Zavier's Opening Moves Guides - Update as of 4/14

[General_Zavier]

General Zavier Presents: Opening Moves for Rome Medieval

Hello everybody! I realize that plenty of the great civilizations in Rome Medieval start out in challenging situations, and that sometimes the beginning few turns can make or break the rest of your campaign. I'm writing these guides to give you some pointers of how to better survive the first 5-10 turns and how to come out of those turns a stronger and richer civilization. Lots of thanks go to Adder over at RTWH for creating the original style of Opening Moves Guides on which these are all based. And without further ado...

- Teutonic Knights -

- These Crusaders on the shores of the Baltic sit in a precarious place. With lots of powerful enemies, one mistake can mean getting swept into the sea by the Russian flood!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

General_Zavier Presents: Opening Moves with the Teutonic Knights

INTRO:

This opening moves guide was written on VH/VH but applies to all difficulty levels. And feel free to deviate from this guide at any time, its more of a general outline of steps to take. If something I do early doesn’t suit your play style, then don’t do it!

The Teutonic Knights is one of the most difficult factions to play. They start with their cities divided, and most of the cities in Russia where they start are very far apart from each other and have lower growth rates. However, they field some of the strongest cavalry and infantry, and provided they survive that long, their elite troops can smash anything the Rus can throw at you. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the first few turns with these fanatic warriors, and hopefully help you get their weak and fragmented nation back on its feet.

OBJECTIVES:

- Become masters of the eastern Baltic Sea and western Russia in order to become the dominant power of the North.

Turn 1:

- Buildings -
Marienburg – Knight’s Stables + Very High Taxes - This will allow you to get Halbbruder Knights. These units are the same as feudal knights, and will be your best unit in the early game. They’re quick enough to chase off Russian horse archers, and heavy enough to handle having arrows shot at them.
Mitau and Riga – Paved Roads + Very High Taxes – You need good roads with your cities spread so far apart. This will help both your economy (more trade) and your military (armies move faster).
- Units -
Marienburg – Dismounted Feudal Teutonic Knights – They’re the best infantry you can currently get and will be especially useful in sieges.
All cities – 2 units of Peasants - Normally I like to have 3 units of peasants, but 2 is probably all you can afford.
- Movements -
Adolf – Move him southwest to the coast. If you have enough money, have him build a watchtower.
Elberhard – South along your border with Poland. It should take two turns, but he’s gonna build another watch tower. End Turn.

Turn 2:

- Units -
All cities – One more unit of peasants.
Marienburg and Riga – Diplomats.
- Movements -
Adolf – Move him south towards the city of Palanga. He should be able to reach it, but don’t put it under siege yet because the Rebels inside will sally forth.
Elberhard – Build a watch tower and then send him back to Marienburg. (Note: In the game I played, he died of old age on the next turn. But don’t worry. Usually he should live longer.)
Garrison of Marienburg – Send your entire army minus the peasants (So 4 cavalry and 4 infantry) north to meet up with Adolf at Palanga. It’ll take another turn to reach the city.
Garrisons of Riga and Mitau – Send everyone (including Heinrich) minus the peasants along the road south. They should meet up next turn and head south to Vilnus. End turn.

Turn 3:

- Movements -
Adolf – Meet up with the army from Marienburg and lay siege to Palanga. Build some battering rams. You shouldn’t need any mercenaries right now.
Heinrich – combine the armies from Riga and Mitau and keep heading south. Just follow the road to Vilnus.
Diplomats – Send your Marienburg diplomat west. He should reach Poland soon, then keep him going west to find Denmark, HRE, France, and England. Send your Riga diplomat east to Russia. From there he can either keep going east to find the Mongols, or head south to find Hungary and the Byzantines. End Turn.

Turn 4:

- Battles -
Capture Palanga. Shouldn’t be too hard, most of the garrison is peasants. Don’t exterminate, you need those tax paying citizens. I’d recommend just occupying, as there shouldn’t be much disorder.

