[Europe 1805] Tell us about your game

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I started a game in the Balkans. Figuring that I should support one of the regional powers due to my starting position, I decided that the Serbs would make a good nation to support. I figured it would be interesting to pit an army of Serbs against the Ottoman Empire. I bought a large gang of Irish infantry for an EXTREMELY cheap price (about 500 denars or so). That was rather funny actually, as I discovered that 21 Irishmen, despite being so cheap, are extremely useful to have around.

I joined the Serbs and began building my merit so as to make a huge army to attack the Ottomans with. A couple battles with bandits left me wondering as to the quality of my Serbian rebels, as almost all the killing was done by my cheap Irish mercenaries. However, I figured that they would get better once they reached "Revolutionary" level. I then spotted a large Serbian army attacking an Ottoman caravan. Seeing it as a chance to get easy loot, I joined the attack, expecting an easy win.

I was completely wrong. As the battle started, my entire allied army went into a giant clump of a formation and charged straight at the Ottomans. They crashed right into the Mercenary Cavalry, followed by the Ottoman infantry arriving. I was completely flabbergasted as the 80 or so Serbian infantry were butchered at about a 2-1 ratio by the Ottomans, despite the Ottomans being composed entirely of Merc. cavalry (I could purchase about 20 of those for 1000 denars), Ottoman recruits (lowest tier, composing about 3/4ths of the Ottoman infantry) and middle tier Ottoman infantry (composing the rest). The ratio probably would have been worse, but I had (wisely) held my troops back, and the giant clump of a melee battle was great pickings for my Irish infantry. Even then, I lost several troops once the Ottomans finished the melee fighting and began counter firing.

So I decided fighting an Ottoman force, even a small one, would be completely unfeasible without overwhelming numbers of Serbians (or lots of mercenaries and foreign fighters). Instead, I spent some time in Italy, supporting different sides in the battles (I love the ability to choose the side you fight on without screwing up diplomacy). After a while, I decided to try raiding the Ottomans again. I was kind of wondering how the Ottomans had not wiped out the Serbs yet, but then realized that one Serbian fort had been besieged at one point, but the auto-resolve disproportionately favours the Serbs (due to their numbers, and because their strength seems to be exaggerated). I arrived in Anatolia to see loads of "Janissary" forces raiding caravans. Fun! I supported one of these armies against an Ottoman caravan (of similar size to the one I had fought earlier).

Unfortunately, I was unable to let the AI control them alone. But I placed my troops in a big line, held fire, and then let off a volley, followed by a "charge" (I didn't tell them to hold fire though, so it was more like a very slow advance). Casualties this time? The entire caravan was wiped out, and I lost about 5 troops total (3 of them Janissaries).

Yup. The Serbian army (even with about 30 or 40 more troops in a stack) is inferior to bloody BANDITS. Now this is driving me nuts; I can definitely beat Ottoman armies, but it seems silly for me to recruit troops as though I were a multi-national mercenary, and I don't think my leadership will ever get high enough for me to simply overwhelm an Ottoman city. I understand that the Serbians are supposed to be relatively weak, I thought that would be compensated in some way. Yes, the Ottomans spend lots of time just killing the massive stacks of Janissaries, and yes, the Serbians get extremely large garrisons, but it still doesn't quite work. The top tier troops of the Serbians are, so far as I can tell, marginally better than Ottoman recruits. Had I gone with the Ottomans, I probably could have wiped out Serbia with 50 top tier Ottoman infantry and a good tactics skill. Furthermore, Serbia's numbers only seem to matter defensively. Serbia has about 5 regiments total, and they are about average size. Serbia ought to be beefed up in some way.

Beyond that, the diplomacy system is pretty cool.
 
I myself joined up with the Serbs, but instead of Irish mercs I use Merc horsemen and then uprade them to Polish Lancers when possable. My lancers DOMINATE THE FIELD! but when it comes to siege? Forget about it... my lancers are sitting ducks and considering the fact that they're only armed with lances they're pretty pethetic on foot.

Tbh I think the polish lancers need some sort of secondary sword. If I remember right it was common for Polish lancers to use the lance in the initial charge and then once their lance is embedded deep into someone or a horse they imediately switched to their sabers.

And I agree about the serbs being pretty pethetic infantry. Even with the use of Gurilla tactics (skirmishing in loose formation with the "Rebels" flanking in melee) they tend to get grinded into something that somewhat resembles a thick stew. Even with their "Austrian muskets". Also even if the rebels were all armed with just pikes or spears the Sipahi's just waltz through them like they were the dirt neath their horses' hoof! If it werent for my Lancer/Merc cav the serbs would've lost EVERY SINGLE MAJOR ENGAGEMENT! Still.. Love the thought of fighting against impossible odds and still kicking ass and taking names. And lookin good while doing it too :grin:
 
I quickly joined the French Army as a Cuirassier commander leading my own 20 good men into battle with me.  This is the story of the Battle of Brighton. 

