The value of Castles vs Towns

[Jagati Khan]

As it stands right now castles do not offer anything unique and are just extremely poor versions of a town.
Castles should be in strategic locations that you HAVE to attack before you can move past.
And they should have some unique buildings/mechanics not available to towns so that they actually have some worth.
War horse workshop/stable.
Stronger fortifications.
Troop training facility.
Noble line recruitment.
Lower garrison cost no militia just trained soldiers.
Dedicated military armourers/smiths for maintenance of equipment to coincide with the maintenance idea from this thread - https://forums.taleworlds.com/index...nance-troop-upgrades-supply-and-trade.422598/
Any other ideas and suggestions peeps ?

 

[Brocephus]

I'm not sure about requiring to attack them but they should provide strategic and tactical value. I like the ideas you have suggested.

Right now, I try NOT to get them.

 

[comradcommodore]

I wouldn't mind if at castles there was a muster option?

Like you deposit money into the reserve, said money gets used to recruit locals/gain exp

They are pretty useless though as it stands

 

[Owen Wulfson]

I would at least like to be able to stash gear at castles, and a smithy would be appreciated (perhaps with an upgrade?).

But seriously, it makes no sense that you can't store items at a castle. Some of the Imperial Castles are as big as the towns of other factions. Just walk around Gaos Castle and look at its Keep, that pace is fly!

 

[Sarissofoi]

Castles at last should be mini towns with Inn and some notables maybe even some market.
Right now they are mostly useless.

 

[Jagati Khan]

They are pretty useless though as it stands

Right now they are mostly useless.

This is my point they offer nothing unique or different in terms of gameplay and are just a poor mans town.
I would hope TW has some plans in the works to change this already but i would imagine that is a ways off if right.
So in the meantime lets get some ideas going on what we would like to see.

 

[Pejot]

Yep in current state they are useless. Just a marker to let everyone know who owns nearby villages.
There's a lot things they could be good for.
- tarrifs for passing
- small market
- stash in the keep
Also I think that villagers from connected villages should carry their products to the castle where lord decides where they will be sold or can just keep them.
Another thing is that right now they serve no defence purpose. Every enemy can just pass by not giving a **** about taking castle cause they pose no threat to anyone.

 

[thehunteryeah]

Probably there are things already in the works since they showed off being able to build keeps in your villages. I suspect that a lot of the game features are done but are only being rolled out when the devs are absolutely certain that they work with everything else in-game so as to avoid a pr disaster for having to roll back and remove significant changes that could corrupt the code.

 

[Pejot]

Probably there are things already in the works since they showed off being able to build keeps in your villages. I suspect that a lot of the game features are done but are only being rolled out when the devs are absolutely certain that they work with everything else in-game so as to avoid a pr disaster for having to roll back and remove significant changes that could corrupt the code.

I think they dropped this idea and told so in one of the blogs.

 

[Jagati Khan]

I think they dropped this idea and told so in one of the blogs.

That was my understanding of that one too can't remember where i read it though.

 

[Askorti]

How about making castles the only place you can get noble and high tier units? In villages you get low tiers, in towns you get mid tiers and in castles you get nobles and high tiers. I think it would make much more sense than the current mish-mash.

 

[pucosc202]

Some of them do occupy pretty critical locations, such as the Western Empire castle (Garontar, maybe?) that sits on the Ortysia side of Calradia’s Straits of Gibraltar. I don’t think it should be required to take them, however some additional mechanics could make it practically necessary.

1. Being able to appoint one of your companions as the steward or castellan of the castle. The steward then appears as a notable at the castle and provides access to an assortment of tier 3-4 peasant and noble troops from the steward’s nationality. This way, you could replicate trying to “pacify” a region by recruiting companions from a specific nationality and installing them at your castles. They would provide a convenient recruiting ground for routine losses, but since there is only one notable you can’t just replace a whole army.

2. Using the steward/castellan to commission patrols through an area. So sure, you and the AI can get your army past the castle to seize the city beyond it, but all of your caravans and villager parties will keep getting attacked by patrols from the castle. You might have the town but it’s food and prosperity will tank because of the castle. Number, size and quality of patrols are variant based of the quantity of money invested in them.

As an aside, I think you should be able to install companions in towns and villages as notables, too. However it should be harder in those areas since you you would have to drive out an existing notable first. That’s a whole other topic, though.

 

[Gregorysan]

How about making castles the only place you can get noble and high tier units? In villages you get low tiers, in towns you get mid tiers and in castles you get nobles and high tiers. I think it would make much more sense than the current mish-mash.

If I remember correctly that was their intention in the beginning.

 

[Toplayer]

Just give castle stronger walls, more powerful defensive siege weapons, make them easier to defend

 

[fuze]

How about not be able to siege a town without occupying the surrounding castles? Meaning if the defending faction owns a castle nearby you can't attack the town until you or some other faction takes over the castle that's protecting the town.

 

[Crotiz]

Would be nice if castles could block a road so you have to go through it with permission, or besiege it.

 

[BuckleUpBones]

Link surrounding castles to town’s economy, food supply and security. E.g. without there ownership everything is penalised, especially by the way of looters raiding villages and starving garrisons. With ownership give towns stronger and more effective AI garrisoned troops.

For the AI offensive apply an attrition value to towns, until this value is low enough the AI will continue to attack villages and castles.

This way the player has the option of attacking the town outright or reduce its defensive capability by regional suppression.

 

[Durf]

My opinions

Castles should:

• be much much harder to attack than towns, the battle maps should favor the defenders significantly and simulated battles should favor castles significantly too
• build up garrisons automatically and have higher tier units than towns, be a source of recruitment for higher tier troops/nobles
• be linked to at least 1 nearby town similar to how towns have linked villages
• send out patrols to hunt looters/bandits near their linked town
• send out the majority of their garrison to aid in the defense of their linked town if its under siege

 

[mikeboix]

Absolutely agree with the OP.

 

[BuckleUpBones]

If castles and villages attacks precedes a town attack then players would know that they will need go to the town’s defence at some time. Castles and towns defences by players (player involvement) does need some innovation to make them occur more.