SS5.1 hard enough already?

[Gorrrrrn]

I'm about 180 turns through a Norwegian campaign, on M/M.
I've managed to take about 28 regions now.
Had 3 successful crusades but am currently ex-comm'd due to jumping the gun against HRE.

In the NE I'm fighting a desperate battle against the Novgorodii, am just hanging on. It's hard work even with Polish allies.

In France the crown of Aragon have swept all before them, driving the English (also my allies) out, and are now at war with HRE.

Anyway I'm bogged down in central europe fighting HRE who now have dismounted gothic knights etc and I haven't got anything more powerful than the norseswordsmen, sami axemen etc to put up against them. (My top fortress is 5000 population away from the next upgrade.)

Economy is OK but have a lot of settlements that are need of major upgrades.

Having kings who inspire civil wars hasn't helped. Had to remove a lot of generals from settlements when they looked like rebelling. many died horrible deaths. And now HRE assassins are killing off the remainder.

If I can keep an army together I can take Worms, and maybe finish off HRE in due course and Novgorod are defeatable if I can take Smolensk which has a full-stack army garrison. (maybe the Poles will assist?) and if I can keep Novgorod which looks like it might fall any minute due to unrest.

After that I'm stuck. Milan has a huge empire in the balkans; Hungary has the Black Sea coast; the spanish and portugese are in a solid alliance with eachother. There are some weakly held Byzantine islands I could grab. Good news is that the Mongols look as though they are about to be defeated and I have an alliance with the Turks.

Anyway. In summary SS5.1 is hard enough as it is for me. If I'm going to play a campaign, I want one that is winnable in the time frame allowed. So far I seem to be behind schedule, and facing ever tougher opponents.

[Gazi Husrev-Beg]

I am playing Norwegian campain...whn and how do you get Gotland Infantry?

[Gorrrrrn]

Gazi: I've not seen gotland infantry so far.

Will check building tree when I'm playing later to see if I can find them.

[Byg]

That sounds like a really good campaign.

Do you normally play medium/medium? Normally with that amount of settlement even on vh/vh the game is in the bag and victory just a question of time.

In ss5.1 does anyone know if you can continue the campaign if another faction reaches its victory conditions first? Otherwise that could be really disappointing.

[Gorrrrrn]

re gotlanders: you need citadel plus armoury.

AFAIK they are the only heavy infantry the norwegians can get unless you get order chapter houses or use mercenaries. (no DFKs, no DGKs)

re victory conditions:

well you now have to capture 70 regions by the end of the game. And with the Pope making things as difficult as possible and the traits system penalising victorious kings, it's difficult to maintain much momentum.

A few years on my English allies turned against me, so I've repaid them by taking York, Bruges, Cardiff and Caernarvon. Exeter, London and Nottingham are held by a single units but there's at least 1 full-stack lead by a general to also contend with. In central Europe I've taken Nuremburg, Salzburg, Prague and will march on Vienna and Metz once the Pope gives the all-clear. In the east, I've lost and then re-captured Moscow (exterminated the rebellious inhabitants the second time) and taken Yaroslav. My Turkish allies are also now at war with Novgorod. Currently building an army to take Smolensk.

Lack of good infantry makes things more difficult in the late era as well. (And Norway has poor land, so settlements take an age to grow.)

Ayway am grinding on and will let you know if I manage to finish the game with 70 settlements or not.

[The_Richini]

Sounds like a hell of a campaign, I admire those who actually go about getting those 70 provences. I myself just set my own little objectives and rule my kingdom.
GL and have fun

[y2day]

I would suggest taking a ful stack with siege equipment or a spy and start sacking under garrised enemy cities and castles along your borders. Destroy every building that can be destroyed to finance your war efforts. Move your army out and give the province to your allies. That way they will now be on the front lines and will also help defend and attack from your borders.


Great game going. I'm paying as the Byz (H\VH) in my currnt game. Allied with Hungry,Kievan Rus, at war with HR, Turks, Moors, Egypt, and Monguls. I currently control 18 regions. The mongols now have two full stacks at constanople after a jihad was called four turns earlier.
I held constanple through one jihad I don't know if I can last through another. I have egypt down to three regions but they are allied with venice. So now I expect an attack from the west from venice along with the HR's pathetic attempts to capture my western holdings.

[Pdguru]

I'm playing late campaign on either H/H or VH/VH (can't remember which I chose) as England.

It's taken me a very long time to subjugate Scotland and Ireland (who were very agressive from the very start). It has been made even more complicated by constant Spanish invasions and attempts to take Exeter, and Norway's strange infatuation with Edinburgh... I finally ended the Norwegian threat by invading and taking their last settlement while they were being ground away by the Danes. However, I am now being invaded by the Danes!

So, I am about 75 turns in, and struggling just to keep hold of the British Isles. I spend every last penny fighting off invaders! It seems that I won't be taking 70 provinces before time runs out! Still, I'm thoroughly enjoying the game, all the same!

[Frodo52]

In SS you can easily bite off more than you can chew, which is a big difference from vanilla. In vanilla, after a certain point your empire grows on inertia alone, even on VH/VH.

In vanilla as soon as I raised a full stack army, I'd just attach a general and send it out towards the nearest enemy city and my empire would grow. In SS, I'm constantly finding myself weighing the long and short term effects of my actions.

Sure, I can capture two of Milan's cities, but then I'd ruin my relationship with France, and I'm already in trouble with the HRE... Etc.

Very nice.

[Ataegina]

well all depends of the player, for me its hard enough to have some fun, and also i'm having alot of naval battles and tentatives of invasion from denmark and norway (playing as england), wich norway is always raid York ....