Wessex vs Mercia

[Viksteri]

WHen would be the best time to attack Mercia and take them over as Wessex? Just asking as a noob

[Rord64]

When the target is currently involved in some other war or anytime you have more troops than them + good commanders.

[orion winterfire]

Originally posted by Viiksivallu Le Memer:

WHen would be the best time to attack Mercia and take them over as Wessex? Just asking as a noob

That's a big question. A lot of factors go into it: religions, pacts, cases belli, rulers and the states of the realms, etc

[tor]

Well, lets see...

I've played the Wessex early game more times than I can count (mostly trying to get the Saxons Unite Achievement on very hard).

What I usually do is the following, roughly in this order:

1. Make Cornwall a Tributary, as this gives you additional manpower

2. Fabricate a claim on the county of Gloucester and conquer it before Mercia can, as this gives you a de jure casus belli on Mercia when you create the Duchy of Oxford.

3. Whenever possible, make Tributaries out of states bordering Mercia. Sometimes this will require waiting for the right opportunity (death of Mercia's ruler), but is well worth it as it both gives you troops & money and deprives Mercia of the same.

4. Fabricate claims on southern counties (Kent, Sussex, etc.) and use your tributaries to conquer them

Doing all this gives you a solid southern power base and will make taking on Mercia much easier.

Remember to re-tributize everybody around you quickly after your monarch dies!

As always, adjust the approach to your situation and the situation around you.

The trick here is to get the absolute most out of your tributary states. Thanks to this you will not have to wait for another war to keep Mercia distracted (though that always helps, of course).

Standard early game tips apply (e.g. prioritize gold-generating buildings as you do all this, plan children's focus ahead of time based on what you need next, etc.).

Enjoy! And do let me know how this works for you.

Found the above helpful or insightful? Say thanks with some gems. Trying to level up my CK2 badge, every little bit helps! Thanks!

[Valentine Michael Smith]

after uthred son of uthred teaches your commanders how to shield wall

[SKull]

Same as any other enemy:

1: Don't attack when the enemy is strong. Wait for weakness, or use assassinations to cause weakness before attacking. These are, roughly, the four situations where you should attack an equal or stronger enemy.

a) Regencies.
b) Wars against other neighbors. The stronger the better.
c) After major battles when their army is depleted.
d) Civil war.

2: Try to occupy the enemy capital as early as possible. It will hinder reinforcements and give a lot of victory points. Next any other counties personally held by the ruler you are attacking, or winning battles. If the armies are closely matched, run away and defend in mountains, hills, forests or on the other side of rivers. Don't bother with vassal territories unless you're missing vic points at the end of the war, or sometimes if the enemy capital is far away and not worth the risk.

3: Win close wars by hiring mercs. Save up money that you don't normally spend, like 500-1000 gold. Use that to get the mercs you need to win a war you couldn't otherwise have won, then save right back up to 500-1000 gold again. I like to go with 1000 once all the money buildings are done in my castles. It takes a bit of discipline to not spend money in this game, but it really helps with pesky wars that turn out closer than you had anticipated.

4: Make alliances with suitable rulers before attacking. Bribe them before starting the war if they don't really like you that much. Mostly useful early in the game, but a strong ally can basically fight your wars for you. At least small wars. But it has to be the right sort of ally and in the right place. In your case something like Northumbria or East Anglia are good options for early allies. Scotland is even better if it unites. Butter up the king and marry his sister and he'll stay useful for a while.

5: If you're losing a decisive battle but have a positive war score, sign a white peace immediately. The AI is pretty dumb and will sign it even if it's destroying your army. It only seems to consider the current war score. If you're doing a risky attack and think you might get trashed when his army gets there, hurry up and conquer a province - any province - just to get a positive war score before he shows up. Being able to back out of a hideously costly defeat early on can mean the difference between survival and game over. And we all make mistakes here: not considering allies, event troops etc. Just set yourself up for a possible white peace if it goes pear shaped and you'll be alright.

[👑Philip II Of Makedon👑]

Try and get their vassals to revolt and such.