I whipped this up while shirking various other responsibilities. Enjoy!


This guide is based on M/M difficulty and default unit sizes.


The Norwegians are perhaps the quintessential Viking Invasion faction. It's an oversimplification, but of the two Viking factions in VI2, the Danes are more suited to settling and land-based expansion, while the Norwegians are particularly well-placed to act as highly aggressive sea-raiders. In some ways, this mirrors history: The Danes were more successful at establishing kingdoms in the British Isles, whereas the Norwegians were known mostly for running screaming into villages, head-butting monks in the face, and squealing their tires as they drove away in stolen SUVs full of loot.


At least, that's what I remember from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.


That aptitude for raiding and aggression might seem to suggest that they offer a fairly easy campaign (they are rated as such by the developers), but I've always had trouble getting far in a Norwegian game. Whether it's the paganism, the cultural penalties, the fact that every other faction except the Danes hates you, the far-flung nature of the Norse starting position, or the total lack of recruitable cavalry, I have never had much success playing these guys.


Well, hopefully this guide will help you to be more successful than I was the first couple of tries. First, a few words about the warriors a Norwegian king can rely on.


War-smiths


The Norwegians are capable of fielding some of the fiercest footsoldiers of the Isles. When fighting similarly foot-bound factions – like the Anglo-Saxons or your fellow Danes – tactics will be straightforward: Come to grips with the enemy, flank where possible, and grind them down.


However, it is more likely that you will not face Anglo-Saxon or Danish armies in the early going. If you follow the rough strategy for expansion outlined below, you will be fighting Celtic-style armies (namely the Irish and the Men of Alba) for at least a couple decades. The Gaelic propensity for throwing-spears and cavalry may mean you'll have to get a little creative on the battlefield.


Trainable infantry available to the Norwegians runs the gamut from extremely defensively-oriented to super aggressive.


The first-level barracks allows you to train Spearmen, a perfectly straightforward and effective unit. With their decent stats and reasonable cost, they may make effective garrison troops in regions where you can't train anything else, and they perform as expected on the battlefield. If they can pin enemy cavalry, they are capable of doing serious damage, even to Royal Horsemen units.


Vikingr appear at the next barracks. 50 men a unit (compared to Spearmen at 45 per unit), just over 80 shillings in upkeep, and their stats, though not terrible, are nothing to write home about – in short, they make good garrison troops. Don't lean on them too heavily in battle; they are most effective as flankers, or as a reserve line. Their shield wall ability does give them some versatility, but don't expect them to hold their ground as well as Spears. I found that I trained few Vikingr units; Spearmen, on the other hand, continued to play a role in my armies well into the endgame.


The highest barracks building yields Armoured Spearmen and Huskarls, two signature troops for the Viking factions. Armoured Spearmen are the most reliable soldiers in your lineup, with the possible exception of your Hirdmenn bodyguard: They are excellent defensive troops, tending to take few losses thanks to their large shields and heavy armour, and can form a shield wall to repel enemy charges. Even outside shield wall formation, they are solid enough to deal with just about any foe you're likely to face. The irony is that, as a late-game unit, you are likely to have already dealt with the Irish and Albans by the time the anti-cavalry capability of the Armoured Spearmen becomes available to you. Still, that shouldn't prevent you from training plenty of them when you get the chance. I like to have 6 units in a full stack invasion force, but if you are patient enough to wait for more (and can afford it), do so.


Huskarls are an iconic Viking unit: draped in black mail, wielding two-handed axes, and carrying swords as secondary weapons. Their lack of a shield means they will take losses to missiles and cav charges, so when fighting Celtic factions, it may pay to keep them in the second rank of your army, where their war-flag will help raise the morale of your front-liners, and where the Huskarls will have time to outflank the enemy.
When Huskarls charge, they use swords. Once the momentum of the charge is spent, they will usually switch back to their more powerful – and armour-piercing – axes. But when they don't switch back, try ordering them to attack the enemy again – oftentimes that single click will get them to pull out the axes.


