Wessex Campaign -- How Do You Not Perish Horribly in a Mangled Heap of Saxon Flesh?

[Keyser Soze]

about saxons cavalry. or heavy cavalry. in this era Saxons used horses to arrived on battle field and than they fight dismounted. in year 1066, when Normans defeated Saxons, Saxons had not cavalry unit. so i think question about Saxon cavalry is, for now, solved.

[swabian]

I've been trying to get a Wessex campaign going, because I want to see Alfred crowned as King of All England (who doesn't?) but ack! I must have started over ten times and I get my clock cleaned every time by the Danish hordes.

Has anyone had success? Any tips?

The battle system of this mod is very interesting. High armor and vanilla morale levels... i wouldnt have expected such a nice result.

As Wessex however, you have to survive the first few turns against the Danes and kill them off as soon as possible with everyith you have. Later the selected fyrd will be the answer to the Vikings.

[leonn]

The battle system of this mod is very interesting. High armor and vanilla morale levels... i wouldnt have expected such a nice result.

As Wessex however, you have to survive the first few turns against the Danes and kill them off as soon as possible with everyith you have. Later the selected fyrd will be the answer to the Vikings.

mmm..i've seen berserkers use select fyrd as cricket balls,although cavalry in the flank seems to stuff berserks up in the air!

[Aradan]

Well, berserkers are not your average unit now, are they?

It's a rock-paper-scissors actually, as berserkers will defeat most other infantry, most infantry will defeat cavalry, and cavalry is one of the best ways to take out berserkers (repeated charge-break off-charge).

Nice to see you here swabian!

[Alex-ander]

I have not really had much trouble with the Danes. In my first campaign (1.5 unfinished) as Mercia on M/VH i never saw them. Then next thing i got the message they had been wiped out presumably by Wessex.

In this campign as Wessex(1.6 M/VH) i have encountered them and they took Lundonwic which is undefendable at the start, twice but it revolted back to Wessex both times.

Maybe if they take and hold on to Lundonwic they will become a threat but so far i am having far more hassle from Mercia.

But i have question about the trade buildings, which are the best buildings to build first and which can wait until money is more plentyfull

[Aradan]

I'd start with traders and then continue with ports. Farmlands can take a long time to develop if you are starting from scratch (ie Forest Clearing -> Basic Farms)

[radu_g83]

hi..i started a campaign with the welsh...i conquered all the rebel towns around me, and after a few years of developing my regions, i declared war to Mercia...after 4 years of brutal war, i now control 2 of their regions ...they requested a ceasefire and i accepted...to counter the viking threat, that was growing bigger and bigger (every 2 years or so i see 2 huge danish armies near my borders) mercia, northumbria and wessex declared that they are allies and wanted me in their alliance ... i accepted...and now i'm allied with all 3 saxon factions fighting against the danes..THIS IS SO FUN!!! i'm loving every minute of it...i just got the irish to sign an alliance with us too, but they are losing ground against the norsemen and sadly i can't help them....all i could get from Alba was trading rights, but as far as i can see, they have no trouble fighting the vikings...This is the best campaign i have ever ever played!!!...THANK YOU

[Aradan]

We're always delighted to read such comments!

[Andalus]

I'll just take this moment to agree that this is an amazing mod (And also amazingly hard! ). Not only does it look fantastic and bring the VI world up to date with a 3D engine, it has taken me back to battles where I have no idea of the final outcome. On first playing VI2, for the first time in ages I actually lost battles!

[MasterOfNone]

We are glad to have such responses and glad it is being enjoyed!

[captiancatnip]

I managed to lose all of Wessex in about 4 turns. The Danes took London on the first turn so I thought I'd take it back with one large Saxon army, which contained my two remaing family members. The Danes attacked me while I was sieging London, a battle I won by sheer luck and took heavy losses but I had recaptured London, hurray. Next turn the Danes lay seige to London again with a full stack, next turn they attack and win, game over, objectives not met When's the last time you saw that, possibly VI.
This is without a doubt the most enjoyable mod I've ever played.
Great work, every thing is superb and really captures the feel of the original.
Now having a go as the Norwegians and having fun with those pesky Irish and men of Alba.

[Aradan]

Thanks for the great comments, and glad you're having fun!

