Masterless warlord survival in native game

[amondrubee]

If you have tips to share, post 'em here. This thread is dedicated to people wanting to conquer all without a liege, and without mods. It's difficult to survive when every kingdom wages war at you, let alone conquering all of Calderia.

Get as many companions as you can. At high levels they make a hugh difference when your forces are outnumbered. Don't bother giving them shields. Give them a 2h axe or great sword so they have an extra slot for bolts/arrows.

Garrison only vaegir marksman and swadian sharpshooters. Your army consist of only mobile swadian knights so you can easily travel to defend towns and castles.

Capture minimal castles if you really want to. Stick with towns because the tax you collect is higher. And in towns you can recruit mercenaries.

Never sell lords. Always keep 'em locked for as long as you can.

Capture only castles/towns with ladders. Don't bother the ones with siege towers.

Use a long polearm to stop enemies from climbing up the ladder. If your forces are dead and you have to fight the remaining forces, use a choke point. E.g. narrow doorwar, stairway.

 

[Lord Shields]

I disagree with most of everything you've said. Why?

1. Grabbing all random companions takes up far too much space for trainable troops (and saps some of you experience needed to get your recruits up). I grab three or four at most so that I have the majority of my men training up. I ALWAYS give them shields and 1h/2h weapons. If all you do is grab companions and not give them shields... then they wont ever survive a siege attack. Bad tactic.

2. I never garrison missile troops. I leave around 50-75 Huscarls and random lower level troops. They'll fend off any attack from other forces. Missile troops are only good at a distance... and if closed in on (like a siege) they'll crash and burn. Again, bad tactic.

3. Town while they have more benefits... castles are more easily defended using less troops. I grab a town for every 3 castles I take. I always pick a corner of the map and branch out from there so I can expect the attack from the remaining parts of the map.

4. Holding onto Lords means no reward and they'll likely escape in a few days anyway. Might as well get paid for them. Unless you're down to the last town/castle of a faction, there is no need to keep Lords as prisoners. Once the ransom pops up, accept it.

5. N...o. Capturing castles/towns only with ladders might be easy for you as the attacker... but you're going to waste troops defending it. Having a solid town or castle that uses siege equipment means that it'll be harder for the enemy to attack you and you'll likely lose a lot less troops. I don't look for either siege equipment or ladder setups when I attack/conquer a castle/town... I look at placement on the map.

6. Polearms are great for horse riding... but not for close quarters battle. You can't get the necessary swing/stab with the tight room in a siege. Grab a shield and a one handed axe and you'll be able to knock back anyone that climbs up. I usually stand off to the right side so that the enemy focuses on my troops. I then swipe at them as they get to top and they go down before getting over the wall. If one does make it in, he's focused elsewhere and I hit him in the side or back. Polearms are no good for defending.

 

[snacker]

Way to go lord shields you sure kicked his ass

 

[Lord Shields]

Way to go lord shields you sure kicked his ass

Wasn't the point of my post. The thing to remember is that every person is different and so are their tactics/techniques. I didn't agree with his and provided examples of what works for me. Someone can come into this thread and decide what does or doesn't work for them and run with it.

 

[kc102]

You will have no trouble on land if you just carry around a mass of knights. Swadian I believe, but I could be wrong. They ride heavy chargers and just murder infantry. Get some Kherghit Veteran Horse Archers and Lancers to pick off the mounted enemies. For sieges, Husclars are really good I find. I like to jump down and fight, works really well on ones that require siege equipment.

 

[Shik]

...

I disagree with most of everything you said:

1. Large number of companions with high trainer level is invaluable; at some point, you will be able to train recruits to seasoned veterans in 2 or 3 nights.
2. The only troops that should be garrisoned are high numbers of cheap missile troops like nord huntsman or rhodok crrossbowman. Other troops are used in assaulting enemies
3. You should not limit the number of fiefs you grab. If you're smart with the types of troops you garrison, you should not run short of cash.
4. again, just one castle with a prison tower is the perfect place to store all of your lords - their escape rate is low, and the less armies the enemy has, obviously the weaker they are.
5. All castles should be easy to defend with large numbers of low level missile troops.
6. A glaive works very well at slicing at the enemy.


