how do vikings get such massive armies?

[Mr-Bandit]

at the yr 800 and something start, they can field thousands with only 3 crummy counties with HI

how?

[ApricotBar]

Because of their prestige, most likely.

Tribal rulers can raise a 2,500 man army for 500 prestige. Most vikings start off as tribal.

That, and if the are defensive pagans they can raise another 2,000 holy warriors for 200 piety.

This adds up quickly add the decisions can be taken multiple times in a row. A viking with 1,000 presige can have a 5,000 strong army in five seconds. Watch those prestige and piety numbers.

Note: If you are a pagan or tribal, you can also do this.

[Mr-Bandit]

i did realise this, but my tribals suck, do those grps get HI instead of LI for viking cultures?

[ApricotBar]

Originally posted by phatbandit:

i did realise this, but my tribals suck, do those grps get HI instead of LI for viking cultures?

I don't think so. But if you're fighting in Pagan lands, you will get the pagan attrition damage, which cripples non pagan armies.

[Mr-Bandit]

they were attacking, not on defensive - no attrition, just massive armies from minor powers, i had 8 counties they had 3 groups with 3 counties each (not even dukes) and between them mustered 10k troops

had me 2 to 1, and HI vs LI, so more llike 3.5 to 1, and so im like "errr...nuh-uh..."

[Ea0]

Prestige armies (available to every tribal) only have a handful of HI (edit: that's wrong, they obviously have around 300 heavy infantry units and >200 units of light cavalry).
Defensive piety armies (available to Romuva, Slavic, Suomenusko and West African faith) have surprisingly many HI units - beware those if you're tribal yourself as they might unexpectedly crush your army.

[Luthien]

Were they doing a prepared invasion by any chance. Gives a lot of troops too

[Sixteen String Jack]

Might be one of the Ragnarsson's, the ones invading England start with a Great Heathen Army as event troops if I recall correctly.

[Mr-Bandit]

im not sure, that may have been it, invasions give a lot of HI? or the event troops?

[MorganAngelo]

You can't do prepare invasion if you are small though. Option only come up after you get to a scale like controlling 30+ counties in total and being a King or Emperor

[Ea0]

Originally posted by MorganAngelo:

You can't do prepare invasion if you are small though. Option only come up after you get to a scale like controlling 30+ counties in total and being a King or Emperor

No.
You can only do a prepared invasion when you're small (1-50 holdings) and you don't have to be a king either.

https://ck2.paradoxwikis.com/Prepared_invasion

[Mr-Bandit]

it must have been PI, got hit with one and there were over 15k troops, guess that must've been it

[kaiyl_kariashi]

they might have also been a former adventurer who still had his event troops around. They keep them even after taking their target title and settling.

[Velvet Waltz]

Originally posted by phatbandit:

they were attacking, not on defensive - no attrition, just massive armies from minor powers, i had 8 counties they had 3 groups with 3 counties each (not even dukes) and between them mustered 10k troops

had me 2 to 1, and HI vs LI, so more llike 3.5 to 1, and so im like "errr...nuh-uh..."

9 counties and 10k seems pretty standard to me.

[Inquisitioner]

Remember also that it's Light Infantry almost exclusively, while you from castles got other stronger units such has Heavy Infantry and can more easily beat a larger army.

[kaiyl_kariashi]

Early on numbers can win in morale victory (they won't generally kill many of your men but can deplete their morale and then Ping-pong them unless you've got shattered retreat on), but since tribal armies are lop-sided to only really getting benefits of LI techs and only good-ish during the Skirmish phase, once you get getting cav and HI techs, you start dramatically pulling ahead since feudal armies tend to be more balanced, assuming you spread your building around instead of focusing one unit type.

Once you get strong enough to make it to the assault phase a tribal army evaporates vs feudal troops because they absolutely tear them apart and then tear them a new ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ when they try to flee.