sure you're not leaving knights to garrison your cities or anything. If a castle isn't at risk, just leave a handful of peasants to stop rebels from walking in. Cities should have at least enough militia to take advantage of the free upkeep slots, and more militia to keep the place happy. Also, taking England as an example, your army should be small. Two 3/4 stacks, one to attack Scotland, and one on the mainland should be all you need until the time you take Paris. That will easily keep you in the black.

Another thing you may not have noticed: The grey castles and cities are owned by rebels. No one is coming to help them. The early game is all about how many rebel provinces you can take. Lay siege and wait it out if you have to, just deny them to the enemy.

 

[Rylot]

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Yeah, the game was sped up so I don't know exactly what happened. Also the graphics are a little dated so I sometimes have a hard time seeing what's going on. Do routed units ever rejoin the fight? Is there a way to tell if a routed enemy will eventually reform at the enemy's rear?

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interesting. My first move in most campaigns is to establish roads at all my settlements. Is that a good use of funds or should I only be worrying about major cities? What ratio of cities to castles should I try for? Should I focus on a few castles and cities to try and climb the tech tree or should I spread my growth out across my empire? Or does it just depend on faction and play style? When playing rts and strategy games I have a tendency to want to build up to the best stuff everywhere and start pumping out the heaviest units, that doesn't seem like the best way to go in this game.

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Thanks! Yeah, I guess when some of the smaller forts and towns the rebels have it only takes a few turns to starve them out. How much larger a force should I have to make sure I can take a settlement? I know a lot of this game depends on the units themselves but is there a rule of thumb about this thing? Say if a town has two light infantry, two peasant archers, and a peasant spear unit should I at least bring two light infantry, two spears, and a decent cavalry?

I guess unit upkeep is what was killing me before. Is there ever a reason to not occupy a city? I guess if you really needed the money sacking it might be an option but having another place to collect taxes from and stage advancements from seems like the way better option.

Also what does making a trade agreement with a faction do? What are the ups and downs of making those? Also is there a way to set how long an alliance lasts? Or does it just last until one side attacks the other?

Thanks for all the help guys, I love how some of these older games have such a cool community that's willing help people out.

 

[Rylot]

Also, how good is auto-resolve? Is it like some games where you'll lose way more units than if you play the battle? Should you only auto-resolve if it's a guaranteed win?

 

[Rot_At_The_Root]

Unless i'm in a hurry or am not that bothered about the outcome I never autoresolve battles. Even if i lose i can usually save more troops than the AI would, and if i win, same deal but i can destroy more of my opponents units which might help in the next battle.

 

[Clowndoe]

I hope no one minds me stealing their questions, I just really like getting a chance to flop my Total War dick on the table.

Do routed units ever rejoin the fight? Is there a way to tell if a routed enemy will eventually reform at the enemy's rear?

They can if they weren't too close to annihilation, and they won't if they're being actively chased.

Interesting. My first move in most campaigns is to establish roads at all my settlements. Is that a good use of funds or should I only be worrying about major cities?

You should end up naturally fully upgrading all of your settlements in time, just because you'll have enough money anyway. Roads are always the first thing you want to build, especially since they're so cheap and have the dual utility of improving trade and moving your armies about faster. If you want to know the exact effects of building something, you can look up the settlement details tab by opening your build menu and pressing the button on the bottom left somewhere. It looks daunting, but one useful thing is that it tells you the effect a building will have once built, and give you a pretty good estimate of the return on investment (RoI). Most trade buildings you'll notice average about +50-+150 florins/turn, while costing from 1200-10 000 or more. That may seem bad, but it's often better than not spending money, since banking more that a few tens of thousands at a time starts to give your governors and your king bad traits.

How much larger a force should I have to make sure I can take a settlement? I know a lot of this game depends on the units themselves but is there a rule of thumb about this thing?

I couldn't give you a straight and useful answer, there are just too many variables. If there were a rule of thumb, for assaults I'd say you need troops that can kill them to the last man without routing before, which is either a lot of men or a big discrepancy in quality. That may be vague, but the only real way to figure it out is through experience. If you plan on waiting for their surrender, then all you need is an army you would feel comfortable taking them on with in the field, since that's what will happen when they sally. It shouldn't really matter though, like I said, in the early game you'll probably only be able to afford one offensive army on a given front, which means you're taking the same amount of troops around no matter what.

