As a new player, should I play with Stainless Steel or Vanilla? Also, what difficulty?

[dreamer2008]

Hello, everybody!

I usually play Shogun 2 TW when I am in the mood for some strategy fun, but I recently heard about Stainless Steel, and I got motivated to finally play Medieval 2. The problem is that I don't know if I should play from the start with the mod, or if I should practice in Vanilla a little? In other games I've heard that its better to play with a certain mod from the beginning, to get the most of that game, but here, I don't know...

Also, what difficulty is recommended to fully enjoy Stainless Steel, without it becoming unbelievably difficult and frustrating? In Shogun 2 I usually play with Hard Difficulty and I find it bearable, although I wouldn't handle going any higher.

[Strengelicher]

Personally, I would start with vanilla and then move on to SS. Medieval II is quite good as vanilla actually. Also, you will notice the differences and better appreciate them. Note that vanilla will still be on your computer after installing SS, so you can still play it if you like.

Concerning difficulty settings, you should know that SS allows for more different settings than vanilla, so your game experience is more custom-made. You have the original difficulty settings for campaign and battle play, additionally the AI aggressiveness is a big factor. Start out with h/h and Savage AI. If you feel that is too easy, move on to vh/vh and Gracul AI. If you still beat the game, add BGR II and later BGR IV-E. Be sure to read the separate manuals provided in the BGR submod forum if you do so.

[dreamer2008]

Thank you for the reply! I guess I will stick to Vanilla Medieval 2 on hard for a few games then .

[Geoffrey of Villehardouin]

Thank you for the reply! I guess I will stick to Vanilla Medieval 2 on hard for a few games then .

Try out vanilla at first but Stainless Steel is much better. It has lovely graphics (of course not to be compared with Shogun 2) and better gameplay.

Stainless Steel should be no problem on easy or medium difficulty with the Lusted or Savage campaign AI. Gracul AI is more challenging.

Welcome to M2TW.

[High Fist]

Lusted AI is quite boring IMO (AI rarely declares war), but nice if you want to turtle and build up. The turns take a while on SS though, particularly if you're using a 3 year old laptop, so turtling gets boring quick.

So when you get to SS, go Savage. It's balanced, while Gracul's is mad aggressive.

[Dracula]

I would recommend Bellum Crucis - has more changes than Stainless Steel, and Lands to Conquer.

[Grabbin_Megroin]

If I were you, I would play maybe 80 or so turns to get the hang of it, then switch to SS.

I was apprehensive about it at first but when I made the changeover it blew my mind how much better it is than vanilla.

[dreamer2008]

80 turns vanilla, got it .

Bellum Crucis is better? But I see it doesn't have its own forum. I have no idea if that is an important recognition for a mod here or not.

And the first SS game I will play at Medium Difficulty with Lusted. I don't mind if the enemy is too passive at first. I want to have time to see the buildings and units, both new and old, and then restart the game at more appropriate difficulty.

Thank you all for the replies!

Thank you for the replies!