[cherryfunk]

they requested a ceasefire and i accepted...to counter the viking threat, that was growing bigger and bigger (every 2 years or so i see 2 huge danish armies near my borders) mercia, northumbria and wessex declared that they are allies and wanted me in their alliance

This is the kind of cool diplomacy that I've also seen with VI2 and with no other RTW mods, ever...

[Garbarsardar]

I've been trying to get a Wessex campaign going, because I want to see Alfred crowned as King of All England (who doesn't?) but ack! I must have started over ten times and I get my clock cleaned every time by the Danish hordes.

Has anyone had success? Any tips?

I will be succinct.

I play as the Danish Hordes. I want to see no Alfred crowned. I have no tips for you. This is posted in great fury.

[cherryfunk]

The fury of the Norsemen?

[Incontinenta Buttox]

20 months after the last post in this thread I will add my own.

I downloaded this mod yesterday. I have been desparate for a dark age Britain mod, and here it is.

Wow! It's hard isn't it. I have tried a few starts with Wessex. First attempt, I gathered an army and marched west to capture cheddar, only to be invaded by hordes of Danes from the east. Game over.

I was surprised that my starting treasury was exactly "0", and when the Danes take Londene on the first turn, this quickly goes into negative figures.

I suppose my next attempt at Wessex, I'll have to gather single man, and march off to fight the Danes and their scary units. There's no way I can take any rebel settlements while the Danes rampage through my lands.

Great mod.

[Bull3pr00f de Bodemloze]

Yeah, eliminate as many fronts as possible. Use the rebels' weakness (they won't attack, or at least not as often as "normal" factions) against them and ignore them until you are safe to move.

[jackx]

It gets a bit easier in DoB (initially, that is), as the Danes tend to be somewhat distracted by East Anglia, so you have some more breathing room... but it isn't that hard to begin with, unless you insist on VH battle difficulty and its ridiculous AI stat bonuses.
Your starting position is actually quite good, even with the Danes at your doorstep - rich provinces, a strong and numerous army, and a good central position from which to defend against early attacks(the bridges east of Dorcic).

Disband your thegns right away, they're just weaker, expensive versions of your bodyguard, without the ap missiles (but with a morale boost you're not going to need). Similarly, destroy all buildings in London that you can, build walls, and crank the taxes. Not only are you going to lose it anyways, but it's hardly worth fighting for, so you shouldn't feel bad about a bit of scorched earth tactics here.
Also, get your fleet killed ASAP, that's 220 gold/turn that's just being wasted, and you won't ever really need a fleet.

Invest the rest of the money in wall repairs/building elsewhere, and stables in Dorcic. Getting cavalry is your top priority, for some basic hammer-and-anvil tactics involving a battle-line of fyrd, and bg/cav on the flanks. If you have to fight a major battle without cavalry, you'll have to make do with your bodyguards ap missiles against the tough viking units.

Still, if you concentrate your army early enough on that bridge (but try to wait the 2 turns so your characters get the various local titles and benefits), and with London acting as a delay, you should be able to assemble a force that will deter the large viking armies, and easily crush the smaller raiding parties they'll send (most likely to Selaeseu (sp?)).


Most of the Viking army is actually crap, so if you take the few hard hitters, particularly their bg and starting Jomsvikings - Huskarls, lacking shields, are easy prey for fyrd javelins - out of the equation, they're not much of a threat, and most of their units can be slaughtered at leisure by your bg.


And every turn you survive, the economical advantage provided by your rich provinces will grow...

Wessex is all about surviving early, and if you do, all that's left is a somewhat tedious mopping-up process, much like in games with East Anglia and the Danes, as whoever controls the South and East of England turns into a nearly unstoppable power-house.
You'll occasionally get a good threesome with Mercia and Northumbria out of it, but more likely, you'll be sleepwalking over the Welsh while drowning the rest of the map in AS/assorted other heavy units-spam.

I realize that might sound jaded, but that's the way most (R)TW campaigns turn out eventually, and VI2 is an incredibly well-crafted mod where getting to that point will be very enjoyable, and even after you've done it a dozen times, you'll still be coming back for more.

VI2 to me is the Bolt Thrower of mods, simple, effective, and for all its (potential) repetitiveness, never boring.

[Bowden]

I have a Wessex-related question: when I start a W-campaign, my funds are 0. How is this possible?

[Aradan]

It's possible because we set it this way. Could be worse, actually, iirc Mercia starts at -1500...