Another thing: you should always have at least 3 or more villages that are friendly to you. (preferably of assorted cultures), so you have an easy source of recruits.

Also, in sieges with tower-ramps, you should bring large numbers of rhodoks, because they have big shields.

 

[corbaer]

I've only been playing for about 2 weeks, but I've been pretty succesful in native with building a rebel fiefdom.  Here's been the secret to my success:

First off... every troop has it's place.  I keep a balance of troops of all types from all factions in my roaming army and my garrisons.

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Phase I: Before securing your first castle.

1. Scout out a good HQ Castle in a border area with a decent prosperity near a town.

2. Make a solid effort to make all of the fiefs in the area adore you.

3. Keep the kingdom of your desired HQ neutral to you (the neigbor faction).

4. Pick a neighboring kingdom (the friend kingdom) that is at war with a third kingdom and make that third kingdom an enemy (the enemy kingdom).  Join as many battles against that enemy kingdom as you can.

5. Do any lord quest you can to raise your personal reputation as high as possible with any lord that's not in the enemy kingdom.

6. Avoid actions that reduce honor (planting disinformation, refusing to ransom captured lords).

7. Don't always capture lords... letting them go raises honour which seems to stave off neutral kings from getting resentful.

8. Make a proper enemy Lord in each of the 2 factions that I havent mentioned, but keep their faction neutral or leaning in your favor.  When you see the rival lord, destroy him and make peace.

9. Always help the villagers.  Raiding means you'll have less troops to recruit.  Troops are your empire.

Phase II: Well trained army capable of sieging the HQ and about 40,000 denars

1. Go claim your HQ.

2. Avoid other battles with your neigbor faction and secure peace ASAP.

3. Garrison a massive army capable of detering any effective siege (about 300+ fully trained).

4. Build all enhancements to fief and castle.

5. Keep up with everything listed in Phase I, try to keep peace and friendship with all kingdoms but your enemy faction.

Phase III: About 1300 renown

1. You're renown rivals or surpasses all the kings, and resentment will start to set in.  Your friend kindom will hopefully not succumb, but expect the rest to eventually.

2. Take the HQ's nearby town.

3. Relocate all but about 80-90 troops from HQ to the town.

4. If you can afford it, try to make peace with the neighbor faction.

5. Train as many troops as possible and get the garissons of the town and HQ up (HQ >180 & Town > 280).

6. Build up the next siege garrison.

Phase IV: Rinse and repeat.

1. Take every surrounding castle with a proper garrison waiting to move in.

2. Try to keep your friend kingdom your friend.

3. Try to keep everyone else as friendly as possible.

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Defending sieges is a blast, but I usually am not around when my castles get attacked.  A large balanced, full-trained garrison seems to do the job nicely.

High Tactics, High Training, High Leadership and High Trade Skills are a must.

I keep about 8 companions... one or two leave every once in a while... but it's always one of the same 4... so I have not trained them up in skills that the rest of us can't cover.

Forest Bandits are the most reliable leveling spawns.  Slow, large, and decently matched to large swaths of low-level troops.  XP seems related to damage and kills.  Travel with a small contingent of fully-trained cavalry, and don't have them attack unless you're getting losses.

I'm about 1 year in now, with Tihr and every Nord castle/fief to the map corner under my control and siege resistant.  The Khegir are my enemy faction.  I'm at war with the Nords, but I never initiate combat or retaliate in the field, just fend them off or take their lands.  The Rhodoks love me... the Swadians and Vaegir tolerate me... though they've each become resentful of me at one point or another.

I'm just trying to figure out how to make the villagers in fiefs not tied to a castle join up.

Soon I hope to have the entire Nord Kingdom liberated... then the Swadians or the Vaegirs will be next.

