Various Questions

[ER5013]

I have a few questions involving the following.

1. When fighting the Spanish factions their javelin cavalry tend to deal quite a bit of damage to my heavy cavalry. What is the best way to deal with these factions?

2.When do actual pikemen and polearm units start arriving? My last Early Era campaign game got me to turn 104 and they still didn't show up. (ended that game due to cheat reliance and I wasn't satisfied with that)

3. Is adding BYG IV E worth adding to my game? I am not that good at the strategic level gameplay although I am getting better. Just how much harder does BYG IV make the game on M/M?

P.S: I am playing as the English.

[hippacrocafish]

1. When fighting the Spanish factions their javelin cavalry tend to deal quite a bit of damage to my heavy cavalry. What is the best way to deal with these factions?

Crossbows and high-end archers, those Jinetes have low armor and range. Horse archers are good too since they out-range javelin cavalry.

2.When do actual pikemen and polearm units start arriving? My last Early Era campaign game got me to turn 104 and they still didn't show up. (ended that game due to cheat reliance and I wasn't satisfied with that)

It takes a long time for them to show in Late Era too, I'm on turn seventy-something and I'm still using spearmen. I don't think it's even possible to get pikes in Early era.

3. Is adding BYG IV E worth adding to my game? I am not that good at the strategic level gameplay although I am getting better. Just how much harder does BYG IV make the game on M/M?

I didn't add it to mine because I remember someone mentioning that the effects of BYG IV (The new traits that only let certain generals train certain units and so on) don't affect the computer factions.

[Byg]

3) Depends on how you like to play. It's not really relevant to your own enjoyment of the game that BGR does not affect the ai. The ai suffers from extreme bias to the human player in many game factors in the standard game, which BGR counters in whatever way it can. The idea is to provide you the player with a challenge which you will never get from the ai alone, certainly not if you are above novice level.

Maybe try it once you can handle VH, which may be by your 2nd campaign or 3rd. Starting off on too low a difficulty can give bad habits of play so I suggest you use the hardest level you can survive in.

[ER5013]

Hmm thanks for the help. And sorry if this may inconvenience you but I have one last question. How can you get better at siege battles? I end up losing 20-40% of my soldiers in those battles. I even have the spy raising the gates for me. But alas I end up taking a Phyrric victory.

[merocaine]

20% is acceptable, even 40%, as long as its the cannon fodder.

Always aim to keep your heavy infantry alive for the end game. Dont burn them up on the walls, unless you totally outclass the opposition (knight vs spearmen/milita is acceptable, knights vs professionals is not)
Try to force the enemy off the walls by rapidly flanking. Keep your heavy cavalry in close support to run down any chain routs that you trigger, this will save you having to finish them off in the town center. Once you have the walls and there is no chance of taking the town square rapidly, slow down and bring your archers/crossbows javelins to bear, wear down the enemy as much as you can. Once your out of missiles, its time to send in your heavy infantry reserve, hopefully they will be fresh enough to overwhelm the survivors without taking to many causalities.
If the AI outnumbers you with heavy infantry its best to avoid totally, always aim to destroy the AI's field armies first, then take out the weak Garrison.
Once you get cannons things get a bit easier.
Hope this helps a little