I was strolling the English country side stalking the caravans as they slowly roll by looking for one of my enemies'.  I pan the campaign camera and I saw an engagement between the French and English.  As I move closer, I notice that four lords from the English (About 547 men in all) are demolishing the French general (About 167 including myself in the battle).  I marked the day (Augist 10, 1805) that this will be one of the greatest comeback battles that the French will take place in and this is what happened. 

The battle starts with my side with about 10 Cuirassiers and about another 30 French linemen.  My troops follow me with wedge formation (which is not the best for heavy cavalry if you ask me), and we plan the flanking procedure as my ally charges guns blazing.  On the mini-map in the command window, I notice another large red wedge of English light and heavy dragoons charging from their right-full side of the map.  While the lines are blasting each other with muskets, and the heavy cavalry of the French are chasing the quicker dragoons of the English, I notice that we are not doing as well as we could.  I change the plan and charge head first into the infantry and skirmisher lines of the English killing about 30-40 so men including the ones killed by my faithful companions.  The dragoons decide it is smart to ram into the French line and get stuck.  The bayoneted troops quickly dispose of them and their horses and continue mindlessly shooting at the English line.  The grenadier's line (with a few linemen) charge at the cuirassiers and I full force.  Reinforcements arrived on part of the allies and two more horsemen joined along with another fresh batch of bullet shields for the English.  The grenadiers were a tough fight, killing about three of us and a few more horses while their troops were dispersed. 

I thought we might win the battle, considering that we lost twenty men and the English lost about ninety.  Then it hit me, I turned to see which English troops just arrived and a green uniform stood out from the rest of the red coats.  He aimed his rifle and smoke shot out of the end.  A spur of blood emitted from my head and I was off my horse unconscious.  The cavalry charged blindly into the mass and flattened the mass of troops, which quickly got back up with bayonets and stabbed my fellow soldiers.  The linemen on the French side were sniped down by the English riflemen. 

I decided that I would not go back to battle and let the ones still standing in my army to go with the other French men.  The battle was over with 143 death for the French and 24 wounded, but 499 English deaths and 13 wounded.  My good ally was captured and I had the chance to route from the battle with all of my soldiers wounded and I not able to fight. 

Later that month, (August 25, 1805) I stormed the fort of the English with an even larger army (155 troops with a mix of infantry and cavalry) than before.  The owner of the fort was off preparing for a campaign and it was a perfect time to attack. 

To Be Continued... 
 
My name is Baer Kovacs, I am a swedish citizen, however, I have always felt that the swedish monarchy was weak. I joined the Austrians as a Kuirassier along with 40 other infantry and 1 Calvary companion, Matthews from the Royal Navy. The Austrians, in my opinion were a strong bunch. Their Jaegers are my favorite. So Matthews was in 1st company with 10 Jaegers while I got the Prussian Scheutzan(something like that) I was in the Austrian Army As a Lieutenant earning 500 a week. it was enough for me to get 5 Recruits per week. Soon after I joined, We(austrian Army) Invaded Italy. Destroying the Italians. We managed to eliminate the Italians from Italy. However, their(Italians) recent siege in Palermo was a success. we were determined to head into the Italian Mainland. We took Rome, destroying the papal states. and finally, The Siege Of Palermo. The Italians Final Stand
They Left their villages and entered the safety of Palermo. We were determined to destroy them! The siege of Palermo was a success. Destroying the Italians and completing one step to Conquering all of Europe, we went on to destroy the ottoman empire. minor factions. Britain was next on our list, after destroying the prussians, the swedes and the danes. Britain was tough. my strong 100 man Army took alot of deaths and wounded.
Emperor Francis took a beating, too. after besieging Liverpool, he went back to the Austrian lands with only 30 troops left. he was ambushed along the way by Napoleon himself. down he went. he was taken prisoner.
He never, NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER. escaped so that was the end of our beloved leader. Morale in the ranks went down. the campaign in Britain was a failure. they pushed us out of their island. Demoralized, we left to the Austrian lands. However, we were determined to rescue Emperor Francis but, it would not take but another 60 days before he was rescued from captivity. I rose up the ranks, to major. After a  Month  or so,Spain and Portugal was conquered by France. So was Britain, then Ireland went down. By then, it was just Austrian Empire and French Empire. both, already exhausted fought on. However, the odds were the Austrians Favor now. Austrian was winning, We took cities, castles. From Dijon to Dublin. France was half
ours. On our way to destroying France, we learned that Britain was not conquered fully. There was still one English castle


The Rescue of Emperor Francis was going to be hard. we were to face 5 French Officers.  After Fighting, We had to take Paris and kill Napoleon. Napoleon was resting in a village Called Waterloo.