 

[amondrubee]

Way to go lord shields you sure kicked his ass

How mature of you...  He didn't kick my ass. I'm right about keeping a lot of companions. They give plenty of party skills and trainer skill helps you get Nord Huscarls.

Garrisoning only infantry isn't good. For a warlord you will be outnumbered if the enemy starts a campaign against you. You'll end up losing a lot of troops and if another kingdom starts a campaign before you can recover, it's gameover. Range units gives you the chance to lose minimal troops, so long as the enemy doesn't get the chance to go near your range units.

 

[mountaindblade21]

I completely disagree with your garrison theories, just get a good balance of archers and infantry, then the infantry hold them off while the archers kill them off

 

[Lord Shields]

2. I never garrison missile troops. I leave around 50-75 Huscarls and random lower level troops. They'll fend off any attack from other forces. Missile troops are only good at a distance... and if closed in on (like a siege) they'll crash and burn. Again, bad tactic.

I guess that's contradictory... as Huscarls have throwing axes. But it's their overwhelming strength close up that makes up where lesser ranged troops fail.

Garrisoning only infantry isn't good. For a warlord you will be outnumbered if the enemy starts a campaign against you. You'll end up losing a lot of troops and if another kingdom starts a campaign before you can recover, it's gameover. Range units gives you the chance to lose minimal troops, so long as the enemy doesn't get the chance to go near your range units.

They wont start a campaign against me unless I provoke them. In which case, I'm prepared. Not to mention that if I were attacked with Huscarls in my fiefs... I wont need to worry because they'll never get beyond the rampart (the enemy).

In all my games where I've had a castle/town with a majority of Huscarls... I've never once lost the battle. Not to mention I never lost more than 10 soldiers either.

 

[kc102]

I've started amasing Swadian Knights.
Gotta love the mass charges!

 

[southpark]

yeah i station my castles with forest bandits 

 

[Richard Faol]

Just a question, hope you don't mind. What version are you playing? Native Mod or something?

 

[TheGnome]

I go the route of hoarding archers in castles and towns with a dozen or so high tier infantry to plug the whole at the top of the ladder.  Archers pincushion anything moving up the ladder, and in the case of siege towers, they whittle away while they're standing around.

Another thing.  Do everything in your power to stay fast.  Fast parties can maneuver away from fights and enemies if need be, or run down a thorn in your side.

High Training skill, with one of your companions also having a high training skill.  Speed level recruits. 

Also, a high leadership.  It decreases the cost of your troops, helps with morale, and lets you keep more troops in your party.

High tactics.  Without battlesizer turned way up, tactics can have a huge impact on the number of troops you go in to battle against, evening the odds some when you're outnumbered.

Make friends with a few villages, and always do the farmer quests when you find them in taverns.  It's invaluable for recruiting a large army quickly, and an easy relations boost with a village.

 

[Graven of peoples milita]

If your not with a king or a faction do u get to keep the castles and towns and villages u take over. and like tax them and manage them like u did if u were in a faction? and what color would they be on the map?

 

[Vomar]

can somone explain to me what fiefs are?Ive heard it alot and ive been wondering?

 

[corbaer]

can somone explain to me what fiefs are?Ive heard it alot and ive been wondering?

They are the little villages all over the map (the ones without a castle, or big walls).  They're usually tied to a castle or town, so if you own a castle or town, you also usually get a little village.

 

[Lord Shields]

can somone explain to me what fiefs are?Ive heard it alot and ive been wondering?

For all intent and purposes... fief's are any land by which you can gain control. Whether that be village, castle, or town. When I talk about them it's anything that can be given to you by your Lord, not necessarily just a castle, town, or village exclusively.

 

[Richard Faol]

I could get all technical, but for the purposes of time and saving everyone being driven insane I'll just say that the above are an adequate explanation.

 

[corbaer]

I could get all technical, but for the purposes of time and saving everyone being driven insane I'll just say that the above are an adequate explanation.

Hehe... I'm sure very many here could, but in context the explanations are accurate.