World Domination - The Political Way

[Nazgûl Killer]

I found a way in M2TW (SS6.1) to dominate the world, politically

I am playing as England, I control the Holy Land, Britain (Aside Scotland, my best allies), France, Norway and Egypt.

Yes, it is true, you say I'm 'vast', but not really, in France I only control 5 regions and the Frenchies have a ring of regions around those, and they are my vassals... Good buffer state. Anyway...
I have about 100K per turn, from income, and my empire is developing at an alarming rate, I have gunpowder armies that rival modern armies, the best navy... Yes... But we're here to talk politics!

So, I've found a way, with enough money, to bend the world to my will!
I created a war between France and the HRE, Denmark and the HRE and Genoa and the HRE! All I did was give the HRE 125K in exchange for them to attack all these 3 factions, and I did the same for them, offering them 30K if they attack the HRE, France is being slowly put down... Not that I care, Denmark is pushing into Germany and so is Genoa, the HRE is moments from falling...
So, I was wondering, did any of you manage to do this? I pretty much rule the world, diplomatically!

[LaMuerte]

I often thought about it but never did a 'political-only' campaign. I got 15 regions left to conquer with Hungary in SS 6.2 to finish the current campaign before I'll start a new one , which I will try to do political only.



Keep us informed on your current political campaign , nazgul.

[Silent Assassin]

@ Nazgul, I Wonder how you managed to do that .... Cool I enjoy those campaigns more than World domination ones where you kill everyone

[Antwerpen]

I wonder if you can do it in SS. In vanilla when I tell a faction to attack another one, even if they accept, they do nothing. I mean, they're not even attacking. Waste of money.

[Viking Prince]

I wonder if you can do it in SS. In vanilla when I tell a faction to attack another one, even if they accept, they do nothing. I mean, they're not even attacking. Waste of money.

There is a time frame for performance. If during that time you do something to irk the faction, my guess is that they then ignore the agreement. In Lands to Conquor it is 15 turns. I would suppose either 15 or 10 turns in vanilla. It is my experience that it is more effective to promise support rather than ask for it.

[Nazgûl Killer]

Nah, in SS they do it, as long as you are reliable.
I'm on Very Good - Outstanding or Perfect relations with all my allies (Most of the nations of SS6.1, aside from the Middle Eastern ones (Aside from Kwarezmian Empire), the HRE, Hungary, Portugal and the Moors), so they usually do as I say.

Update report!
I have just bought off all the lands from the French conquest of the HRE, the lands consist of Frankfurt, Antwerp and Bruges, in addition, I bought off all the Danish ones, Cologne, Magdeburg and Frankfurt. I am now even bigger, I am working on making peace with those nations, as HRE turned out to be a great possibility for an ally, the Hungarians are badmouthing me. I will either declare war on them and make them my vassals, with the offer of Frankfurt, Magdeburg and Cologne back, or just ally with them and end this needless warring... Hungary needs to die.

[miniwally]

This is what i'm trying to do on TA:TW but with Mordor it's just so fun destroying Gondor

[Nazgûl Killer]

Whilst that may be true, VP, they do what I want.
That's the benefit of being Very Trustworthy and having deep pockets

[Kjertesvein]

I play DLV, and it awsome. Here is scenario I play sometimes:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I bet you all have got the point were you gain bilion and bilion of $$$ and got tired.... Try the American version of ...
(part 2)
How build an Empire. (Late era) ...and...



Stop growing your Empire with petty regions who only give you civil war. Focus on your own lands, and gather only Key Economic Citys: Cairo, Milan, Venice, Rome, Iconium, Constantinople... etc.
-Train your Economic Hitman(Diplomats). They will advance, and get bribing trait: 10 %-, 20%- and 30% easier bribe.
-Train your Spokesmen(priests). So they will tell "the real truth of the world and all the new Axis of evil".
-Train up your agencys, CIA and NSA(Assasins and Spys). To get the job done.