- Buildings -
Palanga – Paved Roads + Very High Taxes – Once again, necessary for movement and trade.
- Units -
Palanga – Retrain your Front Line Men (if you need to) and recruit two (three if you can afford it) units of peasants.
- Movement -
Heinrich – Keep heading south.
Diplomats – Keep heading in their respective directions. End turn.

Turn 5:

- Buildings -
Marienburg – Paved roads.
Riga – Port – Allows for ships to be built, which is necessary with the Danes around, and greatly increases trade.
Mitau – Trader – This increases your economy and population growth. It also only costs 500 coin, so it’s a good deal considering you should be low on money considering what you’re building in Marienburg and Riga.
- Units -
Marienburg – Queue up a unit of pikemen. Although they have bad stats, because they can form a phalanx, they are extremely useful against infantry in the early game.
- Movement -
Heinrich – Lay siege to Vilnus.
Adolf – Leave the peasants in Palanga, but take the rest of his army and head towards Heinrich at Vilnus. After Heinrich takes Vilnus, the Russians will probably be breathing down your neck and wanting that city for themselves.
Diplomats – Keep on moving. End Turn.

Turn 6:

- Battles -
Capture Vilnus. You might want to recruit some mercenaries. I recruited 2 units of crossbowmen and a unit of Swiss Pikemen. After you take the town, occupy. It should have nearly the 6000 population required to turn it into a minor city in a few turns.

- Buildings -
Vilnus – Barracks + Very High Taxes – Vilnus doesn’t even have a decent barracks, so build one. Its cheap and you’ll definitely need it.
- Units -
Marienburg – Halbbruder – These are the best units you can get right now. Useful against cavalry, heavy infantry, and light infantry, they really are like the Panzer tanks of the early game.
- Movement -
Adolf – Keep moving towards Vilnus.
Diplomats – You should have gotten Poland by now, keep heading on to the Danes.
Any other family members who might have come of age or been adopted – Build watch towers. Seeing what’s going on in your lands is definitely a must. End turn.

Turn 7:

- Buildings -
Mitau and Riga – Depends on your play style. If you like ranged units, build practice ranges. If you prefer
- Units -
Marienburg – Halbbruder – You need as many of these as you can get.

From here on out, you should be able to take it yourself. You’ve added two more cities, your army is growing, and your economy is booming, but your enemies are closing in around you. Its up to you where you go from here. You can head east into Russia, West into Poland and Europe, or South into Hungary and the Balkans. Just watch out because enemies are everywhere! Have fun!

- Kingdom of Poland -

- Poland has always been the butt of wartime jokes, yet in the middle ages they were a major power. With this guide, you can unite the fragmented nation and bring the blitz back to the Germans!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

- General_Zavier Presents: Opening Moves with Poland -




INTRO:

This opening moves guide was written on VH/VH but applies to all difficulty levels. And feel free to deviate from this guide at any time, its more of a general outline of steps to take. If something I do early doesn’t suit your play style, then don’t do it!

Poland at the start of the game is a joke. A rather pathetic collection of towns, literally surrounded by much more powerful allies. Yet Poland has its strengths too. If used correctly, her cavalry arm is more than a match for the cavalry of her enemies. The trick with Poland is to always keep moving. Like the Continental Army under Washington during the American Revolution, the trick with Poland is to always keep moving, always keep hammering away. You have to use all your cunning to make sure that the odds are squarely in your favor before you attack. Taking cities is critical because they are much easier to defend than being in an open field. The most effective Polish strategy is to take the fight to the enemy, wait for him to strike back, and then counter with everything you have. Although difficult, if the first few turns are done correctly, you’ll be ready to wipe out your surrounding enemies very quickly. So without further ado…



OBJECTIVES:

- Take the fight to your enemies as quickly as possible, catch them with their pants down, and then let their forces break upon your walls.

