How to keep a good diplomatic reputation

[ChivalryUK]

In the campaign I'm playing at the moment I have a reputation of despicable, but I'm not really sure I deserve that. I've been forced to break alliances when two allies have fought each other, but other than that I've been fairly straight up. I cancel trade rights before attacking etc. What causes drops in reputation and what can be done to raise your reputation? I read somewhere on here that if you get trade rights with an other faction and don't send a merchant there, your rep drops, is that true? Seems a little harsh considering how often my merchants get destroyed.




(Also, as a side question that doesn't really deserve its own thread: does England get anything that's effective against cavalry after levy spearmen? Atm I can recruit DFKs and armoured swordsmen etc., but nothing that's aimed specifically at cavalry. I can't remember seeing anything about cavalry on the billmen unit card.)

[Commander5xl]

English dont really get any good, except merch armored sergeants, thats their main downfall, although when Longbowmen stakes are used, you'll get every English men saying, what is this thing called a spear? Stakes pwn all

[ChivalryUK]

Are billmen and heavy billmen even effective against cavalry? It says they're effective against armour which would equate to a similar effect against heavy cav but not light.

Also earlier I launched a charge of knights into a group of town militia, 30 knights to 75 militia, and lost all my men, killing only 3 of theirs! That's town militia owning a charge of knights, and their card doesn't say anything about cavalry bonuses at all.

[Muagan_ra]

I know that some other polearmed troops get "spear bonuses" against cavalry, like Halbardiers and Janissaries. Logic would dictate that Billmen might have similar abilities.


EDIT: Scratch that, I just checked. No, Billmen have no spear bonus, which is strange saying as their unit cards seem to imply that they do.

[Silent Assassin]

Follow my guides on Reputation, click on the direct link in my signature, named The Great Informative Thread

[ChivalryUK]

I think I've read through that thread but I'll certainly check it over again. As for billmen, in a test I conducted pitting 30 knights against 60 of them, they were wiped out and only took 18 with them. This was slightly better than armoured swordsmen and DEK, but much worse than levy spearmen (against a head on charge from the knights). I find this surprising even considering cavalry bonuses, as the levy spearmen are such a low tech unit.

[Silent Assassin]

I think I've read through that thread but I'll certainly check it over again. As for billmen, in a test I conducted pitting 30 knights against 60 of them, they were wiped out and only took 18 with them. This was slightly better than armoured swordsmen and DEK, but much worse than levy spearmen (against a head on charge from the knights). I find this surprising even considering cavalry bonuses, as the levy spearmen are such a low tech unit.

But Spearman are great against cavalery

[Paulus Rubio]

Billmen and Heavy Billmen are great against Cavalry if they're used correctly. They are shock troopers, not spearmen nor pikemen. They can not stand against a cavalry charge, but if you lock the cavalry down with spearmen or stakes, and then send in your billmen, you'll get a much better result.

[ChivalryUK]

Yeh I read in another post exactly that. The long hooked bills are great for devastating cavalry that are otherwise engaged but not for withstanding a charge. It seems England has a lot of units that are best used for flanking, perhaps to make up for the lack of cavalry variation?

As far as diplomacy stands, I read the guide in the great information thread and still have some questions. Do you have to send merchants to every faction you make trade rights with? Will you lose reputation if you don't send units to aid an ally in their battles?

[Silent Assassin]

Yeh I read in another post exactly that. The long hooked bills are great for devastating cavalry that are otherwise engaged but not for withstanding a charge. It seems England has a lot of units that are best used for flanking, perhaps to make up for the lack of cavalry variation?

As far as diplomacy stands, I read the guide in the great information thread and still have some questions. Do you have to send merchants to every faction you make trade rights with? Will you lose reputation if you don't send units to aid an ally in their battles?

If you play on Medium difficulty on the campaign map you don't really need to take the time and talk with your allies if you play on harder settings you won't have a choice because there is a script in the game that makes your relationships and Reputation go down unless you do something about it, which for me is a game breaker.

You don't need to send Merchants at all, the trade rights that you get are done automaticly via roads oand Ports. Merchants are used to get extra money from ressources that are on the Map

[Muagan_ra]

As far as diplomacy stands, I read the guide in the great information thread and still have some questions. Do you have to send merchants to every faction you make trade rights with? Will you lose reputation if you don't send units to aid an ally in their battles?

Do not get trade rights with every faction, and don't accept them when their diplomats offer it. Trade rights are an agreement, and if you're not in a geographic position to actually trade with these factions, that is a breaking of agreement, and your reputation will suffer. Only have trade rights with factions you have road/sea links to.

[Silent Assassin]

Do not get trade rights with every faction, and don't accept them when their diplomats offer it. Trade rights are an agreement, and if you're not in a geographic position to actually trade with these factions, that is a breaking of agreement, and your reputation will suffer. Only have trade rights with factions you have road/sea links to.

This is true but only on higher difficulty settings than Medium

[HanatielHawk]

Well that sounds logical. I play at Medieval II with Venice and have like trade rights and alliances with almost everybody, i only have 4 wars, Byzantine Empire, Hungary, Milan and Sicily, but when i attacked the Byzantine Empire, after i took 2 cities of them by diplomacy for trade rights and an alliance, because they feared i was going to kill them, my reputation suffered and i was more mixed than reliable. I recovered now, but it made radical changes to my empire. But it is not good to reject trade rights.. Because if you are expanding your empire, and you're at the borders of that empire you'll get trade from them too. But you're right if you're in a bad position like England or Russia.

[ChivalryUK]

@ Rebel6666, are you saying that this game mechanic doesn't exist on lower levels than hard, or just that it doesn't matter about diplomacy at the easier levels?

[Silent Assassin]

@ Rebel6666, are you saying that this game mechanic doesn't exist on lower levels than hard, or just that it doesn't matter about diplomacy at the easier levels?

Everything that touches campaign map like Diplomacy/Reputation, Relatioships etc... is better more enjoyable, more realistic IMO on Medium. Now don't get me wrong I play on Very Hard battles

[Commander5xl]

not as big as an effect I think, like it wont make or break reputation, but its still there, at least I tihnk theough im not sure, if you play on Easy, i think there isnt a factor at all with how far away you are.