This is the Battle of Waterloo(MY VERSION)




Dawn, December 15th 1805  A Group of 6 Austrian Officers Left Wien. The March to Waterloo has begun.
that was something no training could prepare you,no battle could either. Fighting Napoleon would be tough.
Finally December 23th Afternoon. We could see the french flags flying over waterloo. this, would be the beginning of the end. We attacked napoleon on surprise.  We outnumbered Napoleon. 300 to 200. I had my Calvary Flank the French Grenadiers Line While my Allies Austrian Jaegers  Distract them. Then my Troops joined the line. the entire line was firing too much that you could hardly see anything. after a few Calvary charges. I ordered my Men to charge. Too my surprise a French Calvary could be seen in the distance. Everyone panicked but it was too late. The charge just had to go on, so I ordered the Calvary to go deal with them, or at least slow them down. The charge went perfectly fine, and soon enough the french troops grew lesser in numbers, and eventually they died. This is it. Napoleon was defeated. Suddenly, I heard a voice. "CALVARY!!! WATCH OUT! THEY GOT INFANTRY WITH THEM" I turned, and to my amazement. A full line of French Troops with Calvary. we could not deal with them. Our forces were already in array and there was no time to get into position. I thought to myself, this is it, the end of my life. as they fired, they picked off my men, one by one. there was no way we could win. As I turned to retreat, the best thing happened in my life.
I yelled to my troops, "BRITISH REINFORCEMENTS!!!!" The British Dragoon Took down their Calvary and their infantry took our their grenadiers. that was it. We won. Napoleon was defeated. After the victory, I decided to retire and go back to exile as a Tavern Keeper In Sweden, My homeland.
 
So there I was with Emperor Moron of the two-headed Eagle: as Major Trinkmann of the Austrian army, following my brainless liege in a campaign through eastern France that involved just me and His army. Each time he saw a caravan, the moron ceased the siege of this or that place and began pursuiting it with his infinitely slower army. After repeating this countless times without a single time catching a caravan, he at last managed to stay long enough near Bourbon to storm it. As the loyal officer I am, I immediately joined him with my company of Grenadiers.

Things didn't go well from the start: the French gunned my elites down from their cover in the large house, and I knew I could do only one thing: a bajonet charge. With a "For the Emperor!", I and my Bohemian veterans charged, and cut down resistance on the ground level. We eliminated the Sansculottes on the stairs, but then we had to get up-stairs. Oh God.

My brave but stupid Grenadies COULDN'T GET OVER THE STAIRS! They were pinned like eggs on the too-high stairs and were shot to pieces by a horde Sansculottes upstairs. I let them shoot back, but it didn't really help. Desperately, I charge over the stairs myself, sabre in hand. And then, one of the Antichrist's minions, a Fusilier, takes aim at me from a metre distance, and shoots me richt though my (imaginary) brains.

Without me, the Bohemian Grenadiers retreat, and are shot to pieces in the meantime. The siege fails, I'm forced to retreat, and His Moronic Majesty Franz Joseph is mad at me.
 
This wall of text is inspired by my in-game experience in the battle of Berestye.
(It also inspired me to draw my current avatar.)

Anno Domini 1806
The town of Berestye, currently Bavarian-held territory


The m1798 Austrian musket is an effective weapon. Its accuracy and range is better than most other muskets, and, although slower than the French and British weapons, it often gives its master the edge in a musket-versus-musket firefight. One of this weapon’s creditors, the Bavarian Oberst Linkmann, repeatedly called it “the tool for victory, the elder brother of the Jaeger’s Rifle”. His Bavarian troops, armed with this ‘tool’ and supported by Prussian and Swiss Schuetzen, had taken more lands from their monarch’s foes than any other regiment had done. Swedish Pommeren was now entirely Bavarian territory, and a good portion had been taken from Wuerttemberg. Thanks to these exploits, Bavaria now was a kingdom.

The former Elector Maximilian Joseph, now King of Bavaria, had seen his regiments crumble and rout before the Coalition’s armies, and his country devastated by the forces of Russia, Austria and Sweden, while his pawn, the loyal Oberst Linkmann, was far away nibbling at the coalition’s hinterlands. Twice this man had killed a fellow officer in duel, and the former Elector didn’t forget this. Twice he had sent his pawn into Russia, to take the town of Berestye from the Coalition, in order to give the Bavarian countryside some relief and breathing space. The war of attrition mastered by this man was finally brought onto enemy soil.

Indeed, by now Berestye had seen much war coming over. It had been taken from Russia by Bavarian troops; it had been taken by Wuerttemberg, by Serbia and again by Bavaria. Now, the Bavarian garrison, led by General von Raglovich, were besieged by Bavaria’s nemesis: The Austrian army, led by the Archduke Leopold.

