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Thread: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

  1. #1

    Icon4 Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    This thread is dedicated to tell the new players some of the things they can do in game that usually, they won't see in a guide or in the game tutorial.

    Guard Mode: First line will fight, the rest of the soldiers will wait and stay in position. It also means that if the enemy unit routs, your own unit will stay in place. Good to use when outnumbered, to keep the line together and when you're on a defending position.

    Transfering ancilliaries: Right click on the ancilliary and move it to the General/Familly member that you want. The two must be in a single army or in a city. However, keep in mind that some ancilliaries can't be moved (like the Evil-Mother in Law).

    When the General dies, the unit moral reduces greatly (units rout faster).

    Archers:
    When you have selected a group of archers and right-click to attack a enemy unit, they will target different units and not only the unit you righ-clicked.
    When you want your archers to attack another unit with sword instead of shooting arrows, you can hold alt and right click the enemy unit.

    Merging units: You can merge units by dragging a unit card above another unit of the same type in the same stack.

    If you're being besieged by a bigger army, you can attack the army, go to battle, kill some of their units and retreat all your units back to the city. After that, you can press exit battle. It will appear as a draw. You can do this once every turn.

    After winning the battle and putting all the enemy units routing, you can decide to continue or finish. If you click on continue, in order to kill the routing units you can later exit the battle any time you want, just make sure that all the enemy units are routing (if not you will loose the battle) and press exit battle.

    By left-clicking on an enemy army on the campaign map you can see how far that army can go on their turn.

    If you want to disengage a unit that is fighting you can press w (the white flag command). That unit will retreat and disengage faster than normal. You can after right-click on the unit to stop them from leaving the battlefield. Just take care that if you are loosing and the units around have low moral it can cause a general rout.

    Consider putting cheap units on the front to waste the enemy arrows on them and save your better units.

    Do not surround enemy units because they will have no place to escape and will fight to death.

    If you want your army to retreat from a battle and still have movement points left, then don't click on the retreat option on the battle map because your army will only move 2 points back and stay out of movement at that point. Fight the battle and tell your units to retreat. Your army will run back to your closest settlement/fort.

    If you hold Shift while clicking one of the game speed buttons you can increase/decrease speed by 0.1 per click.

    Always look at the settlement details window when selecting buildings to construct as the projected changes will show up in grey before the building is built. This way you can see which building will give the most income, population or trade increase without having to build it first.

    For a better gameplay and in order to give the AI a better fighting chance, consider expanding slower. It will depend on the faction but for example, as Carthage, I advice conquering your first settlement after 20 turns or more. During that time you can consolidate your finances and having fun destroying the rebel armies that can be a threat to you, like the ones in Sicily and Africa. Be in mind that factions who have only one settlement are adviced to conquer as soon as possible but still do not expand to quickly.
    Last edited by Lusitanio; January 17, 2019 at 12:07 PM.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Send out diplomats far and wide to get trading rights asap, trade is the most important source of income in the game

    Have young family members spend sometime in a city with a school so they may gain good attributes and ancillaries

    Generals do not have to be present during a prolonged siege of a city lest they gain traits like Tired or Starving, they can be rested in friendly cities until the day of the invasion where he can be moved to join his army and lead the attack.

    Infantry perform better in siege battles than compared to cavalry

    Have Generals or Family members participate in actual fighting and they could gain good fighting bonuses and command stars

    When a suitor wants to marry your princesses, do take note the qualities of the man do affect the quality of the offspring/future generations of your faction. If he is dull, uncharismatic or languorous, there's a good chance his offsprings would have similar aptitudes

  3. #3

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Cool. Most can be tips for the base game too. Some I didn't even know

    Quote Originally Posted by qwertykov View Post
    Generals do not have to be present during a prolonged siege of a city lest they gain traits like Tired or Starving, they can be rested in friendly cities until the day of the invasion where he can be moved to join his army and lead the attack
    This is more an exploit of the limitations of the engine rather than a tip. Those traits are supposed to represent the weariness of the besieging army.
    it's not because you send a fresh general from a city, that your troops that are there since years are going to fight as they arrived yesterday

  4. #4
    Jurand of Cracow's Avatar History and gameplay!
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    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players


    Read the guide on the management of the settlements
    .


