French Guide
FRENCH GUIDE!!!1!
Early France
First off, the French in the early period are very vulnerable to being destroyed to say the least. They are surrounded on all sides and have horrible early period soldiers. They do make up for these cons, however, as they dominate the late game. You'd have to build up France early on by taking the rebel settlements around your starting position before others get to it. To prevent them from doing so, I'd suggest taking the farthest but reasonable settlement from you (for example, to prevent HRE from taking Bern, or Spain/Portugal from taking Zaragoza). Of couse it would make the surrounding factions angry, but that's what alliances are for! If they do happen to break the alliance, however, the Pope will soon break up the fight, or excommunicate someone in the process. You should then progress to the surrounding rebel settlements which you haven't taken yet, but keep in mind that Brudges and Antwerp are a pain to take, so try getting to them first. Now it's time to switch around some of your castles to cities. I always try to make Angers a city, and I usually change Caen and Bordeaux into cities as well. I like Toulouse a castle, as it will definately keep the Spainish out. If you really hate the Milanese that much, you could even change Marseille into a castle. Once you've established a basic empire, the English will still pose a threat to your inner states. Try luring them to attack one of your cities by leaving it with a low garrison. If they're too stupid to attack an easy target, go wipe before the Pope has time to think what just happened. A good strategy to doing this is by setting large armies near each other their cities before you launch your attack and try to take all of their cities at once. After that, I'd suggest having an alliance with the Scots, but conquest is all the more glorious. You should then focus on the Germans to the east. If you managed to take Metz/Bern, conquering the HRE will be that much easier. They are a very large faction and aren't gonna be beaten quickly, so be prepared to avoid getting the pope pissed off. By this time, you should already have a diplomat at the pope's office, so offer him an alliance, map information, cash and a tribute if you please. Don't offer trade rights, as he's to far for it to be of any use. Try taking HRE's castles first, and don't be shy to introduce your army to their capital. That should leave them weakened, but not out. If the pope at any time wishes you to stop, it would be best you do, you can't afford defending from crusades this early on in the game. If the HRE is small enough to not be a threat, try pulling back your forces for this time of pacifism and money making. If you are not aware, the Pope doesn't get pissed at you for defending from an attack or breaking up enemy forces in your lands. You should focus on taking some of Spain through pacifism. Send loads of spies to small cities and wait for them to revolt or bribe them into your country. Each city you take helps. The HRE should soon be finished off and you should now be looking at the already weakened Spain. They aren't much of a problem while you already got some of their land.
Late France
The late period for France should be a breeze for all players. The extensive ability of their units would prove lethal to all who oppose them. Start setting up empires all over the known world, but the most important place would be near Jerusalem. Those nasty Mongols are gonna be tearing at those poor factions, and you're the only one who could stop them. More about the Mongol invasion below. Anyway, when you have good relations with His Holiness, call a crusade near your Palestinian empire and send a good force to rid the place of the nasty Egyptians or whoever. When you're about to take the targeted area, join the crusade with all your soldiers around the world to gain some experience after the successful crusade. That should make it much easier to conquer the known world.
The Mongols Invade
The Mongols are coming! Hold all conquests and make peace with other factions and prepare to fight the second hardest war you'll be fighting in the game. They usually appear from the Middle East and go for Antioch first in my experiences. They have really annoying Cavalry, and the more annoying Harchers. Be sure to have tons of spearmen and Lavalry to beat back their Harchers. They have really good generals so it's a good opportunity for your assassins. After you beat back the first wave, their will always be another. This one is a lot harder, as their already tough full stacks now have more experience and a lot stronger general. The Mongols are so numerous, that even if you win a battle, they can send another army to mop up right after. Once you finish off the Mongols, be prepared for the biggest war you've fought yet. The Timurid War.
The World is Round
This may be an exciting event for Europe, but for the average gamer, it's kind of a pain. First of all, not many of those savage native Americans in an army would prove to be a complete steamroll. On the contrary, an army swarming with Indians would prove fatal. They could swarm over any and all of your footmen, so watch their back. Be sure to pack Merchants in your French Mayflower, as the riches there sell for a lot, and it's a long way from home, and be sure to bring priests as well, because every region there is Pagan. What really makes the Americas really dull for me is the separation of each city. Walking back and forth could really be a pain for me, especially since I'm pretty lazy.
Units
Infantry- The French field OK infantry, but I happened to drop Heavy Pike Mlitia into the mix an found it helped a lot. Later in the game, you could have some French Dismounted Knights as your army's backbone, with some Sergeants on the flanks to protect from cavalry charges.
Cavalry- Fielding the best cavalry in the west is a quite fitting title for the French. Able to send the fearless Lancers in the heat of battle is quite a privilege. As soon as they or any other of French's great cavalry units are in position, their devastating charge will rip through any unit.
Missile- French's missile units aren't bad at all, as their Scot's Guard isn't bad at all. Having excellent range and damage, this unit is notoriously able to compete with England's mighty archers.
Gunpowder- France would probably be the late game king if it wasn't for their lack of sufficient gunpowder troops. Only accessed to the Arquebus, France's gunpowder troops are quite "limited". Their Artillery is bad at all though, as their Serpentine could really rip through compacted ground of soldiers. Other than that, their gunpowder artillery is kinda the same as everyone else's.
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Originally Posted by Celsius
