Help with Vampires 1.5.1 ?

[Lamnatar]

First time i play this mod and i really like the undead, but i cant find a way to get past the first turns.
2 Human Armies and one dwarfen kill me in the very first turns.
It seems impossible to me =(

[SudoKnight]

What difficulty? If you're going to play it on a harder difficulty then I'd recommend playing a couple skirmish battles beforehand to get use to the units, just like any faction in this mod. I've got a Sylvania campaign going and it was quite the challenge at first My advice is to build up as many troops as possible since the basic ones are cheap. Make sure you have one spare army that can go from settlement to settlement to help against a siege. There will be a couple rebel settlements nearby, make sure to take them and garrison them ASAP. Ransom as much as you can to try and get money, that way you could help build your economy (which you should always build up first) and keep to your borders most of the time: the Empire will have to deal with Dark Elves, Tzeentch followers, Orcs and Beastmen running rampant in their lands, so that will do your work for you. Only take a new settlement when you know that you can give it a proper garrison after taking it over without compromising Templehof and Drakenhof. There are two Dwarven settlements in the mountains near Drakenhof (the mountains with a lake), I'd recoment taking those out if the chance arises. I'd also advice against advancing north: the Orcs will eventually send a decent force straight towards the Empire territories north of you (after taking out a Dwarven settlement). The southern Empire will be hard fought, but you'll get a strong economy from that area, most of the requirements will be met and you'll destroy three Empire factions (if successful): Averland, Stirland and Wissenland. The farthest north you should go is Nuln, which is right nest to BloodKeep: but don't send BloodKeep's garrison unless you have excess troops and the Nuln garrison is small. It will be slow for a while, but hold the line and slowly snap up the land east of Drakenhof. Grimgor will eventually come from the southern passes with a huge force of Orcs, you can try to take them out or you can let them march towards the Empire (they didn't seem interested in attacking my forces). Once you do take the Southern Empire, take out the Dwarven settlements and the Border Princes. At that point it will just be a matter of building up and waiting for the Storm of Chaos to be over, the Empire will essentially act as your meat shield.

Use spies and watchtowers to tell when the enemy is approaching and when there is am eastern town that can be taken: siege until you can get a ram at most. The main advantage of Sylvania is morale: most of their units can't break and they have units (like their catapult) that can actually damage the enemy morale. Overwhelm the enemy, your base units aren't that good in the end but your forces should manage if you have many more than the enemy. If you have zombies, place them in the far front and just have them run straight towards the enemy: they're really slow so their main purpose is to divert the enemy and soak up arrows. Another thing, always try to fight at night: Sylvanian generals loose ten command during day.

... if things are still hard, you can use the "auto_win (attacker/defender)" cheat to keep the enemy stacks from destroying you early on, there's no shame in it and the number of stacks in this mod is a bit crazy (it's still a great mod).

Also, someone did an incomplete campaign that you may want to watch, it should help and it's rather funny: just look up "Call of Warhammer: Dark Omen" and the uploader is Drothan.

[SudoKnight]

Also, you can occasionally hire undead for no cost with your generals (like you would a mercenary unit in Vanilla Total War), so check that each turn.

[Lamnatar]

I am playing on easy/easy...
Your advice gives hope that there is a way to play them, thx! =)

[Maltacus]

Here's another dirty trick; In CoW there is no timer for capturing the city square so defend the walls only, or just run out on the other side of town in siege battles and wait for the timer run out. A bloodless victory. Fitting for skeletons...

[Lamnatar]

Hahaha thanks thats a rather...cowardly trick

Tryed everthing but without cheating i have no chance as undead. So i trýed the Orks...woah!! Funny as hell those green guys and they know how to beat thing up.

[Carl Jung was right]

First I recommend playing on max difficulty. I understand that you may be a newbie and struggling with some concepts. With CoW however, a higher difficulty setting does not necessarily mean a higher difficulty. I for one, didn't find much of a difference in campaign map aggressiveness or battle AI going from m/m to h/h to vh/vh. But I still recommend vh/vh because that's the difficulty for which the mod was specifically programmed and playtested for. By choosing a lower setting, you risk on missing out on some key gameplay features, introducing bugs and instabilities. Yes, vh may be a little more challenging but I think it's nothing the average person can't overcome.

My best advice is if you're struggling with the game concepts, start a Chaos campaign. They have very powerful (and very cool) unit roster and a rather safe starting position. Dealing with trolls early on is annoying but by no means impossible. Vampire Counts are a challenging for me as well in the beginning, and often require several restarts to get them up and running. Once you have captured a key number of provinces however, you become pretty much un-defeatable. The only thing I can really recommend is patience, multiple saves and willingness to try again. If you're finding micromanagement in battles too frisky, then try using the pause button every once in a while to think things through.

