Constantly being overwhelmed on all difficulties

**Yonatanl2** · February 12, 2009, 02:23 PM

Everytime I play campaign I get overwhelmed by the faction I am at war with - even when I put everything on easy. Is it maybe a bug in the SS 6.2 version? because at the 6.1 I managed to play well with the Templars (but had a recruitment bug that was fixed in the 6.2 ver)
but now the opposite factions just sends thousands and thousands of troops when I declare war on them...

Could anyone tell me why even on easy I get overwhelmed? would be most appricated

**Gnostiko** · February 12, 2009, 02:32 PM

Two reasons: for a start, the difficulty level has been revised for 6.2 and the AI is generally more aggressive.

Secondly, the AI gets scripted reinforcements; even if they are bankrupt they still get free armies. There is an update patch available that replaces the scripted army with a money-per-settlement bonus instead. The AI is somewhat saner too (though not perfect).

**LionQ** · February 12, 2009, 02:48 PM

What factions did you try so far? There's quite some difference between the difficulty of certain factions in 6.2. Victory cannot be wrought from any starting position/roster as easily as it used to be.

**Yonatanl2** · February 12, 2009, 02:54 PM

-I tried Poland, Genoa , The Templars and Portugal. on all of them after I declared war (or had war declared on me) I have had like about 4-5 hostile armies in my area with a thousand + soldiers. which I coulden't resist abit.

- I don't mind the factions being aggresive , I just don't want them to be gods next to me. Could you please give me the name of the mod that gives them army according to their settlements please?

thanks in advance

**Tacitursa** · February 12, 2009, 03:04 PM

Yonatanl2 im not sure how you play but id guess you have long drawn out wars with factions where battles are small and frequent. Thats ussualy the case against AI as they have endless reinforcements.

Try to make a big force and attack hard and fast and take several regions in 1 turn using several armies with artillery so you can attack and take settlements on the same turn before AI can respond.

Its a good idea to take all of there castles in 1 turn. Playing as england after i take the british isles i ussualy prepare a land assault for france and take Angers , Caen , Bordeux , Paris and Toulouse if they own it in 1 turn. It severly cripples them and they die shortly after.

**LionQ** · February 12, 2009, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by Wizav85

Yonatanl2 im not sure how you play but id guess you have long drawn out wars with factions where battles are small and frequent. Thats ussualy the case against AI as they have endless reinforcements.

Try to make a big force and attack hard and fast and take several regions in 1 turn using several armies with artillery so you can attack and take settlements on the same turn before AI can respond.

Its a good idea to take all of there castles in 1 turn. Playing as england after i take the british isles i ussualy prepare a land assault for france and take Angers , Caen , Bordeux , Paris and Toulouse if they own it in 1 turn. It severly cripples them and they die shortly after.

Shock and awe.

Anyways, I see you've tried fairly small factions thus far. Maybe you wanna start trying out some of the bigger factions, to give you a bit of a boost early on thanks to a richer economy and a larger standing army. It helps to turn the tables in those early turns, if you get what I mean.

**Gnostiko** · February 12, 2009, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by Yonatanl2

- I don't mind the factions being aggresive , I just don't want them to be gods next to me. Could you please give me the name of the mod that gives them army according to their settlements please?

It isn't a separate mod - it's an update for 6.2; search the thread and you should be able to find it a few pages back

**Vae victis** · February 12, 2009, 09:02 PM

lol, I have the same problems as you and I am a veteran MTW2 player. I am often suprised at Stanless Steels superior AI, and the quantity and quality of the stacks that get sent against me.

One thing I would recomend you do is to put ~toggle_fow in the console. This will give you some time to prepare when you see an AI stack heading your way. Removing the fog of war also enables you to lightly defend your cities that you know are safe. Keep minimal troops in them and an army nearby to come to the cities rescue when it is besieged. Your army movements on the campaign map should be like a chess match against enemy stacks. When they move towards a target, move your army towards the target. Try to get to the city as they are besieging it. This way you can use both your armies and garrisons troops in the battle. If you use this strategy you save money and can sometimes protect 3 settlements depending on their distance apart.

On the battlefield know what units work best against enemy units, but also know what troops are cost effective. In my battles, my generals bodygaurd and heavy cavalry do most of the work. I have a main line of infantry and archers to hold the enemy troops in place while my cavalry goes around them to charge the enemy flanks and rear. Also, in SS battles, offense works better then defense. It is less costly to fight your enemies in the field, where you can manouver, rather than in a city or castle defense. Hope this helps.

**Yonatanl2** · February 13, 2009, 12:07 AM

Originally Posted by Gnostiko

It isn't a separate mod - it's an update for 6.2; search the thread and you should be able to find it a few pages back

I couldn't find it , could you please tell me at about which page should it be?

**Yonatanl2** · February 12, 2009, 03:11 PM

I'll try that tactic out , thanks.

--but what in a case of a huge faction i/e the kwazermanians and the holy roman empire? and should I send armies without a family memebers in them?

Originally Posted by LionQ

Shock and awe.

Anyways, I see you've tried fairly small factions thus far. Maybe you wanna start trying out some of the bigger factions, to give you a bit of a boost early on thanks to a richer economy and a larger standing army. It helps to turn the tables in those early turns, if you get what I mean.

It's exactly why I choose small factions , I like them more because you don't need to manage alot.

**LionQ** · February 12, 2009, 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by Yonatanl2

I'll try that tactic out , thanks.

--but what in a case of a huge faction i/e the kwazermanians and the holy roman empire? and should I send armies without a family memebers in them?

You can use your family members, but just make sure they don't die. You don't have to actually use them in a battle, but them being present will greatly increase the performance of your troops. Also, remember time is of the essence. Grab as many of the rebel settlements as you can, and immediately afterwards send all your troops to your nearest smallest neighbouring faction and try to blitz them. More settlements = more money = more troops to repel the AI stack spamming and actually attack them instead of the other way around. Good luck!

**Gorrrrrn** · February 13, 2009, 05:43 AM

Yonatanl2 - patch is the O/P - (opening post) on page 1.
(missed it myself but have now installed it - unzip/rar it and copy the files to the SS/data folder)

**gracul** · February 13, 2009, 05:59 AM

Hi,
Easy difficulty changes the AI so its a little bit more aggressive, and it should do a better job at battles.
Factions get the same scripted reinforcements like in 6.1, but since the money script is out (no insane cash for computer) easy should be only little harder then it is in 6.1 vanilla. The AI settlements still recieve a little boost (like a higher public order, slightly increased growth and a minor religion conversation level), but 6.2 has also a ton of "AI fixes" which help the ai in performing a lot better job on the campaign map, the most important thing is that the AI actually positions their troops on the campaign map a lot better.