Before the assault, the small garrison was reinforced by the force of Oberst Linkmann, consisting of a handful of Schuetzen and some veteran Bavarian fusiliers. They would make their stand at the town hall of Berestye, defending it against overwhelming numbers of Austian soldiers. Behind the main hall, a makeshift hospital was being prepared by the defenders.



The signal was given, and with a loud “Hurrah!” the Austrian shock-troops stormed forward. A large, hand-picked group of Bohemian Grenadiers, supported by Jaegers and with Fusiliers in the rear, engaged the outposts behind the town hall’s outer fence. The Bohemians suffered from the musket-fire from the main building, but they succeeded in driving off the skirmishers at the fence. While shooting and loading, this fearsome force advanced towards the entrance held by the Bavarian fusiliers.

Here had Oberst Linkmann positioned himself; at the head of his veterans, whom he had led to victory throughout Europe. These were the backbone of his force, his NCOs and Lieutenants. The Irish sharpshooter, Harper, commanded the Schuetzen upstairs, but all others were here, with him. They stood firm against the first heavy assaults led by the Bohemians. Next came a company of Jaegers, and Linkmann, ordering his men to step back some paces, charged these Austrians with his Rapier drawn. The Jaegers were not adequately trained and armed to engage seasoned enemies in melee, and were forced back. When more Austrian Grenadiers arrived at the battlefield, Linkmann retreated towards the main building, constantly evading the shots of his enemies. His fusiliers were again drawn up in formation in the building’s entrance, and gave him covering fire.

Another assault, another melee against the feared Grenadiers; these renowned shock-troopers, sporting their trademark moustaches and wielding their bayoneted muskets with the air of veterans, cut down many of Linkmann’s comrades, and pressed the survivors back towards the inside strairs. Reinforcements were coming up from behind for both sides, but the Bavarians were at a disadvantage when coming down the stairs, where a forest of Austrian bayonets awaited them. To give them a chance to form up properly, Oberst Linkmann charged the Grenadiers with a couple of his comrades, pulling some enemies from the bottom of the stairs. But they were overrun, and Linkmann, wielding his short Rapier, was driven into a wall by the Austrians. While fencing away at his foes, already cut through his arm, he was knocked out by a musket butt smashing towards his head.



With massive losses, the Bavarians finally managed to drive the Coalition’s soldiers from the building, and the Oberst was pulled back to the hospital by his brave soldiers. Not many wounded were there, because many had been trampled in the confused melees, and others had been cut off from their friends by the enemies advance, and taken prisoner. But still, the small hospital was packed by wounded, and Doctor Darwin, chief Surgeon in Linkmann’s company, could use all help available. So when the Oberst was brought in, still half-conscious, the busy surgeon sent him to one of the Ladies volunteered to help the wounded. Unrecognizably by the powder and dust, which had blackened his uniform and face, the Oberst was cared for, his wounds quickly bandaged by the young German lady, one of Von Raglovich’s relatives residing at Berestye. Among the civilians at the hospital, fear for the Austrians prevailed, as the number of Bavarian casualties rose at an alarming rate. Von Raglovich was not with his troops, and Linkmann was in the hospital; the Bavarians began feeling deserted by their officers.

To von Raglovich and his officers it now became obvious that the battle was lost. He quickly prepared to leave the town, which was becoming a mouse-trap for its defenders. In order to escape successfully with his relatives and officers, the garrison had to hold out for some more time. But the weakened force was on the brink of collapse.

In the hospital, Linkmann received word that the commanders were about to try an escape, and he was urged to join them. But he refused, arguing that his wounds would slow them down, and that the garrison could not hold out long enough to allow the others to escape, or at least not without commanders. He would stay, and keep the Austrians pinned against the town hall.

And he stayed. He picked up a carbine that he could handle with his wounds, and joined his skirmishers in their firefight against the Austrians. The latters became tired of the prolonged fight, and sent in a troop Hungarian Grenadiers. These massive troops swept away wat was left of the defenses downstairs, and Linkmann barely escaped up the stairs. Only a few men were left there. But they cut down anything that came up the stairs.

A group of Hungarians ascended the stairs, and shot down the last of Linkmann’s soldiers. Restricted by his wounds, the Oberst could not fight them effectively, and he was driven into a corner. With bayonets they finished him off, finally taking Berestye.

The small mounted group was already a mile away when the town fell, and were heading to the safety of Bavaria. Before, a young lady had looked back at the town hall as they rode away; the building was entirely covered in smoke and blackpowder.

(The char's safegame got corrupted that day, the day Bavaria lost its outermost outpost to Austria, and its bravest officer.)
 
