Im 99% sure the AI cheats in this game

[Water]

I've given the game the benefit of the doubt up till now. I was able to put 25 asarai in prison and i have 9 clans in my kingdom.

Thats 25 nobles, including their ruler, in jail.

I let my own clans recouperate for 5 in game days. Only 3 asarai nobles escaped during this time period.

I was able to amass an army of 1100 troops. with my 9 clans, not a single noble maxed out his troop count during the 5 day period.

I lay seige to the capitol of Asarai thinking these stubborn mofos (who still want tribute for peace LOL) are finally outta gas.

WRONG
WRONG
WRONG

Not even 2 full days after starting the siege, before the FIRST SEIGE engine goes into place, and there's 2,000 TWO THOUSAND!!! in two seperate armies coming for me. This is whilst the CAPITOL (primary income/troop source) is under seige.

I think the AI cheats when not visible to the player. Becouse i took it upon myself previously in this playthough to follow several clans in Vlandia. Guess what?

Vlandia began losing BADLY all the sudden to sturgia, despite snowballing just before. Was it becouse i was WATCHING vlandias army? If i had let Vlandia do its thing off screen, would its army have grown larger in size quicker?

[RJboxer]

Publicado originalmente por Lü Bu:

to the "the AI doesnt cheat" party how do you explain lords recuriting a party from an empty city or AI towns/castles not losing all their troops in 1 day after running out of food like I do?

im pretty sure this is the definition of cheating. They play by different rules and it gives an advantage. Its pretty normal for AI to cheat in strategy games.

I'm pretty sure your definition of Cheating is incorrect.

As we all know. Aserai are the biggest cheaters in the game, right? They get a Bonus to move speed in the Desert. I don't. THEY ARE CHEATERS. Someone put in a tech support ticket please.

Err wait, No STURGIA is the WORST WORST cheaters, they get a move bonus in Snow. THEY, THEY are the real cheaters.. I don't get it.. Someone, put in a ticket.

Err wait, Then ya got Vlandia, They... now they are the worst "Cheaters" they get a bonus to mercenary wages. That's flat out cheating, I don't.

Now I could be one of those factions right? But then I'd still have two other "cheaters" right??????

Or... is it BALANCE.

I can trade, I can do quests, I can attack instantly, I can smith, I can change my main weapons, I can use workshops, I can use caravans, I can get renown in multiple ways, I can play games in the tavern for money, I can.. etc x 10,000 Things that the AI can not do.

Yep they sell items without having to walk to a store, Yep they starve, but not like me (they used to.. And it broke the game, they;d all starve to death. Wheeeee fun). They can start out after capture and have a small contingent of troops.. etc.

Nothing they get comes CLOSE to the stuff we get. And as others have said, you can use their "cheats" (lmao) to your advantage. They spawn in with 40 of their 200 troops.. Attack him, kill him again, take his troops for money, sell his gear, and keep his horses. Don't even imprison him. just release him. and do it again and again and again.

Cheating is not what some people want to pretend it is in this thread lol.

Is it cheating in Age of Empires when one culture has different bonus' then another? How about in Civ. Is it cheating that all the cultures have DIFFERENT bonus'? Bunch of cheaters, eh?

This game gives the AI advantages, (apparently far more than the noobs whining here, even knew about lol) and STILL the AI is at a severe disadvantage in game.

[Schoppeng]

One thing u must notice - those 2k armies u told of are mostly levies, milita, low level and tier troops.

Your top tier archer will most likely shot wave by wave down as i the troops defeated lords recruit are mostly levies.

[Sentient_Toaster]

Publicado originalmente por Schoppeng:

One thing u must notice - those 2k armies u told of are mostly levies, milita, low level and tier troops.

Maybe, maybe not? I've definitely seen Aserai armies of that size with 300+ cavalry and 300+ horse archers, for instance, and I don't have any mods that would strengthen them in any way over baseline, AFAIK. They're not all elites, sure, but they sure beat the hell out of baseline recruits.