The Norwegian unique unit, available at high-tier Pagan Altars, is the Berserker. These are big guys with huge swords in their fists – a force to be feared. In addition to the fear effect that accompanies their presence on the battlefield, they use the special attack animation of most berserk-capable RTW units, sending their enemies flying. It's entertaining to watch, and quite effective. Especially when facing an enemy army led by a mere captain, the Berserkers are often enough by themselves to cause a mass rout.
But Berserkers have their quirks. The frenzy that accompanies their war cry makes it impossible to control them, so timing is important: Only send them out once you're ready to follow up with the rest of your troops, or they are liable to get in over their heads. The front line is also a bad place for them most of the time, as they are vulnerable to arrows and thrown spears – and cav charges. This makes facing Celtic factions potentially dangerous for Berserkers – but, since you'll be training them in the late game, when you will likely face Anglo-Saxon style armies, you can rely on them to do more harm to the enemy than the enemy will do to them.

The Norse Archers you can train in your homelands are a superb "hybrid" unit, adept at both shooting and fighting. To keep with the typical Viking stereotype of howling infantrymen, I tend to not to train many of the Archers, but a couple units in your army are very useful, and can serve as handy flankers when the arrows run out, or after the battle-lines have clashed. They also are a good way of dealing with enemy cavalry, which tends to be susceptible to arrows - and of course shooting a horse out from under a rider is generally easier than catching him on foot.

And of course, Hirdmenn, the Viking bodyguard unit, are experts at melee. Don't be afraid to send them charging into the fray – just make sure that, when it comes to fighting with cavalry, the Hirdmenn are the ones doing the charging. A well-executed charge by Teulu or Royal Horsemen is about the only thing that can seriously damage these guys; you can prevent such a scenario by keeping some Spearmen in reserve to block any cavalry units sniffing around your flanks.


Because of the Norwegian starting position, you also have some notable options for regional units and mercenaries. Orcadian Spearmen are available in Kirkewale – if you can grow the town quickly enough and build the appropriate barracks. My only experience with these troops comes from the unit you get at game start, but they seem to be very capable cav-killers. As with other longspear-type units, keep them out of the front line (to avoid missile fire) and charge them into already-engaged enemy horsemen – especially Royal Horsemen – but keep them away from infantry. Sword-wielding foes especially can carve right through most longspearmen.


Assuming your primary theatre of operations is Ireland and the north of Britain, you will find that inns and taverns can provide you with trainable mercenaries such as Mercenary Pictish Infantry, Mercenary Longspearmen, Mercenary Bonnachts, and Mercenary Gall-Gaedhill. I found that I made occasional use of these units, but the upkeep costs and the fact that my own infantry troops are pretty much melee rock stars limited my willingness to experiment with them. If nothing else, these mercs are a good way to get lots of troops in the field quickly, if you can afford it.


On the other hand, I made constant use of the various hireable mercenaries outside settlements. Mercenary Rabble, Mercenary Archers, and Mercenary Horsemen can be found practically everywhere, and their low cost makes them great garrison troops in addition to handy battlefield support – especially the Rabble and Archers, both of which offer your iron-shod armies some (slight) mobility and ranged capability.
The Horsemen constitute your only option for cavalry – ever. Given the coastal nature of the Norwegian possessions, it may be difficult to keep those Horsemen with your army, since you can't take them on ships; plan accordingly so you don't end up hiring the cav only to find out you have to leave them behind.
You may scorn the idea of using merc Horsemen – you're playing the Vikings, after all! Who needs these shaggy pony-riders? But the fact is, without any cav you will be usually unable to effectively destroy enemy resistance by chasing down and killing routers.
Another reason to snap up Horsemen is to entangle enemy cav. The point here is not to inflict tremendous losses with your own Horsemen, but just to tie up those pesky enemy cav units until your Spearmen or other infantry arrive to dispatch them. Once they're surrounded, you can pull out what Horsemen of your own are left, and put them back to run-of-the-mill flanking and charging duties.


Mercenary Jomsvikings can be found for hire outside settlements in places like Man, Iona, and Dyflin. Fabulously effective, but fabulously expensive. Any Jomsvikings you hire should last you a long time, and their fear effect keeps enemies running (make sure you have enough Mercenary Horsemen to catch them!).


