The Britannia Campaign - An Overview

Having done a guide on the Teutonic campaign, I thought it would be fitting if I did one on the Britannia campaign. The Britannia campaign is perhaps the most popluar out of the four campaigns in the Kingdoms expansion, so it is only just that I make a guide on it. So here it is: an in-depth guide for the Britannia expansion, teaching you everything there is to know about the campaign.

Introduction

The year is 1258, and the British Isles are divided amongst 5 different nations: England, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, and Wales. Playing as one of them, you will have to defeat your rivals and eventually crown yourself as King of Britannia. However, the road is long and there will be many difficult and challenging obstacles in your way, or will there? Let's examine this campaign.

The terrain varies throughout the British Isles. England and Ireland are beautifully flat, so battles will normally be on even ground.










Scotland and Wales are a different story.In those two places, Scotland more than Wales, you have huge mountains, narrow passes, and lots of chokepoints. If you should invade either of those two places, you can expect some rough terrain.















A small portion of the map is devoted to the islands on the western and northern coasts of Scotland. You won't fight many battles other than sieges on those distant isles, so you need not trouble yourself too much with them.

You will almost always find yourself ar war within turn 10 if you are playing a neutral faction, and if you're playing as England or one of the 'rebelling' factions, war is already going on from turn 1. Why? Because there are few rebel settlements, and thus you will be facing down other factions right from the get go. The only rebel settlements are in Scotland, and there is one down in Wales, but that's about it. So prepare for war right away.

The music is well done in this campaign. It ranges from cheery highland bagpipes to somber Irish chanting. It fits the theme of the campaign perfectly and makes you feel like you're in the British Isles.

England

So this part may be a bit lengthy, but as England is such a big part of this game, I thought it would be appropriate to devote an enitre section to it.

England



Let's start from the most powerful faction, shall we? England owns a huge portion of the map. It has great units and a seemingly decent economy. With such good things, it won't take you long to win, will it? No, it won't be easy or quick to win. Why? Beacause almost everyone hates your guts. Just like the Teutons in the Teutonic campaign, you are absolutely detested by the majority of the factions. This means that if you do not play your cards right, you may find yourself at war on all fronts. And that is never good. And did I mention a huge empire? Yeah, about that. It turns out you may lose a good chunk of your cities quite early in the game. That is because you have to fight both Wales and Ireland, two nations starting off with decent armies, particularily Wales. To add insult to injury, don't expect to hold any settlements on Ireland for long, as most of your holdings there will rebel within a few turns. And that decent economy I was talking about will vanish before your eyes as you scramble to fund armies to fight back hordes of enemies and are forced to ignore building high-level farms and ports. This need for armies and the general neglect of production will make you very low on funds.
You'd think this would be bad enough, but it gets worse. At one point in the game, your barons will revolt. The cities with the highest disorder and the generals with the lowest loyalty will rebel and form their own nation, the Baron's alliance. Where exactly the Baron's alliance forms can change, as in my campaign as England it happened in Ireland and caused me to lose all my land that I managed to keep there. But it can form in England proper too, so watch out.

But let's get to the bright side, shall we? You're army is very decent indeed. You're heavy knights, both mounted and dismounted, can chew up the generally light armies of Wales and Ireland. Your longbowmen can easily beat the Irish archers, though you may have some problems against the Welsh archers. The English billmen are very decent infantry, so it is worth getting them. Also, since you have such a large empire, you have a huge advantage over your enemies early game, so it is crucial that you use your massive size and potential well.
How about some strategy? Well, manage your taxation well. Don't overdo it, otherwise the barons will revolt. Crush Wales as qucikly as you can, because that little bugger can grow quite powerful if left to itself. In Ireland, it may be necessary to sacrifice a few cities to save the rest. Pull back your armies from near-revolt settlements to your cities with the highest public order on the island. You have some decent starting armies there, so use them to reconquer the cities that do revolt. Just make sure Ireland doesn't take them.
Ally with Norway, and once you have defeated Ireland and Wales, team up with the Norwegians to defeat Scotland. Alternatively, if you're feeling brave, you can attack Norway and take Castletown, located right smack-center in the Irish Sea. The faction that controls that settlement controls the entire Irish Sea, so it may be worth consideration.
Overall, England has huge potential, but it needs to be played right in order to win.

