I cannot even figure out how to recruit units!

[pdmackenzie]

while this is certainly saving me money, I anticipate that at some point in time I will have to do some recruiting. Why has so much changed from TW Medieval?

[Elitewrecker PT]

Because even Medieval 2 is like 14 years old?
You recruit by selecting one of your generals (your starting one generally) and clicking one of the buttons at the bottom middle.

[THE_RaBiD_CanuK]

Select any lord, and there's an option to recruit units when you look at the bottom of the screen. You have to be in a friendly province or the garrison stance. You can recruit any unit that can be made in the province while your lord is anywhere in that province. If you recruit units that are made outside of the province, it will take more turns, and cost more money - so I don't recommend this short of emergencies.
There might also be an option to recruit regiments of reknown (ROR), if you have the DLC and your ruler is of sufficient rank. These are unique units you can recruit these instantly from anywhere. But if you dismiss a ROR, you have to wait 10 turns before you can recruit them again.

If you want to recruit a new lord, select any settlement, and look at the panel at the bottom of the screen - there's a recruit lord section, and recruit hero sections. They will appear at whatever city you have selected, and can immediately begin recruiting units. You can recruit as many lords as you can afford, but the number of heroes are restricted by buildings, your ruler, and quests (depending on your faction).

The total war series has changed quite a bit since medieval. Most of the changes are quality of life improvements, which make management easier, even if it seems a bit strange at first. The point is to keep the gamer more focused on the action, and less diverged into the micromanaged of cities and petty forces. For example, you don't need to worry about defensive armies so much, since you can build garrisons.You should play with the tutorial advisor on your first game if you're not, even if you have hundreds of hours in previous TW games.

[pdmackenzie]

Ok, I figured that part out finally but why cannot I recruit any of the quality troops (only peasants)?
I have added a lord in my capital, built all the neccessary building to recruit the various knights, have tons of money, and yet they are still not available through the method you have described!

[THE_RaBiD_CanuK]

Originally posted by pdmackenzie:

Ok, I figured that part out finally but why cannot I recruit any of the quality troops (only peasants)?
I have added a lord in my capital, built all the neccessary building to recruit the various knights, have tons of money, and yet they are still not available through the method you have described!

I can't comment on the specifics of the Brettonian campaign, as I haven't played it - but my guess is you're still missing a building.Tier 3 or higher units usually require two different buildings in the same province to recruit. When you highlight a building, it should tell you in the fine print everything you need to create certain units, and whether you can recruit them or not. Units that have red borders can't be recruited yet, usually because you're missing something.

Also, buildings have different levels. For example, you might need to get your barracks to level 2 or 3 before you can get the units you want. It should show you all this when you hover over a building with your mouse - or try right clicking on the building to bring up the building table.

I read something about Brettonian lords needing to take vows to help recruit knights (you spend their character points on a vow). There's some faction specific guides in the guide section on steam that might be helpful.

[Elitewrecker PT]

The different knight vows reduce the upkeep for those units, otherwise they're VEEERY expensive.

[Elitewrecker PT]

Originally posted by pdmackenzie:

Ok, I figured that part out finally but why cannot I recruit any of the quality troops (only peasants)?
I have added a lord in my capital, built all the neccessary building to recruit the various knights, have tons of money, and yet they are still not available through the method you have described!

You're probably missing an armory or something.