Europe is PATHETIC, muslims steamroll

[ancistrus]

Am I the only one who experiences this? I am getting sick of it.

[Michael]

I might be in the minority here, but I have never had muslims get past Spain in 950 hours of playing this game, and I have never had them get a foothold anywhere else in europe. I have also never had a game where the Byzantines were overrun. In most of my games, the Kingdom of Jerusalem ends up being Catholic after the first crusade is called. In the rest of my games, it is usually a Catholic Kingdom of Andalusia that ends up being created.

[Optimus Princeps]

I also think muslims are a bit OP, Basically have to wait and hope that they fall apart because the crusades tend to fail against the 35k stacks the muslims bring. I do not think I have ever seen Spain get created, every game Islam pushes up into France and always on defense. Sometimes can take Jeruselam and but usually falls within a few years of winning.

Not sure Europe is the problem or maybe just muslims too powerful.

btw I also have the problem where Byzantine Empire never falls which makes the fact that muslims are still OP seem even stranger, you would think a combined Byzantine Empire and a powerful Catholic world would be able to drive muslims out of Spain and North Africa a bit easier.

But seriously I will be on a crusade against a 6 year old child who still somehow pulls in 50k units like wtf



The only trick I have learned against Islam in CK2 is playing as Norse and raiding the Islamic world as much as possible. When you capture and execute muslims in norse blot they lose -3% religious authority for a few years and if you do it enough can stack and ruin the islamic world. As Christians tho its pretty hard since the vikings tend to target you more then anybody else.

[Loligo Vulgaris]

What year are you starting in?

[Optimus Princeps]

Originally posted by Whitney's Miltank:

What year are you starting in?

Doesnt everybody start in Viking age? Only way the game should be played :p

[that guy]

I've never seen the catholic AI rulers manage to expand into Spain. I've seen the islamic AI expand out of Spain quite often. In my current game, the Umayyads conquered Hispania, Aquitaine, and Burgundy by year 900. Then the crusade was called and I took Aquitaine from them. They've been on a downward spiral ever since.

[Zorlond]

Originally posted by Purple Forces:

Wasn't Muslims being very powerful historically correct?

They weren't any more powerful than anyone else. If they had been, Europe wouldn't have stayed Christian.

Like others have mentioned here, I've only very rarely seen Muslims (as controlled by the AI) do any better than take over Iberia in over 1000 hours of playing. Equally, it's very rare for Christians to get anywhere at all in their crusades for Jerusalem. Or for Hindus to go outside India. Everyone's pretty balanced to be where they are.

[Black_Rat]

In my current game the abassids lost control very early and Jeruselem is held by one of the dukes of england(obv now hes king of jeruselem). This duke managed to single handedly defend jeruselem from the resulting jihad and now controls most of the levant (and half of england).

[Valentine Michael Smith]

decadence revolts and even the rise of shia all get smacked down by the caliphate

[Black_Rat]

Originally posted by Valentine Michael Smith:

decadence revolts and even the rise of shia all get smacked down by the caliphate

Sounds like ur unlucky, ive had 3/4 caliphates fall so far this game.

[Merkatz]

I often find that the Umayyad's in Charlemagne start can be a bit over-powered. Usually, it's in that start that you'll find them breaking out of Iberia and into France.

My most recent game from that start was the first time that I've seen a Shia revolt target the Umayyads. So Spain was essentually: Asturias = Umayyad, Andalusia = Shia. It then imploded into one the worst cases of border gore I have ever seen while playing this game.

[Random]

I find the arabian empire falls apart at a 95% rate in all of my games over the last year since conclave. I don't know whether they changed the AI handling of decadence (they dont) but eitherway every persia dejure vassal of the arabian empire breaks off instantly. and then egypt goes as well once it controls the bulk of nubia and is equal strength to the arabian caliph.

Umayyad is significantly more stable, and funnily enough I've had that dynasty adopt Shia and form the caliph with their sayyid trait rather consistantly. Which then leads to a fractured but numerous sunni caliph in arabia, and then a powerhouse blob of the shias in spain; ultimately becoming double jihad fun after 90X once jerusalem falls (if) else 1000.

the Muslim AI is horrendously bad compared to what it COULD be. especially as they fail to utilize ships for mobility (unlike the byzantines). If the arabian empire used ships they could reinforce spain during the aquatine crusades, however they tend to walk all the way from syria through africa or up through the byzantine/italy line and get mauled as they trickle in all piecemeal.

when I play muslim in spain, I own the majority of francia by 900. so when the crusades kick in I laugh at england across the channel as the last bastian of catholics while I disect italy. Muslims are extremely powerful with their holy war mechanic directly countering decadence, and decadence making you richer as well as applying a 50% buff to all your demesne troops (retainers).

Spain uses light cav as a adulasian, so when you are rolling around with 10k+ LC you may as well be a muslim horse lord.

[Formerxboxgamer]

Currently playing an Abyssinia game where I crushed the Fatimids before 1160 and am making progress on the seljuks. I think muslims are a pushover, its just that they own lots of land and tend to use more cav than the euros. The ability to tear apart the muslim world duchy by duchy with holy wars makes them a joke.

[Denny Crane]

Well 95% of my charlemagne start campagin goes like this

-Iberian conquered by yellow muslim(Sorry don't remember the name Umayid something)
-> the yellow muslim proceed to carve out a big chunk of france and remain dominant power of both Iberia and Western Europe

-The green muslim have several decline but eventually consolidate
-> go on rampage taking out Byzantine (Well almost historicaly accurate thoug just bit ealier)

Crusade result in 10-20k Christian fighting againts Bajillion stack of Green muslim.

GG.

[Yanamonie]

I've seen the Byzantine Empire get beaten up by the aztecs of all people. They wern't completly eliminated but the Aztecs took a big chunk out of them. All the crusades against the Aztecs in this game by Catholics faied until the muslims managed to win against them with a hijad.

But in nearly all games from the earliest start the muslims take out Spain, in my current game I can't see them getting any further then that because very early, France, Italy and Germany have banded together and formed the holy roman empire and it's currenty in the Viking age.

[Death]

Originally posted by ancistrus:

Am I the only one who experiences this? I am getting sick of it.

Well, it's the game fault and lack of further development... I have played with Christians and Orthodoxs, and pretty much conquered all of Africa, Middle East and Europe.

Now I am playing with Muslims, and I am almost close to conquer all of Europe.

The problem is that this game is poorly made in terms of AI, that it feels you are playing with 5 year olds XD

Remember, these game devs just want $$$ from DLC's, and won't update the most important, the level of AI... sad truth