Crusader States Help

[Pjstaab]

I'm playing as CS on VH/VH and I tried a different start this time and got off to a fairly decent start, crusade called on cairo and I manage to capture city but now the Seljuks just full stack spam and spearmen are the most worthless units ever. I can't keep up with the stack spam like I could in rome because of the turns it takes to build up units to recruit. And I just love my units routing when their horse javelins charge, I mean come on you pansies you have a spear for a reason.

[Kolaris8472]

While I was doing quite well against the Fatimids, just like you it was looking like trouble against the Seljuks. I held them off at Damascus in one of my closest battles ever, but there was no way I was going to hold Edessa, which had 3 units besieged by 20.

So, I whipped out my Diplomat and sold Edessa to the Seljuks for a Ceasfire and a bit of cash. It also let my fairly important administrative general get out alive. I used the ceasefire to build up at Aleppo and Damascus and finished off the Fatimids (actual, finished setting up France in Egypt after they got their ass kicked by England).

I haven't wanted to leave the coast, so I've made very few incursions against the Seljuks. I've just been defending while keeping up good relations with Romans and Khwarezmians and now the Seljuks are down to two castles in the super-power sandwich, and I'm ready to expand east.

[Pjstaab]

A few more questions, is there any way to buy generic generals? Mine seemed to have gone off on a dying spree and now half of my cities are being automanaged. What about the dome of the rock? Destroy or keep?

[Losthief]

A few more questions, is there any way to buy generic generals? Mine seemed to have gone off on a dying spree and now half of my cities are being automanaged. What about the dome of the rock? Destroy or keep?

keep unless ur desperate for money...it doesn't hurt ur religion and it adds trade income.

other suggestion...use Jerusalem as a military factory...using Gaza and Damita plus the one of the hospitalar/Templar hq's in Jerusalem for troops. Also there's a abundant amount of Armenian mercs in the north and northwest of the starting lands to use if u can afford them. Instant cav army and decent archers. The sudanese tribesman make a abundant and cheap instant med. infantry in the south. Money, not troops really is the biggest problem for CS until it expands enough.

u can go bride other countries generals (non king/heirs) to join yours and they'll appear under ur king or heir in ur family tree. Can be expensive and u need a good diplomat and helps to have a good world opinion. Also go win a few 'heroic' victories versus some rebels with captains and you'll get man of the hour as long as your ratio is below the threshold of generals/family members to provinces.

[Pjstaab]

Ok I gave up and now am doing fairly well on a H/H, allied both Seljuks and Khawarzmians so I just had to wait for Khawar to attack Seljuk and break my alliance, raped Fatamids, someone decide to crusade cairo, someone loses the seige, now cairo is nearly undefended, I get a free capital city. I just need help with OP generals and horse archers. How does an enemy general survive my general plus Knights of Jerusalem charging them and then in combat? And having 300 spearmen beat on a generals cavalry and almost lose because my units rout when my own general (quite well experienced i might add) gets his ass handed to him against 1 squad of spearmen? Does the AI really get that much combat bonus? I'm all for it but sometimes it's just not fun, harder difficulties are annoying when it just makes you exploit the ai more, like in oblivion standing on a rock and just using a bow or spells. Horse archers just kite my army until there is nothing left and then I lose. And should I be changing certain cities to castes and castles to cities?

[k/t]

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=415210

[chris7ian]

Might just be me, but allying with Muslims is cheating.

[philipjd]

Might just be me, but allying with Muslims is cheating.

in OTL the crusader staes once established had fairly decent, for medieval times, relations with their islamic neighbours, but newcomers, ie new crusaders, caused a lot of problems that eventually, along with a few other things, caused the CS's to finally fail.

[chris7ian]

in OTL the crusader staes once established had fairly decent, for medieval times, relations with their islamic neighbours, but newcomers, ie new crusaders, caused a lot of problems that eventually, along with a few other things, caused the CS's to finally fail.

Do you really believe the crusaders, old or new, wanted to co-habitate with Muslims? Both sides look at the other as less than dirt and only restrained themselves when necessity demanded it, if even then. And fairly decent relations doesnt equate to an alliance where I come from. So like I said its cheating. Only allies the Kingdom had where fellow Catholics. Bohemond fought with the Byzantines. Edessa a christian county was lost to the Turks and the Fatties were never allied to the Kingdom, in fact they were constantly at war.

So what Islamic neighbor represented in SS did the Kingdom or the Principality of Antioch ally themselves with?

[stevehoos]

Might just be me, but allying with Muslims is cheating.

Until the Fatamids go to war with With the turks, then you have problems; not to mention possibly ruining a chance to form an alliance with Byzantium early with an alliance that is short lived.

Bob Dylan


"You choose one or the other although neither of them our to be who what claim"

[Mega Tortas de Bodemloze]

Might just be me, but allying with Muslims is cheating.

For someone like me whose not a Warmonger, and loves 6 battles a turn it's just about mandatory. I always Ally with the Turks and they have ALWAYS stayed loyal to the bitter end. Some games instead of just using them as a time buffer, buying me time to grow I invest in trying to really help them survive...

[Kolaris8472]

To take out generals as Crusader States you'll need to rely on Kurdish Javelinmen and Desert Cavalry. You just have to be sure to break their charge with some cavalry otherwise you'll take hundreds of losses.

[Lord Minotaur]

immigrate!! !! get all your soldiers to stacks and set sail to europe, when you get a city in europe sell your cities in the holy lands and you wil be rich and exomunicated!

[Ichon]

Crusaders often formed alliances with regional Muslim leaders but any Muslim leader with aspirations of Empire could not ally with Christians and in fact would have to attack them to affirm the faith. Saladin is an example- numerous tries for alliances were rebuffed but there were long periods of truce which both sides observed fairly well.

Crusaders did ally with Turks at various times and not all Turks were Muslim yet and were quite fractured not like the way portrayed in game.

Also the Crusaders allied with Fatimids during the civil war so it was not totally unheard of but rare as only when desperate would Muslim leaders ally with Christians.

[chris7ian]

The leaders were at the mercy of their peoples and the average Muslim would never want to tolerate let alone ally with a Christian and vice versa. Truces and ceasfires are hardly alliances. Lets not kid oursleves each side actively worked against each overtly or covertly at all times.

Yes the Armenians Turks, who were Christians allied with the Crusaders but they arent Muslim nor a SS faction.

[Ichon]

There was an alliance with Fatimids against Nur al Din and the remnants against Saladin. Other than that though... just saying its not impossible or cheating especially if the alliance is temporary which it is almost guaranteed to be with a Jihad being called at some point.

[Jambat]

There was an alliance with Fatimids against Nur al Din and the remnants against Saladin. Other than that though... just saying its not impossible or cheating especially if the alliance is temporary which it is almost guaranteed to be with a Jihad being called at some point.

Agreed. I would see it more as a temporary ceasefire than what we normally consider an alliance. You will see it broken at some point in the game via a Jihad or Crusade being called, so honestly you aren't really betraying the spirit of anything from a historical standpoint.

[Pjstaab]

What's the triggers for Knight's Templar Guild? And at 1157 kerak is still only at 2600 pop, I have all the upgrades built to it but it's only got a .5% growth rate and I'm stretched for generals right now so the one sitting there isn't quite top notch.

[k/t]

A search will speedily answer that question.