Don't know about the OPs's campaign, but in my campaign, that's probably basically because they've almost never been at war with anybody *but* my Vlandians, and we're pretty much never at war with *just* them -- and the allied AI lords seem to far prefer attacking Sturgian or Empire territory rather than Aserai territory. (Battania no longer has any fiefs, so they're no longer on the menu, and the Khuzaits are still too far away so there's not much fighting even when they DOW us). So, as a resul, their economy and recruitment pool is probably is pretty damn good shape compared to the repeatedly-pillaged towns and villages on the bloodsoaked Vlandia/Empire and Vlandia/Sturgia fronts.

[RJboxer]

Publicado originalmente por Schoppeng:

One thing u must notice - those 2k armies u told of are mostly levies, milita, low level and tier troops.

Your top tier archer will most likely shot wave by wave down as i the troops defeated lords recruit are mostly levies.

it was mentioned .. but yes. u are correct.

[myperfectvictory]

Publicado originalmente por Edmund Greyfox:

Chiming in a bit late here, and have to admit it's been a month or so since my last game. That said, once you know the game mechanics painting the map one color is just a matter of patience. Something i think people forget to pay attention to is the enemies total strength in the diplomacy screen. I don't care how many lords you have in prison, if their total strength is 8k+ they are going to be able to throw together an army of 1K+ to mess with you while you siege.

The key is to run around beating all of their lords multiple times when the war firsts starts to strip off most of their high tier units, then to do it again a time or two to kill of all the decent troops they recruited from fiefs. If you do this to enough lords in a short time period they end up having a hard time finding enough recruits to refill their forces, and while they are wandering around hiring you can throw together an army and take a town or castle. Rinse and repeat a few times and they are on the ropes for the rest of the war, especially since every lost fief cuts down on not just their cash flow but also the places they can get decent recruits.

you dont understand the underlying problem. you want to throw the "once you understand the game mechanics" line around, that isn't the problem. the understanding of game mechanics ISNT THE PROBLEM so stop making it seem like players are not understanding the mechanics.

The real issue is how the developers blatantly made it difficult and seemingly impossible for the AVERAGE player to paint the map. Yes, read that again, I said AVERAGE because judging from what you wrote, you're going to type something along the lines of "well if they just understood the mechanics better" This is concerning the average player. The average player isnt going to become deeply invested in the mechanics behind the game because they are not SIMPLE. It is difficult for them to comprehend the mechanics. You cannot dumb it down for them.

As stated, the AI is difficult as it stands now in this current patch. Another immersion breaking problem is how the AI vs AI behaves. Concerning the campaign map, The AI is very defensive but very stupid when it comes to offensive movements on the campaign map. If a castle or city gets taken over, the AI will react to take it back, because there is a lack of garrison, the AI only knows to capture settlements that lack manning. And when it does get captured, that AI will just take it back because they spawn back with a large troop count with decent soldiers. Rinse and repeat. I have rarely seen AI factions gain significant ground in painting the map because the developers made it impossible for one faction to get an upper hand on the other.

[Lü Bu]

Publicado originalmente por RJboxer:

Publicado originalmente por Lü Bu:

to the "the AI doesnt cheat" party how do you explain lords recuriting a party from an empty city or AI towns/castles not losing all their troops in 1 day after running out of food like I do?

im pretty sure this is the definition of cheating. They play by different rules and it gives an advantage. Its pretty normal for AI to cheat in strategy games.

I'm pretty sure your definition of Cheating is incorrect.

As we all know. Aserai are the biggest cheaters in the game, right? They get a Bonus to move speed in the Desert. I don't. THEY ARE CHEATERS. Someone put in a tech support ticket please.

Err wait, No STURGIA is the WORST WORST cheaters, they get a move bonus in Snow. THEY, THEY are the real cheaters.. I don't get it.. Someone, put in a ticket.

