One wrong step...

[Stallion]

seems to be all it takes to completely destroy a campaign. More times than i can count, i'll put hours and hours into a character, and start doing very well by my standards; but then one battle goes awry, and i am stripped of my trained soldiers, named companions, good gear, even my horse. Many of my heroes have been lowered to this situation, from which i can never find a way to bounce back, as i am often not very wealthy... needless to say i have never gotten very far beyond just joining a faction. So i ask: when said situation happens to you, how do you come back from it?

 

[The Red Baron]

So i ask: when said situation happens to you, how do you come back from it?

You can cheat. get recruits and press ctrl-x in teh party screen to level them up.  Also if your about to die in one of those battle you can use ctrl-shft-f4 to knockout all enemy charcters ont he map.
If you don't want to cheat then i suggest running away from large parties.

 

[Ringwraith #5]

So i ask: when said situation happens to you, how do you come back from it?

Load the saved game.

 

[djude]

Lossing companions...? not due to being captured.

I wait til i escape, recruit, raid enemy villages,then get some ok items, just intil i get my wealth back!

 

[Archonsod]

Loot an enemy village or three. They're like little piggy banks really.

 

[Stallion]

Lossing companions...? not due to being captured.

I wait til i escape, recruit, raid enemy villages,then get some ok items, just intil i get my wealth back!

Well, i mean i get captured and they run off to some town to wait for me. More often than not, it's in a hostile city where i can't grab them. And i don't cheat and i select the realistic setting for saving. It's just so demeaning to be set back to square one because a huge enemy force is hidden in a forest at night right next to a village i'm going to recruit from, haha.

 

[Stallion]

Loot an enemy village or three. They're like little piggy banks really.

I can't pull myself to do it! lol. All i can see in my minds eye are the poor villagers' faces as i burn their homes and steal their only belongings.

 

[djude]

Lossing companions...? not due to being captured.

I wait til i escape, recruit, raid enemy villages,then get some ok items, just intil i get my wealth back!

Well, i mean i get captured and they run off to some town to wait for me. More often than not, it's in a hostile city where i can't grab them. And i don't cheat and i select the realistic setting for saving. It's just so demeaning to be set back to square one because a huge enemy force is hidden in a forest at night right next to a village i'm going to recruit from, haha.

NEVER! choose realistic setting 

 

[Man0waR]

If you still have some coins you can enter a tournament and bet in you, make quests for the lords and upgrade the training skill.

I see that you like the rhodoks, they are easy to train, start training crossbowmen and attack bandit and deserter parties, you'll quickly upgrade them to sharpshooters, them you can think of your sergeants, thats how I do it anyway

Hope it helps, cheers!

 

[VinDogg]

It may sound weird but being defeated in battle and losing a few belongings and companions and the entire army is one part of the game I think is awesome. I don't go around trying to lose battles but when by some chance it does occur i find it a good challenge to look for replacement soldiers, equipment, and to locate companions.

I usually hire a ton of mercs to hold myself over until i get all or most of my belongings back, then i begin the training of a new army. Mercs = Band-aid for armies.

 

[Man0waR]

It may sound weird but being defeated in battle and losing a few belongings and companions and the entire army is one part of the game I think is awesome. I don't go around trying to lose battles but when by some chance it does occur i find it a good challenge to look for replacement soldiers, equipment, and to locate companions.

I usually hire a ton of mercs to hold myself over until i get all or most of my belongings back, then i begin the training of a new army. Mercs = Band-aid for armies.

But mercenaries costs tons of denars, to hire and maintain, this only works if you still have lots of denars left otherwise its a waste of money IMO

 

[Troll]

Hmm? I'm very happy after that because I have atleast had some challenge and start gathering my army again.  

 

[Lizard_man]

You can cheat.

tut tut

 

[Ringwraith #5]

Loot an enemy village or three. They're like little piggy banks really.

I can't pull myself to do it! lol. All i can see in my minds eye are the poor villagers' faces as i burn their homes and steal their only belongings.

I don't see what's so terrible about that, given that their faces (just like everybody else's, for that matter) are frozen solid.