Heilige Romische Reich -version
Free the people of Baltic and middle east.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

When you truly become an Empire in Central Euro, with lots of $$$. You should use your Economic Hitman(aka. diplomat) and bribe the Teutonic. Make them your little very own Isreal(puppy):

1. Give massive amount of cash to the Jackals(Lithuania), in order to take out your "friend" in east-Euro. If they dont succeed: A) Send in CIA(hordes of assasins and spys) to take out the Terrorists(Teutonic-leaders). B) If they dont succeed, send in your young men and woman to die for peace. Democracy and free the people of Prussia/Baltic.
2. When Teutonic K. leave Baltic Region - Bribe and Demand Military Access: M-A gives you a foothold/shield in the most unstable region in the world.
3. Give money and let Teutonic do the main dirty work: To neutralize muslim-lands into western culture and you scoope in for Damietta, Alexandria and cairo.
4. Use the President(Pope) to call a just fight against any weapons of mass-destruction.

Good luck friends, and keep fighting for freedom and democracy.

[miniwally]

I tried as sicily but the moors declared war on me and there on very reliable and i'm on trustworthy annoying.

[Nazgûl Killer]

I tried as sicily but the moors declared war on me and there on very reliable and i'm on trustworthy annoying.

The Moors and the Sicilians are mortal enemies, you have no hope of staying in peace with them unless you decide to launch a gigantic assault on Spain and Portugal and give the Moors all the lands you conquer.

[miniwally]

yeh i want someone to attack me but i wish they weren't so reliable when they attacked me there reputation thing seemed to go up

[LaMuerte]

As promised , I have started a new campaign , in which I am trying NOT to fight , but instead try to buy my way to victory. (SS 6.2 mod)

1.The Beginning


I started this campaign playing Venice , because I wanted to concentrate on making florins. Venice being able to build merchant banks seems a good choice... I decided not to build armies , only garrison my cities and castles with free upkeep garrisons. I did rush the rebel towns near my start position at the start of the campaign , coz i needed to make income fast. After I took nearly all rebel settlements near my starting position I disbanded the mercenary army. So , after 15 turns I owned 7 settlements.

After that I concentrated on population growth , and construction of financial buildings.

2.Buying my way to the Baltic Sea and Atlantic Ocean

Over the course of my campaign I bought my way to the Atlantic Ocean , and bought my way to the Baltic Sea as well. Settlements usually were bought for around 20.000 - 35.000 florins. Care was taken to spread my acquisitions(spread the love?) around , hoping this would balance my neighbours out , and hoping the extra income wouldn't create one big super state. I'm currently at turn 122 , and own 42 regions , 35 of which are bought.

3.Problems with Egyptians

Of course , the Egyptians wouldn't wanna play it my way , and these guys declared war on me , sieging Iraklion. So , I made an exception to my 'only free units' policy , and put a defensive force there. Once every 5 turns an invasion force lands at the island , which I crush with the only army I have in game. I do , however , have three fleets of 3 ships each to ward of naval blockades , coz if they start blockading a few ports , my income will suffer , and I won't be able to buy new regions.

To ease the pressure a bit , I command the pope to declare crusades on the Egyptians whenever possible. I don't participate in those (no army remember) , but most Christian nations do join the crusades.

4.Future Problems

My last few land deals were mega-expensive. For example , Lithuania only agreed to sell me Riga for 90.000 florins spread out over three turns. This is a lot of money. And they're spending it on armies. I'm afraid that in the near future , they will want a piece of my turf . I'm afraid that I am paying for my own downfall. Got a few diplomats near our border to bribe armies should they invade , but that's of course not a foolproof defence. (La Muerte makes mental note that he should use crusades versus the pagan Lithuanians soon)

5.Fun Factor

Fun factor is zero. Buying your way to victory is boring . Dead boring as a matter of fact. 'Then why are you doing it , you fool!' , I hear you asking. Well , out of curiosity . I wanna know if it is possible to 'buy' your way to victory. Capitalism for the win!