The Other Kingdoms

Wales


Perhaps England's biggest immediate problem, Wales is not in as bad of a position as one would think. Sure it only has a handful of settlements against the massive size of England, but it is capable of producing a mighty military. As you conquer the towns on the English-Welsh, you'll get events which provide you with lots of good troops. Your archers are also the best archers in the entire game of Medieval 2, even surpassing the English longbowmen. You can quickly develop your settlements to be ecnomic powerhouses, giving you plenty of florins with which to crush the English.
But let's talk strategy. Use your archers to mow down almost any enemy army, though be sure to have some infantry to protect the archers from cavalry. Though you don't have any real heavy infantry, your armoured spearmen and quality militia should do the job just fine. Quckly take the border towns to get the bonus troops I was talking about earlier. Ally with Ireland and Scotland in order to swarm England.
Overall, with some quick opening moves and good diplomacy, Wales can easily defeat the tyranny of England.

Ireland


Life as an Irishman can be tough, especially when your archenemy controls half of your home. But all is not lost. Ireland has a good economy and is generally very wealthy, so money troubles should not be too much of an issue. In addition, most of the English settlements will rebel within a few short turns, giving you the opportunity to reclaim most of Ireland. Wales and Scotland should ally with you easily enough, and it is recommended that you do so. Once the Baron's Alliance spawns, ally with them as well.
In the selection menu, Ireland is said to have good gunpower units. Though I'm not sure how often you will actually use them, they are very good and can give a bloody nose to any enemy army. You also have very good javelinmen and decent archers, which can be bloody helpful in any battle, just don't expect them to stand up to Welsh or Englsih longbowmen, as they will be slaughtered in that situation. Your cavalry is very good, and you have great mix of heavy and light infantry units.
If you're playing as the Irish, make sure you control the entire island. Once you have complete control, you will be able to accomplish any undertaking.I mean, you ARE the luckiest faction in the game, so be sure to experience lots of good fortune.

Scotland


Ah, Scotland! I'm sure every one who has played the grand campaign was delighted when they heard that Scotland was going to be expanded. Well, it has certainly been upgraded. You control almost all of the highlands now, instead of only one settlement. The Scots ceratinly have much glory in this campaign, but in order to keep that glory there is a lot of hard fighting and clever diplomacy to be done. You can ally with Wales and Ireland very easily, and even England can prove to be a good ally should you decided to go that route (just be sure to guard the the Scottish-English border. Betrayal can happen!). However, Norway has a much different attitude towards you. Let's just say their attitude is akin to that of the Mongols in vanilla. That should be enough for any experienced TW player.
But Scotland does have a very fine miltary. You have splendid pike units which, with some training, can be invaluable when defending settlements. Your cavalry is actually quite poor, but you have the best two-handed units in the campaign ( i.e. Highland Nobles), so expect to dominate most melee fights.
Be sure to take the rebel settlements that are located in the highlands. War with Norway is inevitable, so be sure to take control of all the Hebrides once war is declared. You can use those distant islands to boost your economy. I highly recommend you take the Isle of Mann. As I said before, the faction that controls that island controls the entire Irish Sea, and it can be very useful if you are trying to invade the other factions in Britannia, so it is worth your while to take it.
Basically all you need to worry about as the Scots is the Viking invasion. Trust me, the Norwegian King can pack a punch. But as soon as you unify the highlands and eliminate the Vikings, you're good to go.