Turn 1:

- Buildings -
Praha – Trader + Very High Taxes – Building up a stable economy will be one of Poland’s main challenges. By building up your economy early, you’ll be able to field more armies when your enemy counter attacks.
Olomouc and Danzig – Paved Roads + Very High Taxes – Roads are necessary both to build your army and to move your troops faster. Your cities are spread out, and quick movement will make all the difference in reinforcement.
Krakow – Armourer + Very High Taxes – The best early unit Poland can get is the Dismounted Piast Noble. These capable spearmen have slightly better stats than Dismounted Feudal Knights and scare enemy infantry to boot. But in order to get to them, you have to build an Armourer first.
- Units -
All cities – 2 units of peasants – You’ll probably only be able to afford 2 units in each city, if you can afford 3, then train 3. End Turn.

Turn 2

- Units -
All cities – 1 more unit of Peasants – for garrison purposes.
Krakow – Armored Sergeants – Currently these are your best infantry unit, and will be useful later for an invasion of Hungary/Austria.
- Movements -
Trojden - Take the entire garrison of Praha except the peasants and head west along the road. Your ultimate goal will be Frankfurt. End turn.

Turn 3

- Buildings -
Praha - Paved roads - Allows for increased trade and faster army movement.
- Units -
Praha and Danzig - Diplomats - you’ll send these diplomats to get trade rights and map info from your “friendly” neighbors.
Krakow - Another unit of Armored Sergeants.
- Movements -
Meiszko - Take the entire garrison of Krakow except the peasants and head north along the road towards Danzig. From there you will keep following the road west until you reach Brandenburg.
Trojden - Keep moving towards Frankfurt. Since you’ll be in HRE territory by now, it’s a good idea to hire some mercenaries. I’d recommend two units of Swiss Pikes (extremely useful when defending cities) and some Frankish Cavalry (expensive, but worth it. You need some more shock cavalry.)

Turn 4

- Units -
Krakow - A third unit of Armored Sergeants.
- Movements -
Trojden - Lay siege to Frankfurt. Chances are good the garrison will be small as the HRE usually moves most of its forces south into Italy and west to France. Build two battering rams.
Meiszko - Keep moving towards Brandenburg. You should be there in about two turns.
Other Generals/ Family Members - If you have money, have them start building watchtowers. But be careful that they don’t get too far away from their home cities!
Diplomats - Head towards the Danes and towards Hungary. End Turn.

Turn 5

- Battles -
Take Frankfurt. Shouldn’t be too bad, as most of the HRE garrison should be gone. Your mercs should come in useful during the battle.
- Buildings -
Krakow - Legion Barracks - This building will allow you to recruit Piast nobles, the best unit you can get in the early game.



Danzig and Olomac - Trader - Most of your budget this turn will go to the Legion Barracks in Krakow. Traders are cheap and expand your economy.
Frankfurt - Repair the walls + Very High Taxes - You probably won’t have money to build anything here, so just repair the walls and jack up the taxes.
- Movements -
Mieszko - Keep moving towards Bradenburg.
Trojden - You probably want to build a watchtower along your border with the HRE so you can see when they come attack you. Anywhere along the Rhine works fine.
Diplomats - Keep moving to their respective targets. End Turn.



Turn 6

- Movements -
Boleslaw - Head to your border with the Teutonic Knights and build a watchtower so you can see what they’re up to.
Mieszko - Lay siege to Brandenburg. You might want to recruit some mercenaries. Whatever you can afford/want works fine.
Krakow garrison - Send your three units of Armored Sergeants south to Olomouc. You’ll need them when you eventually attack Vienna.
Other generals - Keep building watchtowers if you have money.
Diplomats - Keep moving to their respective targets. End Turn.

Turn 7

- Battles -
Capture Brandenburg - if you got mercs, this should be an easy win. If not, it’ll be a bit more difficult, but still do-able.



