For beginners: take Crown of Aragon

[rogergargantua]

To anyone who's new to Stainless Steel mod and not knowing which faction to choose from: take Crown of Aragon. Why? Read below if your curious.

Started few weeks back with the faction Crown of Aragon after I finished my Teutonic Order campaign ( I know, I still have to change my sig picture to something of Crown of Aragon-ish ). I now play in Late Era campaign.

I really really enjoy the Crown of Aragon! Imo, they are the coolest and best faction that SS has to offer. Mainly because of the numerous kickass units they can build. Like I said, I did a Teutonic Order campaign before this one and I was quite bothered and disappointed by the lack of different units they could build. This is something that Crown of Aragon totally makes up for it.

Their "castle" units offer a wide array of interesting infantry and cavalry. Powerful ones too! And when u get more and more development in the cities, you'll be able to build an equally powerful army as in your castles. The "sword and buckler man" , the "Gendarmes", "Tercio Pikemen" and the "Musketeers"! Awesome units!!

Also, lets not forget about the Montesa and Santiago chapter houses which lets you build more different knights. The Montesa ones even have a cool looking mace to club your foes.

Even their starting position is interesting: You have to share Iberia ( spain lands ) with Portugal and Leon-Castille.....it can go any way....and below is the threat of the Moors. Good cannonfodder to make you more popular with the Pope if you slaughter them!

I've wroted "Thank you, SS-crew" much times before. But here's one more:
Thank you for this great mod!!

Below are some screenshots I made during my campaign: Perhaps that will get ya motivated to play Crown of Aragon
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/8...pikemenwb9.jpg
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3...ikemen2qx9.jpg
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/6...keteerszw8.jpg
http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/425...eteers2qj7.jpg

Roger

[MoToM]

I agree, very rounded faction, great units, interesting start position with lots of possibilities.
I second this recommendation.

[Phaze]

I concur, just finished my Early Era, short campaign, definitely a good faction to play for just about anyone. Have awesome professional units in the Gendarmes and sword and buckler men, good combination those two, although usually I just use the Gendarmes as they're just unstoppable at some points vs everything else. The Knights of Montesa are awesome, mace wielding bad boys they are.

[The Noble Lord]

Aragon is actually very good faction to play.

[rogergargantua]

Yea, the only downside of Montesa and Santiago knights is that they can only be retrained in cities/castles which have those chapter houses. That can be a pain in the neck sometimes. Always bringing them back for a total recharge.

I think Aragon's army roster is the biggest of em all, rite?
They also have excellent ships btw.

[Phaze]

Yea, the only downside of Montesa and Santiago knights is that they can only be retrained in cities/castles which have those chapter houses. That can be a pain in the neck sometimes. Always bringing them back for a total recharge.

I think Aragon's army roster is the biggest of em all, rite?
They also have excellent ships btw.

You're right about the chapter houses, but you can accept more of them in castles and such, but by the time you can mass produce units with ease, you're probably in good shape in the game. Well I am anyway

As for bringing them back, it's worth it when they have more experience, especially with a gold chevron, all about patience though

[Ishoss]

Never been able to continue an Aragon campaign because of their hopeless starting position. You gotta blitz (Well, I feel I got to blitz...) neighbour castles (Valencia, Pamplona and Toulouse) before Castille, France or the Moors take 'em.

At the same time I do great when I play templars and get advanced quite quick, so should probably try out Aragon sometime... Perhaps today

[rogergargantua]

Never been able to continue an Aragon campaign because of their hopeless starting position. You gotta blitz (Well, I feel I got to blitz...) neighbour castles (Valencia, Pamplona and Toulouse) before Castille, France or the Moors take 'em.

At the same time I do great when I play templars and get advanced quite quick, so should probably try out Aragon sometime... Perhaps today

I think their starting position is pretty exciting. You never know how it will roll with portugal and leon-castille on the same lands. I was lucky that Leon-castille got in a war with Portugal at start. I never felt I had to blitz. I took it real easy on my campaign. I first dominated most of Spain lands ( Leon-Castille is still in center with 4 lands ) and I own most of the Moorish lands. By then, I still didnt take Toulouse or Bordeaux and France never attacked me.

But then again, each campaign goes differently. And I am a slow-attacker too. I like to focus more on building and developing my kingdom before I go crazy too.