Norway

Get ready to sweep over Britannia like a storm! Right off the bat, I'll say that Norway has an excellent army, with two-handed units which can rival the Scottish and powerful huscarls and crossbowmen with which to chew up the infantry of any faction. But there is one catch.....
Your economy is terrible, just terrible. You start off with Castletown, Kirkwall, and some settlements in the Hebrides, none of which are particularly rich. You will quickly find yourelf in debt if you don't expand quickly and manage you buidlings well. Your settlements are poor and will take time to build up. On the economic side of things, you are the poorest in Britannia. Expect to have a hard time with this.
Alternatively, once you do get over that obstacle, you can conquer Britannia just like the Mongols conquer Europe. Like I said above, your two-handed units are superb, your crossbowmen can tear up any heavy infantry, and your one-handed infantry are some of the best units in the camapign. They can easily defeat the rather light armies of Ireland and Wales and can go head-to-head against the tanks that are Scotland and England. It may be beneficial to ally with England for the time being, a England can support you against the other factions, especially Scotland. Or you could wait until the Baron's Alliance spawns and make allies with them in order to get the edge versus England.
Keep control of all your island settlements at all costs, especially the Isle of Mann. Once you get reenforcements from Norway, crush Scotland. Turn the highlands into your own personal man-cave. From there, sweep over Ireland, which should not be too difficult. From that point on, you are ready to steamroll the remaining kingdoms.
Overall, Norway is a dirt-poor factions that has an insanely powerful military which has the potential to defeat all the other factions and make you the king of Britannia. Like Novgorod in the Teutonic expansion, it is crucial that you don'e mess up early game. A major mistake early in the campaign can really make things difficult for you.

Features

The Britannia campaign has several interesting features which can either help you a ton during your campaign or give you a living hell, depending on which faction you are playing.

The Arrival of the Norwegian King

If you see a fleet of ships arriving from the east, get your sword ready, because you have a lot of tough fighting to do. As I've said before, Norway is very poor and it is not too much of a serious threat in the beginning. That all changes with the Viking Invasion. Norway gets a small raiding party early in the game. No big deal, as it is not hard to defeat it. However, the big guns come in at around turn 10. The Norwegian king comes in, and boy is he a game changer! Not only does he come in with a large, powerful fleet, but he comes with the best army in the game. He's got crossbowmen, huscarls, viking raiders, and the all-powerful Gotland footmen. Do not underestimate him, as he is quite capable of handing your butt over to you on a silver platter.
Alternatively, if you're playing as Norway, this is one army that might just single-handedly conquer all of Scotland for you, so use it well.

William Wallace

Having a hard time playing as the Scottish? Can't handle the Viking invasion or the English threat? Don't worry, Will Wallace has got your back. At some point in the game, William Wallace, the famous Scottish freedom-fighter, emerges with his own personal army of highlanders. And what an entrance! He has unit upon unit of experienced, battle-ready men in kilts ready to squash any enemy. William's army is the exact weapon you need to defeat the Norwegian king. Should you defeat him and conquer all of Scotland, you can then use this massive force to move into England, Wales, or Ireland, depending on what alliances you made. Trust me, William Wallace does not joke around.

The Departure and Return of Prince Edward

During the course of your campaign, Prince Edward of England will depart to the crusades for about 5-10 turns. If you are playing as England, this will initially be annoying, as you will lose one of your best generals at a very critical point in your campaign. But it all pays off. Edward eventually returns, and he comes with a decent army of Templars. Now, this army may not be as glorious as William's or the Vikings', but it is a deadly force which is invaluable for your campaign. Templars have a knack for stubborness and effectiveness, making them powerful warriors who can take a lot of punishment before dying. This force will prove to be a great aid to your English army.

The Resistance of the Welsh

My goodness, everyone seems to be getting hordes of troops for free, and Wales is no exception! However, the way Wales gets troops is different. They don't all come all at once, but rather they come in waves. As you conquer the settlements on the English-Welsh border, you will be given new troops for each settlement won. The troops range from mediocre militia to impressive axemen and armoured spearmen. There's not much to say about this feature, other than that it is very cool and helpful. The new units give you the power to take on the bemouth that is England, so there are no complaints here!