First, a couple of observations:
-Small factions who own only a city + some villages, or a city, one or two castles, with villages, tends to fill their garrisons much more than other factions. Am I right to presume that Officers 'resting' in a castle/city increase its garrison? :idea:

-If you're about to play for Bavaria, prepare yourself for a dirty, long and hard campaign in which the other Officer's armies will be continuously and repeatedly defeated and scattered. In all of my Bavaria campaigns, I was the only one who took all of the conquered territories!
Berthout said:
Although formally independent Bavaria has become a bit of a puppet state from France, without whose support it would not be able to withstand it's long conflict with Austria. Chances are that the main fighting between France and Austria will take place on Bavarian soil.
And yeah, France doesn't seem to care anything about Bravoure, Bavière at all! :cry:

-The Prussian 1780 Horse Pistol is a bloody awesome weapon. With 300 in 'Firearms' proficiency, you dominate the Siege Defense with it! :eek:

-The initial Siege Assault scene for unwalled cities tend to place the attacking troops right before the defender's gun's barrels. I am currently experimenting with a slightly altered scene, in which the attacker starts a bit further off the barricade.
Also, to my disappointment, the scene involves less 'street-fighting' and more 'forlorn hope'-style assaults. :neutral:

-When your troops get stuck on the staircase in a Siege assault, pull out a pistol (the 1780 Horse Pistol is perfect for this), and start picking off the suckers above you with it. The player's involvement in the ensuring stalemate often proves crucial. :!:

-The Austrians share something with the Papal troops, some Serbs, and the Bavarians: The best damn musket in the world! :cool:

-The cities with walls are impregnable. Why? Because it takes so long to beach its walls, and for AI armies it takes forever. It is guaranteed that within that time at least fifty caravans pass the area, and the Marshall of the besiegers tend to run after all of them. :mad:

-[EDIT] In some (particulary hilly) battle maps with trees, the AI mesh seems to be... wrong. In other words, there are areas, on the most inconvenient places, where AI troops (soldiers, companions, etc.) can't go, and this totally ****s up one's battle-line. Instead of forming a nice line there, the soldiers who are supposed to be on the places where no mesh is laid will stroll/run around aimlessly, and your formation will be in total chaos. When the enemy is upon you, you'll curse the terrain as your precious regulars are being cut down by their troops. :evil:

-[EDIT2] It seems that, as Bavarian, I can't recruit our faction's troops at the Recruitment Officer / Major in any town, while there are Nassauers, Danes and even Papal recruits available for recruitment! :sad:

Second, story time!

It was already 1806, and the latest diplomatic events appeared on Napoleon's desk. The great small man was content, for it was good news: Both Austria and Russia had stepped out of the Coalition, and only small Nassau had entered in their place. What harm could Nassau do to his mighty Empire? He went off to his bedroom and snatched a bottle Schnaps from under his canopy: "On ze Kaiser!"

In Heidelberg, former Wuerttembergian territory and now prospering under the Bavarian crown, people were less happy. Since the Wuerttmebergian state had collapsed and the Bavarians had come in its place, the sexy helmets of the former's soldiers had vanished, and now warriors with silly shakos patrolled through their streets. As a further nuisance, a huge army of green-coated Nassauers had crossed the borders and were laying siege to Heidelberg. It appeared that the Count of Nassau had put the 2 year-long peace to good use and created a thoroughly trained and impressive force, large enough to garrison the whole former Electorate of Wuerttmeberg.

In Bavaria's eastern borders, where Budweiss was snatched from Austria before the peace with the Habsburgs, Brigadier General Joseph Pösau received word of the sudden Nassauan invasion, and amassed a mighty force of Bavaria's finest infantry. He arrived at Heidelberg in time to help in its defence, and faced the three times stronger enemy with his veterans.

In this battle, my soldiers put the small advantage their Austrian muskets gave them to full use. In this battle, my companions, clad in officer coats and armed with 1790 Pallasch's and 1780 Horse Pistols, held the main entrance. In this battle, I broke the back of Nassau's mightiest campaign, and send their depleted armies fleeing in every direction, ready to be picked off one by one.

The only reason Nassau still exists, is because of their ridiculously big garrison in Weilburg.
 
for the first tie ever playing here, thought I tried the training camp to get used to the weapons....

in just a few words. *&^#$% you

not you personally you know, just that you (your hero) sucks with all weapons and 66% of the time you get equiped with weapons that don't allow you to block some of the heavier weapons early on

remove the training grounds there, seriously, it's no use at all

actually it's a level or so. However, I passed veteran and champion level easily, while I had troubles at novice.... hello?
 
Oskatat said:
in just a few words. *&^#$% you
You aren't forced to use the training camp. I find it rather fun if I'm in for a challenge.

Oskatat said:
and 6% of the time you get equipped with weapons that don't allow you to block some of the heavier weapons
You are talking about the "Dagger+Rapier" combination, aren't you? To block with that, the trick is to hold down the two mouse buttons at the same time (I forgot with which button you have to press first), and then you get a 'shield'. Or you just drop the Dagger (the same way as you drop a shield in native, roll down the mouse wheel), and fight with the Rapier only.