Err wait, Then ya got Vlandia, They... now they are the worst "Cheaters" they get a bonus to mercenary wages. That's flat out cheating, I don't.

Now I could be one of those factions right? But then I'd still have two other "cheaters" right??????

Or... is it BALANCE.

I can trade, I can do quests, I can attack instantly, I can smith, I can change my main weapons, I can use workshops, I can use caravans, I can get renown in multiple ways, I can play games in the tavern for money, I can.. etc x 10,000 Things that the AI can not do.

Yep they sell items without having to walk to a store, Yep they starve, but not like me (they used to.. And it broke the game, they;d all starve to death. Wheeeee fun). They can start out after capture and have a small contingent of troops.. etc.

Nothing they get comes CLOSE to the stuff we get. And as others have said, you can use their "cheats" (lmao) to your advantage. They spawn in with 40 of their 200 troops.. Attack him, kill him again, take his troops for money, sell his gear, and keep his horses. Don't even imprison him. just release him. and do it again and again and again.

Cheating is not what some people want to pretend it is in this thread lol.

Is it cheating in Age of Empires when one culture has different bonus' then another? How about in Civ. Is it cheating that all the cultures have DIFFERENT bonus'? Bunch of cheaters, eh?

This game gives the AI advantages, (apparently far more than the noobs whining here, even knew about lol) and STILL the AI is at a severe disadvantage in game.

The Aserai faction gets a bonus to moving in the desert. This applies to the player.

The AI gets a bonus to siege food, this does NOT apply to the player.

Youre being purposely disingenuous. We agree the AI cheats but you dont see it as cheating since the AI needs to do these work around to operate on modern hardware, which I agree with.

Its still an unfair advantage which is by definition: Cheating.

[RJboxer]

Publicado originalmente por Sentient_Toaster:

Publicado originalmente por Schoppeng:

One thing u must notice - those 2k armies u told of are mostly levies, milita, low level and tier troops.

Maybe, maybe not? I've definitely seen Aserai armies of that size with 300+ cavalry and 300+ horse archers, for instance, and I don't have any mods that would strengthen them in any way over baseline, AFAIK. They're not all elites, sure, but they sure beat the hell out of baseline recruits.

Don't know about the OPs's campaign, but in my campaign, that's probably basically because they've almost never been at war with anybody *but* my Vlandians, and we're pretty much never at war with *just* them -- and the allied AI lords seem to far prefer attacking Sturgian or Empire territory rather than Aserai territory. (Battania no longer has any fiefs, so they're no longer on the menu, and the Khuzaits are still too far away so there's not much fighting even when they DOW us). So, as a resul, their economy and recruitment pool is probably is pretty damn good shape compared to the repeatedly-pillaged towns and villages on the bloodsoaked Vlandia/Empire and Vlandia/Sturgia fronts.

You gotta read OPs post more in detail. All his "numbers" are theoretically possible. But not in the time frame he mentions, and not without omitting quite a few facts.

25 lords in prison. -- That isnt one fight, thats MANY. there is no 25 lord army.
Rested for 5 days.-- Sounds about right.. we assume u fought near a town. Cool
Went to siege and 2 days later.-- 2 armies 2k troops. 2k each? 2k total?

Pro tip: those 25 lords in prison, take on average about 14 days to escape. So it wasn't them, right? Sure some escape in 3, but some last 20+ days.. lets say 14 average. So it was NOT his captured lords.

Pro Tip 2: if the enemy clans has OTHER lords, they can make them a party... (and now the imprisoned dude, will NOT get a free party when he escapes) This doesn't always happen, but it is an option. They make enough "parties" that they can "Afford". If 1 of their guys is in the joint, there is a chance they make another. But it is not a HIGH chance.

