Just can't get the handle of the start

[Possut]

I've restarted tons of times and can't get a decent start off...

It's not about the battles, I can handle 'em. Its rather me not having good troops before I get overrun by some random patrol.

My main goal is to be sole King, but should I go into a vassalage in early game, get a couple of castles, befriend some Lords and then break out?

I guess I know how I should do it, but it just doesn't work

Anyone that might give me a small hand? Like, what is the easiest way to get a quick buck (without having to run around in the world playing trader), what troop trees/factions should I go for, where should I start my solo expansion/against who ?

 

[AnthonyTjuatja]

join a tournament, place the highest bets, and win it.
After that, buy enterprises from cities, which will give you passive income each certain duration.

 

[Babaganoush]

Stick to Sarleon tournaments if you're a low level.

Best way imo is to go under vassalage, then rebel once you get too many lands for the king to handle.

Keep your kingdom under check as well. Don't let them grow too far or you'll have a challenge on your hands once you rebel.
Make the king like you with rep about 40 or something. I did this with Marius, when he declared war on me, I rushed back to Janos to talk to him to declare peace, and he did so.

 

[gorrak]

Once you get started (the tourny idea is an excellent idea) siege a castle and claim indep.  than go right to another kingdom (close by the castle you took) and swear vassalage .... this will do the following:

1. You will keep the lands you took after you swear vassalage
2.  It will reset your faction standing with whoever you took the castle from back to the level it is  with the faction you swear vassalage to
3.  You will have a tidy income from the castle and the village that are now under your control and you will have the protection of a kingdom
4.  Train up elite troops (especially cavalry) to start your own empire eventually

I have to start over many times normally too but this seems the best way for my gameplay style to make it work and beat the game...

 

[Jellyfish_sammich]

Once you get started (the tourny idea is an excellent idea) siege a castle and claim indep.  than go right to another kingdom (close by the castle you took) and swear vassalage .... this will do the following:

1. You will keep the lands you took after you swear vassalage
2.  It will reset your faction standing with whoever you took the castle from back to the level it is  with the faction you swear vassalage to
3.  You will have a tidy income from the castle and the village that are now under your control and you will have the protection of a kingdom
4.  Train up elite troops (especially cavalry) to start your own empire eventually

I have to start over many times normally too but this seems the best way for my gameplay style to make it work and beat the game...

Good suggestions, I did something similar:

1. Become a mercenary for one faction,  the pay will be greater than what you get paid a week.
2. Raid the enemy's villages for a while, ignore enemy lords unless you know you can crush them. I saved up 300k doing this.
3. Let your contract expire and then siege a town or castle that you think you can take. I took Sarleon from the empire.
4. After that immediately swear allegiance. I swore allegiance to the Empire and got to keep the town and 3 villages I took from them  .
5. Get good relations with lords who aren't loyal (you should be doing this throughout the game) and build up a large army.
6. When you want to form your own kingdom take another town or castle,  when the king doesn't let you keep it then rebel.

 

[ppga]

Playing trade can pay off substantially, but if you really want to fight your way to the top, one thing to remember is that loot depends on party size, the smaller your party, the more and better loot you get.  I can be a big-time lord, fight in battles involving thousands of troops, yet get better loot if I put all my troops in garrison and me and my companions take on 30 heretics.

Also, if you do want to get most of your money from fighting and not trading, it's obviously a good idea to choose the character creation options that lead to a looting skill of nine, which is possible if you didn't know that.  If you want strong troops before you can get a castle for honour troops, use the adventurer troop tree, which leads to hero adventurers, who are, well, very effective.  Note that while hero and heroine adventurers have the same stats, it takes a lot longer to level up maiden/heroine adventurers than their male counterparts.  Also, talk to the guys that buy prisoners, sometimes they will have some good troops they want to get rid of.  One time I started off and at the first town I visited Ordis had a Knight of the Dawn for me for 500 denars.  That guy was great, we could take on small bands together, and even small patrols of six or seven vanskerries gave good loot since it was just the two of us.

The main thing I would counsel in Pendor is patience.  You may not want to be a pure trader, but the trading FAQ will help you learn what good prices are, and to start off you really should combine trading with raiding, if you're hunting vanskerries you might as well buy some Fierdsvain flax and make the odd trip to Arvendor, for example.  Buying flax for 60 denars at Jarviksholm and selling it for 300 at Arvendor may not be glorious, but it's pretty quick and for the time it takes will make you more than most early battles.

 

[HunterAlpha1]

starting options have been nerfed in such a way as to prevent you from starting with 9 looting.

 

[NicotiN]

If start a new character and play with full damage and good ai....well it's hard.
Don't play as other players say, find your own style.

Don't swear vasselage to anyone, don't buy enterprises...they are nerfed, don't take towns too early, don't train noble troops in the begining.
Win a few battles, get a lot of recruits and hire yourself as a merc for a faction with wars...i recommend Sarleon, you will have a lot of action.
For the troops....hire barclay mercs and raid the woods near Marelons, the bridge area is full of bandits with jatu prisoners...avoid hero adv in the begining, they are too expensive and can die really fast.
Build your mix troops of archers, infantry to defend them and enough cavalry to have decent speed( bulkware cavalry such as maiden cavalry to increase speed)
When in campaign go and speak to every lord after a battle to get +1 relations
When you made about 120 troop size....go and take your castle or town and start Pendor.....choose a already conquered fief that has a small garrison.
This is hard....but you can recruit lords to help you+ a lot of experience and constant action.