[Cenk]

Sylvania and Tzeentch have the hardest campaigns i have played so far. Especially Sylvania. You have to deal with countless spawn_army scripts. And those armies have many deadly knights and wizards (so called rare members of the military orders). Damn humans are breeding like rabbits. But it is still playable.

I have managed to finish it at vh/vh with victory. Though, i was lucky enough to get necrarchs before turn 25, if i recall correctly. They are killing machines, as powerful as chaos mages. They have much more mana (200) than all other mages, except Nurgle's mages (same).

[The Despondent Mind]

Or the mods could simply be softer on Sylvania ?I just don't see the necessity in such a hard start .

[MidnightBlack]

Or the mods could simply be softer on Sylvania ?I just don't see the necessity in such a hard start .

You are so very right-Vampires should actually be a powerful force-as should certain Empire factions,All of Chaos and Orcs and High/Wood elves.If they want to reset the powers in order Dark Elves should be the toughest army to handle (as they are on tabletop) followed by some empire factions,Chaos Dwarves ect.

I totally agree that stats and costs need to be gone over by someone who knows the tabletop version/lore from balls-to-bone (1st edition to 7th) and re-edited.I have dabbled in trying that but when I do I ge a "Chaos has taken over" message crash so I gave up (I am no modder).
I absolutley love the mod they have done but no-ones perfect.And the balance is the only thing out of place I believe.While its still great to play and not noticable to the casual player,those who know the lore well (And not just me but others I have chatted with) find it annoying.Some examples are-

1)No armor on Vamp counts-they die way too fast for who they are

2)Chosen warrior stats are not very different from marauder stats (looking at the numbers after learning what they meant I had to wonder what they were thinking there)

3)Some "common" troops have almost (or in some case higher) stats then some "elite" classes do.Some dont get the benefits of there common lore abilitys-Like Nurgles ability to shrug off wounds,Vampire Lords vicious hand-to-hand (as well as Khorne) Slanesh's unbreakable will,or Orcs and Goblins using there stacks to mob players.

4)Some players like Middenheim have no chance at all unless you either A)cheat or B) are a master of the game.I know some who are good enough-but the casual gamer needs to steer clear.Vampire Counts fall in that category and its sad,because they should be an all-player choice as they are unique.If they want some that are for "master level players" (and that is a good thing-cuz as players get better,more challenges increase game longevity) It should be some of the Empire factions-remember the whole thing is the overpowered good triumphing over overwhelming evil that should be the appeal of "good guys".Those who want the "easier" games (and theres nothing wrong with that either" should play the evil.

I must say this-These guys did an overwhelmingly impressive achievement in prodicing this mod and most game companys couldnt have done better.But when its out,that when the real playtesting begins by people like you and me.We cant expect to look to them for every detail either-thats why they gave us a sub-mod section.I think you have helped to point out the games one major flaw,and someone will pick up the pieces

[The Despondent Mind]

However when I play with an Empire faction , that is even not bordered with Sylvania, then they are annoying pest that refuses to die .
Not to mention boring grinding battles against them , it just gets so dull when you have to destroy every single undead by force , I mean at least the vampire's could rout, after all they are sentient and self aware , therefore they should have a sense of self preservation .

[MidnightBlack]

I havent encountered them yet.I play as Khorne and they ussually get wiped before I see them.Mostly I get waves of Nurgle and High Elves.The AI could prolly be the main issue with balance,instead of stat changes but one or the other should be worked on.

[lekseus]

MidnightBlack,
1) This is Warhammer, so, expect tough fights
2) Tactical balance will be reworked
3) Vampire Counts are surrounded by foes, hence their "life" is doubly hard. But, they have the strongest units

[hbk_123]

@ MidnightBlack
Which turn do you encounter the Vampire in your campaign? Because in most of my campaign as an Empire faction, if I don't come over there to help the Vampire always push Stirland to the verge of being wiped. Yes their troops are not that great stat wise but the amount of stacks that they receive through the script is immense.

[Watcha]

I'm starting a new game as Talebecland after just finishing my first as Sylvania. I played Sylvania on hard/hard and it was tough but it's nothing compared to this.