By the way, here's a fun free tip: Mortars are a lot of fun on offense. Once you've knocked down enough walls and towers for your liking, turn them on the defenders and watch theirs walls become meaningless.

Is there ever a reason to not occupy a city? I guess if you really needed the money sacking it might be an option but having another place to collect taxes from and stage advancements from seems like the way better option.

Spot on.

Also what does making a trade agreement with a faction do? What are the ups and downs of making those? Also is there a way to set how long an alliance lasts? Or does it just last until one side attacks the other?

Trade agreements just mean you both get more money. This mechanic has been the subject of much head-scratching and very little consensus on the forums over the previous half decade, so all I can say is more is always better. Alliances are theoretically permanent. I hate to break it to you but they're mostly worthless with the AI in this game. Just don't turn your back on your allies and you'll be fine.

By the way, when this thread eventually gets submerged in the forums, if you ever get a niggling question, don't hesitate to send me a PM.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

How do I keep my faction profitable? I spend a lot my first few turns on roads for most cities and better units at my capital and a trade and population growth things. I try and leave a few thousand (whatever currency) in my treasury but then every turn after that it keeps dwindling.

Everyone has mentioned "trade" and they are correct (along with keeping upkeep down, but this should only really be an issue early if you have over-indulged in extremely costly mercenaries). One thing I haven't seen mentioned is how easy it is to end up in a situation where no one will trade with you because your reputation is shot.

Keeping your reputation decent in Total War can actually be pretty tricky. There are eleven levels of reputation, and the lower you go, the less likely anyone is to deal with you, even if you sweeten the pot to an absurd degree. There are lots of little things that effect reputation, like mistreating prisoners or breaking alliances or sacking cities, but a major "hidden" one is simply war. Fighting a lot, and with a lot of different factions, will decimate your reputation. On the flip side, playing a relatively peaceful and chivalrous game, and picking your fights very carefully, will keep your reputation good. You'll get traded with more, people will be more generous in their dealings, and will respect their treaties with you. This probably seems a little counter intuitive for a game called "Total War", and eventually you'll get so big this probably won't be possible anymore, but it can make the difference between a crazy difficult early game with wars on every border, and an inexorable rise to power as you pick off your chosen enemies one by one while the world smiles.

How do you use archers effectively? Especially in sieges I try and get them to start hitting units on the walls but when I look at the end stat screen they only get a few paltry kills.

The game takes arrow arc into effect. Shooting up is almost never effective, and basic peasant archers aren't terribly useful anyway. They can shred peasants alright, but against even lightly armored troops they are largely impotent. Crossbows are significantly deadlier, but require a straight line between them and their target (try flanking with crossbows and javelins, it's very effective).

Speaking of flanking, the go-to strategy in Medieval 2 is "hammer and anvil" strikes. Engage/tangle their infantry with your own, preferably hardened infantry or spears. Run your "hammer"...usually heavy cavalry...around the backside, and hit their exposed flank. Enjoy watching their unit cohesion crumble and mop up the ensuing rout.

Do routed units ever rejoin the fight? Is there a way to tell if a routed enemy will eventually reform at the enemy's rear?

They can, yes. They can recover cohesion on their own if they're left alone long enough, or a general can rally them. It's worth keeping a unit or two of light cavalry on hand to run down fleeing units.

Generally though, once a unit is broken, it tends to stay broken. Re-entering combat with shaky morale generally doesn't last long, and the circumstances that created the rout in the first place have likely not improved.

EDIT: I see Tethalaki recommended Stainless Steel. I do as well. It's basically Medieval 2.5. You're getting basically the same experience, just...better. Like Jagged Alliance 2 1.13, it's one of those mods there is absolutely no reason not to have.

 

[OneCatch]

I picked up Medieval II on steam recently on a whim and while I've been enjoying parts of it there's somethings I can't seem to figure out...

*Always* mop up after a battle is won. Every single time. If you're able to juggle and can spare the units, it can be worth mopping up during a battle. Units can, if their morale recovers, stop routing and return to the fight. This never happens if there's one of your units near and attacking it, and never happens after the 'would you like to end the battle?' message.
Generally the best method is to use cavalry or light infantry, in a roughly square or rectangular formation, to mop up the enemy, one unit per enemy to reduce the risk of them getting surrounded and fighting to the death. Turn Inf and Cav missile fire off if you've got lots of units colliding with each other while in pursuit.