Pro Tip 3: If either those 25 guys all escaped (no), or they made a NEW batch of 25 lords (again no). Yes, those new parties all get a small percentage of troops free. Lets say they are clan tier 4... perhaps they field 110 guys.. They will get 30-40 Free. and of those 90% will be upgraded. Now they need to BUY (recruit) the remainders or pull them from their Fief Garrisons. This is why when YOUR ally lords escape, you always see them running around with 30-40 guys even late game. They need to refill their inventory. Also why, they never have many troops in their garrisons.

Pro Tip 4: The game would have to be super super super super late game, to see 2 armies of 2k troops. But 2 at 1k is common. Guess what, Attack them. You should win with 700 of your own guys. because as has been said, only about 300 to 400 of those 1k are upgraded. The rest are tier 1-2 scrubs from villages.

There is more in OP post, but this sums it up..

Free troops are a necessity, you can (and most if not ALL people) use it as an advantage for you. You farm them. There is a problem with free troops though, as someone else mentioned.. The game never "ends" without serious micro management on your part (i.e. Recruiting all other enemy clans).

[Sentient_Toaster]

Publicado originalmente por Mr. A:

The real issue is how the developers blatantly made it difficult and seemingly impossible for the AVERAGE player to paint the map. Yes, read that again, I said AVERAGE because judging from what you wrote, you're going to type something along the lines of "well if they just understood the mechanics better" This is concerning the average player. The average player isnt going to become deeply invested in the mechanics behind the game because they are not SIMPLE. It is difficult for them to comprehend the mechanics. You cannot dumb it down for them

Eh, you can paint the map without too much thinking and planning; it'll just be far slower than if you were optimizing things, and you'll have to play an outsized role anyway being willing to burn your influence to gather friendly meatshields as appropriate. Even if you're not micro-ing troop formations or taking notes on trading routes to use etc, you'll still be better able to focus on an objective whereas AI armies have a bad habit of wasting time (and food) marching from target to target changing their mind for instance. Plus, I'm pretty sure that your *allied* AI lords also benefit from e.g. teleporting to a friendly city with some free starter troops after an escape; it's not just AI lords in factions opposed to yours. See the "friendly meatshields" bit -- take advantage of them.

(And sure, you'll have fewer AI lords to start if you create your own kingdom, but TW seems to have made it easy to be elected king of an existing kingdom, regardless of your character's upstart origins. So, with some patience, you can have a kingdom to rule *and* a lot of friendly meatshields to treat as a renewable resource.)

[RJboxer]

Publicado originalmente por Mr. A:

you dont understand the underlying problem. you want to throw the "once you understand the game mechanics" line around, that isn't the problem. the understanding of game mechanics ISNT THE PROBLEM so stop making it seem like players are not understanding the mechanics.

The real issue is how the developers blatantly made it difficult and seemingly impossible for the AVERAGE player to paint the map. Yes, read that again, I said AVERAGE because judging from what you wrote, you're going to type something along the lines of "well if they just understood the mechanics better" This is concerning the average player. The average player isnt going to become deeply invested in the mechanics behind the game because they are not SIMPLE. It is difficult for them to comprehend the mechanics. You cannot dumb it down for them.

As stated, the AI is difficult as it stands now in this current patch. Another immersion breaking problem is how the AI vs AI behaves. Concerning the campaign map, The AI is very defensive but very stupid when it comes to offensive movements on the campaign map. If a castle or city gets taken over, the AI will react to take it back, because there is a lack of garrison, the AI only knows to capture settlements that lack manning. And when it does get captured, that AI will just take it back because they spawn back with a large troop count with decent soldiers. Rinse and repeat. I have rarely seen AI factions gain significant ground in painting the map because the developers made it impossible for one faction to get an upper hand on the other.

I agree with a lot of what you say, but not all of it in this post. But, that's a WHOLE different thread.

Is the game easy for an average player? I'd say not. Is it easy to get into? I'd say probably. Does it take way more hours than a normal game to understand MOST of the intricasies ? I'd say yep.

