Mini-guide to becoming a world power

[Queen Annes Revenge]

While drinking a delicious bottle of Yellowtail Chardonnay, I thought I would come on TWC and write a quick guide to starting out in this game. The beginning is by far the most difficult part, especially because it can be hard to keep your treasury out of the red while fielding a decent army. Hopefully this guide can get you through your turbulent start! I apologize about the poor organization of the guide, as I just wrote everything as it popped into my head. Finally, this guide is written for very hard campaign difficulty and for at least version 1.2 (not sure if it makes a huge difference). Enjoy. The strategies in this guide are only for the first 20-30 turns.

Okay, first, disband all naval units; you don't need them and you will save on upkeep. If you are not England or Denmark, don't even think of building ships until you can easily afford them.

Now, develop your cities. Here's a good build order to follow: dirt roads, land clearance, mines if available, small church, port, grain exchange. From here it's flexible. You want to keep public order in every city such that you can set the tax rate to very high, this is most important. Town watch structures are preferable; they are cheap and give you extremely valuable militia units. Council chambers are cheap too. Stay away from churches after you build your small church. Convert religion by building priests instead; this will give you more cardinals and more control over the Papacy. Get trade rights with everyone you can.

There probably will be times where you're barely making ends meet and you are lucky to afford one cheap building per turn. When this happens, focus on farms and mines. Early in the game, these are your best source of income other than taxes, NOT trade. Always build land clearance and communal farming before your market. Markets don't pay off until you have a lot of cities and/or trade partners. When your city starts to grow, shift your priorities towards the markets.

Don't build things you don't clearly need. I can't stress this enough: weigh the benefits of what you're doing. For example, if your public order with very high taxes is 110%, do NOT build a church or brothel, money is better spent elsewhere. Never build just to build, and never build worthless things like the Plaza del Toro unless you can afford it easily.

Don't bother with merchants in the early going either, unless you are the Moors. Merchants cost 550 to train, and in the beginning, you're unlikely to make this back soon enough to justify making one. The AI's merchants are always out for blood, and will relentlessly assail yours until they exterminate them all.

As your empire grows, start to convert castles to cities and aim for at least a 2:1 city:castle ratio, even 3:1 is preferable as you get more provinces. You really only need one or two castles to be pumping troops and holding tough borders. Cities provide much more economic benefits; any settlement a safe distance from your borders should always be a city. Keep this in mind as you build things. For example, say you are playing as Sicily; you have a castle in Palermo a good distance away from any potential threat. You may need it early to give you access to certain troops, but eventually, you're going to want to make this a city to capitalize on its potential for trade and income (remember, sea trade is more profitable). So if you start building expensive barracks, when you convert it, those will go to waste. Always plan ahead as to which castles you will keep and which ones you will convert.

Armies. Now, early in the game, your armies should consist almost entirely of spear militia with a good general. Spear militia are fairly cheap and can easily hold their own against any early period infantry or cavalry that can be thrown at you. Cavalry, in this period, is an economic sinkhole, mostly because they are utterly useless in sieges. Just use generals to be your cavalry as needed. Now start taking rebel settlements with armies of spear militia. Build two or three rams for every siege in case one gets torched, nothing more. There is never, ever a reason to build a siege tower. Ladders are better but still put your troops at a disadvantage and are really only useful for occupying enemy archers so they won't fire on your rams or troops. Ignore troops on the walls, ram the gates, and control the ground level. As long as you have an equal or greater amount of spear units to rebel defenders, you will win using this strategy. Make sure you are using a general to develop his command ability. Sack every conquered city for the cash. You may have to rely on sacking income to build your more expensive buildings, like higher level barracks or city/castle upgrades.

Soon enough, the AI will begin to attack you just to spice things up. Expect this to happen as the rebel "buffer zone" between your borders closes. Know that the AI will never attack a settlement that is not on your border... so those safe settlements should only garrison enough troops to keep public order. Also, watchtowers and spies are your friends. If you share a border with another faction, ALWAYS keep at least a watchtower looking over it, but a spy is better as he can move. There is almost never a reason to risk a spy on a mission, you just need to use him as a scout. Moving the spy directly adjacent to an army or city will reveal most, if not all, of the army or garrison there. Anticipating enemy attacks, even just by one advance turn, will prevent you from losing settlements. And of course, as the game progresses, you should stop relying on spear militia. Start building your armies according to your faction's strengths, but keep in mind that you will always need quality infantry to win siege battles!

Well, this is about where the game becomes really fun and interesting! Following this guide should give your soon-to-be empire a solid foundation. If you have any questions about economic development, or anything for that matter, ask away and I will answer... but hopefully this short guide helps you avoid going broke in the first 20 turns.

