How to level up a lord the fastest?

[Sneakimus]

How do I level up a lord the fastest?

Should I just spam battles/sack farm settlements as much as possible? What are some good strategies for getting your lords up to speed?

Also, how fast should I expect them to level compared to games like Warhammer Total War?

[Geroiko]

It depends if the lord you are referring to is the faction leader or a generic lord. The fastest way is by playing all fights manually from the start of your campaign until you reach the lord level you wish. The way to power level them is to funnel as many kill to them as possible during battles. As such, when you win a battle, don't claim victory right away. Instead make sure you chase every single fleeing unit on the map till they disappear. Specifically from the game code (Note: some values might have been altered recently, these are my notes from a while ago):

*Kills by a unit in your retinue=0.75 exp
*Kills by the officer/lord themselves==1.5 exp
*Minimum of 250 xp for a battle
*Maximum of 10,000 xp for a battle
*Reward is doubled if you won the battle

For Duels (romance mode only):
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_proposer_winner_xp = 2500;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_proposer_loser_xp = 100;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_target_winner_xp = 100;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_target_loser_xp = 100;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_not_won_xp = 10;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_outcome_mult = {
["complete"] = 1,
["interrupted"] = 0.5,
["refuse"] = 0,
["runaway"] = 1
}

On top of that, for your faction leader you also get bonus experience from diplomacy:
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_trade_agreement_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_alliance_faction_leader = 750;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_war_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_vassalise_faction_leader = 500;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_confederate_faction_leader = 500;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_deal_concluded_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_military_access_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_non_agression_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_peace_treaty_faction_leader = 500;

Also, from my own observations and gameplay, I noticed that you can level your generals faster in records mode than in romance mode. The reason for that is because in records your lord is essentially a very powerful cavalry that can instantly kill more units on a single charge than in romance. Due to that, killing fleeing units is also faster in records. It's all about proper hammer and anvil use with them as well as chasing fleeing units. How to make sure that you kill most fleeing units before they disappear from the map? Use another horseman unit in guard stance and move it in front of the fleeing unit. The fleeing unit will then try to go around it. Simply move your horsemen again in the direction they are trying to go and that's how you buy extra time for your main lord to come and kill them.

Each level has a higher experience threshold. As such it takes longer to achieve higher levels unlike WH. But there are only 10 levels compared to 40 of WH, so there is that. Sacking settlements continually doesn't yield as much experience as in WH, so not a good cheese. It's better to just kill armies with many units instead, hence, a warmongering playstyle will help you level up faster.

[Wither]

Spam archer for said lord.

[Danke]

Oh. Didn't know winning a duel as a proposer earned you so much more than as a target. Thanks!

[Sneakimus]

In short, yellow turban armies spamming numerous cheap infantry are your best friends?

Also, do units still gain XP after the battle is ended? I have chased down units a lot, but when I hover over their level icon, I don't see an increase in their XP during the battle.

[temperate06]

Originally posted by Kon:

It depends if the lord you are referring to is the faction leader or a generic lord. The fastest way is by playing all fights manually from the start of your campaign until you reach the lord level you wish. The way to power level them is to funnel as many kill to them as possible during battles. As such, when you win a battle, don't claim victory right away. Instead make sure you chase every single fleeing unit on the map till they disappear. Specifically from the game code (Note: some values might have been altered recently, these are my notes from a while ago):

*Kills by a unit in your retinue=0.75 exp
*Kills by the officer/lord themselves==1.5 exp
*Minimum of 250 xp for a battle
*Maximum of 10,000 xp for a battle
*Reward is doubled if you won the battle

For Duels (romance mode only):
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_proposer_winner_xp = 2500;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_proposer_loser_xp = 100;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_target_winner_xp = 100;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_target_loser_xp = 100;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_not_won_xp = 10;
campaign_experience.xp_battle_duel_outcome_mult = {
["complete"] = 1,
["interrupted"] = 0.5,
["refuse"] = 0,
["runaway"] = 1
}

On top of that, for your faction leader you also get bonus experience from diplomacy:
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_trade_agreement_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_alliance_faction_leader = 750;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_war_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_vassalise_faction_leader = 500;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_confederate_faction_leader = 500;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_deal_concluded_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_military_access_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_non_agression_faction_leader = 250;
campaign_experience.xp_diplomacy_peace_treaty_faction_leader = 500;

Also, from my own observations and gameplay, I noticed that you can level your generals faster in records mode than in romance mode. The reason for that is because in records your lord is essentially a very powerful cavalry that can instantly kill more units on a single charge than in romance. Due to that, killing fleeing units is also faster in records. It's all about proper hammer and anvil use with them as well as chasing fleeing units. How to make sure that you kill most fleeing units before they disappear from the map? Use another horseman unit in guard stance and move it in front of the fleeing unit. The fleeing unit will then try to go around it. Simply move your horsemen again in the direction they are trying to go and that's how you buy extra time for your main lord to come and kill them.

Each level has a higher experience threshold. As such it takes longer to achieve higher levels unlike WH. But there are only 10 levels compared to 40 of WH, so there is that. Sacking settlements continually doesn't yield as much experience as in WH, so not a good cheese. It's better to just kill armies with many units instead, hence, a warmongering playstyle will help you level up faster.

Thank you for this,very helpful

[Darklordnj]

Originally posted by Master:

In short, yellow turban armies spamming numerous cheap infantry are your best friends?

Also, do units still gain XP after the battle is ended? I have chased down units a lot, but when I hover over their level icon, I don't see an increase in their XP during the battle.

I believe it should, as that's been the case for past total wars.