All these were in Warband too. That's the Genre IMO. This is a deeply complex game that has a ton of different aspects. You can be the worst player in the world.. and play for 1000 hours.. All you gotta do is nothing. You fight, you lose, you respawn. big deal. You get a fief, you lose a fief, big deal. There is not "penalty" for you being weak. You just won't be able to do what experienced people can, Conquer the whole map.

This whole "paint the map". Is also a bad term (like cheating, the way it's used here). And I'll explain why.

This term originated in bannerlord a few months after release. What happened, was you were weak (we all were.. ALL OF US).. And would pick a faction. Khuzait would steamroll the whole map. And "Paint the map" green.
Many of us were extremely vocal about how broken this was. TW did not listen.

We then started figuring out the game, and understanding tricks you could do on Legit, to stop khuzait from "painting the map". We also developed strategies to help newer people stop the paint, by changing settings (i.e. Pick Southern, make it so your parties suffer less damage, and your ALLY parites suffer less damage. Then you run around as a mobile food kitchent. When southern fights they win.. when southern starts to starve, hop in that army and let them eat your grain. etc)> Cheesy, yep. But it worked. No cheat mode required.

Anywho... finally TW ran simulations and figured out Khuzait won 85% of all games, battania 15% (according to them.. I'm not sure I believe Khuzait didnt win 99%) with no player input.

They fixed starving, fixed clan income, fixed ai pathing, Nerfed Khuzait, Nerfed Cavalry in siege.. Etc.

The "painting stopped". We then entered a stage of the game got static mid game. No one could move. EVER.. The ai did nothing, you didnt have enough influence to make them move. It could cost 6k a month to try and take a fief. Only to lose it next month, and need another 6k. This was when Influence was 100000x harder to get.

Now, current patches the game is active, No "ai" paints the map, and there is always action. Is it perfect? nope. Should we expect more tweaks ? Probably.

But at least now the AI NEVER PAINTS THE MAP. it will fight for 100000 years if left alone, would be my guess. The Player has HUGE impact in the direction of the map (as it should be).

Weaker players (i.e. new) can still influence the map. But more importantly LEARN all the nuances to the game. Experienced players can Conquer the map. Usually after a long long long time.

None of this has to do with OP, not understanding how troop spawning works, Why the AI gets free troops, or if it is balance or "cheating".

But, since "paint the map". has been used in this thread repeatedly (incorrectly) I thought I'd remind everyone when it originated.

no one says "dude, I won. I conquered Calredia, I Painted the map". It's all about Khuzait. Always has been.

[Edmund Greyfox]

Publicado originalmente por Mr. A:

Publicado originalmente por Edmund Greyfox:

Chiming in a bit late here, and have to admit it's been a month or so since my last game. That said, once you know the game mechanics painting the map one color is just a matter of patience. Something i think people forget to pay attention to is the enemies total strength in the diplomacy screen. I don't care how many lords you have in prison, if their total strength is 8k+ they are going to be able to throw together an army of 1K+ to mess with you while you siege.

The key is to run around beating all of their lords multiple times when the war firsts starts to strip off most of their high tier units, then to do it again a time or two to kill of all the decent troops they recruited from fiefs. If you do this to enough lords in a short time period they end up having a hard time finding enough recruits to refill their forces, and while they are wandering around hiring you can throw together an army and take a town or castle. Rinse and repeat a few times and they are on the ropes for the rest of the war, especially since every lost fief cuts down on not just their cash flow but also the places they can get decent recruits.

you dont understand the underlying problem. you want to throw the "once you understand the game mechanics" line around, that isn't the problem. the understanding of game mechanics ISNT THE PROBLEM so stop making it seem like players are not understanding the mechanics.