- Buildings -
Olomouc - Stables - You’ll probably need lots more cavalry fighting against the Hungarians (they have horse archers!) so stables in the region bordering them is probably a good idea.
Danzig - Port - You’ll need a navy if you want to eventually challenge the Danes. You should also be able to get trade rights with them and with the Teutonic Knights and this will greatly increase your money from trade.
Praha - Practice Range - Its time to diversify our armies beyond Piast cavalry, mercs, and Front Line Men. Archers will be useful against all your enemies, so you want to start cranking them out ASAP.
Brandenburg - Trader + Very High Taxes - increase your economy and growth rate!
- Units -
Frankfurt and Brandenburg - Two units of Peasants - necessary for garrison purposes.
- Movements -
Your diplomats should have already reached Hungary and the Danes. Now send them to different civs. Whichever ones you want work. End Turn.

Turn 8

- Units -
Frankfurt + Brandenburg - You should be able to afford another unit of peasants in each city.
- Movement -
Wladyslaw - Grab those 3 armored sergeants from Krakow and head south to Vienna. Chances are Hungary is laying siege to it. This is good, because one of two things will happen. Either Hungary will win the city and suffer lots of casualties, or the rebels will hold the city and suffer lots of casualties. This is good because either way, the garrison you face will be depleted in strength.
Diplomats - Keep on movin on. End turn.



You should be able to take it from here. By next turn, your legion barracks will be completed and you can start recruiting Dismounted Piast Nobles. Meanwhile, in Frankfurt, Brandenburg, and almost at Vienna, you have 3 rather formidable armies. If you want, you can build up your forces more and then attack your neighbors some more, or you can keep on attacking. When you took Frankfurt, you split the HRE in 2, so it might be a good idea to focus on the northern half of it. On the other hand, because of sea trade, Danish lands are rich and because they’re on a peninsula, they’re also easily defensible. In the south, Hungary will be itching to get its hands on Vienna, and you have to watch your back to the east as Russia and the Teutonic Knights will be eying your lands with envy. I’d recommend taking and simply defending Vienna, building up an army for defense in the east in Krakow, and using your two western armies to attack both the Danes and the HRE. Although you’re now a much more major power, you’re still in for a hell of a wild ride, albeit a fun one. Be prepared for lots of sieges, lots of backstabbing, and lots of battles, because as Poland, there’s no hope of peace, only total war. So sharpen the sword, take up the shield, and get out into the fray as Poland!

I'll try and post one or two guides a week until I run out of civilizations or lose interest. (Kidding of course. )

[Mataputas]

Good job, chap. Make some more guides and I'll ask LOTKs to make a sticky of this thread

BTW, could you use the EDU I sent you? did you feel the difference in costs?

[General_Zavier]

I did use it. The thing I noticed most was how expensive it is to recruit peasants (probably because I use a lot of them.) It did mean I had to slightly change how I spent my money especially in the early turns. I didn't really notice how different costs are for other units though, I'll have to go back and look.

And as for guides, I'm probably gonna write England or the HRE next, just because those are the ones (after the Teutonic Knights) that I've played the most.

[Black Diamond]

would it be posssible to do one for Poland as they're my favourite faction?
thanks
BD

[General_Zavier]

Here's Poland, as per request. Enjoy!

[Black Diamond]

cheers mate really good...
I did a similar thing to what you said, although i got as many alliances as i could, destroyred the danish and, after a large attack by HRE i'm about to counter with at least 7 armies, 4 of mercs. i got a few easy victories ahead of me.
Thanks
BD

[Hopit]

It went well with teutonics untill polish come knockking at the gates... drove them back and lost about 3/4 of my manpower and almost all elite units... it was nice really to see teutonics and templars fighting at the capitals gates. now to destroy their military factories.

[General_Zavier]

So hopefully I can get another one of these up this weekend, any requests?

[Hopit]

that spain 1
or venecia

[General_Zavier]

Sorry for the delay, there's been a lot of real life stuff going on. AP tests are over after this week so hopefully next weekendish.

[homsar_:)]

I'd like a guide 4 Scotland plz

Scotland's my ancestry so i'd like to be able to beat up the english in the campaign