 

[duracell]

seems to be all it takes to completely destroy a campaign. More times than i can count, i'll put hours and hours into a character, and start doing very well by my standards; but then one battle goes awry, and i am stripped of my trained soldiers, named companions, good gear, even my horse. Many of my heroes have been lowered to this situation, from which i can never find a way to bounce back, as i am often not very wealthy... needless to say i have never gotten very far beyond just joining a faction. So i ask: when said situation happens to you, how do you come back from it?

Dont lose! 

Seriously.

Chose your battles, if it looks like you will lose it than dont fight it at all, sometimes its better to disband your army to gain enough speed to escape than to stay and fight for nothing, its better to lose your army than lose your army AND get captured and lose your gear too.

With time and practice you will get better in the game so you will stop losing battles, hell I dont even remember when I lost my last battle.

Its always safer to play ranged especially when your skills are low and you have no good gear yet.

Oh, and dont rush things, I dont bother with the faction wars until Im at least level 20, until then I level up on bandits.

 

[Kritzo]

Lossing companions...? not due to being captured.

I wait til i escape, recruit, raid enemy villages,then get some ok items, just intil i get my wealth back!

Well, i mean i get captured and they run off to some town to wait for me. More often than not, it's in a hostile city where i can't grab them. And i don't cheat and i select the realistic setting for saving. It's just so demeaning to be set back to square one because a huge enemy force is hidden in a forest at night right next to a village i'm going to recruit from, haha.

NEVER! choose realistic setting 

ALWAYS! choose the realistic setting. Autosaves are so important! (lost hours of playing several times without autosaves when game sometime crashes)

 

[tommylaw]

i keep expensive stuff in my chests , since i cant actually put money in, so i put stuff like velvet and really good gear that i dont often use, so if i get captured and lo0se a chunk of my money, i have an insurance, but you'd need a high trade skill for that

 

[TheGnome]

Dont lose! 

Seriously.

Chose your battles, if it looks like you will lose it than dont fight it at all, sometimes its better to disband your army to gain enough speed to escape than to stay and fight for nothing, its better to lose your army than lose your army AND get captured and lose your gear too.

With time and practice you will get better in the game so you will stop losing battles, hell I dont even remember when I lost my last battle.

Its always safer to play ranged especially when your skills are low and you have no good gear yet.

Oh, and dont rush things, I dont bother with the faction wars until Im at least level 20, until then I level up on bandits.

What he said.  Joining a faction too early = fast forward to sudden death.  Don't be afraid to piss off a king by refusing to join his faction.  From my experience, they only ask you once.  I'd have to ask someone else to check that for sure though.  You only lose about 3 points relations with them which can be fixed in one quest. 

Just stick it out, and prey on bandits.  That's what they're there for.  The way I usually measure when it's safe to join a faction is:
1) Have the ability to field an army of 60+ men.  9/10 times, the smallest lord armies you'll fight are 50-70 men and it put's you on a more even footing with them if you can match their numbers.

2) Reach Level 20.  By this time, you have a well established character as far as the skill set that you want.  You're accustomed to playing that character (in case you've changed skills, playstyle, etc. from a previous game), and you've more than likely acquired the companions to balance your build.

3) Can kill sea raiders easily.  Sea Raiders are the toughest bandit group in the Native game.  They're great for leveling yourself and your army.  They also carry higher tier weapons and armor and can be great for outfitting yourself and your companions with decent armor and shields early in the game without having to spend a fortune on gear, and can make a good amount of money selling it off as well.  They also give you lots of practice for fighting groups with both good ranged and melee attacks.  Only draw back is they don't have cavalry, which makes your life a little easier. 

 

[malthaussen]

Such setbacks are why the folks in the real Middle Ages were so obsessed with the concept of "The Wheel of Fortune."

  -- Mal

 

[RollTheBones]

ALWAYS! choose the realistic setting. Autosaves are so important! (lost hours of playing several times without autosaves when game sometime crashes)

Or just hit F12 once in a while.  And alternate at least two saved games...this is a standard I apply to every game I play and never once have I ever  had to say "I lost everything due to crash/sun spots/stupid play/forgetting to save"