[Mithrane]

Thank you for the long and detailed post. I appreciate this kind of work. And, while what you describe undoubtedly works for you, I have to flat out disagree with many of your more sweeping statelments.

Naval Units : Many factions make great use of them for mobility. Sicily needs it to take the islands to the west and start their African conquests. Byzantium uses its navy to manuver its armies behind the Turks and get at the Holy Lands, and giving 2 fronts vs the Turks. Spain/Portugal uses it to cut off Moors at the Gibralter straights. Danemark, honestly, doesn't even need it at all if they push to the continent instead of the British Isles.

City Build Order : Grain Exchanges are supremely important for general growth. If you leave a general in a city without at least a grain exchange, they will gain the Bad Trader line of traits, which will decimate your economy. This is one of the absolute first buildings you need in every single town. Churches are important as the higher the level, the more priests you can train. This is important for factions bordering other religions, or those who intent to conquer them. This is important for those looking to take the Papacy as more priests = more chances at cardinals. Churches also give chivalry to any general in the town when they are built.

Buildings like the Plaza del Toro may not be high priorities, but are keys to many factions' long term plan for things such as guilds, and thus should not be neglected.

Merchants : Merchants can easily be gaining you 20-40 gold/turn 2-3 turns after training. In 3-5 turns, they should gain 3+ exp, and be gaining 70-100 gold/turn. Give them 10+ years, and they can easily make 150-200 gold/turn. Give them 20+ turns, and a good location, and 300+ gold/turn is not uncommon. Grow them fast, and you will have the better merchants to constantly take over other merchants, thus gaining a large cash bonus for every merchant the enemy builds. Merchants are NOT a waste. Building them early means you get them growing faster, and get the guilds going before they do.

Army Composition : Many factions make great use of horse archers. On the field, early game horse archers are trump cards which win you heroic victories. Archers are key to strategic victories, and many factions, their second tier archers are better than many factions' 2nd/3rd tier infantry. Hordes of spear militia is all fine and good, but do NOT discount the ability to field twice as many armies which are smaller and higher quality for the same price. Yes, hordes of spearmen will win battles, especially if they are the amazing Italians, but they will lose men, require retraining and replacement, and lose to trump units or armies with lots of archery (such as the eastern factions).

Spies : Use them. They can open a gate and allow your to take a city in 1 turn. They can reveal what an opponent's diplomat wants, thus giving you the edge in negotiations. Getting them experience increases their skills, chances of success, and sight range. Keep them in your general's army (along with a priest) and your general will be safer, and know the location of the enemy troops before the start of battle, thus allowing you to tailor your battle planning.

[Jacob]

I disagree with the part about always needing quality infantry to win sieges, you can win with any army as long as you starve the enemy out, its an almost necessary tactic for cavalry centric factions who can't afford a high mortality rate.

[Mithrane]

I disagree with the part about always needing quality infantry to win sieges, you can win with any army as long as you starve the enemy out, its an almost necessary tactic for cavalry centric factions who can't afford a high mortality rate.

Never said you needed high quality units for anything, especially for sieges. I was merely pointing out that it is extremely helpful to have a few "trump units", as I call them, which will give you the edge. Infact, for sieges, I openly suggest the use of a strategy based around mobs of lesser units as cannon fodder cheaply replaced. The main point I was making was that such cannon fodder techniques are not always needed, and for some factions, are often quite unrealistic.

[Ilmater]

Naval Units : Many factions make great use of them for mobility.

I couldn't agree more with this, I usually use the navy to transport most of my troops/agents whenever possible to minimise traveling time. Although one should refrain from keeping generals at sea for an extended period of time as it can somehow make him an uninhibited drunk.

City Build Order : Grain Exchanges are supremely important for general growth. If you leave a general in a city without at least a grain exchange, they will gain the Bad Trader line of traits, which will decimate your economy. This is one of the absolute first buildings you need in every single town.

Again I concur. But the BadTrader trait only develops if the said town has a wooden wall or better. In other words, your governor can construct other buildings first without acquiring it if the town only has palisade.

Spies : Use them. They can open a gate and allow your to take a city in 1 turn. They can reveal what an opponent's diplomat wants, thus giving you the edge in negotiations.

I'm aware of the common functions of the spy but how does one use him to reveal the priorities of other factions in diplomacy, do I have to spy on the foreign diplomat first before initiating dialogue with my own diplomat?

[jsktrogdor]

Although one should refrain from keeping generals at sea for an extended period of time as it can somehow make him an uninhibited drunk.