And finally, Mercenary Sons of Death and Mercenary Ostmenn are ubiquitous throughout Ireland. Toward the endgame, when I was mopping up the rebel presence in Ireland, I hired plenty of these mercs, mostly to get more bodies to garrison the rebellious towns. But if you can afford a unit or two in the early going, they are definitely worth it. The Sons of Death tend to take losses, but they're still handy as an armour-piercing (and fear-inducing) unit. Ostmenn are supremely rugged, and liable to earn their keep through many battles.


Now, what to do with all these soldiers? ...


Raider


The Norse starting position is perhaps the most open-ended of any faction in VI2. With a presence in Scandinavia, northern Britain, Ireland, and several smaller islands – plus a strong fleet – the Norse can expand in any number of directions.


However, “expanding” is different from “looting” - and you may need to do a little of both to maintain a good military and financial position. Put simply, you'll want to determine two different types of targets: a faction that you raid, and a faction that you seek to conquer.


Finding the right balance between the two is what makes playing as the Norse challenging. Focus too single-mindedly on conquering and holding settlements (as I did the first couple of times I played), and you may find yourself facing steep unrest penalties, holed up in towns just to prevent them from rioting, while your treasury steadily bleeds away. Focus exclusively on raiding – storming enemy settlements, slaughtering the inhabitants, and leaving – and you may find yourself in little better shape, with no good fallback position. You may in fact strengthen your foes in this way, as towns rebel back to the original faction after your victorious army sails away.


My most recent strategy was to cause trouble with (i.e., raid) the Men of Alba and the rebel “Pictish” settlements in northern Scotland, while trying to conquer & hold lands in Ireland.


It is, of course, entirely possible to go a different route. You could sail down and raid Northumbrian lands, recreating the Lindisfarne attack of 793. You could establish a Viking kingdom around York. You could attack the Welsh, or raid deep into Mercia or Wessex. But focusing on Ireland and Scotland has several advantages. First, it keeps you close to your power center. You already own two settlements in Ireland: Dublin and Cork. If you let the Ui Neill or Men of Leinster get too powerful, you may have a hard time clinging to those lands, so it's better to take the fight to them. And your islands, from Man in the south to the Orkneys in the north, make good staging points from which to raid the Scottish coasts.


This strategy also simplifies your borders. Once you have hamstrung the Irish factions, you're essentially fighting a single-front war in Scotland, without becoming embroiled in the shifting alliances and backstabbing you will undoubtedly encounter in central England.


Focusing on Ireland and the north also keeps you away from the Danes, your only ally. If you avoid sharing land borders with your ally, you are much more likely to maintain that alliance.


And finally, there are some excellent prizes to be had in this region. Ireland offers many coastal provinces with good trade potential, as well as mining to be exploited. And some of the settlements in Scotland make ideal strongholds for your Viking warriors. All in all, a long-term goal of making the Irish Sea a Norwegian lake has great payoff.


Opening Moves


You start the game with your King, Halfdan, in Norway, your heir in Dublin, and your best troops gathered in Annait, in northern Scotland. I like to gather a good fleet around Norway, leaving a Snekkja or two for future shuttle duties, and send my King and Archers west, leaving a single unit of Vikings in each Norse settlement for garrison duty. (Take the Jarnbardi, along with any Drakkars – you don't want some Alban or Irish boats sinking your invasion fleet.)


As this fleet approaches the Orkney islands, grab your starting unit of Orcadian Spearmen from Kirkewale. It will be a long time before you can train your own, and they will be quite helpful in your fights against Celtic cavalry.


Just south of Kirkewale is Clyne, an unwalled rebel settlement. Assuming you have your King, those Archers, and a few other units, this makes a fine first raiding target, allowing your troops to get a first taste of blood and make some cash before the more earnest work begins. Be aware that the rebels in VI2 are often quite aggressive and well-equipped; don't allow yourself to be surprised by the tough Mormaer cavalry that may haunt the region.