I've counted 8 full stacks with anecrarch, blood knight and grail knight each as well as all the other elite stuff... In my 200 turns as Sylvania I only ever had 1 unit of blood and necrarch, AI has eight, and I start with 3/4 stack of swords and bows which I can turn into a full stack if I add all my hero's.

First turn necros hit Vorderbergen. If I restart enough times I'll get a second turn in which they don't siege Krugenheim. Third turn I get my first cav, can't recruit anything else 'till turn six which doesn't really matter since I don't have any money anyway. Then I die.

Has anybody managed to pull off Talebecland without a thousand reloads? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Maltacus]

With vampire counts, the catapults should still work since their power derive from the special ability of the skull and not so much their stats. Check out the stickied guide to Warhammer faction. One has made one post there regarding ones tried and tested catapult armies.

[Steamtank Commander]

4)Some players like Middenheim have no chance at all unless you either...

I came here looking for help on the Sylvania opening moves on a vh/vh game. I find that to be an inaccurate statement. Middenheim is my go to faction and isn't that difficult once you weather the initial Beastman onslaught (Hint: your hammer wielding Knights can crush a handful of Minotaurs on the charge get them out and into the minotaurs early and they'll chase around the map) you can build up a powerful small county. The key is having two armies up in Nordland when the storm of chaos hits. There will be 7 full stacks of Chaos, with your two armies you can fight each Chaos stack seperately if your general has night fighting. Once those seven are down, 5 more hit Middeheim. Let them take it, they will separate, retake Middenheim and then destroy each stack independently. 2-3 rocket launchers firing into the Chaos armies will waste about 25-35% of their stack before they even reach your lines. I highly recommend playing the boys in blue and white, their Knights of the White Wolf are one of the best knight units you'll find in game.

What I'd really like to find out is how the hell to survive the first 20 turns as Sylvania. I've tried so many times but full stack after full stack just keep coming. Anyone got any "must do" opening moves? I know about the "mercenary" recruiting but that's never enough to stem the tide.

Thanks!

Steamtank Commander

[pojansetan]

Well I just starting again playing slyvania one week ago and now im on turn 82. difficulty VH/VH. I got lucky on every heroic battle against 2 stack stirland and 1 stack from dwarf. The next wave keep coming until priest of sigmar calling for crusade on drakenhof. I still survived from the slaught of empire but lossing blood keep on western part of map. After crushing all empire stack (cant remember how many dozen of them including irritating bright wizard), the Crom from the north Chaos wasteland coming ing with my land around turn 72. I think it is more easier to fight Chaos Undivided than irritating Empire. My game strategy as follow :

1. the prince heir of Slyvania (Marcus? I forgot his name) will become my greatest general with accumulated 10 point of dread. Sent him to fight every battle.
2. train a lot of skeleton and zombie (very lot) rather than elite unit. buy some catapult to give fear effect on enemy army
3. build armory factory on drakenhof. give your zombie a new shine armour. very durable unit
4. complete the mission giving by your council. get a bonus of money and troops
5. sack all the empire cities that you can reach and sell all the building. then, LEAVE!
6. recruit empire archer on every castle/city wall to provide STAKES behind the gate to kill heavy calvary unit
7. do not expand your empire, it is hard to defend in early game. on turn 80, I have 3 region only under control.
8. I just got necromancer on turn 60, just get rid of it! 3600 upkeep are making your kingdom in hyperinflation!
9. In battle, please use heavy calvary to charge and kill first bright wizard and general bodyguard
10. if you win the battle after killing their general, just ransom them for money

Save every two turn. I got so many crash when playing. noted : two times I use God cheat auto_win because this repeated crash (I already won but crush after exit he battle) cant avoid .

I hope my tips will help you little a bit.
Enjoy your campaign

[Ultra123]

Didnt want to start a new thread for this:

How do i remove the reduction of stars for vampire counts fighting during the day? Night battles are annoying for me as its far too dark and i dont get much enjoyment from it. Whats the offending file so i can remove the penalty? Also will the change be save game compatible?

Any help appreciated!

EDIT: COW forums has been dead quiet recently! wheres everyone gone?

[Vossie]

Didnt want to start a new thread for this:

How do i remove the reduction of stars for vampire counts fighting during the day? Night battles are annoying for me as its far too dark and i dont get much enjoyment from it. Whats the offending file so i can remove the penalty? Also will the change be save game compatible?

Any help appreciated!

EDIT: COW forums has been dead quiet recently! wheres everyone gone?

Hey Ultra123, you could also simply click "Wait" to avoid the night time before deploying your armies.

Yeah forum activity is low at the moment but I'm sure it will increase once 1.6 is released.