Mopping-up deprives the enemy of their men, or enables you to ransom them for a fairly heft sum of money. And even if the enemy faction don't ransom then they have to spend money recruiting replacements.
Focus on General units - the general himself is worth loads, and even the generic soldiers in elite units ransom for more than peasants. It can be worth recruiting a unit or two of the lightest, fastest, cavalry available (usually missile Cav, failing that use scouts or raiders of some kind) into each stack, and keeping it rested and protected behind your lines, specifically for catching tired, routing cavalry forces and generals.


If you get good at battles you can basically fund your entire campaign through ransom and the sacking of cities and towns. Indeed certain factions are designed towards this playstyle (barbarian factions in Rome, nomadic factions in Barbarian Invasion, certain eastern factions in Medieval, and the Teutonic Knights in Kingdoms).
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In terms of trade I wouldn't worry about advanced roads to start with. They increase trade but also allow increased movement speed - for enemies as well as your forces. So just go for the first tier or two in the heartland of your empire and along primary traderoutes as denoted by the carts and ships. Get plenty of trade agreements early on with potential allies and people you don't want to invade - it slightly improves your diplomatic relations with them over time. If Christian, getting a trade agreement with the Papal States early on (even if you have to pay for it) can be useful because stable diplomatic relations with them can be tricky.

Markets, ports, and public order buildings in cities are the way to go - so you increase income and are able to increase taxes when your public order improves. Hold off on castle upgrades early on - you can easily make do with militia forces in the early game and castles are expensive. (Edit: Exception - if you're playing as the pagans in the Teutonic Campaign, or as an otherwise disadvantaged faction with powerful, aggresive neighbours, an early fortification and military buildup can be more vital than early economic supremacy)

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Missile troops are divided into two types, armour-piercing and not. Non armour-piercing missile troops are crap against anything other than the lightest infantry, cavalry, and other missile troops.
Armour piercing ones bypass the armour stat of a unit and are devastating, even if they have reduced stats and reload time. Crossbows and longbowmen tend to be armour piercing.

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Autoresolve isn't bad, especially in sieges, but tends to be conservative. The enemy will often get away partially intact and you can often take less casualties and take more prisoners my fighting it yourself. You have a better chance of a total victory and taking the enemy stack off the map if you fight it yourself and mop up.
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It can also be worth changing low-level castles into towns. The default map contains more castles than you really need - you can get by with one high level fortress in your heartland for recruiting elite level units, and then a few on your frontiers for actual defence and lower level professional recruitment.

 

[unbreakable212]

Hammer & Anvil tactic, baby. So simple yet so effective. Foot soldiers/Militia will be the backbone of your army, use them to hold the enemy forces in place, casualties are expected but treat them as nothing more than fodder for your real threat. Your knights & General, while your foot soldiers hold the enemy in place, run your cavalry around the back, line them up behind the enemy forces that are going toe to toe with your soldiers and charge into the flank.

A very simple technique, that can cause instant routs of hundreds of enemies, once you've routed every unit, your cavalry can calmly mop up the fleeing forces while the rest of your army sits back.

The very first building I'd advise you to build in a new settlement would be a Market, every turn a general spends in a settlement without a market, he has a small chance of gaining a negative trait, that gradually becomes worse and worse. Like others have said, make trade agreements with nearby factions & also offer map information, you can usually get anywhere between 500-1000 florins each time you do it, meagre later on in the game, but a big boost early on.

I only have castles on my front lines, a Castle that is deep in your empire is a waste, convert that badboy to a city and it'll help your income. Also only leave militia in your city's as a garrison, free upkeep! Only time I have more than militia in my city is if I know it's about to be attacked.

I wouldn't use Archers when attacking a settlement, much better taking foot soldiers. Early on I prefer to starve out settlements, usually it allows you to keep your army completely intact whilst gaining a settlement, but it does allow the faction you're attacking to send reinforcements so be careful whilst doing it.