The real issue is how the developers blatantly made it difficult and seemingly impossible for the AVERAGE player to paint the map. Yes, read that again, I said AVERAGE because judging from what you wrote, you're going to type something along the lines of "well if they just understood the mechanics better" This is concerning the average player. The average player isnt going to become deeply invested in the mechanics behind the game because they are not SIMPLE. It is difficult for them to comprehend the mechanics. You cannot dumb it down for them.

As stated, the AI is difficult as it stands now in this current patch. Another immersion breaking problem is how the AI vs AI behaves. Concerning the campaign map, The AI is very defensive but very stupid when it comes to offensive movements on the campaign map. If a castle or city gets taken over, the AI will react to take it back, because there is a lack of garrison, the AI only knows to capture settlements that lack manning. And when it does get captured, that AI will just take it back because they spawn back with a large troop count with decent soldiers. Rinse and repeat. I have rarely seen AI factions gain significant ground in painting the map because the developers made it impossible for one faction to get an upper hand on the other.

You try and act like I'm some sort of super player. Yeah, i played warband, and i've been playing bannerlord since the first day of EA, but aside from my time played I'd say I'm pretty much an "average" player. Learning how to beat the game doesn't take a lot of time or serious study, it just requires paying attention.

Anyone who can think at all strategically should be able to join any kingdom and take it to domination as a vassal. Where a real understanding of the game mechanics comes in is when you want to be a king (or like to manipulate your own faction to give you specific fiefs). And that's exactly how it should be. Winning as a king is something that requires experience, but even an average player can do it if they are willing to spend the time playing the game. Sorry, but you come off like someone who wants to be able to play the game once and accomplish everything, and this game is not designed that way. It favors those who play multiple times and learn the mechanics, just like most strategy games do.

[RJboxer]

Publicado originalmente por Edmund Greyfox:

You try and act like I'm some sort of super player. Yeah, i played warband, and i've been playing bannerlord since the first day of EA, but aside from my time played I'd say I'm pretty much an "average" player. Learning how to beat the game doesn't take a lot of time or serious study, it just requires paying attention.

Anyone who can think at all strategically should be able to join any kingdom and take it to domination as a vassal. Where a real understanding of the game mechanics comes in is when you want to be a king (or like to manipulate your own faction to give you specific fiefs). And that's exactly how it should be. Winning as a king is something that requires experience, but even an average player can do it if they are willing to spend the time playing the game. Sorry, but you come off like someone who wants to be able to play the game once and accomplish everything, and this game is not designed that way. It favors those who play multiple times and learn the mechanics, just like most strategy games do.

Well for the last year or so, that I remember seeing your name in forums, I'd say you are well above average.

nay....

I'm just gonna say it.

You are a "super player"

(not kidding). There are maybe 20 people in forums that I find to be more than knowledgable about the game. (I may not see eye to eye with them all the time) When they say something, I usually agree with it. And if not, I tend to look closer at what they said. and see if I should change my mind. (usually I dont lol)

[myperfectvictory]

Publicado originalmente por RJboxer:

Publicado originalmente por Edmund Greyfox:

You try and act like I'm some sort of super player. Yeah, i played warband, and i've been playing bannerlord since the first day of EA, but aside from my time played I'd say I'm pretty much an "average" player. Learning how to beat the game doesn't take a lot of time or serious study, it just requires paying attention.

Anyone who can think at all strategically should be able to join any kingdom and take it to domination as a vassal. Where a real understanding of the game mechanics comes in is when you want to be a king (or like to manipulate your own faction to give you specific fiefs). And that's exactly how it should be. Winning as a king is something that requires experience, but even an average player can do it if they are willing to spend the time playing the game. Sorry, but you come off like someone who wants to be able to play the game once and accomplish everything, and this game is not designed that way. It favors those who play multiple times and learn the mechanics, just like most strategy games do.

Well for the last year or so, that I remember seeing your name in forums, I'd say you are well above average.

nay....

I'm just gonna say it.