New Culture System

As all the factions in this time period are Catholic, there is no need for priests or the religion mechanic. Religion has been replaced by culture, which is a very nice feature by itself. Every faction has its own culture. So Scotland has Scottish, England has English, and so on and so forth. Culture affects the public order in the settlement. For example, if you're playing as the English, taking a town with high Scottish culture will result in public order problems, as the Scottish populace resents English muffins and the mass drinking of tea. In order to change the culture, you can build churches, and these religious buildings will increase the size of your home culture, increasing public order and reducing the risk of rebellion. Public order problems caused by culture differences can make a greater impact on your campaign than you may imagine. As the English, you lose almost all your settlements in Ireland due to PO problems caused by culture, so be sure keep a close eye on that.
However, it is also a viable option to keep the culture in a settlement as it is. Why? Because a settlement with a different culture gives you different troops. As the Norwegians, I took a Scottish castle. As long as the majority of the culture in a settlement remained Scottish, I was able to recruit highlanders into my armies. The same applies to all factions. You can recruit Irish units in Ireland even if you are playing as the English.
So overall, be sure to manage culture wisely, because even though you will have to deal with lower public order, having different units can be a tremedous help when you are campaiging in enemy lands.

Defects and Conclusion

Are there any problems with this campaign? Yes, yes there are.

For one thing, there seems to be a lack of variety in the factions. All the factions, despite having different colors and unique units assigned to each one, all play out pretty much the same. In the Teutonic campaign, the tactics you used fighting the Russians were different then those used fighting the Danes. In this campaign, you can basically use the same tactics against each faction. The only exception might be the Welsh, since those guys are addicted to those OP longbows.
Don't get me wrong, each faction feels different and is extremely fun to use, but there seems to be a lack of variety when it comes to unit rosters and tactics.

Then there is the sub-par AI, both on the campaign map and on the battlefield. I know I'm just repeating myself from my Teutonic guide, but the AI is not good. It's barely passable. It makes bizarre decisions. The campaign AI does not know how to use opportunites. Instead of attacking and destroying my weak settlement, it will wait there for several turns, giving me the opportunity to build up an army and destroy it. It also is incapable of using ships well. On the battlefield, the AI is easily flanked and its general is very often exposed and an easy target. Sieges are also very interesting.

However, the campaign is still extremely fun. Despite the rather sameish feel to the factions and the weak AI, you will have a blast playing this campaign. There is nothing quite like the feeling of lauching a massive invasion of Ireland as the Scottish. The English are also very fun to use, but the same could be said of all factions. With very fitting music to listen to, popular and powerful factions to choose from, and all of Britannia to conquer, it can be said without a doubt that the Britannia campaign is one of the best TW campaigns out there.

Thank you for reading my guide! I had great fun making and l look forward to doing the remaining Kingdoms campaigns. If I have forgotten to mention anything about this campaign or if I have made a mistake somewhere, feel free to point it out and I will be sure to correct my error. Thank you!

P.S.
For those of you who are looking for a better Britannia campaign, check out the mod Rule Britannia. It greatly improves the AI, adds playable factions, reintroduces religion, and a lot more. I will admit that I played this mod more than I played the actual vanilla Britannia campaign, but that should tell you that Rule Britannia is a mod worth checking out.

[Mayonnaise Smiter]

Surprisingly my second favorite of the Kingdoms expansion that I didn't think I would like that much. Yes a bit low strat varieties because ... England. Welsh and possibly Scots can feel one-dimensional, but the factions are actually pretty varied, a bonus is that everyone has Culverin or Cannons so really a decent xpac to play with gunpowder.

[Ashleyfish]

great guide, i found that as the scottish then if you can get even a slight naval supremacy then you can kill the entire norweigan king's army because they have very few proper ships escorting the army

[Nethur]

Good guide, thanks

[Smuggles - NATO]

Very informative. Think I'll fire up my Welsh game. Thanks!

[apache]

"For example, if you're playing as the English, taking a town with high Scottish culture will result in public order problems, as the Scottish populace resents English muffins and the mass drinking of tea." 10/10 Guide Writing

[Machacasaurio]

Nice guide, great work. Scottish rules, you English bastards :P

[FullmetalOrk]

Another good guide. Can you do the crusades campaign next?

[Crash God]

Nice guide