[duda]

I hate aragon, i burned their kingdom with me varangians

[Musthavename]

Aragon has an amazing roster. However, I wouldn't say a beginner should take it. I'd definetly say that they are one of those factions that you really have to play a campaign with, but not first. They're surrounded by other nations and if you've never played an SS campaign before you can quickly find yourself at war with France, Spain, Moors, Portugal & Genoa at once.

Hell, in my campaign I just figured Portugal didn't border me, didn't need an Alliance or anything. Then they send a half stack that lands outside Pamplona and attacks me out of nowhere. In my earlier campaigns, I never expected the Moors to be so bothered about Palma, and even the Genoese attacked it.

[rogergargantua]

Aragon has an amazing roster. However, I wouldn't say a beginner should take it. I'd definetly say that they are one of those factions that you really have to play a campaign with, but not first. They're surrounded by other nations and if you've never played an SS campaign before you can quickly find yourself at war with France, Spain, Moors, Portugal & Genoa at once.

Hell, in my campaign I just figured Portugal didn't border me, didn't need an Alliance or anything. Then they send a half stack that lands outside Pamplona and attacks me out of nowhere. In my earlier campaigns, I never expected the Moors to be so bothered about Palma, and even the Genoese attacked it.

Mmmm....I find that making alliances and diplomacy goes much easier in SS. If you have an alliance, the AI wont break it up so easily cuz they know its important too.
But I admit its a tricky start position. You certainly have to be careful at start. But once its stable and you have good connections, its good.

The Moors were beaten so quickly in my campaign. They had like whole of Africa and even Palma. But Leon-Castille and Portugal were at war with The Moors. A few rounds later, all of Africa went Rebel. Turned out that all of the family members of the Moors were beaten by the hands of Portugal and Leon-Castille. The Moorish faction was destroyed.
The turns after this were really exciting. Africa was open for conquest & colonization since it was all rebel country. This was really a race between me ( Aragon ), Portugal and Leon-Castille.
I took Melilla in order to try and take the rest of east-Africa ( it was rebel country till Tripoli and so cutting off Portugal and Leon-Castille.
The city of Fes was taken by Leon-Castille and Marrakesh was in Portugal hands.

Great battles and cunning diplomacy followed after....

Man, I loved this campaign back then!

[Lothe]

I actually played Crown on my last campaign [h/h], I was doing well, but I underestimated the power of a near dead AI player.

As previously mentioned, your fate as the CoA relies heavily on what happens on the Peninsula, who declares war on who etc. Probably the prime is if Protugal and Spain go to war, and both to war on the Moors, with the Spanish meatshielding Portugal from the Moors, you can easily take most of Eastern Ibera and stockpile on troops and resources waiting for the optimum moment.

[Yoda Twin]

Ya probably my favourite fac tion in SS, love Armats.

[pericles_plato]

Never played it. I've enjoyed England campaigns. So CoA have good knights. Mainly looking for a faction that has good Dismounted knights.

[rogergargantua]

Never played it. I've enjoyed England campaigns. So CoA have good knights. Mainly looking for a faction that has good Dismounted knights.

Man, then ur on the right adress. Crown of Aragon has got Feudal Knights ( doh! Which Christian faction doesnt have these guys?? ), Armats, Santiago Knights, Montesa Knights.
Then you also got a lot of "city" infantry like Tercio Pikemen, Sword and Buckler men, etc.

They also got a wide array of different cavalry if your interested in that too.

lol, looking at my writing above feels like i am selling this faction to customers

[The Noble Lord]

Armats, Santiago Knights, Montesa Knights.
Then you also got a lot of "city" infantry like Tercio Pikemen, Sword and Buckler men, etc.

You gotta hand it to them, they are very good units.

[pericles_plato]

Man, then ur on the right adress. Crown of Aragon has got Feudal Knights ( doh! Which Christian faction doesnt have these guys?? ), Armats, Santiago Knights, Montesa Knights.
Then you also got a lot of "city" infantry like Tercio Pikemen, Sword and Buckler men, etc.

They also got a wide array of different cavalry if your interested in that too.

lol, looking at my writing above feels like i am selling this faction to customers

Sweet. I'll take it.

[Eupholi]

I think i might try the Crown of Aragon for my next campaign was gonna play as Venice or Genoa but maybe ill try out Aragon.

[pericles_plato]

The one thing I hate about Aragon is the Javiline throwers. Hate them and they hate me.

[Inhuman One]

I really dislike Aragon and would never play that faction.

They just feel a bit like a ripp off from Spain, they got all they have plus some extra units, and I really dislike the skins.

They are fine as an AI faction, but I would never use them myself.