Going it alone and the long grind
Has anyone experienced the feeling that the game was just going to go on and on and on? I abandoned a great campaign I had going on as Gondor because in the end I felt like it was me against the world and there was no end in sight. I spent countless days beating back Mordor and holding off Harad not mention the endless invasions on East Osgiliath. Finally what a feeling to have captured all of Mordor and taking a chunk out of northern Harad and then Mordor's diplomat comes knocking as expected to ask for a ceasefire which I am happy to grant just for a respite and to build up my sorely lacking infrastructure.
I check to see what they have left assuming Dol Goldor and a few random settlements. Oh no. Try most of Rohan and some sampling of settlements directly around Dol Goldur. Essentially, Gondor, that long slog through Mordor you spent days playing? Do it again. And this time, Harad is going to send monster stacks and just for fun Isenguard is going to start invading from the west because Rohan sucks as an AI faction and can't stay alive even when all they have to deal with is Dol Goldor because you're single handedly holding off Mordor AND Harad.
Elves are busy either dying at OotMM hands or warring with Eriador. Dale and Dwarves are dying as Rhun pushes on.
So, yeah, Gondor is in this alone because the rest of the AI factions can't even hold their own much less win. Unless you're evil. Then the AI is a steamroller.
It's not just this Gondor campaign but in many I play in the good factions either fall in short order or are just totally ineffective. It's no fun on either side of the coin since as Mordor I can sleep walk through the campaign, literally giving up to move on to something more interesting. As Gondor or god forbid Rohan it's just worse because you're not even on the winning side.
I know this has alot to do with crappy MTW AI but I just wish there was a way to get the good side to at least hold on to what they have without folding. It might help Rohan (and the good side in general) if events like invasions didn't happen so quickly in the game.
The long slog is what can really make you give up and move on to another faction especially when it becomes fairly obvious you're in the fight alone and you have 60 regions to conquer and you're doing it with mostly militia because there's no money to buy the stuff that gives you swan knights and Citadel guards(have yet to play with either of these in all my Gondor campaigns) so you never even get to see yourself using the pretty new shiny units.
Despite this I keep coming back though. It's an awesome mod.
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