    Quote Originally Posted by qwertykov View Post
    Send out diplomats far and wide to get trading rights asap, trade is the most important source of income in the game
    IIRC, this is not the optimal solution as some trade rights may have adverse consequences. This is the case if you're not trading with the faction, ie. any of your provinces don't trade with any of the provinces of the concerned faction. Once the faction breaks this deal for any reason (eg. it's fighting a faction that's your ally), you'll get a reputation hit due to a broken agreement. So: no gain (no additional money), only pain (lower reputation).
    (however, the modded reputation system in the EBII might have changed it so I'm not fully sure if it's right)
    Last edited by Jurand of Cracow; November 12, 2018 at 12:59 AM.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by qwertykov View Post
    When a suitor wants to marry your princesses, do take note the qualities of the man do affect the quality of the offspring/future generations of your faction. If he is dull, uncharismatic or languorous, there's a good chance his offsprings would have similar aptitudes
    This is also potentially bad advice; the game sometimes fixates on a particular daughter, and if you keep rejecting suitors, no one else will get offers until that woman is married off or too old to do so.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Guard mode and different abilities.

    Melee unit: On-holding position and formation. When ordered to attack, first rank will peel off and charge, rest will stand by. Unit will not pursue the enemy unit that starts routing unless ordered to attack again. Off-unit will "blob" on contact with enemy, will pursue enemy it was attacking if he routs.
    Ranged unit: On-it will hold position and if the unit it was attacking goes out of range, it will cease attacking it and if fire at will is on, will attack closest available target. Off-when targeted unit goes out of range, it will attempt to get back into range.
    Ranged with skirmish mode on: On-when dislodged by closing enemy and threat passes, it will attempt ot return to previous location. Off-it will stop once the enemy is not within skirmish range.
    Spear wall: Similar to melee but will attempt to keep formation width at all times, regardless of guard mode. Guard mode on will also make formation hold its place much better than for regular unit, but will drops its kill rate much more significantly.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    thanks for the wonderful critique to my 5 cents worth... quite surprised to realize that its pretty worthless despite me spending hours on this game. perhaps i should stop trying to give advice and leave the suggestions to the experts. sorry to offer my 5 cents worth in the first place.

    great game despite all its faults, but not so great people.

    ciao

  8. #8

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by Dhamon View Post
    Cool. Most can be tips for the base game too. Some I didn't even know



    This is more an exploit of the limitations of the engine rather than a tip. Those traits are supposed to represent the weariness of the besieging army.
    it's not because you send a fresh general from a city, that your troops that are there since years are going to fight as they arrived yesterday
    if thats the case, fix the game, instead of blaming the player for pointing it out.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by qwertykov View Post
    if thats the case, fix the game, instead of blaming the player for pointing it out.
    We can't "fix the game", Captains can't get traits; so you're exploiting a weakness of the engine.

  10. #10

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by Jurand of Cracow View Post

    Read the guide on the management of the settlements
    .


    IIRC, this is not the optimal solution as some trade rights may have adverse consequences. This is the case if you're not trading with the faction, ie. any of your provinces don't trade with any of the provinces of the concerned faction. Once the faction breaks this deal for any reason (eg. it's fighting a faction that's your ally), you'll get a reputation hit due to a broken agreement. So: no gain (no additional money), only pain (lower reputation).
    (however, the modded reputation system in the EBII might have changed it so I'm not fully sure if it's right)
    maybe on easy difficulty you might have the luxury of worrying about reputations and coming up with reasons not to trade however as far as i'm concerned, i play on hard/v.hard and i think its hardly a dubious suggestion sending out diplomats far and wide is an immediate priority for me establish a early trading network and flow of much needed income...

  11. #11

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by QuintusSertorius View Post
    This is also potentially bad advice; the game sometimes fixates on a particular daughter, and if you keep rejecting suitors, no one else will get offers until that woman is married off or too old to do so.
    Bad advice? Dude, you're completely missing the point, the point i want to make is the passing down of traits and not rejecting suitors until the perfect one comes along.

    Relax, don't get too excited, read carefully

  12. #12

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by QuintusSertorius View Post
    We can't "fix the game", Captains can't get traits; so you're exploiting a weakness of the engine.
    its an observation, a trick nonetheless!

