Tiedye said:
It's not exactly a strategy guide, though. More like a FAQ sans the Qs. Maybe I'll toss up a strategy guide after I play around with a few more character types (only messed with a lancer and archer so far).
A strategy guide would be good for new players because lack of familiarity can lead to frustration. It takes a while to get good at how the combat works and what works as far as building a character.
Here are some of my observations for possible inclusion in a strategy guide. This is targeted at new players. Veterans will probably laugh.
Get the most out of the starting town you can at first. Train up in combat and fight in the tournaments for money. Once you are confident you can win, bet on the outcome. Plan for a game that is combat intensive.
Before setting out into the harsh war-torn world, build up leadership and party skills. These are essential to running a good army and will make a lot of difference in how quickly you advance.
The main thing to realize before going after pirates is that you need help. You can't just go out there and solo 10-20 River Pirates efficiently enough. Build a party of the maximum size allowed then go look for a fight you can win. Try to go with a theme when hiring soldiers. Hiring and upgrading consistently pays off over the long haul.
Militia are best to start with but it takes a while for them to become available. Peasants will do ok early on but they are pretty worthless later against the better units. If you travel around you should be able to buy enough of the Militia to reach your limit. Once you have the maximum allowed go pick a fight to give them hands on training. After they get enough experience the can be upgraded to more advanced units. The training skill is also a good way to help build XP for advanced units.
Doing quest is generally better for Money/XP than just running trade routes. If you study and plan it out, you can get a delivery and escort to the same place and pick a few fights along the way. Selling items/slaves from your conquest also makes you good money. You don't always need a blunt weapon to capture slaves. Most of the time, a few of the enemy units will end up unconscious. Always use the best weapon available.
Stay neutral until you are very strong. The armies on either side will wipe the ground with you because they have a lot of advanced units. If you do decided to take a side, keep within a certain distance of the AI troops so that you can combine the strength of two or more allied groups in combat.
Upgrade NPC heroes with weapons/armor and keep up with their stats/skills upgrades.
Learn the commands for giving orders in combat and make good use of them. Try to keep your units in a tight formation on the battlefield so they can combine their strength.