You try finding something to do while you drift around on a dingy cog for 20 years. LETS GET WASTED AND THROW ROCKS AT SEAGULLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOO!!!

thats how the hundred years war started, fer serious. Bunch of brits throwing rocks at seagulls hit joan of arc on accident, look it up.

[Yogol]

City Build Order : Grain Exchanges are supremely important for general growth. If you leave a general in a city without at least a grain exchange, they will gain the Bad Trader line of traits, which will decimate your economy.

True, but that's only when you have a general in your city. If you don't have a general, you can easily forget about these at the start of the game.

[zind]

lol, listen, one of the best factions for doing an economic boom is spain, but listen, there is a fun part to this boom, before the boom comes a bang. You see, the Spanish campaign provides a short couple turns of intense and decisive battles, and then, once ALL of Iberia is under your flag, you focus on economy. I turn all my settlements to cities with the exception of pamplona, i leave this a castle. You also NEED to switch your capitol to Valencia, this city is great for shifting your population growth to the Mediterranean and thus allowing for easier ventures into the east. It also makes a great spawn point for generals, awarded units, and/or special units. Now that all of Iberia is under your control. You will grow economically at a rapid rate. I suggest an alliance with France, possibly marriage. Once you have France as a buffer, you will be able to send armies any were at sea. I tend to make an elite army and send it north to Ireland, take Ireland, advance to Scotland, and then take the whole of Brittani. This Island should be changed to cities, and economic growth should be worked on, Your empire will be the richest of all. By this time, i forgot to mention that the pope will have prolly called a crusade and you should hold large borders in the holy lands. I also suggest sending other elite armies out attacking and making tiny colonies at places such as, Northern Italy, The Italian Islands, North Africa. GREECE, it is really fun to see the result colors on the map once you control lands throughout the sea. You see what you have been able to do and how your HUGE empire actually stretches from the British Isles to the very east of the Mediterranean. You will have fun

[Hungary Horace]

QUOTE :Spies : Use them. They can open a gate and allow your to take a city in 1 turn. They can reveal what an opponent's diplomat wants, thus giving you the edge in negotiations. Getting them experience increases their skills, chances of success, and sight range. Keep them in your general's army (along with a priest) and your general will be safer, and know the location of the enemy troops before the start of battle, thus allowing you to tailor your battle planning. UNQUOTE

That comment about spies in your army showing where the enemy start in battle does not work I have tried it as so many people on here have said the same thing - have you tried in a battle that isn't a siege defence?

[Mithrane]

QUOTE :Spies : Use them. They can open a gate and allow your to take a city in 1 turn. They can reveal what an opponent's diplomat wants, thus giving you the edge in negotiations. Getting them experience increases their skills, chances of success, and sight range. Keep them in your general's army (along with a priest) and your general will be safer, and know the location of the enemy troops before the start of battle, thus allowing you to tailor your battle planning. UNQUOTE

That comment about spies in your army showing where the enemy start in battle does not work I have tried it as so many people on here have said the same thing - have you tried in a battle that isn't a siege defence?

The talent of a spy increases the chance of him being able to reveal things, such as enemy troop locations. There is a strange system to it, but it does work, on occasion, for field battles. I found it happens more often with the "scouting" line of traits on the spy and/or the general. That being said, when it is not a siege, it is admittedly quite rare for the spy to reveal the defending troop locations. It never seems to when you are on defense.

[Musthavename]

Know that the AI will never attack a settlement that is not on your border...

Just to add to this point. Take note of effective "naval borders". Spain / Portugal will readily attack Caernavon / Dublin, and likewise England will sometimes forray into Iberia. Denmkark also often likes to attack England, and in my experience, if you play as an Italian faction, the Moors will always attack you.

Also, even though settlements may be a fair distance apart, they sometimes border on the world map. The most noticable of these in vanilla I find is Dijon & Milan. They're pretty far apart and although it appears Bern (and some HRE castle) separate them, they do effectivly border on the map, so watch for this.

Otherwise its a pretty solid guide that does what it says. Though, I wouldn't compose armies of entirely Spear Militia, and i'd only ever spam militias playing as the Italian factions. Horse archers although expensive if used properly can win entire battles themselves. A couple of horse archers and your general can aslo easily assassinate their general in field battles early on.

Likewise, I would always prioritise a Grain Exchange / Dirt Roads first of all, and build a port as soon as its availabe, as sea trade is where the money is at. A merchants wharf should also be built as soon as its available, even before Paved Roads.

[Dewy]

Mithrane thanks i never knew that about spies ina armies +rep
Queen nice work i usly have to use money cheat early in the games for some factions but this is great never like cheating unless its a fps game(hehe) i would +rep but can't you disabled it!