Anyone else out there doing this?

[chaosek]

Well no, cause it's boring . I do however do this to my allies. I always refrain from making a lot of enemies and ally myself with lots of factions. Sometimes they break because of allies attacking each other but I tend to choose the most likely to win, so mostly taht isn't a problem.
When playing Venice usually Milan, HRE and Byzants are my hardcore enemies. Sicillians don't seem to bother me that often.
Having said that having a lot of allies limits your attack options. However I do buy great big pieces of land from the AI. If that doesn't work I bribe low garrison cities. Also trading seems a good way to go. Traded Alexandria and cairo for Innsbruck and Bern once. Seems like a bad deal, but the egyptian armies made it a good deal.

[Silent Assassin]

I agree that if you play the game only in that way it can be boring in the same way as if you were playing with only Assassins, killing the family tree and destroying factions only in that way. I always play my campaign diplomaticly, I try to not kill any of the factions, putting them as my vassals, buying off regions if I'm able to, like I did in my Diplomatic Venice Guide Here:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Diplomacy Venice Guide for M2TW with Vanilla Map and playing with Mod Lands to Conquer


I have done multiple guides but it’s my first faction guide, I’ve never done one so please don’t be hard on me. There are a couple reasons why I chosen Venice; No full guide on them yet, it’s the first faction I played with in my first campaign with M2TW.

This guide will reflect my last campaign as them, I’ve decided to play the game differently as I would but I would keep my game as diplomatic as possible including: Global Rep and my relationship with other factions and the Pope. My guide will not be too much detailed like: what I recruit, build what I do with my agents …. I will focus more on how to develop your Empire without going to much at war. Don’t kill prisoners, don’t sack on execute captured cities don’t use Assassins!!!

So as a lot of you know already Venice starts with 3 regions the city of Venice as their Capital, a castle in Ragusa and a little city on an island called Iraklion formally know as Crete Island in RTW.

OK so let’s start: Remember that I always play my games on Medium for campaign and very hard for battles, the first on is very important, playing on higher level of difficulty will break the diplomacy.

First turn: Right on the first turn after you have decided what to build and recruit I try to buy off Bologna from HRE. Here is what you should offer and should work. (Please keep in mind that their reactions can vary in each campaign) Your Demand: just ask them to give you Bologna and in exchange you will give them an alliance with trade rights and your map information, make the offer then they will come back to you with another demand which will be a regular tribute per turn, probably around 2 300 florins per turn. It seems a lot but do it anyway. You could try to have little lees to give but they won’t go below 2000 florins. On the same turn send your army that stands between Venice and Zagreb to take Florence.

Important information: Don’t engage Catholic faction, don’t start wars with them let them do that or your Global Rep and the Pope O Meter will drop and this you don’t want. Don’t make alliances with any other religions. Don’t recruit merchants yet keep this for later.

Second turn: Attack Florence, alsosend your diplomat to Rome and offer them: Alliance, trade rights, map information and give them Iraklion. The Papal State will accept if not take out Iraklion from your offer and make it a gift on the next turn.

Third Turn: Take Florence and prepare yourself, two medium stacked armies to go into the Byzantines territory, one will go to Thessalonica and the other to Corinth. P.S. Bring a diplomat with you in their lands. Send a small army to take Ajaccio.

So after a couple of turns, around 10 turns: you are now at war against Byzantines you should have taken their two regions. The regions under your control are now: Venice, Ragusa, Corinth, Thessalonica, Florence, Ajaccio and Bologna. Your Italian cities will bring you Great income if developed properly.

Right after you have taken those two regions from the Byzantines, send them your diplomat; their priority will be peace as they will be busy with either Hungary or the Turks. So make peace with them with trade rights and give them your map information.