  13. #13

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by Dhamon View Post
    Cool. Most can be tips for the base game too. Some I didn't even know



    This is more an exploit of the limitations of the engine rather than a tip. Those traits are supposed to represent the weariness of the besieging army.
    it's not because you send a fresh general from a city, that your troops that are there since years are going to fight as they arrived yesterday
    I'm not too sure, if those traits like "Tired" or "Starving" are "supposed to represent army weariness".

    my observations are, these conditions appear for Generals who are stationed outside a city for a prolonged period of time, with or without an army, siege or no siege.

    as far as i'm concerned, the army weariness is does not exist in the game, but condition of the General is. And the better the General's condition, the better his army will perform, therefore, it makes sense to rest the Generals

  14. #14

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by qwertykov View Post
    I'm not too sure, if those traits like "Tired" or "Starving" are "supposed to represent army weariness".

    my observations are, these conditions appear for Generals who are stationed outside a city for a prolonged period of time, with or without an army, siege or no siege.

    as far as i'm concerned, the army weariness is does not exist in the game, but condition of the General is. And the better the General's condition, the better his army will perform, therefore, it makes sense to rest the Generals
    No, it doesn't. The General would stay with his army, not going to the beach to relax for some months and later come back. Sadly, army weariness does not exist in the game, so the only way to simulate that is with the traits on Generals. By doing that you're exploiting a game limitation and that is not whatyou should aim for.

  15. #15
    Jurand of Cracow's Avatar History and gameplay!
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    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by Dhamon View Post
    This is more an exploit of the limitations of the engine rather than a tip. Those traits are supposed to represent the weariness of the besieging army.
    it's not because you send a fresh general from a city, that your troops that are there since years are going to fight as they arrived yesterday
    Quote Originally Posted by qwertykov View Post
    if thats the case, fix the game, instead of blaming the player for pointing it out.
    Quote Originally Posted by QuintusSertorius View Post
    We can't "fix the game", Captains can't get traits; so you're exploiting a weakness of the engine.
    Quote Originally Posted by qwertykov View Post
    its an observation, a trick nonetheless!
    There're many weaknesses in the M2TW engine that enable "tricks". Given that it's not possible to fix many of them, a set of house rules can make the game more challenging/fun - and this is actually a tip for the new players. My set is to be found here.

  16. #16

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    There are lots of exploits that can be done in M2TW without really needing to break into the game files, that one to avoid starving is definitely one. I remember in DoTS the devs made every single unit a character (as in, all could have traits, loyalty, etc.) so effectively armies were composed of many "generals" while they were led by "family members". It's a bit of a roundabout solution but perhaps it is worth trying out.

    My advice regarding managing the famility tree is to divide in sections, and you treat each one differently. For example in my case.
    1. The royal family. You groom these people and try to get them the best education and training, just for roleplay reasons. This is the core of your tree.
    2. The aristocracy. The result of daughters marrying outside, you pick based on ethnicities to represent the "core" areas of your kingdoms, that you want to have powerful nobles leading armies. You prune these from time to time to keep them growing exponentially, like when there is two sons you only keep one alive to pass the ethnicity down.
    3. The officers. These are everyone else who marries into your tree, that you don't have interest in but need to have in order for the M2TW family tree to work properly. As soon as they marry put them into your army and use them as a unit, without reservations about their safety. Their job is to be married and die without kids.

  17. #17

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by qwertykov View Post
    thanks for the wonderful critique to my 5 cents worth... quite surprised to realize that its pretty worthless despite me spending hours on this game. perhaps i should stop trying to give advice and leave the suggestions to the experts. sorry to offer my 5 cents worth in the first place.

    great game despite all its faults, but not so great people.

    ciao
    It's great advice, but like not entirely suitable to players who want to play somewhat historically.
    FREE THE NIPPLE!!!

  18. #18

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by qwertykov View Post
    thanks for the wonderful critique to my 5 cents worth... quite surprised to realize that its pretty worthless despite me spending hours on this game. perhaps i should stop trying to give advice and leave the suggestions to the experts. sorry to offer my 5 cents worth in the first place.
    The virtue of a community like this is that we learn a lot collectively by pointing out things and having others counterpoint so that we can get more accurate information. It is very much like the scientific process, in a way. I appreciate your five cents and urge you to continue to contribute if you feel you have a point to make. If someone addresses a point you have made and suggests another way of looking at it, it is not a sign of personal dismissal; it is just participation.

  19. #19

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Very interesting! However I have a huge problem with general stars... I get them to win great battles against bigger armies, fight and kill lots of enemies with the general bodyguard and still don't get any good traits or stars... but when I autoresolve sometimes I do get them! How that can be?

  20. #20

    Default Re: Tips and Tricks - For new EBII players

    Quote Originally Posted by gangster19 View Post
    Very interesting! However I have a huge problem with general stars... I get them to win great battles against bigger armies, fight and kill lots of enemies with the general bodyguard and still don't get any good traits or stars... but when I autoresolve sometimes I do get them! How that can be?
    Autoresolve uses a completely different set of mechanics to assess changes to a general's stats.

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