Desertion - what in hell?

[Hans Marks]

I never joined crusades regulary but to please the pope(that arse)i did join one to Cairo.And god o' mighty!
Just when i was half way there my troops started running away like crazy,i mean every turn some 200 deserted,and some 30 just ran away(get the joke?).And it goes on and on every single turn,more or less deserted.I left homeground with 1400 solid force and got there with only 2 regs of viking raiders and the rest merceneries i picked up along the way,that the living souls out of themselfs in combat.

Im suprised the family member didnt deserted too,because every living thing in my army did,even the diplomat i was bringing along.

Can this be edited because its just not possible to do a crusade with this going on.

[eXistenZ]

You have to go towards the city target in the most direct way (aka a straight line). for example, when you are england, although it is faster by boat, going around spain will cause desertion because you are not moving towards your target. Also standing still causes desertion

[rebelyell2006]

And if you take too long (about 10 turns) the soldiers will start deserting even if you are moving closer. Unless it is a Baltic crusade, don't bother crusading as Denmark, England or Scotland.

[Somerandomdude2]

1: Use ships. They're fast. Super fast when on crusades. Also, if you don't have a fleet nearby, you can hire merc ships; you'll get the regular expensive merc ship option but you'll get another identical merc ship next to it that costs next to nothing (200 florins or so to hire, 180 per turn to maintain).

2: Agents coming along with your army will negate the movement bonus you get for being on a crusade.

3: Use ships. If you can't/won't use ships and have any significant distance to cover, use an all cavalry army.

4: Like was already said, you have to keep reducing the distance to the target every turn.

[Hans Marks]

I think i found out a better way,when a crusade is called,i start going towards the target without joining the crusade,since deserting happens only when the army is joined in a crusade.Then when i get closer but not exacly on it,i join.That way ill at least lessen the deserted numbers.

[Silverheart]

I think i found out a better way,when a crusade is called,i start going towards the target without joining the crusade,since deserting happens only when the army is joined in a crusade.Then when i get closer but not exacly on it,i join.That way ill at least lessen the deserted numbers.

Completely needless.
Joining Crusades allows your crusade soldiers to move much farther every turn. If you just move towards the crusade target every turn, there will be no desertion.
Just make sure to not move too slowly, or in the wrong direction - remember, the crusade army needs to get closer to the target every turn.

[Avatar]

It will indeed, the down side however is that you have a non crusading army tromping its way through other factions territory, and they tend to object.

[In3x]

Mate if you really want to avoid all that annoying desertion follow these simple instructions.

Click on the general leading your army then click on the button to leave the crusade, then click on the button to join the crusade, your army is now immune to desertion for one more turn.

You must do this every turn to avoid desertion and you are no longer allowed to do it 10 turns after the crusade has started. The reason for this is you are unable to join the crusade 10 turns after it is called so obviously the trick will not work.

Note: This trick also allows you to move your armies in any direction you want, as long as you do it every turn.

[eXistenZ]

Indeed, marching with an army that isn't on a crusade will give reputation penalty. as long as you keep going straight at your target, there will be no desertion

[Hans Marks]

SO i have to tell the army to siege the city? i just click somewhere nearby.....that explains alot,

[Silverheart]

SO i have to tell the army to siege the city? i just click somewhere nearby.....that explains alot,

Place it right next to the city, or besiege and wait it out - if you don´t want to capture it quickly, that is.

[MarcoPollo]

If you have favor with the pope, then you can take advantage of the crusade option by getting him to call a crusade against a personal target. This can be really helpful in gaining experience and earning good retinues.

[Silverheart]

If you have favor with the pope, then you can take advantage of the crusade option by getting him to call a crusade against a personal target. This can be really helpful in gaining experience and earning good retinues.

It´s also a good way to make catholic factions gang up on the faction that controls the target.
Not many of them wants to be on the Pope´s bad side.

[magraev]

One of the problems you can have is, that if you just click on Cairo your army will stop the first time it accidently encounters another army or city. If this happens too often you will get desertion. Just lead the army manually towards your target (at sea too).
And take to the sea when you reach the mediterranean or the black sea (it's always congested around constantinople. You can sail a huge distance each turn. Just remember to go ashore before your turn ends if you want to avoid losing your entire army to pirates.
I only get desertion when I'm dallying about, sieging other cities than my target etc.

[Hans Marks]

Just lead the army manually towards your target (at sea too).

The only was is to get trough gibraltar,and thats a waste of turns because its always blocked.

[magraev]

Just lead the army manually towards your target (at sea too).

The only was is to get trough gibraltar,and thats a waste of turns because its always blocked.

There is always more than one way. And as many have said before - don't sail all the way around spain.

From england to cairo (for example): over land to venice or maybe all the way to greece (the alps can be tricky). Then hire a boat and sail towards egypt - remember to try and go ashore each turn.

Easy as can be.

[Leaf-Fan-Forever]

Just lead the army manually towards your target (at sea too).

The only was is to get trough gibraltar,and thats a waste of turns because its always blocked.

Northern Factions just have to march through France or HRE to get to the Med Sea, then hire a Galley and sail all the way to the Holy Lands

[rebelyell2006]

That has an additional advantage: if the French are stupid enough to attack your crusader army as it passes through their land, they will be instantly excommunicated. I once played as the English, and I was annoyed at the French-Papal alliance but the French attacked my crusaders, and the next crusade was against Paris. Which was fun.