Once Clyne has fallen, have your way with the place: Exterminate the populace, burn the buildings, and get back on the ships. The settlement will rebel to the Men of Alba in a few turns, but that's no concern of yours; it will only get them a few upgraded Peasants. You can come back and conquer the place permanently later.


Continue around the northern coast until you reach Annait, where your best troops are doing garrison duty. While on your way, make landfall occasionally to hire mercenaries (not cav – they can't make the trip on your ships). These mercs – preferably cheap Mercenary Rabble and Mercenary Archers – can be swapped out to keep Annait happy while your Armoured Spearmen, Huskarls, Berserkers, and any other useful infantry can continue sailing south with Halfdan. Be sure to send any useful troops from Stornoway along for the ride as well.


It's also a good idea to send some of your extra ships ahead of the invasion fleet, to ensure the sea-lanes are safe from enemy ships – and, if not, to sink them.


Good raiding targets along the way include Iona, an unwalled and uninhabited monastic settlement. No siege, no battle required – just march in and take what you want. Note also that this island is a good place to find Mercenary Jomsvikings. Eventually, you'll want to take and hold Iona (it is one of the settlements required for your king to get the trait “King of all Norwegians”), but for now, you need all your troops to continue taking the fight to your enemies.


From Iona, you can sail south to Ireland or turn east toward Dunadd and the Alban heartland. The latter route has much to recommend it. Dunadd and Dunbarton are easily accessible from the sea, and are well worth sacking.


Sailing just a bit farther south, after thus gutting the Albans, will land your army near Hwiterhe – one of the best settlements on the map, just north of Maughold on the Isle of Man. At game start it is already built up to the highest settlement level, and comes with a stockade and master blacksmith. Hwiterhe makes an excellent toe-hold on the northwest coast of Britain: easy to hold against enemies thanks to its high walls, and an ideal place to train your warriors thanks to the pre-existing infrastructure and the fact that, as a fully-upgraded settlement, you don't have to worry about growing the population to the next level. The title that comes with the town also offers some nice bonuses to a combat-minded jarl.


Hwiterhe is also located roughly at the center of your growing domain, and thus makes a good replacement for Eikundarsund as your Royal Residence. Moving your capital will make life immensely easier, especially as you begin to conquer in Ireland.


Obviously, though, when you begin to settle down and conquer settlements rather than simply raid, you'll have to deal with religion. The Norse paganism will make it difficult to hold your new acquisitions, but it can be done. Glance at the Settlement Details scroll when you queue up buildings such as the Pagan Shrine – if you see a sudden impending influx of Christian unrest, don't build the Shrine. If not, go for it. Some towns will be more willing to accept a Pagan Shrine alongside Christian buildings; most, however, will not, and you'll have to decide whether to live with a kingdom of mixed faiths, or convert them all to worship of Odin.


Conversion is possible – just train enough Pagan agents, or bring enough Pagan family members into the relevant region, and when Pagans outnumber Christians (or approach a 40-60 minority), destroy the Christian buildings and build your Pagan Shrines. But to be honest, conversion is probably overrated. You do need at least one settlement that can train Berserkers, which requires a second-tier Pagan building, and since Hwiterhe is already so well-grown, you may as well make that your pagan stronghold on Britain. But elsewhere, conversion is probably not worth it. Fill the towns up with garrison troops like mercs or Vikingr, keep an eye on unrest, and accept the fact that you'll have as many – if not more – Christian subjects as Pagans. This is especially true of Ireland, where a Christian presence is already centuries old.


The Irish


Although the Men of Leinster are likely to be more aggressive in the first few years, as they border you at game start, the Ui Neill are more of a threat in the long term. Maybe it's the fact that they have relatively easy pickings in the neighboring rebel settlements, maybe it's the memory of Cuchulainn – whatever the case, the Ui Neill, at least in my campaigns, seem to emerge as the dominant power in Ireland within the first 20 turns.


It's your job to prevent that.