The Rapier isn't my favorite weapon for nothing, you know. It's a beautiful weapon, and fighting with it makes for an entirely new, and in many ways fun, style of fighting. And it's really challenging to face a Hussar only with a Rapier, and really satisfying if you survive that! :grin:
 
modified my post slightly, my F you wasn't directed at anyone personal just at the training camp. I won those battles by a strategically planned all out attack, it's just that i lost a lot the first few times around. Recruited some men, let's find some bandits (weak ones, I hope)
 
Actually, in my last (medieval theme) game I was a very good spearman... I guess pikemen arn't very much in demand though

edit:
both patches for less smoke can't be found. I don't mind not being able to see the enemy untill he's right on top of me, that is actually great fun (would be more fun if it also counted for the AI), but the game slows down to a crawl after a few shots



notes to self:
don't get shot, it hurts (137 damage)


edit2:
did some trading for silk, tools and spices all around and saved a lot of money and got some companions. Anywhere a good description on those formation style things? Anyway, I lucked out. A rifle that reloads like a gun, and fast too. It's interesting, in my usual M&B game I can't move for bandits (untill I kill them all in one area) but now I actually have to look for them. Might be that, since I started in france I kinda stuck to the area, only making trips to greece (silk (actually, was it velvet?) is cheaper there), spain (tools) and sicily (spices).

Rule 1 still stands, don't get shot. One rifle shot will generally kill anyone who doesn't have 10 iron skin and 30 str, plus the best armor and a lot of luck, while being shot at with a crap rifle or gun by someone with no skill.
 
It's interesting, in my usual M&B game I can't move for bandits (untill I kill them all in one area) but now I actually have to look for them.
Well, AFAIK Looting Sailers usually pop up in the region around... Rennes I believe, and in Demnark and Sweden. Forest bandits spawn in Hungary, south-east of Budapest, but they have rifles (although they aren't good shots with them). Mountain bandits spawn in Norhtern Spain, and in western France I believe; they usually have spears and pistols.

both patches for less smoke can't be found. I don't mind not being able to see the enemy untill he's right on top of me, that is actually great fun (would be more fun if it also counted for the AI), but the game slows down to a crawl after a few shots
You are right, someone should upload them again.

One rifle shot will generally kill anyone who doesn't have 10 iron skin and 30 str, plus the best armor and a lot of luck, while being shot at with a crap rifle or gun by someone with no skill.
Yeah, warfare was actually like that in the 18th and early 19th century.
You can use your soldiers as meatshields though. Most muskets are inaccurate at long range, but Rifles are a threat.
 
Captured Joe said:
It's interesting, in my usual M&B game I can't move for bandits (untill I kill them all in one area) but now I actually have to look for them.
Well, AFAIK Looting Sailers usually pop up in the region around... Rennes I believe, and in Demnark and Sweden. Forest bandits spawn in Hungary, south-east of Budapest, but they have rifles (although they aren't good shots with them). Mountain bandits spawn in Norhtern Spain, and in western France I believe; they usually have spears and pistols.

both patches for less smoke can't be found. I don't mind not being able to see the enemy untill he's right on top of me, that is actually great fun (would be more fun if it also counted for the AI), but the game slows down to a crawl after a few shots
You are right, someone should upload them again.

One rifle shot will generally kill anyone who doesn't have 10 iron skin and 30 str, plus the best armor and a lot of luck, while being shot at with a crap rifle or gun by someone with no skill.
Yeah, warfare was actually like that in the 18th and early 19th century.
You can use your soldiers as meatshields though. Most muskets are inaccurate at long range, but Rifles are a threat.

I've got enough income to supply myself (to sicily for that expensive cloth and back wherever), so I don't really miss the bandits, plus I always join in any battles I think can be won and got a few lords now. ransoms are huge! The forest bandits, despite being horrible shots, make up for it by staying out of range of most soldiers. I can wait for them to run out of ammo, but one is going to get a lucky hit at some point....

To avoid smoke lag I just shouldn't look at it, which creates a new problem since I keep on moving to the side and forward to avoid it after I fire a shot or 2, 3, putting me a little bit away from the main army and a prime target for dragoons. I'm really happy with that balanced spear I got some time ago. I found a second ferguson too, and a companion actually good at using guns, so it's a wait and see how he'll do.