For the money problem......you have to run around and trade, your weekly program should be
1)3 days trade
2)3 days combat
3)1 day logistics...recruit, buy, employ troops.
And make some trade, combat, recruit routes.

For the money: fight all battles, the looting system is very good....you can get a lot of expensive items even from small bands of minor faction.
Never go on the field with more than 90-100 soldiers...unless you are planing to fight lords or sieges, the less soldiers you have the better your loot is.....so get the troops i said and don't keep a lot of them with you.
Don't raid villages, you will suffer later, tournaments are hard, fiefs don't produce a lot of money unless they are upgraded...wages are high.
So yes, trade, don't ransom lords...free them, use 2-3 lords to capture and ransom them all the time....If you see some fights try to join...
In my game in day 50 i think...there was a battles between a king and the empire....captured him and ransomed him for 30.000 denars....the marshall costs 10.000.
Invest in the equipment of companions and get them all with all skills you don;t have like trade, wound treatment, SPOTING....get at least 5 in this.....big armies and their patrols are a...

 

[Possut]

starting options have been nerfed in such a way as to prevent you from starting with 9 looting.

You can get maximum 6 looting (the one I started with), which is still very good. My current playthrough goes pretty well. Won some tournaments and so, got a very solid and good army which I wanna go merc with.

Where is the option to become merc? Can't find it in King conversations, only vassalage option.

And where is the "turn off companion complaints" option? Can't be bothered to care for their thoughts this first proper play through

 

[NicotiN]

Where is the option to become merc? Can't find it in King conversations, only vassalage option.

And where is the "turn off companion complaints" option? Can't be bothered to care for their thoughts this first proper play through

Ask a lord of that faction, you needs some reknown i guess, to become a mercenary.
When camping there is an option for Pop options

 

[Possut]

I'm merc now yes. But I don't think turning off complaints work. That options isn't in my camp menu, besides making the companion conversations fewer (is this the magic option maybe?).

 

[NicotiN]

It's in the camp menu, pop options....but if you don't see the complaints that doesn't mean they don't happen....you will get messages on the screen that x doesn't like y.

 

[Possut]

It's in the camp menu, pop options....but if you don't see the complaints that doesn't mean they don't happen....you will get messages on the screen that x doesn't like y.

Hmm, this does still happen :S But will they eventually leave then? I don't want that

 

[BetrayTheWorld]

It's in the camp menu, pop options....but if you don't see the complaints that doesn't mean they don't happen....you will get messages on the screen that x doesn't like y.

Hmm, this does still happen :S But will they eventually leave then? I don't want that

Yes. If you have a bunch of companions that don't like each other, they will eventually leave. You need to customize your group of companions based on the companion bubble, readily available on the wiki and in several other threads. Good luck.

 

[Possut]

Okey, I'll have to do that soon then. I'll try to get a castle and dump some of them then, maybe make them vassals or something...

 

[NicotiN]

Don't make them vassals....they can go in other factions or leave the kingdom

 

[Summa]

I had a rough time getting started as well. I ended up hanging out in the Ravenstern areas and just took it easy and slowly gained more experienced troops from the bandits in the area. I honestly have a better time establishing myself rather than later in the game when you got all the top notch troops.

 

[slyspy]

Nothing wrong with investing in businesses. Sure there is a capital outlay, but a steady monthly income can be yours thereafter.

Going merc is a good way to get rich, as is remembering that you don't have to upgrade your troops.

Some trade routes can be very lucrative especially if you or a companion have a decent Trade skill.

I personally don't like raiding villages since eventually you may have to recruit from them, plus what did the peasants do to deserve it?

 

[NicotiN]

Nothing wrong with investing in businesses. Sure there is a capital outlay, but a steady monthly income can be yours thereafter.

Going merc is a good way to get rich, as is remembering that you don't have to upgrade your troops.

Some trade routes can be very lucrative especially if you or a companion have a decent Trade skill.

I personally don't like raiding villages since eventually you may have to recruit from them, plus what did the peasants do to deserve it?

It's bad to invest in buisness, they are nerfed by 50% income....so you get about 500 denars a week and costs 10.000 so in.....20 weeks you get your money back...and in 4 weeks you get 2000 denars....and since in Pop there are a lot of wars you will just end up with them sechestred and no money for you.

Decent trade with a companion.....a must have, raiding villages....never.........get troops all the ways....prisoners from minor factions or bandits, prisoners from lords....etc, don't spend a lot of money on always upgrading something that can die

 

[Possut]

I had a rough time getting started as well. I ended up hanging out in the Ravenstern areas and just took it easy and slowly gained more experienced troops from the bandits in the area. I honestly have a better time establishing myself rather than later in the game when you got all the top notch troops.

Hehe Revenstern is where I'm hanging around too Everytime I get by Sanderfall = buy off all iron and sell it at Rane/Poinsbruk, super money income