You are a "super player"

(not kidding). There are maybe 20 people in forums that I find to be more than knowledgable about the game. (I may not see eye to eye with them all the time) When they say something, I usually agree with it. And if not, I tend to look closer at what they said. and see if I should change my mind. (usually I dont lol)

the irony in all this is that he knows, in truth, he privately considers himself an above average player but when he gets called out for being an elitist, he wants to publically appear that he is just another average bannerlord player. charades dont fool me, it does become tiresome calling people out who hide behind obvious lies

[Machiavelli]

The problem with the AI relying on recruiting like you do, is that it can snowball the game where one faction takes over the entire game. REMEMBER when everyone complained about snowballing? It's because the AI played on the same level you mostly. Now that is removed, because lords get a free retiune. They don't get free armies, Only alittle. They still run around and recruit from towns/villages.

Without this, (since the AI isn't as smart as you), would captured by bandits after a defeat.

Warband does 'cheating' as well when a lord stays in their castle, and regains their troops. I'm pretty sure Bannerlord does this too.

Just git gud, I'm seen kids conquer the world regardless of the AI advantage in terms of troop numbers.

And I think ur lying too on some parts. You don't give us the full picture. Wheres your evidence? How many lords does aserai still have in the field still? They can also recruit mercenary companies as well. You don't tell us exactly how much land they have or any other factors. Are they at war with someone else? How many towns and castles do they have left?

[RJboxer]

Publicado originalmente por Mr. A:

the irony in all this is that he knows, in truth, he privately considers himself an above average player but when he gets called out for being an elitist, he wants to publically appear that he is just another average bannerlord player. charades dont fool me, it does become tiresome calling people out who hide behind obvious lies

maybe he DOES consider himself average? Maybe there is more to his gameplay that isnt reflected in forums. I only stated I find him above average because in Bannerlord forums, you have 3 groups of people.

1- The group with a lot of time in game, who tend to know most things.. and are willing to listen to others with a lot of time in game, to "learn more".

2- a large portion of trolls. Who don't play the game. Maybe NEVER played the game.. or haven't played it in a year.. and still talk crap like some bug they remember from july 2020 is still in game. and THATS why the devs are "pure garbage".

3- the majority who are average. They post questions, offer insight, tell stories etc. But sadly never know who to trust with an answer. Usually they go for who has the funniest reply, or best formatting.

Back to your issue you raised above. I'd say that anyone can survive in Bannerlord.. with zero skill. Like I said, you don't have to do anything. Just mess around. And you won't "die". But an average player (who the vast majority are) will try things, make mistakes, try a different way.. play a new campaign. Take it to year 10.. start a new campaign, try that one with stuff you learned in last campaign etc. This is how all the experienced players I know started off.

Then there are the experienced people. Who play for a bit. take a month off. come back play it a bit more.. see what's changed. take a month off. All waiting for game to be "finished". and mods will be usable and stable. They tend to stalk the forums, to try and help new people, and shout down scrub trolls.

All I can say is that this game is tough to learn in the beginning, but then gets quite easy, and in fact you have to "hamper" yourself a bit, with artificial rules (ok, this campaign no smithing, or no recruiting prisoners, or only troops from my faction, or never own a town, only castles etc.)

[kristianjakob]

Publicado originalmente por Sentient_Toaster:

Maybe, maybe not? I've definitely seen Aserai armies of that size with 300+ cavalry and 300+ horse archers, for instance, and I don't have any mods that would strengthen them in any way over baseline, AFAIK. They're not all elites, sure, but they sure beat the hell out of baseline recruits.

Don't know about the OPs's campaign, but in my campaign, that's probably basically because they've almost never been at war with anybody *but* my Vlandians, and we're pretty much never at war with *just* them

That would be a reasonable assumption. Though, my experience is that it does not really help the AI to be at peace. I am curious, in you campaign, how fare are you (day) and how wealthy are the clans of Aserai?