As I mentioned earlier, the Norwegians are more likely to be fighting Celts in the early years, and the Irish factions are textbook practitioners of Celtic-style warfare. Whereas your warriors are typically heavily-armed wrecking balls, the Celts field lighter, swifter soldiers. Your tactic is to either stand fast or rush into melee; theirs is to avoid the scrum until they've thrown every last spear your way. And after a few battles, you'll notice just how dependent upon the throwing-spear the Irish are: their throwing spears practically have throwing spears. In most cases this will be more of an annoyance than a true threat, but an Irish army containing some horsemen and led by a prince will at least exhaust your heavier troops as they lead you on a dance around the field.


To avoid, or at least mitigate, this tactical threat, attack settlements rather than armies in the field – and assault whenever that becomes possible, rather than waiting for a relieving Irish army to attack you. Your Spearmen and Hirdmenn are much more effective in the tighter spaces of settlements, where coming to grips with the enemy is easier to accomplish.


However, despite the danger posed by the Ui Neill, the Men of Leinster also make a good first target, as they are closest to your power center of Dublin and can be eliminated if you act swiftly. To that end, if an Ui Neill emissary offers peace early in the campaign, it might not be a bad idea to accept and get trade rights for a few turns before turning on them (or before they turn on you). The Leinster-folk only own two settlements, both an easy march south from Dublin. You'll want to have enough troops to both defend Dublin and mount a realistic attack, and crucial amongst these troops will be Archers, trainable at Dublin from the start. Archers allow you to shred the Irish before they approach your own line, and can even bring down Royal Horsemen, especially with shots to the back. You'll also need plenty of Mercenary Rabble and other cheap units to garrison the towns you'll be taking from Leinster – Vikingr and Spearmen are good candidates for this.


Around the time you've eliminated the Men of Leinster, the Ui Neill will have taken a few rebel provinces and may be threatening you in Dublin. Now is a great time to send some troops from your Scottish holdings (i.e., Hwiterhe) and sail them to northern Ireland, to steal those towns from the Ui Neill.


In addition to facing the Ui Neill on many battlefields in the first third of the campaign, you'll also have to contend with them for naval superiority in the Irish Sea. Most of the other factions are content to expand by land, but the Irish kingdoms aren't afraid to get their keels wet, building many ships and sending them to trouble your own fleets. If you aren't careful, they may even launch a naval invasion on your possessions in Man or southern Scotland (I lost Maughold to an Ui Neill prince early in the game – be vigilant!).


One fact that will ease your conquest in Ireland is the abundance of top-notch mercenary units. Mercenary Gall-Gaedhill, Ostmen, and Sons of Death are all reliable melee troops, great for flanking or assaulting enemy strongholds. They are expensive, but I found that by expanding my holdings in Ireland, snatching a few provinces on the western coast of Scotland, and raiding occasionally, I was able to finance many of these mercs – enough to see me through defeating the Ui Neill and conquering the entire island.


Conquering all Ireland is a tall order – there are 15 provinces scattered around the island, and some are manned by skilled rebel troops. But once the Irish factions are gone, you can go for total conquest at your leisure. Focus on the coasts first, and the east/north in preference to the west/south; these areas are closer to your capital and will be easier to hold.


Meanwhile, with a good portion of Ireland under your control, you can afford to turn your attention back to Britain – and make the British remember the terror of the initial Norse raids.


Britain


The big island in VI2 offers a more complex situation than Ireland. If you've been focusing on raiding and grabbing Scottish settlements, you have probably had little opportunity to influence events farther south. It's a good idea, then, to send a spy or two down through Northumbria toward the English Channel, to see which Anglo-Saxon faction is looking strongest, and to see how your pagan allies the Danes are faring.


Of the British factions, the two you can most easily interfere with are the Men of Alba (check), and the Welsh. The Northumbrians may be slow to take any settlements on the coast of the Irish Sea, but if given enough time may take the provinces of Cumbri and Pec Saeten. Ultimately, though, the Northumbrian heartland lies across the Pennines, in settlements like Maelmin (their Royal Residence) and Eoforwic (York) – assuming they took the latter.