The damage thing is realistic, it just forces me to refocus. I was used to winning 100 vs 100 battles with almost no casualties, I have the feeling that won't be happening in this mod. If you hate losing units, this is not the game for you. I do see why the training/upgrading goes much faster than in the original game though.

edit:
ok, figured some things out. 1: like in vanilla, aim for the horse, much easier. 2: like in vanilla, an all out heavy cavalry only charge still wins, mostly through the confusion of units breaking ranks or suddenly adjusting their aim. A 'knight' getting bogged down is still dead, only faster due to lighter armor. 3: athletics suddenly became very important. 4: see 3: don't get hit. By anything. That flimsy piece of cloth won't protect you. From anything. 2, 3, 4 hits of anything and it's over. Unless you get hit by a riffle in which case it's 1 and over. 5: See that tree? don't you think it'd be great to stand behind it while reloading? 6: when fighting many enemy regulars etc, spread out to reduce the number of lucky collateral. On that, don't take up a position slightly behind your line where you can see and shoot through 2 soldiers. If they aim at one of the soldiers, there is a 20% chance to hit them, 60% miss and 20% it's you that get's hit. If they aim at you, they'll probably kill one of your "bodyguards". 7: Get surgery. No buts. On everyone.

probably more, but it's a start. So hard to play, so much fun. Everyone hates me now cause I sacrificed 5 soldiers to escape a battle. "who cares it was 200 vs 32, you should have fought!"


Oh man, I just fought a battle on the bottom of a moat/canal. Bandits were attacking the village where I trained some people and a good number of them ended in the water where several villagers and me had to jump in after them to finish them off.

"are they drowning yet?" "nope." "They must be witches! Burn them!" "I think they're too soggy to burn right now."

editnext:
switched from the ferguson to a baker. I am awesometh. Shot a hussar through a dense smog cloud by guessing when to shoot. For charging into a melee I've got a handgun with a good reload time (accuracy isn't that important) and still that spear. It just feels comfortable. It's fire rifle, charge, fire gun, and either reload gun while charging or start swinging the spear like a club. If I could get a warhammer I'd go with it.
 
6: when fighting many enemy regulars etc, spread out to reduce the number of lucky collateral.
Also: If your men stand still, they will aim much much better than if they're moving while shooting (what they tend to do if you order them to charge). My best tactic to have them stand still is doing this:
-Hit the "F5" button to let them hold their fire;
-Get all troops in position by using the "F1" (and sometimes "F2", "F6" or "F7") button(s);
-When the enemy comes into (effective) ranges, press "F5" again;
-Profit!
 
Captured Joe said:
6: when fighting many enemy regulars etc, spread out to reduce the number of lucky collateral.
Also: If your men stand still, they will aim much much better than if they're moving while shooting (what they tend to do if you order them to charge). My best tactic to have them stand still is doing this:
-Hit the "F5" button to let them hold their fire;
-Get all troops in position by using the "F1" (and sometimes "F2", "F6" or "F7") button(s);
-When the enemy comes into (effective) ranges, press "F5" again;
-Profit!

I've been doing that ever since, well, native, but do so more consistently now after I found out that jaegers and other long distance shooters tend not to move from their spot if they can see the enemy.

Small question: what are the rules for shooting through windows and fences? sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't, but for the AI it always seems to work. Why can't I climb the stairs when defending a fort? Lastly, since I was a sworn man to nappy, I figured I should try and get a hold of french uniforms. The french clothiers appearantly sell everything, but not french uniforms. Maybe I should try the Brittish ones?
 
Oskatat said:
Small question: what are the rules for shooting through windows and fences? sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't, but for the AI it always seems to work. Why can't I climb the stairs when defending a fort? Lastly, since I was a sworn man to nappy, I figured I should try and get a hold of french uniforms. The french clothiers appearantly sell everything, but not french uniforms. Maybe I should try the Brittish ones?
1) Yeah, I am not sure too, but I always make sure I have a clear line between me and the enemy when shooting through the window...
2) I had that problem too (when I used DirectX 7, mostly), but now I use DirectX 9, it seems it works better now.
3) It's completely random where uniforms appear. Just like with the Armors in Native.
 
my soldiers seem to have some problem at climbing a watchtower to evict some bandits from a village. It's a fun idea, but it comes down to the player doing it alone. 1 vs 26 are not good odds.

does horse archery also help when shooting a gun from a horse? Since I usually need all my points in surgery and stuff like that, I forgo the whole horse questions to save some badly needed points, so I want to know if I should give it to companions.
 
just to recap, I had to totally revise all my old strategies. This mod is so much more lethal, and especially during sieges, it's a whole different game. Which is actually completely historically accurate. My determination to conquer the world only increases, equally to my desperation if I will ever succeed, but the going is the fun bit, the end of the journey is boring.

edit: 1 year later


I got good at the game. No more fergusons, but the air rifle is quite enough
Let's see what still stands from my earlier opinions

