What is a good medium sized faction?

[Sloty]

It should have a medium sized territory in the beginning...
Please also tell me if it is for early or late era campaign...

[jurcek1987]

Well just a quick glance at the faction selection screen should give you a pretty good idea. I'd say England, France, Sicily, Leon, Poland, Hungary, Rus or KoJ is what you're looking for. Doesn't matter which era you choose, starting territories are pretty similar for these factions. Main difference is, late era has more developed regions and better units.

[Sloty]

Which one of these do you think is the most fun?
Which one has a very strong roster?

[LuckyPistol]

What do you constitute as "medium"? 4-6 territories?

For Late campaign:

Poland, Hungary, Novgorod, Denmark, or England. Venice is a bit tricky at first, but would probably be the easiest of all those factions.

[jurcek1987]

KoJ. You're surrounded by enemies, poor economy at the start, low catholic populations in your regions, jihads and severe manpower shortage. Many elite units but they're rare so use them wisely. Late campaign is quite a bit harder than early. But you have a very powerful ally in the Pope, try to call a crusade against Egypt at the start.

[Sloty]

Yes with "medium" I mean 4 to 6 territories.
What do you think about the Byzantine Empire? Are they fun to play as? Which are their strongest units?
Should I make peace with Rum and Venice fast or charge them both with everything I have?

[jurcek1987]

Yes with "medium" I mean 4 to 6 territories.
What do you think about the Byzantine Empire? Are they fun to play as? Which are their strongest units?
Should I make peace with Rum and Venice fast or charge them both with everything I have?

If you're talking about late era, you don't have the means to fight both factions at the same time. Try to make peace with the Seljuks until you recapture former territories. The Byzzies are my favourite faction and they have the strongest roster in game until 1300. Their best units are obviously the ones that can only be recruited in Constantinople:
Scholarii - superheavy cavalry with 20 armour and armed with maces
Spatharioi tou Vassileus - dismounted Athanatoi
Siphonatores - flamethrowers, insanely effective in sieges
And Varangian Guard - heavy axemen (not limited to Constantinople but they require a huge city with a mayor's palace)
Also Athanatoi are by far the strongest early bodyguards.

[Sloty]

What are the weaknesses of the byzantine roster?
What do I need to do to get alliances with the catholic factions?
So should I focus on crushing Venice early or should I make peace with them also?
How the hell do you manage to reconquer Constantinople?

[nothxIchooselife]

What are the weaknesses of the byzantine roster?
What do I need to do to get alliances with the catholic factions?
So should I focus on crushing Venice early or should I make peace with them also?
How the hell do you manage to reconquer Constantinople?

They have none, except they become outdated eventually but by then you can have a huge empire and win with sheer numbers

You may be able to give Dyrrachion to Hungary or Venice in return for an alliance. If you give it to Venice, you still have Hungary to contend with.
If you give it to Hungary, Venice will be blocked from attacking your settlements, buying you time. However, Hungary may capture Scopia and become a greater threat long term
You can try to ally Turks as well, but beware that if a Jihad is called on Constantinople after you've recaptured it, they will betray you. Keep your borders decently guarded even if allied, it deters them from betraying you

Make peace, recapture rebel territories around Constantinople and in Greece

Fight the large rebel armies in the field. You will have a greater advantage due to your cavalry

[Sloty]

What do you think about France in early campaign(have 5 settlements)?
Which of their units are good?

[LuckyPistol]

France early campaign has access to Breton mercenaries, which are mounted javelins and are very helpful. Other than that, they're the same as other Wetern factions with your armies being mostly spear militia. France is always fun, I suggest it if you want a decent enough challenge while having room to experiment and practice your strategies.

[Sloty]

What does "lacks professional armies" exactly mean?

[LuckyPistol]

Ignore it, it's leftover filler text from Vanilla M2TW

[Sloty]

I am used to "hard" campaign difficulty. What does change when I start a campaign on "very hard" I mean what bonuses does the AI get and do I get any mali?

If I stay on "hard" campaign difficulty, can You suggest me a faction that is very challenging to play?

[LuckyPistol]

The AI gets money and stacks and is probably more aggressive.

Challenging factions are Cumans, Late Game Khwarazmian, Crusader States, Portugal, Kiev, Late game Genoa, Late game Byzantines, and Lithuania.

[Sloty]

What about Aragon,Castille and Moors?
Which of those posted above have to deal with Mongols early?

[Sloty]

So I am looking for a faction that has strong troops but is rather broke or small in the beginning.
Any advice?

[LuckyPistol]

If you want strong troops but no cash, try out Crusader States or The Teutonic Order.

[Sloty]

What do you think about Poland? Do they have good Infantry and Archers?

[Sloty]

Hmmm... I really need a faction that has very good Heavy Infantry, else I wont succeed.
Can you suggest me such a faction and it would be good if they also have good archers and Cavalry...

Do you think Poland fits this requirement?
Or some other faction?

Or does England have strong Infantry ( I know they got good archers)?