It may be tempting, therefore, to do to the Welsh what you're currently doing to the Men of Alba - burn a settlement here, conquer a settlement there – but the Welsh make particularly good trade partners for you, with all their ports facing your newly-Norse Irish settlements. If you get offered a ceasefire from the Welsh, it's a good idea to counter with trade rights.


Plus, your war with Alba will naturally tend to bring you into proximity to the Northumbrians. And, despite their initially poor starting positions, the AI-controlled Northumbrians often do very well in VI2, emerging as the strongest Anglo-Saxon faction more times than not.


In my campaign, I noticed early that the Danes were emerging as a power in southern England, pushing back both the West Saxons and Mercians. Northumbria slowly expanded south, while the East Angles held on to their coasts. By the time I had most of Ireland under my control and was ready to finish off the Men of Alba, it was clear there would be a major war soon between Northumbria and the Danes.


Thankfully, the Norwegians are perfectly poised to intervene in any war for central Britain, despite being geographically inclined to the west and north. If you have been keeping the Irish Sea clear of enemy ships, and have built up Hwiterhe and other settlements (Dunadd, Dunachton, Dyflin) as training centers, you will be able to assemble a fearsome army quickly and sail it to whatever target you prefer.


And, whether the Danes or an Anglo-Saxon faction emerges on top, you are unlikely to have too much trouble in the battles at this stage. The greater danger is strategic, as your obvious dominance begins to make you the target of every faction – even your former allies – and the fewer factions remaining on the map are likely to be rich enough to field large armies to challenge your rule.


Finishing off the Albans gives you greater access to the North Sea, with Din Eidyn being fairly advanced. This allows you to assemble a fleet to trouble Britain's east coast, and take valuable targets such as York by surprise. I declared my involvement in the battle for Britain with this very move, taking York from the Northumbrians before they could react. Unfortunately, this put me too close to the Danes; alliance be damned, they came for me with a stack and a half.


The Danes seem to train lots of their Horsemen and Leidangr, even at later stages of the campaign. Neither of these units is much of a problem, but the Horsemen will be difficult for you to pin down and can inflict some nasty kills.


The Northumbrians favor Spearmen … lots of Spearmen. A closer look at their many stacks of troops will show you that fighting the Northumbrians may be as simple as aiming some Berserkers at the enemy and letting them tear through the Spears.


The other Anglo-Saxons – especially the West-Saxons – tend to train heavier troops. If they last and emerge as a power, be prepared to see Thegns, Armoured Spearmen, and Mercenary Butescarles among the lineup. Fortunately, the Danes usually snuff out Alfred's kingdom before it can get far.


Among the southern factions, perhaps the most troublesome for you will be the Welsh. Their army is similar to the Irish, but will feature Archers, Longbowmen, and more cavalry, in addition to some heavier units such as Swordsmen... not to mention their fearsome Teulu bodyguard. The real danger of the Welsh is not necessarily the strength of their troops, however, but the numbers. If you've been trading with them for a few decades, you've both been getting rich, and the Welsh have not been idle. They often manage to expand into western Mercia, or up the west coast toward Hadrian's Wall.


The opening salvo in a war with the Welsh may be an immediate assault on Maughold, on the Isle of Man. Maughold is a slow grower, and I never got around to upgrading it to the point where I could build walls. Lesson learned for another campaign – the second time I lost the place, it was to the Welsh. In both cases, the loss was not a major setback, but it is an irritant that can derail – or at least slow – your plans.


Fortunately, you can easily push back against any aggression by the southern British factions. By this time you should be capable of training your best units in Hwiterhe, and can land an army anywhere along the coast. If the Welsh do attack you, great – you're just a few naval assaults and sieges away from victory, and the proximity of the Welsh towns to your capital will make holding them that much easier. In battles, you can rely on your long experience fighting Celtic armies to see you through.


The Danes may have been more successful empire-builders in history, but the player of a Norwegian campaign can do more than just smash & grab. With the right mixture of battlefield savvy, strategic opportunism, and faith in the finest infantry in the game, the Norwegians can carve out their own kingdom to rival that of any in the Isles.