1: Don't get hit. You have nearly no armor compared to vanilla M&B and almost everything will cause serious damage. If you get hit with a shot from either a gun or a rifle or musket, it's game over. Pistol shots can be had, once.
2: collateral is killer. Most enemies have quite inaccurate guns and shoot even worse than my mom. The safest position is at the head of a charge, or right behind that guy. The least safe is slightly to the left or righ of the foremost soldier. Only jaegers and riflemen have an accuracy worth talking about. edit: Ok, slight clarification. It's NOT a good idea to actually lead a charge, or stand in one spot too long 'because they'll miss anyway'. They will hit, sometimes already with the first shot. Just try not to become a target.
3: I hate horses. Not my own, but if you're on foot, a cavalry charge is pain. The solution is to hate horses. Don't aim for the rider, aim for the horse. You still have a pretty good chance to hit the rider anyway.
4: Get surgery. On everyone. There are no blunt weapons anymore, so everything kills.
5: Tactics! Tactics allows you to set your companions up with their own squad. They take a cut of the money, loot and xp, I don't think they level their troops either, but you'll be able to have at least 30 more soldiers in your army per division like this. It also allows you to tell ONLY your grenadiers to charge and to keep sharpshooters back
6: It's a numbers game. Numbers of soldiers is much more important now. Even if you have the top of a mountain, you're not going to win 25 vs 50 íf you have comparable troop types. Remember, almost everybody has a gun! Where in native 30 huscarls could beat 100 vaegir veteran and even more recruits or footmen. 30 english granadiers vs 100 english light infantry is going to be one dirty fight and you better be prepared to accept huge losses, if not defeat.
7: When you have an air rifle, you have a long reload time. Learn to love trees.
8: Formations can be a good thing, and bad. In general, you really want to have your soldiers spread out to decrease collateral. A cavalry charge is best done in a line, not a spearpoint. Even a recruit shooting at a spearpoint can hit something. It is also vital to distract as many enemy soldiers as possible. Getting shot in the back just as you make another pass through the line, killing someone(s) is quite common.
9: On cavalry charge. Cavalry charge, as mentioned, is good to do in a line to hit the enemy at as many places as possible. Something to keep in mind though is that the horses available to you are much less heavy than in native. You can charge down 1, 2 maybe 3 soldiers, after that you'll get stuck. Running straight through a tightly grouped infantry block is not going to happen.
10: Learn your range. English, French and Austrian weapons generally have better range than most others. The AI doesn't always keep this in mind and so russian troops will stand and defend their position well in range of your riflemen but outside theirs. The same goes for attacking forts, though cities and some forts are set up so this doesn't happen
11: Some factions that may seem 'similar' or have similar upgrades can be wildly different. Danmark is a pushover, but sicily can be quite hard. Similarly, serbian rebels use austrian muskets. That is scary. Luckily, they're still pretty weak. The weirdest faction is without doubt the Ottoman Empire. The jannisaries are fearsome riflemen and stand their ground in a melee with them scimitars (or whatevers). They occasionally show up as deserter parties, quite big ones even, and they're deadly. Their cavalry is slightly outdated but can still fight it out with the big boys. Their line infantry however, the backbone of the army, is the utterly useless nizam-i-cedit.
12: Pretty much noone uses 'unconventional' weapons like axes and polearms. However, due to the lack of armor (If you recall, slashing weapons worked progressively worse on better armor, which is why you needed blunt or piercing in native) those are real killers. My no1 choice is a balanced glaive. Lance and axe in one, though a bit difficult in mounted close combat
13a: Quests. If you get the quest 'prisoner exchange', decline. You sometimes get nearly impossible targets such as montenegran soldiers, who rarely leave their city, but most important is that noone gets knocked unconcious on the other team. Almost noone. Sometimes primitive troops don't have a bajonet and use the muskets like clubs or a horse knocks someone down, but it's not something to count on.
b: cattle quests. While not as bad as could be, it's not the nicest thing. Villages get raided a lot and almost noone has cattle. I recall that there was an easy way to improve the chances for positive cattle, otherwise be prepared to pay 1000 denars per head.
14: Brittish top infantry. If you like the royal marines and the chosen men so much, join the faction and buy them at the cities. The amount of xp you need to upgrade them yourself makes anything else impractical.
15: AI. The AI knows how to defend! It's almost shocking! It is making semi effective use of the terrain, making sure it has  a field of fire and occupies high ground. Having to charge into this can be a bloody affair.


on money:
1: trade. There is much money to be made in moving furs, tools, velvet, oil and spices around. Linnen has its uses too and greece area is great for apples, but the profit is in the first 5.
2: Houses. Rent them out for enormous profits.
3: money making city thingy... forgot the name. The chapel seems the most effective. 4000 investment, predicted profit 2000 (more like 200). Most importantly, it allows you to convert your private funds into renown, which helps you to get promotions and a bigger army.
4: You get money for being in service to a nation. Forget about it. Any self respecting general will have an army roughly 3 times as expensive as they're counting on
5: Taking prisoners to sell as slaves is a nice side trade, but will be in such small quantities as to be negligible. Take prisoner management only to be able to capture enemy commanders.
 
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