Turn 11: Send your diplomat to Durazno, Sicily will probably have taken this one, negotiate with them and ask them to sell it to you in exchange of Alliance, trade rights, map information and a regular tribute (that is yours to see the amount). In the meantime, upgrade your lands and cities and try to build two ¾ stacks with 4 priests 2 for each armies. Equip these two armies with good generals with a lot of loyalty and piety if you can and finally a good diplomat.

Important: You should be attacked by Milan soon watch Venice, Bologna and Florence. They usually go for Venice as they want to hurt your economy. Here is a little Hint take your general from Venice with 4 units of spearmen 4 units of pavise crossbowmen and if you have build up enough a unit of catapult and put them on the bridge in front of Venice.

Turn 12 to 20: Send one of your 2 armies with 2 priests to Algiers and the other one to Tunis, depending on each campaign, let hope that Tunis as been taken by the Moors. Attack those two regions at the same time. Send your diplomat to one of their armies or at Marrakesh. Keep their regions under siege don’t attack them before your diplomat tries to negotiate with them. Their prioritize will probably be ”Peace” Which you will grant them but only if they give you Tunis and Algiers, add to that trade rights and map information. They should accept without giving them any money. You will have to be careful because they probably have taken Timbuktu already. Which should be your next target including taking care of Milan. Don’t be the aggressor!!!

By this time you should be able to call a crusade against them (Milan) Call it against either Milan or Genoa your choice but I would tend to say Milan (Their capital) but here is what I did: called the crusade against Milan, sent my army besieged it, Milan had units in Genoa that they’ve sent in reinforcement to attack my army in Milan and then I attack and took Genoa by behind, the turn after Milan was mine.

Update on your campaign: So you now have in your possession: Milan, Genoa, Venice, Florence, Bologna, Tunis, Algiers, Corinth, Thessalonica, Ragusa and Durazno. Your Global Rep should be at least Very Reliable; you should have at least HRE and Papal state as your Allies, your economy should be good, your campaign should be enjoyable with fewer battles and more diplomacy tactics.


Turn 20-40: A couple of things to do:

1- Now it’s time to pressure the Moors, get Timbuktu, send a couple of priest before to convert population because Timbuktu is hard to keep if that region as not been converted properly. Then when all under your control recruit merchants and build up mines to get more florins.

2- In, send some priest to Arguin which is just under Marrakesh passed the mountains. After enough population are converted take it. In the same time try to take Marrakesh.

3- Take Constantinople from the Byzantines

4- Try to buy off Zagreb from probably HRE are any other faction that occupies it. Also Sofia who is probably owned by Hungary.

So at turn 40 your Empire should look like this (from Right to Left): Constantinople, Thessalonica, Sofia, Corinth, Durazno, Ragusa, Zagreb, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Milan, Genoa, Ajaccio, Tunis, Algiers, Timbuktu, Marrakesh and Arguin. Your coffers will be full of money, your Rep will be at the top, you will be one of the strongest factions alive.

So this is not a full campaign guide but after you do everything here you can choose the path that you wish but let me tell you one thing you will defiantly be a powerhouse as you will have wealth and good armies with Heavy Infantry, Venetian Archers, Monster Ribault and more.

P.S.: Please keep in mind that each time, each game you play with a faction you’ve already played things can be different in which you will have to adapt to each situation.

Please feel free to ask questions or comments.

Regards
Rebel6666

that you can find in the Great Thread. this is a good example of playing a diplomatic way. but the way that Lamuerte plays is way too boring. The OP when he posted this is was meaning a bit what I did with Venice, and the OP wanted to say that playing more passively not meaning completly passive

[LaMuerte]

lol , yeah Rebel ... There's this saying ' better to regret something you have done , than to regret something you haven't done' , hence me playing Medieval Total Hippie 2 . Though I can guarantee everyone on this forum that my next campaign will bring words as 'despicable' and 'bloodbath' to a new level.

Anyways , I don't think this numbing peace will last the whole campaign . I got this feeling it will be one big failure-cascade real soon...