[Mithrane]

Yes, you use the spy on a foreign diplomat and use a diplomat on them, in that order, in the same turn. The other way of gaining insight is to have a very highly skilled diplomat engaged in the negotiations. These two together means you can ask for just about anything and get it.

[Ilmater]

Yes, you use the spy on a foreign diplomat and use a diplomat on them, in that order, in the same turn. The other way of gaining insight is to have a very highly skilled diplomat engaged in the negotiations. These two together means you can ask for just about anything and get it.

I tried the above method and it doesn't seem to work for some reason. I used my 7 subterfuge Danish spy on a 2 influence Hungarian diplomat and then opened negotiations with my 7 influence diplomat on him (in the same turn), the priorities still appear as unknown though.

[The Noble Lord]

Interesting post.

[Celsius]

good post, very helpful for beginners. ( im not a beginner)

[Xamt]

I tried the above method and it doesn't seem to work for some reason. I used my 7 subterfuge Danish spy on a 2 influence Hungarian diplomat and then opened negotiations with my 7 influence diplomat on him (in the same turn), the priorities still appear as unknown though.

the method you are referring to hasnt worked for me either... i seem to get another nations priorities rather "randomly" .. sometimes they show, sometimes they dont.... as for being able to get almost anything from a low level diplomat using a high level one its not true (at least in patched vanilla)

as far as economy goes i agree with building rods/farms before grain exchanges/churches since their boost is vastly more significant (hard cash, population growth, faster movement)... ports do give a great economic boost but since it partly depends on the population of the two trading settlements early game port bonuses suck when compared to farm/road/market bonuses - as for merchants i never ever leave them in a location close to home to train, i march them straight for a far away, out of the way resource (either amber in northern europe or gold/slaves in timbuktu)

as far as military and early expansion goes, depending on which faction i play the strategy differs... as the byzantines for example i always try to take out the turks asap with the best troops i got while sparing minimal forces to take out rebel settlements (through starvation)... its the same as venice, i always try to take out milan asap ... as france, the turks or egypt i go for rebel settlements first and almost never assault since i find the losses unnecessary (it takes more time and money to retrain the soldiers you lose while assaulting than to wait out the defenders - let alone the fact that siege engines severely slow your army down) ... if you are experienced enough with using cavalry you can use small numbers and weak appearance to your advantage since the ai vastly underestimates HA ... i often siege a settlement with a weak HA+general army to goat them into sallying, which gets me the town in the first turn without many losses

and yes a navy (i do not consider 1 ship used for transport a navy, but rather a fleet of 4-5 ships) will cripple your economy and is a waste of cash (almost at any stage of the game since the ai will blockade a port for 1 turn only to sail away the next and leave u alone) ... i only use navies in very late stages of the game (mostly for the hell of it )

[Dewy]

no in armies so you can see the enemy before the battle. Question how do you use Merchants?

[Mithrane]

My previous reply was to Ilmater. As to "how to use merchants", I will give an example from my favorite faction, Byzantium.

1.) Train merchant in Constantinople

2.) Send merchant to local resourse (icons of things such as wines, spices, metals, etc). With the merchant selected, hover the mouse over resources so you can see how much that merchant will make per turn if on that resourse. Find one which is relatively high in value. For early game, with low exp merchants, anything above 12-15/turn is good.

3.) Leave to "train" them. Leave the merchant on that resourse for a few turns (3-5 minimum) to gain exp up to about 4-5.

4.) Send your merchant out to "hot" locations. There are several locations in the game with very valuable resources. The farther from your regions/capitol, the more they make. Here is a short list. Search for how to use merchants for more detailed listings, or check it out yourself on the map. Slaves near Kiev. Anything in the Antioch, Jerusalem, Baghdad region. Textiles in northern Italy. Mines in central/eastern "Germany/Austria" area. Wines in central France. Anything around Constantinople. Ambers in Danemark/Russia. Timbuktu.

5.) Clear the area. Find any merchants which you have a 70% or greater chance of taking, and remove them. Avoid merchants which you have a less than 35% chance to take, as they are likely to take you. (Do this by "using" a merchant onto an enemy merchant. This gives you a window ... you'll see)

6.) Stake your claime. Find the most profitable resourse in your reach, and park your merchant on it. Leave it there and only venture out to take any foolish enemy merchant to wander your way.

7.) Train replacements. Make sure you have merchants growing constantly as your top ones will die to any number of things, both natural and AI. Make sure you have a good merchant ready to replace that guy you have sitting on the gold in Timbuktu, and in reach to do so relatively quickly.

[Dewy]

thanks!