Towns vs Castles, need Advice

[Taisen]

So I think I know the basic premise that towns make you more money but it seems like the units you can recruit are kinda crappy. Plus you can't use any towns to replenish units that came from a castle. So my question is, what are your towns to castles ratio? Seems kinda hard to defend towns without enough castles to retrain units. And do Town units become good late game?

[Gunther von Rittersburg]

I believe I have heard the ratio is 4:3 or 5:3 but this was a long time ago too. So I am probably wrong. Town units can become better over early game units but by very little. Unless, of course you play as an Italian State

[Ctesiphon]

I base my castles strategically where I expect the front lines would be while my towns are located at safer regions far from being besieged. Merchants help provide income for your war economy to skew the ratio between Castles and Towns. Town units, unless you're an italian faction, are generally good for rebel suppression at best and reinforcements for under garrisoned settlements because they are cheap-er. Late game still kinda goes to castles as they can train beefier units which you will need when facing doomstacks of mongols and timurids. Technically by late game your castles should be facing east while west is full of towns, especially Timbuktu.

Best town units are crossbows militia and spear militia, don't bother with other town units. Hope this helps.

[EnemigoDeLaMafia]

There are no hard rules. You can go from 2:1 or 4:1. Don't obsess over it. Even if you have plenty of wealth with a 4:1 ratio, you gonna need about 5 turns to recruit a full army, and then about equal to replenish, + travel time.

Towns can add useful units depending on the faction or generally have some useful late game stuff too. Some factions don't need castles, like the milanese. But it's really up to you.

One of my experiences: as england I turned notthingham and caen into a city because they are port settlements and yada yada.. eventually i had to conquer france with militias and even when the area was consolidated, there still was not a point for recruitment in case of danger.

On another of my playthroughs I had castles in groups of 3 for infantry/cavalry and archers. It worked well although I think it can work with groups of 2 + some troops from cities.

But the take away is you don't need to turn everything into a city. If you already have a castle per major area, and there is a smaller one nearby, then you can consider it. But even then, a lone castle I find doesn't cover army requirements quickly enough.

Remember that once you build the stone walls in a city, it can never be turned back again into a castle. So its a point of no return.

Some things like the spears militias from cities work well enough and can be more easily replenished in conquered territory. Some militia types depending on faction also add a lot.

[Odin]

Pros for Castles:

Castles alone allow you to recruit the very best units available during the early game and to some degree in the mid game, as well as provide some additional income. Castles are also easier to defend against more powerful opponents like Mongols.

Cons for Castles:

Income is limited and tax rates are fixed. With the introduction of gunpowder, castles become a little less relevant although can still be defended well against powerful enemies.



Pros for Cities:

Cities provide a much more reliable income and the population can be taxed as seen fit. Early game militia are usually good enough to defend against most other early game units, they are also cheap and many types can garrison a city for free. During the late game, some units will become available in cities that are comparable to those from castles.

Cons for Cities:

Poor selection of early to mid game units, usually limited to basic militia types and maybe some low quality missile units. Generally speaking, you can't recruit cavalry in a city and while there are exceptions (Merchant cavalry for example), the best cavalry available to you will always be from a castle. Cities are also a little harder to defend, especially against foes like the Mongols and Timurids.

[craigmercer60]

as England i only need 1 castle rest are towns since though till late on city don't have much in the way of decent troops i can hire welsh spear and longbow Ireland get 4 uni foot soldiers as does Scotland plus i see enemies coming so can mount up to stay safe usually
As i take France 2 castles Leon and Marseilles rest towns usually each area 2 castles rest are towns until Denmark Norway Sweden there all towns
so chances are main ratio 2 castles for 6 towns

[craigmercer60]

but depends if playing milan venice or sciliy there basic troops from towns are much better so can do less castiles

[𝔗𝔢𝔞 ❀]

Depends on faction, and you want to get to the best units you can for that faction as quickly as you can.

For instance, Sicily has good Italian city units, but their Norman knights are excellent. You need a fortress for them.

[Darkfireslide]

Not sure about an exact ratio but ideally you want more cities than castles at all stages in the game if you can afford it.

Spear militia units, specifically the ones good against cavalry, are excellent additions to most early game armies, especially since a lot of factions don't get a proper spear unit until the mid game (Poland and Russia are good examples, I think also Portugal and all the Middle Eastern factions). So while it can be a pain to replenish them it's always good to have some spears in campaign, especially if your only other option is like javelineers.

You need good income if you want to afford good units and their buildings on time, or even just to pay the upkeep on Knights or whatever your faction offers. Personally, if a castle isn't going to be close to the front lines I usually convert it since money is more important than raw manufacturing capabilities for units. Rarely will you have a situationw where you need to produce 20 units at once. If you have a wounded stack, combine the weak ones and then replenish the super low regiments.

If a settlement can have a port you should also try to find a reason to make it a city since that is one of the best sources of income in the game.

[𝔗𝔢𝔞 ❀]

If a seriously contested border realm forms, where you aren't moving forward quickly, fortresses and citadels can really help you. If the AI fails sieges, they will sometimes give up trying to take a province. You can also lure them in by having a small garrison, and just falling back and frustrating their efforts until you win.

Cities can of course give you great income. If you have a safe heartland think of putting cities there. I prefer castles though.