 

[Chris Tian]

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#1 Economics

Keeping your Faction profitable is a balanceact between income and expenses, obviously.
-In the first rounds you should focus on buildings that accelerate your city growth rate (the farms) and then money making buildings (markets and harbors).
-Sacking enemy citys when you take them is a good way to earn money too.
-Watch out not to recruit to many units, because the upkeep of those is what makes up the lionshare of your expenses. If you loose money its because you have too many units, dispand some of them.
-DON'T upgrade your buildings whenever you can, the later stages (like the third and fourth for most buildings) are far to expensive with far to little benefit to actually be profitable.


#2 Strategy

2.a. Overall strategy
At first you should be very expansive, get as many rebel citys and forts as possible as soon as possible.
When you have a bunch of citys that are strategically easy to defend you can slow down a bit. Its a bit hard to give you a general rule for that since this is dependend on you starting faction/region. For example: If you start with Englad you should conquer all of Great Britain as soon as possible and then you can slow down a bit an fortify your position before you cross the north sea and attack france.
Another example would be to conquer the iberian peninsular before slowing down if you start with spain or portugal.

2.b. Open field battles
The best and easiest strategy is the "lock and destroy" or "hammer and anvil". Its basically the simplest of all flanking maneuvers. You get a backbone-army of tough infantry units like spear sergeants and a flanking force, any heavy cavalery will do or even some tough agressive heavy infantery. The Backbone-army holds the line and as soon as the enemy is engaged the flanking force executes a flanking maneuver and hits the enemy in the flank or preferebly the rear.
Then you watch your force obliterate the enemy and go home for tea an medals.

2.c. Siege Battles
Attacking: There is not to much strategy involved here. Your army should consist of the toughes heavy infantery you can muster and some siege weapons. Your siege weapons breach the wall and destroy archer towers and the like and then your troops storm the breaches in the walls. You should make as many holes in the walls as you can and get some siege towers in there too. Ladders are completely useless, because your men will storm the wall one by one and get slaughtered one by one. Archers are useless too because they can't hit the enemy hiding behind his walls.
Defending: Get your archers and some tough infantery on the walls and defend any breaches with a U or V shaped like formation of Infantery behind it. Defending citys is really easy even if you are heavily outnumbered, defending forts even more so.

I hope this helps to get you into my favorite Total War Game.

 

[LostCrusader]

Well most of my Total War tricks have already been mentioned, but not the key strategy that I use that has carried me through countless campaigns. The key to it is basically to turtle your way through enemy attacks in your towns or castles, then blitz forward to the next city after the enemy armies smash against your walls as the computer almost never lets a city starve out without assaulting the walls. Not only is this where your archers are most effective, but it also gives you plenty of options on where to meet your opponent and lets you take down their cities with minimal defenders. If they don't have much artillery, you can hold them back on the walls and fall back into the city if things look dicey. On top of that, your higher level castles can have multiple layers of walls giving you plenty of time to pick them off with archers at each set of walls and fall back as their ladders/rams get into place.

As far as your cities go, the walls will be much less effective at holding back your opponent but once they are inside, the computer tends to run in a straight line down a main street toward the city center and not commit more than a couple units to flank down other streets. If you block off that street near the city center with a large group of infantry, they will be held in place for a crazy amount of time and can be easily picked off with archers in the center or flanked from other streets with infantry/cavalry. The key here is that when you are defending in the center of a castle or city, all of your units will fight to the last man and ignore morale.

Also as someone else mentioned, eastern countries should be ready in mid game for the Mongols and the Turmids. I think they both appear in roughly around Baghdad. As the Turks, I fortified it with a full set of defenders and a fortress and smashed every attack either one of them threw at me by holding the inner walls where their artillery can't effectively reach you. It is very satisfying watching the Turmids lose half their infantry to panicking elephants that can't find their way out and just rampage through the outer most walls.

 

[Chris Tian]

One thing I just remebered and haven't seen covered (maybe I'm just blind or too lazy to read everything) are merchants.
Recruit merchants and send them as far away as possible and station them at valuable resources. There are four very valuable silk "spots" around constantinople and a lot of valuable spices, slaves and ivory "spots" in north africa.
Don't get frustrated if they get taken out by opposing merchants just recruit new ones whenever you can. They can bring in thousands of gold each round.